LASER CUTTING

This is the design I created on adobe illustrator to be used as the input design for the laser cutter.

This is the final cut, I wanted to make a stencil out of this design but there was not sufficient time or wood to allow for this so my design was cut at a much smaller size.

Cutting at such a small size meant that slightly more wood was cut then I would have liked  because all the lines at such a small scale connected and little bits fell out but I still feel that the soul of the piece has remained.

Again this particular text was quite large so during the cutting more was cut then needed but this creates a whole new effect to the text which could be seen as visually attractive even if it means that it is less legible.

This day was very educational; starting off with a tour of the workshops I learnt a lot especially about cutting and 3D printing. Seeing and learning these things made me excited and my mind was swimming with ideas of how I could use these tools in the future to complete my work. I felt that unlike lots of the other days I was not hesitant when it came down to the designing- I got straight to the point, I knew exactly what I wanted to achieve and went about it as efficiently as I could asking for adobe photoshop/ illustrator advice when I needed and I also learnt a lot from little tips when my questions were answered. I am pleased with this final outcome but there is room for much improvement when it is completed at a much larger scale. Next time I laser cut I would go about it in a very similar way to how I have done in this instance; I would get my own materials and find more time to complete potentially a more complicated design- I could also attempt etching- something I did not experiment with on this particular task. Overall a good start and things can only get better.

Images: Authors own.

CHC