Measure the material
Measure the sheet thickness with callipers at three points and cut the kerf test from the laser group. Enter both; the generators compensate every joint.
Box & product generators · 8 tools
Box and product generators
Finger-joint boxes, drawer boxes, pen holders, acrylic boxes, slot and tab-and-slot joints with kerf-corrected fingers for a tight fit.
A laser-cut box is a set of panels whose fingers interlock, and the fit depends on two numbers most people guess: the material thickness and the kerf. Nominal 3 mm MDF is 2.8 mm; nominal 3 mm acrylic is 2.9 to 3.1 mm; the laser removes 0.1 to 0.3 mm from every finger. Guess, and the box either rattles or splits when pressed together.
The generators build the panels from the inside or outside dimensions you need, the measured thickness and the measured kerf, with finger widths that follow the thickness rule and edges laid out flat for cutting. Drawer boxes, lids, pen holders and dividers come from the same logic, and Custom Box Template Generator handles the shapes the presets do not.
Try it here
Finger Joint Box Generator
Six-panel finger-joint box from inner dimensions.
How a box & product generators job runs
Choose the box
Finger Joint Box for a plain box; Laser Cut Box for lidded variants; Drawer Box with the runner clearance; Pen Holder with slots; Acrylic Box with glue tabs instead of fingers.
Set dimensions and fingers
Inside or outside dimensions in millimetres, finger width (default 2 to 3 times thickness), and whether the lid slides, lifts or hinges.
Cut and assemble
Export SVG or DXF with all panels laid flat and labelled. Dry-fit one corner before gluing; the fit should need light pressure, not a mallet.
All box & product generators tools
8 tools · Finger-joint boxes, pen holders and tab-and-slot templates.Finger Joint Box GeneratorSix-panel finger-joint box from inner dimensions.Laser Cut Box GeneratorKerf-compensated box panels.Drawer Box GeneratorOpen-front drawer box.Pen Holder GeneratorOpen-top holder with finger joints.Acrylic Box GeneratorFinger-joint box for acrylic thickness.Custom Box Template GeneratorAny size, any material thickness.Slot Joint GeneratorSlotted joint pairs for flat-pack assembly.Tab & Slot GeneratorTab-and-slot panel edges.
On the machine
Finger width
Fingers narrower than the thickness break; wider than four times look coarse. 2 to 3 times thickness is the usual range: 8 mm fingers on 3 mm MDF, 12 mm on 6 mm.
Acrylic boxes
Acrylic does not like finger joints under stress; the acrylic generator uses fewer, wider fingers or plain glue tabs for solvent cement, and adds a 0.05 mm clearance so panels slide together for gluing.
Drawer clearance
A drawer needs 0.5 to 1 mm of side clearance in MDF and 1 mm in plywood so it runs after finishing; the generator adds it on the drawer, not the carcass.
Slot joints
Slot Joint Generator makes the cross-halving slots for dividers and egg-crate inserts; slot width equals thickness minus kerf, so the pieces hold without glue.
What usually goes wrong
- Using nominal thickness. Measure it; 0.2 mm is the difference between snug and loose.
- Skipping the kerf. Every finger is undersize and the box rattles.
- Fingers on the lid edge of an open box. Use the open-top variant so the rim is flush.
- Cutting acrylic boxes with tight finger joints; they crack at the corners. Use the acrylic generator's tolerances.
- Nesting panels without labels and losing which is which. The export labels each panel on the engrave layer.
Common questions
Inside or outside dimensions?
Both are supported; choose inside when the box must hold an object and outside when it must fit a shelf. The panel sizes are recomputed either way.
Can I make a box with a hinged lid?
Laser Cut Box Generator has a living-hinge lid option for plywood and a separate-lid option with lip for MDF and acrylic.
How do I make a divider insert?
Slot Joint Generator with the inner dimensions and the number of compartments; it produces the halving-slot strips that assemble without glue.
What about tab-and-slot for signage frames?
Tab & Slot Generator adds tabs to one panel and matching slots to another, sized to thickness and kerf, for flat-pack frames and display stands.