I have access to a laser cutter and a 3D printer through Hacklab.to, but I had never actually tried to use either. I'd been mostly treating Hacklab as a way to hang out with interesting people. Still, since the tools are there, why not learn how to use them?

I looked through the supply closet to get a sense of what other people had been doing with the laser cutter, and what materials would be easy to work with. Acrylic and wood were popular. There were lots of whimsical cut-outs (hearts, scalloped edges, etc.), but I'd also heard stories about how useful the laser cutter was in creating boxes, cases, and other parts.

I browsed through photos of all sorts of laser-cut objects online (boxes? stencils? earrings?), but nothing jumped out as something I wanted to copy. I decided to start from scratch by drawing something in Inkscape. We'd been talking about some ways to make it easier for newcomers to figure out what they can do during open houses. They can start with a brief tour of the projects at Hacklab, and then settle in to work on a project or chat with other people. I figured a welcome sign might be handy. I found a stencil-type font that cut the shapes so that the inner spaces would stay attached. I also learned that Inkscape has a Lindenmayer system (L-system) evaluator, which is useful for making certain kinds of fractals. For fun, I decided to make a Koch snowflake as the frame. Eric Boyd helped me convert the design to G-code and run the machine. It was fascinating watching the paper burn in these intricate shapes.

We cut the welcome sign out of paper as a prototype. (We can always cut it out of cardboard or something fancier if we need to.) Here's what it looked like:

I'd like to get the hang of designing things for the laser cutter. It's a little interesting pairing that with our general slant towards decluttering and minimizing stuff. Maybe as I learn more about the possibilities, I'll find things that make me go “Ooh, that would be nice,” or even come across gaps that nudge me to make stuff up.

What's next? Maybe a name tag that I can add a magnet to? A scarf buckle? Bookmarks? I don't really wear earrings or necklaces any more, but a conversation piece might be handy when meeting people – so maybe a brooch. Various containers for things around the house? Hmm… I drew this, and I might be able to turn it into a bookmark after some tweaking: