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Hingesmith
Studio
Open Studio

Ripple living hinge

Waves whose phase drifts along the wall, so the crests roll across it diagonally.

Best for: Water, beach and whale themes; it looks like a current moving round the box. It is a flexible pattern.

Open the Ripple in the Studio All 21 patterns

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

Ripple 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 Ripple 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 mmR5.4 mmR8 mm
4 mmR4.7 mmR10 mm
6 mmR7.5 mmR15 mm

On a 150 mm round box

What the laser cuts

hinge cuts
489
in 196 columns round the wall
total cut path
17.6 m
base, wall, lid and hinge
hinge load
80%
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 29 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 Ripple on eight shapes

Each link opens that shape in the Studio with the Ripple 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

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

Questions about the Ripple

Is the Ripple hinge free?

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

How tight can the Ripple bend?

At its densest spacing the Ripple bends to about R5.4 mm on 3 mm plywood, R4.7 mm on 4 mm and R7.5 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.