Overview

For this project, our team designed and laser-cut a custom Houston Rockets–themed jigsaw puzzle. The goal was to combine creative engraving design and precise laser cutting techniques to produce a personalized wooden puzzle.

The final piece measured 8.5” × 11”. We used Adobe Illustrator to create layered designs for engraving and cutting, ensuring clean geometry and tight-fitting puzzle pieces

 

Design Process

Layer Setup in Illustrator
We created three organized layers for the design process:
ENGRAVE_THEME – included the Rockets logo, basketball silhouettes, the Houston skyline, and trophy artwork.
CUT_PUZZLE – included the jigsaw cutting paths generated from the Draradech Jigsaw Generator.

Color coding for laser operations:
Engrave (Raster): Black fill
Cut (Vector): Red stroke (#FF0000), 0.001 in line width

Engraving Theme Design
We designed the engraving layer around the Houston Rockets logo, surrounded by basketball silhouettes representing dynamic motion.
The bottom engraving featured the Houston city skyline, symbolizing local pride and connecting sports with place.

Puzzle Shape Generation
The jigsaw pattern was created using the online tool draradech.github.io/jigsaw/jigsaw.html.

After downloading the generated SVG, we imported it into Adobe Illustrator for editing.
To integrate the five basketball player silhouette puzzle pieces, we used the Shape Builder Tool to merge and trim intersecting lines between the silhouettes and the jigsaw paths. This allowed us to seamlessly incorporate the player outlines into the puzzle, ensuring that each silhouette became a unique, continuous puzzle piece without overlapping or broken paths.

Parameters used:
Tiles: 10 × 8
Size: 8.5 × 11 inches
Jitter: ~12%
Corner Radius: 2 mm

After downloading the SVG file, we imported and aligned it precisely within Illustrator to match the engraved layer.

Kerf Compensation

To avoid excessive path editing in Illustrator, we designed a relatively fine puzzle gap of 0.001 inches to ensure that the cuts fit tightly and do not distort the design.

Laser Cutting and Engraving
Material: 3 mm plywood

Operation	Speed	Power	Frequency	dpi	Cycles
Engrave	100	50		600	1
Cut	55	40	50		4

Each puzzle was first raster-engraved (for image details) and then vector-cut.
We carefully aligned and focused the laser to ensure even engraving depth and clean cuts.

 

Results

Final Outcome Highlights:
The Rockets logo and basketball silhouettes are crisply engraved.
The city skyline adds a strong thematic touch.
The pieces fit snugly together, confirming correct kerf compensation.

Cost Model

Item	Quantity	Unit Cost	Total
3 mm Plywood Sheet	1	5	5
Laser Cutting Time (20 min @ $1/min)	2	20	40
Total Estimated Cost			45

Reflection

This project helped us understand how laser parameters, kerf, and layer management directly affect both the mechanical fit and visual appeal of fabricated parts.
We also realized the importance of adjusting the laser focus — at first, we forgot to properly set the focus, which caused the laser to fail cutting through the wood. After correcting it, the cutting process became smooth and precise, and we were able to achieve clean, consistent results.

We especially enjoyed turning a digital sports concept into a real, playable puzzle — combining technical precision with creative design. It was satisfying to see the engraved textures and puzzle pieces come together perfectly after all the planning and alignment.

Team Members: Rongshu Jin & Zigang Wu