Laser Cut Kindle Fire 6 Case

Recently I dropped my store bought case for my kindle fire 6 and the plastic shattered. Since I'm in a class that has access to a laser cutter I thought that I would whip up a cool design that feels comfortable to hold in rhino 3d.

Materials/Tools You Will Need:
· 12" x 24" Sheet of 0.11" thick door skin
· 3 Small pins to hold in the buttons
· 4 3/4" Bolts
· 4 Washers that will fit on bolts
· 4 Nuts that fit the bolts
· Wood Glue
· CAD Program
· Laser Cutter

I started out by measuring the kindle and figuring out all of the dimensions that the case will have to conform to.

The dimensions of the kindle happened to be 6.63" by 4"

Next in CAD I drew a rectangle to the dimensions above. Then I drew another rectangle a half inch or so bigger that it will fit around the smaller rectangle. These rectangles will be the base for the four layers in the middle.

Now I took four identical circles and placed the center of each circle on the corners of the larger rectangle. After this I took a control point curve that started in the middle of lengths of large rectangle that went into the tangent point on the circle.

Definition: Tangent Point is where a line or curve comes into another curve and is the point where the line goes straight into the other without any weird sharp angles.

Once you do this you can eliminate the larger rectangle and make four circles the size of your bolts and place them where the four corners of the larger rectangle would have been.

Now that the outline you want is complete with the four holes for bolts, you can copy and paste that whole assembly over to the side and then you can begin working on what will become the base. To make the base your will have to delete the inner rectangle while leaving the four bolt holes and outline intact. Next you will have to make and place a square that is a bit bigger than the camera inside the base plate outline where the camera will be when the device is in its case. To get the placement exact you will have to measure over from the top and f Rom the side to get it placed perfectly (see image).

Once the base has been built you can start to make the next layer. This layer will consist of the inner rectangle, the curvy outline, the four holes for the bolts and six more rectangles. The six more rectangles will go between the inner rectangle and the curvy outline. I placed two at the top two corners, one in the top middle and the rest on the sides (see image). These small rectangles dimensions are 0.11" by 0.5". Once this step is complete the copy and pasting for the next step will go fast.

The sandwich layers are the layers that will go between the base layers and the top layer which we have yet to make. I recommend making one layer that you can copy and paste. This layer will include the outline, the inner rectangles, bolt holes, small rectangles which were made in the previous step and some new buttons. This is where it gets complicated. Place the small rectangles in the exact same spots as in the previous step. Next you will have to measure where you will have to create three holes, one for where the volume buttons are, one for the audio jack and another for the on/off button and micro usb port. I will try to explain how to make the buttons but I think it would be easier to refer to the pictures above. Once you have this copy it and paste it so you have three of them.

Lastly you will have to make the top this consists of the outline and a new inner rectangle. The new rectangle is a bit smaller so that it will fit over the front of the kindle but not cover up any of the kindle's screen. Each corner on it has fillet and in the top middle there is a curve that gives the selfie camera a little more room to see.

Load it to your laser cutter and Cut and be careful to not loose the small parts between the grid on the laser cutter.

To start the assembly process I started by laying my first layer and the sandwich layers together and glued them with the tabs in the small rectangles. I next glued the three parts to each button together and then put it in its place on the sandwich assembly. Then I took the pins and cut each to a length of exactly 0.39", then pushed each pin through the Holes that the button had and a little bit into the layer below those. Once this is complete, I placed that assembly on the base and pushed my kindle into the two plates and put the top layer on. Next I took the four bolts through the hole and on the other side put the washers tightened the bolts and cut the ends of the bolts off so that they were flush with the nuts.

I hope you enjoyed this instructable and if you happen to make one with your own creative twist I would love to see it posted in the comments.