naba 2014 - design & laser cut

LASER CUTTINGLASER CUTTINGINTRO, EXAMPLES AND APPLICATIONSINTRO, EXAMPLES AND APPLICATIONS

LASER

The laser cuts by concentrating a high level of energy in a small spot, melting, burning or vaporizing the material which consequently is being blown away by a gas jet, leaving a very high quality cut.

The laser makes a very precise cut, usually perpendicular to the bed, with a thickness varying from 0,1 to 0,5 mm.

The average is considered 0,2 mm

In some particular cases, for example glass, it could have no thickness since it cuts through thermal shock.

The characteristics depend on the machine being used.

http://scottcampbellstudio.com/

THE CUT

THE CUT – make a frames

Design notches on the borders of the pieces helps to obtain a more resistant piece.Usually the lenght is at least 3 times the thickness of the material

DESIGN THE NOTCHES

The box is the first example of a project to laser cut. The easiest shape is the cross.

If the box would be cut following these lines it would be impossible to mount due to the thicknesses, that in this case are not considered.

AN EXAMPLE:

THE BOX

Moving on to designing the joints of the pieces, you can see that once the pieces are mounted, the total lenght is less than what would be expected.

AN EXAMPLE:

THE BOX

STEP 1: mark middle points

STEP 2: basic module

STEP 3: copy it up to the middle point

STEP 4: mirror it and fix the extra lines

STEP 5: copy or mirror it where there is the same base line

STEP 6: mirror around a 45° the basic module

STEP 7: follow the steps from 3 to 6 again

STEP 8: copy the basic module to the next border

STEP 9: mirror it and draw the last side

STEP 10: delete everything not needed and cut the extra lines

STEP 11: optimize the space and delete the duplicate lines

http://boxmaker.rahulbotics.com/

The easiest one is linear. It has no interference nor curves. It can be regular, or irregular.

ASSEMBLING

http://blog.makezine.com/2012/04/13/cnc-panel-joinery-

notebook/

Usually you try to create perfectly specular pieces to facilitate the assembly. If that isn't possible, it's better to accentuate the differences to reduce the risk of mounting them incorrectly.

ASSEMBLING

http://blog.makezine.com/2012/04/13/cnc-panel-joinery-notebook/

In this case it's better to make the joints asymmetrical, to mount the surfaces in the right order.

ASSEMBLING

The linear joint can be placed even in the centre of the surface.

ASSEMBLING


The geometry of the linear joints can be mixed with the use of screws to create resistant and reversible joints.

ASSEMBLING


The joints with screws can be used even on the edges.

ASSEMBLING


The joints might not be in a 90° angle, or with perpendicular walls.

ASSEMBLING


In flat joints you can even use different geometries. Ift he goal is to create a joint that is resistant without the use of glue you can use the puzzle shape. If you want to facilitate the gluing and centering of the pieces, you can use the comb shape.

ASSEMBLING


Using the elasticity of the material you can even create snapfits. Usually they are very delicate elements.

SNAPFIT


Other kind of joints use the rotation or sliding of an element.

KEYS


Combining what we've seen above you can create highly articulate joints.

COMPLEX JOINTS


Gluing different layers it is even possible to use the tipical milling joints.

JOINTS IN 2.5D

http://www.flexiblestream.org/Digital-Wood-J oints-001.php

http://www.123dapp.com/make

THE CUT - gears

http://woodgears.ca/gear_cutting/template.html

http://www.gearotic.com/

http://www.rayflectar.com/Rhino/gearGen.zip

http://www.lisaboyer.com/Claytonsite/weirdgears1.htm

THE CUT - hinges

THE CUT - mechanism

http://507movements.com/

Using the precision of the cut you can wedge in pieces of different materials (different tipes of wood, different coloured plexiglass, etc.) to reproduce the effect of inlay.

THE INLAY

Through the settings of the machine, it's possible to create dotted lines, by creating cuts that are interrupted.

In the file they appear as continous lines, but with an assigned frequency of turning on and off the laser.

This is very useful for paper, when you want to create folding lines.

THE DOTTED LINES \ PARTIAL CUT

http://www.witindustries.nl/

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/kineticcreatures/kinetic-creatures

http://bryantyee.wordpress.com/

Easily cut:● plexiglass (max 5mm)● Wood/plywood (max 6mm)● Cardboard, paper, etc.● Rubber, leather, fabrics,

etc.

Not easily cut:● PC● PVC● Glass● Metal● Thich materials (including

foams)

MATERIAL

By regulating the potency and the focus it is possible to incise lines, which don't cut through the material, onto the surface.

