Fun with LASERs
 

I have a small level of artistic talent, but I'm never happy with what I produce.

I gave up using traditional media and materials for art about two decades ago when I discovered the undo button in computer graphics programs. Since then it's been a progression of programs from MS Paint > PhotoStyler 1.0 > PhotoShop 3.0 > PhotoShop ver "whatever" for bit mapped art, and DrawPerfect 1.0 > Corel Draw 3, 5, 9, X4, and now X5 for vector graphics stuff.

The big problem is that computers really didn't give me that thrill of creating a physical object. Sure I could do a printout of a digital image or an onscreen animation, but to be honest, it just wasn't the same.

As for creating physical objects, my hand skills suck. I know what I need to do and how to do it, it's just that I don't have fine enough motor skills to do precise and repeatable work.

Then along comes CAD/CAM (computer aided design/computer aided manufacturing) and LASERs. Computers I can interact with just fine, and they'll take over the precision work needed to produce an object.

In my case it was a Universal Laser Systems VLS 4.60 that let me produce interesting physical objects.

Much of what I've been doing is small run commissions ... usually engraved glasses ... and not really anything all that creative.

Glasses for a friend's wedding reception in England.

http://www.anobviousdistraction.com/...14_1255_th.jpg

Prototype designs for merchandise for the local major league ice hockey team (never even heard back from them).

http://www.anobviousdistraction.com/...s_rocks_th.jpg

... but sometimes I let my creativity run loose and do something for myself.

Here's an early prototype of a SteamPunk Decora pattern light switch/outlet cover. This prototype is made out of painted 1/8" HDF (high density fiberboard AKA Masonite), but if I make production models, they'll be in a plastic material.

http://www.anobviousdistraction.com/...plate_1_th.jpg

http://www.anobviousdistraction.com/...plate_2_th.jpg

The first design proved to be a bit fragile, and too hard to adapt to multi-gang fittings, and the older style toggle switch and outlet patterns, so since then, I've been making changes. Here's the latest design (as of yet, I haven't cut a plate using these designs).

http://www.anobviousdistraction.com/...ate_single.jpg

http://www.anobviousdistraction.com/...ate_double.jpg

Another project I've been playing with is a 6 inch high TARDIS model. Here's an early design. Each model is cut from a single 12" x 24" piece of 1/8" HDF (high density fiberboard AKA Masonite) and takes about 30 minutes to cut. The whole unit is so precisely cut that it assembles without any glue or fasteners.

http://www.anobviousdistraction.com/...s_mk5_2_th.jpg

http://www.anobviousdistraction.com/...s_mk5_3_th.jpg

Every now and then, I come back to the CorelDRAW source file and tweak it a bit more and make a new version to test the improved design.

This is 3 design generations later and shows a painted TARDIS (and it's the correct BBC approved colour) with home made self adhesive decals, next to an unpainted model, both sitting on a freshly cut set of parts ready to be removed from the LASER.

http://www.anobviousdistraction.com/...dis_mk8_th.jpg

The painted TARDIS is a bit rough as the assembly is so tight that the latex paint caused sufficient swelling of the parts to make assembly a problem, and a bit of brute force was needed to get it together. As a colour test model, it's fine.

I'm currently working on the roof line to change it from a flat roof to a more correct sloping roof. Here's an example of a test version to see if I could produce non-vertical cuts on the LASER so the roof line pieces could be assembled with an absolutely perfect join.

http://www.anobviousdistraction.com/..._roof_1_th.jpg

Although making these pieces on a system designed to cut perfectly vertically, necessitated creating jigs to hold the Masonite at the right angle while the LASER made the cut.

http://www.anobviousdistraction.com/...13_2110_th.jpg

And then another jig was created to hold the parts together for the assembly of the 4 triangular shaped roof pieces. Unfortunately, the 4 roof parts have had to be glued together, so my dream of a non-fastener/non-glue assembly process has had to be abandoned.

http://www.anobviousdistraction.com/...13_2115_th.jpg

Even these little "throw away" assembly jigs show the level of precision that can be achieved with a LASER cutter.

http://www.anobviousdistraction.com/...13_2117_th.jpg

http://www.anobviousdistraction.com/...13_2114_th.jpg

There have been quite a few design changes since the above models were photographed, but the design is still a fair way away from being completed.

