Learning About Lasers 1st October
As there was only one day left in 3D, I had to make the most of it. I started bright and early so I could get a head start on finishing my design and use the laser cutter. This was even more important when I looked up at the board and saw that tomorrow I wouldn't be able to do any laser work. Luckily most of my work was finished yesterday and I only had to scan what I'd done at home. This still took time and there was a far bit of fiddling about before I had a design ready to go.
With the much of the day gone, I couldn't really say I was happy. I had nothing to show for my work apart from a design on a piece of paper and a psd file. I spoke to Matt (our tutor) about when I will be able to get hold of the laser cutter. I was told to come back this afternoon. This was when the staff were learning how to use the laser cutter themselves, and they would do it as part of the demonstration.
After lunch I came back to the computer room to find seven of the tutors at the computers. I sat in on the class and tried to take in as much as I could. Having done this yesterday and today, I remembered a fair bit about what colours to use, what format to put it in, and how to adjust the image. However, the thing I found most interesting was the fact that this group of tutors were acting a lot like our foundation group; there was a lot of joking and chatter. It was nice to see that not all tutors are scary and they also don't know everything.
After they had their images finished and ready for the laser, I could then have my necklace cut out. I'd chosen my acrylic earlier from the large range of colours. I had my mind set on a green or a red as they were the two colours that came to mind when I thought of Celtic designs.
I placed the sheet in the laser cutter and let it do it's work. I watched as it quickly etched my knot and then cut out the outline. I couldn't believe how fast it was doing it. In 30 minutes it had etched and cut out, not only my design, but also some of the tutor's.
As I took my design out of the sheet, I brushed off the dust and held it up and inspected the etching. After all the work on the computer, I was very happy with the result. All I have to do tomorrow is mould it.
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