May the 4th be with you.

This fun little decorative stand is available for free, along with many other Star Wars related projects, in xTool studio! While projects that involve interlocking with each other have quite a bit of size limitations to ensure they can still interlock correctly, projects that are just simply glued layers can be lasered at any size desired.

This was a combination of a simple interlock as well as a layered project. The backing and base were laser cut with black acrylic while the text is cut with white acrylic. To help with the alignment of the lettering, the letters were actually lightly etched onto the black acrylic so that way there are guidelines as to were to place the white acrylic.

Template etching and or creating jigs is a great way to ensure things line up the way you want them to.

Lab Survey Conducted

Over the past week, VISST students were invited to complete a feedback survey to provide insight on how they currently feel about the lab and how we could guide its growth for the future. While metrics are collected on a weekly basis, student input is very valuable to ensure that the space is properly curated for them.

From that survey, we have compiled a State of the Union for students to read for a sense of how the feedback went and what our next steps are.

While we won’t be linking the student-only document here, we wanted to recap and share some of the key points.

The overall sense is that students love having access to the lab and enjoy being able to learn about the tools and use them by themselves - something not actually available at many other schools.

Despite tidiness being a pain point with so many different projects going on all the time, students have found the lab to be a very welcoming and inspiring space to be in.

Workshop interest and attendance has greatly increased compared to last year, and the students have found them to be insightful and fascinating. There has been an appreciation of offering elective project and skills based workshops beyond the tool safety orientations.

Using their feedback responses, we’ll continue to shape the maker lab into the ideal fabrication space for the students of VISST and continue to provide a space to make.

Tiny Bases Requires Brims

Very small 3D models should always be printed with a brim and not just a skirt. The brim will provide additional surface grip so it is likely to topple over or slide off the build plate during the printing process. This does not apply to coins as those are generally flat and won’t experience toppling issues.

Preheat or Control Temps First

Before running your prints, it is recommended to either pre-heat the printers using the designated functions, or manually control the nozzle and plate temperatures.

It has been observed that adjusting the temps on the Ender after launching a print may cause some file reading issues where it suddenly switches to a different file. To avoid that bug, try manually heating things up before selecting your file.

There are only a couple of ways to truly bend a thin flat piece of wood. The first is a long process involving heat and gradual bending around a cylindrical drum. Depending on how long of a piece and how big of a bend, this can take hours, maybe even days.

The other method, is called a living hinge. Without fully separating the pieces of wood into individual slats, you can laser some strategically placed slots to weaken the wood while still keeping intact. This allows for a gentle rounded curve, perfect for wooden books or boxes!

You can find this file for free in xTool studio along with many other wooden box designs.

Remember - to allow for notches to slot in together properly, do not resize the design as the holes should be set for 3mm (0.118”) material thickness. Resizing the design will require going back and ensuring all the slots and notches are still compatible.

Lab Interns Appointed!

Congratulations to Valerie and Tobias for becoming the Maker Lab’s first two lab interns!

As interns, they will be rotating in the lab during lunches and after schools whenever they can to help provide additional support when Thanh is not present. Support could include answering questions about the tools and prepping design files for usage, but also handling minor disruptions to the tools’ operation.

Going Green is Awesome

Did you know that we stockpile our cardboard and other packaging materials for reuse rather than disposal? Students can help themselves to the various materials retained for their own personal projects whether its for cardboard prototyping, containers for project storage, drop sheets for messy glue-ups/painting jobs, or bubble wrap for transporting fragile work.

You Can’t Glue Sand

And by that, we mean if you sand off too much of your 3D prints, there is no reversing and you may have to re-print instead. Make sure to take your time and go in smaller passes so you’re not taking too much material off at a time.

This is especially prevalent with prints that include small stems. If you accidentally notch into it like a beaver chewing into a tree trunk, sadly there is very little that can be done to properly salvage it.

While technically you can attempt a filament weld to melt and deposit more filament, if the area is very difficult to reach you may encounter more challenges and potentially risk burning yourself even more.

Check the Scraps

Before using a brand new sheet of plywood or acrylic, ask yourself if your design can fit on one of the scrap offcuts instead. We have plenty of usable offcuts ready to be used again for medium to smaller jobs.

Gone are the days where you would need to chisel out a perfectly good rubber eraser in order to create a custom stamp. Thanks to the laser cutter, we can laser engrave our own at a fraction of the time using vinyl-free stamping rubber.

