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Hingesmith
Studio
Open Studio

Serpentine living hinge

One long meander per column that leaves a single winding bar.

Best for: The tightest curves and the thickest stock: it is the most flexible pattern by a wide margin. It is the most flexible pattern.

Open the Serpentine in the Studio All 21 patterns

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

Serpentine 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 Serpentine 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 mmR1.3 mmR8 mm
4 mmR2.5 mmR10 mm
6 mmR4.1 mmR15 mm

On a 150 mm round box

What the laser cuts

hinge cuts
85
in 85 columns round the wall
total cut path
9.7 m
base, wall, lid and hinge
hinge load
55%
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 16 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 Serpentine on eight shapes

Each link opens that shape in the Studio with the Serpentine 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

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

Questions about the Serpentine

Is the Serpentine hinge free?

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

How tight can the Serpentine bend?

At its densest spacing the Serpentine bends to about R1.3 mm on 3 mm plywood, R2.5 mm on 4 mm and R4.1 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.