Project Proposal: Patterns to Laser Cut Flexible Wood

Intention

The purpose of this project is to investigate different etching patterns which can be etched onto rigid materials , such as wood or cardboard, in order to create flexible patterns. There are several open source patterns available and the goal of this project is to evaluate the use and effectiveness of different designs. The ability to bend structures made from wooden materials can be useful in designing products that do not require assembly.

Process

Several online resources such as Thingiverse.com contain open source patterns to etch flexible designs onto wooden pieces. I chose three different patterns to try out, a simple offset line pattern (pattern 1), a crossed pattern (pattern 2), and a beehive lattice (pattern 3).  Once I have full access to a laser cutter, the plan would be cut equal sized pieces of wood using the three different patterns and conduct a series of strain and stress resistance tests on these samples. 

Proposed Patterns

Sample Book