Kerf-Canceling Mechanisms: Making Laser-Cut Mechanisms Operate Across Different Laser Cutters

-Thu, Aug 20, 2020-

Abstract

Getting laser-cut mechanisms, such as those in microscopes,robots, vehicles, etc., to work, requires all their components to be dimensioned precisely. This precision, however, tends to be lost when fabricating on a different laser cutter, as it is likely to remove more or less material (aka kerf). We address this with what we call kerf-canceling mechanisms. Kerf-canceling mechanisms replace laser-cut bearings, sliders, gear pairs, etc. Unlike their traditional counterparts, however, they keep working when manufactured on a different laser cutter and/or with different kerf. Kerf-canceling mechanisms achieve this by adding an additional wedge element per mechanism. We have created a software tool Kerf-Canceler that locates traditional mechanisms in cutting plans and replaces them with their kerf-canceling counterparts.

For more details, paper and video, visit here.

UIST2020 Technical Paper

Kerf-Canceling Mechanisms: Making Laser-Cut Mechanisms Operate Across Different Laser Cutters