Boxes of all kinds

**Christophe Mineau** · Jul 11, 2023, 08:39 AM

Hi,
Since I have discovered it, I have become a big fan of the site Boxes.py
The creator of this project is Florian Festi and his motto says it all : "I don't only think inside the box - I think the box itself

This site offers plenty of different models for creating boxes, and actually much more things, out of plywood or any similar material.
You just need to browse the gallery, choose your model, fill in the form with parameters, and the site will draw in your browser the vectorial drawing.
You can then import it into your laser cutter if you have one, or import it into your favorite CAD/CAM software to cut it on a CNC, or just print it on paper and cut the material by hand, or with a scroll saw.

The possibilities are infinite and the site is really reliable.

There are plenty of parameters so that you can customize the box you create: dimensions, thickness of material, shape and nature of the tabs, possibly hinges options, etc ...

I personally cut the boxes with the CNC, I make them out of 5mm poplar plywood, and cut them with a 1.5mm "Corn-mill" bit.

I have used it already several times to enclose my arduino projects, it has a very convenient and well thought boxe for "electronics projects" :

You can see it in the vacuum pump I have already posted here.

And I have also done a quite large "IntegratedHingeBox" :

This box is incredible, the design includes a circular shape hinge cut on the sides of the box and the lid. It works very well and turns out to be sturdy enough.

The project is also available through different ways :
- It is a python API, so if you are a programmer, you can design your own application calling the Boxes.py generators by a programatic way.
- If you are also (like me) a fan of Inkscape, the project is also available as an Inkscape extension.
As the last Inkscape 1.2 has gone the disruptive way with respect to legacy extensions, my advice would be to install it as part of the "MightyScape" extension.
You will get Boxes.py and much more interresting things all very usefull for us makers.
Once installed in Inkscape, the generated boxes are drawed into Inkscape and it is convenient if you want to post process from there, for instance Inkscape also has many extensions dealing with gcode generation or laser cuting.