Primo day 8 – March 7, 2014

Date: 8 March 2014 Author: Sjoerd Dirk Categories: Primo 0

Today was AMAZING!

I went to FabKlas in The Hague. This is a Fablab inside a secondary school!

It was great to see all the children working on their own project. It’s not really a class/course, it’s more a space where children can invent/make/learn.
They have a 3D-printer, a laser cutter, computers, soldering stations, etc. And they order a lot of electronic (kits), like MaKey MaKey, Little Bits, Arduino, Raspberry Pi, etc.

If you can read Dutch, here’s a great article about it.

Laser cutter

Besides visiting Fabklas I could also use their laser cutter.

Despite my preparations not everything went smooth.
I will try to list all my tips (some based on my own mistakes, some based on tips I received at Fabklas):

• Always make a test run when using a new type of wood! Draw a small circle and print it and see if everything is okay.
• Buy plywood which is FLAT! A laser cutter has a focal point; if the plywood isn’t flat, it will cut (or not) at the wrong depth.
• The 1mm plywood I bought is very strong. The settings for the laser cutter had to be adjusted. The laser needed to be stronger than it was for the 4mm plywood.
• Turn the fan DOWN when cutting the 1mm plywood. Otherwise it will be airborn (and that does matter as it lands on a spot which has to be cut or if the holes inside that piece aren’t cut before). Don’t forget to turn the fan up when you’re ready .
• Take extra wood with you. That way you can make a spare part if it hasn’t been cut properly.
• Make an engraving test. Test different line width’s for the engraving parts. That way you can see what gives the best results. Then alter your files and do the final cut.
• If you have time left, print some extra trees and fences. (And maybe a Cubetto (like I did )).

Oh, and don’t be surprised by the size of some parts. They’re SMALL!

When I got home I removed all the pieces which didn’t fall out by themselves.
And I’ve sorted everything into several plastic zip bags.

These buttons I have laying around turned out to fit perfectly in the square in the interface board. I only had to cut the wires for the LED, but since I’m not using the LED it doesn’t matter.

PDF

I will post my PDF’s in a couple of days. I have to alter some parts (I did that at Fabklas too, but didn’t save it) and they I will upload them.

To be continued…

Now I have to wait untill my electronics arrives (at least my order from Tayda).
Hopefully I can start building next week.