This week students can sign up and learn about how to prep a design file properly for their own stamps as well as gain access to the stamp rubber supply.

As we are approaching the final leg of the school year, students are that there will be no more workshops scheduled past May 15th.

Partially because Thanh will be away, but also to give students as much time as they need to get their fill of fabrication before summer hits and the lab will be closed.

During dedicated Free-Making days, makers who wish to catch up on missed workshops from earlier in the year can coordinate a one-on-one with Thanh.

Uneven Stamping?

When it comes to transferring ink off of your stamp and onto your surface, technique is very important. If you are able to put your desired material onto a soft, slightly spongey surface, your stamp will have a better transfer of ink.

If the intended surface is hard, you may have to carefully rock your stamp both side-to-side as well as forward-and-backwards to encourage a little bit of springiness.

Filament Welding

Did your 3D print kind of separate where you didn’t want it to? Rather than reprinting the entire model, you can try to heat up a soldering iron to try to weld your parts back together.

First heat the ends that you are trying to weld together so they’re a bit soft and then using a scrap bit of matching filament, try to melt droplets to help bond them together. Once fully cooled off, sand off the excess and you’re good to go again.

Vinyl Weeding Keeps Sticking Together

Vinyl weeding is already a very time consuming process. It is even more of a hassle when you are pulling away your extracts and they keep clinging onto vinyl it shouldn’t.

Try dividing up your vinyl using small boxes to separate designs or words into smaller manageable sections (or use a knife after you have cut). That way you are pulling smaller pieces of vinyl instead of wrestling a larger bit of offcut.

This 3D Puzzle spider was laser cut by one of VISST’s Digital Design and Fabrication campers.

Pre-designed by xTool, you can find the toolpaths for this project, along with several other 3D puzzle projects, for free through xTool’s Projects.

When it comes to these templates, they are typically designed for 3mm thick material. If resizing the design, you might find that they do not slot into each other correctly as the slots are measured to accommodate 3mm material.

If you need to split the design across multiple pieces of materials because it won’t fit on one, you can always open additional tabs in xTool Studio, ungroup the design, and copy-paste components to separate material panels.

Reverse Weeding for Delicate Vinyls

Finding it challenging to extract smaller details from your vinyls even though it is confirmed to cut all the way through?

Try reverse weeding where you apply transfer tape on top of the vinyl first.

Peel away the backing and place the design back on the mat for stability (transfer tape side down).

Using a sewing needle pick, start extracting as you would with any other material.

Adjust Laser Settings for Effect

When it comes to engravings you do not have to stick with the default engraving value. Instead, experiment with different speed and power combinations to achieve lighter or darker engravings.

Different machines may have different tubes installed and the Watts may differ. Recommend designing cards specific to those machines and not to rely on values intended for a different model.

While our printers only print one colour at a time, you can still have multi-colour projects by mixing and matching the finished components with each other, as tried by Yuval D. who 3D printed an assortment of these Heart Gear keychains.

By essentially 3D printing 6 sets of the keychains, she was able to swap the parts around to give each one a pop of colour that complimented each other.

If 3D printing 6 full sets seems a bit much, you could take the extra step of modifying the models in a 3D modeling program and separate the meshes before print each component individually.

Lab Intern

With the higher volume of usage the lab is experiencing, we are looking for one or two students to step up as Lab Interns who can help support it on days where Thanh is not in.

We hope to announce the appointed intern(s) at the end of the month when they commence their training on advanced techniques not typically covered in our regular safety orientation workshops.

New Workshops Alert

This year we are introducing a 3D Printed USB Shells workshop and the Paper Floral Bouquets workshop to our roster.

For 3D Printed USB Shells you will learn about improved measurement techniques, dimensional prototyping, and engineering concepts to make sure you get a well fitted USB shell to go with your USB drives.

The Paper Floral Bouquet workshop is timed for right before Mother’s Day. Perfect opportunity to produce your own “forever” bouquets by cutting petal patterns on the Cricut and hand assembling them for a unique and custom bouquet of paper flowers.

Check Your Parchment Paper

Before heat pressing, check the condition of your parchment paper. If there is tinting or impressions from past presses, you may want to discard and replace as it will affect your new project.

Triple Check Laser Settings

Just because you assigned an object to a specific colour, doesn’t mean xTool knows to update the intended action. To ensure you are cutting instead of scoring, always reassign and verify your cut settings right before you hit process.

