New in the DFL

New in the DFL

By Kyle Miller

The DFL has a new look this semester. It is a professional lab with state of the art equipment which is great for the Architecture students at SIU. Unfortunately we are still in the Blue Barracks but it is in the works to be moved to Pulliam Hall. We have brand new electrical that will keep the problems with the machines to a minimum.  The DFL now has a new laser cutter, 2 3d printers and CNC machine along with the old laser cutter. The new laser cutter is the Universal VLS 6.60. This is the machine that will be used mostly this semester with the Universal M-300 used at the end during the busy time. It is double the bed size of the old Universal M-300. It is 18X32 and can cut mat board, 1ply and 2ply chipboard, cardboard, wood, plywood, acrylic and mylar. It cannot cut pvc, polycarbonate, lexan, any metal, foamcore, paper, styrene, vinyl, glass and any other material not listed above. Please cut down your material before your time. To use the laser cutter, first you will have to download the VLS 6.60 Template | 18″x32″ and put your pieces in it. After follow the directions of overkilling and p-editing it. This will make your template correct and cut down on your laser time, costing you less and have more opportunities for others to get in and cut. Second you need to set up for time to cut. You can do this by going to the DFL website. The website is http://siucfablab.wordpress.com/. Go to the sign up tab and pick the day. You are able to sign up for four time slots per week per person. After you sign up you need to put enough money for what you are cutting on your debit dawg. It cost .40 cents per minute. This is the only thing the DFL accepts. You need to have this done before you come to the laser cutter. If not you will be sent away and have to cut at another time. If you skip your time and do not show up you will lose your privilege of laser cutting. The hours are Monday- Thursday from 5:00 PM to 11:00PM, Friday hours is 5:00PM to 7:00PM and Sunday hours from 1:00PM to 7:00 PM. Please plan accordingly when making a model; it always takes longer than expected. After you are done cutting you will be asked to pay and take your scraps. We are not a storage room so if you leave it, it will be thrown away. The laser cutter is a great resource and should be used respectably by the architecture students at SIU. Later I will talk about the 2 3D printers and CNC machine.