M3D 3mm Acrylic (plexiglass) enclosure, 3D printed and laser cut

thingiverse

I modified the original STL file for the enclosure clips to accommodate 3mm acrylic instead of 2mm, creating vector files that enable laser-cutting of the acrylic sides. I used ZenziWerken's exceptional Organic Structure Trivets patterns to decorate my enclosure sides. One exciting outcome is that the glowing M3D logo on the front of the printer produces an edge-lit effect on the engravings on the acrylic! There are several ways you can laser engrave the acrylic: 1. Vector-engrave the pattern – the same as vector cutting, but with much less power or faster speed, so it doesn't burn all the way through. This is what I did, utilizing the Color Mapping tool available for Epilog machines. I chose this method because it's significantly faster, cleaner-looking, and produces fewer fumes than raster engraving. 2. Raster-engrave the pattern – make the line thickness of the pattern as thick as you prefer and raster engrave it. This process is slower, but yields a more dramatic effect. 3. "Frost" the acrylic with raster engraving – fill the shapes of the pattern or the outline with black to either frost individual blobs for a cool 'screening' effect or frost everything except the blobs for a cool 'window' effect. If you're cutting your acrylic by hand, you could also print these patterns, attach them to the underside, and engrave by hand using a rotary tool.