User:Aurelie Pellegrino/Fablab Reykjavik
I'am in the fablab Reykjavik for a 3 month internship. Until now, I learned how to use the Vinyl cutter, the laser cutter and the 3D printer.
Vinyl cutter
With the Vinyl cutter, you can create stickers. To do that, you need a piece or a roll of vinyl. Fablab has Vinyl that you can use (there is many differents colors), but you can also bring your own vinyl. To use the Vinyl cutter, you have to use a software called Inkscape to draw your stikers. When your drwaing is finished, don't forget to do that : click on "fill and stroke". Fill : click on the cross. Stroke paint: click on the second square and choose red (255). After that in Stroke style, you have to put on mm, and put 0.02 mm on width. Now, you can save it as a PDF. If you want several differents colors, you have to save as many pdf as there are colors, so one PDF per color.
- How to use the vinyl cutter :
Firt switch on the machine, after you have to lower the lever located to the left to the machine, on the front and after, you can insert into the machine your piece or your roll of vinyl. Your Vinyl must hide the little camera located on the front of the machine. The machine also must be located between two white stripes. You have to stare your vinyl with the two little wheels. You can move them from the back of the machine. After that, you have to raise the lever. Choose on the machine, piece if it's a piece of vinyl, or edge if it's a roll. You can choose that with the top arrow or with the down arrrow. After that, press enter. Choose your PDF file and press "print". A window appears. Click on "properties" and after that click on "get from machine" this adjusts the size of the document. Click on print and let's go ! When it's finished, you can lower the lever and take your vinyl. Don't forget to press enter!
Laser cutter
With the Laser cutter, you can cut many materials, such as wood, paper, plexiglass, cardbord... Fablab has several materials that you can use, but you can also bring your own materials. As the Vinyl cutter, you have to draw that you want to cut, with Inkscape. You have to put the same parameters as above : ( click on "fill and stroke". Fill : click on the cross. Stroke paint: click on the second square and choose red (255). After that in Stroke style, you have to put on mm, and put 0.02 mm on width. After, save as a PDF).
- How to use the laser cutter :
Choose your PDF file. click on print, a window appears. Choose "portrait", "actual size" and click on "proprieties", a blue window appears. Inside, you have to define some parameters. You have to select in "Job type" : "vector" if you want to cut, "Raster" if you want to engrave, and "Combinned" if you want to both cut and engrave. After taht, you have to define the vector setting (speed, power and freq) and the Raster setting if that is the case. Don't forget to define the size of your piece in "Piece size", in mm of course ! Click "ok". You can find the parameters on the wall.
Ater that, choose your materials, and put it in the machine. Place the angle of your material in the corner of the markers. Press Pointer to see the laser point. First you have to check the distance between your material and the pointer. To do that, put the little triangle (situated above the machine) on the pointer and check with the arrows (top and down) if the distance is good. If the moove, it means that you are too hight and you have to press down arrow one time. Now you are good !
Now you have to press "X/Y", it allows you to moove the pointer and define the origin of the cutting. Press "set home" and "Reset", the origine is now define. You can go back to the computer and click on print. Go back to the machine and press "Go". Your cutting is starting.
Great, your cutting is finished !!
Wait a few seconds and you can take it. Is technology not great ?!
3D printer
With the 3D printer you can do a lot of amazing things ! You can design everything that you want and just print it with the 3D printer. To do that, you need to modeling that you want with a 3D software such as, for exemple, Blender. Blender is a free software, so it's the perfect software to do that. The principle of the 3D printer is simple. You just have to put inside Makerbot (the software use with the 3D printer) and the printer will print your object layer by layer. The larger your object is, the longer the impression long is.
- How to use the 3D printer :
To use it, you have to import your 3D file (it must be an .stl file) into Makerbot. You can do adjustments such as : scales, rotation etc. After that, you have to choose Raft and Supports if you need it. Check if there is enought plastic filament in the roll located behind the printer. After all this steps, you are ready to print. Click on preview and if everthing it's good, you can print your objet !
Is not that great ?
With the 3D printer you can also do 3D selfie ! To do that you need to use a kinect and a software called ReconstrucMe.
You just have to scan your face. To do that you have to turn the kinect arround you, or just sit down on a chair thats turns and just .. Turn ! :)
After that, you can print your 3D selfie and .... Tadaaaaa :
3D selfie.
To see what I have printed with the 3D printer you can check My study project
