I wanted to make a sign for the Makerspace as my final project. Here's a link to my design on Fusion360! And here's a link to the tower. And here's a link to the nub!
I really wanted to incorporate a lot of the things we learned in class, so I decided to use the ShopBot, the Zing laser cutter, and the 3D printer. I used aluminum for the backplate so it would be sturdy and lightweight (I also just really like the industrial look of it). I used a plywood for the logo section similar to what we used for several of our laser cutting projects. I also used a grey filament for the 3D printed Murchison Tower both because it was similar to what we used for all of our 3D printing projects and because I thought it would complement the aluminum. Per Ryan's request, I also included a section of cork at the bottom so they could pin shop announcements on it (backed with the same aluminum).
I first started on the ShopBot because that is the only CNC big enough to accommodate the 2ft x 2ft squares of aluminum and 2ft x 14in plywood.
I really wanted to incorporate a lot of the things we learned in class, so I decided to use the ShopBot, the Zing laser cutter, and the 3D printer. I used aluminum for the backplate so it would be sturdy and lightweight (I also just really like the industrial look of it). I used a plywood for the logo section similar to what we used for several of our laser cutting projects. I also used a grey filament for the 3D printed Murchison Tower both because it was similar to what we used for all of our 3D printing projects and because I thought it would complement the aluminum. Per Ryan's request, I also included a section of cork at the bottom so they could pin shop announcements on it (backed with the same aluminum).
I first started on the ShopBot because that is the only CNC big enough to accommodate the 2ft x 2ft squares of aluminum and 2ft x 14in plywood.
After those were cut, I started on the 3D printed tower. It took about 13 hours to print!
For the most part, the tower turned out really well! It just freaked out a little bit on the tip:
But I just decided to print out a little nub to glue on the top. That only took 2 minutes to print!
I then cut the cork with an exacto knife. It was actually super easy that way. I was worried about using the laser or hand tools because the stuff falls apart easily.
Then it came down to the logo headache... I wanted to make sure that the sign didn't have to get taken down because of improper marketing. I was sure to consult with Les (the building manager) to make sure CSI Makerspace was an acceptable name. I also used the Minion Pro font as per the Trinity Marketing/Branding site rules. But this font was not easy to implement. For one thing, I couldn't download a font on Fusion360 on the Trinity computers without an administrator passcode! I also tried on my personal MacBook, but apparently Fusion is notorious for not allowing MacBook users to download and use new fonts (as per numerous unsatisfied Mac users in Fusion help chat groups). Soooooo I went into a Microsoft Word document and typed"CSI" in the Minion Pro font and made it take up a whole page, then I saved that as a pdf. I then did the same for "Makerspace." Then, I opened those pdfs in Adobe Illustrator and "exploded" them before converting the file to dxf and downloading it on Fusion. It was hilariously complicated! But hey, it worked!! THEN I had to figure out how I was going to actually cut it. The text itself was 14in tall, but it also had a 1.5in border. The Zing would cut the cleanest, but it only had a 12in cut length. So I had to improvise! I had to cut "CSI" first, flip the wood and cut "Makerspace" upside-down. I knew the flip would be tricky, so I tried it several times in cardboard.
After I got it down, I cut it perfectly on the real wood!
I tried to use a random epoxy to glue the tower, but it never set. Hot glue didn't work either. As per Ryan's suggestion, I used silicon and that worked perfectly. Ryan knows all... I had to clap it overnight to dry.
I also added LED strips to the back of the wood. I used two 9V batteries and a switch, soldering the positives to the switch and closing the loops with the negatives. I just taped a little box to the back of the wood to hold all of the electronics, but I plan to go back in and 3D print a real box to attach to the aluminum backplate.
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