SLQ Wiki facilities:fablab:fittings-custom

Chest and draw, from cardboard with internal dividers.
For storing fixings, small parts and components.
Initial designs are for 4mm corrugated board, cut on laser (with tabs) or cnc-knife.
Designed by Andrei Maberley.

Fits into a milkcrate for transportation.

Milkcrates fit into Milkcrate Shelving.

Quarter Width/Quarter Height - Laser-Cut

This is a single chest and draw, design to fit 16 in a milkcrate.

Build Instructions

These instructions cover using the files provided to;

make existing design at The Edge (In-House),
Modify the design to suite other materials or sizes (Custom)
make the existing design using another facility (External)

In-House

Materials

2 sheets 4mm corrugated card per box. (520 x 420mm)
Masking tape

Tools and Equipment

Lasercutter
Hot Glue gun

Instructions

Preparation

Book some time of the laser cutter (if you need to do an induction you can find the latest announcements here)
Download the CDR file layout_x1.cdr

At The Edge

Ask the facilitator for two sheets of 4mm cardboard when you are in the Fabrication Lab.¹⁾
Cut the box with the settings
- 50% power
- 4% speed
Assemble the draw using masking tape on the outside, then glue on the inside.
Assemble the chest, gluing on the tabs only - too much glue and the drawer will stick.

Custom

The 3D model can be viewed, interacted with and downloaded from here https://a360.co/2D4gpg7. You will need to provide an email to recieve the download.

To customise the material thickness, dimensions and tolerances you can change the parameters of the original design in Fusion360..

The design has two main components - the chest;

and the draw.

The dimensions are based on the external of the chest. This is to ensure that the chest and draw fit inside our container.

Changing Parameters

Before playing with the parameters remember;

that they can (and will) interact in strange ways.
Undo early and often.
adjusting material thickness can affect everything.
Changing the overall length/width and height to smaller values can break the tabs.
the tab dimensions can be adjusted, but not the number of tabs. (ie the number of tabs is dependent on tab dimensions)

Open the model, then go to the parameters menu.

The parameters you will can change are favourites at the the top of the list.

External

Quarter Width/Quarter Height Files

The individual faces as DXFs are:

Layout for cutting - sheet dimension minimum 560mm x 320mm.

CDR file layout_x1.cdr

Rayjet Settings are:

50% power
4% speed

Export for other formats:

PDF layout_x1.pdf
DXF layout_x1.dxf

chest_draw_quarter_width_quarter_height_1_.dxf

Quarter Width/Quarter Height - CNC - Knife

As above - but without tabs.

The Fusion360 file and 3D model is viewable here https://a360.co/2CGh3iY

The individual faces as DXFs are:

Layout for cutting - sheet dimension minimum 535mm x 310mm - sheet (page) size 2200 x 1200.

Full Width/Quarter Height - Laser-Cut

The Fusion360 file and 3D model is viewable here https://a360.co/2DaWUG2.

The individual faces as DXFs are:

Layout for cutting. Two sheets each a full sheet dimension 726mm x 432mm for Rayjet.

Rayjet Settings are:

50% power
4% speed

Export for other formats:

Half Width/Half Height - Laser-Cut

The individual faces as DXFs are:

Layout for cutting. Three sheets each a full sheet dimension 726mm x 432mm for Rayjet.

Page Credits

¹⁾

cardboard is free for limited personal and prototyping use

Custom Display Case

anonymous@undisclosed.example.com (Anonymous) — Mon, 25 Mar 2019 16:14:57 +0000

Custom Display Case

This is a case requested by SAlly McHugh to display the icons designed by Talia Yat for the short courses run at The Edge to display at the BrisMakerfest. The case was designed by Andrei Maberley, assembled and painted by Sally McHugh and Talia Yat.

Brief

Intended to display the laser-cut and hand-painted icons on a coloured card background bordered with white archiveboard.

The plan was to cut a variation of the tabbed box on the CNC in 4mm ply to house all twenty panels in one case. After looking at the lead-time to modify existing designs for CNC machining we decided to make smaller frames on the lasercutter for quicker turn around.

