Hi everyone! These are the processes I took to create my wooden box!
Process:
I started by downloading and cutting with speed 6, power 100, frequency 10 the file for a kerf box. With that, I used a caliper to measure a total kerf of 0.1120 inch, which I divided by 10 and got 0.0112 for the kerf. I also used the caliper to measure the thickness of my wood, which turned out to be 4.73 mm, which is 0.186 inches. (I think i accidentally pressed the button that changed the units)
With that, I used the en.makercase.com website and created a laser cutting file for my 4x4x4 box. I also typed in and added the information that was to be scored on the two sides, which was my name and class information with the college crest, downloaded from the canvas files. I made sure to separate the file into two layers, one for laser cut and the other for engraving, so that they’re easier to manage.
The next day, I went and used the laser cutter at 4:00pm, which I reserved earlier using the fabman website. I followed the steps on the sheet of instructions for the laser cutter, and make sure to adjust the focus and also do test cuts of 1 inch x 1 inch. The first one with speed 6, power 100, frequency 10 seemed kind of burnt that day, so I adjusted it to speed 8, power 100, frequency 10 which looked a lot better.
After that, I continued and copy and pasted my own ai. file into the laser cutting ai. file and adjusted the line weights according to the vector and raster options. For the etching, I referred to the chart beside the laser cutting monitor and chose the speed 80, power 40 one. I followed the instructions and made sure to turn on the exhaust and check the job time before running the laser cutter.
After that, I tried to assemble the box, but then the pieces weren’t fitting together because the fingers were too wide (even with some sanding). I was confused at first, but then I realized that it might be because I changed the the speed from 6 to 8, which affects the kerf. I adjusted the kerf from 0.0112 to 0.01 and tried again first with two test cut pieces below the six. These worked out this time, so i proceeded to finishing the cuts and etches.
The final step was assembly and some very minor sanding. Even though I adjusted the kerf, assembly was still a little difficult (possibly due to the roughness of wood) so I had to slightly hammer a few pieces in. However, the final results was a tight, steady box!
Pictures of my workspace after cleaned:
Cost estimates:
I measured my plywood to be 0.186 inches, which is between 1/4″ and 1/8″ inch. For estimating purposes, I will just take the price for the 1/4″, which is more expensive just in case.
- 1/4″ Plywood that is 2 ft x 4 ft: $14.94 (home depot)
- Labor as a Design Engineer: $29/hour x 1.5 hours = $43.50 (zip recruiter)
- 240 grit sandpaper: 15 pack $8.59/15 = $0.57 (amazon)
- Adobe Illustrator: $22.99/month (adobe)
- Laser Cutting Machine Rental: $100/hour (light object)
Total: $182 (should be $82 if the usage of a laser cutter is included within the machines available as a design engineer)
