This week, I had the chance to perfect my laser cutting/engraving prep skills by making a slotted press-fit box! This is in preparation for my upcoming midterm project, where myself and James will be building a mechanical model using a lot of these skills, laser cutting and waterjet cutting the majority of the project. But without further ado,

Checking out my kerf box!

I used the Epilog PRO, and the first step is to find the kerf value for the laser cutter’s current settings and wear level. 10 cuts gave me a total material loss of ~0.05″, which means my kerf value ended up being 0.005″. I inputted this into the export settings of the online box generator, and did a test cut of two blank sides.

Test-fit!

Turns out, I absolutely nailed it! I went ahead with the rest of the cuts.

The first version of the engraving and cutting file – note the missing date!

Here’s my file, and you can see I forgot the date in this first cut. That is the only double-cut panel I had to do, so I’m very happy with my efficiency and preparation to ensure perfect cuts and kerf.

Just before cutting the other four sides.

After cutting, here’s my final product! Below that are the settings I used on the Epilog.

Sorry for the font, Prof. Bisesti!

Engraving settings

Cutting settings

Total cost

Plywood 4’x8′ 5mm sheet: $27*0.03 (141in^2 out of 4608in^2) = 83c

Machine time: 90min*10/h = $15

Labor: 90min*10/h = $15

Total cost = $30.83.

I had a good time on this project, and look forward to applying my skills to the midterm!

My clean workspace!