Laser Cut Gingerbread Bridge

Laser Cut Gingerbread Bridge
This year for Christmas I decided to build something out of gingerbread. I didn't want to build the typical gingerbread house so I decided to do a bridge of some sort. I saw the Oberbaum Bridge in Berlin when we were there in May and thought it would look great built out of gingerbread. I recently became a member at Club Workshop ( www.clubworkshop.com ) in Denver, CO and thought this would be a perfect project to do on the Epilog Laser. I got busy working on the CAD model and my friend Michael Dwyer started testing gingerbread recipes.

I wanted to have the bridge done for a holiday party at my house the Saturday before Christmas, so I had a bit of a time crunch. Unfortunately, the first batch of gingerbread wasn't usable and without enough time to bake another batch, I decided to give up. On the morning of the party my friend Kyle Wright offered to bake up several sheets of gingerbread and they turned out perfect. When they were done, I ran them over to Club Workshop to start cutting on the laser. By the time the party had started I only had enough parts cut to build just the basic bridge without the two main towers or road decks. I had some foam board road decks that I cut out on the laser earlier as a test and was able to use them to build the bridge.

If anyone in Denver/Boulder is interested in seeing it in person, it is on display at Club Workshop. Hopefully I will have time to complete it sometime after Christmas. I'll post pictures of the progress.

Update: Since I just picked up another project that will take all of my free time I won't be finishing the bridge. Maybe next Christmas...
35 comments
Aug 4, 2011. 8:29 PMunaffiliatedperson says:
dont forget marshmallow bird poop! lol
Jan 30, 2011. 10:59 PMTheTeslaWarrior says:
am i the only ULS user here? lol
Dec 21, 2009. 4:17 PMzascecs says:
This is gingerbread?



WOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAHHHHH!!!
Sep 22, 2010. 8:55 AMpaperclip32 says:
"Horatio,we found a red head dead in a bakery"
"Well.he's probably..."
"Gingerbread!"
WOAAAHHHHHHHH
Sep 22, 2010. 12:52 PMzascecs says:
=D
Dec 13, 2009. 7:22 AMLettucehead says:
 That's really cool, I would have never thought of that!
Dec 25, 2008. 10:43 AMaskjerry says:
Okay... don't be stingy... post the plans and the CDR files for those of us (like me) who also have an Epilog laser! What settings did you use? Jerry
Aug 7, 2009. 10:43 AMthepelton says:
I concur. Post the plans.
Dec 31, 2008. 5:12 PMmdgnys says:
The only thing is that cutting lazers dont come cheap!!!
Aug 7, 2009. 10:43 AMthepelton says:
I used some inheritance.
Dec 31, 2008. 8:38 PMaskjerry says:
Actually... if you keep hitting the site and look at the pre-owned units... sometimes you can get a good deal. They had a refurbished 25w unit for less than $3K a month or so ago.
Jan 5, 2009. 2:00 PMmdgnys says:
Yeah but you have to be carefull with referbished stuff i once got a referbished projector without lenzes or the lcd!?!
Nov 28, 2010. 4:43 PMhintss says:
thats what happens when you don't buy from the manufacturer?
Dec 26, 2008. 6:25 AMaskjerry says:
Wow... gingerbread is tougher than I thought... I have a 35W unit... so I'll have to tweak the settings down to 4% / 100% / 500hZ and 300dpi / 30% / 100% to make it work. I'm going to just get a box and experiment... our daughter is going to be in on Sunday... so I have today and tomorrow to tinker with it.

Thanks for the help!

Never heard of Alibre CAD, I have AutoCad 14 (Old but a great program). And for those of you reading who want a CAD program... check out http://www.cadstd.com because they have a great FREE version and even the fully registered version is only $40 which considering the features... is CHEAP! No... I'm not an advertiser... it's just a really good program. (And it exports DXF)

The more I look at your project... the bigger the "Thumbs Up"... great idea!

Jerry
Aug 7, 2009. 10:42 AMthepelton says:
At first, I thought you were using the term "gingerbread" to refer to the style of the bridge. You actually mean REAL gingerbread? I have to try this. I have normally been using my laser on eighth inch plywood, but it looks like I'm going to have to start playing with my food.
Dec 28, 2008. 5:37 PMIanW says:
I saw this at Club Workshop several days ago an wondered who created it - looks even better in person. Nice job Ryan! Thanks again for the CNC course, an helping with the hydraulic lift the other night.
Dec 28, 2008. 11:35 AMRobert L says:
I made a ginger bread but on St.Stevens day it collapsed. It wasn't as detailed as this.
Dec 28, 2008. 11:39 AMRobert L says:
Ginger bread house* (sorry).
Dec 23, 2008. 10:05 AMRaisedByRobots says:
outrageous!
Dec 26, 2008. 10:48 AMsbrown says:
I was not aware that you could detail something soft like gingerbread
Dec 26, 2008. 11:15 AMRaisedByRobots says:
I think it needs some snow frosting!
Dec 26, 2008. 8:27 AMPlasmana says:
Wow! That is so cool!
Dec 25, 2008. 9:42 PMThe_Beast says:
Ok now you're just showing off :) Very cool
Dec 25, 2008. 9:26 AMoskay says:
Fantastic work! How cleanly did the gingerbread cut?
Dec 24, 2008. 8:33 AMtudgeanator says:
Thats awesome! I wish i had a laser cutter...
Dec 23, 2008. 3:45 PMgwrober says:
Wow, that is awesome! Great detail. I soooo want a laser...
Dec 23, 2008. 12:11 PMsnoyes says:
Could you use the laser itself to bake the gingerbread?
Dec 23, 2008. 10:10 AMjeff-o says:
I'm totally putting a laser cutter on my Christmas wish list next year!

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Author:rstraugh