The goal of this assignment was to use methods of laser cutting discussed in class to produce a hollow wooden box of at least 4″x4″x4″ using no glue.

First I went to an online box generator and input my desired dimensions, the thickness of the wood I was using, and a finger joint width of 0.5″. Next I need to know the kerf size so I went to the laser cutter and cut a 1″x1″ square. With calipers, I measured the true dimensions to get the kerf.

The next step was to send everything to Adobe Illustrator. I imported the file and made each face of the box its own shape not just a bunch of lines. I set the stroke size equal to 0.072pt. Lastly, I wrote down my name on one side and I put my college crest on the other.

At this point, I realized that I wanted a way to see if the finger joints were going to fit well before cutting everything, so I cut a short segment of joints and they fit well so I was ready to continue.

Finally, I cut all my pieces and it was a little difficult to get some of them out so some of the edges got chipped. When I was assembling the box, I realized there was a side that did not fit anywhere. I was very surprised since I got it from an online box generator. So I just duplicated another side of the box and used that to finish my box.

Cost Analysis:

One sheet of 1/4″ Plywood: $28
Labor Time: ($15/hr) x (4hr) = $60

Total: $88.00

Conclusion

I was glad to have a chance to work with the laser cutter. I definitely feel that this assignment increased my understanding of 2D design and laser cutting. I know this will be a useful skill in my prototyping and engineering design endeavors.