Carter's Lasercut Iris Box

Hello ! this is the instruction of the iris hinge assembly for my lasercut iris box.

You can download it on Thingiverse : https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:2704046

In this instructable, i will make a small model for example.

Supplies

The supplies required to make one box is :

• All the parts to be cut (4 discs, 5 petals, 20 slats, 5 spacers)
• Wood glue
• 5x 10mm M3 screws
• 5x 12mm M3 screws
• (Optional) Some grease

Step 1: The Lid

The lid is the rotating part at the top of the box.

Glue the disc n°1 on top of disc n°2.

Step 2: The Cam

This part is right under the lid. It contains the slits that constrain the petals to open when lid rotates.

Glue the 5 spacers beneath the 5 holes of the disc n°3 (note that the disc has been flipped in the second photo).

Then screw the 5 10mm screws through the holes. No need to tighten them too much as we will unscrew them a bit a later steps.

Step 3: The Petals

The petals are inserted between the lid and the cam.

Lay them on the cam. Put the lid on the top of it and flip it upside down.

Now, Add the 5 12mm screw into the lid holes through the slits of the disc n°3 and the petals.

Adjust the tightness of the 10mm and 12mm screws as you please :

• Tightened 10mm screws will give space to petals to rotate but they become loose. At the opposite, loosen 10mm screws will allow 12mm to correctly squeeze petals between cam and lid.
• Tightened 12mm screws can block the mechanism.

If needed, add a bit of grease or wax in the cam slits.

Seal the 10mm with a bit of glue and let the whole set dry.

Step 4: The Body

Glue the 20 slats to the mechanism.

Keep the iris open to easily manipulate the slats into their slots.

Once disc n°4 fits into all the slats, let the glue dry out with some weight on the box.

Step 5: Done !

Once glue is dry, the box is finished !

Don't forget to play with it a little to make sure the mechanism goes smooth.

Comments

[vescuderoa]

I really love this box it's a great idea. It inspired me a lot in order to design a packaging for the merchandising of a colleague's film business.I'll try to do it in Barelona's FabLab colled Ateneu de fabricació Ciutat Meridiana. I recommend the place, people love to share ideas and team up in the makers collective.

[Brentrubin]

Can anyone explain the assembly any better? I am not sure how the screws/dolls all fit into place? Thank you.

[fred_dot_u]

By rounding the corners of the small semi-circle stoppers and moving the hole close to the flat edge, it makes it less likely to glue them to the walls or ring. Sanding all parts thoroughly before assembly makes for a much smoother operation as well. I used bamboo skewers in place of screws and adjusted the hole diameters to match. It's a bit more finicky to size the skewers than to use screws but the results are quite nice. A great gift box for the holiday gift cards and many other items. Nicely done.

[Festrada007]

Very nice I am goint to make one tonight I think. You need to add air assist to your laser, it will prevent scorching and smoke stains.

[Waste Of Space]

So where are the DXFs for making one of these?

[akcoder]

They are on thingiverse

https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:2704046

[jrobins43]

To assemble the slats I lined them up against a straight edge then taped them all together with masking tape. That makes it much easier to get the slats installed in the bottom and top assembly. Great project i like how these look and operate thanks for sharing.

[subnet]

Really great, thanks for sharing!

Is the wood 3mm? I hope so, my laser can't cut more than this :-)

[wonderkid64]

try multiple passes

[Lucas Fierfort]

exactly !

[shatrovmaxim]

Excellent!!!