Free laser cut generator
Iris box
Vector: Say how wide the hole should open. I'll draw the petals. Cut: And I'll check they never touch.
A round box with a camera-style iris on top. Turn the top ring and the petals fold open. The pins are plywood too, cut from the same sheet. Everything runs in your browser.
Opening
Material
Fit
Off (default): the petal tips poke out past the rim when the iris is open, like on the classic iris boxes. The box stays compact. On: the petals never leave the outline, but the box gets much wider.
Kerf is built into the file; leave kerf offset off in your laser software.
Sheet
LightBurn file
Your own cut settings, never guessed. Fill speed and power to get a .lbrn2 file; the SVG and DXF need nothing.
- Outside · petal span
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- Height: whole · inside
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- Opens to
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- Sheets
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Petal span: the circle the petals sweep when the iris is open. Leave that much free space around the box.
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Vector: I'M A GENIUS… Your file is ready. Cut: Cut one ring and one petal on scrap first. Real plywood has the last word.
Need something fancier?Ready-made box designs: gift boxes, jewellery boxes and planters, from $2.
How to use it
- Enter the diameter of the hole when the iris is fully open, and how tall the box should be inside.
- Pick your plywood thickness. Kerf, pin size and play are in Advanced settings. Measure your kerf first with the Kerf test and try one petal on scrap before the whole box.
- Download the SVG and open it in LightBurn, xTool Creative Space or the Glowforge app. All lines are red cut lines.
Putting it together
- Glue the pin discs in stacks: three for each finger, two for each axis. They are plain circles from the same plywood.
- Glue the axis pins into the base ring, drop the petals on them, then glue the finger stacks into the holes of the lower lid ring, through the petal slots and the base arcs.
- Glue the top lid ring over the lower one. Do not glue the lid to the petals or the base: it has to turn.
FAQ
Can I sell boxes made from these files?
Yes. Files from this generator are free for personal and commercial use. You can sell the boxes you make.
How many petals does the iris have?
You choose: 3, 4, 5 or 6. Five is the classic iris and gives the smallest box. Six petals make a finer, rounder-looking iris in a slightly wider box. Four petals make a wider box with larger, more curved petals and plenty of wood around the slots. Three petals are the boldest look: the box is the widest, and the petals swing far out over the rim when the iris is open. The hole is round in all four cases.
What are the round notches in the rim of the lid?
The two top rings turn the petals, so you need something to hold. The round notches are for your fingertips: put a finger in one and turn the ring. They sit between the finger pins, so they never weaken the wood around a pin or the opening. If the rings are too narrow for notches on a very small box, they are left out and you will see a note.
Should I set the inside height or the height of the whole box?
Choose what matters to you. Set the inside height when you know how deep the things are, for example a stack of cards. Set the height of the whole box when it has to fit a shelf or a drawer, and the page works out the inside for you. The whole box is the inside plus five layers of plywood: the bottom, the base ring, the petals and the two lid rings. A tall thing can stand inside and poke out through the open iris.
Flat panels or a flexible strip for the wall?
Flat panels make a polygon with 12 to 40 sides: easy to cut and glue, and you can pick how many. The flexible strip is one band (or a few equal ones, if your sheet is small) with rows of slits, so it bends into a true round wall. Its tabs go into curved slots in the bottom and the base ring, and two strips join on a shared tab. Use a pitch of the slits that keeps the ribs strong, and test the bend on a spare strip first.
How does the iris open?
Each petal turns on a pin glued into the base ring. A second pin, glued into the lid ring, runs in a curved slot in the petal. When you turn the top ring, all pins push the petals open together, like the blades in a camera lens.
The petals stick out past the box when it is open. Is that right?
Yes, by default. As on the classic iris boxes, the petal tips swing out over the rim in the free layer between the rings, so the box stays compact: the page shows the outside diameter for your opening. If you want the petals to stay inside the outline, tick "Keep the petals inside the box" in Advanced settings; the box then gets much wider.
Which way do I turn the top ring?
The preview shows it: it turns counter-clockwise, seen from above, to open. The slot in the base ring stops it at the end.
Do I need an account?
No. Everything is calculated in your browser, so your settings are not uploaded. They are remembered only in your own browser, on this device. If you allow statistics cookies, we count downloads (number of petals, size and thickness) to see which sizes people need.
Which format should I choose?
SVG for LightBurn, xTool and Glowforge. DXF for CAD programs and older laser software. The .lbrn2 file for LightBurn comes with your own speed and power once you enter them in Advanced settings.
Should I turn on kerf offset in my laser software?
No. Kerf is already built into the file. Leave kerf offset off in LightBurn, xTool Creative Space or the Glowforge app, or the pins will come out loose. If you untick "Compensate kerf" in Advanced settings, set the offset in your laser software instead.
The petals stick or wobble. What do I change?
Stick: raise the play per side by 0.05 mm, or rub a little candle wax on the petals. Wobble: lower the play. Cut the complete lid mechanism first (no box); the kerf test on this site finds your real kerf.
What if the parts do not fit on one sheet?
The generator adds more sheets. You then get a ZIP with one file per sheet, so each file matches one piece of material.