Needed tools and materials:
- a CO² laser cutter
- plywood (3mm - 1/8”)
- the current instructable
For those who are in a hurry (yes, it happens! :-):
- download the project at your preferred format (EPS, AI, SVG, CorelDraw, PDF)
- the settings are fitting Epilog laser machines: thin lines are cut, there isn't anything else here
- assemble the part in accordance with step 3
- enjoy!
Caution: the uploaded design is for children (4-6 year-old), so if you want to make it suitable for an adult or if you want another customization, the others steps may also be useful.
- a CO² laser cutter
- plywood (3mm - 1/8”)
- the current instructable
For those who are in a hurry (yes, it happens! :-):
- download the project at your preferred format (EPS, AI, SVG, CorelDraw, PDF)
- the settings are fitting Epilog laser machines: thin lines are cut, there isn't anything else here
- assemble the part in accordance with step 3
- enjoy!
Caution: the uploaded design is for children (4-6 year-old), so if you want to make it suitable for an adult or if you want another customization, the others steps may also be useful.
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Signing UpStep 1: Context: background and motivations
There are already lots of DIY wooden glasses available on the Net, but I always found some limitations:
- either they are too simplistic and not functional enough (cannot fold the stems, see: http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:1345)
- or they are not 100% out of wood, with metallic hinges for instance (see http://www.instructables.com/id/Wooden-Glasses/)
It’s just a matter of taste, but I generally prefer designing objects with no external accessories or as few as I can, even if it can lead to a (kind of) suboptimal implementation.
I also recently found an interesting (100% wood) idea here: http://thelasercutter.blogspot.fr/2012/03/snij-glasses.html
But the latter implementation makes it difficult folding the glasses to put them in a pocket...
- either they are too simplistic and not functional enough (cannot fold the stems, see: http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:1345)
- or they are not 100% out of wood, with metallic hinges for instance (see http://www.instructables.com/id/Wooden-Glasses/)
It’s just a matter of taste, but I generally prefer designing objects with no external accessories or as few as I can, even if it can lead to a (kind of) suboptimal implementation.
I also recently found an interesting (100% wood) idea here: http://thelasercutter.blogspot.fr/2012/03/snij-glasses.html
But the latter implementation makes it difficult folding the glasses to put them in a pocket...
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I like the locking pins on the hinges. very neat.
I would also suggest to file a nice smooth bevel along the edges of the frame, especially where the nose hits the skin, otherwise you're left with a less than charming groove in your nose after just a few hours of wearing.
wow that captcha really makes it hard to comment, i'm not able to "reply" to your post
Even if I live far from the US (in France), I've chosen Epilog. I've bought a (new) Mini 24 (12'' x 24'' of cutting table size) with a 40 Watt laser tube: http://www.epiloglaser.com/mini24_overview.htm
It's the one that I've been recommended.
The equivalent at ULS is the VL-300.
I've also a rotary attachment (that you can see mine with the blue metallic bottle in this PicasaWeb gallery: http://goo.gl/weUtV)
You can see (out of date) prices here: http://wiki.nycresistor.com/wiki/Purchasing_A_Laser
You can contact an Epilog (or other manufacturer) distributor to have the right pricing (look for your here if you opt for Epilog: http://www.epiloglaser.com/distributors.htm ).
I personally bought my machine to my local distributor in France. What is noticeable is that when the machines cross the Atlantic Ocean, US Dollars become... Euros. So I paid in Euros (18000 Eur.) the price that I saw the machine in... USD (even if the change isn't a 1 USD for 1 Eur. ...)
Anyway, I don't regret it, today, since I've NEVER had the least problem. It's really designed for an heavy-duty usage, not for play nor kids.
If you buy a Chinese machine, it will be far cheaper (you can have an enormous one for half the price of a small Epilog, and with the double of the power...) but I estimated that I couldn't afford to have my machine without support, potentially out of order during week or months...
Entrepreneurs have to know when to invest :-)
ULS may also be a good choice, anyway. I've been said that Ponoko had ULS machines.
Uh! I was about to forget another advice: perhaps you can write your business plan with the price of a brand new one, but you can also buy a preowned system: http://www.epiloglaser.com/preowned.htm (you can subscribe to a list on which you receive e-mails with offers when they occur). When using such a system, it's really cheaper than the new ones, but more expensive than buying directly to the first-hand owner, but Epilog also puts a warranty on the machines, so you don't risk unpleasant surprises.
