For this lab, we were tasked with plasma cutting and post processing the state of our choice. I picked my home state of Missouri and began by loading the file into the plasma cutter. The plasma cutter was really quick, and I was extremely impressed with how accurate it was. I worked with a plasma cutter in high school, and I remember it leaving much more dross than the one here at the OEDK.

After retrieving the plasma cut pieces from the cutter, I began the post-processing of my piece. My first step was to remove the dross. I put my piece in a clamp and used a dremel to grind off all the excess.

After dremelling off the dross, I wanted to clean up the edges to make them more smooth. For this, I began by using a file on the straight parts. After filing the straight edges, I used some sand paper to further smooth them. For the curved part of the state, I used a smaller dremel bit to get in the little curves. Overall, I was very satisfied with how smooth my edges ended up. I was also surprised that sandpaper was strong enough to actually smooth out the edges of the metal piece.

For my final bit of post-processing, I experimented with some spray paint. I initially tried some light teal spray paint, but it wasn’t exactly the look I was hoping for, so I ended up washing it off with some goo-gone and sand paper and going for a more calm black matte finish. The initial spray paint I used was hard to get a smooth surface, and I was a lot happier with the matte finish.

 Final Design

Overall, this lab showed me that you can spend just a couple minutes getting a piece plasma cut, but it requires a lot more time to finish it into an acceptable final product. With the laser cutter, it didn’t require much post-processing at all, if any. However, in order to utilize the plasma cutter, it is necessary that you complete some sort of post processing.