MakerCase and illustrator Demonstration

[@plus1miniatures344]

there is still a kerf with a laser cutter, and should always be considered when cutting anything for proper fit, especially with lasers, everyone's laser and focal length and width are different and every material thickness varies the kerf width as well. So it IS critical that the Kerf is adjusted for everything you cut on a laser.

[@dthormaly]

It’s true! There is some removal of material with a laser cutter. You’ll actually find that your laser cutter will cut a V shaped groove which is more or less pronounced depending on the focal length of your lens. The top of your cut will typically be a wider kerf than the bottom. In my experience with laser cut parts that need to lock together like the teeth of these cases, the positive and negative shapes should be the same dimensions. It’s actually the kerf that makes them fit together so nicely, not too loose and not too tight. Your results may vary, but let’s call this a solid place to start before fiddling with the kerf settings.

[@michelmichel7327]

No kerf… without adjusting kerf the fingers would split due to moisture, wood expansion, etc, that’s without taking into account that you will most likely break some putting it together. Everything that cuts has a kerf, might be 0.05-0.1mm but still needs adjusting

[@ahmedal-moghairi507]

hi frind - you can save DFX and open file with RDwork very speed cuting

[@resorter66]

John can this box creator be used to cut on a cnc. Jeff

[@dthormaly]

This site is certainly optimized for a laser cutter. The problem you’ll run into with a CNC is the size of your bit leaving rounded corners on all the 90 degree angles. The tabs won’t press fit tightly unless you take the remaining material out. You’ll have to make sure your tool paths cut the outside edge of all the lines. This software packs everything really close together in the drawing too, so you’ll have to get some separation between the pieces or your cuts could overlap.

[@resorter66]

@@dthormaly I moved the pieces around go get some room for the cutter .Will cutting on the out side keep the inside of the box the size I want it to be Thanks Jeff

[@resorter66]

John would doing something in the kerf box help with cutting on a cnc machine

[@dthormaly]

Kerf refers to the thickness of the cutting tool, or more accurately how much material is being removed by the cutting tool. Laser cutters don’t remove much, and typically leaving the the kerf at 0 makes the tabs lock together nicely when the slot is the same size as the tab going into it. If the tabs are too loose or too tight for some reason, I think the kerf adjustment will help with that but I’ve never needed to touch that setting on this website, so I can’t say exactly how it makes it’s adjustments. If you’re using a router bit in a CNC to cut these plans out, yes you want your tool path to run along the outside of the line to keep the dimensions accurate for the box pieces. The only issue I see with using a bit like that is that you’re always going to have a slightly rounded corner because of the diameter of the cutting bit. My suggestion is just to try it, and use a small bit to minimize the rounded corners. It’ll still work, it just won’t snug up without a little extra work. You’ll either have to square up the teeth, or round over the inside of the tabs where the corners meet. Good luck!