Starting this assignment was definitely less stressful than the wooden box because well, the machine was doing all the heavy lifting.
Plan:
Figure 1: Kerf test
I started by deciding to create a 4″x4″x4′ box with 5 faces of design. I measured the size of the plywood to be 0.2″. In order to input values into makeabox.io, I decided to perform the kerf test before designing any component of the box. I made a mock box on Illustrator and laser cut a small size with 10 blocks to mimic the kerf test. The spacing was equal to 0.078″, so the kerf equaled approximately 0.008″.
Design:
After inputing values for the box size as 3.8″x3.8″x3.8″, tab width equal to 0.5, and kerf value of 0.008″, I was ready to get to the fun part. Initially, I was slightly confused about the top and bottom blocks, but that was soon cleared after reviewing the assignment document. I went to thenounproject.com to find a few of my favorite things to add onto the sides of the box. The top face of the box includes the Rice crest downloaded from canvas, along with my name, semester, date, and course number. Funny thing, the course number is incorrect but I realized it after the box was assembled and finished (oops).
Figures 2,3,4,5: Designs on the side
Laser Cutting and Assembly:
I love using the advanced laser cutter where it autofocuses and has a significantly easier user interface. I uploaded the .ai file onto the printer and played around with a few power settings for the engraving. The settings I ended up using for engraving were 600 resolution, 100% speed, and 60% power. For the vector cut I chose 15% speed, 100% power, and 10% frequency. Initially I felt that the 60% power was enough, but I wish I had chosen a bit of a higher number as the Rice crest was not as dark as I hoped it to be. When assembling the box, I was afraid it would break because of the sounds it made, but the box surprisingly had a good and tight fit.
Figure 6: Final box
Reflection:
Overall, I am very happy with the fit and the look of the box. It includes a few of my favorite things! I do wish we could have had an option for a smaller sized box because it is a closed box, so having a smaller size would be a better showpiece. Laser cutting is really fun and relatively simple so I will continue using the machine for personal projects.
Cost Analysis:
Plywood = average cost ~$3
Labor ($15/hr) = $30
Equipment is negligible
Total cost = $33
