chromy / boxes

Boxes.py - laser cutting boxes and more

About Boxes.py

• Boxes.py is an online box generator
  • https://www.festi.info/boxes.py/index.html
• Boxes.py is an Inkscape plug-in
• Boxes.py is library to write your own
• Boxes.py is free software licensed under GPL v3+
• Boxes.py is written in Python and runs with Python 3

Boxes.py comes with a growing set of ready-to-use, fully parametrized generators. See https://florianfesti.github.io/boxes/html/generators.html for the full list.

Features

Boxes.py generates SVG images that can be viewed directly in a web browser but also postscript and - with pstoedit as external helper - other vector formats including dxf, plt (aka hpgl) and gcode.

Of course the library and the generators allow selecting the "thickness" of the material used and automatically adjusts lengths and width of joining fingers and other elements.

The "burn" parameter compensates for the material removed by the laser. This allows fine tuning the gaps between joins up to the point where plywood can be press fitted even without any glue.

Finger Joints are the work horse of the library. They allow 90° edges and T connections. Their size is scaled up with the material "thickness" to maintain the same appearance. The library also allows putting holes and slots for screws (bed bolts) into finger joints, although this is currently not supported for the included generators.

Dovetail joints can be used to join pieces in the same plane.

Flex cuts allows bending and stretching the material in one direction. This is used for rounded edges and living hinges.

Documentation

Boxes.py comes with Sphinx based documentation for usage, installation and development.

The rendered version can be viewed at <https://florianfesti.github.io/boxes/html/index.html>.