KinderCube: Laser Cut Project

I made an invention that I am calling the "KinderCube" for my project. This is for my little brother, who is five years old and in Kindergarten. He needed help learning math facts, like counting patterns, but was unmotivated to practice. My mission was to create a fun, interactive way for him to practice that he would enjoy and continue to use! I came up with the idea of making this die with different math facts and prizes for if he answers the math fact correctly.

Inkscape

Glowforge

Laser Cutter

1/16 in thick basswood

Gorilla glue

3D printer

3D filament

PrusaSlicer

Dodecahedron 3D printer design

This box is a dodecahedron, meaning that it has 12 pentagon-shaped sides. First, drag 1 star out and drag an interior point out to make it a pentagon. Size it to your liking (mine was approximately 2 inches tall) and duplicate the shape 11 times, spreading them across the screen.

Drag out text boxes onto your shapes and type your math problems into them, including a prize quantity that can be earned for correctly answering the question. Click on your text box and click "Object" in the menu. then click "Fill and Stroke" and click the blue box under each menu.

Save your design as a .svg and open Glowforge. Open a new design (upload a file) and select your saved file.

Place the wood into your laser and turn it on. Once your laser scans the wood, make sure your shapes are all going to fit onto the wood. Rearrange them if needed. To select the power, click on the box on the left with the text shown. Select 500 power and 100 speed. For the shapes, select 160 power and 100 speed. Once you connect your computer to the laser, start cutting it out.

TIP: If you are unsure of the sizing, I recommend testing this out on thin cardboard before you jump to cutting it out on the wood.

Find a free dodecahedron file. (I found mine on Cults3d.com.) Upload the file to PrusiaSlicer and resize it so that the sides of the cube are slightly larger than your wooden cutouts. Once it is ready, Print your cube on your 3D printer.

Once your dodecahedron is printed, glue the wooden tile pieces with the text onto the sides using Gorilla glue. Allow each side do dry under a weighted object to keep the wood from warping. Once all of your sides are dry and have set for 24 hours, your KinderCube is ready!