For the technically minded, the ULS VLS 4.60 is a 2½D CAD/CAM system and mine is fitted with a 50 Watt CO2 LASER assembly that can engrave or cut materials that either burn or melt and will fit onto its 24" x 18" work space.

It connects to a PC via USB, and the computer treats it like a big printer/plotter. They even physically look like a big printer/plotter.

http://www.anobviousdistraction.com/...sembled_th.jpg

The downside is that they aren't cheap (the price of a new car), and the LASER module needs factory reconditioning every 4-7 years.

Here's the very unimpressive looking LASER module (this alone costs about $10,000).

http://www.anobviousdistraction.com/...an_side_th.jpg

http://www.anobviousdistraction.com/...rt_side_th.jpg

The LASER itself is located across the back of the cabinet and the beam passes via a number of lenses and mirrors before it enters at the side of a moving lens assembly and another mirror and a 2.0" focal length final focus lens to the work being engraved/cut.

The LASER system is set up to do flat surfaces, so the glasses are done using an optional rotary adapter that turns the glass while the LASER lens assembly (the black thing with the 2.0 on it) moves back and forth.

http://www.anobviousdistraction.com/...r_glass_th.jpg

The optics are also very sensitive to contamination, and unfortunately, while renovating the house, dust got into the lens assembly, and I neglected to check the optics firing it up to do a simple cardboard cutting exercise.

The final focus lens (the size of a penny) paid the ultimate price.

http://www.anobviousdistraction.com/...acked_2_th.jpg

http://www.anobviousdistraction.com/...acked_3_th.jpg

A $600 replacement lens later and it was up and running again.

Mad skilz.
I prefer the unpainted Tardis TBH.
It looks like it's grown organically.

Very good stuff...love the TARDIS!

Great thread!

I wonder what the state of the art will be in ten years? Will we all be able to buy one at Staples for $300?

Probably. I tend to be on the bleeding edge of technology and pay through the nose for the pleasure.

I bought my first printer in 1981 and it cost me $1300 back then. Admittedly, unlike the modern printers, when I finally put it into the trash 27 years later, it was still working perfectly and had never had a problem.

I also used to be on the cutting edge, but then after spending almost a grand for a SCSI flatbed scanner, I stepped back. Now I'm a good 4-5 years behind everyone else. It's cheaper, but less fun.

A new piece of LASER hardware will be arriving in a few months ... I've ordered a high resolution 3D printer.

Most of the hobyist 3D printers use plastic extrusion (FDM) technology and work by running plastic filaments through a heated deposition nozzle. The one I've ordered is a stereolithography (SL) type that uses a scanning LASER beam to activate and cure acrylate photopolymer resin. While the materials are more expensive, the resolution it can achieve is far higher.

I've got a big learning curve ahead of me relearning 3D modelling (I haven't played with 3D since LightWave 4, over a decade ago), as well as learning the 3D printing process with out wasting too much of the ~$150 (don't know the exact cost yet) per litre resin.

when I was in high school I studied electronics and I got some experience with fios but it was very minimum... but that some really cool stuff you got there....

It is a really great (if a bit expensive) toy.

I've been following the lasers with much drooling.:drool:
Do you use an exhaust fan and duct to vent the fumes?

It seems the 3D printers are getting into so much patent warfare it may take awhile to sort out.

The minimum requirement for my LASER is an extraction system capable of 250 cu ft/min @ 6 inches of vacuum. I have an extraction system that is based on a workshop dust extraction system and has a capacity of 650 cu ft/min.

There's a 4 inch duct from the LASER to the fan inlet. The outlet of my exhaust fan has a 5 inch connection, which I've adapted to connect to a 6 inch duct to the outside.
There's a lot of patent battles covering both the 3D printer operation and the objects being made. The 3D printer I have on order, may violate a patent regarding support structures, but that patent is due to expire in early 2014.

Ah, thanks. The way things are going, I wonder if any patent will ever expire. A least the ones owned by people with lawyers. :haha:

Oh wow! How lovely!

