Resketching My Box March 26

Today in class I cut out the simple box design that I made before spring break. From this prototype I identified new problems that need to be address.

Design cut out on 1/4'' delrin of Sketch 1

Problems with my current box:

• The incisions for the hinges are not all the same (some lines are closers to each other than others).

• When the design was cut out, there were not enough line incisions for the sides to fold so this made it more prone to snapping. In the image above, you can see that the lack of lines for the hinge increased the tension causing it to break.

• Since I did not account for difference in the lengths of the side when the box folds the sides of the box do not touch at 90 degree angles. Instead the sides must bend further to make them connect so there are gaps between the sides in this design. In order to close the box without bending the sides too far in I would need to make two sides longer than the other.

• The dimensions of the rectangular hole for the screw to go into the side are too wide. 

• There is no circular hole for the screw to go in. The hole should be in on the bottom flap in the extra area sticking out.

I sketched out design 2 making the lines for the hinges symmetrical. In addition, I added more lines to decrease the pressure on the hinge when the sides fold. Sketch 2, however, has incorrect dimensions for the screws. The radius for the screws is still too big and the holes for the screw to go through are still too wide. I want to make the sides bend first before addressing issues with the screws. After cutting out sketch 2, I tested out how bendable the sides were and they did bend at right angles without breaking.

Sketch 2 of box. The dimensions for the screws and sides are off. A screw would attach the fixed sides. 

Although the sides bend, my professor told me that 4 lines (instead of 7) would be sufficient as long as I make them longer. Therefore I decided to resketch the design. With the help of my professor, I drew out the lines for the hinges with the correct dimensions on paper and drew the outline of how the top view of the box would look. Two sides would be longer and the other shorter. Calculating the dimensions and drawing out the design helped me visualize and account for previous problems.


Incisions for shorter sides.

Incisions for longer sides



In the drawing I took into consideration the thickness of the material (1/4'') which is part of the 2'' side length requirement. To calculate the length of the holes for the screws I subtracted the thickness of the material (1/4'') from the height of the screw (3/4''). My previous dimensions for the width of the hole and diameter for the circular hole was .2'' so I reduced it to about .1''.

Inkscape layout of box.

Design with correct dimensions of the holes for the screws. The square on the bottom right will be the lid which will slide on in the rectangular holes on the two sides.

For next class I will cut out this design and test it.