Hi there, everybody.

My name is Mr. Booth and welcome to your Design and Technology lesson for today.

It's fantastic you could join me.

Today we are gonna be looking at computer-aided manufacturing, how that is related to automation, and then also you're going to conduct some of your own computer-aided manufacturing by looking at laser cutters and exporting files from Tinkercad to be able to use computer-aided manufacturing.

This lesson is part of the "Prototypes with mechanisms: robotics and automations" unit.

Today's outcome, I can prepare and transfer a file for laser cutting, and that is, of course, all about computer-aided manufacturing.

We have three keywords for you today, the first being CAM, which is, of course, computer-aided manufacturing, and laser cutting is one example of that.

We then have automation, the use of computer-aided manufacturing, machines, and also software when manufacturing, when manufacturing on scale.

We then have SVG.

This is a 2D file format used with laser cutters.

It's one of the most common file formats used.

So keep a lookout for those keywords as we run through the lesson.

We have two learning cycles today.

The first is all about computer-aided manufacturing and then we'll have a go at laser cutting, so let's make a start.

When companies make more products, they usually use machines to help them.

That's because machines make lots of products much faster and with less effort than humans can.

And we call this automation, 'cause we're using computers and also computer-aided manufacturing to be able to do that.

Now, using CAM, computer-aided manufacturing, means computers and machines work together to help make big batches of products or components quickly and accurately.

They are much more accurate than making by hand.

Some examples of products manufactured using CAM and automation include aluminum drinks cans.

We make millions of these every single day and it wouldn't be possible without the use of machines.

Fixings is included in this as well, and here we have some wood screws.

Again, millions of these are made every single day.

We need to use computer-aided manufacturing and automation to be able to make these.

And of course, vehicles, and we wouldn't get the precision and accuracy without using automation.

Now, can you think of any? Pause the video now, have a little think or a chat with the person next to you.

What products do we make that need high precision or we make millions of that we probably use automation for in their manufacturing process? Pause the video now, have a think, and come back to me when you've maybe got some answers.

So did you think of any? I'm sure you did.

Well, I thought of one, our smartphones.

Very precise and accurate products, and without automation, they simply wouldn't be made the way they are.

Quick check for understanding.

Which of the following is a major benefit of using computer-aided manufacturing? Is it A, increased production time; B, lower precision in parts; C, improved speed and accuracy; or D, reduced flexibility in designs? Pause the video now, have a go at this, and come back to me when you have your answer.

So the answer is, of course, C, improved speed and accuracy.

Now, there might be increased production time initially because obviously you've got to train machines and get all the workers ready to using the machines, but actually, over time, you will reduce those production times dramatically.

Some parts are higher precision, so obviously B is incorrect.

And reduce flexibility in designs, well, actually, you can be very flexible in how you manufacture using automation.

So let's have a look at some benefits of computer-aided manufacturing.

Well, first of all, it's all about speed, isn't it? Quickly complete repetitive tasks again and again, they don't get bored, and they can do it much faster than we can.

Accuracy, there's no human error.

High accuracy and high consistency of every product, and that's what we want as customers.

Everybody wants their smartphones to work in the same way.

Flexibility.

You can make adjustments to your manufacturing and you can do that quite easily with automation and computer-aided manufacturing.

And then we have cost-effectiveness.

Now, although it's very expensive to set these machines up, costs are recovered over time because we're selling millions of them.

Think about your aluminum drinks cans.

Millions of those are being made every day and sold, so each of those we get money for, which means we can pay for the machines that we need to make the products in the first place.

And here we have an example, this is a CNC milling machine, and this is a good example of computer-aided manufacturing.

So computer-aided manufacturing is particularly useful in the manufacturing of complex shapes, and also high-precision components such as aeronautical, so if they're in airplanes or going into outer space, but also medical devices where you have to have a very high precision.

Automobile parts, so on our cars, and also consumer electronics such as smartphones also rely on computer-aided manufacturing, and this is for consistent quality and also to be able to produce the high quantities that we need.

And there you go, smartphones are manufactured using automation and computer-aided manufacturing.

