It was a great learning experience to be able to apply Adobe Illustrator and Laser Cutting skills to create this personalized mini box.

First, I downloaded box plans online for a 4″x4″x4″ box, measured the wood thickness to be 0.2″, specified finger tabs of thickness 0.5, and also set the kerf to 0.015″

Next, I used Adobe Illustrator to add text and images to personalize the box. Once the 2D layout was complete, I adjusted the stroke and vector settings to allow the machine to cut and engrave the box pieces.

Some challenges we encountered was that the laser cutter would occasionally stop cutting but still continue running the cut when Fabman access expired mid-cut. It also switched the engraving and cutting settings. Another challenge was applying enough pressure to assemble the box after it was cut.

One key issue was that the wood used to cut the final box was not the same wood that was referenced in generating the box plans. The box cut was designed for 0.2″ thick wood; however, it was finally cut on 0.1″ thick wood by accident. This resulted in the fingers not laying completely flush against the holes.

These were the final boxes:

Overall, it was an extremely valuable experience to be able to use the laser cutter and learn how material properties like thickness are important to the final structure of the design.