Prototype

A version was made using 2mm ply and pizza box cardboard to test the concept.

Build Instructions

These instructions cover using the files provided to;

make existing design at The Edge (In-House),

They can be amended to include:

Modify the design to suite other materials or sizes (Custom)
make the existing design using another facility (External)

In-House

Materials

Per frame.

2 sheets 4mm A3 ply
2 sheets A4 coloured paper (90gsm)
1 Sheet archive board or similiar

Tools and Equipment

Lasercutter
PVA glue
Spray-paint

To build the current version of the frame there is no need to edit the Fusion360 file, the existing Corel Draw files can be used on the Laser Cutter in The Edge at SLQ.

Instructions

Download thezip archive.
Book some time of the laser cutter (if you need to do an induction you can find the latest announcements here)
Purchase required two sheets of 4mm A3 ply for the laser cutter when you are in the Fabrication Lab.
Cut the frame back,front and sides from ply from file Display_Case_For_Icons.cdr using The Edge standard settings.
Cut the backing-board from file Display_Case_For_Icons.cdr using the appropriate setting for the material.
Cut the coloured squares from file coloured_card_backing.cdr. (you can cut a few pieces at the same time)
Assemble the case back and sides using PVA gle
Paint the box and front if required (Remember to mask off the inside of the case)
Fit coloured paper and backing
Attach front panel to box with PVA

Design Files

A zip archive containing the Fusion360 model, DXF output, corel files and the above PNG.

The original icons created by Talia.

3D Printer Fume Hoods - decom

anonymous@undisclosed.example.com (Anonymous) — Mon, 25 Mar 2019 16:09:06 +0000

3D Printer Fume Hoods - decom

Created in-house by Holly Pepper

Lulzbot Box

lulzbot_box_v1.zip

Laptop storage boxes

anonymous@undisclosed.example.com (Anonymous) — Mon, 25 Mar 2019 16:09:18 +0000

Laptop storage boxes

This is prototype of a better laptop storage solution for laptops in The Edge Fabrication Lab. The development of this was informed by a variety of design and operational objectives.

We wanted a storage solution that:

was aesthetically pleasing
could be integrated with existing Fab Lab furniture (ikea KALLAX/EXPEDIT bookshelves)
facilitated a self service approach to providing resources in the Fab Lab
Allowed us to have laptops on charge while in their storage unit (we waste alot of time setting up PSU/Chargers for short workshops that shouldn't require a charge because the machines don't go back on charge when they are put away)
Maximum tidiness (no cables hanging everywhere, hide as much as you can)
sturdy construction

Other considerations

This is not a unique problem and lots of people around the world have Ikea shelves.
Is this a design that could be rejigged for a larger shelf (considering the possiblity of creating our own similar version of Kallax that is big enough to take a standard Milk Crate.

Learnings from the Prototyping Process Thus far

there needs to be hand access holes to feed the cable and PSU into its space.
There needs to be a construction order - ie hint number one build from the middle out
There needs to be a mechanism/ tabs that hold the box in place as laptops are being slid in and out.
These tabs need to be removable so you can get the box out for maintenance
There needs to be a lot of head room for the PSU input plug to go into the laptop when on its shelf.
I really need to learn a proper cad application that has parametric, exploded and assemble view capabilities ;)

Design Files

below are the rough drawing and design files produced for this project

Large Signage

anonymous@undisclosed.example.com (Anonymous) — Fri, 19 Jul 2019 11:46:34 +0000

Large Signage

This page documents the process of making large physical signage using the CNC Router.

Rationale

As events are programmed offsite, the need for physical signage more appropriate than a pop-up banner has been realised. For example Dangerous Fridays will be presented offsite, as will One Last Apocolypse.

Use Case

For the Dangerous Fridays event, Daniel has envisioned a large logo, to be lit with low power 12DC lamps, made as large as feasible on the CNC router. It needs to be light enough to be hand transported if need be, but still have a professional level of finish.

