To start this assignment, I first had to design my diamond. I ended up deciding that I wanted a star to be cut out of the middle, so I combined the given diamond template with a star from the noun project. I used adobe illustrator tools to make this shape, and downloaded the file with the correct settings for the plasma cutter.
cut file
Once I had my vector file, I set it up on the plasma cutter. I had some issues with orienting the metal sheet so that the entirety of my cut was on the metal and not overlapping with someone else’s previous cut. I eventually did get three of my design cut out of steel.
after angle grinding
Once I had these, I began post processing. I started by angle grinding the slag off of the edges of the diamond and the star. I ran into a problem with the slag and other imperfections produced by the plasma cutting of the star, since a lot of it was on the inner edges that could not be reached by the angle grinder. 
After this, I moved onto filing. I used a file to clean up the inner edges, and I found this helped a lot.
file for inner edges
I also sanded the surface of the diamonds in an attempt to get it shiny. However, I found it was too difficult to use the orbital sander- the lower grit sandpaper pieces were all really worn out and kept coming unstuck from the device. Instead of sanding with the goal of making a finished product, I then sanded with the goal of making the surface textured enough for a spray paint coat, which I did next.
orbital sander
I chose a black color of spray paint because I liked how it looked dark in contrast to the star- like the sky at night. I spray painted both sides of the pieces, letting them dry in between. After that, I chose my favorite two for submission!
spray paint setup
first side spray paint
sitting out to dry 🙂
Overall, for post processing, I used the following steps, which I also labelled with tape on my final product
- angle grind
- file
- sand (80 grit)
- spray paint
Cost analysis
- labor- $60
- 4 hrs x $15/hr
- material- $17
- 1/3 of a 25 in x 36 in $42 piece from Home Depot ($14)
- 1/4 can of $8 spray paint from Home Depot ($2)
- sheet of 80 grit sandpaper from Home Depot ($1)
- total- $77
