Inkscape laser cutter plugin cut and raster11/11/2022 Had I put the nodes on the slot for the handle (as in diagram below), the friction points would be against the surface of the material, a part that can vary if the thickness varies.Īn alternative joint is the t-slot joint which is popular with people who make more engineering type products. Dimension X and Y will be the same each time as cut by the laser therefore I put the nodes on these parts. The tabs on the triangle parts fit into the slots on the circle part. This works if you are using tabs but is not necessarily the case if you are using a slotting joint.įor example, in the design of this spinning top I put the nodes on the tab as opposed to on the slot. This occurs when you have 2 edges that are cut by the laser that are the friction edges. That way you don’t need to bet on the thickness changing and the range of variation is a lot smaller. I would aim for 0.5mm and greater if your design will allow it.Īnother trick to keep in mind is putting the nodes on a part of the design where you can guarantee the length. On the Vambit the radii was tiny, 0.26mm and it was enough to make a noticeable difference. The larger the radii the stronger it will be so you will need to make an aesthetic decision on how big you can go. A small radii in that corner does wonders to transfer the forces from one face of the hole or slot to the other and reduces the risk of the material splitting at the corner. Not good when this is structurally an important part of the design. See this example.Įffectively a sharp corner is creating a weak point in the acrylic. If you have a sharp corner, typical in a laser cut slot, the acrylic will always fracture at that corner. Second, how you treat the end of the slot is the key. This means it wont cover the same range as in wood but still a good option. However, after working with Drownspire to develop their Vambit toy into a product we could give away at Makerfaire, I discovered that you can successfully use nodes when making with acrylic.įirstly the nodes need to be a bit smaller <0.15mm/0.006″ on each side. We’ve written about using ‘nodes’ with 3D objects made from wood before, but suggested it may not work for acrylic because it is more brittle and less forgiving. Posted in Josh Judkins, Laser Cutting Tutorial, Various How-To by Josh Judkins | Comments are off for this post If anyone has any questions, or anything here is unclear, just let me know and I will continue to refine these instructions as needed. Step 6: Select the nodes on each side of the next line, and repeat the above process.Īs I said, it’s a bit complex, but once you get the hang of it it will work for you. Step 5: Click on the line between the two nodes so that both nodes are highlighted dark gray and a larger size to the rest of the nodes in the object, and press delete. Step 4: Click on the node on the other side of the double line, and use the Break Path button again. Step 3: With the node highlighted dark gray, click the Break Path at Selected Nodes button Step 2: Click on an object that contains a double line and then select a node on one side of the double line to be removed. Step 1: Select the Edit Paths by Nodes tool. Removing this extra line in Illustrator is straightforward, but in Inkscape it’s a bit more complex:īefore you begin: Select All and use the Path > Object to Path command. When you first place the objects directly side by side, you should be able to see the shared line as being a darker blue to the others – at this point it’s a double line – one blue line directly on top of the other. The trick to making this work, however, is the removal of the unneeded extra line. This way the two pieces can share a cutting line between them – effectively cutting two sides in one stroke. As many of you will know, you can save making time and cost by placing the pieces you want to cut directly side-by-side.
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