Now, there are some challenges to computer-aided manufacturing as well, so let's have a look at some of those.

First of all, costs.

The software but also the machines are extremely expensive to set up, so you've gotta make sure you're gonna be able to sell a lot of products to be able to pay for those.

We also need to maintain those and we need skilled operators to be able to run and troubleshoot our computer-aided manufacturing systems and the automation systems that we are using, so we've gotta pay for that as well.

And here you go, a human is still needed to program and also maintain computer-controlled routers such as this.

Quick check for understanding, true or false? CAM technology can only be used for high-volume production.

Is that true or is that false? Pause the video now, have a go at this, and come back to me when you've got your answer.

It is of course false, but why? Can you think of an answer as to why? Pause the video again and come back to me when you've got your answer.

It is of course because CAM can also be used for precision, custom, or complex parts in low-volume production, well done.

So we're now onto your first task, Task A.

First of all, I want you to give me a definition for CAM, write your best definition.

Then I want you to state one product that is manufactured using CAM and automation.

Think carefully about which one you're gonna choose because then for that product I want you to describe two benefits and two challenges when that product is being manufactured using CAM and automation.

Pause the video now, have a go at this task, and come back to me when you've completed it.

So how did you get on? Well, let's have a look at some sample answers.

So first I wanted you to give me a definition of CAM.

Computer-aided manufacture is where computers and machines work together to help make big batches of products or components quickly and accurately.

Then I wanted you to state one product that is manufactured using CAM and automation.

Well, vehicles are manufactured using CAM and automation.

And then for that product I wanted you to give me two benefits and also two challenges of that product being manufactured using CAM and automation.

Well, if we look at vehicles, the benefits are accuracy.

There's no human error, so the vehicles will be manufactured with high accuracy and consistency.

We then have cost-effectiveness.

Although there's a high setup cost, these will be recovered as lots of vehicles are manufactured and then, of course, sold.

We then have our challenges.

Well, costs.

It's extremely expensive to set up a factory to make vehicles, so that is very expensive and it's very expensive to maintain.

And of course, training.

We need to have highly-skilled operators to be able to run and troubleshoot all those different systems. Well done with that task.

So we're now onto our second learning cycle where you're gonna have a go at computer-aided manufacturing and we're gonna do that through laser cutting, so let's have a go.

Now, laser cutters typically use what we call vector files to guide their movements.

There are some common file types that laser cutters will use, these types of vector files.

The first one is what's known as a.

SVG, and that's a Scalable Vector Graphics file.

And this is widely used and compatible with most laser cutters.

In fact, it's the most common file type used with the laser cutters.

But we also have.

DXF, which is called a Drawing Exchange Format, and quite often this is exported from CAD software and it's ideal for precision cutting.

But both of these are vector files.

Now, to create an SVG file.

An SVG file is a 2D outline created where your design intersects the workplane in Tinkercad.

We need an outline for our laser cutter to be able to follow.

Now, if we have a design, so in this case we've got this kind of star design and the design is positioned above the workplane, if we try and export that, it will be a blank file.

What we need to do is we need to drop our design into the workplane so the workplane intersects our file.

And wherever that intersection happens, that is what it will export.

Think of it like a slice of cake going through your model, and that's all we need to do.

So first of all, we're gonna do that, so we dropped our file down so the workplane is intersecting somewhere with it, and you'll see that on the workplane.

We're then gonna click Export in the top right-hand corner and select For Laser Cutting, and we're gonna click.

SVG, that file format that we like, which is right there.

And then what will happen is it will download that file as a.

SVG file somewhere into your computer, probably into your downloads.

What we can then do is open it in our laser cutting software, it will recognize that, and then we can set up our laser cutter.

Quick check for understanding.

What are the common file types used for laser cutting? We have A,.

SVG.

We have B,.

DXF.

We have C,.

MP3, and D,.

JPEG.

Pause the video now, select all the correct answers, and come back to me when you've got your answer.

It is, of course, A and B.

We use.

SVG and.

DXF, well done.

Now, if you have created a complex 3D object, you can't laser cut it directly.

