Living Hinge Generator: Laser Cut SVG Pattern

Set the size of the hinge area and the slit pattern, check the preview and download the SVG.

Last reviewed 29 Oct 2026

Your measurements

Enter the hinge area and the slit pattern. Everything updates as you type.

Hinge area

Width along the bend axis

The slits run along this direction, parallel to the line the hinge bends around.

Height across the bend

The part that flexes. Rows are spaced across this distance.

Pattern

Slit length

Longer slits make a softer hinge. Pieces clipped to under 2 mm at the edge are dropped.

Bridge gap between slits in a row

The uncut gap between two slits. Wider bridges make a stiffer, stronger hinge.

Row spacing

Distance between rows across the bend. Tighter rows bend more easily, but leave thinner strips.

Laser and material

Laser kerf

Only reported, not drawn: the cut lines are centre-lines. It shows how much material is left between the cuts. Measure yours with a test cut.

Material thickness

Advisory only. It does not change the pattern, but thicker material bends less.

Slits51

Slits in the pattern

51slits

= 17 rows, 852 mm of cut line

Rows run along the 60 mm side and are 2.5 mm apart across the 40 mm bend. Every other row is shifted 12 mm so the bridges stagger.

Pitch along a row: 24mm; 20 mm slit + 4 mm bridge
Bridge left after kerf: 3.86mm; 4 mm − 0.14 mm kerf
Between rows after kerf: 2.36mm; 2.5 mm − 0.14 mm kerf
Cut along each row: 83.3%; Slit length ÷ pitch

Preview, not to scale. Red lines are cuts. The blue rectangle is the hinge area, for reference.

Check before you cut

Living hinges depend on the material and its thickness (3 mm here). How far a pattern bends before it cracks changes with both, so test a small piece of scrap first.

What is in the file

Two layers, in millimetres.

Layer	Colour	What it is	What to do
cut-layer	Red	The slits, as centre-lines	Set to cut
outline-layer	Blue	The hinge area, for reference	Delete it, or set it to score

The file is 62 × 42 mm: the hinge area plus a 1 mm border. Import it into LightBurn, xTool Creative Space, Glowforge or Inkscape, check that the size reads correctly, and fit the pattern into your own part outline.

How this was calculated

Pitch, rows, stagger and kerf, with your numbers.

Step 1: Pitch along a row
slit length + bridge gap
= 20 + 4
= 24 mm
The distance from the start of one slit to the start of the next in the same row.
Step 2: Number of rows
floor(height ÷ row spacing) + 1
= floor(40 ÷ 2.5) + 1
= 17 rows
Row 0 sits on the first edge of the hinge area and each row after it is one row spacing further across the bend.
Step 3: Stagger the rows
odd rows start half a pitch later
= 24 ÷ 2
= 12 mm shift
Even rows start at the edge. Odd rows are shifted by half a pitch, so each bridge sits between two slits in the next row. Slits are clipped to the area width, and a clipped piece under 2 mm is dropped.
Step 4: Slits in the file
even rows × slits per even row + odd rows × slits per odd row
= 9 × 3 + 8 × 3
= 51 slits, 852 mm of cut line
The 60 mm wide area is cut along the bend axis. The lines are centre-lines, so the laser will burn about 0.14 mm either side of each one.
Step 5: Material left after the kerf
bridge gap − kerf, and row spacing − kerf
= 4 − 0.14, 2.5 − 0.14
= 3.86 mm bridge, 2.36 mm between rows
These are the strips that actually hold the hinge together once the laser has burned its kerf. Very thin strips break, so test on scrap.

In short

Pitch = slit length + bridge gap, and rows = floor(height ÷ row spacing) + 1. A 60 × 40 mm area with 20 mm slits, 4 mm bridges and 2.5 mm row spacing has 17 rows and 51 slits, with every other row shifted 12 mm.

Living hinges depend on the material and its thickness, so test the pattern on scrap before you cut the real part.

How the pattern changes the hinge

A qualitative guide. How far a given pattern bends before it breaks depends on the material and its thickness, so these are directions to try, not numbers.

Change	Effect on the hinge	What to watch
Longer slits	More flexible	Long cuts leave less material to hold the shape, so the hinge can twist or sag
Shorter slits	Stiffer	Needs more force to bend, and bends over a larger radius
Tighter row spacing	More flexible	Thin strips between rows can crack
Wider row spacing	Stiffer	Stronger strips, but a harder bend
Narrower bridges	More flexible	Bridges can tear when the hinge bends
Wider bridges	Stiffer	Stronger along the hinge
Thicker material	Bends less	The same pattern is stiffer, and may crack sooner

Worked example: 60 × 40 mm hinge area

20 mm slits, 4 mm bridges and 2.5 mm row spacing, with a 0.14 mm kerf.

Step 1: Pitch along a row
slit length + bridge gap
= 20 + 4
= 24 mm
The distance from the start of one slit to the start of the next in the same row.
Step 2: Number of rows
floor(height ÷ row spacing) + 1
= floor(40 ÷ 2.5) + 1
= 17 rows
Row 0 sits on the first edge of the hinge area and each row after it is one row spacing further across the bend.
Step 3: Stagger the rows
odd rows start half a pitch later
= 24 ÷ 2
= 12 mm shift
Even rows start at the edge. Odd rows are shifted by half a pitch, so each bridge sits between two slits in the next row. Slits are clipped to the area width, and a clipped piece under 2 mm is dropped.
Step 4: Slits in the file
even rows × slits per even row + odd rows × slits per odd row
= 9 × 3 + 8 × 3
= 51 slits, 852 mm of cut line
The 60 mm wide area is cut along the bend axis. The lines are centre-lines, so the laser will burn about 0.14 mm either side of each one.
Step 5: Material left after the kerf
bridge gap − kerf, and row spacing − kerf
= 4 − 0.14, 2.5 − 0.14
= 3.86 mm bridge, 2.36 mm between rows
These are the strips that actually hold the hinge together once the laser has burned its kerf. Very thin strips break, so test on scrap.

Before you cut

Cut a small test piece in the same material and thickness. Bend it slowly, a little further each time, and look for cracks.
In wood, the grain direction affects how the hinge bends, so if a test piece cracks, try turning the pattern against the grain.
The red lines are cuts. The blue rectangle is only a reference outline for the hinge area: delete it or set it to score.
The pattern is a flat rectangle. Place it in your own design so the slits run along the line the part will bend around.

Living hinges: common questions

Pattern, stagger and kerf.

What is a living hinge?

It is a flexible section cut into a rigid sheet, usually with rows of short slits. The material left between the slits bends instead of the whole sheet, so a flat piece of wood or plastic can curve. The slits run parallel to the line the hinge bends around.

How do slit length, bridge gap and row spacing change the hinge?

Longer slits and tighter rows make a softer hinge that bends more easily. Shorter slits, wider bridges and wider row spacing make it stiffer and stronger. Thin strips and narrow bridges can break when the hinge bends, so there is a trade-off. Thicker material bends less with the same pattern.

Why are the rows offset from each other?

Every other row is shifted by half a pitch, where the pitch is the slit length plus the bridge gap. That puts each bridge between two slits in the next row, so the bending is spread out and there is no solid line of bridges running across the hinge.

Does the laser kerf change the pattern?

The file uses centre-lines and does not compensate for kerf. The laser burns away about half the kerf on each side of every line, so the strips left between the cuts are thinner than the numbers you enter. The tool reports the bridge and row strip left after the kerf. Enter your own measured kerf from a test cut.