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Mike Berndt
07-31-2011, 3:54 PM
Hi all,
I am looking to put together a simple laser engraving curriculum for my middle school students come beginning of September. Any thoughts or ideas would be great. I have been searching this forum and have some ideas from some of the members just reposting to see if anyone else has thoughts or suggestions.

Thanks for any and all of your help,


Mike B.

Ross Moshinsky
07-31-2011, 4:42 PM
Running the laser is fairly simple. It's the other stuff which requires teaching.

The first thing that should be taught is pencil and paper drafting which should include measuring and dimensioning objects. After that you should teach them how to do drafting on the computers. Have them draw some sort of flange or shape and then cut it on the laser.

The next step is working on designs. I'd discuss media design. Bring in magazines and things like that and discuss why layouts work. Then let them work on designing simple things in Corel/Adobe.

That is easily 1 year's worth of work. In order to keep the program alive, I'd have the kids producing something that can be sold to benefit the school. I'd also go around and contact local companies who work with wood, acrylic, Corian, stone, ect ect ect and try to get as much drop off as you can. You'd be amazed what kind of drop off you can get.

Dee Gallo
07-31-2011, 7:41 PM
Check with Josh Richard, he's doing it right now and pretty successfully it seems. His old posts have questions and answers right up your alley. There are a lot of them.

cheers, dee

David Fairfield
08-01-2011, 8:23 AM
First give them scissors and paper and an impossible task to cut by hand. :) So they don't take things for granted, as kids tend to do.

Dave

Michael Hunter
08-01-2011, 9:10 AM
Within the next 5 years school lasers will have been chucked out to be replaced by 3D printers/Makerbots/Reprap machines - a much more useful technology (and generally fairly easy to understand).

Meanwhile, to avoid the kids regarding the laser as a "magic box", a little about lasers and motion systems would be a good thing. Particularly, why a 60W laser beam behaves differently to a 60W halogen lightbulb.

After David's scissors and paper exercise has been absorbed, finger-joint boxes would be a good project - involves accurate measurement of material thickness, allowing for kerf and significant care needed in the design if it is to go together well and look nice. Also provides something solid to take home to Mum.

Dan Hintz
08-01-2011, 9:56 AM
Within the next 5 years school lasers will have been chucked out to be replaced by 3D printers/Makerbots/Reprap machines - a much more useful technology (and generally fairly easy to understand).
I'd like to see that magic 3D printer create an anodized aluminum part with an image etched into it. Or how about a crystal clear plexiglass nightlight with a logo. Maybe it could create a child's toy from wood.

As with everything, the proper tool for the job. 3D printers are cool, but there are quite a few things they simply cannot do.

Michael Hunter
08-01-2011, 2:47 PM
I'd like to see that magic 3D printer create an anodized aluminum part with an image etched into it. Or how about a crystal clear plexiglass nightlight with a logo. Maybe it could create a child's toy from wood.

As with everything, the proper tool for the job. 3D printers are cool, but there are quite a few things they simply cannot do.


Head in sand Dan, Head in sand!

If I was a bit younger I would be going for 3D printing in a big way. The days of cutting bits out of flat stock and joining them together to make a 3D object will soon be over.

The architectural department of an English university (Loughborough, if I remember right), are developing a full-scale rig for printing BUILDINGS!

For my non-laser engineering work, we are beginning to think that the minimal extra cost for a printed part delivered on-demand outweighs the time delay whilst things are machined in the traditional CNC way.

School time is precious and if the kids are to benefit, they need to be taught the design philosophies that will be (most likely to be) relevant at the time that they leave school/college/university and enter industry.

Agreed that you need the right tool for the job, but will the laser remain the right tool for teaching kids?

Dee Gallo
08-02-2011, 11:37 PM
Whoa you guys! Just because you are familiar with laser engraving does not mean it is mainstream by a long shot! Just witness the ooohs and wows you get when someone sees one in action today.

Also, pressing "GO" on a laser or any other machine is the easy part of what we do. Teachers are still going to prepare their students with strong skills in layout, design, dimensioning, drawing programs, photo-retouching programs, etc. no matter what the output is, traditional or technological.

Improvement will always be made to hammers and tape measures, but that does not mean they are bound to become useless. People still use circular saws even though there are lasers.

As an old time teacher, I believe in starting at the beginning with students so they have a firm foundation to build on. Flashy techniques are one-trick ponies which will not earn them a living.

So let's give Mike some hope! Is there one perfect way to approach this, no. Is laser engraving for everybody, no. Did everyone who took drafting in HS become an architect, no. But to say it's a futile waste of time to teach the skills needed to set up and operate a laser is silly.

cheers, dee

Michael Hunter
08-03-2011, 4:53 AM
I'm certainly not saying that lasers aren't a good teaching tool : they have the "wow" factor to catch/retain interest and present more than enough design challenges to make kids think hard about how to make things and how things in general are made.

I *am* saying that 3D printing is the most exciting "making things" technology to come along for a long time - and is perhaps even more accessable in terms of cost and understanding than laser systems.
After hiding in prototyping shops for the last 15-20 years, the technology is coming of age and is getting out into mainstream manufacturing. There was an hour long radio program about it recently - very upbeat and some of the ideas presented were fascinating and if they do come about, will change manufacturing forever.

