Determining the Kerf
Because my friend, Summer, and I did not have any prior experience using a laser cutter, we decided to work on the project together thinking this would save us both time and reduce wasted material from our errors because the trials and lessons that one of us learns can be used on both of our projects. We started this project by laser cutting the following box to measure the kerf. From this test, we measured that the kerf was around 0.0125″.
So, we used this kerf measurement in our first makeabox.io file to begin testing how well the “teeth” of our laser cut box would fit.
Preparing the Vector File
On makeabox.io, we constructed a box with outside dimensions that are supposed to be 4″ x 4″ x 4″ and a kerf of 0.0125″. This file was then opened on Adobe Illustrator. Rachel, one of the TAs, recommended that to conserve material, we should test the fit of our chosen kerf by simply laser cutting the “teeth” of our boxes instead of the entire 6 piece box. With these smaller pieces, we were also able to test various laser speeds that could effectively cut through the wood without leaving behind too much of a burn mark. After 8 iterations with different kerf sizes and laser speeds, Summer and I finally decided on a kerf size of 0.006″ and a laser speed of 17. The 8 iterations we went through are documented below:
Pictured above are the final settings we used to to design our box’s file
Once the ideal kerf and laser speeds were selected, I downloaded the pdf from makeabox.io and uploaded it into Adobe Illustrator. There, I was able to add images from the Noun Project’s website that I wanted to engrave in addition to my college crest and name.
Laser Cutting
After going through test pieces and becoming more familiar with the laser cutter’s settings, Summer and I were ready to laser cut our boxes. Unfortunately though, this step took a lot longer than expected. The same kerf and laser speed that we proved worked was not able to fully cut through the wood or make a box whose sides fit into each other easily. However, thinking this was an error on our part, Summer and I continued to try laser cutting the wood without changing any settings, but it was to no avail. (We learned later on that makeabox.io might have provided us with physically incompatible box dimensions causing our issues, but we did not know this at the time). At some point, I believe even the laser cutter was getting fatigued with the number of iterations we went through to try to figure what went wrong as it began to skip vector cutting some of our box’s “teeth” intermittently. Consequently, Summer and I began experimenting with having the laser cutter vector cut our wood twice to ensure that it was fully cut through. In the end, I resorted to picking and choosing the 6 sides for my box from the multiple iterations that were sent to the laser cutter since the laser cutter never actually managed to fully cut through all 6 sides of my box. Because of that, I feel that some of my box’s corners fit looser or tighter than others since some sides had the laser cutter vector cut through them more than once. In addition, my name and college crest were not engraved as darkly as I would have liked however I felt it was a small price to pay for having a box that actually was able to fit together. Frankly, I still am not sure exactly what went wrong with the files or laser cutter, but I am glad that I was able to piece together a box before the due date.
Post-Processing
To add some finishing to my box, I added a layer of gloss spray paint. This gave my final product a smooth and shiny exterior in addition to providing it with durability against future wear and tear.
Cost Analysis
Assuming that the cost to access a laser cutter for the user is negligible, the only two items that need to have their cost considered for this project is the wood and labor. The wood approximately costs $3.99 (assuming the wood I used was a plank of 100 square inch birch) and labor can be estimated to be $15/hr for 12 hours which totals to $183.99.
