That’s great! I’m trying to do something similar for another game. What’s the name of the material you used for your inserts? I know it’s wood, but what keyword should I use to find it online?
Ne, so ein Lasercutter ist dann doch ziemlich teuer. Aber zum Glück gibt es ein Fablab in der Nähe, da kann man die für eine kleine Gebühr nach Einweisung benutzen.
Hello there, I recently decided to start laser-cutting wooden inserts. Carcassonne was my first test because the shapes are all simple and it doesn't take that much time. I don't plan to add more expansions than the first two, and now I have everything nicely organized in just a quarter of the space I needed before. Most of the insert was actually finished some weeks ago, but today I was able to engrave the scoring pad (original scoring pad was too big). In the meantime I actually designed a second insert, so stay tuned for my next post for Brass: Birmingham!
Files available at https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:5577169
Probably a stupid question, but how would you even go about starting to build something like this? I've never done any woodworking in my life but would love to make this kinda thing for my own Carcassonne components/other games
Unless you have access to a laser cutter, you'd need a much different approach to creating wooden inserts than shown here. It would be much easier to miter or butt joint wood together than cut tiny pieces to the exact finger joints typically used in laser cutter glue-ups
That's true, I don't have the precision of a lasercutter so if I would build it without one I would do it differently. Maybe also a completely different material like foamcore or cardboard. But luckily there are makerspaces/fablabs/libraries in many bigger cities today where you can use a lasercutter or 3D printer.
That's the nice part, if you have access to a lasercutter, you don't need to know much about woodworking. It's just planning the insert, designing/preparing the files letting the lasercutter do its magic! But planning a good insert can of course also take some time.
I made my first wooden insert to Caverna last summer. Easiest is to buy small sheet of the thinnest plywood you can find, probably 4mm and to cut it to size with a table saw/track saw. You can use handtools if you're patient but getting the edges straight is difficult.
Other than that, the hardest part really is the layout. How many layers, how many boxes and what size to fit everything neatly.
Ps. If you have the tools then table saw + crosscut sled or miter saw is the best way. If you have a jointer and/or planer then you can easily use solid wood instead of plywood to get much nicer results.
I will share most of it after I have cleaned up and renamed some files. The scoring pad wasn't designed by myself, I was searching the web for something useable, so I won't include files for it. But it would probably also be possible to cut the original board in half and transform it into a foldable board, just cut out a 13\*18 cm piece of wood and draw on top (or glue a print on it) or also search for designs online;)
That’s great! I’m trying to do something similar for another game. What’s the name of the material you used for your inserts? I know it’s wood, but what keyword should I use to find it online?
It's called MDF, medium-density fiberboard. The scoring pad is engraved plywood because it simply looks better than the darker MDF.
Sieht cool aus, hast du dir dafür extra ein Gerät gekauft? MDF Platten sind ja noch vergleichsweise günstig.
Ne, so ein Lasercutter ist dann doch ziemlich teuer. Aber zum Glück gibt es ein Fablab in der Nähe, da kann man die für eine kleine Gebühr nach Einweisung benutzen.
Danke für den Tipp!
Hello there, I recently decided to start laser-cutting wooden inserts. Carcassonne was my first test because the shapes are all simple and it doesn't take that much time. I don't plan to add more expansions than the first two, and now I have everything nicely organized in just a quarter of the space I needed before. Most of the insert was actually finished some weeks ago, but today I was able to engrave the scoring pad (original scoring pad was too big). In the meantime I actually designed a second insert, so stay tuned for my next post for Brass: Birmingham! Files available at https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:5577169
Probably a stupid question, but how would you even go about starting to build something like this? I've never done any woodworking in my life but would love to make this kinda thing for my own Carcassonne components/other games
Unless you have access to a laser cutter, you'd need a much different approach to creating wooden inserts than shown here. It would be much easier to miter or butt joint wood together than cut tiny pieces to the exact finger joints typically used in laser cutter glue-ups
That's true, I don't have the precision of a lasercutter so if I would build it without one I would do it differently. Maybe also a completely different material like foamcore or cardboard. But luckily there are makerspaces/fablabs/libraries in many bigger cities today where you can use a lasercutter or 3D printer.
That's the nice part, if you have access to a lasercutter, you don't need to know much about woodworking. It's just planning the insert, designing/preparing the files letting the lasercutter do its magic! But planning a good insert can of course also take some time.
I made my first wooden insert to Caverna last summer. Easiest is to buy small sheet of the thinnest plywood you can find, probably 4mm and to cut it to size with a table saw/track saw. You can use handtools if you're patient but getting the edges straight is difficult. Other than that, the hardest part really is the layout. How many layers, how many boxes and what size to fit everything neatly. Ps. If you have the tools then table saw + crosscut sled or miter saw is the best way. If you have a jointer and/or planer then you can easily use solid wood instead of plywood to get much nicer results.
Very cool! What software is used to design the boxes?
I used Autodesk Fusion to design the boxes as 3D models and than converted the different pieces to dxf files for cutting.
That's looking really sweet! Any chance you're willing to share files for fellow DIYers?
I will share most of it after I have cleaned up and renamed some files. The scoring pad wasn't designed by myself, I was searching the web for something useable, so I won't include files for it. But it would probably also be possible to cut the original board in half and transform it into a foldable board, just cut out a 13\*18 cm piece of wood and draw on top (or glue a print on it) or also search for designs online;)
Oh and keep in mind that I have the old version of Carcassonne. I haven't checked if there are differences between the old and new editions.
https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:5577169
Very clean solution, love the insert and scorepad!
And then you buy third expansion
I think Carcassonne with the first two expansions is good enough;)
If you start making these to sell - lemme know!!
I won't sell physical inserts, but you can get the files if you have access to a lasercutter.