Hi Guys!

We've had a few changes this past week, and that means a few changes to the way things are running as far as the lasers are concerned.

We Finally got the new PCs installed, that means several things for you guys!

• Faster! 
• Overall things should be smoother now we're running on 4GB of ram and a faster Core 2 Duo processor! Sending files should be a breaze and not take as long to appear in Trotec.
• Better Looking!
• Yes they're still HP PCs but at least tehy all look the same and have matching ketyboards and mice ;)
• USB FUNCTIONALITY!
• Yes that's right folks, no longer are you bound to using online storage (I still recommend it though!), Anti Virus has been installed and Auto Run has been disabled, so for you guys that means that you have to open 'my computer' or  'file open' in illustrator' to get to your files on USB sticks! :)
• New version of Trotec Job Control has been installed. Again, this is a 64bit piece of software so will be taking full support of the new PCs. The software is new to me so ultimately we'll provide you new features as find them - initially however, you will notice they have implemented a timer feature - which gives you an estimated time of completion!!

New Filters in the Laser's Extraction units.

• No more beeping
• No more toxic fumes!
• Better surface finish
• No more toxic fumes!

If yuo notice continued beeping or visiable / smellable fumes contact a memebr of stff immediatly!

This leads me onto another big change - I'm going to get 'stricter' on the types of materials we can cut, in practive I think this will be a list of kknown materials we cannot cut!

So far we Have:

• Styreen
• Even though the new filters should get rid of the fumes, we aint gonna be cutting that no more! At all, EVER!
• Vynal 
• Any type, any thickness, any anything - no Vynal at all.
• MDF 
•  Ok some MDF we will cut, such as anything less than 6mm in thickness, any thicker and we wont be cutting it on the laser cutter. 
• Will add more as we find them1 :)

A big change is ahead of us as far as booking laser time, the use of technician time, and inductions.

We're to pilot a system where by you can self booking laser cutters without having to email and wait for a reply! 

We have grown out of what (the great) Google Calendars can offer, as there is a general increase in numbers of users from a range of courses and skill bases. 

We have identified an online e booking resource which allows you to book time on any one laser cutter for up to 2.5 hrs at a time. You will have to create an account, which you can log into to access the laser cutters calenders and assuming that you have completed an induction you can get yourself on a laser cutter all by yourself!

New users will still be required to contact me to arrange an induction. If you feel a need to have a technician support you at the beginning of your slot, you can do so by requesting their time, again, using the same online form.

Hopefully the move will be smooth and pain free, but lets assume there will be issues sent to test us from all angles!!

Well, one wall of text later! I think its going to be OK!

ED!

Here be prints

As promised, the results of yesterdays digitising and printing. I guess better pics will  happen eventually.

Solid surfaces

Polygon Inset

With Meshsmooth 

modifier

Microscribe Digitising arm

I had a chance while Paul from Modelmaking want looking to steal his microscribe digitising arm!

I had previously made a shape upstairs using the spot welder, with the intention  of using this magical device to input the geometry directly into Rhino in order to further edit it, and include it into visualisation and 3D models for milling / printing. 

Basic Rhino knowledge is required, but shapes can be plotted out almost straight away and / or exported to other software packages for further editing and manipulation. In the following series of images you can see the initial shape, the interaction of the arm with the object, and a set of screen shots taken of the outcomes.

I left the printer running overnight to realise some of the forms for us, so i'll follow up this post with pics of those!

The spot welded object

Typical setup

accurate placement of points taken from the model

physical and digital model can be seen

Wireframe build from simple 2D lines

Shape replicated using 3 / 4 sided surfaces

Surfaces turned into a low res mesh and offset / solidified

Point cloud data joined with interpolated curves

Curves used to create 3 / 4 sided surfaces 

The mesh imported to 3DSMax, with polygons inset

Inset mesh, offset and solidified

Mesh smooth modifier made it transform dramatically

The three meshes i sent to print

From setup to hitting the print button, took a couple of hours. The technology lends itself to being accessible from either a reverse engineering perspective, as as in this case a simpler and more tactile way of creating digital data which can be further manipulated in software environments.

The plans for these models will be further exploration of form once printed, and added to with soft materials such as clay, and harder denser materials such as styreen metals. From here, the process can start over again being re digitised, manipulated, rendered and critiqued. 

See you on the other side ;)

Rhino CAM

Video uploaded, no audio so make sure you have your notes handy!

PDF to follow soon, let me know how you get on with this video to help shape future tutorials.

Ed


Untitled from warderoid on Vimeo.

Axon 2

Axon is the name of the software that we use to prepare 3D models for use on the Bits from Bytes range of 3D printers, the 'RapMan 3.1' and the 'BFB 3000'.

The software is simple enough for new users to get around but it does offer a few more advanced settings when you want to go a little further and try out some new things. 

The function of the software is to 'slice' the 3D model and generate both a fill structure and the outer peramiter of the model, the resulting code (called Gcode) is then read by the machine in the form of linear coordinates and settings required to print the model.

