Goal: cut a metal piece using the plasma cutter

Time:  9/30, 10/6, 10/7

Creation process

1. Illustrator
2. Plasma Cut
3. Edge Grinder
4. Sandblaster
5. Sandpaper
6. Paint & incident!

Illustrator

I was born in the year of the rabbit, so I want to create a piece that represents my energetic & independent personality. Soon I found the image I wanted and turned it into an AI file to put in illustrator. Once that was done, I downloaded the file and moved on to the plasma cutter.

Plasma Cut

I did my cutting with my partner Tracy. I decided to use a 90 inches/min speed setting for a cleaner cut with fewer slags. Since my design was much simpler than I thought it would be, the cutting part went really well. I had some challenges figuring out where I should place the jogging point to start cutting, but with Tracy and Joe’s help, I proceeded smoothly. As I thought I was almost done with the cutting, unexpectedly one of my pieces fell into the rusty water so I have no choice but to cut a new one.

 

Edge grinder

This part also went smoothly, since I used a higher speed setting, I only had a few slags that took me a while to cut off. But I did learn a lesson that in the future if I wish to film during edge grinding, I better put my phone a little further away, or else the sparks will leave marks on my screen. But there were some parts that I pressed a bit harshly which left some marks on the edges, so I decided to slightly round the edges using the edge grinder and then use sandpaper later to smooth it out.

Sandblaster

Because I wish to paint the pieces later, I decided to sandblast the pieces to give a more smooth surface that is better for the later painting process. I sandblast ¾ of my piece so I can have a comparison of the before and after.

Sandpaper

I used 22-grit sandpaper to smooth out the surface and edges, including the inside of the cut. It took me around 20~30 mins to fully sand off all sharpness for one piece, so due to time limitations, I only sanded the two pieces that I would like to proceed with.

Paint

I thought this section was going to be the easiest part, but it became the most difficult part among all the works. And I’ll describe this section via challenges I faced during this process.

1. 1st try: Applied too much product

I wish to create some contrast on my piece while having a smooth surface that does not look flat. So I applied A LOT of paint on my work hoping that it will add richness to the surface.

However, it was too much product. It took me more than 2 hours to dry the piece and there’s even a “3d” rabbit left on the board after drying. Clearly, this did not work, and because pink paint was too much that I can even peel it off after it dried. Although I was disappointed, I decided to start it over.

1. 2nd try: wrong spraying method & did not sand off the surface smoothly before paint

Before I even started the new try, I made a really big mistake that I did not sand off the surface properly. I was in a rush to start the new drying process so I just looked at the surface and thought it was pretty smooth then applied the new layer directly. To cover the pink, I used black spray, but here I made another mistake: I sprayed really close to the metal and I sprayed it several times worrying I did not cover everything. As a result, the cost of the mistakes was that I waited extra long for the drying process and the surface was nowhere near smooth. In fact, the surface had several bumps and was really rough.

1. 3rd try: learned the lesson and start over

After the first 2 attempts, I learned to be patient and accept the previous mistakes. I used a 40 grit to sand off all the heavy and the gummy texture paint, then used a 2000 grit sandpaper to smooth out all the surfaces. Then I proceeded to spray paint. Listening to Darrel’s suggestion, I sprayed one side of the two pieces in matte black, then after 30 mins, I came back and did the same thing to the other side of the two pieces. Then I left for church and decided to come back in the evening to finish everything off. Because it was already Friday, I have a morning flight back home the next day and I won’t be back till Wednesday. Since I have basically everything done, I left at ease but did not foresee that a storm was coming my way.

1. 4th try: An INCIDENT and a new start over

When I came back in the evening, I could not find my pieces anymore! When I eventually found it, there was only one piece left and it was painted by someone else in another color!

I was really shocked and disappointed, the person even repeated my mistake from the 2nd try, they spayed too much paint!

Since it was really late already I immediately proceeded to the sanding process. Luckily, the gold paint hadn’t fully dried out yet, so it only took me around 40 mins to get everything off. Then I repeated the spraying process and flipped the piece to paint the other side after 25 mins. I was preparing to head home to grab the extra pieces, but still I did not lose hope of finding the other piece. As I tried to grab the paint for the other side, I noticed that some people put their pieces on the metal shelves to dry along with some wooden bookshelves. Among them, in a corner, I noticed an odd drying piece that looks like my metal bunny hidden inside a bookshelf! I took it down and it was clearly the other piece that I was looking for!

Hooray Hooray! Then I repeat the same process and eventually finish the two pieces and turn it in right after I am done. And here is my final work: phew~One thing I should have thought of is that I need to apply primer before painting to protect the metal.But over all, really happy that I successfully pulled this off. Not just happy about the work itself, but also proud of myself for remaining calm and clear during unexpected situations.

Cost estimate:

Lowe’s 24-in x 36-in Steel Solid Sheet Metal: 14.48$

Black matte paint: 5.98$

Overhead: 10$

Variable cost: 20$*7hrs =140$

Machine use: 20$ * 2hrs =40$

Total= 210.46$