Carton Packing Optimizer — Free Box Size & Pallet Load Calculator

1 · Prism SKUs

Dimensions are the prism's width × height × depth in millimeters. Annual usage is the number of units shipped per year — it weights the optimization, so the highest-volume SKUs get packed most efficiently. Set per carton to lock a SKU to an exact count per carton (it must split evenly across an enabled packing orientation); leave it blank and the optimizer chooses. The three highest-volume SKUs are shown in bold here and throughout the results.

Name	Width (mm)	Height (mm)	Depth (mm)	Annual usage	Per carton (optional)

2 · Axis mapping

How each prism dimension lines up with the erected carton. Prisms accumulate ("stack") along the minor-flap dimension. Changing one assignment swaps with the axis that held it.

Carton major flaps (L)Carton depth (D, vertical)Carton minor flaps (W) — stacking axis

Packing orientations

Column layouts the optimizer may use inside a carton, viewed on the L × D face. The flaps are drawn open at the top — the opening the prisms load through.

1 column2 along carton depth × 1 along major flap2 along major flap × 1 along carton depthoff by default2 along major flap × 2 along carton depth

3 · Cartons

Goal number of carton SKUsThe simulation also runs ±5 SKUs around this goal.Max single side length (mm)Cap on every outer carton dimension.Minimum prisms per cartonEvery SKU must fit at least this many in its carton — keeps the optimizer from producing impractically small cartons. A per-SKU per-carton count overrides this for that SKU.

Loading allowances

Total extra space added to each inner carton dimension so the prisms push in and pull out easily. The teal bands show where each allowance lands.

Major flap, L (mm)Minor flap, W (mm)Depth, D (mm)

inner L = columns × prism L + 20mm · inner W = stack count × prism W + 10mm · inner D = tiers × prism D + 10mm

Carton wall thickness (mm)Outer = inner + 2× wall on L and W, + 4× wall on depth (two flap plies top and bottom).

4 · Pallet

Pallet size

Length (mm)Width (mm)Max stack height (mm)Cartons + pads above the deck.

Overhang, length side (mm)Per side.Overhang, width side (mm)Per side.

Flutes orthogonal to groundChecked: cartons always sit upright. Unchecked: cartons may also lie with the depth × major-flap plane on the pallet.

Freight

Turns pallets per year into an annual freight cost. Display only — it does not change the packing.

Pallets per trailerShipping cost per trailer$

Pallet pads

5 · Optimize

ObjectiveAdds up the pallet positions a year of volume needs — each SKU’s annual usage ÷ its units per pallet — and makes that total as small as possible. Choose this when floor space, racking, or trailer cube is the real cost: high-volume SKUs steer the carton dimensions in exact proportion to the space they consume, and low-volume SKUs are allowed a looser fit if it saves pallets overall.

Compare all three objectives

Minimize total pallets per year (selected). Adds up the pallet positions a year of volume needs — each SKU’s annual usage ÷ its units per pallet — and makes that total as small as possible. Choose this when floor space, racking, or trailer cube is the real cost: high-volume SKUs steer the carton dimensions in exact proportion to the space they consume, and low-volume SKUs are allowed a looser fit if it saves pallets overall.
Maximize weighted units per pallet. Maximizes the average units-per-pallet across SKUs, weighted by annual usage. It pushes your highest-volume SKUs toward the densest possible packing, but physically small SKUs (which naturally fit more per pallet) pull on the average harder than they do on the pallet-count objective — pick this when the number on the pallet sheet is the metric you report.
Maximize weighted efficiency vs. ideal. Scores each SKU as a percentage of the best it could achieve in its own perfectly sized dedicated carton (100% = nothing lost by sharing), then maximizes the usage-weighted average. Size-neutral: a small or low-volume SKU counts the same per point of efficiency as a large one, so nothing in the catalog gets a badly compromised fit — sometimes at the cost of a few more total pallets.

No SKU mixing: a carton is always packed with a single prism SKU, and each prism SKU is assigned to exactly one carton SKU. Cartons may be turned 90° on the pallet, and orientations may be mixed.