One of the most intriguing tools in my school's CREATE Studio to me is the laser cutter. Once I heard we were putting one in the space, I started pinning away in the time suck that is Pinterest (you can see all the amazing things I hope to create by going to the DIY Makerspace board by clicking on the Pinterest button to the left).
Project #1
I had no idea how amazing it would actually be! I initially thought it was going to be some intimidating program like Illustrator, but I was actually able to begin quite simply using any word or illustration program. I used the almighty Canva to create my image, saved it as a JPEG or PNG file; save the file to a flash or however else you will get it to the computer that speaks with the laser cutter.
There is some tweaking you will need to do once in Illustrator for the settings between the etching and the actually cutting that I haven't quite mastered yet, but with some guidance, anyone can do it. I watch my students do it all the time in the CREATE Studio. I created this sign for the cake table at my upcoming wedding, but I've seen our English classes use the laser cutter to create little houses in order to build the neighborhood from To Kill a Mockingbird, by Harper Lee. The possibilities for incorporating a tool and machine like this into your classes is infinite and it's incredibly quick! Check out my project:
Project #1
I had no idea how amazing it would actually be! I initially thought it was going to be some intimidating program like Illustrator, but I was actually able to begin quite simply using any word or illustration program. I used the almighty Canva to create my image, saved it as a JPEG or PNG file; save the file to a flash or however else you will get it to the computer that speaks with the laser cutter.
There is some tweaking you will need to do once in Illustrator for the settings between the etching and the actually cutting that I haven't quite mastered yet, but with some guidance, anyone can do it. I watch my students do it all the time in the CREATE Studio. I created this sign for the cake table at my upcoming wedding, but I've seen our English classes use the laser cutter to create little houses in order to build the neighborhood from To Kill a Mockingbird, by Harper Lee. The possibilities for incorporating a tool and machine like this into your classes is infinite and it's incredibly quick! Check out my project: