For this project, I created a laser cut box that can be used to display the physical parts produced in this class. This box held together only by it’s interlocking box sides. I have etched the Baker college crest on one side and my name and date information on the direct opposite side of the box.

The Process:

I worked with Brian Seo to create a 2d-outline of a 4 in by 4 in by 4 in box that would be cut. We did this through a box case marker website. We added 4 tabs to each edge which would hold the box together. We also used a kerf of ~0.0065 which was used by one of the students that went before us.

Once downloading a file of the complete box outline, we also downloaded our college crest AI files. Once uploading this to Adobe Illustrator, we made the outline a vector cut and then we added text with our information on one of sides of the box and copied the crest images (these were engravings).

Before printing we changed the sheet dimensions to 40in by 28in and changed the vector and raster settings. The vector settings we used was 4-speed, 100-power and 10-frequency, where the raster settings we used was 100-speed and 40-power.

Once the job was sent to the laser cutter, I taped the wood I would be using to reduce burn marks on the wood. Since I went after Brian, we noticed the blue tape did not come off the engraving of his crest. This looked good on his because Hanzen colors are blue, however, because I am from Baker I took off the tape from that corner of the box. Unfortunately, this caused a lot of burn marks on that side of the box.

After my job was done, I put the box together. It was a tight fit and I had to use a mallet to really push some of the tabs together.

Here is my final box:

Cost Estimation:

Raw materials (Wood, Tape): ($27 / 16 sqft) + ($0.12 x 2ft) ~ $2

Labor (A normal wage): (2hrs x $10) ~ $20

Machine time (Laser Cutter, Adobe Illustrator Account) : ($20 * 1hr) + ($20 *a month subscription) ~$40

Total cost of ~ $62 

This cost could definitely be reduced in the laser cutter renting, AI subscription and even the labor wage could be minimum wage. Also if I made this the labor of two people and two boxes, the cost would have also been reduced because the laser cutter and AI was being by both Brian and I at the same time.

Reflection:

I feel a lot less intimated by the laser cutting machine and I feel more comfortable with each set of the process. I wish I would have kept the tape over the crest side because I really dislike the burnt edges and logo, however, I am glad I could see how effective the tape was. I think the kerf was used was pretty good, however, I would like to practice calculating a good kerf in the future because we just ended up using what others used. Also, I think its funny how the owls eyes cut through the wood, they look very scary!