However, you can laser cut a cross section or a profile of the design using the same process we've just looked at.

If you've got a really complex product, you're probably gonna 3D print it instead of laser cutting it.

Now, of course, we use the workplane cross section, so here we have our robot head.

Now, that's gonna be very difficult to laser cut, but what we could do is we could take a cross section of, for example, where the eyes are, and that would laser cut, but you can't laser cut the entire product.

Now, you can also import.

SVG files downloaded from the internet into Tinkercad and actually edit them.

So, if I went onto an SVG file site, I could download an SVG file from the internet.

In this case, I've got a nice little robot design.

You then obviously click the Import File which is next to Export, which you've just used, search for the file type, and then Tinkercad will bring it in and then you can start to edit it.

Now, you get a dialogue box and you can edit a number of different things.

So first of all, we can look at the fill type.

So in this case what we're gonna do is we're gonna alter the fill mode, so leave an outer line and that will remove the solid middle.

You can see we've almost got like what looks like a cookie cutter in the form of a robot, which is quite useful.

We can also then lower the design through the workplane and then we can of course export that for laser cutting.

Now, what you've also got to remember is that you need to scale your file.

There's no point in trying to export a file which is huge 'cause you're gonna waste a lot of material.

So in Tinkercad you've got to make sure it's the correct size before you make that export.

Now, let's have a little closer look at the actual laser cutter, the computer-aided manufacturing machine we're gonna be using.

So we know that one example of CAM is a laser cutter, and a laser cutter uses a high-powered laser beam to precisely cut or engrave materials like boards, timbers, metals, and some polymers and also fabrics.

Here we have an example of a laser cutter.

Now, they all look relatively similar, they all tend to be a box, but they all work very differently.

So you need to become familiar with your laser cutter before you start any computer-aided manufacturing.

Now, it's often thought that laser cutters burn or melt the materials they are cutting, when actually they vaporize the material.

How cool is that? And they do this with very high precision.

Here you can see a laser cutter in action.

There we have the laser, which you should never look at directly 'cause it can be very bright.

And also there you have the material being cut or engraved.

And if it's cutting out, it's actually vaporizing that material.

Now, a laser cutter works by directing a powerful laser beam through mirrors or fiber optics to a lens which then focuses the light onto the material.

Some smaller laser cutters actually don't use the mirrors because the laser is actually housed in the laser head, and we'll have a little closer look at that.

But what's important is that that laser beam is focused to the point at which on your material where it needs to engrave or it needs to cut.

Now, depending on the machine settings, the laser either cuts through the material or it will engrave your design onto the surface.

And here we have the inside view of a laser cutter.

This is mine, so there you go, you can see we've got the laser head there and then we've also got the laser cutting bed.

Now, laser cutters as we know don't create 3D objects such as like 3D printing, they cut or engrave flat materials.

And unlike 3D printers, which work on three axes, X, Y, and Z, building objects layer by layer, laser cutters only work on two axes.

And the material they cut through is obviously laid flat on the bed, so they just work in X and Y.

3D printing is an additive, reforming manufacturing process.

So we melt a thermo-polymer material, we squirt it out of a nozzle, and then we build each layer up layer by layer until we have our product.

Laser cutting is a wasting manufacturing process because we're actually vaporizing a very small amount of material when we're engraving or we're cutting.

Quick check for understanding.

What type of manufacture is laser cutting? Is it A, additive; B, wasting; C, fabricating; or D, reforming? Pause the video now, have a go at this, and come back to me when you've got your answer.

It is, of course, wasting, that's B.

Now, settings need to be changed depending on the material being used.

This will vary wildly depending on what laser cutter you're using, so you need to become familiar with that.

Now, the material thickness and settings can sometimes be selected from a menu, which makes it nice and easy.

And the software will then calculate the speed and the power automatically.

Now, all laser cutters vary and some experimentation is probably needed.

In fact, your teachers have probably done this already and they will let you know what the settings are.

But in this case, this is for corrugated card using my laser cutter.

So you can see the speed is set there.

Now, that usually is a distance, so the speed will be calculated through a distance and time, so how far it travels over a certain amount of time.

