(Rod Sterling Voice)
Fellow engineers, enemies, and those who have yet to make up their minds, and welcome to another merry walk into the world of creation. This is a story of destruction, fire, growth, and stuff.
I made the intermediate version of this project, with 2D Hinges and Lap Joints, with my working partner Megan Enriquez. Overall, besides the combustion part, I enjoy laser engraving and cutting, and am already working on a personal project involving the laser cutter.
Beginnings
I began by editing the file for the 2D hinge. I knew for sure I wanted to make the 2D hinge from the get-go, because the one that was in the laser cutting room was broken, and I thought it would be neat if I could have a piece of my own work put on display in the OEDK.
This breakage served as one of the most impressive pieces of foreshadowing I have seen thus far in my 21 years.
The cut itself didn’t take very long, and I had high hopes that things would be over quickly. I was absolutely dead wrong, of course. On my first cut, the hinges came out burnt and brittle. Many of the ribs of the hinge fell out as I removed the cut wood from the tray. I attributed this to the slow cut and weak power, which i sped up and increased on my next cut.
Tragically, it was too fast, and failed to perforate the wood.
A glorious volta
I slowed down the speed slightly and decreased the DPI, which yielded: Success! I had a cut. Huzzah! Some of of the supports for the hinges remained though, and I delicately removed them. I repeated the cut, and found myself halfway to the end of my project.
Feeling victorious, I deposited my hinges on the 210 table.
This was revealed to be a bad decision.
Something about icarus (fire included)
After the Thursday 210 class, I went to check on my hinges to discover that they had been broken. I knew not why or by who, but I still felt pretty terrible. Additionally, someone had cut the majority of the wood I had reserved for my project. It did not feel great. I tried to reproduce the 2D hinges five separate times on the new wood, and was unable, almost completely emptying the water kept near the laser cutter. It was especially disheartening when the wood caught on fire for almost the entire cut and didn’t even perforate the wood. Sigh.
Lap Joints
I cut the lap joints for my project in a single job after editing the file to reflect the measurements of the new wood and my cutting specifications, but the hole in my heart where the 2D hinges once sat remains. Alas!
Work Cost
| CATEGORY | ITEM | COST ($ USD) | SOURCE |
| Materials | Plytanium 1/4-in x 4-ft x 8-ft Pine Sanded Plywood | 29 | Lowe’s |
| Labor | Woodshop Technician | 20 | Salary.com |
| Overhead | Laser cutter use | 80 (for 4 hours) | Xometry.com |
| Emotional Damages | 2 Broken prototypes and 3 fires | priceless | my shattered heart |
| TOTAL: $129 |
