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Million Cuts
laser cutting
Summer 2022
#lasercutting
This project focuses on the use of laser cutting technology, to achieve cuts on materials that is impossible or very difficult to achieve by hand. 3mm acrylic sheets were used as the standardized medium in this project.
My project sought to investigate how I could bend acrylic without heating. By cutting geometrical gaps in the material, the sheet of acrylic became flexible as opposed to its initial rigid behaviour.
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Acrylic is a material that is typically utilised for its durability and strength, and often used as a shatter-resistant alternative to glass.
The material is also known for its thermoforming capabilities. By heating acrylic, the material could be moulded into different shapes. However, if a sheet of acrylic was bent without heating, the sheet broke into pieces, provided enough force was applied.
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Acrylic is a material that is typically utilised for its durability and strength, and often used as a shatter-resistant alternative to glass.
The material is also known for its thermoforming capabilities. By heating acrylic, the material could be moulded into different shapes. However, if a sheet of acrylic was bent without heating, the sheet broke into pieces, provided enough force was applied.
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honeycomb pattern
The honeycomb pattern offers a unique solution for achieving flexibility in three dimensions. Through thorough research, I determined that this pattern was the optimal choice for my project.
To begin, I identified a single unit of the honeycomb pattern and established the parameters for that unit. I then repeated this unit in a grid formation to create the honeycomb pattern. The size of the grid and distance between units could be adjusted for varying levels of flexibility and bending.
My hypothesis was that by increasing the number of cuts and creating a denser pattern, the degree of flexibility would be enhanced. Through further research and testing, I aimed to validate this hypothesis and optimize the use of the honeycomb pattern for my project. The cutting of acrylic sheets was done with a laser cutting machine.
I set up a script in Grasshopper to generate the honeycomb pattern with the above parameters, and tested my hypothesis by laser cutting three sheets of acrylic with different parameters. The resultant patterns and parameters are shown below.
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honeycomb pattern
The honeycomb pattern offers a unique solution for achieving flexibility in three dimensions. Through thorough research, I determined that this pattern was the optimal choice for my project.
To begin, I identified a single unit of the honeycomb pattern and established the parameters for that unit. I then repeated this unit in a grid formation to create the honeycomb pattern. The size of the grid and distance between units could be adjusted for varying levels of flexibility and bending.
My hypothesis was that by increasing the number of cuts and creating a denser pattern, the degree of flexibility would be enhanced. Through further research and testing, I aimed to validate this hypothesis and optimize the use of the honeycomb pattern for my project. The cutting of acrylic sheets was done with a laser cutting machine.
I set up a script in Grasshopper to generate the honeycomb pattern with the above parameters, and tested my hypothesis by laser cutting three sheets of acrylic with different parameters. The resultant patterns and parameters are shown below.
LOADING…
Testing
The testing of the acrylic sheets cut with the aforementioned patterns confirmed my hypothesis. It was found that having more cut lines and gaps in the sheet of acrylic resulted in less compression and tensile stress.
However, this also resulted in less material holding the sheet together, causing the remaining connecting parts of the sheet to be too thin and the honeycomb structure to break apart.
The sheet cut with pattern A, which had a very high density and occurrence of the honeycomb pattern, shattered into small pieces when twisted. Conversely, the sheet cut with pattern C was too stiff and snapped into large pieces when a greater force was applied during bending.
LOADING…
Testing
The testing of the acrylic sheets cut with the aforementioned patterns confirmed my hypothesis. It was found that having more cut lines and gaps in the sheet of acrylic resulted in less compression and tensile stress.
However, this also resulted in less material holding the sheet together, causing the remaining connecting parts of the sheet to be too thin and the honeycomb structure to break apart.
The sheet cut with pattern A, which had a very high density and occurrence of the honeycomb pattern, shattered into small pieces when twisted. Conversely, the sheet cut with pattern C was too stiff and snapped into large pieces when a greater force was applied during bending.
