Display Case Builder
Acrylic Display Case & Base Calculator
Enter your figure's inner clearance and sheet thickness. Get an exact, ready-to-cut panel list — instantly, as you type.
Full Case: 4 walls, top & bottom — a complete dust-proof enclosure.
Advanced: Laser Kerf Compensation
Leave at 0 for hardware-store pre-cut acrylic — the store cuts to the size you give them. If you're laser cutting it yourself, enter your machine's kerf (commonly ~0.003"/0.1mm for CO2, a bit more for diode lasers) so the finished panel lands on the exact size instead of slightly small.
Enter dimensions and a thickness greater than 0 to see your cut list.
Your Cut List
| Panel | Qty | Cut Size (W × H) |
|---|
Stock size fits your single largest panel. Nesting the full list may still take 1–2 sheets depending on your supplier's offcuts.
3D Preview
Drag to rotate · updates live with your measurements
Acrylic Display Case Calculator — Full Guide & FAQ
Here's what the tool above actually does, the math running underneath it, and where its limits are — so you know exactly what you're cutting before you touch a sheet of acrylic.
1. What Can You Do With It?
This calculator turns three numbers — width, depth, and height — into a complete, ready-to-cut panel list for a custom acrylic display case or base. Instead of guessing at overlap and ending up with a lid that won't sit flush, you get:
- Exact cut dimensions for every panel, already adjusted for your sheet thickness
- Four build styles — full enclosed case, open-top tray, cover-only dust hood, or a flat base with no walls at all
- A live, rotating 3D preview so you can sanity-check proportions before anything gets cut
- A one-tap copy of the finished list to hand to a hardware store or paste straight into laser-cutting software
2. How To Use It
- Pick your case style and units. Choose Full Case, Open Top, Cover Only, or Base Only, then set Inches or Millimeters to match how your supplier quotes material.
- Enter your clearance and sheet thickness. Type in the inner width, depth, and height you want around the figure, then choose your acrylic thickness from the dropdown — or enter a custom value if yours isn't listed.
- Read, rotate, and copy. The cut list, finished outer size, and total material update as you type. Drag the 3D preview to check it from any angle, then tap Copy Cut List when you're ready to order or cut.
3. How It Works
A box built from flat sheet needs six panels cut to two or three different sizes — never one. The calculator splits the six panels into three roles: Front & Back wrap around and capture the ends of Left & Right, so they're cut to your full width plus twice the sheet thickness. Left & Right sit snugly in between, so they need no addition at all. Top & Bottom cap the whole assembly, so they pick up that same two-thickness allowance in both directions at once.
| Panel | Qty | Cut size |
|---|---|---|
| Top & Bottom | 2 | (W + 2t) × (D + 2t) |
| Front & Back | 2 | (W + 2t) × H |
| Left & Right | 2 | D × H |
W, D, and H are your inner width, depth, and height; t is your sheet thickness. Base Only style skips this whole system — it's just one flat panel sized to W × D, since there's nothing for it to wrap around or get capped by.
4. Example
Here's the tool's own default setup, on Full Case style, worked out end to end:
- Input: 10" wide × 10" deep × 15" tall (inner space), 1/8" (0.125") acrylic
- Top & Bottom (×2): 10.25" × 10.25"
- Front & Back (×2): 10.25" × 15"
- Left & Right (×2): 10" × 15"
- Finished outer size: 10.25" × 10.25" × 15.25"
- Total material: about 817.6 in² (roughly 5.7 ft²), largest single panel fits a standard 12" × 24" sheet
Switch that same 10" × 10" footprint to Base Only, and the entire list collapses to one flat 10" × 10" panel — no thickness added, since there's no wall for it to support.
5. Limitations
No calculator can see your actual sheet of acrylic, so it's worth knowing where this one draws the line:
- It assumes simple butt-joint construction — panels glued edge to edge — not rabbeted, dado, or finger-jointed corners.
- "Suggested Stock Sheet" checks only your single largest panel against common sheet sizes. It doesn't nest all six panels together, so that exact sheet may still leave you a piece short depending on your supplier's offcuts.
- Kerf compensation adds one flat number to every panel. Real laser kerf shifts slightly with material batch, power, and cutting speed, so treat it as a starting point, not a guarantee.
- It only builds rectangular boxes — no angled fronts, rounded corners, or multi-sided cases.
- It doesn't estimate cost, since acrylic pricing varies too much by region and supplier to be meaningful here.
6. Privacy & Data Handling
Every calculation runs directly in your browser — the numbers you type never leave your device. There's no server call, no account, no analytics built into the tool itself, and nothing is saved once you refresh the page. Tapping Copy Cut List sends that text straight to your device's clipboard and nowhere else. This page may still carry its own general cookies or ad-related scripts as part of the wider site — that's covered by this site's own privacy policy, separately from the calculator's code.
7. Frequently Asked Questions
What acrylic thickness should I pick?
For panel edges under about 8", 1/8" holds its shape fine. Past 12"–16" on any single edge, step up to 3/16" or 1/4" so the wall doesn't bow inward over time.
What's the difference between Open Top and Cover Only?
Open Top gives you a bottom plus four walls with no lid — good for a riser, or a case that'll get a separate dome later. Cover Only skips the bottom instead, for slipping a dust hood over a figure that already sits on its own base.
Why are my Top & Bottom panels bigger than the width and depth I typed in?
Because they cap the whole assembly from outside and need to cover the wall thickness on every edge — so each dimension picks up two times your sheet thickness.
Does the kerf field matter if I'm buying pre-cut acrylic from a hardware store?
Not really — leave it at 0. The store cuts to the exact number you hand them. Kerf only matters once you're running the file through a laser yourself.
What glue actually works on acrylic?
A thin-bodied solvent cement (Weld-On 3 or 4 is the standard) wicks into a snug seam by capillary action and fuses both faces almost invisibly. Regular super glue reacts badly with acrylic and leaves a cloudy line, so it's worth avoiding here specifically.
Can I use this for things other than PVC figures?
Yes — the math doesn't know or care what's inside the box. Coins, resin statues, model kits, trophies, anything that needs a snug acrylic enclosure works the same way.
8. Related Tools
- Diorama Base & Riser Size Calculator — sizing multi-tier risers instead of a single box
- Shipping Box & Packing Calculator for Figures — safe box and padding sizing for shipping a finished piece
- Acrylic Sheet Material Estimator — rough material needs across common thicknesses and stock sheet sizes
- Figure Scale Reference Chart — quick side-by-side comparisons across 1/4, 1/6, 1/7, and Nendoroid-size figures
Check back on this page as these go live, or bookmark it if you end up building more than one case.