For our final project, we are asked to design and construct a machine using the laser cutter, water jet cutter, and the vinyl cutter, 3 machines that cut materials from 2D vector files.
For our design, we decide to create a machine that has Mario from Super Mario Bros move up and down from a green pipe, and a cloud behind him that swings left and right.
We decided to use machines number 93 and 100 from 507movements.com to allow us to create the motion we want from the user turning the handle.
The first step we did after conceptualizing the machine and deciding on the mechanisms was to roughly model the device in a 3D CAD in order for us to get the dimensions of the parts we know will fit together.
Using the dimensions from the 3D model, we drew the required pieces for our machine using Adobe Illustrator with assistance from makeabox.io for the main body.
After we are done, we laser cut the pieces out of cardboard to construct our low fidelity prototype.
This was a good proof of concept for us.Next, we laser cut the pieces out of plywood and acrylic for our high fidelity prototype. Once assembled, we noticed that Mario’s movement was not fluid, and there was a lot of friction due to misalignment of the Mario rod. Therefore we made changes to the design adding guides on the top, and also on the axis of rotation of the could as a safety precaution. 
With these changes, and sanding, the assembled machine is now functional. (Video of mechanism)
The next step is to water jet cut the actual Mario, and cut the vinyl stickers that would go on it and the cloud. This was done using the vinyl cutting machine and the ProtoMax water jet cutter.
The last step is to finish the wood with a dark walnut stain and paint the tube green with acrylic paint in order to add protection to the wood.
The final result is shown in the video linked here.
Costs:
- Plywood: $39
- Sheet metal – $9
- Sandpaper – $13.5
- Acrylic Sheet – $3
- Acrylic Paint + Wood Stain + Brush – ~$20
- Cardboard – $5
- Wood Dowel – $15
- Vinyl Stickers sheets – ~$5
Equipment cost:
- Water-Jet cutter ($30/hour) – $30
- Laser cutter ($20/hour) – $60
- Vinyl Cutter ($10/hour) – $10
- Adobe Illustrator -$240
- (Computer)
Labor cost:
- 10 hours – $100
Total Cost: $550
Failures:
- The final box did not fit together very tightly, so we had to glue the sides together.
- We tried spray painting the tube, but it dried unevenly so we sanded it down and painted it with acrylic paint.
- There was a lot of misalignment in our low fidelity prototype, so we had to add additional guides.
Conclusion: It was a fun project that took a while to complete!
Team Members: Kung N. & Chris Heuser
