LASER CUT BOXES

Simple Finger Joint Box

This box in drawn in Onshape and uses two custom features to make drawing this box super simple. First there is a finger joint custom feature called Laser Joint which once you have your box drawn with the sides overlapping will automatically produce finger joints for you. Second there is a custom feature called Auto Layout which will take your parts and lay them all flat on the same plane so that you can easily export a DXF file for laser cutting in a single file. Here is a video on how to use these features to draw a simple box which can be used to draw a box of any size you may want. 

Onshape Checkerboard 

Step 1

Start a sketch on the top plane and draw a 4.5" x 4.5" square. 

Step 2

Extrude the square up 1"

Step 3

Use the thicken feature on all 6 sides of the box to create 6 NEW parts that are .125" thick. You can do this in 3 thickens by selecting opposite faces of your box. You want to make sure you are selecting new and that you have the direction going in towards the center of the box. This means that the parts overlap and this is import for creating the finger joints. The thickness of the material that this box is made out of is the value for the direction, if you are using a different thickness material than you should use that thickness. 

Step 4

Delete part 1 so you are left with the outside faces that you created with the thicken command.

Step 5

Use the laser joint custom feature. I use the automatic option, chose the entire box and have only 2 pins. 

Step 6

Use the auto layout custom feature to automatically lay all the parts flat so that you can export a .DXF file for your laser cutter.

Step 7

At this point you can put the sketch of your box on a drawing sheet and export the file but this would be the time to add anything else you wanted to the faces of the box like slots or in our case a checker board.

Step 8

In a new sketch on the face of the top of the box, draw a .5" x. 5" in the corner offset by .25" from the outside of the tabs. Then use a linear pattern on and create a 8x8 grid. The space between should be .5" so that the sides of the squares touch.   

Step 9

Create a custom D size drawing sheet. Select "Do not include" for the border and title block.

Step 10

Insert the view of your box from the top and make sure the scale is 1:1

Step 11

Right click on your view and show the sketch of your grid.

Step 12

Use hatch and fill in your grid to look like a checker board.

Step 13

You now can export your drawing as a .DXF file for laser cutting. Remember your grid you want to set as an engrave and all other lines will be cut. The way the custom feature laser joints works is that it makes each face unique so your box will only go together one way. 

AutoCAD - Living Hinge Box

PART 1

PART 2

PART 3