Anyone who knows me knows that the laser cutter is my favorite tool in the entire OEDK. So when the class was assigned another box project, I was ecstatic. Laser cutting a box is a fairly basic action, so Dr. Wettergreen challenged those of us with more experience to create a box with separate compartments (to hold all of our prototypes from this semester!)

I immediately knew I didn’t want to do a traditional box. I hadn’t had the most experience with intricate laser cut designs, and I definitely wanted to take this opportunity for complete creativity and learning. So after a few Google and Pinterest searches, I decided to create wooden drawers.

The files for laser cutting are created using Adobe Illustrator. However, this is a 2D program and would not allow me to create a 3D model of the prototype. Since I don’t know Solidworks (yet) and TinkerCAD would be utterly horrendous for this project, I decided to stick with pen and paper to sketch out my plan and make calculations. It was faster than trying to learn a new program, and it allowed me to account for every piece of wood I needed.

With my dimensions roughly finalized, I used an online template builder to make the boxes for my compartments as well as the larger box. 

I used the shape builder tool to turn the template pdf into actual box pieces I could modify. I added notches for a front handle and went ahead and cut the compartment boxes. I pre-assembled with tape and decided to take a look at the rubric again before gluing. To my dismay, towards the bottom of the pdf I read…

“When cutting your boxes, produce a version that can snap assemble and hold itself together without an adhesive.” 

Crap.

So after talking with some classmates for advice, I decided to keep my dimensions the same and play around with the other settings. I found that changing the kerf would account for the material that is lost when the laser cuts the wood. The recommended size was .007, so I did .006 for a tighter fit, made new templates, and moved forward.

The good news of having to create a second prototype was that the templates were a lot faster to create. Also, having that first trial run allowed me to see what the drawers would look like in real life. I noticed that four stacked compartments was a bit tall, so I changed the orientation to create a 2 x 2 drawer unit. Now time to cut everything, stain, and assemble!

 

FIVE DAYS LATER

Unfortunately, midterm recess happened to fall smack dab in the middle of this project time. Though the project wasn’t due until Monday, flight delays and a simple lack of planning on my part meant that I was not on campus to laser cut til Monday at 1:45 am. Not a good idea.

So, I decided to take a late grade and really put some effort into the box. I’d rather make something I’m proud of than put together a rough box last-minute. (My personal motivation is to learn from these assignments. At the end of the day, a grade is just a number)

Anyways…. a couple hours of laser cutting and troubleshooting later, I had all my pieces complete. Over the couple days of break, one of my files got slightly messed up. By slightly I mean everything was perfect but all the notches were shifted by about .01 inches :/

It was frustrating, but fixable. I made the edits, loaded the file, and hit print. No sound in the entire world is as beautiful as the resounding *snap* of the compartments joining together when freshly cut.

That being said, the drawers are not without flaws. Some notches still have a little wiggle room, and the wood I chose happened to be weaker and split easily. This left some unpleasant red marks on the wood that I ~tried~ to conceal with cherry stain.

All in all, I love my final prototype. I purposely made this project vague so I can reuse it down the road (perhaps to store school supplies, jewelry, snacks?) Along the way I learned more about the capabilities of laser cutting and definitely put my Illustrator and visualization skills to the test. But the challenge I set for myself was without a doubt worth the struggles.