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Make a Wooden Magazine Rack With a Laser Cutter
by：QUESTT
2020-07-13
Do you know the situation: you bring the mail to browse, you sort it into categories like bills, crap, interesting magazines I want to read later, etc. . . and so on.
For me, this usually means that there are different stacks of paper on my bench or table.
It doesn\'t look very good or practical.
So I decided to make a wooden rack for myself.
I want it to have at least four shelves and I want a modern design that fits my table and bench.
I only have basic woodworking skills and have limited access to woodworking tools.
However, since I can use the laser cutting machine, I chose to make the rack using the laser cutting machine.
I believe that people with more skills can come up with a better way to build the rack.
I\'m also pretty sure that with the CNC router the building can be done more efficiently.
Another option, of course, is to simplify the design, but I have a specific image in my head and I want to test if it is possible to make it with a laser cutter as the main tool.
Material: Tools: First of all, I drew some hand-painted sketches of different shapes.
When I came up with a basic shape that I liked, I started modeling in Fusion 360.
Just in case you don\'t know.
Fusion 360 is a 3D modeling software that enthusiasts can use for free.
I\'m new to Fusion.
I \'ve done some beginner tutorials and played with them, but the rack is my first real project.
Below you can see the quick rendering of the final design.
I decided to use acrylic as part of the shelf as I liked the look of the wood that was combined with clear acrylic.
There is also an advantage of acrylic resin, which can be cut with a laser cutting machine and is not as fragile as glass.
I really learned a lot in the production process.
It\'s also a bit frustrating in some places, like when I find it\'s not a good idea to ignore the auto Fusion 360 warning.
I have finished my model, but when I want to rearrange the parts of the rack to create files for cutting, I end up with multiple errors.
I don\'t want to bring you all the details here, but maybe I\'ll write an article later on about how to avoid my mistakes and save some time.
I would like to share with you two tutorials, which I found very helpful for making 3D models into vector files for laser cutting: the first tutorial is about nested scripts.
This script takes your parts from different locations and different directions and puts them on the plane.
It\'s not perfect because sometimes you can get overlapping parts and you still need to do some manual re-
But it\'s a huge time saver.
The second tutorial explains how to create a DXF file in Fusion with automatic kerf compensation.
Later, I imported the DXF file into Inkscape and converted it to an SVG file.
When I finally got the file ready, I was in five 60x30 cm (24 x 12 in)
Cut birch plywood on laser cutting machine.
I chose birch plywood because I liked the look of it and it was harder than the poplar that gave more structural strength.
The total cost of wood is about 14 euros (16 $)and 17 € (19 $)
50x50 cm (20 x 20 in)
Acrylic sheet.
Here you can download the laser cutting file in SVG or PDF format.
Once all the parts were laser cut, I sorted them out and made a bunch of similar parts.
You can see the results in the picture below.
Next, it\'s time to make some dry accessories.
I set up all the parts to make sure everything is installed together as planned.
Fortunately, I did not find any problems.
The rack consists of four main parts: front and rear frames and two racks.
I started assembling with V.
The shape part of the frame will be the support of the shelf.
They are made of two layers of plywood.
There is a slot on the first floor.
As shown in the animation, glue the two parts together.
Note that one leg of V is left and one is right.
Please note that the edge line-up.
Clear any excess glue in the slot.
When the glue is dry, I keep the parts together with a clip.
Next, I assembled the legs and top of the frame.
Again, note that for each frame you need a left-facing leg and a right-facing leg and make sure the edges are aligned.
The top of the frame binds three top parts together.
The details of the component are shown in the animation.
It\'s time to do some polishing.
At this stage I polished all the parts that were glued together.
Looking back, polishing is the most important thing.
The consumption task of this project.
Just use non-sand to sand everything. power-
Tools, but I highly recommend belt or disc sander.
Of course, if you are fine with the rough look of brown edges and unpolished wood, you can also decide not to polish.
Here you can see the difference between the parts before and after polishing.
After all the necessary parts are ready, they can now be assembled into the frame.
First, stick the legs to the middle part of the frame.
Then connect the left and right parts of V-
Shelf support shape.
It is important that the slots form 90-degree angle.
Check the alignment using a set square or something like that.
When the glue is dry, the last step to complete the frame is to install the rack holder on the leg and add the middle leg part.
First, glue together the four pieces that form the shelf spine.
They need to make a 90-degree angle.
Then, add the side of the shelf and make sure the acrylic is placed in the middle.
There\'s only one last step left.
Insert the tension of the shelf into the slot on the frame and glue everything together.
Use the clip to keep the parts together until the glue dries.
As you can see in the picture, I added some wood scrap between the clip and the frame as a filler.
This will prevent any dents that may be generated by the clamping pressure.
Also, be careful not to put too much pressure on the shelves so they don\'t twist.
Then all I have left to do is remove the clip and protect the foil from the acrylic resin and enjoy the rack I finished!
I was very happy with the look of the shelves, although it took me longer than I expected.
I\'m a little worried about stability, but when I use about 10 kg (22 lbs)
Good magazines and newspapers.
I will definitely do one different thing next time, that is, don\'t divide the design into so many separate parts.
My intention behind this is to optimize the spacing between cutting and wood-saving parts.
But more parts also mean more parts to be assembled.
This also increases the chance of misplacement.
Especially since laser cutting is not a precise 90 degree but a slight tilt.
When you\'re in 90-
The angle of degree is always possible to deviate a bit, and it takes time to align.
In conclusion, a small amount of savings on materials is not worth compared to additional work and higher risk of error.
The second thing I\'m going to do is what I originally wanted to do, but I forgot when I rushed through the laser cut file.