"Design and Technology" is part of the UK schools ciriculum. Last year I went to a trade show aimed at D&T teachers. There was all sorts of stuff there from felt shapes upwards. A good showing of lasers from both the big names and small firms importing Chinese : these had the level of interest you would expect, with a fair number of people looking. Some stands had CNC routers and did not seem to be attracting much interest (possibly because of noise, dust and safety issues). There were a number of stands demonstrating 3D printers (mainly Makerbots or obvious derivatives) and these were really attracting the crowds - the "wow" factor is very strong with these machines and there is not even a piece of glass between the onlookers and the growing object.
I'm pretty sure that over the next few years the 3D printers will outnumber the lasers because the technology is exciting, relevant and cheap to get into.

The most important thing is that kids are given the chance to make things, whether by hi-tech means or with a saw and a hammer.
These days too much is virtual and everybody knows that "things" all come from huge un-knowable factories in China.

Cherie Irwin
08-03-2011, 9:14 AM
Interestingly enough, as technology moves forward by leaps and bounds with new ways to make just about everything under the sun, I find that people are still fascinated with the old ways of doing things. Handmade and vintage definitely have appeal and have been seeing their comeback. Letterpress printing has been obsolete for 30-40 years. They quit manufacturing platen presses and handset lead and wooden type about 50-60 years ago. This printing method saw it's hayday between the 1870's and the 1930's. Yet it is the most beautiful printing style, and there are enthusiasts all over the world that are saving and restoring these obsolete presses, meanwhile they are reviving a lost art. Some are taking it a step farther and carving their wood printing plates. This is something that could easily be done on a laser, but the workmanship and art involved in the hand cut wood plates have such an appeal and charm. The same holds true of other print methods. There will always be something to replace what is current now. Digital printing is now replacing offset and screenprinting. But, with each new method, some unique characteristic about the art is lost. Digital has little charm; compare a vinyl printed sign to a handpainted one. Really, no comparison. One gets the job done, the other wows you. So will be the case with laser technology being replaced by something else that gets the job done faster or cheaper but doesn't produce the same result.

Robert Walters
08-03-2011, 10:00 AM
I'd like to see that magic 3D printer create an anodized aluminum part with an image etched into it.

How about stainless steel instead?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B9VOwqtOglg

And glass
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BtK-Hqd6Q2I&NR=1

Dan Hintz
08-03-2011, 10:18 AM
How about stainless steel instead?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B9VOwqtOglg

And glass
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BtK-Hqd6Q2I&NR=1
And notice the machines those things are being printed on? A university may be able to afford such a beast, but I don't think you'll see prices drop enough in the next five years to hit high schools.

Craig Matheny
08-03-2011, 4:01 PM
Did everyone who took drafting in HS become an architect, no.
. I took Drafting in HS and now have a degree in engineering and hold a contractors license and now I make little wooden models with a laser who knew:D

Carrol Fleming
08-04-2011, 3:02 AM
I agree with Dee - start with the basics and ensure a solid grounding. There are so many people out there who use computers in their daily lives and have no idea how to USE them. I have had the 'pleasure' of tidying up/editing a couple of handbooks and a cookbook - not a page break or a tab used in any of them just heaps of spaces and enters - (I love the expression on the faces of the kids when I teach them tab and tell them to go home and please, please teach their parents). While tabs and page breaks are not needed with a laser my point is: a solid grounding in the basics (layout, vectors, bitmaps, color mapping, measure twice cut once, planning, planning, planning .....) will save hours and hours of time later. From what I can gather, a fair percentage of the members here have been involved with computers for decades and so have a comfortable, confident approach, a new version of a program or piece of hardware just means a top up of new stuff. There are the members from an artistic or design background topping up their experience and knowledge. Now try to envisage coming in fresh ... daunting stuff, where do you start? Carrol

Rodne Gold
08-04-2011, 3:21 AM
Firstly , there is no ways that 3d printing is going to take over from hand crafts, cnc maching or laser engraving and cutting , I investigated it a few years ago and basically its pretty much useless in a production process and even for prototyping its not that usefull as the models are mostly not of the same composition as the finished item needs to be , it has it's uses , but it is not the science fiction machine that allows you to press a button and get the finished article.

As to a laser cirriculum.
Design is irrelevant , as it is NOT particular to lasering , it is used for lasering and it's also used for a zillion other processes and teaching it as applied to a particular design package actually tells you nothing about lasering.

Any curriculum should focus on: The therory of lasers , what makes the laser light able to do certain stuff, what different wavelenghts can do , what power actually means, what is spot size , how do the beam delivery optics work , what materials can be processed , how the laser specifically reacts with certain materials and what it does to them to cut and engrave, what settings like ppi and dpi and speed and power have in relation to each other and how varying some will affect the work, what is the difference between rasters and vectors and how does the laser treat them , what limitations and advantages laser processing has , what problems can they expect when lasering, how to work the specific machine you have , how to guess what a laser will do to certiain materials , how to cost a job , what dangers there are with lasers and so on....lots of stuff to include....
All of these points can be demonstrated with your schools machines and create a very exciting course , at some later stage you can give lasering 102 where the students can get to grip with design and maybe try do something themselves