Laser Cut Jewelry Gift Box

Ideation

As I looked through the reading, Structural Packaging: Design Your Own Boxes and 3D Forms by Paul Jackson to gain inspiration for my laser cut paper form, I was most interested in the functional box designs. This led to my decision to design a shape that resembles a small jewelry gift box. As visible in my sketches, the design involves tabs that serve both a visual and practical purpose, allowing the shape to remain closed on its own through its construction.

Reading Reflection

Covering a wide range of detailed information concerning various stages of the fabrication process, I found the structural packaging reading to have influenced my design in multiple ways and at different stages. To begin, the reading instilled in me the importance of drawing your vision by hand prior to moving your design onto the computer. While the section which elaborated on the significance of conceptualizing a model focused on physical construction, I implemented the displayed technique of forming and laying out all individual shapes present within a design prior to forming your cohesive singular shape. I found this starting point in my digital design process to be very helpful in supporting my understanding of both the dimensions and functionality of the piece, which I would later benefit from during the assembly phase. Additionally, developing an understanding of the fundamental elements which make up a specific fabrication design allowed me to narrow in my focus on which elements play a crucial role in the product outcome. For this particular project, this involved learning about rectangular cuboid boxes, for which all three dimensions have different lengths and all faces are rectangles. These key details provided me with the guidance that modifying the dimensions of the rectangular faces in my design would be most impactful, ultimately playing an important role in the adjustments I made for my fabrication to align with my vision of a jewelry gift box.

Digital Design

To design my form I began with creating separate shapes in order to visualize each individual element of the construction. From here I placed all shapes in their appropriate positioning and replicated the shape purely out of lines alongside it. During this process, I made use of the coincident constraint in order to connect points together to create one singular closed shape. From here I extruded my shape, leaving out the half circle to create an intentional cut-out. Looking to download my dxf file, I realized I didn't have a clear idea of the size of my shape and therefore decided to change my units from mm to inches. During this process I encountered uneven lines in my shape which led me to adjust some of my parameters and implement the horizontal/vertical and equal constraints. At this point, my form was ready to be exported and printed.

Fabrication

During the laser cutting step, I had to repeat the operation a second time as the card stock had not been completely cut through. Following this step, I hand-engraved my fold lines with an x-acto knife and ruler, after which I assembled the shape and attached my sides with tape on the inside of the box. During the engraving/folding step, I encountered a mistake I made, having placed an unnecessary line on the top side of the box.

Finishing

To refine my fabricated object, I placed glue on the inside corners of the box to produce a clean appearance. I also made a very slight cut to the sides of the lid tab in order for the box to close with ease.

Outcome

I am satisfied with the flaps/tabs, half-circle cut out and dimensions of my final outcome as they resemble the jewelry gift box structure and function I had in mind. Aspects I would have liked to improve include avoiding unintended folds and finding a joining method that does not interfere with the visual appearance of the inside of the box, especially considering its intended function. Overall, the outcome of my fabrication compares closely to my sketch with the only standout discrepancy being the greater depth of the box present in my sketch. However, I was aware of this structural difference which was set to occur as the parameters I decided to implement served a more shallow box to align better with my vision.