 

We start by opening the software. The interface is simple, with a Toolbar and Ribbon along the top, coordinates on the left, and the main window in the center.

 

When you first open the software, we have to assign the type of machine we are running. Open the settigns Tab, and under machine type, choose either Rapman 3.1 or BFB 3000 depending on the machine you choose.

This drop down window lets you choose the amount of extruders the machine has. The rapman 3.1 has 1 (but can be upgraded to 2 ), and the BFB 3000 has up to 3! So check your machine to see how many it has and choose the appropriate number.

Materials: the list is extensive, and i'm sure there are more materials out there than are on the list. The common types are ABS (white) and / or PLA (clear).

Check to see what materials are available, or specify which material you want to use for your job from the list.

Hit OK ;)

Back in the home tab, you will now notice the graphic has changed for the type of 'bed' the machine has, also the build area will be specific to the machine. The most top left icon on the ribbon is 'open', press this and select the .STL file that you intend to print. 

Select the Build Gcode icon from the ribbon, this opens a dialog box which allows you to configure your print settings. 

 Leave the build style to 'default'

Layer thickness:

  0.125 is a very fine surface finish 

 0.25 is a standard default layering

0.5 is a courser / thicker layering

The layer thickness also has an impact on the length of time the print will take to complete - a finer layer will take longer than the 0.25, and the 0.5 will be quicker than both the first two. A typical print will use 0.25, but feel free to have a play with these settings. 

Raft Material: As we currently only have 1 extruder, it has to be set as the same material as our model will be built from. A raft is built to help the model adhear to the printing surface, and to help alievate warp with larger ABS prints. PLA typically doesn't warp, but there is no 'no raft' option with the current version of Axon 2 (Version 2 Beta 1).

Support Material: If your model has overhangs of 60 degrees or less, or has to bridge large spans (EG Doorways) then support material may be required. This automatically creates a scaffolding strcture around your model. It can print with the same material, but this isn't reccomended. This process is more suited to a machine with multipul extruders, with the primary part being printed in ABS, and the support in PLA. Again, feel free to experiment with these and find a solution out for yourself. 

Part Material: This will be defined as the same material that we chose in the printer configuration tab.

Fill Density: Determins how solid you want your object. This will be dependent on the project and its geometries, and the function of the part once its been printed. I'd suggest to start at 10% and adjust it from there.

Fill Pattern: there are 4 to choose from, and the most left hand side is the newest provided by Axon. Its quick and efficient, granted, it doesnt look as cool as the hexagons, but the structure of the prints are very good with this infill. Using this will also speed up the print whilst using as little filiament as nessesary.

Speed: Default is set as 1, this will produce a tidy print.  For small or complicated geometries it may be required to be slowed to 0.5. For a quicker print, it can be set to 1.5 or 2. Use 3 if your really want a quick outcome and the quality doesnt matter too much. This setting has knock on effects with the extruder motor, gearing and print head as they all work together to create the perfect print! ;)

Thin Wall: Activate thin wall to have the machine print one peramiter loop opposed to the default 3, this is quicker but your model can take a hit on rigidiity. 

Advanced Settings: Extra skins; again, this sets the amount of paremeter loops per layer, the default I think is 3, click the thin walls button and the result is 0. For really rigid parts, set to 3, 4 or 5!

Number of surfaces: This is the amount of surfaces on the base and top of the model, depending on the geometry ths can be set frrom 1 to 3, or 4 or 5! The type of model and your requirements will determin the amount of layers.

Once the data is set, hit the build button! now the software is slicing, infilling and getting your model ready for printing. 

Once done (this could take some time, so grab yourself a 10 mins away from the pc, have a stretch) it gives you an estimated printing time, cost of material and overall weight. Take  a note of these as once you click the screen they will disapear forever!

Once you click it, you get the toolpath of your model. Select the view tab, and deselect the 'view all layers' button. This will then allow you to use the Z slide on the right hand side to check each layer and view the tool path for the job. 

Move the angle of the viewport to get a better angle to the toolpath. if you zoom in you will notice the renders are rough - but this isn't an indication of the final print. 

Finally, reselct the home tab, and choose the save build gcode button (dont hit the build gcode button again!) Save to somewhere safe and then transfer it to the SD card used by the printer. Give the file a practical and sensible name (your name / project name etc).

Happy Printing :)

CNC Queue

To alleviate some of the confusion of getting on the CNC mill that we encountered last year, a list has been taped onto the side of the machine.

Its really quite simple - get your work ready for milling, add your name to the list and wait your turn!

Simply thinking of using the mill for your project doesn't grant you use of the machine when you want it!!

The process goes something like this:

Get 2D / 2D data ready

Run the job through Rhino CAM

Get the simulation animation checked

Put the posted gcode file onto the PC next to the mill

Source and prep your material

Add your name to the list

Wait your turn!

Don't forget that several courses use the CNC mill to realise their work, so it may take a while for your turn to come around.

Any one job can take a long time to complete, let alone a list full of them! We can only run the machine 8 hours per day, so carefully consider your time and the direction of your project before using the mill.