Identical Diamond Angels (WaterJet cutter edition)
For this assignment, I was tasked to make two identical diamond cut pieces that contained some design within them. We were allowed to be as creative as we desired, as long as we used the waterjet cutter to cut out our pieces and four different methods for post processing. The main goal was to make them identical, meaning everything we did had to be intentional. In doing this the skills we obtain are attention to detail, patience, precision, and the ability to duplicate similar process to guarantee our desired results. The four methods I chose to use for post-processing were filing, wire brushing, sandblasting, and spray painting.
Before doing the post processing I had to design my diamond shaped design in Adobe Illustrator. We were given a blank diamond shape and we had to create a design that fit between the diamond spaces.
This image is the design I made in Adobe Illustrator and ultimately chose to go with.
After making and downloading the ai. file I had to go to the wet lab where our ProtoMax abrasive waterjet cutter is and upload my file onto the computer connected to the ProtoMax. Using the first of the two softwares ( ProtoMax Layout) I uploaded my ai file, cleaned it up, made sure it was the correct size, and created an auto path. From the auto path I chose my start point and looked for any potential errors that could occur. There were no critical errors and I was fine with the way everything was going to cut out.
This picture shows the design layout along with the portions that would be cut out and the start point.
I then clicked post which produced a file that I would then be able to open up in the next software (ProtoMax Make). After uploading my file to the next software I began to set my metal piece on the waterjet cutter and clamped it in place.
This is how my metal piece looked when clamping it and setting everything in place.
I then specified the type of material along with the thickness of the metal. I zeroed everything out to the place I wanted to call home and did a dry test run to see if the placement and shape of my design was correct. Being that my metal piece had already been cut by others I had to be very precise with where I wanted the cutout to be. After I was happy with the placement I started the machine and waited until everything was finished.
Above is the raw cutout without any post processing methods being applied
Now that my pieces were cut out I was able to move on to post processing. I first started by filing the sides to get some of the rough edges smoother. To get little pieces of metal from the top and to clean up my pieces overall I started to wire brush. Wire brushing worked and added cool lines to the metal but the color varied from place to place and my pieces weren’t particularly smooth. After wire brushing I went back to the wet lab to sandblast. This worked wonders and provided my pieces with a speckled look.
The grains of sand from the sand blaster produced a smoother feel and speckled effect on the two pieces.
After I finished sand blasting I decided to spray paint my diamond pieces in white. This added color really allowed my design to stand out and make more sense artistically than keeping the original metal color.
Spray painted pieces sitting and waiting to dry
After spray painting and drying my two identical diamond cutouts were complete and this finished result is as depicted below. Thanks for following my journey and I hope you enjoyed my work.
Final Product
STRENGTHS
I think my biggest strength on this project was my design, the waterjet cutting process, and smoothing out the metal pieces. I really loved my design and could anticipate exactly how it would look once cut out. My finished product made it look like angels were elevating into the piece which I really liked. The filing, wire brushing, and sand blasting really added character to this piece and allowed it to feel smoother to the touch. In my opinion I believe it came out pretty smooth and didn’t have a lot of rough surfaces.
POINTS OF IMPROVEMENT
For this project I believe points of improvement could be a more uniform application of the spray paint. I will admit that I was rushed and could’ve taken more time to evenly apply the paint. Due to a deadline restriction I rushed my process a little which resulted in a slightly uneven coat for one of the diamond pieces. Nonetheless my pieces still came out great and I appreciated the work I put into it.
WHAT I LIKED ABOUT THIS PROJECT
I liked the level of freedom within this project. We were allowed to explore our creativity and design anything that we wanted using which ever processes we desired. I was able to go on adobe illustrator and design my file the way I wanted to. I believe because of this freedom and ability to explore my own creativity I was able to make an appealing final product.
WHAT I WOULD DO DIFFERENTLY
Things I would do differently is probably try powder coating. I was a little bit intimidated not because of the complexity of powder coating but because I saw others in the class who had messed up during the process. Fixing powder coating mistakes is a tedious process which requires you to sandblast the outer coating away and start again. This is a time consuming process and I didn’t have much time left until my diamond cut out pieces were due.
COST ANALYSIS/BREAKDOWN
Materials
Metal: Cost of 12 x 12 aluminum sheet – $11.47
Paint: Cost of White paint can – $6.48
File: Metal File – $7.99
Wire Brush: Metal Wire Brush – $7.79
Facility costs
Water Jet Cutter: Cost to use for one hour – $12
Sand Blaster: Cost to use for one hour is $45/ I used it for about 15 minutes – $11.25
Labor
Operating waterjet cutter: Salary in Texas – $15 per hour x 1 hr – $15
Operating Sandblaster: Salary in Texas – $19.38 per hour x 1/4 hr – $4.85
Graphic Designing: Salary in Texas – $19.02 per hour x 1 hr – $19.02
Personal Labor: Student worker at Rice – $15 x 3 hrs – $45
Total: $140.85
