Homework F4: Laser Cutting

I used the laser cutter at Nolop for a project where my first task was selecting an image of a dog. I chose this image because I love animals, and I found this particular puppy cute. I used a PNG format so that I could isolate the dog without including any background in the laser-cutting process. After selecting the image, I uploaded it to Adobe Illustrator, which is used to prepare files for laser cutting.
Since the image was originally in color, I needed to convert it to grayscale, as we were using the laser cutter without any painting involved.

The next step was creating an outline around the dog sketch to guide the laser in cutting only the outer shape. I did this by copying the grayscale image and inverting the colors, giving the appearance of a shadow of the dog. Essentially, what this did was flip the light and dark areas so, that where the original image had lighter areas, they became dark, and the darker areas became light. This removed the detailed characteristics and allowed me to focus on the outer shape. By inverting the colors, the details of the dog became simplified, allowing me to focus on just the outer boundary rather than all the intricate details. This also helped ensure the laser would cut along the outer edges, giving me a clean, defined outline to work with.

As I hovered the cursor over the image, Illustrator showed the different nodes. I cut all the internal nodes to simplify the design and leave only a thin outer line of the dog’s silhouette. Then, I overlaid this outline on top of the original sketch and changed the outline’s stroke color to red (RGB: 255, 0, 0), which is the setting used for a deeper laser cut.

When I tried to transfer this to the laser cutter software, I encountered an issue. The software only recognized the sketch and not the outline, so I decided to perform the cut in two steps. I ran the sketch first and then adjusted the software to align with key points on the wooden sheet, like the dog’s tail and the top of its head. This helped me position the laser more accurately, as I couldn’t see the sketch directly on the cutting machine’s interface. After aligning everything, I performed the deep cut around the sketch to create a three-dimensional outline of the dog.

For the next task, I wanted to assemble a 3D model, so I downloaded a DXF file which had premade templates specialized for laser cut . I found that this webs I repeated the same process as with the dog, although this time the house’s outline was already provided. I changed the stroke color to red for a deep cut.

After retrieving the laser-cut pieces, I used a specialized wood glue available at Nolop to assemble the parts. Initially, I had trouble keeping the walls upright because I had only glued them on the sides, and the glue was still wet, causing the walls to collapse. To fix this, I attached each wall to the base, which provided better stability and allowed the structure to stay upright as the glue dried.

Overall, the print and assembly of the 3d house was successful and now my dog has a home!

Creating products with complex patterns, internal channels, or organic shapes which are challenging to do with conventional techniques like milling or lathe is a perfect application for laser cutting. For example, the accuracy of laser cutting is advantageous for designs with minute features, including lattice structures, custom-fit medical equipment, or beautiful patterns. In contrast to milling, which functions best with conventional geometric forms, laser cutting may produce very accurate freeform, complicated, or curved outlines.

When working with thin materials that require intricate cuts or patterns that are hard to duplicate with traditional subtractive methods, or when producing items where speed and fine details are critical, like jewelry, prototypes, or architectural models, you would use laser cutting over traditional technologies.