Process
For this project, we were instructed to cut out and engrave a storage box using the Epilog Fusion Edge and Rayjet R500laser cutters in the makerspace. In addition to the storage box, we also needed to use the xTool laser cutter to engrave a design into a coin and embed it into the box.
Going into this project, I knew that I wanted to create a storage box that would fit under the monitor stand at my desk at home. Since I knew where I wanted my box to fit, I had a height constraint for my box of 3”. Another thing I wanted from the box was to hold various knick-knacks and trinkets that I had floating around my desk, such as crochet hooks, needles, stitch markers, flash drives, and whatever else managed to find its way to my desk. Because of this, I knew that the compartments of the box would need to be of various sizes so that they could actually store the items I had in mind for it. This resulted in my box having four major compartments, with two being 4” by 4” and two being 4” by 5.5”.
Another thing I knew going into the project was the theme of decorations I wanted on my box. The requirements of featuring a coin as part of the box inspired me to utilize designs from one of my favorite games, Genshin Impact, as part of my box. Specifically, I wanted to create a coin based on the currency from the game, mora, and engrave images of the main characters’ constellations onto the box.
The final factor I wanted to include in my box was a functioning hinge mechanism for the lid. I was inspired by the boxes we made with boxes.py and their simple, yet fun and fidgety, hinged lids. I knew it would be difficult to take up such an endeavor and that I would probably have an easier time with a sliding lid, or perhaps no lid, but I wanted to take up the challenge.
With all this in mind, I set out to the actual CAD designing of my box. The final results of my efforts can be seen here!
Result
Despite knowing exactly what I wanted from my storage box, the actual designing and execution of said ideas were certainly a struggle.
My greatest challenge was definitely the hinge mechanism. I took a lot of inspiration from the model box we made with boxes.py and knew exactly how I needed to implement it, however the execution of said design was the real challenge. My first attempt at a hinge was too small, making it difficult for the lid to even open because there was simply no clearance for it to move. When I attempted to make the hinge larger in the CAD model to be more in line with the dimensions of a boxes.py box, I kept getting error messages, forcing me to edit an older version of the design to completely redesign and implement the hinge from scratch.
Despite all the trouble I went through for this hinge, everything ended up working in the end, and the box does have a successful hinging lid. To quote Josh, the technician of the makerspace, the success of my box hinged on the success of the lid. Many thanks to Josh for his wise words of wisdom.
Another aspect of my project that gave me trouble was the engraving of a coin with the xTool. As an experiment, I tried to engrave my coin design onto brass, which not only took three hours, but it also took three hours just to fail and not actually engrave anything. After fiddling with the xTool’s settings and increasing the frequency of the engraving with Josh, we had a lot better success with the second attempt, but even that took another three hours. But just in case that attempt didn’t work, I also had a coin engraved in zinc, which only took ten minutes and succeeded on the first try.
Something else that I struggled with in my design was a way to integrate my coin into the box. I knew that I wanted the coin to be featured on the lid of the box, but because of the lid’s hinging component, the coin would need to be well attached to the box, or else it would risk falling out every time someone attempted to use the box for its intended purpose. I had first planned on sandwiching the coin between a backer and a front slab of hardboard to keep the coin in place, but the coin’s thickness of 4mm made it difficult for the 3mm hardboard to keep it in place. After some thinking, and being inspired by jewelers on YouTube, I came up with this pronged coin holder that would both slot into the lid and keep the coin in place, all while being easy to remove and adjust if need be. This coin holder is probably my favorite part of the design.
Reflection
In comparison to the first project, this project definitely involved more trial and error, especially because of the greater amount of requirements, the moving components of the design, and just how finicky joinery can be if the material is mismeasured or cut out wrong. I had to print out my design several times just to get everything to fit right and actually work. While this was frustrating when things failed, it was also extremely rewarding when things actually worked as intended.
It was reassuring to hear from Ryan that this type of project was something that was expected to have multiple attempts of trial and error. These failures weren’t failures; they were just another step of the design process, and every failed attempt was just another opportunity to do better next time.
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