This assignment has been my favorite thus far in the semester. It was an enjoyable experience learning how to use the plasma cutter and learning various finishing techniques. Refining the appearance and texture of your work is one of the most rewarding feelings and I think that this is the assignment where I gained the most knowledge from.
The first step to creating my personalized diamond was creating the adobe illustrator file, DiamondTilingShape-2c3ijdn
Diamond shape that I created
First attempt at creating my diamond shapes
Next, following the plasma cutting instructions on the OEDK website, I cut out my first two diamonds. As you can see on the left picture, the center shape of the diamonds were not cut in one path, rather in 10 individual paths. This is made evident by the fact that the entry points can be seen as little circles along the inner path. Unsatisfied with the appearance of the first set of diamonds, I fixed the file in the Torchmate program and merged the paths of the inside shape. This made the
The second attempt at cutting my diamonds after merging the cut paths in the center of the diamond
laser cutter cut the inside shape in one continuous stroke rather than 9 individual line segments. The picture to the right shows that this worked much better than the first cut since the inner shape of the second sets is smoother and does not show the entry points of the plasma cutter.
Diamond on the right is after using the angle grinder to remove slag
After plasma cutting a sheet of metal, one will notice that there is much residue, or slag, left behind as a result of the melted metal. Using the angle grinder, I removed the slag from my diamonds, leaving the edges feeling much nicer than before, although they were not yet smooth. The angle grinder overall helps to smooth out the surface of a metal so that the sanding process is made easier.
Rounding off the corners and edges of the diamonds
After removing the slag from the diamonds, I first proceeded by smoothing out the faces of my diamonds with an orbital grinder. As we learned in class, a better finish is obtained when one begins with very low grit and gradually increases the grit in order to smooth out the surface of a material. Beginning with 80 grit and finishing with 220 grit, I used the orbital grinder to create a smooth finish along the faces of my diamonds. However, while the faces were smooth and
After using the orbital grinder to smooth out the faces
soft, the corners and edges were still sharp and pointy. To combat this, I would use both, sandpaper and the belt grinder. Using the belt grinder, I rounded out the corners of the diamonds in order to reduce how sharp they were, and then I used increasingly greater grit sandpaper to smooth the edges of my personalized diamond.
After using the buffing machine
Not yet satisfied with the smoothness of my diamonds, I sought to get rid of the sandpaper marks which were left on the diamond faces by the orbital grinder. With the assistance of a lab tech, I learned how to use the buffing machine. I must admit that buffing the diamonds was one of the most satisfying experiences so far. As you press the metal against the buffing machine, you can observe as it becomes shinier and clear of most of the original sandpaper marks.
AI file used to cut out the vinyl sticker
One of the final steps for this assignment was marking down the steps that we went through for post-processing our diamonds on one side of each diamond. I decided that I wanted to do this by spray painting the letters onto the finished product. Using the adobe illustrator file to the left as well as the vinyl cutter in the OEDK, I cut out the shape of my diamond as well as the steps that it took to process the assignment. The process of taking out all of the letters (that didn’t come off at first) with an Exacto knife was
Using the vinyl cut sticker as a stencil for my steps
the most tedious part of this assignment. Although it would have been much more efficient to use the label machine in the front of the OEDK, I truly believed that this method of marking down my steps would look excellent as a final product. After placing the letter-less sticker on my diamonds, I proceeded to carefully spray paint the words black on my diamond, using the sticker as a make-shift stencil.
My two finished diamonds
The very final step that I took to finish my diamonds was applying various coats of clear, protective coating. I applied three coats to each side of each diamond to protect them from rusting and getting dirty or scratched up. Although the overall shininess of the diamonds decreased as I applied more coats, they still have the “buffed finish” appearance while being protected from their surroundings. The glossy finish of the clear coats also gives the diamonds a very smooth and soft texture. I thoroughly enjoyed seeing the progression of my diamonds as they transformed from simple sheets of metal to finished and beautiful pieces of art.
