BusiBox

Step 1Open the tool. There is nothing to install, and it keeps working without internet.

Step 2Pick the type first. A finger joint box is six panels that interlock, for laser or CNC in sheet material. A folding carton is one flat blank with crease lines, for cardboard on a cutting plotter.

Step 3Choose a size, or type your own measurements in centimetres.

Step 4The material thickness is not a detail here, it decides the size. A folding carton is drawn on the neutral line, the middle of the material, because that is what the fold runs around: a panel is the inside dimension plus one thickness. On a finger joint box the thickness is exactly how far a finger sticks out, so it comes flush with the panel next to it.

Step 5This is where a laser box is won or lost. The beam removes material over its own width, so a finger cut on its drawn size comes out one kerf narrower and its slot one kerf wider: two kerfs of play, and that is the box that rattles. The tool draws every finger one kerf wider and every slot one kerf narrower. Set the fit positive if you want to have to push it together.

Step 6The drawing is the deliverable. Black lines are cut, blue dashed lines are creases: do not cut those, or the box falls apart. Those two must stay apart on the machine, so they stay apart here and in the file as well.

Step 7The price works itself out while you design. You can change the rates yourself.

Step 8Download it as SVG for a cutting plotter or laser, in millimetres so it opens at full size, or as PDF with cut and crease in separate colours.

Step 9Pro members unlock the tool once through the shop. After that it works offline too.

Step 10Done, or something went wrong? Open the dashboard and start over with a clean sheet.