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Hingesmith
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Teardrop living-hinge box

A bulb that narrows to a soft point. Ring boxes, a single-ornament box, essential-oil gift sets.

Bulb with a filleted point. 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 Teardrop in the Studio See Pro pricing

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

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

At the suggested size

120 × 150 × 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
5
on 2 sheets of 420 × 297 mm
of cutting
12.4 m
335 hinge cuts
wall length
385 mm
in one strip
tightest bend
R9 mm
rounded to suit 3 mm stock
hinge load
92%
of the safe twist limit
lid art
Border
an inset line around the lid
Teardrop 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 teardrop

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

Straight Lattice cut layout: red cut lines and blue score lines
Straight LatticeFree
Staggered slots, even flex
S-Curve Sine cut layout: red cut lines and blue score lines
S-Curve SinePro
Wavy S-curves
Herringbone cut layout: red cut lines and blue score lines
HerringbonePro
Parquet-style slants
Twill cut layout: red cut lines and blue score lines
TwillPro
Slanted dashes

Straight Lattice: Staggered straight slots in a brick bond, the pattern most people recognise as a living hinge. A first box, tight budgets of cut time, and when you want the wood grain to show more than the pattern.

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

Classic, and neighbours

Rounded Box lid: red cut line with its scored lid art in blue
Rounded BoxFree
Hinges only at the corners
Curved Cylinder lid: red cut line with its scored lid art in blue
Curved CylinderFree
Round or oval, even wrap
Pill lid: red cut line with its scored lid art in blue
PillPro
Straight sides, round ends
Squircle lid: red cut line with its scored lid art in blue
SquirclePro
Between square and circle
Arch lid: red cut line with its scored lid art in blue
ArchPro
Flat base, round top
Scalloped Round lid: red cut line with its scored lid art in blue
Scalloped RoundPro
Ten soft scallops
Hexagon lid: red cut line with its scored lid art in blue
HexagonFree
Honeycomb cell
Triangle lid: red cut line with its scored lid art in blue
TrianglePro
Three soft corners
All shapes in Classic Browse all 100 shapes

Questions about the teardrop box

Is the Teardrop 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 teardrop box be?

Anything from 60 to 400 mm across and 30 to 250 mm tall; the suggested size is 120 × 150 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 teardrop 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 teardrop box in your browser

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

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