Now if you guys could write me up some software to take a 3d model, and then apply all the cuts necessary to a thin piece of wood to wrap around it perfectly, like to create some wood armor… that would be amazing. Should go in the hopper
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This might be close to what you need- Pepakura is a program that will take a 3D object then unfold, facet, and tab it for you to assemble out of a flat material!
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Oh I am well versed in pepakura, but thanks! I was partially joking, but also slightly hoping they would take me seriously. The process of unfolding for pep is a bit different than what creating an algorithm to allow for curvatures in wood would be. Pepakura relies on reducing polygon count to allow for larger surface areas to be shown, having sharp edges, and creating negative spaces to be filled in with bondo or fiberglass, usually to create a pretty rigid object (so many people making pepakura ironman armor); whereas I was thinking about the possibility of taking materials and having them wrap around your body with cuts (like in the book edge), but on a more three dimensional scale instead of two. Ive seen some of the patterns that have been put out by people to allow for flexible plywood, and I feel that if you created a library of enough of these patterns, you could start to profile which work better in what flex situation and could apply that to a 3d model to ultimately let you cut a fully wearable piece of wood with as many flat/non cut spots as possible, but still maintaining mobility. Now that would be pretty awesome! What a mouthful. haha
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haha yeah, can’t help with figuring out curvature…yet! But oh man would that be awesome if there’s an algorithm to figure all that out.
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yeah glowforge hint hint
This could definitely go hand in hand with some of the material calibration data they are collecting. I dont think they are profiling material flexibility though. Ive seen a few people do some bend tests on different materials, and it shouldnt be too hard to get a formula for each. The margins of error would be greater for stuff like wood obviously, but there might be a way to add some reinforcement to those since they are porous, like a rubberized resin or glue coating to provide some supplemental support and bonding.
The cut pattern I think would be the interesting part, and its starting to make me wonder how much ability the glowforge will have to adjust kerf. I know they are aiming for a minimal kerf here, but if a slight defocusing of the laser would allow for a larger kerf on the inside of the bend, it could allow for less of a visible gap on the outside. So, kind of a conical cut.
@dan @madebynick - do you know if this is possible (larger kerf by slight defocus of the laser), and if so what type of kerf difference (even in %) could be expected?
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If anyone can do it, these folks could. In Spanish but very much into exploring curves and shapes, design, materials, and fabrication, mixed with lasers and other CNC.
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Whoa, that’s an awesome link! Thanks for sharing!
wow, this link has some pretty interesting projects. theyre even using laser engraved plastics to pull onto bucks on their vacuformer. I hadnt considered this… Im gonna have to give it a go! Thanks so much for this link!
Very cool. Can you post a picture that shows what kind of gap is left by the living hinge when the wallet is closed?
Thanks everyone!
I can’t share the project file at the moment but I can tell you that this one isn’t particularly special.
Whereas I understand it’s possible to calculate optimal cut length/width/etc for a specific bend (see here), I simply guessed on this occasion!
The walnut is laminated to a piece of leather, around 0.75mm thick. It’s attached using contact cement.
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That is really awesome work, I love it, but I can’t see that thing staying closed on its own. The wood veneer would want to bounce back even with the hinge design. I guess in order to keep it closed an elastic would have to be used.
At first it didn’t want to stay closed, but after having it in my pocket for a day, it’s almost there. Not completely closed, but doesn’t spring open by itself.
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My wallet springs open by itself for tools and books.
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I imagine it’s not the kind of wallet, you put in your back pocket and sit on eh?
That’s what I plan on doing!
Its holding up well so far. After putting a handful of cards inside, the additional thickness provides support for the hinge. In addition, if it were to crack, the leather provides enough support that it’s barely noticeable. I intentionally cracked some test pieces and they held together nicely with only a hairline crack visible.
Once I’ve tested this one for a week or so, I’ll post some results!
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Oh wow. I’m curious about its long term durability!! Sounds promising!! 
Yes, thanks for keeping us updated. I can’t wait till the next one.
beautiful!!! i would love to know how to make that. !
Nice work Nick! My first project will be a wallet, hoping for more cool things from you and the Glowforge team!
WOW! Make me one please!
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