Initially for this assignment, I had intended to do a box with several family photos on the sides to give as a gift for my parents; however, due to difficulties with the kerf, the amount of time required to engrave high quality photos, and simply my other classes, I decided to opt for a simpler box. Instead, I choose to simply follow the beginner’s requirements: my name, class, date, and college crest engraved. To begin, I used the recommended site, MakerCase, to create a 4 x 4 x 4 in box with a finger size of 0.2655 in. After downloading the file, I worked on adjusting the strokes and inserting desired engraves to prepare it for laser cutting.
I first used the Fusion Pro to laser cut my first attempts, in which I would manually adjust files/settings afterwards to account for the kerf. However, these attempts would produce a box that was too loose and could not stay together when moved.
I would later switch to the Fusion M2 due to the Pro being in use. During this period, after receiving help/advice, I realized that I could account for the kerf digitally through the website I used earlier. After realizing such, I then made 2 test runs to determine the kerf, one of 0.005” (recommended from a classmate) and 0.007” (the kerf value on the sample box next to the computer). The box with a kerf value of 0.005” was still loose, not nearly as much as previous attempts but it would still collapse from movement. However, the 0.007” kerf value box was able to form a sturdy product that could be tossed around without worry of collapsing. I then went ahead and created another 0.007″ kerf value box with my desired engravings.
Clean Workstation
Materials
- 2 pieces of ⅛” x 24” x 24” plywood (taking account for all attempts)
Cost Estimate
- Wood: After looking through Home Depot, I would estimate that the total wood would cost around $15
- Labor: I based my hourly wage on Texas’ minimum wage, which is $7.25/hour. I spent 4 hours working on the box. Therefore, the total labor cost would be $29
- Total Cost Without Machinery: $44
- Machinery: $1000 (educated guess)
- Total Cost: $1044
