Originally, I was very excited for this homework assignment, as the plasma cutter is the first machine that we have covered that I did not already have experience using. However, this homework, while thoroughly enjoyable, really tested my patience.
I started by creating an Adobe Illustrator file for my diamond. I chose to go with a very simplistic design to reduce the likelihood that my cut would fail, while increasing my chances for the best replicability. I found a PNG lightning bolt online and used Image Trace to turn it into a vector and incorporated the silhouette into the design. After tinkering with the placement and sizing, I then export the file as a DXF and was ready to plasma cut.
Using the plasma cutter was very cool and fairly easy. I simply followed the provided instructions for the plasma cutter, and this portion of the process went very smoothly. There was a slight hiccup with the sizing since the horizontal length was supposed to be set to 5 inches, but my diamond was at angle, so that horizontal distance was actually giant. Luckily, the TA noticed this inaccuracy when we were doing a dry run with only the laser, so no metal was wasted. After the dimensions were adjusted, we were able to run the cut. Overall, cutting out the pieces was systematic, which I enjoyed. The worst part was sticking my arm into the gross water to fish out my cuts.
The pieces came out well cut and the internal shape was solid, however there was a significant amount of dross. To get rid of the excess metal, I used an angle grinder to smooth both side of each piece. Using the angle grinder also allowed me to remove a good bit of rust and discoloration from the metal. Once both pieces were smooth to my liking, I put them in the sandblaster to remove any superficial impurities to make the coloring of the metal even. Once the metal was proper prepared, it was time for coloring.
My initial plan was to use the powder coating gun, as I had never used a tool like that before. However, setting up the equipment was very time consuming and ultimately, I could not get the gun to work. After much frustration, I decided that spray painting would be the best option.
I tried to get creative with the spraying, selecting various blues and purples with the hope to create a galaxy-like design on the metal pieces. I believe I did so successfully, but after remembering the criteria of the pieces being identical, I realized that the galaxy had to go.
Back to the sand blaster I went to get rid of the many layers of colors I had created. Once I was back to a clean slate, I decided to go a simpler route of spray painting the metal a single color. Navy blue was the best choice, to ensure that the remnants of galaxy were hidden. Spray painting the metal was not a difficult task, but my lack of patience to allow each side to properly dry caused a few imperfections. In total, I sprayed three layers of navy blue and two layers of matte topcoat. When I finished spraying painting, the metal pieces did not look too bad.
After letting them set overnight, more of the imperfections started to show, such as little specs of color picked up from the cardboard and the indents from the shelf, I set the pieces on. I was slightly disappointed in the way the pieces came out, but this homework taught me that I need to be more patient, reread the assignment before beginning, and pay closer attention to the setup of equipment when we are taught in class.
Cost Breakdown: Raw Materials * Steel Plates - $0.28 per inch, around 50 inches used = $14.00 * Spray paint - $7.00 x 2 = $14.00 Labor * 4 hours x 5.00/hour = $20.00 Tools * Machinery and equipment owned by and housed in the OEDK Total: $48.00
Clean workspaces pictured below:
