Laser Cut Box
Workflow
To see the process of making this box, watch my YouTube video here: https://youtu.be/wECFq1HLZC8
Design
Tutorial
Watch this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A1FIl5Eq4PQ
Open Inkscape
Document Properties
Go File> Document Properties
Change everything (Display units, size of page, etc) to inches
Make the size of the page 20 x 30 inches
At the top of the popup, click the tab labeled “Grid”
Under Creation, click New to make a new grid
Change the grid units to inches
Make both the spacing X and Y .25
Make a major grid line every 4 (so that there’s a major grid line every inch on the grid)
Close the document properties popup
Making the box base
Using the square tool on the left toolbar, drag and release to make a square
Modify the dimensions of the square by going up to the top bar
Change the width and height to 3.5 x 4 inches
Left click on the box and go to Fill and Stroke
Fill the square with color so it’s more easily visible
Go to the tab stroke paint
Make sure some color is chosen before going to the stroke style tab
In the stroke style tab, make the width 0.001 inches
Right-click on the square and duplicate it
Making the panels
Make a square, 2 x 3 inches (this is your end panel)
Make another square, 2 x 4 inches (this is your side panel)
Making tabs
Make smaller squares measuring .5 x .13 inches
Duplicate it many times
Adding tabs to the end panel
Add a tab to the center of the 2-inch side of the panel
Repeat on the other 2-inch side
Add 2 tabs to the 3-inch side of the panel
Only do this on one side
Using the arrow tool [the default tool], drag and create a square around this shape
Right click on what you’ve selected and “group” them
Adding tabs to the side panel
Add 3 tabs to the 4-inch side of the panel
Only do this once
Select it
Group it
Connections between panels
Duplicate your end panel and change the fill color so you can differentiate between the duplicate and the original
Take the duplicate and move it (by dragging) to the edge of the 2-inch side of your side panel
Select both panels
Go path>difference
The indent where the tab will fit in will appear
Duplicate and repeat on the other 2-inch side of the side panel
Duplicate the finished side panel
Indents in the box base
Duplicate a side panel and change the fill color
Select the object and rotate as necessary using the reflecting and rotating tools at the left side of the top toolbar.
Align the 3-inch side of the panel with the 3-inch side of the box base
Go path>difference
Duplicate an end panel and repeat. This time, align the 4-inch side with the box base’s 4-inch side before getting the difference.
Making the box lid
You should have another 3 x 4 piece for the lid. If not, simply make another
Make a smaller square measuring 3.750 x 3.038 inches
Laser cutter
Preparing the file
Find your design on Google Drive
Drag and drop it into Corel Draw
Set the page size to 20 x 16 inches
Select the whole drawing, right click, and press Ungroup
If some objects are still being edited together, select these objects, right-click, and choose Unlock. You should be able to edit the objects and move them around independently.
Select all the objects in the drawing and go to the top bar
In the center of the bar, there will be a pulldown bar that controls the thickness of the border. Click on the pulldown bar and choose Hairline.
Remove any fill color from the pieces, if there is any
Arrange the pieces of the box so that they use the cardboard efficiently
Printing
Go Control+P to print
Click Preferences that’s next to the printer selection
Make sure that the piece size is set to the standard of 20 x 16 or smaller, depending on the size of cardboard that you are using
Do not use Auto Focus if on the Epilog Engraver WinX64, but if on the other laser cutter, use Auto Focus.
Set the job type to Vector
Adjust the vector settings:
Speed: 20%
Power: Around 70%
Frequency: 457 Hz
Press OK at the bottom
At the original print page, press OK again
Turn on the fan
Go to the printer. It should have the name of your document on the screen.
Press Go.
Final
Make sure the cutter has cut through the cardboard completely before retrieving
Punch out the pieces and glue together.
Make sure to glue the smaller lid piece into the center of the larger lid piece (so that there is a lip where the side panel edges can sit on the lid)
Mistakes
My original design had the tabs separate from the body of the sides, so when I went to cut it, the laser cutter cut the tabs off of the sides. I had to go back and ensure that when the border was on, there was no division between the tab and the main body of the side. When I did this printing, I also forgot to turn on the fan, so my smaller, cut tabs lit on fire.
For my lid, when I reprinted it due to having incorrect dimensions, the laser cutter rearranged my pieces and put it all the way to the edge of the cardboard. So, a small bit of my design was cut off, and then it didn’t fit perfectly when I put the box together. To fix this, I just reprinted and made sure that the pieces did not rearrange.
