March 22, 2026
Description
The Cornell Box is a test model that is used in 3D rendering to test / show off indirect illumination (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cornell_box). The digital version is the most famous one but it was actually originally a real physical object used as a reference. This 3D printable version might not be accurate enough to be used to create reference images, but it is at least a fun desk toy :)
The panels are joined with a sinusoidal friction joint. I have included a test print to check if it snaps correctly on your printer. I used 2 walls and 6 top layers (0.2 mm layer height) for the print in the photo, and as you can see it is not really enough to block the light entirely, so you probably want to make it thicker. I printed the light diffuser in transparent PLA, but it could probably also work in white if you make it thinner.
Here is the data I used to create the model https://bowers.cornell.edu/computer-graphics/data . I was not perfectly square so I tweaked it a little bit. You can check and customize the CAD at https://cad.onshape.com/documents/d21b86f501e0c819e2f7f6b2/w/27e1ce67089098def775a47a/e/3e868cf0c7fdf99572cdec01?renderMode=0&uiState=69c01de83440e9d3e39b27d2
License:
Open Community License v1