Design Lab: Part 1 - Laser Cutting Experiments
Bolder font would have been a better choice
This is the first post in the upcoming sporadic series of DESIGN LAB. I will experiment with new manufacturing methods and techniques. Results and pictures, good or bad, will be posted here. Some of these sketches may eventually find themselves in production and the web store, but mostly I’m just playing around.
For the longest time, I’ve been wanting to try laser cutting. Though the laser cutter is pretty old technology, the price point is still very high. It is not in my radar to purchase my own machine quite yet. So, I turned to a service bureau; Ponoko.
Ponoko carries a vast catalogue of materials from leather and wool felt to acrylics and plywood. The prices for materials are reasonable, but price for an individual design may hike up fast, if the design is complicated and specifically if it includes lots of engraved details. This makes balancing between designer’s and consumer’s happiness tricky. Seemingly simple designs may end up carrying a hefty price tag.
This time, I chose to work with white melamine MDF, Cherry Veneer MDF and natural cardboard.
Cherry veneer has a nice sheen and works quite nicely for jewelry. Here, I made a simple pendant by utilizing a ready made silver setting and designing a piece to fit in. The lesson here; Fonts need to be bold. Otherwise, the result is too subtle with the natural wood grain. The “CHILL” text on the bracelet below is barely visible.
I was also excited to try the “live hinge” method. Stiff material, such as wood, can be made flexible by cutting a pattern of vertical lines. Each thin part will give in a little, just enough to for a nice bend. However, for jewelry purposes and heavy usage items, this is just too brittle. It might be possible to use some kind of enforcement. For the bracelet below, I used duck tape :). For this to work, it needs more R&D.
2D to 3D
Laser cutting is essentially flat design. With some construction, one is able to expand it to 3d. Here is a simple egg pendant which can be shipped flat and assembled when received.
The white melamine picks up detail really well. Even the thinnest lines will read clearly. Also, the material tolerates high heat pretty well. Therefor, it was my material of choice for this trivet.
One last material I wanted to experiment with was cardboard. These earring display cards will easily fold flat for gift boxes.Over all, much fun to play with and definitely a learning experience. Next, I will try leather and felt for some bags and cases.
Oh, and a word of warning: All natural fibers and organic materials such as wood, leather or felt will be smelling like smoke. Laser cuts by burning. Patience is rewarded though, eventually, the smell fades.