1. CADEX 8 Floor Plans Understanding the planes
Laser cutting illustration board
Assemble a model

2. CADEX 9 Use an Imperial System template
Create the floor plans based on the images on the next slide
Create a flattened (surface development) drawing of all the different roof parts in preparation for the laser cut
Dimensions should be shown on your work. No dimension needed to the flattened version of your drawing
Complete all the drawings including the flattened version arranged to minimize use of illustration board material
Add the prescribed 2/3-tiered dimension format only to the orthographic projections
Use zero to all your lineweights for laser cutting
For the flattened image, use only Red for cut lines and only black for lines and text you want to engrave
Use the proper Sheridan Layer Standard
Make sure you draw the plan accurately
Use the 11 x 17 Title block prescribed for this exercise
Submit a PDF plot/export (save the file as UN_CADEX9.PDF and the DWG file in the dropbox in SLATE
Submit an 11 x 17 printout as well using any appropriate scale

4. Roof in 3D

5. Flattened Roof

6. Pagesetup for Plan and Elevation

7. Dim Settings

17. Plan / Elevation layout tab. You don’t need to draw the Isometric View

18. LASER CUT LAYOUT TAB SCALE ¼” : 1’
LASER CUT LAYOUT TAB SCALE ¼” : 1’. No other line should appear except the red and the black lines shown

19. Possible Layouts for Laser Cutting
It is best to place the etch cut at a horizontal. This will allow the laser cutter to go through the line with one pass rather than going through the line slowly up or down the equipment
Make sure you do not have multiple lines on top of each other as a line is equals a laser pass

20. USE DRAWING FOR LASER MODEL
Flatten the whole structure onto a single plane (as if all the roof went down flat on the ground) to prepare your drawings for laser cutting
Bring your drawings to our laser cutting session as instructed by your professor
Bring an illustration board (not the foam boards) big enough to fit your flattened structure (You may purchase illustration boards from the Sheridan Book Store or from stores that carry office/art supplies for this project). There are about st year 1st term students, make sure you buy this ahead of time. If you purchase the bigger boards, you may share it with your classmates.
Use your drawing created on AutoCAD to upload onto the computer associated with the laser cutter
View the video on the V:Distrib/1Laser for instructions on how to use the laser cutter

21. Colour Override
Lineweight Override
Select all lines you have defined to be laser cut. Override their colour to red. Only use the red as indicated above as it has a specific RGB value recognized by the cutter.
Use the black colour indicated for the engrave pass
Select all lines you have defined to be laser cut. Override their lineweight to 0.0mm.

22. 6. 0 Turn on the Trotec 400 series Laser Cutter
6.0 Turn on the Trotec 400 series Laser Cutter. You will need the machine’s key and staff supervision. Ask a faculty member in the lab for the key. Ensure the ventilator is also on. Place your material at 0,0 (top left corner).
7.0 Plot your drawing. In Autocad, press Cntrl+P to initiate a Plot. Set up your plot like this:
In Inches
2nd step
1st step
3rd step

23. 8. 0 In Plot set-up, define the print area with a Window Selection
8.0 In Plot set-up, define the print area with a Window Selection. Click at the bottom left of your layout, then the top right to define area. This area must fit on your material (that which you are cutting) at the scale you assign. For example, the layout below will easily fit on ¼”:1’ Cluster your drawings in a compact manner to save space and material; ensure you have enough material to fit all your drawings. Bristol board (11”x17”) is recommended and will fit ¼”:1’ scale
Define a window around your cad shapes in Plot set-up

24. 9.0 The Custom Properties in Autocad’s Plotter Configuration will lead you to the Trotec Laser Cutter’s Properties. Set up the Trotect properties like this:
Autocad Plotter Config. Click on Custom Properties
Trotec Laser Cutter Print set-up. Note Height and Width. Define this as the area of your material. The drawing layout in the previous slide easily fits on ¼”: 1’ imperial scale. Press the “JC” button when complete, then OK in Cad Plotter Config.
11”x17”
Trotec Laser Cutter General set-up

25. 10.0 The Changes to a Printer Config. dialogue box will appear. Hit OK.
11.0 Plot Job Progress and Job ID appear. Give the Job Name a meaningful name, one you will recognize in the Laser Cutter queue. Use your Last name and print iteration. Press the Apply button. For example, ‘Rafique-1’, or ‘Rafique-2’ for a second attempt.
12.0 The Laser Cutter Job Control (JC) software initiates itself. Its icon will flash. Click on it to open its screen.

26. 13. 0 In the Trotec Job Control, click on Options
13.0 In the Trotec Job Control, click on Options. Ensure your Units are metric (mm).
Click the Options button
Use inches

27. 14. 0 Click on Material Database
14.0 Click on Material Database. The Laser Cutter assigns colours to actions. For example, RED = Cut, BLACK = Engrave. Since we performed a colour override earlier, RED lines in our drawing will be cut. Ensure RED is set to CUT. All other colours should be set to Skip.
15.0 Set the Thickness of your material. For Bristol board, 1mm is a good option.
Click the Materials Database button
16.0 Set both material settings to Paper. If you are trying a thicker cardstock, you will find an option for cardboard, and you may experiment with the material thickness setting
17.0 Set both the Speed and Power to 100. You may experiment with these settings if you choose a different material

28. You will see your print job in the queue. Double click on it
You will see your print job in the queue. Double click on it. Your job appears as a black area. This is the area we defined in step 9.0.
Print appears in queue

29. 18. 0 In the Trotec Job Control, click on the Eye button
18.0 In the Trotec Job Control, click on the Eye button. Your drawing will appear. The white area is the ‘printable area’ or the cutting area. We set this in step 9.0.
Click the WISYWIG button. ‘What You See Is What You Get.’
Your drawing will appear.

30. 19.0 When you are done, click on the ‘Ready’ ‘plug’ icon at the bottom right. The Laser Cutter is ready to cut.
20.0 The ‘plug’ icon will turn into a ‘Play’ icon. Press it, the cutter starts cutting.
The white area is the cutting area defined in step 9.0.
A 11”x 17” sheet of Bristol board will easily accommodate your shapes at ¼” : 1’
Keep in mind the cutting area of the 400 Laser cutter is 39” x 24”.
21.0 Assemble your model.

31. Laser Cutter Power Setting for Paper (Experiment with speed and power combinations

32. Rubrics 8R Accurate dimensions with 2-3 tiered Dimension Lines 5
Lineweight
Text Title
Use of Sheridan Layers 5
Use of TitleBlock
Build Model using the laser cutter
Plot in Paper space using appropriate scale 5
Cleanup the laser cutting tool after use 15
See detailed rubrics in SLATE

33. To go to the Fab Lab
From the Davis campus cafeteria
Cafeteria
FAB lab