From Concept to Inventor File
I started by drawing a rectangle 8.5 inches by 11 inches. Then, by sketching a circle with a diameter of 2 inches in each corner and trimming the corners, I was able to round the corners of the maze.
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To make it 3-D, I extruded it to a height of 0.75 inches.
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For increased interactivity, I drew eclipse-shaped handles by using the tangent function on a circle with a diameter of 1.75 inches.
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Next, I cut the handles through the thickness of the maze.
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Then, I started dimensioning and cutting the channels throughout the surface of the maze, keeping true to the required thickness of the dividing walls. Here is an in-progress picture of the maze.
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Here is the finished maze, with the two starting spots and a defined finish spot. After I finished the maze, I filleted the outside edge of the maze, as well the inner edges of the hand-holes for increased comfort. These would be taken off later when Mrs. Proctor noted that the CNC Router would not perform filleted edges.
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Next, I dimensioned, as well as positioned the stock to suit my need.
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Then, I had to use the 2-D Contour process, and I had to select all 125 bottom edges of the maze walls.
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In order to specify for the program which tool I would use, I went under the Tool: Select menu and specified the flat edge mill bit with a diameter of 0.25 inches, a body length of 2 inches, a spindle speed of 10000 RPM, and a cutting feed rate of 200 inches per minute.
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Summary
In this project, I gained a lot of knowledge. First and foremost, I learned how to plan ahead and stay consciousness throughout the project regarding the required spacing. I constantly had to keep the width of the channel, the thickness of the dividing wall, as well as the border thickness while I cut the channels through my maze. In addition, I learned that an eclipse with a minor axis of 1.75 inches and a major axis of 5 inches is excessively wide. This means that I could have had smaller handles that still fit someone's hands, but with more maze paths in the maze. In the future, I will keep these relative dimensions in mind, so that I can better use the material. I also realized that is a great idea to double-check Illustrator files before you laser engrave them. If I didn't do this, I would have melted my project completely through. Overall, I am very happy with the way my project turned out, and I know the knowledge I gained will be very beneficial with my final project.