Bag Em Up

3D printer filaments should be returned to their bags when done. Prolonged exposure to air moisture and dust will degrade the filament faster than desired and they may snap during the loading process or worse, during the print process.

As VISST’s camp programs expand, we continue to look at how we can improve our quality as well as the uniqueness that sets us apart from others.

One subtle addition we are implementing is the usage of reusable name tags! No more sticky labels for name tags that fall off after a while.

By using acrylic, we are able to scrawl on our names using dry erase and reuse these as many times as we would like, and thanks to the magnets we can make sure they stay secured to our clothing without damages such as pin holes or sticker residue.

The camp leader tags include a wooden engraved frame to distinguish them from the camper tags which are simply sublimated logos and texts.

Camp leaders wishing to design a permanent name tag can nab the xTool file from Thanh after confirming volunteer schedule. File includes the wooden frame plus the acrylic cutout.

Tool Maintenance

3DP-A - Unclogged and safe to run.

All tools will be undergoing a thorough maintenance prior to the start of the camps and should be in ideal usable state after the camps have concluded.

Spring Break Newsletter Hiatus

There will be no newsletters on March 16th or 23rd as spring break will be in full swing and Thanh will not have the capacity to draft out and send off newsletters.

Prep Time is Valuable Production Time

Bulk button making? To help expedite the process, try pre-aligning your components before they go onto the press. You would cut down so much time if you paired all of your graphic and mylar plastic circles ahead of setting up the press than if you were to pair them as you go.

In addition, flipping and rotating the pin backings ahead of time would also help avoid the slow down to align them on the press.

Cardboard Jigs Saves the Day Again!

Few months back we showed how handy a cardboard jig was in aligning and keeping pencils from rolling while laser cutting. But did you know a jig can also be used to help with spacing items apart? Take a look at the revitalized bathroom signage! With a cardboard jig we can make sure that the floating components are perfectly spaced and are not crooked when pairing them with the main sign.

We have a large stash of laser-ready cardboard to be utilized - just double check your corrugated cardboard settings when lasering.

In preparation to the Kinbrace Charity Concert and Maker Market yesterday, these little trinkets were put together for sale as well as the display stands.

Several bookmarks were 3D printed and a number of acrylic music note keychains were assembled.

Display stand files are available for free through xTool Studio and can be lasered out of plywood, MDF, or Acrylic. They also have options for small shelving and other forms of displays that can really elevate your product merchandising aesthetics.

New Tool - Rotary Tool

We have added two new rotary tools into our collection of hand tools! Before using it, please complete a Rotary 101 training to make sure you know the risks of using the tool and lab expectations for using them. There are still openings for Wed. March 4th!

After March 4th, there won’t be any additional dedicated workshops but you can coordinate a one-on-one with Thanh.

Fresh New Mats

Our Cricut mats sure have sustained a lot over the last couple of years. As such, we will retire them as soon as they are no longer sticky at all and instead make use of the brand new mats!

To extend the lifespan of the new mats as long as possible, don’t forget:

-Don’t throw out the film.

-Scrape off large debris

-Use baby wipes to clean off residue and let dry before returning the film (5~ minutes)

Did You Mirror It?

When it comes to HTV and Sublimation, and your design’s orientation matters, make sure to triple check that they have been mirrored prior to printing/cutting.

Full Colour on Dark Fabric?

HTV = one colour at a time. Sublimation = only works on light fabrics.

If you want to work with dark fabric, you can acquire some printable HTV where you do not need to mirror and it does not require sublimation ink.

Load into the regular InkJet printer like normal paper and print! Cutting with the Cricut is optional - you can hand cut smaller portions or forgo cutting altogether if you are printing a full 8.5” x 11” sheet.

This brand of printable transfer paper also has glow-in-the-dark options too.

The Prusa MK3s printer has incredible capabilities to print models with very high resolution and produce fine details even at a miniature scale.

This DnD miniature model of VISST’s own Shaun O. was printed with one of the Prusas using the finest resolution settings and modifying the support options so they break off as cleanly as possible. With a 2”x2” base, this print took about 5 hours running at 120mm/s.

Vinyl Weeding Made Easy

While the Cricut hook picks make it pretty easy to separate a number of your cuts, when it comes to weeding vinyl, especially smaller detailed cuts, that pick might feel a little too clunky to pluck with. Swap that pick for a sewing needle or the sharp point of a safety pin to access the smaller nooks and separate your cut vinyl with more ease.

