This little device was an idea I had a few years ago when first getting access to the type of small scale laser now common in secondary schools.
I developed this prototype over many hours and the final CAD file took about 12 minutes to cut on a 40w laser in 3mm plywood.
When I contacted companies to make it in bulk, I quickly discovered why making things in wood was rare today. Unless I had special patterns made in China to stamp out the pieces, and it wasn't certain such fine detail would be reproduced using this method, it would have to be cut out on industrial lasers in this country. It worked out about £12 a set of pieces cut which gave a final selling price in the shops of around £47 by the time other costs and the shops markup + VAT was added. 
The sad thing is, I could have all the pieces made as plastic injection moulded parts for £1 (Flat plate mouldings) if I committed to buying 10,000 sets. This would give a final selling price in my targetted shops of about £7 which was acceptable. Of course, then it would be in plastic instead! We will rely less on plastic when it is either too expensive, or there are good industrial techniques and materials to replace it. I suspect we will reach that point in about 20 years.
If you do some research, you will find the most popular early plastic was Bakelite... And that was mostly sawdust! Of course, the second most popular..and available thousands of years before Bakelite..was tortoise shell!
