Summer Crafts – Fan

Design one of the outer parts of the fan. We need a rectangle with rounded corners for this which we build out of four circles and two rectangles which we combine afterwards. 

Now design some decoration, which could for example be flowers or a fan. Pay attention that there are supports for all inner structures. You can use the circular array function here. The picture shows an example for a simple flower.

Last but not least we need a hole in the lower part of the fan. Now use the subtract function to get everything into one geometry with the outline and the decorations. This is the front side.

For the backside make a copy of this and mirror this if your design is not symmetrical.

Copy the first outer part (front side) to a second workspace. Now use the array function to create the geometry that we need for the inner part. Unfortunately the array function can do a maximum of 10 elements. So we use this maximum. Choose 10 elements in x and a x spacing of 0. Choose 1 element in y. Repeat this with the rightmost element until your fan is wide enough or you reach the limit of the working space or your material.

Now we combine these elements to have on geometry which looks like the one on the picture.

Note: I sometimes had the problem that the combine operation did not produce one geometry. In these cases the array function did not position the elements precisely. Just edit the positions manually.

Next we want to create cuts that help us to fold the fan. Draw one line of 1cm exactly where the fan is folded later. Now you can use the array function again to duplicate this in x and y. Choose 10mm in y and the width of your fan design in x. It could be required that you repeat the array function as you did before.

Note: For smaller machines like the M1 or the D1 without extensions it is a good idea to make two of these inner parts and glue them together.

I cut the outer parts with 4mm/s at 95% and the inner parts with 80mm/s at 95%. The exact settings depend on the material that you use. I used thick paper, probably around 160g to 250g.

If you cut it by laser and not by blade, the lines that we have added to help us folding the fan appear dark when it is folded and give it a nice look. This is why I prefer to use the laser here.

Now fold the inner parts and glue everything together. If you have cut multiple inner fans glue them together then glue your inner fan to the front side and the back side. Align everything carefully so that your designs exactly overlap.

Let everything dry. Then press it together and use a rubber band to hold it in place for some hours.

Finally add a keyring through the holes.