Manufacturing-Ready Dunnage Geometry, From Hours To Seconds
Generating CAD geometry for dunnage has always been tedious: you export the packed parts, import them into CAD software, and then design the dunnage around them by hand, often hours of work. Pack Studio does it in a few clicks, producing manufacturing-ready die-cut foam and foam insert CAD models straight from the pack.
Foam dunnage protects and positions parts inside their shipping container, whether a returnable rack or a one-way carton. It takes two common forms: a die-cut tray, a single foam block with a pocket for each part, or foam inserts that separate stacked rows. Either way, the foam has to be manufactured to match the exact packed layout, which traditionally meant an engineer rebuilding the arrangement in CAD and modeling the foam around it by hand.
Pack Studio removes that step: once your parts are packed, it generates the foam geometry into a 2D DXF die-line for the cutter and a 3D STEP solid for your supplier, both from the same verified layout. Here's how it works, and why the output is ready to manufacture.
Traced from the real part geometry and packing
Two things have to be exactly right for foam to hold a part: the shape of each cavity, and where it sits. Pack Studio takes both straight from the source. Every tray pocket is traced from the part's true geometry, so a concave feature like the neck between a bolt head and its shaft stays accurate instead of being redrawn by hand, where the part may not fit in. And every pocket is placed at the exact position and orientation Pack Studio already chose, so the foam matches the arrangement you already reviewed and costed rather than a layout redrawn by hand.
Foam inserts are generated the same way. Each insert is a die-cut strip whose profile is cut to the actual parts in the row it supports, at their packed positions. And Pack Studio ensures each part can be properly dropped in at the correct angle, so none get trapped in the foam. Different shape of dunnage, same principle: the cut follows the real parts and the real pack.
Both outputs export in industry-standard formats; the cut line as DXF for any die, waterjet, laser, or CNC-router shop, and the dunnage as STEP for any CAD system.
Configurable dunnage parameters
Pack Studio supports dunnage parameters such as Part Foam Clearance, Base Height, and Border Margin, and their function is to control how the foam fits and protects the parts: Part Foam Clearance sets how far each pocket is offset outward so parts seat and release cleanly, Base Height sets the solid foam floor beneath the pockets, and Border Margin sets the spacing between the pockets and the edge of the block. And because the dunnage regenerates in seconds, you can dial these up or down and watch the geometry update live.
Smooth, editable cut paths
Pack Studio produces a clean outline parameterized by a small set of line segments and circular arcs. Each outline is fit accurately to the part, so a rounded rectangle comes out as exactly four lines and four arcs - geometry a shop can measure and modify.
A CAD solid everyone can open
The STEP is built with an industry-standard CAD kernel, so the output is a native solid, with editable faces and edges, not a collection of triangles. Round pockets come out as exact cylindrical walls, built from the same fitted arcs as the die-line, this ensures it imports cleanly into CAD kernels rather than throwing errors. Foam inserts are built by extruding each cut profile into a solid strip, ready to open in any CAD tool.
