packaging

Packaging in a model node is two steps: Box makes the flat die-cut sheet, Fold folds it into a carton in 3D. You never draw the dieline. You pick a construction, type the inside size and the board, and the flaps, bleed and safe lines are generated.

start a box

Open the mode picker and choose Packaging. It has two modes:

mode	what it shows
Dieline	the flat die-cut sheet and its artwork, print side up
Fold & fit	the folded carton, with the product inside

On an empty model, Start a packaging box (in Fold & fit) or the New packaging card (in Dieline) offers the styles. Pick one and you get a manufacturable dieline, the folded carton and the print files at once.

styles

style	construction
Tuck end	ECMA A20.20. Tuck flaps top and bottom, with a reverse or straight tuck. Can have a window.
Auto-lock bottom	ECMA A60.20. A crash-lock bottom that snaps shut, a tuck top. For heavier products. Can have a window.
Mailer	FEFCO 0427. Roll-end tuck-front, doubled walls and locking ears.
Lid & base	A tray base and a shallower lid that slips over it.
Sleeve	An open-ended printed tube over a tray, with thumb notches.
Tray	Glue-free, every wall doubled, ends locked into floor slots.
Insert	A die-cut platform for a tray, with product cut-outs.

size, board and window

The Packaging panel is one form. Width, Depth and Height are the inside size, what the product needs. A button, Make width / depth / height parameters, turns them into model parameters, so one number change resizes every piece that uses it.

Board has a Material: SBS 0.45 mm, FBB 0.5 mm, kraft 0.6 mm, E-flute 1.5 mm, B-flute 3 mm, or a custom caliper. Use E-flute or thicker for anything over about 500 g. The board's thickness is compensated in the creases. Grain should run with the body creases.

Tuck end and auto-lock cartons take up to 4 Add window cut-outs, each with panel, size, corner radius (3 mm or more or the corners tear), offsets, and a film overlap of 6 to 10 mm. With Wrap — keep board around them, a graphic that crosses the window edge keeps its board.

The Construction section holds glue flap, tuck length, dust flap, lid clearance, Bleed (3 mm standard) and Safe area.

the checks

The panel's Checks list and the folds clean badge in the Dieline view read the same rules. Each rule below is flagged; the ones that mean the carton cannot be made or cannot fold are errors:

• tuck flap between 10 mm and half the height
• glue flap 12 to 18 mm
• grain parallel to the body creases
• tuck-end on flute board suggests a mailer
• the glue seam and lids must meet once folded
• no two panels may collide in the closed carton

Fix the number, and the badge turns.

read the dieline

In Dieline a legend at the bottom left names every line: Cut, Crease, Perforation, Cut-crease, Glue (no ink / varnish), Window film patch, Bleed, Safe area. The sheet size shows at the top, in millimetres.

fold and fit

In Fold & fit, the dock at the foot plays the fold stage by stage, one labelled chip per stage. Press <kbd>Space</kbd> to play or pause. The Fold panel has two sliders: Folded (100% is closed, and is what the render and GLB show) and Explode, which pulls stacked flaps apart. Play fold replays it. A numbered fold sequence is listed beneath.

several pieces in one pack

A sleeve with a tray and an insert is three pieces: a Box and Fold pair for each, since each is its own die and board. Wire a fold to the carton it goes into and it is centred on that host, stands on its floor, and gets a fit check: an error if it does not fit, a warning past 3 mm per side. Size each piece from the one it sits in: the insert's footprint is the tray's inside less about 2 mm, and the sleeve's inside is the tray's outside plus about 1 mm.

The UVB lamp use case packs a lamp this way: sleeve, kraft tray, and a cradle with a cord well, with the lamp's own model sitting in the tray so you judge the fit by eye.

put the product in

Reference the product's model from another node (the references chip row on the model node, +, From this canvas). Place it on the carton's floor. Fold & fit draws it beside the carton. Then check for collisions.

artwork

There are two ways:

• Per-panel graphics: the Graphics section places images, text, marks, sparkles and barcodes on panels, as fractions of the panel. They re-flow when you resize the box. Lids read from the front.
• One flat sheet: Template SVG or Template PDF gives you the dieline at exact bounds, including bleed. Design over it, then Upload artwork (PNG, JPEG or WebP) or paste an image link and press <kbd>Enter</kbd>. The panel shows the pixel size you need at 300 dpi.

A picture of the packed product is not artwork: the flat print sheet is.

export

export	what you get
Print PDF	spot-colour Cut, Crease, Perf and Glue lines on a Dieline layer, with your artwork underneath
Die cut file	DXF with CUT, CREASE and PERF layers
SVG, PNG	the flat sheet
GLB	the folded carton

A model with several pieces can declare one PDF and one DXF per piece.

limits & good to know

• Windows: up to 4 per carton · insert cut-outs: up to 12.
• Boards run from 0.45 mm to 3 mm, plus a custom caliper.
• The Dieline legend reads print side up.
• Dimensions are inside sizes. Width on a sleeve is the length along the tube.

related

• electronics: the board the box protects
• assembly and motion: fold a carton in an animation
• variants and checks
• ixi figures use case