==================
                             BoxMaker v 1.3.5
                            ==================

By - Rahul Bhargava <boxmaker[at]instituteofthefuture.org>
     with modifications by Edwin Olson <eolson[at]mit.edu>

<http://www.instituteofthefuture.org/boxmaker/>

-----------------
What is BoxMaker?
-----------------

BoxMaker is a simple little 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 six sides of the box.

The edges are notched, so it snaps together well.  You can import the
postscript file it creates into CorelDraw (or any other standard
drawing program) and manipulate it further there (probably rearrange
the pieces to fit on the shape of the material you have at hand).

---------------------
Generating Postscript
---------------------

BoxMaker lets you specify where and what to save the file as. BoxMaker
makes use of a heavily modified version of PSGr, a class written and
(C) 1999 by Ernest J. Friedman-Hill and Sandia National Laboratories.
Specifically, it was modified to support more precise positioning of
lines.

----------
How to Use
----------

The program has several parameters:

    width, height, depth: The outer dimensions of the box. The inner
        dimensions of the box can be deterimined by subtracting
        (2*materialthickness).

    material depth: The thickness of the material. This is needed in
        order to properly size the notches.

    notch length: The length of each notch. If you don't care, just
    	leave the auto checkbox as is .  A good rule of thumb is
        two or three times the material depth. Note that this
        parameter is used as a suggestion only-- the program will
        adjust the notch length so that the geometry of the box comes
        out correctly.
    
    cut width: The width of material removed by the laser. We assume
        that the beam cuts symmetrically around the cutting line but
        that it has some finite width. For example, if a non-zero cut
        width is specified, the notches will be slightly exaggurated
        so that the notches fit more snugly together. A value of zero
        is usually safe but loose-fitting, and mimics the behavior of
        versions of BoxMaker prior to v1.3. The cut width must be
        experimentally determined, as it is a function of the
        material, laser speed/power parameters, etc. Reasonable values
        for 1/8" acrylic are .004 inches to .008 inches. If the cut
        width is set too large, the box will not fit together.

-----
ToDo:
-----

	- allow an option of leaving one side open (just the frame of
		the notches), which will be good for making picture
		frames!
	- add a few options for how it is laid out (long, square, tall)

---------------
Version History
---------------

Version 1.3.5 (2003.07.25) - rahulb
	- added auto-notch-length option
	- removed extra cut lines
	- made cut width behave a little better
	- removed "My Boxes" folder
	- changed default measurement to inches
	- cleaned up some error messages
	- cleaned up Mac OSX icon
	- removed Mac Classic support, because you shouldn't be using it
Version 1.3 (2003.05.29) - eolson
	- major changes by eolson[at]mit.edu
	- fixed box sizing bugs by improving internal precision and hacking PSGr
	- added user control of notch length
	- added compensation for finite cutting width
Version 1.2 (2002.08.03) - rahulb
	- more "readable" box layout in outputted file
	- output success alert now tells you the exact size of the box
	- better handling of boxes with at least one small side (> 1 inch)
	- changed build tool to use ant
	- released for OSX
Version 1.1 (2001.11.07) - rahulb
	- now lets you specify units for all the measurements
	- lots of interface improvements 
	- better readme
Version 1.0 (2001.04.07)
	- created by Rahul Bhargava <rahulb[at]media.mit.edu>