And the power is usually a percentage.

So 100% means the laser is at full power, and in this case 50% means it's at 50% power to be able to cut through corrugated card.

But you are gonna have to do some experimentation to be able to find out which materials and what settings work well together.

Now, machine settings can be edited for different line colors.

Users can set the laser cutter up to cut through material for one color while engrave for another, and that makes life really easy when you want to do more complex designs.

Now, for example, in this one I'm gonna select red is going to be my cut, so my settings for red lines will be different to any other.

So you can see in this design we're gonna cut everything, everything's gonna cut out, including the little Oak logo, and there is no engraving.

But on this design I've got two different colors.

I've got red to cut, but here I've introduced green as well, which is gonna be engrave.

So those two colors, those two line colors would have different settings.

Now, we also need to consider material used.

That's really important with laser cutting 'cause it can be quite wasteful, so you need to use your material as efficient as possible.

If you're doing single parts, just make sure you cut them in the corners.

That's really important 'cause then other people can then use the rest of the sheet material for their laser cutting.

You can even include some horizontal and vertical lines to cut, so you actually leave rectangular pieces for other people to use, which sometimes can make life a bit easier.

If you've got multiple parts that fit together really nicely, you need to tesselate them, a little bit like a jigsaw.

But if you've got irregular parts, you need to think about nesting them, which means arranging them as efficiently as possible on your flat sheet.

Now, when using a laser cutter, it's important to be aware of the potential risks.

They're very safe machines, but just as any other equipment you would use in design and technology, you need to consider health and safety.

Now, first of all, extraction should be on.

Remember, we're vaporizing materials.

We don't want to be breathing that in.

Every laser cutter will have an extraction system, so you've gotta make sure that's on.

We then need to make sure all guards are closed.

Now, most laser cutters will not work if you haven't turned on the extraction or the guards aren't closed.

That's a safety feature they have built into them.

Also, don't look directly at the laser, it can be very bright, so it's really sensible not to look directly at it.

And then finally, you need to use the correct materials.

There are some polymers that you can't use in laser cutters, so you've got to check that very carefully.

Now, the extraction systems in most lasers work very similar, but you've gotta make sure it's on.

Let's have a closer look at them.

So first of all, the fumes are sucked out of the laser cutter to get them out of the way.

They're then filtered, they go through a very complex filtration system, and the particles and fumes, 'cause remember, we vaporize that material, are then removed.

The fumes then pass along some kind of extraction ducting.

And depending on what laser cutter and extraction system you've got, they either then get released outside or maybe back into the room, depending on what the setup is.

So we're now onto your final task, Task B.

The first thing I want you to do is download the robot SVG file, which your teacher will give you, or you can get it from the lesson page on the Oak National Academy website for this lesson.

You then need to import it into Tinkercad and then you need to edit the shape using the tools in the shape editor dialogue box.

I also want you to scale your design.

I'd like it to fit into a volume of 70 millimeters by 70 millimeters by 3 millimeters, or whatever else your teacher tells you to do.

Now, it doesn't have to be those exact dimensions, it's just gotta be smaller than that volume.

Once you've done that, export the file and process it for laser cutting.

And if you have a laser cutter available to you, then you can have a go at laser cutting this design.

If you don't, it's still a great process to go through all the way up to the point of laser cutting.

Pause the video now, have a go at this task, and come back to me when you've completed it.

So how did you get on? Well, I'm sure all your files look slightly different.

This is what mine looks like.

You've almost made a robot cookie cutter there, haven't you? Which is quite interesting.

And if you did manage to laser cut it, then well done, I'm sure your design looks fantastic.

So that brings us to the end of today's lesson, let's have a quick summary.

Laser cutters use concentrated beams of light to cut or engrave flat materials, requiring precise vector files like SVG or DXF.

Designs must be lowered through the Tinkercad workplane before exporting.

Laser cutters must be used with extraction systems to remove harmful fumes and ensure safety.

Efficient use of materials can be achieved through tessellation, which reduces waste by tightly arranging shapes.

Well done today, you've all been fantastic.

I'll see you all next time, goodbye.