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Hingesmith
Studio
Open Studio

Cloud living-hinge box

A puffy top on a flat base. Nursery décor, a dreamy baby gift, weather-themed parties.

Puffy top, flat base. The wall is one strip of plywood with a living hinge cut into it, so the whole outline wraps from a flat sheet. Set the size in millimetres, pick a hinge pattern and a lid, watch it fold in 3D, then export the cut file for your laser.

Open the Cloud in the Studio See Pro pricing

Pro shape: preview and fold it free, export from $9 a month or $149 once.

Cloud box: a 3D render of the laser-cut living-hinge box in Baltic birch with its scored lid drawing

At the suggested size

180 × 120 × 80 mm on 3 mm plywood

These numbers come from the same engine that makes your file, built at the size the Studio suggests with the Straight Lattice hinge. Change the size, stock or pattern and they update live.

parts
6
on 2 sheets of 420 × 297 mm
of cutting
18.9 m
540 hinge cuts
wall length
470 mm
in 2 strips that butt-joint
tightest bend
R20 mm
rounded to suit 3 mm stock
hinge load
92%
of the safe twist limit
lid art
Border
an inset line around the lid
Cloud lid as the laser sees it: red cut outline and blue scored lid art
The lid, as the laser sees it. Red is the cut, blue is the scored lid art.
Three lids

Drop-in, Snap-lock, Magnetic Lip. Every lid works with every shape.

Three stocks

3 mm, 4 mm, 6 mm. Hinge spacing and corner radii follow the thickness.

Kerf-compensated

Tabs grow and slots shrink by half your kerf, so parts press-fit without sanding.

Hinge patterns

Hinges that suit a cloud

Any of the 21 patterns works on this shape; the cut spacing adapts to each curve of the wall. These four suit the Nature collection. Each link opens the Cloud with that hinge.

Leaf Vine cut layout: red cut lines and blue score lines
Leaf VinePro
Mirrored arcs form leaves
Ripple cut layout: red cut lines and blue score lines
RipplePro
Waves that roll diagonally
Voronoi Mesh cut layout: red cut lines and blue score lines
Voronoi MeshPro
Seeded organic cells
Lantern cut layout: red cut lines and blue score lines
LanternPro
Moroccan lantern trellis

Leaf Vine: Mirrored arcs that close into leaves on a vine. Botanical and wedding boxes, spring and autumn collections.

Before you cut

From file to finished box

Import the SVG at 1:1, give the blue layer a light score pass and the red layer a full cut, score first, then cut. The guides cover settings by machine and material, assembly, and selling what you make.

More like this

Nature, and neighbours

Flower lid: red cut line with its scored lid art in blue
FlowerPro
Six petals
Crescent lid: red cut line with its scored lid art in blue
CrescentPro
Moon with rounded tips
Rainbow lid: red cut line with its scored lid art in blue
RainbowPro
Arc on two clouds
Cactus lid: red cut line with its scored lid art in blue
CactusPro
Saguaro with two arms
Mountains lid: red cut line with its scored lid art in blue
MountainsPro
Three peaks
Lotus lid: red cut line with its scored lid art in blue
LotusPro
Five pointed petals
Pear lid: red cut line with its scored lid art in blue
PearPro
Round base, soft waist
Peanut lid: red cut line with its scored lid art in blue
PeanutPro
Twin lobes
All shapes in Nature Browse all 100 shapes

Questions about the cloud box

Is the Cloud box free to export?

You can design it, change every setting and fold it in 3D for free. Exporting its cut file needs Pro: $9 per month, $59 per year, $149 one-time. The Rounded Box, Curved Cylinder and Hexagon export free, so you can test your laser settings before you buy.

What size can a cloud box be?

Anything from 60 to 400 mm across and 30 to 250 mm tall; the suggested size is 180 × 120 mm. Picking the shape keeps your current scale and applies its proportions, then you can set the width and length to the millimetre. Curves need a minimum radius for the hinge to bend (8 mm on 3 mm stock, 10 mm on 4 mm, 15 mm on 6 mm), and the studio warns you if a size is too small for your stock.

Which lasers and software can cut it?

Any laser whose software imports SVG or DXF at 1:1 in millimetres: LightBurn (Omtech, Monport, Ortur, Atomstack, Creality, K40 and most CO₂ and diode machines), xTool Creative Space, Glowforge (SVG), LaserGRBL and Inkscape. The file has a red cut layer, a blue score layer for the lid art and fold marks, and a black sheet boundary.

What material should I cut it from?

3, 4 or 6 mm flat sheet stock. Baltic birch plywood bends best; poplar plywood and MDF work for gentler curves. The hinge spacing is sized for the thickness you pick, and the free bend test strip tells you how far your particular sheet will go.

Can I sell cloud boxes I make with it?

Yes. Boxes you cut from your exports are yours to sell, on Etsy, at fairs or anywhere else. What you may not do is resell or share the cut files themselves as a template.

Fold a cloud box in your browser

No account, no download to install. The design opens ready to size.

Open the Studio