Laser Cutter 3/1

I think we might finally be done with building circuits! On Thursday our professor said we were going to use the laser cutter. So we went through a tutorial in SolidWorks to learn how to use the program. SolidWorks is a CAD program that allows you to create 3D models. The tutorial that we went through showed us how to make a basic part. I am interested in learning more about SolidWorks. I’m guessing it is used more for when you want 3D things than if you are using a tool like a laser cutter, which works in two dimensions. I wonder how the program communicates with the tools that you use to actually make the model, and if you have to make your model differently depending on if you are using an additive or a subtractive manufacturing process.  However, we decided not to use SolidWorks for our laser cutting experiment because all we needed was a two-dimensional line drawing. So we downloaded Inkscape, which is a just a simple drawing program. Our professor wanted us to design a carabiner, but he didn’t give us any specific information about how to design it, except for the dimensions. We mostly used the pen tool to design our carabiners, but I find the pen tool really difficult to use. I don’t use Illustrator very often, but when I do I try to avoid using the pen tool. I wasn’t really sure what to do, so I kind of just played until I drew something that vaguely resembled a circle with an opening. We only had time to cut out Cailey’s design with the laser cutter, but we are supposed to work with it more on Monday.
    In the meantime, let me describe why I think that laser cutters are really cool. They can cut almost anything precisely, so the applications and possibilities are endless. Laser cutters are typically used for industrial manufacturing, but they are becoming cheaper and more accessible to the public, and now schools, small businesses and hobbyists are starting to use them. Artists and crafters who normally before didn’t have access to tools like this are using them to make beautiful things. A quick search on Etsy yields hundreds of intricately cut felt designs, like this Helvetica Scarf:

This woman used a laser cutter to cut designs in her wedding dress. I don’t think cutting design this intricate would be possible through traditional means. Even if you used a razor blade the fabric would probably fray, and you would have to applique it.
 
Some people have even used laser cutters to cut meat...a new technique in molecular gastronomy?

This guy used his Kinect to capture his motion, then he used Processing to translate it into vector drawings and then cut the images out with a laser cutter to make a zoetrope. I think that the precision afforded by a laser cutter is very important if you trying to convincingly animate something that is cut-out.

The Tangible Media Group at MIT used a laser cutter to make printed circuit boards out of relatively everyday materials by putting masking tape over a sheet of metal, and burning away paths in the tape with a laser cutter to expose the metal. Then they coated the grooves in the tape in with conductive paint and took the tape off. I think they soldered the components on after that.

I guess none of these projects are particularly useful or world-saving, but they’re still pretty cool!   Finally, when I was browsing I came across this video, I think it speaks for itself.
lazzor music! from hypatia on Vimeo.