More than just Density

Did you know that you are able to adjust more than just the percentage of your 3D print’s infill? The shape also matters too. Certain shapes will greatly affect your print time, some will also significantly affect your print’s structural integrity.

While this article was released quite some time ago, it can still provide a lot of helpful insight on the different patterns.

What is Infill in 3D Printing?

These colourful 3D print extraction spatulas were printed by Yusuf K. using a file found on Thingiverse.

While the 3D printer plates are flexible, sometimes you need a little extra leverage to remove your print. Plastic spatulas are less prone to scuffing and damaging build plates compared to metal ones.

Remember to keep the spatulas as flat as you can and not to go at an angle. If you’re holding it at an angle larger than 20deg from the plate you find it more difficult to wedge and might possibly damage the plate.

If you want to print your own in a different colour, click the button for the file!

3D Printable Spatula

Iron before Ironing

With heat pressing fabrics, there is higher success when you pre-iron your material. It is recommended you iron it at the same temperature you intend to heat press with but maybe for only 5-10 seconds. You absolutely can use the heat press itself to iron with.

By removing the excess moisture in your fabrics, the Sublimation ink has a better chance to permeate into the fibers and HTV will have increased adhesion.

Non-Cricut Pens for Writing?

Want to use the Cricut to draw and write with? It is totally doable by installing a pen into carriage A. However, not every pen will fit automatically.

Cricut pens can get expensive and they tend to dry out quickly. To install any pen, we do have a special attachment that is adjustable to almost every kind of pen.

Marker, Sharpies, Gel Pens, Ball Point, and many more!

Replace the current tool holder in carriage A with the adjustable pen holder and install your pen. Use the spacer tab to ensure it is at the right height and then tighten the knob until it holds your pen securely.

A lighter newsletter intended to showcase a featured project and major lab updates but also share some fabrication tips for non-student makers.

This beautiful bird keychain was fabricated by Tanvi M. using two of our maker lab tools - the Laser Cutter and the Cricut. Using the laser cutter she was able to cut her bird out of red acrylic before layering on some black vinyl cut out by the Cricut.

Measure Twice, Run Once

With your 3D prints, make sure to confirm their dimensions during the slice process. If you’re having difficulties visualizing the measurements, try cutting a piece of paper to the dimensions you are thinking of. Having something physical to compare to should. This can also apply to other machines - paper prototypes are very useful to have. If you’re ever unsure if your stickers are too big or too small, or your laser projects are hard to visualize, create a paper prototype! (Or cardboard prototype if you need a bit more weight.)

Add Guiding Vinyl or Etch Lines for Better Alignment

Overlaying Vinyl onto another surface and worried you’re not going to have aligned accurately? Try cutting a bit of extra vinyl, either as a thin line underneath the design where the object edge is supposed to be or some corner tabs, to help with the alignment.

If layering onto Wood or Acrylic, you could also try etching some very light lines onto the surface to help with your positioning.

This adorable little guy was 3D printed by Hannah on the highest resolution settings the Ender is cable of and it looks amazing!

While it may have taken a couple of tries to adjust the Z leveling to be perfect, it was well worth it to get these super clean layers.

Tool Maintenance

3DP-A - filament feeder was jammed but has now been unjammed and functioning.

3DP-B - was fixed literally right after the last newsletter was sent out so it should be good to go and is back in action. Remember to check your nozzles for surrounding blockages whenever possible.

Semester 2 Has Begun!

With Semester 2 starting, that means you only have 5 months of making left for this school year. You are encouraged to keep using the and practicing the tools and not let your skills rust and forget all the safety requirements for use.

Remember, returning students can be exempt from attending Safety Orientation workshops and recertify in September by completing a written Safety Quiz for all the tools they want access to.

Let There be Light!

The dimmed orange lighting has been a little challenging to operate or patch up tools at time, but now we can see better! Especially at the work table when we’re inspecting our projects and working with fine tools.

There is a remote in a cubby by the entrance that will activate/deactivate the lighting as needed. The previous lighting setup is still available - you just have to push the wall switch to turn it on and off rather than relying on the motion sensor.

With lots of makers up to speed on the 3D printers, there may be some new bounties coming up soon. Once all the files have been determined, we will post them.

