Whilst I have used a laser cutter before, it has been a long time since I did, so creating a name plate for my box was a good entry to this homework. I created my design using Adobe Illustrator and then also created a test piece with initials to check if the raster settings created a finished product that I was happy with. For the AI drawing, I used black to indicate vector cuts and red to indicate raster.

After the test piece had finished cutting, I decided I was very happy with the lettering, it was even and there was no burning, so I kept the raster settings the same for the second cuts. However I noticed a little burning at the bottom edge so I decided to adjust the cut settings a little. However in doing so, the new settings did not fully cut through the wood on the bottom and left hand edges, despite cutting through the right and top. As a result, I had to make a second vector cut tracing the same path as the first, and this resulted in some additional burning on the edges which I was then able to sand down a little to improve the final look.

In this way I was able to create the name plate which I then attached to the crate using Velcro. I used the Epilog Fusion M2 laser cutter for this project.

Adobe Illustrator actually presented the largest challenge for me in this project since I am unfamiliar with the program and it took me some time to get used to it. With practice, I will improve this and use AI more quickly and efficiently.

After completing the name plate, I was able to create my  homework box. As an avid traveller, I love to collect things from different places I visit. I like to buy a sports jersey to train in, if I find a nice one, and I like to buy a shot glass since this is a souvenir that is easy to find, can be very unique and always fits in my overpacked luggage.

In the past 2 years, I have collected over 30 shot glasses from countries and states that I visit. About half of these are in Houston. Last year they were stored on my bookshelf however in my new apartment, I do not have somewhere to display them so they sit in the box they were stored in over summer. I aim to design a box for these shot glasses to keep them stored and protected, in a way that they can be seen but also kept tidy and in place.

I used Makercase to create my box design, a 10x10x4” box with 2.5×2.5” cubbies for storage. This required 6 inserts to create the segments. I created tabs 0.5″ wide. After viewing the final product, I believe a larger tab would have been preferable since the smaller ones were a little more susceptible to damage. 

The first problem I ran into was determining kerf. I used the name plate tester and name plate to get 2 sets of measurements, which I then used to estimate the kerf of the laser cutter. After adjusting the AI box file to match this, I began cutting my design. The first two sides that were cut fitted together with some force required so I adjusted the kerf for the following cuts but it was still not perfect for the ened result. The final kerf value I used was 0.002″ obtained from an average of measurements from three prior cuts.

About 3 cuts in, I realised my mistake in making the box too large; I did not do prior calculations to determine how much plywood was required for my design. After these first few cuts, I noticed that I would not have enough space to cut the base out of my original sheet.

With time constraints, I ultimately opted to leave my box without a base for the time being until I can source some scrap material as a substitute. However I cut a mini version of the base and etched a world map on it to indicate how the base should have looked.

Clean Laser Cutter station after use.

In the interest of saving material and fitting all the ENGI 210 projects in my box (each with their own varying dimensions) I created just 4 inserts for the box, to create 9 cubbies (as opposed to 16) of differing sizes. This provides more flexibility with how the box can be used, and it would be very easy to cut two additional pieces to adjust the function at a later date.

Once I had all the pieces cut, I stained each piece of wood so that the laser cut box matched my crate. After completing one coat and waiting for it to dry, I concluded that a second coat wasn’t necessary since the stain was evenly applied and the colour had taken well.

I then assembled the box. Since the edges were not perfectly to size, I had to use a rubber mallet to ensure they all slotted together and held in place. However in doing so, the plywood suffered a few minor damages where the comb joints did not fit as snugly as I’d have liked.

Whilst I am pleased with my final product as it will fit and store the projects that I create this semester as well as my shot glasses after the class has concluded, there are a few things that I would do differently on my future projects with the laser cutter.

 

Cost Breakdown:

• Birch Plywood, one sheet, oedk store: $15
• Labour, 7 hours, 1 person, $15 per hour based on my current wage as a Rec Lifeguard: $105
• Machine Usage, Laser Cutter, 2.5 hours, free with oedk access: $0
• Adobe Illustrator, free with Rice email address: $0

Total cost: $120*

*this cost would be much lower for future iterations of this box.