When reading the descriptions for this assignment, the idea of making a large multi-compartment intermediate level box really appealed to me. I decided that I would attempt the more complex design and began arranging the different compartments in Illustrator. After about ten minutes, I came up with this: 
I figured that I could create the prints for this box using the makeabox site, only I would have to edit and combine them instead of just copy/pasting a single file into Illustrator. I knew I would need a base, 4 walls, and 5 internal walls, which gave me a total of 10 templates that I would need to work with. I ended up building a 3D model in Solidworks to help me better visualize the final product. While this step was not strictly necessary, I have been looking to improve on my Autocad skills, so I decided to take the opportunity.
The biggest issue, however, was my inability to determine the kerf that would result from the laser cutter, as I was at home in Florida and could not access it (on top of this, upon returning to campus I discovered that I had been using the wrong wood thickness, which further complicated things). My plan was to make the joints and gaps design dimensions, so that I would be able to edit them upon returning to campus and testing the cutter. This worked partially, but the amount of pieces combined with the amount of parameters I needed to change (my initial guess for kerf was way off, and I was wrong about the wood thickness) meant that I would essentially need to rebuild the entire model from scratch with brand new Illustrator files in order for the print to work. Since I returned to campus Sunday afternoon, I decided that I unfortunately did not have time for this, and opted to make the beginner box instead.
For kerf testing, I tried two different methods. First, I printed a 2″ x 2″ square with 10 vertical cuts through the center of it. I then measured the ten slivers side by side to measure the material lost. However, I found this method to be full of error and inaccurate.
Due to this, I instead decided to test for kerf by printing mini joints and trying out the fit. My first test was a kerf of .01″, which was way too large and resulted in joints that were too tight to snap together. I then cut it in half for a kerf of .005″, which was much better, and figured that a little more would be a perfect fit. I settled on a final kerf value of .004″, which worked very well.
All that was left was to design and print the final template, which did not take me long at all after all my struggles with the 10 pieces earlier. The final result came out very nicely!
Although my original plan was a failure, I definitely became much more proficient at both Illustrator and Solidworks during the many hours I worked on my intermediate box, so I do not see it as a waste of time. If I had planned ahead and had this project not coincided with break, I would probably have been able to design with the proper parameters my first time around, which would have been much easier and much more likely to succeed. If I feel like it and have the time, I would love to redesign it with the proper kerf and print it someday!
Cost estimate:
1 sheet of 0.2″ wood: $8 (Home Depot)
1 hour on laser cutter: ~$60 (Several sources online)
2 hours of work (including training for laser cutter): $30 ($15 x 2)
TOTAL: $98
