For this week’s homework, I designed 2 identical diamonds with the Georgia outline cut out. The first step of this process was to use Adobe Illustrator to create the actual file design. Initially, I wanted to cut out the design shown in Figure 1, but after discussing this with a Lab Assistant, they said that the cuts may not come out as clean, due to the plasma cutter not being as accurate and how close some of the lines are to each other. Following this, I scrapped the design and put the outline of my home state instead.
Figure 1: Initial Design I Wanted
I decided to make my diamonds out of steel as the material is magnetic and easier to post-process. I transferred my newly updated Illustrator file into a G-code file and started the plasma cutting. After cutting, my two pieces looked like this.
Figure 2: Outcome of Plasma Cut Shape
As you can see in the picture, there was a lot of dross and debris on the outline of each side. To completely eliminate this melted steel, I used an angle grinder to grind down the dross, which greatly improved its visual appearance.
Figure 3: Piece after Angle Grinding
Figure 4: Both Pieces After Angle Grinding
After angle grinding, all of the dross was gone and the diamond was beginning to take shape. Now the diamond was much smoother to touch. The second method of post-processing I did was to use the sandblaster to clean the surface of the diamond and remove any rust and other residue that may have attached to the metal. The sandblaster was really easy to use and it was very satisfying seeing the metal change color and become much more uniform and smoother to touch.
Figure 5: Diamonds after Sand Blasting
As you can see from Figure 5, the diamonds look so much nicer and will make the spray paint adhere to the metal much easier. Finally, my last post-processing technique was to spray paint the diamonds to give them a nicer look overall. I originally wanted to spray them a nice Peach color to reference how Georgia is the peach state, but after looking around the OEDK and in the spray paint ENGI 210 box, I couldn’t find a peach color. I decided to instead spray them orange, my favorite color!
Figure 6: Spray Painting the Diamonds
I spray painted the diamonds and let them dry for a few hours. However, when I came back and tried to remove the diamonds from the cardboard, small pieces of the cardboard got stuck on the diamond and were very hard to remove. I used an alcohol wipe and started to rub at it, hoping the cardboard debris would come off. I was able to remove most of it, but it did mess up the overall coat of paint. To solve this, I took a scrap piece of wood and screwed in two nails so that the two shapes could hang as I gave them another coat of paint.
Figure 7: Diamonds Drying after Second Coat
Overall, I am really happy about how this project turned out. I was a little hesitant about using the plasma cutter before starting this homework, but I really enjoyed the entire process of cutting and post-processing. In terms of cost:
Labor: $15/hour * 5 hours = $75
Steel Sheet: ~ $10 for a 6″ x 12″ sheet
Plasma Cutter: $150 rental for 5 hours
Angle Grinder: $27
Sand Blaster: $180
Spray Paint: $6
Total: $448
sources:
https://www.harborfreight.com/8-amp-4-12-in-trigger-grip-angle-grinder-64742.html?ccdenc=eyJjb2RlIjoiMjU4NTU1OTUiLCJza3UiOiI2NDc0MiIsImlzIjoiMjYuOTkifQ%3D%3D&utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=21026926219&campaignid=21026926219&utm_content=159283969175&adsetid=159283969175&product=64742&store=617&gad_source=1&gclid=CjwKCAiAlcyuBhBnEiwAOGZ2SxcON6rZNVNX_UA9Nup82XaSYeUMy5R2uto-JEsGl49ZO_qmY7BexxoCTusQAvD_BwE
https://www.harborfreight.com/30-lb-capacity-benchtop-abrasive-blast-cabinet-59477.html?ccdenc=eyJjb2RlIjoiMjU4NTU1OTUiLCJza3UiOiI1OTQ3NyIsImlzIjoiMTc5Ljk5In0%3D&utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=21026926219&campaignid=21026926219&utm_content=158962277917&adsetid=158962277917&product=59477&store=617&gad_source=1&gclid=CjwKCAiAlcyuBhBnEiwAOGZ2S6Ojk12pS7BcN5q7VGONgqoYE66APWpbDE3VgCB8oN77CkBkgnNjcRoCdWUQAvD_BwE
https://www.walmart.com/ip/Real-Orange-Rust-Oleum-American-Accents-2X-Ultra-Cover-Gloss-Spray-Paint-12-oz/475902813?wmlspartner=wlpa&selectedSellerId=0&wl13=5959&adid=22222222277475902813_160805772391_20959796377&wmlspartner=wmtlabs&wl0=&wl1=g&wl2=c&wl3=501107745824&wl4=pla-306310554666&wl5=9027580&wl6=&wl7=&wl8=&wl9=pla&wl10=8175035&wl11=local&wl12=475902813&wl13=5959&veh=sem_LIA&gclsrc=aw.ds&&adid=22222222237475902813_160805772391_20959796377&wl0=&wl1=g&wl2=c&wl3=501107745824&wl4=pla-306310554666&wl5=9027580&wl6=&wl7=&wl8=&wl9=pla&wl10=8175035&wl11=local&wl12=475902813&veh=sem&gad_source=1&gclid=CjwKCAiAlcyuBhBnEiwAOGZ2S0zi9hfuhCevAjeTUN-xpdApnwz4C6YieF2Ec6EEXcsi5h6Fy5kBrhoC9a4QAvD_BwE
