Physical Model Construction using the Trotec 400 series

Physical Model Construction using the Trotec 400 series Laser Cutter – 10% of final grade

Physical Model Construction using a Laser Cutter – 5% of final grade Procedure: 1. 0 We will be building a 3 d physical model using a Laser Cutter. Historically, architectural models have been crafted by hand. Since Autocad and Laser Cutters are more accurate, architectural offices are more frequently relying on the precision and speed afforded by laser cutters. 2. 0 Translate your small building cad drawings (Ex 4, Ex 5, Ex 6) into simplified ‘outlines’ to be cut by the Laser Cutter. Place all of your drawings into one cad file (Use Edit>Copy, Edit>Paste). Questions to ask yourself: Do you need your sections? Can you define an ‘outline’ to produce a shape that might be folded into one, two, or more faces of your 3 d model? How will you lay out your ‘outlines’ in your drawing layout so as to not waste material? How will you join the facades of the model? How will you define/measure the curved surface? 3. 0 Open your Cad file on the work station next to the Speedy 400 Laser Cutter in the machine shop, room C 131. The laser cutter identifies RGB values (Red/Blue/Green) to Cut or Engrave. Engraving on the cutter is time consuming, so for the purpose of this exercise we will only be cutting. 4. 0 Perform a colour override of all the lines you wish to cut; make them RED. Do the same for line thickness. Perform a line thickness override for the same lines, making them 0. 0 mm.

Colour Override Lineweight Override Select all lines you have defined to be laser cut. Override their colour to red. Only use the red as indicated above as it has a specific RGB value recognized by the cutter. Select all lines you have defined to be laser cut. Override their lineweight to 0. 0 mm.

6. 0 Turn on the Trotec 400 series Laser Cutter. You will need the machine’s key and staff supervision. Ask a faculty member in the lab for the key. Ensure the ventilator is also on. Place your material at 0, 0 (top left corner). 7. 0 Plot your drawing. In Autocad, press Cntrl+P to initiate a Plot. Set up your plot like this: 2 nd step 1 st step 3 rd step

8. 0 In Plot set-up, define the print area with a Window Selection. Click at the bottom left of your layout, then the top right to define area. This area must fit on your material (that which you are cutting) at the scale you assign. For example, the layout below will easily fit on 11 x 17 @ 1: 150; the physical model once assembled will be truly 1: 150. 1: 100 however, will require a greater area than 11 x 17. The point: Cluster your drawings in a compact manner to save space and material; ensure you have enough material to fit all your drawings. Bristol board (22”x 28”) is recommended and will fit 1: 100 shapes Define a window around your cad shapes in Plot set-up

9. 0 The Custom Properties in Autocad’s Plotter Configuration will lead you to the Trotec Laser Cutter’s Properties. Set up the Trotect properties like this: Autocad Plotter Config. Click on Custom Properties Note: 11”x 17” = 432 mm x 280 mm. Bristol board is typically 22. 5” x 28. 5”; That is 571 mm x 723 mm Trotec Laser Cutter General set-up Trotec Laser Cutter Print set-up. Note Height and Width. Define this as the area of your material. The drawing layout in the previous slide easily fits on 11 x 17 @ 1: 150 metric scale. Press the “JC” button when complete, then OK in Cad Plotter Config.

10. 0 The Changes to a Printer Config. dialogue box will appear. Hit OK. 12. 0 The Laser Cutter Job Control (JC) software initiates itself. Its icon will flash. Click on it to open its screen. 11. 0 Plot Job Progress and Job ID appear. Give the Job Name a meaningful name, one you will recognize in the Laser Cutter queue. Use your Last name and print iteration. Press the Apply button. For example, ‘Rafique-1’, or ‘Rafique-2’ for a second attempt.

13. 0 In the Trotec Job Control, click on Options. Ensure your Units are metric (mm). Click the Options button

14. 0 Click on Material Database. The Laser Cutter assigns colours to actions. For example, RED = Cut, BLACK = Engrave. Since we performed a colour override earlier, RED lines in our drawing will be cut. Ensure RED is set to CUT. All other colours should be set to Skip. 15. 0 Set the Thickness of your material. For Bristol board, 1 mm is a good option. Click the Materials Database button 16. 0 Set both material settings to Paper. If you are trying a thicker cardstock, you will find an option for cardboard, and you may experiment with the material thickness setting 17. 0 Set both the Speed and Power to 100. You may experiment with these settings if you choose a different material

You will see your print job in the queue. Double click on it. Your job appears as a black area. This is the area we defined in step 9. 0. Print appears in queue

18. 0 In the Trotec Job Control, click on the Eye button. Your drawing will appear. The white area is the ‘printable area’ or the cutting area. We set this in step 9. 0. Click the WISYWIG button. ‘What You See Is What You Get. ’ Your drawing will appear.

19. 0 When you are done, click on the ‘Ready’ ‘plug’ icon at the bottom right. The Laser Cutter is ready to cut. The white area is the cutting area defined in step 9. 0. A 22. 5”x 28. 5” sheet of Bristol board will easily accommodate your shapes at 1: 00. You may experiment with 1: 75 or even 1: 50. You can easily do this in Autocad before even approaching the Laser cutter. Simply create your layout in cad, set the plotter to ‘None’, set the plot scale to your desired scale, then select a paper size to see if your layout fits. Keep in mind the cutting area of the 400 Laser cutter is 39” x 24”. 21. 0 Assemble your model. 20. 0 The ‘plug’ icon will turn into a ‘Play’ icon. Press it, the cutter starts cutting.

Evaluation Criteria: 1. Organization of drawing in cad layout – 25% - Is material being wasted? Do shapes share cut lines? 2. Model Construction – Craft 25% - Visibility of glue (make it as ‘invisible’ as possible); Precision of assembly (edges are square) 3. Completion – 50% - Show all openings (doors and windows); Build mezzanine level and stairs (stairs may be represented as planes, no need to construct every stair); Include scuppers