The tardis is teh awsum! And like Sundae, I think I like it unpainted best.

This is getting worrisome.

Nice work James!

Thanks.

The TARDIS project started out as an amusing project for myself.

From initial inspiration to the first really good model was exactly 2 weeks. I have a partially developed web page showing the development timeline, but many of the needed photographs have yet to be taken so there are lots of "images not found". The page is here, but it's a long way from being finished, and you've already seen most of the interesting photographs in this topic.

Then a business associate suggested that it may be saleable, and as she was soon to travel to the UK for licensing discussions with the BBC, she could hand carry a few to the meeting for their comments.

Just three weeks later, three versions (painted, unpainted, and a kit of parts) were hand carried to the UK to show to the BBC (and getting the paint correct in that time frame was just one of the many difficulties).

Unfortunately the meeting with the BBC resulted in challenges I didn't have the time to resolve. The BBC liked the models, but they wanted changes that were going to be difficult to implement, and they also thought it would be too expensive (at least using the one at a time LASER cut production method).

I know of a few very similar inferior designs that have since appeared and are being sold on the internet (there's no way they could have received licenses for them), so it's a bit disheartening.

I haven't given up, and I tinker with the design when I have time, but these days it's mostly just for my own satisfaction and to use them as a sample of what I can do with the machine.

I watched The Hotel Inspector a few weeks back.
Well, what you going to do when you can't work?

Couldn't work out what was being pixellated out in the lobby.
PORN?
A racy painting or somesuch?
No.
A Dalek.
Couldn't show it on Channel 4 because it's protected by patent. Otherwise it could be used in any Channel 4 series. Seemed a bit heavy-handed to me, but hey - it's our money they're protecting after all.

Colour me impressed that the Beeb liked your models. Well, they'd be mad not to, but they have high standards. Have a nice cup of tea and a sit down in celebration.

That tardis link doesn't work for me. :(

LASER etching, 3-D printing ... the 21st century is pretty cool.

Interesting. We have a number of IP adresses blocked after problems with spammers. It's possible that your IP may be in the range we've blocked. I've killed the blocking, so see if it works now.

Nope, I altered the link and got to the fractalcoffee home page and looked around the site, but that link won't work for me. :confused:

Curiouser and Curiouser.

I'll have to do some more investigation. What Browser and Operating System are you running?

Does this full link work?

Nope, blank page. IE-9 in 7.

Does work in Firefox.

Interesting, it comes up blank on my IE9 on 7 installation as well. There's no reason for it I can see. The page code checks out fine on the W3C validator site, so it looks like it's something in IE9 that's behaving oddly.

Works fine in the Firefox/Mozilla suites.

Man do I envy you that equipment. And know-how.

I love that TARDIS.

Is the "official color" affected by the undrlying material color? Or is the paint opaque enough that the material doesn't matter?

The paint I used is a standard satin finish latex interior paint, so like all latex paints, put on enough coats and the underlying colour doesn't show through.

The real trick was getting the paint mixed to the correct colour. The BBC Doctor Who Style Manual that I had access to (not something you can normally buy, and used by license holders as a reference), states that the correct colour is Pantone 2955C. While you can by paint from Pantone, the price was outrageous ($40/quart plus shipping, customs, and taxes) and the delivery time just wasn't compatible with the short time period I had to get a painted model together. I used a couple tools to translate the Pantone number into a colour format that could be used by the colour mixing equipment at our local Home Depot.

I came across this YouTube video (ad) of what seems to be touted as a "new and better" way of doing 3D printing. The way I've seen it before is the material is piped from above and the nozzle moves about depositing the material in layers... building up to form the product.

This company says they are feeding the material from the below, with the lazer on top. The video is just over a minute long, but the product comes up and is shown at 1:10.

I believe that method preceded the current squirt from a nozzle method, by several years.

I have no idea how these were done... maybe lazers... maybe not.
But I liked them and thought others might too.

I found these pics in Anneke van Bommel’s blog - Art by Cal Lane

Attachment 51126

Attachment 51127

Apparently torch cut by Cal Lane, according to the NY Times. But reporters are notorious for botching details.

http://grunt.ca/wordpress/wp-content...ay-forweb1.pdf


I must confess I skimmed a bit.

