Introduction
For this assignment I made a diamond! Not a real one of course, but nonetheless a cool one. To start with, I was given a diamond shape of predetermined size. The assignment was to cut out a shape of choice from this diamond, using the water jet cutter. The water jet cutter is an awesome tool that can cut through almost anything. Ironically, a water jet cannot cut through diamond.
Production
First, I had to choose a shape. And after browsing on the noun project, I quickly found a shape that I liked. After overlaying this file onto the diamond shape, I dowloaded it and opened it on the water jet cutter. Once the file was on the water jet cutter, there were a few simple steps to set up the cut. This included selecting a starting point for the water jet to start cutting, as well as moving the nozzle to the right height, and adjusting the water level. After all these preparations were complete, I could start cutting.
The material I used is 0.12 inch thick aluminium. One the first try, the water jet cutter operated smoothly, which resulted in a good cut. At that point, all I had to do was to place the nozzle of the water jet to a new “home” position and start the cut again. This way I was able to create 3 identical pieces.
My first cut
Post-Processing
Then, I continued with post-processing. First, I used the sandblaster to create the matte finish. This went quite well, and gave a really clean result. To continue post-processing I thought about other things I could add to give it a better look. I decided to try painting. However, the painted finish took away the “raw” feeling of the aluminium. Luckily, I had two back-ups which I chose to keep that way.
Cost Analysis
The time I spent on this project amounts to about 2 hours, at a minimum wage of $7.25 that would be $14.50. Furthermore, I found a sheet of aluminum to be around $20 on amazon. However, I only used about 1/8 of the material, which would cut down the cost to $2.5. Finally, I estimate the machining cost of the water jet to be $5 (15 min. at $20/hour) and the sandblaster to be $10 (10 min. at $60/hour). All in all, the cost of this project comes down to: $32.