Bag Up Unused Filament Spools

Reminder to unload filament when done and to bag them before shelving to extend their shelf-life as much as possible. Air moisture will degrade filament over time and can lead to uneven printing.

Clean Off Cricut Blades Before Use

If you’re noticing that the Cricut is not cutting materials as nicely as you remember, try cleaning off the blade with some aluminum foil. While it is not literally sharpening the blade, debris and oxidization buildup can affect your cuts. You can increase your odds by just doing a quick little cleaning of the blade before running your cuts.

Darker Engravings with One Pass

Just because xTool has a default setting for your material doesn’t mean you always have to stick with it. Of course this relates more to Engraving and Scoring (do not modify cut recommendations). You can increase the power value a little bit so you can achieve a darker and crisper engraving than the default value. Not required, but optional if you find the default to be too light.

Chomping Through Fabric, Foam, and Felt

Did you know the Chomp Saw is also capable of cutting through thin sheets of fabric, foam, and felt? While laser cutting foam and felt is not safe, you can instead run those materials through the Chomp Saw instead (as long as they are thinner than 3mm).

If you still require Chomp Saw training, make sure to touch base with Thanh to schedule a 1-on-1 lunch time training to get certified.

For Full Description of a workshop, check out the Workshops Info page on the lab Wiki for details.

Don’t forget to RSVP your spot! Spots are assigned on a First-Come-First-Served basis so make sure to reserve your spot ASAP!

Students are still encouraged to subscribe to the original newsletter platform for all the necessary links as we will not be linking them in Substack.

These stickers were prepared by Daniel F., James B. , and Nika M. ahead of the upcoming Winter Market.

With a little Cricut trickery, you can make your own sticker sheets where you have stickers that stay on the sheet, without having to cut the larger sheets into smaller ones using scissors or slicer.

If you have completed the Sticker Making 101 workshop, you should have access to the folder with the steps on how to carry this out.

If you want your project featured in a future newsletter, be sure to photograph your creation and email it to Thanh with a description to include.

Tool Maintenance

3DP-B - This 3D printer is currently experiencing some significant thermal reading issues and is not safe to operate. Thanh is working on various solutions but it may take some time. Consider this printer out for a while, and to make use of one of the other 4 printers available in the lab.

SHAPER Router Tool - You may have noticed a couple of large boxes in the lab. The Shaper router tool has been generously donated to the Maker Lab and we’re going to try to add it into our tool rotation.

Over the next couple of months we will attempt to find a home for this tool and give it a thorough test run. If deemed safe for independent student usage, Thanh will organize a safety orientation for late spring/early summer.

If it requires strict supervision or it is not safe for students to independently operate, Thanh may still offer a design workshop with the expectations you submit designs for Thanh to fabricate on your behalf. Let’s see how it goes!

There are currently no unclaimed quests/bounties. Will post when we come up with some!

Tape The Cricut Mats

Mats not really as sticky as they used to be? Until they can be deep cleaned and re-glued, try using some masking tape on the edges to hold your material down.

If you’re worried the masking tape is too sticky, try sticking the tape on some fabric (sleeve or pant leg for example) before sticking it onto your paper material.

Please Tidy Up When Leaving

Over the past couple of weeks, the lab has been left in quite a messy state. This makes it very difficult for people to work on their projects or complete repairs when there are limited surfaces available.

Please remember to tidy up your project and materials when leaving. If you need to store your materials in a lab drawer or cubby, please claim an available one by writing your name with dry-erase.

If you currently have a cubby, please update your name on the tags as they are getting smudged off.

Chomp Saw and Laser Booster Still Needed?

These are lunch time workshops that will not be specially scheduled. If you need access to either of the tools and need to complete one of their lunch time workshops, please contact Thanh to schedule a lunch session where we can get you up to speed.

As students are notifying of change of RSVP’s, check back often for any last minute openings if you wish to hop into a workshop!

Reminder that if you cannot make your assigned slot, whether it wasn’t originally preferred, something has come up, or you’re absent for the day, please notify Thanh so if there is someone else interested in the spot, then they can get trained.

For Full Description of a workshop, check out the Workshops Info page on the lab Wiki for details.

MARCH 2026 WORKSHOPS NOW OPEN FOR RSVP

Don’t forget to RSVP your spot! Spots are assigned on a First-Come-First-Served basis so make sure to reserve your spot ASAP!