In this STEAM maker project, students design and build a heart-shaped music box using LaserMaker and a laser cutting machine. The lesson connects creative product design, shape editing, flexible border construction, bayonet-style joints, hole placement, laser processing, music box movement installation, and hands-on assembly.

1. Lesson Overview

1.1 Project Goal

Students will design a heart-shaped music box body, create a flexible border strip with repeated cut lines, add bayonet-style connection features, place holes for the music box movement, laser cut the parts, and assemble the finished music box.

1.2 Recommended Classroom Use

2. Learning Objectives

2.1 What Students Will Learn

2.2 STEAM Skills Developed

2.3 Responsible Making

Students should operate the laser cutter only under teacher or lab supervisor guidance. Before processing, check material placement, focal length, line order, cutting layers, and machine settings. During assembly, use hot glue carefully and test the music box movement only after it is securely installed.

3. Project Context: What Makes a Music Box Special?

A music box is a small mechanical object that plays sound when its movement is activated by a spring, crank, or similar power source. The source lesson introduces the music box as a familiar object that combines sound, memory, craft, and design.

For this classroom project, students focus on the outer structure and the installation of the music box movement. They learn how the design of the body, border, holes, and assembly process affects whether the music box can be completed neatly and securely.

4. Pre-Class Thinking Questions

Teachers can begin the lesson with short questions about sound, design, and mechanical objects. These prompts help students connect the project with personal experience and product design.

5. Lesson Procedure

5.1 Import and Resize the Heart Shape

Open LaserMaker. Go to Gallery > Polygon, select the heart shape, and drag it onto the blank workspace. Turn on the proportional lock, then adjust the heart width to 180 mm. Teachers may allow students to change the size if it fits the project material and music box movement.

5.2 Draw the Border Strip

Draw a 250 mm by 40 mm rectangle as the side border of the heart-shaped music box. The border strip must be long enough to wrap around the heart, so students should adjust the length if they change the heart size.

Draw a 10 mm by 3 mm small rectangle for the bayonet-style frame feature. Use Array Copy with 8 horizontal copies, 1 vertical copy, and 0 spacing. Zero spacing helps keep each position aligned and reduces layout error.

Place the eight small rectangles according to the design layout, then remove the extra small border areas to form the toothed bayonet shape. Select the complete border and use Shape > Welding to merge the structure.

5.3 Add Flexible Cut Lines to the Border

Use Draw Bessel Lines and Curves to draw one 33 mm straight line and two 16.5 mm straight lines. While drawing, check that each line is truly straight. If a drawn line shows an unwanted width value, it may not be straight enough and should be corrected before cutting.

Place the three lines inside the border strip as shown in the source workflow. Then use Array Copy to repeat the line group across the border. The source example uses 55 horizontal copies, 1 vertical copy, and 1.5 spacing. Students can adjust these values if their border size changes.

Draw a 3 mm by 20 mm rectangle at the end of the border strip and weld it into the design. Copy and paste the finished border strip, then use Rotate > Flip Vertically to create the matching border part.

5.4 Add the Heart-Shaped Gear Bayonet

Use the same bayonet-drawing method to create another gear bayonet structure. Move it near the lower tip of the heart and rotate it until it is parallel to the lower point of the heart shape.

When the fit is correct, copy and paste the gear bayonet, rotate or flip it horizontally, and place it on the other side of the heart tip. Weld the bayonet features onto the heart design, then duplicate the completed heart-shaped plate.

5.5 Add Holes for the Music Box Movement

Draw three circles for installation: one 7 mm circle for the wind-up hole and two 3 mm circles for screw holes. Draw a 20 mm by 1.5 mm rectangle as a measuring reference for the distance between the two screw holes.

5.6 Set Laser Processing Parameters

After the design is complete, set the layer parameters and arrange the processing order. The source workflow notes that line processing should come before cutting. Before sending the job to the laser cutter, check the layer order, cutting paths, and material setup.

6. Laser Processing

Import the saved design files into the laser cutting machine for processing. Before cutting, adjust the focal length carefully to reduce the risk of incomplete cuts.

7. Splicing and Assembly

7.1 Install the Music Box Movement

First, install the music box movement into the heart-shaped plate with holes. Check that the wind-up hole and screw holes align with the movement before securing the part.

7.2 Attach the Flexible Border

Use hot glue to wrap the flexible frame strip around the outside of the heart. Work slowly so the strip follows the curve neatly and the edge stays aligned with the heart-shaped plate.

7.3 Close the Music Box Body

After the border strip is attached, glue the second heart-shaped plate to the other side of the structure. Check the edges and allow the glue to set before winding and testing the music box.

8. How a Music Box Works

A music box movement usually includes a power source, a rotating cylinder, a comb-like sound plate, a base plate, and a transmission structure. When the spring or crank powers the cylinder, small pins on the cylinder pluck the thin metal teeth of the sound plate. The different tooth lengths produce different notes.

The cylinder can be understood as a stored musical pattern, while the sound plate works like a set of tuned keys. This gives students a simple way to connect mechanical motion with sound production.

9. Classroom Practice and Teaching Tips

9.1 Student Workflow

9.2 Teacher Suggestions

10. Reflection and Evaluation

10.1 Reflection Questions

10.2 Student and Peer Evaluation

Students can evaluate their own work and give peer feedback based on creativity, technical process, artistic effect, and collaboration.

11. Extension Challenge

After finishing the heart-shaped music box, students can redesign the body into another shape, such as a star, circle, animal, book, house, or custom gift form. They can compare how different shapes affect the border length, bending pattern, hole placement, and assembly difficulty.

Students can also add engraved decoration, layered panels, name text, themed patterns, or a display stand to make the music box more personal and visually complete.

12. Equipment Note for Teachers

This project is suitable for classroom laser cutters that support cutting and line processing of sheet materials for small maker projects. For schools and beginner STEAM labs, projects like heart-shaped music boxes, decorative boxes, flexible border structures, and beginner LaserMaker activities can be completed with a classroom laser cutter such as the Thunder Laser Bolt Series.

Teachers can choose the machine and material setup based on classroom space, student supervision needs, material thickness, project size, music box movement dimensions, and ventilation setup. Students should always test settings, check focus, and follow the school’s laser safety rules before final cutting.