Design Process

The concept is a lightweight, approx 2400mm x 2400mm foam structure, 100mm deep made of two layers of foam glued together, sanded then laquered. Talia Yat has designed the logo, which has been simplifed slighty first by Daniel, then myself.

Prototype One

The first prototype was cut on friday the 23rd June.

Design Prep

Ive have taken Talia's file, exported it from Illustrator as a DXF (latest version) then cleaned it up in Corel Draw. We need to do this because the original (illustrator) file is full of overlaps and un-cuttable shapes. Next I usually make a 3D model in Fusion360 to test the shapes, but the detail in the curves broke fusion360 so I skipped this step.

The cleaning process is;

Convert object to Curves
Remove fill and set line to hairline (black)
Join all lines with a 'extend' and a tolerance of 0.
Manually edit curves to remove sharp corners and join still unjoined lines.
Combine all curves.
Save and export as DX using AutoCAD 2008-2013 with units as mm.

Test Curves with Pen

The next step is to make sure Enroute is seeing the DXF with the right units and as nice smooth curves. A test with the pen tool is convenient for this as it doesn't spin up the spindle. * Import DXF into enroute * Make an engrave path with the pen tool * Test on CNC router. What we are looking for a nice smooth curves, not a series of straight lines.

Make Offsets (Contours)

We'll Corel to make the offsets required to cut the line width that we need. We are looking for a minimum thickness of 15mm. The Contour tool in Corel makes this easy.

Once applied our shapes look like this.

Don't worry about arranging the shapes here - we will do this in Enroute, just export your DXFs again, using the same settings.

Cut Prep in Enroute

Now we need to import, layout and make our toolpaths.

Do a new document, then use the 50mm foam plate preset.
Import your DXFs. NOT AS LEGACY
Group your letters and shapes NOW so you can move them around without getting them out of alignment.
Try fit parts onto the plate.
Fail. (the actual material size is smaller than the 2400 by 1200 the sign was designed for)
Resize all parts using the 'precision input centre' (F2) to .95 of original proportions.(do a quick calculation to see if we've stuffed our line thickness…15 * .95 = 14.35.. should be fine)

Tool Paths

Because the foam is so soft and we have a dedicated bit (T5 - 6.35mm Foam cutter), we can crank through it really quickly. I've started at 6000 mm/min and 3 passes + 2000 mm/min finish and worked up. The final settings are:

Routing 2 pass
- 8000 mm/min 48mm depth, then 2000 mm/min finish
Fills 2 pass
- 8000 mm/min

Prototype One 'The D'

The'D' the prototype cut, sanded glued and lit.

Revision A

The first revision requested by Daniel is adding the holes for lights at 15cm intervals with a diameter of 50mm. This requires a line traced in the middle of the letters, then individual routed holes. This is best done before applying contours.

I've found two methods for this - one is manual, the second uses an autro-trace function that finds a centreline in a bitmap image. Lets do this is corel.

First we convert to a bitmap.

make a copy of the shapes layer
remove the contours
- right click on contour line and 'break contour apart'
- select contour and delete
Fill all ojects with black (Use Object Properties)
Convert to bitmap (Bitmap - Convert to Bitmap)
Trace Centreline (Binmap - Centreline Trace)
Manually clean up
- Delete jagged nodeds
- break paths to smaller segements (no loops)
Export as DXF (using above settings)

Revision B

Daniel requested a change to the design, with a 30mm pocket inset into the bottom layer. This required nesting of paths in enroute. The most straight forward way to do this is to use separate layers, with paths exports a layer at a time.

This cut process resulted in difficult to transport and align shapes.

The Coke Sign

At this point attention was shifted to making a Sign for GU music theatre production. The sign was cut using Prototype One, Rev B method.

Prototype Three -- Dangerous Fridays Version 2--

With the installation of the reciprocating knife for the Multicam CNC Router, and the on-lining of Vcarve for cutting, its time for prototype three.

