For this project, I was tasked with using the water jet cutter to cut out a diamond with a personalized design, then post-process it in 3 ways. 

Creating the Initial File

To start, I made an ai file of what I wanted to cut. My initial idea was to do the skyline of Boston. I found an image on the internet that I liked, imported it into ai, and traced it to make a shape the water jet cutter could follow.

Cutting the First Iteration

After designing my file, it was time to cut it out. I carefully followed the water jet cutter instructions, but when it came to setting a start point I struggled to get it to the point I wanted. When I finally had all the parts of my cut included, I ran a test run to determine where to place it, then attempted to cut out my design. Unfortunately, the way I had set up the cut meant that the outside was cut first, the inside design. Because of this, the diamond shifted during the interior cut, and my design was offset. I also didn’t take into account the thickness of the cutting line, so some of the small details of my design were lost.

Modifying my File and Trying Again

To try to resolve the issues of my easier cut, I reduced some of the complexity of my design and made it larger. However, when I tried to cut again I still couldn’t resolve the cutting order issue. The outside of the diamond cut first, and when the water jet cutter started cutting the interior cut, it actually flung the diamond completely away from where it started. I then tried separating my diamond into two separate runs of the water jet cutter, the design in the first run, and the diamond in the second run. This proved very difficult to line up, and I was again left with an offset design. 

Creating a New Design

I decided to scrap my initial design, and choose to cut a butterfly instead. I created an ai file, pulled it up on the water jet cutter, and wrestled with the start point until I could get it to cut the inside first. I then ran two successful cuts of my diamond.

Post-Processing

For my post-processing methods, I decided to sand-blast, spray paint, and apply a clear coat. I was initially going to lightly sand after spray painting but this started stripping paint immediately. The application of the clear coat is a little spotty. I think this is most likely due to the fact that I was using a can that was almost out, so the spray wasn’t super consistent. 

Cost

• Metal: 24” x 24” sheet and used roughly ⅛, $32.00/8 = $4.00
• Spray paint: 1/20 of a can, $10.00/20 = $0.50
• Clear coat: 1/20 of a can, $10.00/20 = $0.50
• Labor: 6 hours at $15.00/hr, $90.00
• Water Jet Cutter Operation: 1 hour at $30.00/hr, $30.00
• Total: $125.00

tAkeaways

I think the biggest thing I’m going to take away from this project is to know when to try something new. I struggled a lot with making my initial design work, and eventually I realized that it might just not be a good design for the tool I was using. I’m still happy with my final product even though it wasn’t what I first intended to make.