For our laser cutting assignment, we are tasked with using the laser cutter to produce a box by using a box making program online to generate the box file and then cut the box ourselves on the laser cutter. The first thing I did was visit https://boxdesigner.connectionlab.org/ to understand the process of creating an AI document for the box, and I figured out the only two variables that I needed to measure and calculate were the thickness of the wood and the kerf. Therefore, before starting the design and cutting process, I used a digital caliper to measure the thickness of the wood, which turned out to be 0.185 inches. The method of calculating the kerf mentioned in the instruction is to use laser cutter to cut the border with nine rectangles in it, push the rectangles against each other to creating a gap between the last rectangle and the border, and measure this gap with a caliper and divide by 10 to determine the average kerf. Following this method, I downloaded the KerfBox.ai file from Canvas and cut it using the parameters I intended for my box: speed 4%, power 100%, and frequency 10%. The gap I measured with the caliper was 0.245 inches, giving an average kerf of approximately 0.025 inches.

 

However, I noticed that most of my peers were using kerf values smaller than 0.015, and the most frequent kerf they chose is 0.008. So, I decided to set the kerf value to 0.008 first and cut two pieces to see if they fit tightly. The box size I chose was 4″ ✕ 4″ ✕ 4″, with finger joints around 0.5. Unfortunately, the pieces turned out to be too loose and could easily be taken apart. Therefore, I reset the kerf value to 0.022 (considering the measurement uncertainty, I reduced the kerf slightly to ensure the pieces could fit together).

For decoration, I decided to put images of my cat on all four sides of the box. Due to my studying abroad and my parents not having enough time to take care of him long-term, we gave our cat to another family for adoption last month. He’s now living with someone else, and I don’t know if I’ll ever have the chance to see him again. I miss him a lot, so I decided to put his image on my box. Here’s the creative part: the cat behind a glass board represents the back of the box, and the cats facing right, left, and forward represent the right, left, and front sides of the box, respectively. Additionally, I added my college crest and personal information to two other sides of the box.

Then, I started cutting all of my pieces! I used engraving settings of speed 40% and power 50%, and cutting settings of speed 4%, power 100%, and frequency 10%. It took about 20 minutes to cut everything out. Afterward, I realized two pieces hadn’t been fully cut, likely because I hadn’t fully extended the artboard 🙁 Therefore, I chose to re-cut those two pieces while assembling the other four. Because the kerf I decided to use is relatively larger, it took some force to assemble the pieces, but the benefit was that they held together very securely! 

Afterward, I used 180-grit sandpaper to sand the six sides of the box and vacuumed the workspace. Here’s a picture I took after cleaning:

In total, I spent one hour using the laser cutter, and another hour adjusting the Adobe Illustrator file, assembling, and sanding. The materials I used included 180-grit sandpaper and 1/4″ x 2′ x 4′ plywood. Here’s the cost breakdown:

Labor cost:  $15/hr x 2 = $30

Laser cutter usage: approximately $25/hr

Plywood: $14.95 for a 1/4″ x 2′ x 4′ sheet at Home Depot. I used about one-third, which costs $4.99

180 grit 9 x 11 Inch: $10.34 for 12 sheets on Amazon. Therefore, one sheet costs $0.86

Adobe illustrator license: $22.99/month, use 1 month

Waste and scrap: $5

So, the total cost comes to: 30+25+4.99+0.86+5+22.99 = $88.84