This prototype is intended to use the knife for two layers of foam, with a routed 5mm mdf layer in-between to add support. We will make the knife paths in Enroute, then switch to vcarve for the router.

Talia has redone the illustrator file with thicker lines and added holes for the lights.

Design Prep

As with Prototype One - we need to clean up stray lines. To work on the knife we will also have to remove any curves with a radius less that 5mm, smaller curves may break the blade.

Clean Up

Loading up the AI file in Corel Here we can see a fee jagged curves and some left over vectors - this is the kind of stuff that needs to go.

lets turn of the fill and make the lines hairline to see whats going on.

Manually deleting the loops and smoothing out the vectors gives us something like this. To make this easier - ungroup all the object and break apart the curves.

When its all cleaned up this is our design.

Next is time to remove any small curves - Pull up the Fill/Scallop/Chamfer docker. The Multicam guys say 5mm radius is fine - but I'm going to set 10 mm 'cause I ain't breaking the knife.

Select a shape, then apply - then undo straight away and you'll get a nice little preview of what the fillet has done outlined in blue.

If you get this error, then you have a sneaky little vector in there, find it and delete it.

Our final cleaned and filleted file looks like this - notice the hard corners on the dashes above and below the words are still sharp - I din't fillet them.

Now lets get the globe holes ready. We need to get rid of the red outlines, these are just guides to make sure the globes fit. First select a red outline in the object manager.

Then lets use corels 'find and replace' function to find the specific object.

We will use our current selection as the start of our search

Corel will grab the info from that object….

Now we can 'find all' matching objects

Because the matching objects are all in groups Corel asks if we want to ungroup them - yes we do…

To double check you've got the right objects - check in the object manager.

Now delete - and the cleaned up globes looks like this.

Contours

Now its time to add contours as described in prototype One. A few tips on this process:

Move the shapes around so the contours don't overlap, but make sure you move the globe outlines too!!

Break apart the contours

Used the 'weld' tool to join together a couple of contours where they overlap.

Where this weld has resulted in a sharp corner, I've filleted again to smooth it out.

To make the next stage easier - group all the words and bulbs together, and give them separte, clearly named layers.

This final corel file looks like this.

Cutting - 70mm Foam

Using the knife speeds up the cutting process, even though the feed rate is slower (3000 mm/min) the clean, precise cuts leave no powdered waste to be cleaned up.

Layout

There are two foam jobs per sheet, organised in Enroute as separate layers. There is only one type of path -engrave- available with the knife. The settings used were feed of 2500 and plunge of 1500. These are conservative, it would be good to go faster I think.

For example the first layer of the 'friday' looks like this, with holes for the globes and an external profile.

Routing - 6mm mdf

This process was successful using external routes and a pocket to clear the light sockets. I tested using an engrave path for the outline and internal offset for the sockets but this left the shapes a little loose in the foam.

However using MDF means we have to change from the oscillating knife to router head to complete the job. I proposed we cut the inner layer (layer2) out of card with the knife - requiring a knife change only.

Prototype Four = Wonderland

wonderland_w_to_scale.ai

wonderland_w_to_scale_v2.ai

wonderland_v2_drawing_v0.pdf

Prototype Five - Coke V2

coca_cola.zip

Resources

cola.pdf

A zip containing all the files used for Dangerous Fridays prototyping.

dangerous_fridays_bra_865941.zip

coca.pdf

Level One Furniture

anonymous@undisclosed.example.com (Anonymous) — Mon, 23 Jul 2018 14:27:16 +0000

Level One Furniture

A project to build in-house furniture for the window bays and coffee stop. The designs we've looked at include the opendesk plans for the lean desk. The raw files are available here

od-149697-len_dsk_exp_s_1290x2400_c_st_a_sa_m_lt_1.0.2.zip

Milkcrate Shelving

anonymous@undisclosed.example.com (Anonymous) — Fri, 23 Jul 2021 15:11:12 +0000

Milkcrate Shelving

An interpretation of the basic ikea shelves for storing cubic items (ie milkcrates). This is a parametric design made in autodesk Fusion360.

