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Hingesmith
Studio
Open Studio

Braid living hinge

A three-strand plait running up each column.

Best for: Hair-accessory boxes, bread and bakery themes, Celtic designs. It is a flexible pattern.

Open the Braid in the Studio All 21 patterns

Pro hinge: preview it free on every shape, export from $9 a month.

Braid living hinge: a window onto the wall strip of a 150 mm round box, red cut lines and blue score lines
A window onto the wall strip of a 150 mm round box, 80 mm tall, on 3 mm stock. Real cut lines.

Measured, not guessed

Tightest bend by stock

The Studio lays the Braid out on a test strip at every spacing it can use and measures how far each link twists per unit of curvature. At its densest spacing the pattern bends to these radii without passing the wood's 1.2% shear-strain limit. The right column is the tightest corner any catalog shape asks for on that stock.

StockBends toTightest corner used
3 mmR5.5 mmR8 mm
4 mmR4.8 mmR10 mm
6 mmR7.6 mmR15 mm

On a 150 mm round box

What the laser cuts

hinge cuts
512
in 205 columns round the wall
total cut path
18.1 m
base, wall, lid and hinge
hinge load
90%
of the safe twist limit, worst link
wall height
80 mm
on 3 mm stock, default kerf

Cut time depends on your machine: at 10 mm/s that path takes about 30 minutes. Dense patterns cost more time than open ones, and the Studio shows the cut length live as you change size and pattern.

Try it on

The Braid on eight shapes

Each link opens that shape in the Studio with the Braid hinge already selected.

Heart Shell lid: red cut line with its scored lid art in blue
Heart ShellPro
Cardioid shell, filleted cleft
Pumpkin lid: red cut line with its scored lid art in blue
PumpkinPro
Five soft lobes
Curved Cylinder lid: red cut line with its scored lid art in blue
Curved CylinderFree
Round or oval, even wrap
Fox lid: red cut line with its scored lid art in blue
FoxPro
Big ears, fluffy cheeks
Seashell lid: red cut line with its scored lid art in blue
SeashellPro
Ribbed scallop shell
Snowman lid: red cut line with its scored lid art in blue
SnowmanPro
Three snowballs and a top hat
Cupcake lid: red cut line with its scored lid art in blue
CupcakePro
Swirled frosting, cherry on top
Rounded Box lid: red cut line with its scored lid art in blue
Rounded BoxFree
Hinges only at the corners

Other patterns

Next in the catalog

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

Questions about the Braid

Is the Braid hinge free?

Previewing it on any shape is free. Exporting a box with the Braid hinge needs Pro ($9 per month, $59 per year, $149 one-time). The Straight Lattice and Interlocking Hex export free.

How tight can the Braid bend?

At its densest spacing the Braid bends to about R5.5 mm on 3 mm plywood, R4.8 mm on 4 mm and R7.6 mm on 6 mm, measured by the same model that spaces the cuts. The Studio never asks it to bend tighter than 8, 10 and 15 mm on those stocks, so every shape in the catalog stays inside its limit.

Does the pattern change how strong the box is?

A little. Patterns that cut more wood away per column feel softer in the hand; the Serpentine is the softest, the Stepped Lattice and Morse the firmest. The base, lid and the solid bands at tabs and seams give the box its rigidity, so all of them make a box that holds its shape once assembled.

Can I use it on any shape?

Yes. Every one of the 100 shapes works with every pattern; the Studio spaces the cuts for each curve of the outline and checks every link against the wood's twist limit before you export.