Below are the resources I use in my lessons. If you need advice or suggestions on things not listed below, please feel free to reach out. When possible, I've tried to provide a link to where you can purchase the items I use.
I will provide some links below for the types of wood I use in my M1 Xtool laser woodcutter. The 3 mm basswood is a gold standard for most projects. I do prefer the Xtool brand, especially if you are aiming for quality. But I provided a link to a less expensive version that is a little lighter, but still holds up well. I also like mixing wood types. My favorite is using a dark walnut to trim the edges of boxes. This wood is thick and durable, but also, slightly more expensive. But for durability, the Xtool walnut wood is an excellent resource.
Since I work a lot with wood and kids, I was interested in finding a non-toxic paint option that was great on wood. I happened to stumble upon "Unicorn Spit", which I absolutely love. It's a great option for painting wood from the laser cutter. It dries fast and is non-toxic and doesn't have any unpleasant odors. The only issue with Unicorn spit, is that it has a matte finish. If you are looking for a glossy finish, you might need to find an additional glaze finish product.
There is so much you can do with paper and acrylic and other mixed media types. When I got my Xtool laser cutter, I was surprised to learn I could engrave leather, stone, acrylic and metal. While I don't have links to all materials, I included a link to a multimedia package that includes leather, wood, stone, and paper products. Last year for Christmas, I engraved leather bookmarks that I found at Joann fabrics. I've also made stone coasters, cut paper birthday cards, and red acrylic secret code detectors. If you have a laser cutter at a local Maker Space (check your local library), I'd be happy to share some free files with you to make some cute Xmas gifts.
Believe it or not, you can engrave lots of different types of metal with a laser engraver. While Xtool makes a portable laser engraver for most metal types, you can engrave stainless steel products with a traditional laser engraver. During a quick tour of some of our local craft stores, I found lots of small metal keychains, charms, bracelets, dog tags, bookmarks, and other small items that can be engraved with a laser engraver. I like to engrave these with the person's name or a favorite quote, and add it to a necklace with a special bead.
There are lots of options when it comes to boards. To find the board that is right for you, I highly suggest going to the Make Magazine site and checking out their most recent review of boards. Things to keep in mind. How will you power your boards? Operating voltages on boards are usually either 3.3 volts or 5 volts. When picking a board, consider your application and the requirements of any inputs or outputs for your board. One of the easiest starter boards is the arduino uno (5 volt board). While a little pricy, it integrates nicely with their easy to use Arduino IDE software, and there is an extensive community of makers that share code and ideas on their website. On the flip side, adafruit offers a great variety of boards, my own personal favorite being the adafruit feather in pink (3.3 volt board). These boards are easily programmed using circuitpython. Lastly, for educators looking for a simple option in their classroom, the microbit is a wonderful tool for beginners and utilizes a scratch based visual programming that is easier for younger and beginner students.
For me, the flashier the better. I love adding lights and color to my project designs. I love the adafruit neopixels, as they are easy to use and have so many programming options. Although I have learned to solder, I still have a preference for purchasing pre-wired Leds if I am planning on projects with only a few LED lights. As you can ask my son, I'm also a huge fan of magnets. There is so much you can do with magnets in a project, and I love the use of magnetic reed swithces in escape room games. A reed swith is a simple switch that is often contained in a small glass cylinder. In a normal reed switch, the connection between the two metal pieces is not closed. However, when a magnet is applied, it closes the connection, thus sending an input signal to your board. The great things about magnets and reed switches is that they are relatively very easy and inexpensive to incorporate into a project.
While my own maker space is small, I want to highlight some of the must-haves in a maker space. A laser cutter provides so many options to a user. But it is important to do your homework before purchasing. You have two primary options. A laser diode cutter or a CO2 laser cutter. In general, the CO2 laser is more powerful, but these are often more expensive options. While there are many laser diode options on the market that are economical, it is important to consider the safety of the user. The lower cost options are usually not contained in a housing. I personally prefer options where the laser is contained within a housing, as it provides a safer work environment. My own cutter is the M1 Xtool laser cutter. I love it because it also has a blade cutter that can function similar to a cricut.
Creating unique SVG files can be a lot of work. There are lots of resouces out there for free svg files to use if you are going to make your own projects. There are for-purchase options on etsy if you are intimidated by graphic design. However, if you are looking to make simple boxes, there is a free resource at makercase that will produce SVG files for you. I also suggest tinkercad for those into 3D printing and creating your own simple coding options.
We use cookies to analyze website traffic and optimize your website experience. By accepting our use of cookies, your data will be aggregated with all other user data.