These were the initial ideas I came up with for my laser engraved notebook cover. In the end, I chose to do the desert notebook cover. Then I replicated the design in Adobe Illustrator, making sure my engraved parts were black and the cut-out parts were completely red and with a .0001 stroke weight.
Once done with my design, I saved my AI file onto a flash drive. I opened this file on the computer hooked up to the laser and began cutting out and engraving my design.
Once the design was cut out, I attached the front and back cover to pieces of paper with a notebook coil. It is now a functioning notebook!
Waterbottle.
These were the initial designs. I originally thought about creating an original design, perhaps one similar to my notebook design. However, I decided to go with an album cover: Planningtorock's album "Have It All". I really like the artwork on that specific album so I wanted to put it on my waterbottle.
Much like the notebook cover, I simply created the design I wanted engraved on my waterbottle in Adobe Illustrator. Once my design was finished, I loaded the Illustrator file onto a flash drive and plugged it into the computer connected to the laser.
Once the rotary jig was placed correctly in the laser with my waterbottle and my design was loaded onto the UCP software, I was ready to begin engraving.
Here is the finished product!
3D Object
To start this project I simply began browsing 3D objects I could make out of 2D shapes that could be cut out with a laser on Thingiverse. Once I found an object I liked, I downloaded the Illustrator file. As usual, I put the file into the UCP file and chose a piece of matboard I wanted the object to be cut out of.
After the shapes had been cut out, I assembled the object according to the creator's directions and it was completed!
In conclusion.
Throughout this rotation, I feel I completely understand how to work the laser. I've also learned how a rotary jig works. When I heard we would be engraving designs on waterbottles I initially thought that it would be a very complicated process. However, to my surprise, it was extremely simple and I was able to complete each of these projects with relative ease. I also feel I've obtained all the basic skills needed to operate the laser and that I will be prepared and confident when the time comes to work on the final project.