This includes connecting the legs to the joints of the joint and the joint at the top of the frame.
For me, this usually means that there are different stacks of paper on my bench or table.
It doesn\'t look very good or practical.
So I decided to make a wooden rack for myself.
I want it to have at least four shelves and I want a modern design that fits my table and bench.
I only have basic woodworking skills and have limited access to woodworking tools.
However, since I can use the laser cutting machine, I chose to make the rack using the laser cutting machine.
I believe that people with more skills can come up with a better way to build the rack.
I\'m also pretty sure that with the CNC router the building can be done more efficiently.
Another option, of course, is to simplify the design, but I have a specific image in my head and I want to test if it is possible to make it with a laser cutter as the main tool.
Material: Tools: First of all, I drew some hand-painted sketches of different shapes.
When I came up with a basic shape that I liked, I started modeling in Fusion 360.
Just in case you don\'t know.
Fusion 360 is a 3D modeling software that enthusiasts can use for free.
I\'m new to Fusion.
I \'ve done some beginner tutorials and played with them, but the rack is my first real project.
Below you can see the quick rendering of the final design.
I decided to use acrylic as part of the shelf as I liked the look of the wood that was combined with clear acrylic.
There is also an advantage of acrylic resin, which can be cut with a laser cutting machine and is not as fragile as glass.
I really learned a lot in the production process.
It\'s also a bit frustrating in some places, like when I find it\'s not a good idea to ignore the auto Fusion 360 warning.
I have finished my model, but when I want to rearrange the parts of the rack to create files for cutting, I end up with multiple errors.
I don\'t want to bring you all the details here, but maybe I\'ll write an article later on about how to avoid my mistakes and save some time.
I would like to share with you two tutorials, which I found very helpful for making 3D models into vector files for laser cutting: the first tutorial is about nested scripts.
This script takes your parts from different locations and different directions and puts them on the plane.
It\'s not perfect because sometimes you can get overlapping parts and you still need to do some manual re-
But it\'s a huge time saver.
The second tutorial explains how to create a DXF file in Fusion with automatic kerf compensation.
Later, I imported the DXF file into Inkscape and converted it to an SVG file.
When I finally got the file ready, I was in five 60x30 cm (24 x 12 in)
Cut birch plywood on laser cutting machine.
I chose birch plywood because I liked the look of it and it was harder than the poplar that gave more structural strength.
The total cost of wood is about 14 euros (16 $)and 17 € (19 $)
50x50 cm (20 x 20 in)
Acrylic sheet.
Here you can download the laser cutting file in SVG or PDF format.
Once all the parts were laser cut, I sorted them out and made a bunch of similar parts.
You can see the results in the picture below.
Next, it\'s time to make some dry accessories.
I set up all the parts to make sure everything is installed together as planned.
Fortunately, I did not find any problems.
The rack consists of four main parts: front and rear frames and two racks.
I started assembling with V.
The shape part of the frame will be the support of the shelf.
They are made of two layers of plywood.
There is a slot on the first floor.
As shown in the animation, glue the two parts together.
Note that one leg of V is left and one is right.
Please note that the edge line-up.
Clear any excess glue in the slot.
When the glue is dry, I keep the parts together with a clip.
Next, I assembled the legs and top of the frame.
Again, note that for each frame you need a left-facing leg and a right-facing leg and make sure the edges are aligned.
The top of the frame binds three top parts together.
The details of the component are shown in the animation.
It\'s time to do some polishing.
At this stage I polished all the parts that were glued together.
Looking back, polishing is the most important thing.
The consumption task of this project.
Just use non-sand to sand everything. power-
Tools, but I highly recommend belt or disc sander.
Of course, if you are fine with the rough look of brown edges and unpolished wood, you can also decide not to polish.
Here you can see the difference between the parts before and after polishing.
After all the necessary parts are ready, they can now be assembled into the frame.
First, stick the legs to the middle part of the frame.
Then connect the left and right parts of V-
Shelf support shape.
It is important that the slots form 90-degree angle.
Check the alignment using a set square or something like that.
When the glue is dry, the last step to complete the frame is to install the rack holder on the leg and add the middle leg part.
First, glue together the four pieces that form the shelf spine.
They need to make a 90-degree angle.
Then, add the side of the shelf and make sure the acrylic is placed in the middle.
There\'s only one last step left.
Insert the tension of the shelf into the slot on the frame and glue everything together.
Use the clip to keep the parts together until the glue dries.
As you can see in the picture, I added some wood scrap between the clip and the frame as a filler.
This will prevent any dents that may be generated by the clamping pressure.
Also, be careful not to put too much pressure on the shelves so they don\'t twist.
Then all I have left to do is remove the clip and protect the foil from the acrylic resin and enjoy the rack I finished!
I was very happy with the look of the shelves, although it took me longer than I expected.
I\'m a little worried about stability, but when I use about 10 kg (22 lbs)
Good magazines and newspapers.
I will definitely do one different thing next time, that is, don\'t divide the design into so many separate parts.
My intention behind this is to optimize the spacing between cutting and wood-saving parts.
But more parts also mean more parts to be assembled.
This also increases the chance of misplacement.
Especially since laser cutting is not a precise 90 degree but a slight tilt.
When you\'re in 90-
The angle of degree is always possible to deviate a bit, and it takes time to align.
In conclusion, a small amount of savings on materials is not worth compared to additional work and higher risk of error.
The second thing I\'m going to do is what I originally wanted to do, but I forgot when I rushed through the laser cut file.
This includes connecting the legs to the joints of the joint and the joint at the top of the frame.
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