Shibaura Institute of Technology.

About Shibaura Institute of Technology.

Given the singular title of Top Global University by the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology, the Shibaura Institute of Technology (SIT) has over 800 overseas exchange students at their multiple campuses thanks to the "Project for Promotion of Global Human Resource Development". In 2013, the School of Architecture located at SIT's Toyosu campus obtained a compact Trotec laser cutter. Later, in 2017, a medium sized

Children’s Workshop: “Let’s Get Together & Create a Futuristic House!”

This workshop was an event held by SIT as part of their "Open Tech Kids" program, driven by Assistant Professor Keita Aoshima from the School of Architecture. In the workshop, teams of individual children and foreign exchange students would make their own "room" with the help of a cutting-edge laser cutter. At the end, each individual room is then joined together to create a bigger "home for everybody". Thanks to the workshop, the participant children can learn a variety of things such as communication skills, architectural workflow and the architect's profession, all inside of a natural environment. Run for the fourth time this year, every year the workshop is extremely popular, with the number of applicants going for two or three times more than the amount of children that can participate.

Application and Challenge.

After he joined SIT in 2013, Professor Aoshima quickly expressed his desire to acquire a laser cutter. The reason for this was because, while not very common at Japanese universities, laser machines and related equipment were a large part of many overseas institutions. As such, working from within what was then called the School of Architectural Engineering, Professor Aoshima worked very hard to gain enough funding from their many affiliated research laboratories. After acquiring the necessary funding, the department purchased a small Trotec laser cutter, primarily meant to be used by students to create architectural models.

Then, as a result of using the laser cutter in the workshops that were being run for children, in 2017 a decision was made to make an additional purchase of a bigger laser, the Speedy 400. This later unit has been installed as a common piece of equipment at the SIT Research Laboratories. Thus, rather than being used just for the purpose of architectural research, the new unit has been situated to help develop a range of university-wide research topics involving subjects such as mechanical and electrical engineering.

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The operability of Trotec products is very good. Furthermore, I have been very impressed by the processing speed of the new Speedy 400 that the university has just installed. Its speed in itself really helps us out. I should also mention that these days more and more of our classes are adopting a problem-based learning approach. One element of that is that we need to quickly and reliably produce accurate products there and then. What is more, in my own “Project Design” research laboratory, it is necessary to be able to create different things as a form of communications tool. At such times, what is most convincing is the ability to produce something rather specialized rather quickly. Under such circumstances, I find the ability to use a laser cutter to be very valuable.
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Assistant Professor Keita Aoshima

School of Architecture, Shibaura Institute of Technology

The Trotec solutions.

The standard graphics program can be used

Trotec laser cutters pair up well with Adobe Illustrator thanks to the many benefits of their easy-to-use operational interface. With the standardized configuration of the SIT School of Architecture's Trotec laser, students can quickly and easily have their designs made from inside the familiar environment of Adobe Illustrator.

Trotec laser machines offer high levels of safety

In looking to purchase a laser cutter, SIT felt that the Interlock-secured cover offered by Trotec was a necessity in that it was very important to be able to stop operation of the machinery if the cover happened to be open. Although some consideration was also given to certain cheaper options that are only equipped with open exhaust systems, an emphasis was instead placed on ensuring student safety. Moreover, in that such equipment was also to be used in workshops conducted with children, it was also important that any cutter was equipped with a cover that would allow them to safely see it operating.

Speed and toughness were also important selection criteria for SIT

As Professor Aoshima puts it, “I think of lasers as being a form of high-function pencil. By picking up a pen directly in the hand, what I think is ideal is the idea of being able to sketch a picture and then have the cutter reproduce it exactly. What is more, compared to 3D printers, the speed of laser cutters feels much faster. Additionally, I had heard that the machines of certain manufacturers were prone to frequent breakdowns. As such, in that our Rayjet Trotec laser unit hasn’t failed us yet, I get the impression that Trotec products can be used long-term.”

Installed Laser Machines at Shibaura Institute of Technology

CO₂ laser cutter with 30W and a Atmos Compact exhaust system (115V)
CO₂ laser cutter with 80W and a Atmos Duo Plus exhaust system (230V)

The machines are typically in use for 5 to 10 hours a week. However, from around late December to January, operation time hits its peak at daily usage while students work on their graduation portfolios. To lower waiting times during peak period and double the amount of student use, there are some plans to install a second Speedy 400 at SIT.

Materials mainly processed by the laser cutters at SIT

Timber and wood (larch plywood, basswood)
Cardboard (Kent paper, block copy paper, chipboard)
Acrylic etc.

In addition, Professor Aoshima recounted that a Trotec salesperson had told him the story of a “female designer who installed a laser unit in her home.” After hearing this, he believed that in the future, having a personal laser cutter in your own home will become the norm. It would be as if the designers have factories placed right beside them! Discussing and empathizing with the salesperson about these matters is what Professor Aoshima believes made him recommend that SIT purchase from Trotec.

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