A cardboard box

Discuss Thermwood 3-axis Machinery, Controller, and Software.

Moderators: Jason Susnjara, Larry Epplin, Clint Buechlein, Jim Bullis

Post Reply
FredHirsch
Senior Member
Posts: 167
Joined: Tue, Oct 03 2006, 6:51PM
Location: Phoenix, AZ
Contact:

A cardboard box

Post by FredHirsch »

This is bit of a funny one... Going along the lines of Ken's Book regarding 1 off manufacturing, we are doing more and more KD stuff that we ship all over. With eCabs and the router this has become very easy and profitable for us. The one step in the process that is killing us at the moment is packaging (cardboard boxes). No two products are the same and we use UPS and FedEx to ship so our box sizes are all over the map. We now cut our own boxes on the THM using 4x8 sheets of corrugated. Currently, I draw the box in CAD and then throw the DXF at the router. My question is, has anyone seen any simple software out there that will allow you to specify a box size and it will generate an "unfolded" dxf box? Some of our boxes are larger than the 4x8 sheet but it is pretty easy to split them on a seam and just tape together. Any help would be appreciated.
Thanks,
Fred
Fred Hirsch
Paul Ford
eCabinets Beta Tester
Posts: 632
Joined: Wed, May 18 2005, 1:18AM
Location: Rotorua - NewZealand

Re: A cardboard box

Post by Paul Ford »

Hi Fred,
I could be way off here but can you not draw them up in eCabs and use the constraint manager where needed?
BenRatt
Senior Member
Posts: 170
Joined: Sat, Oct 22 2005, 10:59AM
Location: Spartanburg, SC
Contact:

Re: A cardboard box

Post by BenRatt »

Try www.packmeister.com (may not export as DXF) or www.conservation-by-design.co.uk "kasemake" .

It's funny because we had to custom make some boxes this past week for the first time. The box supplier wanted a $300 setup fee and we only needed 8 boxes. I drew them in ACAD and ran them as a DXF. I cut them with a 1/4" downshear and got a decent edge. Then to make the creases where the box folds I loaded a 1/4" solid carbide flush trim bit (with a rounded nose) that we use for laminate trimming and set the spindle speed to 1 and depth to .125" and got a nice crease. What tooling do you use to cut yours?
Ben Ratterree
Blue Ridge Cabinetworks
Spartanburg, SC
http://www.blueridgecabs.com
FredHirsch
Senior Member
Posts: 167
Joined: Tue, Oct 03 2006, 6:51PM
Location: Phoenix, AZ
Contact:

Re: A cardboard box

Post by FredHirsch »

Ben,
We use 1/4" down for the outline and a 90Degree V for the creases. I think I run the outline at 800ipm and the V around 600ipm. The cardboard dulls the bits pretty quick, but like you we had quotes from the box companies that were outrageous. I think I calculated that each box would be $45. I buy the 4x8 cardboard for something like $2 and get multiple boxes. I'll check out the links. Also, I use this software but a ton of hand tweaking to get to the machine. http://www.tamasoft.co.jp/pepakura-en/

Paul,
I'm sorry I am not following you. If I drew it as a cabinet, eCabs would cut each panel. I want the panels attached with a crease.

Thanks,
Fred
Fred Hirsch
FredHirsch
Senior Member
Posts: 167
Joined: Tue, Oct 03 2006, 6:51PM
Location: Phoenix, AZ
Contact:

Re: A cardboard box

Post by FredHirsch »

Ben,
Just got a message back from packmeister and they do not support dxf output at this time. From its features it looks like it is exactly what I'm looking for...
Thanks for the link,
Fred
Fred Hirsch
Nick M Singer
Guru Member
Posts: 828
Joined: Fri, Jun 17 2005, 12:23AM
Location: South Africa

Re: A cardboard box

Post by Nick M Singer »

Fred cut the box layout with a V groove cutter set shallow, bend on those lines, should be able to produce the whole thing in from a DXF
Michael Kowalczyk
eCabinets Beta Tester
Posts: 284
Joined: Tue, May 10 2005, 11:35AM
Location: Houston, Texas

Re: A cardboard box

Post by Michael Kowalczyk »

so I am attempting to to get our CNC (C40) to make our boxes. Got the dragknife from Donektools.com. (immediate issue will not work in tool changer blade sticks out too far. searching for other alternative). (other blades will need new settings) Aspire has a gadget to make sure it turns correctly for corners. Looking for a creaser that can be used on ATC lots of software out there with templates there will need to be manual tweaking to set up atc change. need to find out how to bypass M3 RPM requirement. because drag knife can not spin. must be set to "0"rpm
Michael Kowalczyk, GM

HP-Elite Quad Core Q6700-4 MB ram, Nvidia GeForce 512 MB Dual HP 22" flat panels, Windows 7 ultimate 64bit SP1
FredHirsch
Senior Member
Posts: 167
Joined: Tue, Oct 03 2006, 6:51PM
Location: Phoenix, AZ
Contact:

Re: A cardboard box

Post by FredHirsch »

Michael,
Interesting drag knife. Can you snap that blade in 1/2 to fit in the tool holder or is it still too big? Maybe and Xacto blade? I just went out to their website and they have a "creasing" attachment. Have you tried that?
Thx
Fred
Fred Hirsch
Michael Kowalczyk
eCabinets Beta Tester
Posts: 284
Joined: Tue, May 10 2005, 11:35AM
Location: Houston, Texas

Re: A cardboard box

Post by Michael Kowalczyk »

a smaller blade will be needed to fit in an ATC tool holder exzacto maybe but then it will mean more $$$$$ and possible breakage and inconsistency in alignment.
I personally don't like the creaser they offer. it ether means you have to buy 2 drag knife set ups because the creaser wheel is manually mounted when needed and blocks the knife.
may try to get my nephew to make one for me so it fits in the ATC Holder
Michael Kowalczyk, GM

HP-Elite Quad Core Q6700-4 MB ram, Nvidia GeForce 512 MB Dual HP 22" flat panels, Windows 7 ultimate 64bit SP1
Neville Bastian
Guru Member
Posts: 622
Joined: Fri, May 20 2005, 6:48PM
Company Name: Classic Cabinetry
Location: Albany Western Australia
Contact:

Re: A cardboard box

Post by Neville Bastian »

We also do flat pack jobs but we havent worked out how big to make the box till everything is packed.
Is there software that can work out the size of the crate and weight.
If you could share your proceedure for making these boxes that would be of interest.
Regards
Neville
Neville Australia
Scott Marshburn
Guru Member
Posts: 837
Joined: Sat, Mar 05 2011, 7:29AM
Company Name: Heritage WoodWorks
Country: UNITED STATES
Location: Jacksonville Nc
Contact:

Re: A cardboard box

Post by Scott Marshburn »

[quote="FredHirsch" My question is, has anyone seen any simple software out there that will allow you to specify a box size and it will generate an "unfolded" dxf box?
Fred[/quote]
You may want to take a look at this thread. It sounds like it would work for this.
http://www.thermwood.com/forums/viewtop ... t=Sketchup
Post Reply