[sdiy] Laser cut enclosure advice needed

[Altitude]

Ponoko does do metal although only in very thin gauges (1mm aluminum, 0.9mm
steel) and its really expensive.  I've done loads of stuff case wise at
ponoko and its pretty straight forward. As was mentioned, you simply draw it
out in a vector graphics program and certain line colors define whether it
is a cut, engraving, or raster engraving (i.e. an area that is to be lasered
instead of a line).  The clear tints of acrylic can be left as is for the
engraving, the engraved parts turn opaque and it looks good.  Solid colors
you probably will want to infill.  One thing that I don't like about the
acrylic is that it's the worst finger print magnet I've ever dealt with,
there a matte finish acrylics that don't take finger prints though.

-raph

-----Original Message-----
From: synth-diy-bounces at dropmix.xs4all.nl
[mailto:synth-diy-bounces at dropmix.xs4all.nl] On Behalf Of KA4HJH
Sent: Saturday, September 22, 2012 3:41 PM
To: sdiy
Subject: Re: [sdiy] Laser cut enclosure advice needed

On Sep 22, 2012, at 3:17 PM, Tim Parkhurst wrote:

> What material are you planning to use? I'm not quite sure what you mean by
leaving polished surfaces.

Transparent acrylic. I'm not sure of the color scheme yet.


> Also, I'm pretty sure Ponoko won't cut metal, but they can probably to
plastic and (thin) wood.

Thanks for the tip. I'll have to take a close look at this.


> If you're thinking of plastic, you might check and see who Olivier Gillet
uses for the Shruthi and his other projects.

Definitely looks cut and engraved with a laser.


On Sep 22, 2012, at 3:03 PM, Mike Beauchamp wrote:

> Hi Terry,
> If you do your design in any vector program (inkscape, illustrator,
> etc.) or any CAD program you should be able to send the files to a 
> laser cutting service.

Drawing it will be the easy part. I'm on top of that.


> Off the top of my head there is ponoko.com, and they are located in 
> Wellington New Zealand. I'm not sure if they ship from Wellington, but 
> it could get a bit pricey.

Well, New Zealand is a bit further away than I was hoping for. Somewhere in
the US would reduce the cost of shipping a bit.


> Seems like there are a lot of
> places online now actually that do laser cutting. Depending on where 
> you are, there might be a local laser cutting place that you could talk
to.
> Those guys might deal in very specific file formats and expect 
> customers to have proper CAD files and all of that, but it might be worth
a try.
> Another option might be a nearby "Tech Shop" or maker space that would 
> have a laser cutter and some people with experience doing what you're 
> doing.

This is precisely what I'm looking and the reason why I'm asking. Getting
the right drawings will not be a problem but good communication reduces the
possibility of mistakes.


> You could definitely do finger joints, box joints, slots and other 
> joining methods with laser cut pieces. Some joints allow you to use 
> nuts and bolts as well.

I hadn't thought of finger joints. That would work if rabbeting isn't
possible. Not that I really need that type of joint.


> Laser cutting acrylic does leave nice edges, but if all you have 
> available is CNC routing then polishing up the edges is very easy with 
> a torch (lots of youtube vidoes showing this and how to properly bond 
> acrylic).

Yeah, I've done it a couple of times.


> Laser cutting has the advantage of a really really small kerf, 
> allowing more intricate shapes.

This probably won't be too fancy.


On Sep 22, 2012, at 3:11 PM, julian fincham wrote:

>> Has anyone done this? Can it be done? I know I could just have the whole
thing CNC milled but laser cutting leaves polished surfaces.
> 
> Terry,
> 
> What edges are you wanting 'polished'?

I'm just saying that it would be nice for the outside, visible edges. It
would save me the trouble.


> Also, remember that, well, virtually all metals will  change 
> appearance as they oxidise, so dont pass up options for a short-lived 
> effect?

I've thought about doing that as a detail but it isn't necessary for the
main body of the enclosure.


> Im not selling, as im not cutting for the next week or so anyhow, but 
> here are some examples of the sort of works you may be after, all done 
> with tungsten carbide cutters -

Very nice work but I really want this to be transparent. I'm not cloning the
Gleenman Petanphonic but still...


> Can laser cutting be used to create recesses?  I mean when the 
> material is only cut half of the way through?  Im asking - i really 
> dont know! : )

It should be but I haven't found any good examples of it yet.


When I finish drawing it I'll post it somewhere for comment. Thanks everyone
for the ideas.


Terry Bowman, KA4HJH
"The Mac Doctor"

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