I assumed it was a plasma torch, a regular torch would overheat thin shit.

Thread necromancy time.

I got a pair of commissions before Christmas to make two TARDIS models ... one as a Christmas present for a friend's Dr Who mad niece, and the other as a presentation box for an engagement ring.

Time to do some of the improvements to the design that I'd been planning.

The model for my friend's niece was completed first as the time deadline was a bit tighter. The presentation box for the engagement ring had a bit more of a generous time window due to a number of foul ups by the company making the engagement ring. I encountered some problems with features in the new design, so while I cut the parts for both at the same time, and did the bulk of the painting on both designs simultaneously, I stopped the engagement ring box version at about the 90% completion point and went on to finish the Christmas present. The problems with the first model could be worked around, but the stage of completion of the engagement ring box meant I could re-engineer solutions to the details that I was less than happy with.

Here's a couple of photographs of the almost complete engagement ring box. I still had to engineer an internal ring holder and do some minor trim adjustments, but it was looking good.

http://www.anobviousdistraction.com/...is_2015_th.jpg

http://www.anobviousdistraction.com/..._detail_th.jpg

The beveled trim around the windows and the door panels was done using the LASER's 3D engraving node to generate a 45 degree bevel into the edge of the Masonite. For scale reference, the entire model is less than 7 inches tall, and each group of 6 windows measures 1 inch tall by 3/4 inches wide.

This particular model has had a hard life, and needed repairs done before it was even finished. We have a 150 pound Newfoundland, and his tail is like a fur covered baseball bat. Things that you think are safe, are still within the range of his swinging tail, and this poor TARDIS was knocked off the table and onto the floor boards ... twice. Fortunately, as long as I had a stock of 3mm thick Masonite, I could make all the replacement parts I needed, and the replacement parts fitted exactly the same as the original parts. Other than lost time, the damage caused no other problems. There was still a bit of touch up work to be done when the photos were taken, but the model was 99% complete (and placed well out of reach of the dog's tail when I wasn't working on it).

The engagement ring box was commissioned by a professional photographer.

As I didn't have time to take any good photographs before I shipped it off to him, after it was delivered, he set me a few photographs that he took while his girlfriend was out of the office/studio for the day and he could sneak it in.

http://www.anobviousdistraction.com/...02-0011_th.jpg

http://www.anobviousdistraction.com/...02-0013_th.jpg

http://www.anobviousdistraction.com/...02-0017_th.jpg

http://www.anobviousdistraction.com/...02-0024_th.jpg

http://www.anobviousdistraction.com/...02-0030_th.jpg

http://www.anobviousdistraction.com/...02-0034_th.jpg

http://www.anobviousdistraction.com/...02-0043_th.jpg

http://www.anobviousdistraction.com/...02-0046_th.jpg

http://www.anobviousdistraction.com/...02-0048_th.jpg

http://www.anobviousdistraction.com/...02-0050_th.jpg

http://www.anobviousdistraction.com/...02-0052_th.jpg

http://www.anobviousdistraction.com/...02-0055_th.jpg

Once he's actually popped the question, and no longer has to keep the TARDIS hidden, he'll have time to set things up properly in the studio and take some really good photos.

Plasma cutting is amazing. Especially when the plasma cutter is attached to a X and Y axis CAD/CAM system.

I've been looking at a number of "relatively" inexpensive systems both "ready to run" and home built from suppliers of the various components.

PlasmaCAM sells ready to run systems although you have to supply your own plasma cutter.

Precision Plasma is a supplier of hardware to enable you to build your own custom system.

In most of these types of systems, you can substitute a wood router for the plasma cutter and use the X/Y axis gantry system to do CNC wood routing.

That TARDIS looks amazing. It came out really well. Such attention to every last detail.

I want to see the ring holding mechanism someday...

The ring holder was nothing fancy, just a black velvet padded block that fitted inside. The client had removed it and forgot to refit it when he took the photographs.

This part cracks me the hell up:

and is probably why I'm forever marked as an amateur.

I've been using that line in forum signatures for over a decade. It's one of those lines that the more you think about it, the crazier it seems.