Building a slanted parts-bin tray

Difficulty: easy. Time: 15 minutes design, 35 minutes making. Best method: laser-cut plywood.

A parts-bin tray is the workshop classic: a row of slanted, open-front bins you can scoop hardware out of without lifting the tray. This generator builds a finger-jointed body with a tall back, a low front lip, and trapezoid sides that slope between them, then splits it across the width into bins with dividers that slot into the floor and follow the same slanted profile. Set the number of bins and the dividers space themselves evenly. The Assembled 3D tab shows the bins seated so you can size them before cutting.

Open the Bin Tray Generator

What You'll Need

Laser cutting: 3 to 6 mm plywood or MDF. Measure the actual sheet thickness with calipers before setting the tool.
3D printing: any rigid filament. 3 to 5 mm panels give the floor slots and joints enough strength.
Glue: PVA wood glue and a few clamps or elastic bands.
Finishing: light sandpaper for the joint tabs before assembly.

Step 1 - Footprint and heights

Width and Depth are the outside footprint. Back height sets the tall rear wall and Front height the low front lip; the difference is the forward slope on the sides and dividers. Thickness must match your sheet, because every finger joint and floor slot is derived from it.

Step 2 - The bins

Bins sets how many side-by-side sections the tray is split into. A value of 3 places two dividers into the floor, spaced evenly across the width.
The dividers share the slanted trapezoid profile of the side walls, so every bin opens toward the low front.
Finger width controls the joint tab size on the tray walls.
The front height is automatically kept below the back height so the slope always tips forward.

Step 3 - Check the assembly

Switch to the Assembled 3D tab and confirm each bin is wide enough for what it will hold and the front lip is low enough to reach in. The flat SVG view shows the body panels and every divider laid out for cutting.

Choose Your Build Method

Before you cut

Measure your sheet with calipers and set Thickness to what you measured, so the floor slots grip the dividers.
Run a joint test on the floor and one divider first, and check the divider seats upright in its slot.
Cut the floor slots before the outlines where your software lets you, so panels do not shift once free.

Glue up

Glue the back, front, and two sloped sides to the floor and check the back panel is square.
Slot the dividers into the floor once the shell is set, keeping them square to the front.
Clamp gently and let the glue cure before loading parts.