I wanted to get my box done early, to get ahead of the crowd and ahead of my busy, busy week. I first went to the computer lab to create the files that I needed to laser cut. That was when I first read through the homework assignment and realized that I had logged into the computer for nothing, as there were no files to edit at the time.
I moved over to the laser cutter room to begin making my box. I logged into the M2 as the other one was in use. I placed my wood in and adjusted the height to ensure proper spacing. I made my initial test cut, using the recommended 38 speed and 100% power.
The side of the test cut was slightly burnt, so I dropped the power down to 90% to make the kerf box.
The new settings had worked well on the kerf box, but I still thought the sides could be less burnt. I found the kerf to be .00565″ using a caliper. I then went over to makercase.com to put in the dimensions of my box. I added my name and Duncan College’s logo. I went to print and decided to use 39 speed and 95% power without testing it. The box printed fairly well; a couple of the walls did not completely cut through. I thought that maybe going to 39 speed was too fast, so the laser did not cut all the way through.
I forced the wall out, which damaged the wood; it did not look good. I really should have cut it out with an X-Acto knife. I began putting my box together and realized I made a mistake. The kerf was good and the friction fit was very strong, but I made a mistake with one of the dimensions.
The finger joints don’t fit all the way. They don’t sit flush with the walls, which clearly shows I made a mistake. My first assumption was that I didn’t put the right wood thickness in. This was confirmed after talking with the TA. So, I came back the next day and redid my entire box.
I made a test cut, redid the kerf box to double-check from the day before, and then printed my box again. I got a smaller kerf of .0051″. I used 38 speed and 95% power for all my cuts. Once again, 3 of the walls did not get perfectly cut. The pieces were held in by very small and thin pieces that did not get cut all the way through. So, I carefully cut them with an X-Acto knife to get them out. Lastly, I put my box together. It required a bit of force as the finger joints are quite tight, but it came together nicely. I made sure to not damage any of the finger joints in the wood while forcing my box together. The box is solid, and all the walls are held tightly together by the friction fit.
Referring to the OEDK’s website, the piece of wood costs $5.
Between making two boxes, the laser cutter was actively running for about 20 minutes, but the machine was kept on in between cuts. Pricing the laser cutter is tricky. Ignoring the upfront cost of purchasing one, a $30 user fee seems reasonable. I do not know what goes into the maintenance of the laser cutter and how it degrades from each use. $30 seems a fair price to cover the electricity used and for wear and tear to the machine.
I put in 2 hours of my time to create the two boxes. Giving a wage of $15/hr, then labor costs $30.
The total cost of the box is $65.
