What is BoxMaker?
BoxMaker is a little Java application that can generate the outlines
for a box to be out of some material with a cutting device (ideally using
wood/acrylic on a lasercutter!). You tell it the dimensions of the box
(width, height, depth, material width), and it generates a PostScript
file with the outlines for the 6 sides of the box. The dimensions are
the outside lengths of the box. View a screenshot.
How Do I Use It?
Windows users, you'll want to double-click the "BoxMaker.bat" file. If a window appears and then vanishes, you might need to download and install the latest version of Java.
The edges are notched, so the faces of the box snaps together well. You can import the
postscript file that BoxMaker creates into CorelDraw (or any other
standard CAD program) and manipulate it further there. You probably
want to rearrange the faces to fit on the material you have at hand.
Postcardware
Our sun-starved researchers love receiving communications from the outside world, so we're releasing this software as "postcardware". That means that you can use it for free, but if you like it then we ask that you send us a postcard from where you live! Our address is:
Rahul Bhargava
Institute of the Future
227 Pearl St.
Cambridge, MA 02139
