The laser cutter is actually a very versatile tool and very easy to use. It is my first time using it and I was a bit worried about it. However, reaching out to my friends made it easier. Ling Li from the School of Design kindly offered us to come to her school to use the laser cutter there and even taught us how to use it!
The first step I took was to actually hand draw my design. I wanted to do a simple design as I do not have much background in fabrication and design. I firstly used paper, pencil and ruler to draw exactly the size of the design I wanted. I also wrote down measurements for each of the sides of the drawings. Once I had a finalized drawing, I used AutoCAD to start drawing and to input the drawing in. For people who are using AutoCAD for the first time, do not worry, it was very easy for me! (a total beginner, so it should be easy for you too) I next simply used a laster cuter to cut out the drawing based on what I had conceptualized.
After laser cutting, I actually had to re-iterate a couple of times before I got the accurate dimensions. I had a rough idea of how long and wide each side of the laptop stand should be, but I was not so sure. After cutting the first time, I next went on to re-iterate and hence came up with the correct dimensions needed. Some form of trial and error is definitely needed when using laser cutting and fit bit as you are not sure whether each end of the fit bit will fit perfectly (in my case they did not and i had to re-adjust). I also used the paper cutter which you will see in the picture to actually make some slight adjustments. That was helpful too!
The laptop stand is compact, light, and easy to move around. It will easily hold up any laptop ranging from a heavy Macbook Pro 15" to a light dell or Macbook Air. I have tried to use this prototype several times, and it always worked very well. It will also fit snugly into your laptop sleeve or case because it is so light, so I would highly recommend it to anyone who is on the go, but always will require a sturdy laptopl stand to prop up your laptop when you are doing work!
