A QUICK PREVIEW

Here is a sneak peak of the final product! And watch the box tick and tock and unlock here. Keep reading to learn about my struggles with a broken laser cutter.

Back with some updates

It’s been a while my friends. The last time you heard from me, I was just getting starting my crazy ENGI 210 journey. I took the first step to introduce myself then disappeared. So I am here to reassure you that I am not dead! I’ve been learning some new tricks of the trade and playing with some fun news toys like a kreg jig (isn’t that an awesome word?). I got the job as a Gallery Guide at the Moody Center. Drop by Tuesday afternoons and you may encounter me. And I have fought with a temperamental laser cutter to make one crazy cool puzzle box that locks and ticks!

Starting with a sketch

Sometimes spontaneous decisions can make the best art, but when it comes to laser cutting, planning and drawing are your best friends. This is because the laser cutter reads drawings done in Adobe Illustrator so that it knows what to cut where. So cue up the blank art board!

I knew three things about my box: 1) the interior of my box needs to have five compartments to store later ENGI 210 projects, 2) the lid was going to look like a clock so I was going to need some circle on square action, and 3) the thickness of the plywood I had to work with was 3/16”. So I created a quick sketch of what my box would look like from above:

Then came the intensive planning to ensure all the sides of my boxes had finger tabs that would lock together properly. I also threw in the design of my clock hands. The fancy side spins on top of the clock while the boring side spins underneath the clock. When the hands line up properly, the clock can be pulled through the notches in the top face. With these drawings completed, it was time to play with lasers.

Light amplification by stimulated emission of radiation

Before I got too excited with cutting all my pieces out, I had to find the proper settings to use. The laser cutter can be set to move at different speeds. If it moves too fast, it may not cut all the way through. If it moves too slow, it may over-burn the wood. So I tried four different speeds (1%, 2%, 3%, and 4%) to see which one I liked best.

I decided that 2% speed worked best for me. Next, I had to determine the kerf. The kerf is the amount of material the laser cutter removes. This can leave your pieces smaller than you want them. So I tried offsetting my shapes by four different kerfs.

I decided offsetting my shape by 0.0031″ in all directions provided the best fit. Now I had all the information I needed to start cutting.

There are two processes that the laser cutter can do: engrave and cut. First I engraved my name and logo as well as the numbers on the clock on unprotected wood.

With the engraving done, I then covered the wood with masking tape. This protects the face of the wood from burning as the tape burns instead. I sent of my carefully crafted drawings and sat down to wait.

However, this is where the trouble began. I quickly realized my 2% speed was not enough to cut all the way through the wood. I set the laser cutter to 1% speed and 100% power, but I was still met with failure.

I continued to struggle with the laser cutter for the next 9 hours across two days. A lab tech cleaned the lens and exhaust of the laser for me, but it remained inconsistent and finicky. Some pieces would mostly cut out on max settings but still have sections that didn’t cut through. Some did cut completely. Some had no chance at all. I ended up having to recut each piece as many times as it took to get one that worked. But I persevered and finally had all my pieces cut out!

AVENGERS ASSEMBLE!

Assembling my box turned out to be the easy part. All the finger joints fit together will a little help from some sand paper and a rubber mallet.

However, I ran into three little snags with the clock: 1) The notches in the top face were slightly visible with the clock face on, 2) I had no way of locking in the orientation of the clock itself, and 3) I didn’t have a way of connecting the front and back clock hands.

So it was back to the drawing board with some slight modifications.

I made the notches slightly shorter, added in a second set of negative/positive notches for clock face alignment, and added in a pin system to hold the clock handles together. Then I recut all the pieces and began Assembly 2.0.

The pin system proved to be a bit tricky in practice. Not everything aligned exactly. The single pin pieces ended up slightly off from a perfect column. The two pin pieces were even more difficult as the pins ended up slightly too close together for the holes of some pieces. The notches for the locking mechanism were also a little tight. But once again, some sand paper and a rubber mallet and BOOM. Clock face with fully rotational hands.

And she was finished! But before I bust out the grand reveal, I figured we could crunch some numbers together and find out what this box cost me besides my blood, sweat, and tears.

IT AIN’t about the money

It’s really not. Promise. But for those curious out there, here it is in black and white:

That makes for one very expensive box. A great shout out to the OEDK for providing the laser cutter, plywood, tape, and sandpaper for FREE. It’s also nice to know I could have made $137.75 but chose to make this box instead. Such is the life of an artist.

I THINK THIS IS WHERE I BRAG

The moment you’ve been scrolling for: the final product. A super awesome puzzle box that only opens if you set the clock to the correct time. For you Sherlocks out there, all I’m going to say about the passcode is that chocolate makes a great birthday gift. Or you can cheat and watch the box tick and tock and unlock here.

Well, it’s been a wild ride my friends, but now it’s off to the next adventure! I hope to see you there. Foreshadowing: there may be some metal in the future . . .