Getting Parametric

So what parameters do we need to think about before we start?

crate = crate dimension - this is a cube measured in mm.
shelves = number of shelves (dimensionless) - this is used to calculate the height in mm.
Compartments = number of compartments (dimensionless) - this is used to calculate the width in mm.
thickness = the material sheet thickness in mm.
tool thickness (tool)

Once you enter these parameters the model will calculate the largest router bit size based on your material thickness that can be used and display it as teh toolmax parameter. Then you can set your tool diameter. This can go as small as .5mm which is useful for the lasercutter.

Lets make a smaller set of shelves on the multicam M-2412

Fusion360

Grab this file and open it in Fusion360.

Now go to the modify menu and select change parameters

Here you can adjust the build to your needs. You should only change the expression field in these favourite parameters. I've modified it to fit on a sheet of mdf 2000 x 900 x 16. With 2 shelves, 3 compartments, 16mm thickness and a crate of 375 mm.

Check out the toolmax parameter value. It suggests I can get away with a tool up to 9.5mm (round it to the nearest .5 mm)

toolmax - this is calculated based on the thickness of your material, round it to the nearest .5 of a mm. For example the biggest tool you can use with 16mm material is 9.41mm (9.5mm)

In this case I'm going to use a 6.35mm tool for a nicer finish.

Now close the parameter window and check out your model.Looks a bit more reasonable now?

Now we need to export our DXFs for cutting, which we do from a 2D sketch. ¹⁾ The Sketches we want to export are called (partname)DXF. I'm going to export the SideDXF first by right clicking and selecting export to DXF.

Then save it with a nice name..

Now repeat for all the other sketches named DXF and you are done!!

Cutting on The Edge CNC router

To cut on the CNC router you first need to be inducted and make a booking.

¹⁾

To make the sketches neat for export I've gone through and extruded bodies from the original sketches then created new sketches on the extruded faces. This gets rid of the construction lines…

Plinth

anonymous@undisclosed.example.com (Anonymous) — Mon, 23 Jul 2018 14:27:17 +0000

Plinth

This is a plinth requested by courtney for display of the scale model of the Story Bridge, created by Paul Morris.

Printer Shelving

anonymous@undisclosed.example.com (Anonymous) — Tue, 31 Jul 2018 16:02:24 +0000

Printer Shelving

This is an adaption of the milkcrate shelving design that has only one compartment and up to 5 shelves ²⁾. This is a parametric design made in autodesk Fusion360.

20161205singlecompartmentcnc_drawing_v2.pdf

The model has top, bottom, side, shelf, and dividers. Here is what is looks like in a 10 crates by 10 crates size.

This is too big to be cut, but starting from an oversized model makes the parametric rescaling of sketches possible in Fusion360 ³⁾

²⁾

this limit is forced by the extrusion of the back in fusion360 - to expand you just need to increase the number of shelves in parameters and re-extrude

³⁾

not sure if this is intended, but re-dimensioning sketches breaks the rectangular pattern on the extruded faces.

Custom Fittings

anonymous@undisclosed.example.com (Anonymous) — Tue, 03 Mar 2020 10:47:15 +0000

Custom Fittings

These are the solutions created by The Edge Programming team for in-house fit-out or take-aways from workshops or inductions.

With limited resources and budget, in-house fittings are based upon recycled or salvaged equipment from SLQ, donated materials or surplus from workshops.

Take-aways from workshops are designed for minimal material use, and fast machine time⁴⁾ . All are designed and built in-house.

Current Fittings - In Use

Fabrication Lab Fittings

De-comissioned Fittings

3D Printer Fume Hoods - decom

Created in-house by Holly Pepper

⁴⁾

On the CNC Router this can be distilled to one face, one tool - i.e. single sided material, with no tool changes. For the Laser Cutter this is combined cuts,minimal engrave i.e overlapping lines are combined into single paths, little to no engraving

Sheet Stock Storage

anonymous@undisclosed.example.com (Anonymous) — Tue, 07 May 2019 13:53:46 +0000

Sheet Stock Storage

Off-cut and odd size sheet storage for the Fabrication Lab Machine Shop, cut on the Mutlicam CNC with 15mm plywood. Two versions have been output, V1 has no back for deeper sheets.