Well, that's all for today. I hope I answered your questions!
But the plan that I gave you in my first reply was really what I advise you to follow, since you then take near-zero risk of buying something that you won't have a good return-on-invest on... You only buy once you already have a customer base, what a deal!!!
Cheers,
Raphael
Nice to read you here!
Buying a laser cutter is not a great deal, doing great things with it is the main concern.
What I could advise you is to first make tests with online laser cutting services, like http://ponoko.com. If you're in the "right place", you can even have access to the laser machine of a Fablab, a Hackerspace, a Techshop or a makerspace (depending on the name they gave themselves). This latter possibility is the ideal one, since you can generally bring your own materials for cutting or objects for engraving and you only pay by the hour.
Once you've done some tests, that seem convincing to you, test them on your target audience (people that could become your future clients, your prospects). If they respond positively, then try making tests at a larger scale, sell your objects and then buy a laser machine if (and only if) it's necessary. To make tests at a large scale, you can open an Etsy shop (http://www.etsy.com/) or only sell your designs on sites like CNC King (http://cncking.com/laser-cutter-projects.html) or Ponoko (http://www.ponoko.com/showroom/).
Anyway, at this step, don't forget to learn the essentials of Internet marketing (and marketing in general), since it can make the difference between failure and success, depending on how you "market" all what you do.
I wish you a great success in this adventure!
Raphael
Right Arm!
We'll make these for my son's Birthday Party!! Here at TechShop!!
Thank you!
the frame is so fancy !
To make the production easier, you could add one rivet hinges from
http://www.tailiglassesparts.com/assorted_eyeglass_hinges.html ;
I really appreciate your comment, since I recently found exactly this website for this purpose!
In fact, having self-made hinges, and 100% wooden glasses was my personal challenge... But to have a more "standard finish", such hinges are sincerely appealing, I agree with you.
Maybe for a future Instructable! ;-)
I currently buy poplar panels that fit my machine (24x12" / 30x60cm). (I recall I'm in France). I've recently bought some from http://fr.opitec.com
The more you buy, the better prices you get. For instance, if you buy several full-sized panels (2mx1m approx.) that you cut yourself with a saw, you can divide price by "small" panel by 2...
thanks for your comment!
I don't understand what you mean about the PDF which has "multiple versions".
In fact, I published the Instructable then downloaded the PDF and saw some errors, then updated it and downloaded the PDF again, but the PDF hadn't been updated...
But I've found a workaround: download a custom version with all the sections and it will be generated on the fly, then it will be up to date!
Thanks for your questions, sincerely!
In fact, I work on several revisions on different sheets/tabs and I didn't remarked that all versions were included in the PDF & CDR files...
I'll update the downloadable files ASAP (it's late here, I'm going to bed, now :-).
Anyway, the best version is the last one (last page), the one on the right side in your attached image.
In the initial version (on the left, here) the stems were not sufficiently attached to the hinges, it was really too light.
Cheers!
that's it! Its up to date, now.
Don't hesitate to post any comments, questions, suggestions and, off course, realizations! Cheers.
Hoping you post them soon...
What I would do for a laser cutter.. : (
For sure, a laser cutter is really cool.
But instead of owning your own, you may have a fablab in the neighborhood, don't you?
I wish there was though!
I'm happy that you appreciate them!
If you want one pair, look for the closest fablab, hacklab or techshop nearby, they'll be happy to (help you) make some...
Perhaps I should post one on Ponoko as suggested @nagutron...
Nice to see I'm not the only one who prefers 100% wood :-)
I'm really glad that you liked it so much, and excited that you remarked my thriftiness regarding the material.
To answer your question: they are too small for adults. That's what I meant when saying "Caution: the uploaded design is for children (4-6 year-old), so if you want to make it suitable for an adult or if you want another customization, the others steps may also be useful."
The key measurements to take into account are:
- distance between your ear and the font of your eye (to adjust the length of the stems)
- distance between the eyes (to adjust the center of the ellipses)
- width of the face (to adjust the size of the frame)
- distance between eyes and contact point with the nose
- width of the nose at the latter contact point
If there's a popular demand, I'll upload such a customization, since it's not as obvious as just scaling the whole drawing: jointing parts must stay in-place.
That will teach me to highlight cautions another way (but not how ;-)...
Don't hesitate to customize&fab a pair for yourself and post a photo here! :-)