The intricacy of the manufacturing process has always eluded me. I never appreciated the work that goes into producing the objects I see everyday. A prime example is the steel diamonds that were showcased to us in class. I handled every single one of them, and I smugly critiqued most of them, deeming them “imperfect”. However, I was never cognizant of the work required to produce a “perfect” diamond, assuming one can exist. It was only when I embarked on this journey that I started appreciating the fine, minute details of the showcased diamonds and the work that occurred behind the curtains. If I were to describe the diamonds I produced, I would call them “enlightening”. Due to this intrinsic value, I have bestowed upon them the name “Diamonds in the Rough”.
I started off with a blank file on Adobe Illustrator. The white canvas was inviting me to permeate it with all sorts of shapes and colors. I imported the diamond files from Canvas and started brainstorming intriguing patterns. I ultimately decided on a basic pattern: a sun. To embellish them, I would spray paint them with colors of a sunset weaving together into a spiral of flame. I could have imported the sun file from Noun Project, but no, not this bright fellow. I meticulously placed every ray of sunlight by myself for the simple reason that I forgot I could import it. Oh well, it was good practice with Illustrator. I also filled the diamond with the final color I wanted to achieve.
The following day, I went to the plasma cutter. The steps were fool proof to follow. That does not mean that it was smooth sailing, though. In a noble attempt to be sustainable, I tried preserving as much metal as I could. However, my attempts were unfruitful, if not adversary, as I ended up wasting more metal. I like to convince myself that I at least tried…
I also had to tweak the Adobe file because some of the sun’s rays were too close to the sun’s disk, and the plasma cutter would cut right through. After all the necessary modifications and retrials, I was successful in producing 5 crude diamonds.
While one side was somewhat clean (apart from the rust that formed because I washed the diamonds and did not dry them properly), it was a mask that concealed the side beneath it. Beads of slag seemed to ooze from every edge, and there was one way of eliminating it: the surface grinder. While I was timid using the surface grinder during my first time in class, I was forceful and purposeful during the post-processing of my diamonds. Sparks flew in all directions, but that did not even slightly perturb my focus. I used the grinder on all 5 diamonds in case I messed up further post-processing for any one of them. An actual ray from the sun struck the rays on the diamond, leaving a glimmering streak on the newly smooth surfaces.
It was time for sandblasting – wait, scratch that. To my phenomenal fortune, the sandblaster was broken. I had to come up with another way to give the surface a clean finish. I opted to replace the “blaster” in sandblaster with “paper”. Yes, I had to sand the surfaces to achieve a smooth surface. I used the orbital sander on only 2 of the diamonds in the interest of time. It took a while, but the surface was so satisfying to touch with the tips of my fingers afterwards.
It was time for filing – wait, scratch that too. I was planning to file the rays to remove any jagged edges, but I failed to realize one important aspect of the rays until it was too late: the rays were too thin for the filers. There was no way around this, and I had to accept what I had. If the final product could be improved in any way, it would be by fixing the rays; I do not know how to accomplish that, though.
Before spray painting, an idea flickered in my brain. Since I cut out a hole in the diamond, I could glue the bearing to the hole. The bearing would then be fastened to a rod that is attached to a piece of wood, and I would laser cut my name and the steps of the manufacturing process on the wood. I was proud of the idea, and I was almost about to execute it until I encountered a problem: there were no bearings. They were restocked the next day, but that was when I realized the bearings are in limited supply and are needed for the ENGI 210 midterm projects, which were being worked on contemporarily. Hence, I ultimately and reluctantly decided to abstain from utilizing bearings in my design. Despite not bringing my idea to life, I am still proud of coming up with a creative way to portray my diamonds.
Finally, I picked up my diamonds and went outside to spray paint. Following the recurrent theme of things not working in my favor, I could not find the spray paint colors that I wanted. Most colors were simply not restocked. I ended up settling on a different color pattern: a sun set on a night sky peppered with shimmering stars of white. I find the juxtaposition just as beautiful as the original color scheme choice. Spray painting was simple, but I had to do both sides, and the instructions on the spray paint can stated that I had to wait 4 hours for the black paint to dry. Other than being a frustrating inconvenience as I had to go back to the OEDK after 4 hours twice, spray painting was a fun experience.
After the paint was completely dry, I gently carried my diamonds inside and labeled them with my name and the steps I went through to produce them. I did so by applying tape on one side of each diamond.
This project has taught me how to accept any difficulties I face along the way and how to appropriately adapt, especially with the failure of the sandblaster, the imperfections of the rays, and the absence of desired spray paint colors. As I said in the beginning, I also learned to appreciate everyone else’s diamonds, as I knew what work had to be done to achieve such levels of proficiency.
MONEY TIMEEEEE 🤑
- 1 steel metal sheet: $14
- 1 spray Paint Can: $6.48 – 2 cans were used, and a very rough estimation of 5% was used from each, resulting in a cost of $0.65
- Labor: $10/hour (equal to what I get payed for other jobs at Rice) – a total of 4 hours were spent working on this project, resulting in a cost of $40
All the equipment used in the OEDK will not be factored in to the final cost, as I used them all for free. I would feel like stealing if I did so. As such, both diamonds have a total cost of $54.65.
Final cost of one diamond: $27.33. This is my cheapest product by far, which makes sense because all the hours of labor were spent producing multiple items simultaneously, so the price of each individual item is less. This is how mass production reduces the price of each individual product (along with all the capital investment being spent on producing all the items simultaneously).
brianbishara
