Introduction
For this project, we were individually tasked with creating two identical diamonds with an interior design, all cut from the water jet cutter. This is no simple feat as the pieces had to be identical. With this in mind, I started out to create my diamonds
First Step: Creating the File
The first step in this process was creating the diamond ai files. We were given a template, but we needed to scale the diamonds to the correct size and then create the interior vector design. At first, I had went with an Astros logo, but then realized that would be kind of difficult to do for this project considering the limitations of the water jet cutter. I settled on a design that is two little bears hugging each other. My first mistake of this project was thinking that I could just import the svg of the bears to the file and then export it to be cut. Boy was I wrong. I spent the next hour creating a vector outline of the design so that the water jet cutter could recognize the lines I wanted it to cut along. After this process, I scaled the bears in Adobe Illustrator, centered the bears on both pieces, and exported the file.
Second Step: Water Jet Cutting (Part 1)
The next day, I took my ai file to the water jet cutter, and, after struggling for a little bit, converted it to a dxf file and then uploaded it onto the Layout software for the machine. This is where I made my first mistake, one that would cause me to give up for the day: I didn’t specify the material type. Later, I found out that Eclipse had used the machine right before me and was cutting thick steel. I, on the other hand, was using aluminum. But, I didn’t realize this, so for 30 minutes I set up the water jet, placing my metal, cleaning up my part, specifying the start location and homing the cutter. I exported the layout to the cutting software, and, after getting everything set up, Amelia pointed out that my cut was going to take 89 minutes and use 20 lbs of sand. This is wrong. But, we couldn’t figure what was so wrong with it. Eventually, I realized that I wasn’t going to finish that day, so I decided to try again another day.
Third Step: Water Jet Cutting (Part 2)
I cam back the next day refreshed, ready to figure out what I had done wrong. When I entered the wet lab, Cris was in there, where she informed me that she had to change the material type. This was revolutionary to me, as it quickly made sense that that was my issue. After Cris finished up, I booted up the machine once again, made sure to change the material type, and then gave a dry run of the cut. I will say it took me a little time to figure out where exactly to start the cut and have it efficiently use the metal, but I got it eventually. I had finally cut two diamonds (I ran the path twice in two different areas), and when I held them up back to back, they were identical, meaning that I was ready for the fun step of the process.
Fourth Step: Sandblasting
The best step in the process: sandblasting. If you don’t know, sandblasting is a machine in which you have an air gun that pushed air and sand through it at very high psi, causing the metal you are blasting to smooth. An that is exactly what I did. I sandblasted each piece about 3 times, ensuring it smoothed all edges, faces, and corners. I will say that everything was good, except on one of my pieces, at the corner there is a little piece that juts out, I think that was leftover from the metal that I cut from the water jet cutter, but I didn’t know how to take it off without ruining the piece, so I smoothed it the best I could and called it good.
Fifth Step: Spray Painting
A week later, I went to spray paint my pieces. I was planning on powder coating, but for my work load at the time and the assignment I was following, I figured spray paint was sufficient. As I was spray painting, I was conscious of the fact that I should not over-saturate the metal and that I should be mindful of drying time. Which was my mistake when I picked up the piece too early and got a little fingerprint on the metal piece. So, I sandblasted it off and redid it and now it looks great. And I was done!
Reflection
This project was cool for me because I never have really worked with metal in this way before, so it was rewarding when I achieved success in something I was unfamiliar with. I really like how my piece turned out and I’m proud of my work. It’s not perfect, but I definitely gave it all I could. I also am very impressed at the precision of the water jet cutter as it masterfully cut out my intricate design, so marveling at the machinery was fun too.
Cost Estimate
- 6 hours of work for $15/hr: $90
- 2 metal diamonds, around $8-10
- Spray Paint: About $1.50, I assume we went through about 1/8 of a can in total
- About 1lb(?) of sand, $5
Total Cost: $106.50