The thickness and the depth of the incisions depends on the parameters of the machine, and the material. It's very useful even when wanting to number pieces which eventually has to be mounted together. Generally it's a good idea to make a test, to check the result.

http://blog.ponoko.com/2010/07/14/laser-engraving-and-processing/

THE ENGRAVE

It is possible to chose directly from the file closed paths within which you want to assing a filling.

Based on the power it is possible to change the depth of the engraving.

THE ENGRAVING

Using an analog principle, you can assign various power related to the brightness of the pixels in an immage.

If the power is low you obtain a “grayscale print” of the immage.

If the power is high you obtain an effect similar to the bas-releif.

THE IMAGES

Some particular images store the depth values in a 3D image, associating them to the brightness of the pixels.

If you laser cut it the result is very similar to a bas-relief.

Z-BUFFER IMAGES

You can engrave:● Plexi glass (max 5mm)● Wood/plywood (max 6mm)● Cardboard, paper, etc.● Rubber, leather, fabrics,

etc.● Anodized metals● Varnished metals● Glass● Stone● Ceramics

MATERIALS

TYPES OF MACHINES

http://www.vectorealism.com/

FOR WOOD AND PLEXI

These are 2.5 or 3 axis machines.

Usually the laser source is CO2 based

The laser bounces on several mirrors before focusing on the piece.

http://www.lasermio.com/

FOR METALS

The principle is very similar to the last one, but the power is higher.

Sometimes it uses a different sources of lasers instead of mirrors.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ybCN5QkppLw

GALVANIC LASER

Instead of cartesian axis, it uses mirrorsThe working area is usually smaller, and related to the lens used.

Also the quality is related to the lens.On the other hand it's much faster than the traditional 3 axis laser

MORE THAN 3 AXIS LASER

To work on more complex shapes lasers can have more than 3 axis

Obviously it's a more expencive and complex machine.

EXAMPLES

PROFILES

In its' easiest form, the laser cuts profiles in flat sheets.

These profiles can then be mounted together in a permanent or temporary way.

PROFILES 2

The molded pieces can be curved into 3D objects.

http://besttopdesign.com/lighting/levent-romme%E2%80%99s-in-bklyn-designs-show-with-elegant-laser-cut-paper-lamps/

FASHION

Laser cutting fabric is something fairly common and easily made.

PERPENDICULAR SECTIONS

One of the easiest ways to describe a complex geometry is to wedge perpendicular sections together.

RADIAL SECTIONS

As an alternative you can use a radial disposition, especially for a revolving solid.

MULTILAYER

Another way to create 3D objects is multilayering.

There are even some free softwares that slice the objects to work in this way.

http://www.123dapp.com/

MULTILAYER 2

If the layers are very thin the result is a practially continous piece.

http://www.laser-stanzungen.de/

DIFFERENT DIRECTION

It's obviously possible to combine section with different directions together, to make a single object

WEDGING 1

The various elements can be wedged together and assembled to create for example a box.

There are online tools made to automatically design simple boxes.

http://boxmaker.rahulbotics.com/

FLEXIBLE LASER CUTS

Using paritcular patterns you can obtain very flexible materials.

This does however create a very fragile object.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/maindinteraction/7655393032/sizes/l/in/photostream/

WEDGING 2

Increasing the level of complexity you can create very advanced objects.

The easiest way to wedge pieces is at a 90° angle, but you can join pieces even in other angles.

WEDGING 3

The pieces can be jointed or static.

It's very simple to create precise cuts and stable wedgings.

This highly facilitates the realization of mobile parts.

http://www.instructables.com/id/Laser-Cut-Front-End-Loader-Toy/

FOLDABLE PIECES

If properly designed, you can even achieve foldable parts.

It is, however, difficult to create them using only a laser cutter.

http://www.core77designawards.com/2012/recipients/laser-cut-folding-ukulele-kit/

MECHANISMS 2

Combining the various elements, the final result can be a highly complex object.

http://www.bustedbricks.com/marble-machine-kit-1-146-p.asp

http://blog.ponoko.com/

http://www.vectorealism .com/

http://grabcad.com/challenges /the -evd-make-your-laser-cut-toy-contes t/

http://cncking.com/category/toys

MAIN SOURCES

http://www.vectorealism.com/

http://grabcad.com/challenges/the-evd-make-your-laser-cut-toy-contest/

http://cncking.com/category/toys

naba 2014 - design & laser cut

Education

precise cut

cut gears

cut hinges

cut mechanism

assemblingthe joints

veryhigh quality cut

extra lines

lines itwould