V2 has no centre shelf for taller sheets.

Design and Cut Files

Fusion 360 Model

The fusion360 model can be viewed and download from here. Use this file if you want to change dimensions or stock, etc..

http://a360.co/2FlvUEP

DXF Files

Use these files to cut on a CNC.

DXF files for V1

DXF files for V2 - with no shelf.

V Carve

Use these files to cut on State library's CNC at The Edge.

sheet_storage_crv.zip

Cut and Assembly

The material is 15mm plywood, cut with a 6.25 (1/4 inch) bit.

Asgard Stool

anonymous@undisclosed.example.com (Anonymous) — Sat, 09 Oct 2021 12:33:50 +0000

~~REVEAL~~

Asgard Stool

The Asgard stool was created for initially for the 2017 Brisbane Makerfest where 30 participants built the stool in 45 minutes. The stools were pre-cut, a demo cutting was shown. The stools have been re-purposed to serve as the take-away for The Edge CNC inductions.

Build Instructions

These instructions cover using the files provided to;

make existing design at The Edge (In-house)
~~modify the design to suite other materials or sizes (Custom)~~
~~make the existing design using another facility (External)~~

In-House

Materials

1200 x 1200 x15mm sheet of ply Plywood (purchased from fabrication lab )

Tools and Equipment

CNC Router
Vectrics Vcarve Pro
Hand file (CNC Pit)
Mallet (CNC Pit)

Instructions

Preparation

Book some time of the CNC Router (if you need to do an induction you can find the latest announcements here)
Download the latest Vcarve File

At The Edge

Cut the stool with the settings in the Vcarve file.
Clean the stool using hand file.
Follow the assembly instructions.

Custom

Tools and Equipment

CNC Router
Vectrics Vcarve Pro
Hand file (Machine Shop)
Mallet (Machine Shop)

Preparation

Download and install Fusion360
Download the latest Fusion 360 Induction Chair

The 3D model can be viewed, interacted with here.

To customise the material thickness, dimensions and tolerances you can change the parameters of the original design in Fusion360..

Changing Parameters

Before playing with the parameters remember;

that they can (and will) interact in strange ways.
Undo early and often.
adjusting material thickness can affect everything - after changing, close the paramater window to check the effect.

Open the model, then go to the parameters menu.

The parameters you will can change are favourites at the the top of the list.

Export DXFs

Once you have made all the required changes, select the correct sketches to export as DXFs.

External

The individual faces as DXFs are:

Layout for cutting - sheet dimension minimum 560mm x 320mm.

CNC Settings are:

Export for other formats:

Old Files

stoolcv3.zip

asgard_stool_instructions.pdf

asgard_stool_instructions.zip

asgard_stool_brismakerfest_final_v0.f3d

Created by Andrei Maberley on 2017/05/19 11:23.

contributors

Tabbed Boxes

anonymous@undisclosed.example.com (Anonymous) — Mon, 25 Mar 2019 16:14:06 +0000

Tabbed Boxes

In house design and made boxes for small component and tool storage. Suitable for cutting on the laser in carboard, acrylic, or ply. Two basic types are in use - one is generated from an online box maker, modified in illustrator. The second is parametric modelled in Fusion360.

Parametric Tabbed Boxes

tabbed_chest_draw_milkcrate_300x300x300_v1.zip

Rolling Work Tables

anonymous@undisclosed.example.com (Anonymous) — Mon, 25 Mar 2019 16:13:54 +0000

Rolling Work Tables

These tables serve for workshop seating, distinct from the taller tables for standing work. The tops are recycled tasmanian oak, salvaged from SLQ fittings. The legs are 2nd hand dexian, cut to size. The castors are the only new component sourced from a local supplier.