04_Week 4 (09.23) - entertainmenttechnology/Corn-MTEC2250-Fall2022 GitHub Wiki

Assignment #4: Design a Laser Cut Enclosure (Dieline)

Using your mechanical toy from previous weeks, or any other small object less than 6" x 6" x 6", design an enclosure to showcase the object.

  • Your enclosure must include the following:
    • Be laser cut from one continuous piece of material using either living hinges, or scored or stitch-cut folds (aka design a dieline)
    • Decorative elements scored or etched on a surface
    • Your name etched on the bottom of the enclosure

Each student will receive one piece of 30pt (.7mm thick) chipboard that is 26" x 18".
Optionally, we have some thicker chipboard that is 1.4mm thick and 24" x 12". If you prefer the thicker material, please adjust the material in your file and let me know when you submit your file.

Your design must fit within this space and be sure to keep all line work at least 0.25" (6.4mm) away from the edge of the material and at least 0.125" (3.2mm) away from other linework.

Your laser cut file must be drawn in Illustrator using the template file here.

Within this file, there are 6 different layers:

  • MATERIAL_BOUNDARY - I have set the material to 26" x 18" which is the size of the material you will be able to use for this assignment. For future laser cutter work, you can adjust this sketch as needed. Note that the material should always be pushed into the top-left corner of the bed.
  • INFO - This layer includes the name of the laser and the maximum bedsize.
  • The other 4 layers are for you to draw lines with the the corresponding laser operation. Do not rename these layers and do not add any other layers.
    • CUT - Lines on this layer will be fully cut through the material
    • SCORE - Lines on this layer will be run at 50% power.
    • ETCH - Lines on this layer will be run at 25% power.
    • RASTER_ENGRAVE - Shapes on this layer will be "filled" and engraved on your material

Do not have duplicate lines over top of each other as this will result in the laser running over this area multiple times.

Export your finished drawing as "A4_[name]_LaserCuttingFile.AI" and DM to me on Slack before the beginning of class on 09/30. We will have all files cut at the NYCCTFab shop once all files are approved.

For NYCCTFab information and tips/tricks

For laser cut box inspiration and reference

The best place to look for inspiration is to look to packaging dielines. This is the way that every cardboard box is designed and cut to package our products. A simple search on Google Images should provide you with lots of ideas.

Other types of laser cut boxes for inspiration:

Do not use these designs directly, but you can use them as reference or as inspiration:
Makercase
Boxes.py
Templatemaker
Curved wood hinges