For our metal cutting assignment, I was inspired by a swiss-cheesed metal piece we passed around in class. However, I like my projects to have a certain amount of whimsy or absurdity that warrants a bit more creativity. Soooo, I added a rat!

Next, I cut it out using the plasma cutter! Initially, there was something wrong with my file, but the wonderful lab technician Robert was able to fix it in my Illustrator file with remarkable speed. From there, everything ran smoothly.

Onto the post-processing! First, I used the angle grinder to smooth out the goofy edges of the cuts. Then, I sandblasted. After that, I powder-coated, but it didn’t go on thick enough or evenly enough, and I couldn’t figure out why. I decided to bake it as it was to see how it would turn out. After consulting Professor Bisesti, we concluded that the powder coating didn’t work properly because there wasn’t enough powder in the container while I was spraying it. To get a better finish, she suggested I spraypaint over it, so I did!

Finally, my rat cheese was complete!!! Here’s the cost breakdown:

• Labor: 5hours x $7.25 = $36.25
• Metal: $11.74 for 1sqft
• Powder coat: $15/lb at 30sqft/lb = $2 for 4sqft surface area
• Spraypaint: $8.89/15oz at 20sqft/oz = $0.12 for 4sqft

Total = $50.11

I enjoyed getting creative with this project. 10/10 would do it again. Here are all my clean workspaces!