University of Waterloo
200 University Ave W, Waterloo, ON N2L 3G1
Phone: (519) 888-4567
Staff and Faculty Directory
Contact the Department of Mechanical and Mechatronics Engineering
WATiMake is home to various rapid prototyping equipment. Make sure your designs turn out by checking out our design guides!
Before you use our equipment, please familiarize yourself with the equipment manuals and safety procedures. All users must complete a WATiMake safety orientation and training on proper machine use before using any equipment listed below.
3D Printers
| Cubicon 3D Printers |
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There are 2 Cubicon Single Plus and 4 Cubicon Style machines available for use. These filament-based 3D printers are excellent for quick prototyping of initial and final designs. They are ideal for 3D printing novices, but are also valuable tools for advanced designers. Filament for these 3D printers is available in a wide variety of colours in many materials including:
Training:For open use of the Cubicon 3D printers, all users must complete the following online training modules and successfully complete the Open WCS Certification.
To complete these training modules, log in to LEARN and click the Self Registration link at the top of the page to self-enroll in the WATiMake Orientation & Training course. Cost:The cost to 3D print using a Cubicon machine is the cost of the materials used:
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| Formlabs 3D Printers | ||||
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There are two Form 2 machine available for use. These photopolymer resin-based 3D printers are excellent for high-quality prototyping of final designs. They are useful tools for advanced designers and experienced 3D printing users. The following resin materials are available for the Formlabs 3D printers:
Training:For open use of Formlabs 3D printers, all users must complete the following online training modules and successfully complete the MAKE 112.5: WFL Workshop and the Open WFL Certification.
To complete these training modules, log in to LEARN and click the Self Registration link at the top of the page to self-enroll in the WATiMake Orientation & Training course. The PreForm software for the Formlabs 3D printers is available from the Formlabs website. The software can estimate the amount of resin and the time that your 3D print will take. Cost:The cost to 3D print using a Formlabs machine is the cost of the materials used:
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Laser Cutter
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There is 1 Epilog Mini 24 laser system available for use. This laser cutting machine uses a 60W CO2 laser. It is an excellent tool for rapid and accurate 2D prototyping of initial and final designs in thin materials. It is easy-to-use for laser cutting novices, but also extremely useful for advanced users. The following materials are permitted in the laser cutter:
The following materials can be extremely hazardous when used in a laser cutter and are NOT ALLOWED in the laser cutter:
If you have any questions about laser cutting your material, please consult with Eugene Li prior to laser cutter use. Training available:For open use of the Epilog Mini 24 laser cutter, all users must complete the following online training modules and successfully complete the Open WEM Certification.
To complete these training modules, log in to LEARN and click the Self Registration link at the top of the page to self-enroll in the WATiMake Orientation & Training course. Cost:There is no cost to laser cut using the Epilog Mini 24 laser system. However, the following materials can be purchased for laser cutting.
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Other Tools
Dremel 3000 rotary tool |
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Roland GS-24 Cutter |
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Material Size < 700 mm x 25000 mm The loadable material width of the cutter is 50 to 700 mm. By using a roll, designs with lengths up to 25 metres can be cut. Feature Size < 0.5 mm The GS-24 cutter has a mechanical resolution of 0.0125 mm. However, two cut lines should be further than 0.5 mm apart to prevent small pieces of vinyl being pulled off by the blade. Material Vinyl is the primary material used on the vinyl cutter. Other variations of vinyl such as heat transfer vinyl can also be used. Time The GS-24 can cut with speeds up to 500 mm/sec, allowing designs to be quickly produced and iterated. File Formats Roland CutStudio accepts image files such as .jpg, .bmp, as well as .ai files. |
Roland MDX-40A |
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Work-Piece Size The Maximum dimensions of a work-piece that can be milled by the Roland is 12" x 12" x 4-1/8". Feature Size In a milling machine, feature resolution is determined by the tooling available and the resolution of the tool's movements. The Roland MDX-40A has the mechanical resolution of 0.002 mm/step (0.000078 in/step). However, you can choose a coarser resolution in SRP Player for a faster cut time. Time Larger objects with intricate features will take significantly longer to cut than smaller objects. Choice of tooling has a large influence on cutting time. Cutting away a large section of material with a small end mill will often take longer than using a larger end mill for the roughing passes followed by a smaller end mill for the finishing passes. Long cutting time can be reduced by using a larger end mill or choosing faster cut time over quality in the software's Job Configurator. Material Most soft materials are safe to cut in the Roland MDX-40A. Metal, no matter how soft it may seem, cannot be cut by the Roland MDX-40A. The following are some of the materials that can and cannot be cut in the Roland MDX-40A: Allowed Materials:
Restricted Materials:
A more exhaustive list will be provided in MAKE 302. If you are not sure about whether your material can be cut in the CNC machine, do some research first and then consult with the MME clinic team. File Formats SRP software accepts models in .STL, .Rhino, and .DXF file formats. If you wish to save the output, the output files are saved in a .SRJ file. |