Project 1: Building a Tool Tote - Morgan Jones

Starting on the 29th of January, we were given the assignment of designing a super awesome toolbox using CAD software (Autodesk Fusion 360) and the machine tools in our makerspace. Below is the model toolbox that we was shown as an example. We had a lot of freedom with changing dimensions and the style of the toolbox, as along as we could make it with a  11.75in x 96in stock board of plywood.

Design and Fabrication Process

Using several helpful tutorials on how to build the CAD model of the toolbox, I wanted to design my toolbox as something that could be used for the model aircraft that I plan to make (similar to the picture on the left). So, I made a model of two brackets that could hold the wings of the aircraft. I didn't actually get to making these parts due to the complexity of machining by hand, but I believe that I will have the opportunity to make this type of toolbox in the following weeks.

The next step was measuring and cutting out the individual pieces that I had in the drawing. Using my printed out CAD drawings were very helpful to use as a reference for this process. I used both a sawblade and a bandsaw to cut my pieces. Some of the pieces were too small, so I had to adjust the sizes of other pieces to compensate for the error. I also used an edge router, belt sanders, and sand paper to smooth-out the edges of the pieces. This would prevent the tote from having any sharp edges.

Before I attached the pieces together, I wanted to decorate the toolbox using the laser engraving tool. I decided to search for one high quality photo with a aircraft flying in the sky and three other photos with cloud backgrounds. Surprisingly, the glow-forge made the engagements beautifully! I believe that I got really lucky with how nice this turned out.

Next was attaching the handle piece to the dividing walls. I had quite a bit of trouble aligning these parts to be near-perfectly perpendicular to each other. So this part took a bit of time. However, when I drilled the pilot holes and screwed them to each other, I was overall happy with the result.

The last task was to put together all the pieces. Attaching the handle portion first helped a lot with fitting all of the parts in the right position. I used only drill bits and wood screws to put everything together instead of wood glue. I believe that this was the better option because if I wanted to redesign a wall on the tote, I could easily unscrew and remove the part, then put it back in when I made the changes.

Final Product (Results)
I believe that my tool tote came out extremely nice, and the biggest contribution of it was the laser engraved design at the end. The pictures make the box look aesthetically pleasing! The overall geometry and dimensions of the box did not come out exactly as planned, because I had to compensate for extra material being taken off when cutting. Nonetheless I am very satifies with the size, as I can put rulers, pencils, wood pieces, and even heavier items. I put some heavy metals in the box to see if the bottom part would fall out, but it remained sturdy. It looks like the wood screws work extremely well for durability. Some of the side walls are not 100% fully flushed to the other surfaces, but I do not think that it is too big an issue to be noticeable or bothersome.

 Reflection
I spent quite a bit of time with the laser engraving, deciding on which pictures to have and testing out which ones would come out really good. Originally, I was thinking of putting some blueprints of a specific aircraft design on the tool tote, to remind me of the millions of parts that a real aircraft had. At the end however, I wanted to keep it simple and went with some aesthetically pleasing cloud designs. I may use cloud designs again for something because of how well it came out. Also, this was actually the first time that I used Autodesk Fusion 360 to design something. Originally, I used Autodesk Inventor, which was very similar with slight differences in interface. Regardless of not being able to design the airplane wing supports, I am super happy with the design because I was able to find another way to make it look nice. Overall, I think that this was a good success for utilizing CAD software, heavy machinery, and 3D laser printers to make a neat product. I now also have built some skills to prepare me for designing my aircraft!

Acknowledgments
I would like to thank both Ryan Hodge and Andrew Koob for giving me extremely good advice and suggestions for some of the obstacles that I ran into, and Dr. Terrell for taking some awesome photos of me which I used in my blog! I also want to thank my many classmates who showed me really helpful methods for putting the tote together.