This week, we moved away from wood and started working with metal. We used the plasma cutter which is a bigger tougher version of the laser cutter.

The assignment was to make a diamond shape with a vector cut shape. Follow the steps to make one of your own!

Step 1: Re-sign up for the Adobe Illustrator Free Trial

The initial diamond base Adobe Illustrator file was provided to us such as one of the ones below.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I tried to spice things up and try some intricate styles on the diamond, but the plasma cutter is not really meant for that so I decided to go simple and cut a dove as shown below.

 

 

 

 

Step 2:  Plasma Cutting, attempt #1

The adobe designs were honestly not as hard as I thought they would be. All it required was importing an icon and making sure to outline the designs so the plasma cutting can recognize them. In the plasma cutting room, our first attempt at plasma cutting did not go so well. Katy was the guinea pig this time, and her design had a very detailed turn that the plasma cutter did not register.

Step 3: Plasma Cutting, attempt #2

The second attempt at plasma cutting was much more successful, with just a few tiny setbacks which were easily solvable. As shown in the given instructions, we followed the steps to turn on the plasma cutter, and also to import the files onto the Torchmate.EDU application to create a path. However, the lead-in arc was not visible even after re-doing the path many times. Eventually, we figured out that when transferring the file onto Torchmate, the file was somehow increasing in size to about 20 feet. This is obviously not feasible, and we are glad we noticed this, otherwise, the plasma cutter would break.  After scaling down the size of the diamond, we then exported that file into the Torchmate 4 application to get it ready for the cutting bed. Once we jogged the laser to the right position and set the origin, we were ready to plasma cut! I cut a total of 5 dove diamonds just in case I made any mistakes in post-processing.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Step 4: Aggressively file the metal

Post-processing involved angle grinding to remove the slag from the back, it was like a mini-firework show except a little scarier. The hardest part about angle grinding was removing the mini slag at the edges of the dove cut, no matter the angles I tried it at. Out of the 5, I only angle grind 3 because I still had one I could still potentially mess up on. However, to get rid of some of the mini slag left over, a little bit of filing would solve it all. Little did we know. Katy and I spent HOURS filing, and not just regular filing, AGRESSIVE filing. We put in a lot of physical and mental effort in to get it nice and smooth. Well, it was a win-lose situation. The slag was mostly gone, but we created a lot of scratches on the material, as seen below. Who knew filing would be the hardest part of the whole process, once we finished, we decided to call it a day. It was a long Monday night.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Step 5: Sand Blast..multiple times

The next step was to make it look pretty. The best way to do that? Use the sandblaster. I felt like I was wearing NASA gloves when I was using the sandblaster. Also, I realized I need to work on my grip strength while holding the sandblaster gun because holding those gloves for long periods of time requires a little bit of strength. The sandblasting made the pieces look so much better! It hid most of the blemishes such as rusting and some scratches. I did have to redo it many times because some of the rust kept showing through the sandblasting as a result of the humidity, and also oil from my hands ruined the beautiful gray on the piece. Sometimes, the black sand would leave a mark. Anyway, at one point we determined it was best to stop obsessing over the tiny details and appreciate the progress we made so far. Also, most of the blemishes can be fixed with just a clear coating on the piece. So that’s what I did

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Step 6: Spray away

To ensure the sandblasting is protected, I sprayed a clear coat of gloss on the piece on both sides. Left it for about 20 minutes, and it was ready to go!

Step 7: Show the Dove some love

The final result is shown below! I am pleased with the way it turned out, especially after spraying the clear coat on it. The most challenging part was definitely filing but maybe with a better technique with the angle grinder, the filing may have been a little bit easier. I feel more comfortable with the plasma cutter and the sandblaster enough to create more intermediate designs next time! Also, with laser cutting and plasma cutting, I feel more comfortable exploring different designs using Illustrator.

Step 8: Calculate Costs

Material Costs
24in x 36in Steel Metal = $15.93  
Matte Clear Coat: $6.48 
Total: $22.41

Labor Costs
Plasma Cutter Machine Usage: 3 hours x 7.25 /hour = $21.75
Post-Processing: 4 hours x 7.25/hour = $29
Membership for the MakerBarn in Houston which provides access to machines and a space to work = $30/month 
Total: $50.75
Final Cost: $73.16