The waterjet cutter was frankly not as straightforward as the laser cutter. Nonetheless, I was able to cut out a cute heart from my diamond piece ♡♢.

To begin, I created my adobe illustrator file. I was hoping to cut the circle first, then the heart, and finally the diamond. This way, I could keep the heart charm for a keychain.

I downloaded my .ai file onto the lab computer, and opened it in the LAYOUT software by going to “File” –> “Import from other CAD.” Next, I followed the instructions on the desk next to the water jet cutter to clean the geometry and set the path. Unfortunately, since I cut a very small heart, I found that the path generated would cut into the heart, so I couldn’t keep the cut out heart like I initially intended.

After I hit “post,” I was able to open my file in the MAKE software. In this software, I used the X and Y movement controls to jog the tip of the waterjet cutter to where I wanted to begin cutting. I zeroed this location to set it as my path’s starting point.

At this point, I clicked the run button, then right clicked on the run button within the pop-up I saw. Within this, I was able to click on an option to do a dry run to ensure the waterjet cutter was cutting where I intended. Once I confirmed this was correct, I clicked “Go Home,” to reset the tip to the place I wanted to start my cut.

I used the tool attached to the waterjet cutter to set the tip to 0.008″ away from my metal sheet. See the image below to see this process.

I also clamped the metal sheet as shown in the picture.

I ensured the water level was filled to 1/8″ below the metal sheet as indicated in the waterjet instructions. I also refilled the garnet to meet the minimum line indicated on the machine. Lastly, I flipped the yellow cup downwards. I closed the lid of the waterjet cutter and hit the run button in the MAKE software. Look at the image below to see what the piece looked like straight from the waterjet cutter.

I duplicated the piece, and then sandblasted both pieces as shown below.

Next, I used the angle grinder to smooth the edges and the surface as shown below.

I went over the corners and the center heart with a file for extra smoothing. Lastly, I coated the pieces in polyurethane. The post-processing steps I followed are outlined in the “Beginner” section of the homework instructions.

Image of last used cleaned workspace.

A cost summary is included below.

Cost Type	Cost	Price	Source	Quantity	Total
Materials	Stainless steel sheet	$6.47/sheet	Amazon	1 sheet	$6.47
	Polyurethane	$0.02/mL	Home Depot	~20 mL	$0.4
Labor	Prototyping Engineer (You!)	$36.66/hr	US Bureau of Labor Statistics	3 hours	$109.98
Overhead	Waterjet Cutter	$30/hr	Techni Waterjet	1.5 hours	$45
	Angle Grinder	$31.99/angle grinder	Ace Hardware	1	$31.99
	Sandblaster	$45/hour	Fixr	0.5 hours	$22.5