For the plasma cutting project, I decided to cut a Snoopy out of the diamond shape (I am clearly a fan if you could not tell of my previous projects).

The first step was to create the Adobe Illustrator file. I went to the OEDK and found a silhouette of Snoopy online.I input the file into Adobe Illustrator and then first did some image processing by doing an image trace, expanding the image, and then deleting the background. This allowed me to get a smooth image of Snoopy without the background so it could be easily plasma cut. I then moved this image onto the diamond file given on Canvas so that it looked like this.

The next step was to cut the file out using the plasma cutter. I was able to get the first Snoopy cut during the teaching session with the TA, but because of the time constraint only one file was cut. The other two were cut a week later. The machine was fairly straightforwar dto setup because of the printed instructions and the TA session.The file cut smoothly each time on the first try. The cut files appeared as the follwing:

     

 

After cutting the Snoopy out, I need to angle grind the dross away. There was a lot left as visible on the metal. I clamped the metal down to the table and spent about 45 minutes angle grinding. This was the most tedious part of the whole project since there was so much dross to remove. The metal also got super hot and became difficult to handle at times. After this I clamped it down again and used a file to remove other extra material, mostly on the inside. As you can see I also made three copies so everything took 1.5 times longer than it could have. After angle grinding the pieces looked significantly better.

   

The next step was sandblasting to get an even, consistent texture and finish across the metal. I turned on the vacuum and closed the hood. It was difficult to see through the “transparent” panel and move the gloves around, but the experience was still manageable. This was also pretty straightforward. I had to go over some parts a few extra times to get it all smoothed out, so the whole process took around 35 minutes. This is the comparison and result.

Finally, for the 3rd step of post processing I used the orbital sander at 220 grit to get a nice finish to the metal. I clamped the metal to the table and sanded away. This was also straightforward and took around 20 minutes.

 

 

I used a white coat of spray paint to finish of the job. I coated one side, waited, then coated the other side. A small piece of black fleck landed in my paint which was a bit annoying. I tried to cover it up with more paint but it didn’t help the situation much.

 

Overall this project was a very straightforward process as I did not have too much difficulty with any of the tooling. I labeled my diamonds and I was done.

Lastly, I cleaned up my work area:

 

Cost analysis:

Sheet metal (Amazon): 12″x12″x1/8″ = $12

Metal Processing Tech Wage: $25/hour * 2.5 hours = $62.5

Metal machining shop membership: 75$/month * 1 month = $75

Spray Paint bottle: $22

Total cost = $171.50