Keychain

Plan

For project, I lasecut my initials into a keychain.

Materials:

• Key ring
• Leather
• Connector

Tools

• Laser cutter
• Computer
• Corel Draw
• Inkscape

Workflow

1. Open Inkscape. Click file>document properties>orientation>with=1.75 in & height=1.75 in.

2. Create your design. I chose to use my initials (KCH).

3. Align/center your design,

4. Save the file as a Plain SVG.

5. Upload the file into your google drive.

Below is my file:

6. Open the file with Corel Draw on a computer connected to a laser cuter. Keep in mind the smaller laser cutter has a more detailed cut.

7. Find a piece of cardboard that will fit your design. (Look for scrap cardboard before taking a new piece.)

8. Place the cardboard into the laser cutter.

9. Turn on both of the fans connected to the laser cutter.

10. Select the print options.

11. Click Raster and set the preferences to 100-50.

12. Turn off color mapping.

13. Change the offset to 0 and the thichness to 1.3 for your trial engrave on cardboard.

Change the offset to 1.3 and the thickness to 1.2 for your final engrave on leather

14. Turn on auto focus.

15. Send to the printer

16. Print!

17. After the engraving is done, fold over the keychain and hammer together the two connector pieces, while leaving the key ring in the fold.

Final product

Conclusion

When making my keychain, I had problems bonging my connector piece together. To fix this problem, I added a small drop of glue to the two pieces to ensure absolute security. Above is my keychain holding my house key!