Laser Cut Organizer

Quick note to share the small version of this laser cut organizer project. This is a hybrid of two recent projects. One is the Laser Cut Pencil Cup with Tray (Thingiverse) posted and the other was a family project to create a custom organizer (photo at right).

Essentially the new design is a small version of the pencil cup/tray without a divider. It is identical to the right side of the organizer shown in the top right photo. The size was enlarged slightly (width only). After I realized that the right side of the organizer fit my phone (tray and cup) I decided to create something new just for that purpose.

This is a fun welcome back to school gift for my teammates. Increasing the width allows for phones in bulkier cases to fit. It can also hold Post-It notes and writing utensils. It is a small functional design customized with each teacher’s name. Since there were three total to make, along with the name cutouts, I had to group things in different ways to maximize space. All of the pieces were able to fit on 4 sheets of 6x12 wood along with the name cutouts.

Dimensions:

• 4” wide

• 3.625” tall

• 3.5” deep

  • Tray is about 1.875 “ deep

  • Cup is about 1.625 “ deep

A single version (files marked) is posted, along with the combined 3x option, on Thingiverse.

Projects like this give me a chance to practice the math applications that are challenging for me and look at streamlining the creation process in Adobe Illustrator. It was particularly interesting to configure the multiple products efficiently. Now I have even more practice with creating paths for cutting and combining said paths to minimize the cuts by the laser.

For example, if two boxes are next to each other then I can have them share one side. The laser only cuts that line once instead of going over each side of the two boxes. For this to work well it helps to have dimensions that match up. If there is a side length in common then I can join pieces together as one contiguous path. The bottom, front of the cup, back of the cup and front of the tray all fit together nicely on a single piece of wood. A visual for this is shown on the right. This also allows for extra room to add the customized name cutouts. It is nice to use most of a piece of wood in one laser job just because I like to use my time with the laser effectively. When making three total products I had enough room for all the name cutouts and pieces that were etched and cut to be turned into magnets (other projects).

Remember to download the files you need to make your own on Thingiverse. Please share any versions you remix and how you use them!