I used a laser cutter to cut and etch wood to create a box that can be integrated together without the use of adhesives.

1. Numbers such as length, width, height, tab size, material thickness and kerf were entered onto the makercase website and a box file was created on Adobe Illustrator (AI).
2. Using the noun project website, fun .svg cliparts were downloaded and copied onto the box file. The box cuts and the etches were set at different strokes to tell the laser cutter what to cut and what to etch.
3. The wood of measured thickness was placed into the laser cutter aligned to the top left edge and weighed down to flatten the wood onto the laser cutter bed. The laser was then focused and a new origin was set. The laser cutter cover was closed. The laser cutter vector cut settings (10f, 100p, 4s) and raster settings (600 dpi, 100p, 40s) were set and the print command was given. The wood was then cut and etched.
4. Unfortunately a kerf of 0.0075″ turned out to be slightly tighter than expected and a mallet had to be used to put the box together.
5. Some of the edges were also sanded for a smoother finish.

 

Cost Estimates

1. Wood ($0.03/in^2) = $4.50
2. Adobe Illustrator ($0.00049/min) = $0.03
3. Epilog Fusion M2 Laser Cost (1900 watts)($0.12/kWh)(1h) = $0.23
4. Graphic Designer Labor ($25/h) = $12.50

Total Approximate = $17.26