Tools
Parts
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We will be creating tesselations using a very simple process. Understanding this process will make doing the digital design much easier.
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Start with a square or a rectangle. Make a cut from one side to another to make two parts.
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Join these parts back together along their flat edge.
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Cut a second time across this new piece in the other direction.
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Join these two pieces back into one along the flat edge.
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Feel free to try this process with a notecard and tape before doing the digital version in Gravit.io.
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Login to Gravit using your username and password.
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If you do not have an account, make an account using your Baldwin username, email and any password you would like to use.
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Hit the 'Create Design' button after logging in.
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Use the custom size dialog to make the size 5 by 5 inches. Be sure you change the dimension to inches!
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Hit the Create with Custom Size button.
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Use the rectangle tool to make a square of 2"x2".
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Find the rectangle tool in the SHAPES tap, or use the R key.
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Click in the first corner, than drag to the second corner to create the square.
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Use the inspector sidebar to change the width and height to 2.
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Use the knife tool to cut your square in half.
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Find the knife tool under the OBJECT tab, or use the K key.
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Hold down the ALT / OPTION key on your key board and click point to point to make the cut. Release ALT / OPTION to finish the cut. Try clicking and dragging to make curves.
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If you are not happy with your cut, feel free to undo using CMD+Z.
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Keep your cuts simple. A crazy saw tooth pattern will cause the software to fail during the second cut.
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First, choose the selection tool. Find it under the SELECT tab, or use the V key.
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Deselect the square by clicking anywhere away from the square.
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Select one side of the cut square by clicking on it.
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Click and drag to move the one half to the other side, lining up their flat sides. It should snap into place.
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We need to nudge the this piece over a very tiny amount. Use the arrow key to push the piece into the other half. In this example, I pushed the right arrow key once.
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Select both piece by clicking and dragging over the two sides, or hitting CMD+A to select all.
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With both sides selected, hit the MERGE button to join these pieces into one.
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Create a second cut in the opposite direction, maintaining the flat edge along to top and bottom.
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Use the knife tool, and hold down ALT and click point to point to create the cut, just as before. Release ALT to complete the cut.
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Repeat the previous move and merge procedure.
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Deselect the square, than select one side.
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Click and drag to move the flat sides together.
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Nudge the piece into the other by using the arrow keys only once.
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Select all and merge the pieces into one.
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Make copies, and change the fill color in the right sidebar. (CMD+C to copy and CMD+V to paste.)
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Each peice should tesselate with one another and snap into place.
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First, lets make sure we save using the SAVE button or File > Save.
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Now, hit the EXPORT button in the top right.
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Make sure the 'Canvas' button is selected. (It should be selected by default.)
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Change the format from PNG to SVG for laser cutting.
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Hit the 'Export' button to download the file.
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Finally, submit this file to be laser cut!
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