This week, we were tasked with creating press-fit boxes using the laser cutter. I had used the laser cutter once in the past, but with a lot of help (I pretty much just hit “go” on the machine), so I wouldn’t say I was particularly experienced. 

First, I created the template of my box on Maker Crate. I made my box 4x4x4, and adjusted the edges so that they had 3-4 “fingers” on each side. Then, based on previous blog posts, I set my kerf to a value of 0.004. After downloading this template, I put it in illustrator. It took a bit of time for me to figure out what I was doing, having barely used illustrator in the past, and I was slightly confused about separating/joining the different sides of the box. Eventually, I figured it out, and added the text and logos I wanted to engrave. I ended up putting the GSA crest on one side, and a Rice owl on another. 

The next day, I came back to the OEDK to print, crossing my fingers things would go smoothly. However, I could tell from the first test cut that I was going to have to do some experimentation, as I could only get the laser cutter to cut through the wood at a significantly lower setting than recommended (5-10% speed). Still, now that I was there, I decided to try cutting my box with these settings. It ended up coming out much better than anticipated – I had to go over some of the edges with the laser twice (even at the low speed) to cut all the way through, causing a significant amount of burn on the edges, but the sides all fit together well and everything looked pretty decent.  

When going through the laser cutting assignment, I somehow missed the instruction of only having to turn in one final box, and thus assumed I had to make two identical boxes. Thus, I stopped by the OEDK again to print a second box.

At first, I thought the cutter was either broken or I was seriously messing up, because the machine would move but not cut anything; turns out I just wasn’t closing the lid enough. Once I had this figured out, I was able to cut my second box, this time at a speed of 20%. Despite the higher speed, there was still a significant amount – maybe even more – burn along the edges. In addition, the fit of the edges was slightly looser than my original. Because this new box was not completely identical to my box, I ended up cutting one more for good measure (again, I believed I had to have two identical boxes to turn in). The third box looked very similar to my second, but was for some reason quite a bit looser-fitting. However, because it still stayed fairly solidly together when assembled, and because my time for the day was once again up, I decided to keep it as it was.

It wasn’t until the day when I went to turn in my boxes that I noticed everyone else seemed to have only printed one, and after re-reading the assignment, realized I had gone through a lot more than I’d had to. Because it was generally cleaner and better-fitting than my first box, I ended up submitting the first box I’d cut.

Overall, I was fairly happy with the outcome of my boxes. I think the biggest thing I could have improved would have been to modify the settings to decrease the number of burn marks around the box edges and slightly modify the kerf for a bit of a tighter fit. I enjoyed using the laser cutter and found it fascinating to watch, but was also frustrated by its frequent breaking and inconsistency.

Cost Type	Cost	Price	Source	Quantity	Total
Materials	¼” wood (18” x 24” )	$21.58	WoodPecker’s Craft	1 piece	$21.58
Labor	Laser cutter operator	$19.17/hr	ZipRecruiter	2.5 hours	$45.43
Overhead	Facility Cost (Machine Time)	Assume 15% of labor and materials	Rockler	N/A	$24.61
	Quality Control	Minimal time spent	N/A	N/A	$0
Design	Engineering and Development	$43.12/hr	ZipRecruiter	1.5 hours(using illustrator)	$64.68
Misc.	Waste/scrapwood	1.5 pieces (¼” x 18” x 24” wood) = $32.37	WoodPecker’s Craft	1.5 pieces	$32.37
Total	$188.67