After a minor set back in the laser training process, I was able to get right to work. I began by attempting to measure the kerf of the laser cutter however due to issues with the mirror on the laser, the beam was not cutting the wood correctly. After a few unsuccessful attempts, I decided to use the kerf of .007 that had been successful for my classmates. 

I used the provided program to create a 4x4x4 box with a kerf of .007.

I kept it simple by adding a Rice crest on one side of the box and my identifying information and a picture of some adorable nocturnal creatures. I began the process using the recommended laser settings but decided a few minutes into the engraving that the raster was too dark and the burn marks were prominent. I stopped the cut, readjusted the print settings, and cut again.

Unfortunately, after this cut I realized that I had mismeasured my wood, thinking that I could not enter a custom thickness and had assumed the preset value would be fine. My box barely fit together and was clearly not flush.

I went back to the box website and figured out how to add the custom thickness. I measure the wood, downloaded the new template, and added back my graphics from the original box. This time the print went smoothly. Before assembling my box, I decided to wipe down the box edges to keep from getting dark smudges on the faces of the box.

The assembly was easy this time and my box was finally finished!

Here is a picture of my workspace:

Cost Type	Cost	Price	Source	Quantity	Total
Materials	¼” Plywood, 2ftx4ft	$17.98	Lowes.com	1 pc	$17.98
	Paper Towels	$17/400 towels	ULINE.com	2 towels	$00.09
Labor	Laser Operator	$19.26/hr	ZipRecruiter.com	N/A	$0
	Prototyping Engineer	$15/hr	Personal Wage	1 hr	$15
Overhead	Facility Cost (Machine Time)	$00.36/hr	accurl.com	.5 hr	$00.18
	Quality Control	$30.04/hr	Talent.com	N/A	$0
Total Price					$33.25