plexi "snap out" rings

(click on images to visit my flickr page to see more)

As you all know we purchased a laser cutter/engraver in the painting and printmaking department here at VCU. Unfortunately it was damaged in shipping and that caused a bunch of problems. It is working but the Z-table where you lay your material to cut is out of whack making it hard to cut anything. I have been trying to run it through the ringer creating a list of materials that it can and can not be cut. At the same time I am creating a chart that tells you the settings to use when cutting specific materials. granted I have been getting really carried away with using the darn thing. In a earlier post I showed you some bracelets made out of cardboard. Now I am working on these plexi rings. In an ideal world the laser cut width on 1/8" plexi is .003" but since our machine is out if alignment I haven't been able to get a nice uniform edge. I thought I would post my current experiments. With this design You get two rings in one sheet. The snap out tabs act as stops for for the top to rest. I am working on doing some engraving cuts along those tabs so the plexi will snap in the proper place. I am really interested in this DIY jewelry as well making affordable pieces everyone can wear. As soon as we get our machine fixed we I will have a bunch of these. I am really excited.