The goal of this project was to make a laser cut box, boxes, or a stand to display the other projects made in this course. Because I have significant experience with the laser cutters in the OEDK from Engi 120, I decided to experiment with something a little more complicated. When planning my display stand, I decided on a series of slightly offset platforms stacked on top of each other.

The first step was to estimate the kerf of the laser cutter, or how much material is vaporized by the laser in the cutting process. I cut several small finger joints that were the same general dimensions as the ones I planned to use, and settled on a kerf of 0.02 inches. I later decided I had overdid this a bit in pursuit of a tight fit, and backed it off to 0.018 in.

After determining the kerf, I started designing each platform, using the sizes provided for the different projects the stand should display, as well as the support arms between each platform. I test cut the first few layers, before cutting out the rest of the pieces and assembling the first iteration of my project. After assembling, I realized I had designed the location of each platform badly and the structure didn’t quite balance. I also saw that the kerf I had chosen was too aggressive, and the pieces were very difficult to assemble.

I decided to remake the entire stand, so modified the Adobe Illustrator files and taped a new section of my wood to prevent burning near the cuts. The pieces fit together a lot more smoothly this time, and I decided to spray paint the backs of the pieces black to cover up the burns on the bottom. This spray painted coat didn’t come out super even, mostly because of my unpracticed spray paint technique, as well as the fact the I was using an almost empty can.

After the pieces had dried overnight, I removed the tape from the tops and assembled the structure into the final stand. I sanded the tops briefly with 320 grit sandpaper to make them a little bit smoother, and am pleased with the final result. I learned more about designing 3 dimensional structures with only 2d drawings in Illustrator, and experimented with post-processing laser cut items.

Cost Estimate:

Most of the cost of this project comes from the labor involved in designing the stand. I spent an estimated 8 hours designing and cutting the first version followed by a brief redesign for the second version. To cut the second version only took about 20 minutes including taping the wood, followed by spray painting for about half an hour and assembling/sanding a day later for 10 minutes, to total about an hour start to finish for the final version. This could also be streamlined by cutting/painting more at once and using the Epilog Pro to speed up the cutting process.

Cost for entire process:

• 32″ by 24″ of 0.2 inch thick birch ply: $5 (from OEDK)
• 9 hours of labor: $90, based on $10/hour wage
• Total: $95

The cost for this one-off design ends up quite high due to labor costs, but the cost for future stands that could be made is significantly lower:

• 1/2 sheet of birch ply: $2.50
• 30 minutes of labor: $5-10
• Total: $7.50-12.50