NABA 2014 - Design & laser cut

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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 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/

DESIGN THE
NOTCHES
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

AN EXAMPLE:
THE BOX
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.

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/

ASSEMBLING
The easiest one is
linear. It has no
interference nor
curves. It can be
regular, or irregular.
http://blog.makezine.com/2012
/04/13/cnc-panel-joinery-notebook/

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

ASSEMBLING
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.

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

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

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

JOINTS IN 2.5D
Gluing different layers it
is even possible to use
the tipical milling joints.
http://www.flexiblestream.org/Digit
al-Wood-J oints-001.php

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

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

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

THE INLAY
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 DOTTED LINES PARTIAL
CUT
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.

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

http://bryantyee.wordpress.com/

MATERIAL
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)

THE ENGRAVE
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 ENGRAVING
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 IMAGES
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.

Z-BUFFER 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.

MATERIALS
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

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.vectorealism.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.lasermio.com/

GALVANIC
LASER
Instead of cartesian axis, it uses
mirrors
The 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
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ybCN5QkppLw

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.

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/maindinte
raction/7655393032/sizes/l/in/photostr
eam/

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/mar
ble-machine-kit-1-146-p.asp

MAIN SOURCES
http://blog.ponoko.com/
http://www.ve ctorealism.com/
http://grabcad.com/challenge s /the -e vd-make -your-lase r-cut-toy-conte s t/
http://cncking.com/category/toys

NABA 2014 - Design & laser cut

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NABA 2014 - Design & laser cut