For this assignment, I will demonstrate proficiency in using a laser cutter to create a box using an online box-making program by creating a box with 4 inches on each side. The side of the booth will include my name, ENGI 210, and the semester. Additionally, I etched my college and rice logo crest on the other sides of the box. I also created a small dice in the meantime.

I started by navigating to makercase.com and inputting the desired measurements for a 4” x 4” x 4” inches box. It’s important to choose external measurements for the box. I used digital calipers to measure the wood thickness and input that information, which is 0. 195 inches.

Before generating the file, I addressed the kerf, which is the material removed during cutting. I’ll download a file, cut it with my best guess setting, and measure the resulting gap to determine the average kerf. This value will be used when setting up the kerf in the online box maker.

After downloading the file, I added the required text using the Text tool and imported my college crest, placing it on one side of the box.

With the Illustrator file ready, I’ll proceed to the laser cutter. I set the desired setting for cutting wood to speed = 5%, power = 100%, frequency = 10f, and it took 10 minutes to finish cutting.

After laser cutting, I’ll have six box sides that can be snap-fitted together without glue. I put them together easily.

It took about 1 hour to finish all these steps. 

Labor cost: $15/hr * 1 = $15

Machine cost: $30/hr * 0.2hr = $6

Material cost: $16/peice * 1/3 = $5.3

The approximate cost for this is $26.3.