Computer Controlled Cutting

I created this sun/moon box using 1/8 inch birch plywood and our Epilog Laser Engraver. Here is my file! I felt like if I was going to go through the trouble of creating a box, it might as well be useful, so instead of using cardboard I opted for wood. It is just under 5” tall, and just under 4” wide. At our fab lab, we use a box maker program from BoxMaker to generate our boxes. It is easy to use and very helpful for beginners like me.

My final project might be a solar powered bag that will be capable of charging your cell phone. One of the main parts is designing and creating the bag. I figured press fitting is nearly the same as sewing so, I came up with a simple bag pattern and experimented with lasering felt. Our 50 watt Epilog mini was successful at “cutting” the pattern out for me. The settings I used were 10/2/500. I had to do two passes however, as the first time did not cut all of the way through. The pattern was very rough to begin with, I don’t think I will the bag for anything, as it is very small and flimsy!

Here are the pattern pieces assembled. This design was new, not tested out, and after sewing them together I found many ways in which to improve. For starters, I will extend the handle so that it does not get in the way of the flap closing. I will also make the handle thinner. This width of handle would do much better on a larger bag. With the size it is now, it is just silly in comparison with the rest of it. This exercise has been helpful in that I have found many ways to improve on my design. The finished product will have various pockets for the phone, solar panels, etc. so it is nice to have a mini 3D model to ponder my next steps. Also, I used Inkscape for both of these little projects. It is a 2D program I am getting used to using.