Feature Staircase Marquette - Laser cutting

Marquette Model Making for NMP

I first decided to make some sketches on Photoshop to give me a visual idea of my model.

Step 1 to making a laser cutting model is to draw the cut and etch lines on Autocad to scale. I used scale 1:20 for this model.

I then started building it on Autocad (white lines are cut lines and red lines are etch lines) after I'm complete and getting my tutor to check for errors, I then save the file as DWF document for the lazer cutting machine to support the file.

So... What is laser cutting?

Laser cutting is the process of using a powerful laser to cut and engrave items from flat sheets of material like plastic, wood and many other materials. ... The Laser cutter works by directing a high powered laser beam very precisely at the chosen material to either mark or cut right through.

I used clear acrylic sheet as my maquette's material as I wanted to shadow lighting to get an idea of how this could look in real.

And now its gluing the elements together!

I used liquid solvent and a glue needle also wore googles and gloves for protection as the glue is toxic.

I then realized I've got a few measurements wrong for example I didn't put in parts for the height of each staircase which made my staircase look flat.

I went back to my autocad files and altered to get them re-cut to the right dimensions and additional parts.

After the altering I was pleased to see it come along.

AND finally its all complete!

Tried projecting light from different angles

I then projected light from above and added different flooring prints.

Here is another floor print I tried.

Making a Marquette made me visualize, see the details of dimensions and the way it holds a structure. Helped me find mistakes I've made, change and develop accordingly to make the design work well.