The only part of this project I enjoyed was being done. I struggled through every second of this project, and honestly I’m just glad it’s over. I did, however, learn a lot about the laser cutter.
Steps:
1. Attempt to figure out kerf by trying some edges
I first made a box with a kerf value of 0.0013 inches. I copied the edges into another file and tried printing them. At first, it didn’t cut, so I adjusted the speed & frequency. Once I made these adjustments, I was close to having the right kerf but still a bit off. I tried 20+ different combinations of kerf, speed, and frequency, and nothing worked. I tried both websites that were mentioned on canvas, and that didn’t change anything.
One of the many failed edges.
Very pretty box that also did not work!
2. Fail
At this point, I had spent 4+ hours trying to find the correct kerf and values, not including the multiple hours it took to get the laser cutter working the day before. I was so exhausted with this project and needed a break, even though it was about to be late. I picked up my many, many failed scraps to throw them out and was about to leave.
Just some of my failed pieces.
3. Somehow combine my failed pieces into a working box?
Off-handedly, I re-examined some of the pieces I already cut. I ended up somehow finding 6 that not only had tabs that fit together, but the measurements were close enough to keep the box together well with no adhesive.
4. Engrave (extremely poorly)
I went to engrave my name, date, and course, as well as the Jones logo. Since I was engraving on pieces that were already cut out, I got the sizing and centering wrong. I really dislike how it looks and I wish I had more time to fix it.
5. Put together
Once I made my engravings, I put the box back together and was finished.
Finished Box
Challenges
This entire project was a challenge. I started too late, didn’t budget nearly enough time to complete it, struggled with figuring out the kerf, speed, and frequency I should use, and so much more. Unfortunately, I still don’t feel very confident with my laser cutting abilities, so I’m glad I’ll get more practice on the midterm. I also did not do a good job of keeping track of the measurement combinations that didn’t work. My logic was that if it didn’t work, I would just try something else. I most likely ended up repeating combinations, or getting close to combinations I had already tried because I didn’t write down what I had done.
I am still not fully understanding how power, speed, frequency, and kerf are related. I clearly found out that they affect what the other measurements should be, but I don’t have a good understanding. At this point, I think I would still struggle if I had to do this assignment again.
If I had started earlier, or estimated how long it would have taken correctly, I think I would have done a much better job. I wish I had more time to fix my mistakes.
Cost Estimate
I spent around 6 hours on this assignment, and after our discussion in class yesterday I decided I will pay myself $20/hour now, bringing the labor cost to $120. All of the wood that I used were scraps, but I would still say I used around 2 sheets of plywood total with all of my failures, and I will estimate that to cost $10. Assuming no cost for the shared machines, the total cost of this box would be $130.
