Why #laser-cutter work has trouble with plywood #materials, and how Nervous System commissioned their own custom plywood.
on 02018-08-16Traditional Japanese wood #joinery, perhaps applicable to #laser-cutter and other #2d-cutting.
on 02016-08-31More about #laser-cutter #CNC #manufacturing, including more about corner divots (inside divots, outside divots, and point divots aka overcut corners), edge laps, spiral spring seat cushions, etc. #2d-cutting
on 02016-08-16Michael Hansmeyer designing fractal columns through some kind of computational origami, then constructing them by #laser-cutter. He’s written a couple of papers on the topic but none of them seem to be online. #video
on 02015-12-14is free software to convert #PostScript to #DXF, for example for #laser-cutter files. Its DXF output is pretty bad, though; a stroked closed rectangle gets turned into four thin filled rectangles with overlapping ends (the edges of the rectangle).
on 02015-12-05George W. Hart’s gorgeous CC-NC-BY-SA sculpture "Frabjous" made from 30 identical pieces cut on a #laser-cutter. This version uses finger joints. #2d-cutting
on 02015-12-04this Max58 #laser-cutter service bureau near the office cuts MDF in 1, 1.5, 2, 3, 5.5, and 9 mm, a few kinds of wood in 3, 5, and 9 mm, acrylic in 2.4, 3, 4, 5, 6, 8, and 10 mm, cardboard, paper, rubber, and leather, up to 600×300 mm (or now up to 810×450mm). Cutting is red lines, marking is blue, engraving (gouging) is black. They publish no pricing information.
on 02015-12-01files for #laser-cutter #manufacturing of smooth curves and finger joints for a pen stand. #2d-cutting
on 02015-11-30Explains that in #laser-cutter design for finger joint #manufacturing, you might want to curve the finger (“tooth”) edges a bit to allow for the kerf. No numbers on how far to curve, unfortunately. Does have Ponoko cost numbers from 2008, and mentions that approximating curves with lines “reduces cutting costs significantly”. #2d-cutting
on 02015-11-30A 60-watt #laser-cutter at 50% power and 300 mm/second (?!) can engrave marble at about 150 to 200 dpi. #materials
on 02015-11-30#laser-cutter cutting isn’t quite perpendicular to the surface of at least Delrin (acetal), but rather slightly tapered. Also explains that 12.7mm is necessary for a press fit in metals #manufacturing, but acetal can handle less precise fits.
on 02015-11-30The Epilog #laser-cutter manual for the Helix series says to make your lines at least .005 inches wide for them to get engraved at 400 dpi or up in Combined Mode, and at least .007 inches wide to engrave at 300 dpi or up in Combined Mode; but in vector mode, even lines of .001 inches will “vector at any resolution”, but precisely those lines that would have engraved in Combined Mode will not “vector”. “Objects and text should be unfilled and drawn with the thinnest possible outline (other than zero)”.
on 02015-11-30Supposedly the Epilog Legend #laser-cutter can do 75 to 1200 dpi, 12.7-micron repeatability, 254-micron accuracy, and 76 to 127 micron spot size. No word on speed. “Our entry-level unit is the 30 watt Zing 16 and that system starts from just” US$8000. But I don’t think the Zing has the same repeatability specs.
on 02015-11-30#laser-cutter #manufacturing of non-planar #3D objects by softening acrylic with the defocused laser, allowing gravity to pull it into shape. Got Best #Paper in CHI 2013.
on 02015-11-30A blog post about #bootstrapping a #laser-cutter.
on 02015-11-30Thomas Oster’s bachelor’s #pdf #dissertation on the VisiCut #laser-cutter software. Mentions he got about an inch per second (25 mm/s) at 500dpi out of the Epilog Zing cutter he was using, or 8 inches per second with the laser off, and documents the HP-PCL, PJL, HPGL, and LPD interface of the machine in some detail. #2d-cutting
on 02015-11-30Gorgeous #video of non-circular #gears made on a #laser-cutter. #2d-cutting
on 02015-11-22more on planar #manufacturing of #snap-fit joints on a #laser-cutter in e.g. acrylic. #2d-cutting
on 02015-11-16#manufacturing of “bolted” T-joints in acrylic on a #laser-cutter using Delrin clips instead of bolts. #2d-cutting
on 02015-11-16planar #manufacturing of #snap-fit joints on a #laser-cutter in e.g. acrylic. #2d-cutting
on 02015-11-16how to design panels to make on a #laser-cutter or other #CNC #manufacturing machine to be assembled into things, including inside corner divots, clips, finger joints, box joints, coplanar joints (including fully interlocking bulbed versions), Kanelba hinges, #flexures including the Snijlab living hinge (aka the lattice hinge), and whatnot. #2d-cutting
on 02015-11-12