City Map Coaster Set – Design Tech Project – Matteo Abel

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 What is your project?

My project is a set of four wooden coasters, each engraved with a map of a city that’s meaningful to me: St. Louis, Missouri; Bari, Italy; Austin, Texas; and Rome, Italy.

How did you make it?
I started by designing each city map in Adobe Illustrator. After finalizing the designs, I imported them into the laser cutter to engrave and cut the coasters out of wood. I also designed a custom coaster holder in Illustrator and used the CNC router to cut it out.

What do you like most about your project?
What I liked most is how clean and personal the coasters turned out. I put a lot of effort into the designs, and seeing them come out just how I imagined felt really rewarding. The project looks sharp and meaningful.

What was challenging about this project?
The most challenging part was designing the city maps in Illustrator. It took a lot of time to get the details right and make sure they would engrave clearly on the wood.

What would you change about the project if you did it again?
If I could change one thing, it would be the Rome coaster. The engraving came out as a bunch of dots instead of clean lines like the others, so I would go back and adjust that file to make it match better.

What is your plan for it now that it's done?
Now that it’s finished, I plan to keep and use the coasters, or possibly give them as a gift. I’m proud of how it turned out, and I like that it’s both functional and personal.





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