Module 1 - Laser Cutting
Laser Cutting
Brief - A Tool That Supports
My laser cut tool that supports hanging in The Basement Gallery, An Táin Arts Centre, Dundalk.
Concept
An unobtrusive structure to support a silk cyanotype.
Material Experimentation
After testing wood and acrylic in the laser cutter I decided that acrylic would be a cleaner material to work with; I didn’t want to risk black marks on the silk fabric.
I was particularly drawn to clear acrylic as it interferes less with the finished piece and provides a good display.
Technique Exploration
My first task was to make a clear acrylic box.
I found a ‘Viking’ box generator online designed by Nicolas Padfield of FabLab RUC (Denmark)
I also made a kerf test for the material
I used this exploration to investigate techniques in how to work with acrylic
I found that because acrylic is not a natural material it is more consistent to measure and work with (It is still worth measuring the material before using, I found my 3mm acrylic was actually 2.8mm).
The acrylic can suffer ‘ghost’ grid marks if cut directly on the laser bed and if it is cut without a protective film.
I learned acrylic should be raised up off the bed with specialised cones or some acrylic off cuts. I found wood can be inconsistent and affect the cut if not all exactly the same height when placed between the acrylic and the laser bed.
