Howdy Everyone!

Laser cutting my box started off by connecting the laser cutter to the computer and then cutting the kerf box, using the file provided on canvas. Before cutting I made sure to use the autocalibration setting of the Epilog Fusion Pro to make sure that the laser was properly positioned above the piece before cutting. I found determining the kerf value to be a little challenging as I didn’t know how tight I needed the pieces to sit while measuring kerf, so the pieces fit securely but not so tight that I couldn’t assemble them together. Therefore, I measured the kerf several times while assessing how the pieces sat and decided on a kerf value of 0.015in.

   

Next, I used en.makercase.com to design my box, and landed on a dimension of 4.5in for each side. Following the recommendations of the homework file and based on example boxes in the laser cutting room I set the program to generate 5 tabs on each edge of the box. I then input the thickness of my board and kerf into the program and then proceeded to generate the svg file. Once I had the file I imported it into Illustrator where I proceeded to add the images I wanted to engrave in my box: my information, the university seal and my departmental logo. Before sending the file to the laser cutter I made sure that all the parts that I wanted to cut out had a stroke of 0.001 and all the ones I wanted to engrave had stroke of 1.

Next, I sent the file to Fusion Pro and set the vector cut to the recommended frequency and laser power on the software. Based on my experience with the laser not fully cutting through all the kerf box I set the laser speed to 12.5, 2.5 lower than the recommended speed, to allow the laser enough time to fully cut through the board. I then used the laser cutter samples to pick the engraving setting I wanted: 75% power,  50% speed and 600 dpi. Once all the parameters were set and the piece was centered on the board in the software, I sent the file to the Epilogue laser cutter. I used the trace property of the Fusion Pro to verify that the cut would take place in the desired location, making adjustments using the software when needed. Once I was happy with the print location I started the cut, which too approximately 5 minutes.

Once the cut was done I removed the pieces from the board and assemble the box.

 

I really enjoyed using the laser cutter and is something I would like to do again in the future to make presents such as ornaments or laptop stands.

Cleaned stations:

Cost Type	Cost	Price	Source	Quantity	Total
Materials	1×4 Board	$10.49 /board	Joann.com	0.5 board	$5.25
Labor	Woodworking Operator	$20/hr	Ziprecruiter	0.17 hrs	$3.4
	Prototyping Engineer (You!)	$36/hr	Ziprecruiter	0.25 hrs	$9
Overhead	Facility Cost (Machine Time)	$85/4hrs	MakeATX	0.09 hrs	$1.91
	Quality Control	$32/hr	Ziprecruiter	0.09 hrs	$2.88
Design	Engineering and Development	$47/hr	Ziprecruiter	0.5 hrs	$23.5
	Iterations	$47/hr	Ziprecruiter	0 hrs	$0
Misc.	Waste and Scrap	5%	Paper and JQLaser		$0.26
Total for a Prototyped Piece	$42.8
Total for a Piece	$13.7

 

When determining the cost analysis, I used the experience of making my laser cut box to inform the amount of time the subcategories within labor, overhead and design would take. For general manufacturing costs I believe that a skilled woodworker working with a predesigned box file would take approximately 10 minutes to laser cut and put a box together, this is based on my 5 minute cut time and construction time. I also believe that it would take no more than 5 minutes for a skilled woodworker to do QC on such a small box, it would most likely take them less time but this gives them a buffer. All these factors in conjunction with material and facilities cost brought the prototyping cost to $42.8 per piece and the manufacturing to $13.7 per piece.

The manufacturing price of $13.7 per piece seems to be a good value compared to similar items, such as custom laser cut gift boxes, found on Etsy for $25. Showing that the estimated manufacturing process could potentially be a profitable endeavor. However, production cost could potentially be further reduced through the acquisition of a laser cutter, as the facilities cost are currently quite high for each piece. Initially, this would drive up the manufacturing price per piece until the purchasing cost is recouped, but once that occurs the main costs will just be power and maintenance potentially significantly driving down the costs.