What you get in the file
Five closed paths — bottom, front, back, left, right — plus the lid if you asked for one. Each path is a single continuous outline, so your laser software sees one shape per panel rather than a pile of loose segments. Units are millimetres and the SVG carries width="…mm", which means most software imports it at true scale with no resizing.
The panels are packed into a compact layout with an 8 mm gap. That packing is only a convenience — rearrange them to fit your sheet before cutting.
Measure your kerf first
Kerf is the material the beam burns away. It is the one number that decides whether the box goes together with a firm push or falls apart, and it varies by machine, lens, power setting and even by sheet.
The quick test: cut a single straight line about 50 mm long through a scrap of the exact material you plan to use, then measure the width of the removed line with calipers. That width is your kerf. On a typical 40–60 W CO₂ laser cutting 3 mm plywood it lands somewhere between 0.10 and 0.20 mm.
Enter it and the generator compensates automatically: notches are cut slightly deeper than the material thickness and tabs slightly shallower, leaving roughly one kerf of clearance so the joint slides together instead of seizing.
Importing the cut file
- LightBurn — File → Import. Check the status bar reads the expected size in mm before arranging.
- Glowforge — upload the SVG, then confirm the material thickness in the app; the design is already the right size.
- xTool / LaserGRBL / RDWorks — SVG or DXF both work. DXF is the safer choice for older CAM software.
If everything imports at roughly 4× the expected size, your software is reading the units as inches. Set the document units to millimetres and re-import.
Other box generators
- Box generator with dimensions — why inner and outer dimensions differ, with worked examples.
- 3D printed box generator — the same tool, exporting a printable STL instead of flat panels.
- 3D box generator — the main page, with both laser and print output.