Imagine yourself in the following situation...
You are about to prepare packagings for your new incoming orders, but you don't want to use a standard cardboard box. You also own or have access to a laser cutter, but don't have the time to spend hours and hours on designing the layout for the box file from scratch. The solution: a handy open source file generator!
Florian Festi has been developiong a tool that can save you all those hours, namely boxes.py. Who wouldn’t want to have a platform to easily cut useful boxes of a hundred kinds?!
In this article we are going to show how the tool works with a basic Two Pieces box, generated via the boxes.py platform. We added the logo to the file after it was generated; this can be done with any vector graphics software of your choice. Make sure that your graphics are oriented properly and have been added to the correct side, otherwise you might get an upside-down logo, and will need to cut and engrave that single piece again.
Stay tuned for upcoming articles of this series, in which we introduce different smart solutions of easy-made boxes, tips and tricks!
Before you get started with generating the files, get familiar with the settings. It is important that you set everything in a way that it makes sense with the materials and tools you have available, otherwise you might end up with something that simply does not close well, it has gaps or is being too tight.
Things we LEARNED from making this box...
1.) MEASURE TWICE, CUT ONCE!
Important: Make sure you measure the thickness of your materials. To do this DO NOT RELY on what the seller told you, use a CALIPER and preferably a digital one, such as the Digital Caliper we offer in our shop.
The parametric calculations do all the hard work for you as long as you use the right thickness! Parametric equations define a group of quantities as functions of one or more independent variables called parameters - so in our case, the different values we input to the platform interface will generate the structure of the desired box in a chosen file format.
All human-made or cut materials have a +/- variance. Never go with what it says on the website you got it from, or even with what it says on the material itself. Always make your own measurements to avoid scratching your head. Measure twice, cut once!
2.) SOFTWARE
3.) TEST
Do some test pieces first! if your laser cutter is well aligned and is in focus, you'll find that these boxes are very tightly made, perfect for push fitting, but you might need to compensate and experiment. The picture below shows that our settings were set too high compared to the material's tolerance.
4.) BURN THICKNESS
Most CO2 laser cutters have a burn thickness of around 0.2mm, however if you are working with thicker materials or you've some alignment or focusing problems, you might find that your burn thickness (also known as kerf) is thicker as well! Take notes of your settings, keep a journal about your research and findings.
You can use sandpaper or a sanding tool to remove the surface discoloration off of your laser cut pieces. It gives a really neat finish, with the engraved parts popping more than before.
5.) FIT
