Use our TroWood line to create a wooden box
Follow this step-by-step tutorial to easily create a decorative wooden box from solid wood, wood veneer or MDF. Personalize this box to create a gift item for your customers.
Required material:
- Any Trotec Veneered Wood panel (3mm or 1/8" thick)
- Any Trotec Solid Wood panel (6mm or 1/4" thick)
- Any MDF panel (3mm or 1/8" thick)
- Cover material and adhesive tape
- Wood glue
Machine used: Speedy 360, 80 watt, 1.5" or 2" lens, honeycomb cutting table
This sample can be produced with any other machine in the Speedy Series
There are many websites available to help with designing a wooden box. For this example, we used http://makeabox.io/. On this website, you can enter the kerf, which will keep you from editing this in your preferred graphics software. Simply enter the dimensions and the kerf and download the file.
Import the generated file into your graphics software.
Create a smooth edge on the top of the side panels in your graphics software. This step is necessary to ensure the lid fits on the completed box.
Next, draw a rectangle on the outer diameter (red in image) of your box. This will serve as the top of the lid. Draw a second rectangle on the inner diameter (blue in image) of your box. Later, these two pieces will be glued together to form the lid.
Using your graphics software, create a rectangle that corresponds to the internal diagonal dimensions of the box. The separating cross should be 3mm (1/8") lower than the side walls. This will allow the lid to fit properly.
Next, draw a 3mm (1/8") wide slit in the middle of the rectangle.
Duplicate this graphic.
Send each graphic for the wooden box to JobControl® separately. Each graphic will require different laser parameters because of varying thicknesses.
Print Settings:
| Process Mode | Resolution | Cut line | Halftone | Others |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Standard | 333dpi | none | Color or black/white | Enhanced Geometries and Inner Geometries first |
Place the wood panel that corresponds to the job into the bed of the laser. Use the greyscale matrix to adjust engraving settings to achieve the desired intensity of engraving.
In this example we used the following parameters:
Engraving Wood Veneer: P: 50 V: 100, 500 DPI/ PPI, Air Assist: on, optimized quality: on
Cutting 3mm (1/8") Wood Veneer: P:100 V:0.9, 1000 Hz, Air Assist on
Engraving Solid Wood: P: 60 V: 100, 333 DPI/ PPI, Air Assist: on, optimized quality: on
Cutting 6mm (1/4") Solid Wood: P:100 V:0.6, 1000 Hz, Air Assist on
Cutting 3mm (1/8") MDF: P:100 V:1, 1000 Hz, Air Assist on
Focus the laser and start the job.
To clean the application, use a damp cloth with a drop of detergent to remove the residue.
For additional precautions, you can add an adhesive bonding to ensure the box remains assembled. Use a special wood glue for this purpose and for adhering the pieces of the lid together. Thoroughly clean and dry the sides that will be bonded together. Be sure to use a minimal amount of glue to avoid staining and oozing out of creases.
