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Hingesmith
Studio
Open Studio

Living hinges

21 hinge patterns, one engine

A living hinge is a field of cuts that lets a flat sheet of plywood wrap round a curve. Each pattern below is a different field; all of them are spaced by the same rule, from how far the wood can twist at every point of the wall. Pick by look. Straight Lattice and Interlocking Hex export free.

Straight Lattice cut layout: red cut lines and blue score lines
Straight LatticeFree
Staggered slots, even flex
Interlocking Hex cut layout: red cut lines and blue score lines
Interlocking HexFree
Mirrored zig-zags
S-Curve Sine cut layout: red cut lines and blue score lines
S-Curve SinePro
Wavy S-curves
Voronoi Mesh cut layout: red cut lines and blue score lines
Voronoi MeshPro
Seeded organic cells
Serpentine cut layout: red cut lines and blue score lines
SerpentinePro
Long meander, most flex
Stepped Lattice cut layout: red cut lines and blue score lines
Stepped LatticePro
Three-phase stagger
Chevron cut layout: red cut lines and blue score lines
ChevronPro
Nested V stripes
Diamond Lattice cut layout: red cut lines and blue score lines
Diamond LatticePro
Mirrored Vs form diamonds
Basket Weave cut layout: red cut lines and blue score lines
Basket WeavePro
Mirrored waves
Fish Scales cut layout: red cut lines and blue score lines
Fish ScalesPro
Arched dashes
Twill cut layout: red cut lines and blue score lines
TwillPro
Slanted dashes
Morse cut layout: red cut lines and blue score lines
MorsePro
Long and short dashes
Battlement cut layout: red cut lines and blue score lines
BattlementPro
Square-wave castle steps
Ripple cut layout: red cut lines and blue score lines
RipplePro
Waves that roll diagonally
Leaf Vine cut layout: red cut lines and blue score lines
Leaf VinePro
Mirrored arcs form leaves
Lantern cut layout: red cut lines and blue score lines
LanternPro
Moroccan lantern trellis
Heartbeat cut layout: red cut lines and blue score lines
HeartbeatPro
Pulse line with a spike
Lightning cut layout: red cut lines and blue score lines
LightningPro
Sawtooth bolts
Herringbone cut layout: red cut lines and blue score lines
HerringbonePro
Parquet-style slants
Zipper cut layout: red cut lines and blue score lines
ZipperPro
Interlocking square teeth
Braid cut layout: red cut lines and blue score lines
BraidPro
Three-strand plait
Cut (#FF0000) Score / fold (#0000FF)Default 0.15 mm kerf on 3 mm stock.

How the spacing is chosen

Wrapping a wall round a curve of radius R turns each link between two cuts by spacing ÷ R, and the link takes that turn as a twist. Plywood tolerates about 1.2% shear strain, so the Studio measures each pattern's twist per unit curvature on a test strip and sets the cut spacing at every point of your wall to stay inside that limit: close where the outline bends hardest, open on the flats. Alternate cuts run out through the top and bottom edges, so no solid band has to bend. Read how living hinges work.

Free bend test for your plywood

Not all plywood bends the same. The Hinge tab of the Studio downloads a free test strip with four zones at 70%, 100%, 140% and 200% of the limit and a gauge plate to wrap them round. The highest zone that bends cleanly sets Wood flex, and every box after that is cut for your sheet. How to run the bend test.

Try the hinges in the Studio See all 100 shapes