So I’ve had to make a bunch of interlocking laser-cut boxes n containers by hand. Much to my delight and dismay I came across the free Box-o-matic app on my iPhone and you can put in whatever dimensions you want with inserts n things and export it directly to… pretty much wherever.
I try the app for the first time and did a box with lid, everything was looking good but at the end when I put the box together all of the corners are not flush. I’m not sure what i did wrong, and the lid doesn’t fit i think because of the way the box doesn’t snap flush.! Any recommendation? thanks IMG_1118|666x500
Two things likely happened here. Looks like you used draft board. If you used medium proofgrade, the thickness should be ok at 0.125". The next thing that makes a difference is the kerf. For draft board I use .005". If you use different draftboard or different kind of wood, both these values will be different. You can test it buy cutting a 1" square and carefully measuring afterwards how much got burned away.
.008" is usually what I call “hammer tight”. I rarely go that tight lately, I find that 006 or even 005 is ideal to give you a little friction so you can assemble and glue them up. The problem with .008 is that if you make the slightest mistake, you’re sunk. I find I have more success if I back off a bit.
It is a tight fit which can be a little aggravating putting together. I use a wood mallet and a bastard file to assemble mines carefully and it doesn’t need any glue when complete so the tight fit works to my advantage. I also use an600 grit sandpaper to slightly open up the joint spaces so they fit a little easier.
If it’s super humid in your area (like it is for me, I’d put them together immediately after cutting.) If I let them sit and absorb moisture from the air I have the same problem
If you have a program you can drop the linework in, you can match up the sides to the center piece and have it so there’s only 1 set of rectangled lines which will be guaranteed to have at least SOME space since the laser is cutting through.