BinDrake

Who am I?

Photo of Onur Gumus

Hi, I’m Onur Gumus. I live in Oslo, Norway and I work as a software developer at Microsoft .

You can find me on LinkedIn: Onur Gumus .

This is a personal project that I created on my own. It is not affiliated with Microsoft in any way.

I made BinDrake for my wife who runs a logistic company, but I realized that it could be useful for many other people. So I decided to share it with the world.

If you need custom API solutions or have any questions or feedback, feel free to contact me at onur@bindrake.com

  • How to Use?
    1. Start by entering the dimensions of the container. You can leave the weight field as 0 or enter another number to specify the maximum weight. container dimensions

      In addition you can choose a unit like cm or m or ft. You can't mix metric and imperial units.

    2. Next, enter the dimensions of the item you want to place in the container. Leave the weight field as zero. You can also choose a unit as above. item dimensions

      If you decide to enter the weight, make sure it represents the weight of a single individual item for a quantity of 1 only.

    3. The color field can be left as the default. However, if you have multiple items, you can choose a distinct color for differentiation. If you check the ⬆ icon, the height of the item will be preserved during the arrangement process.

      Observe the difference when the ⬆ icon is checked versus unchecked, especially in Bottom to Top mode:

      tilt on tilt off
    4. For heavy items, you may consider checking the ⬇ icon to ensure that the item touches the ground when placed in the container.

      In the images below, the blue boxes will touch the ground, while the placement of other items may or may not achieve this. Keep in mind that selecting this option may prevent an item from fitting, even if there appears to be space available.

      touch ground touch ground canvas
    5. If you uncheck the 📚 icon, it means that no other item can be stacked on top of the one you're configuring. In the provided example, the green items are not allowed to be placed on top of the blue items, resulting in a different stacking arrangement.
      unstacked unstacked canvas
    6. You can add or remove different items using the + and - buttons.
      plus minus
    7. If you anticipate that the items won't fit into a single container, you can enable Multi-Container mode. This allows you to navigate between different containers using the Next Container and Previous Container buttons.
      multi container
    8. You can also select the Load Mode. If you choose Back to Front, all items will be squeezed to the back edge of the container, maximizing the length. If you choose Bottom to Top, the items will be placed from the bottom to the top, maximizing the available height. In general, the Back to Front mode is preferred for optimal arrangement.

      Here's a visual comparison of the Back to Front mode versus the Bottom to Top mode:

      back to front bottom to top
    9. Once you have entered all the necessary information, click on the "Calculate" button. The application will determine if all the items can be successfully fitted in the container. If they fit, you will see a message indicating that all items fit. If they don't fit, the application will display the unfit items along with the maximum length, width, and height of the container needed to accommodate them.
      Unfit items
    10. After the calculation, you can zoom in and rotate the container using the canvas view. Additionally, you can use the filter tool to inspect and view the contents of the container more closely.
      Canvas zoom
  • What is BinDrake?

    Imagine that you have some boxes and you need to fit them into a larger box or a container. BinDrake helps you find the best way to arrange the boxes inside the container, based on the dimensions you provide.

  • How does BinDrake work?

    BinDrake uses a smart algorithm that tries different combinations of box placements and picks the one that uses the least space. This algorithm has some randomness, so you might get different results for the same input.

  • Is BinDrake free?

    You need a subscription to use BinDrake. You can try it for free for 7 days. Subscriptions are monthly and you can cancel anytime.

  • Can I use decimals?

    You can use decimals with up to 2 digits for length, width, height, weight. The values should be between 1 and 20000 for length, width, height and between 0 and 200000 for weight.

  • I want to have extra space in the container.

    You can use extra treshold and space setting in container. Then you can see the extra space in the container and calculation will be done with this extra space.

    Extra space
  • Do I have to enter weight?

    No, weight is optional. You can leave it 0 if you don’t need it.

  • What do these icons 🎨,⬆,⬇,📚 mean?
    • 🎨: This icon lets you change the color of the item. Just click on it and pick a color.
    • ⬆: This icon locks the item in an upright position and prevents it from tilting. Check it if you want to keep the item straight.
    • ⬇: This icon ensures that the item touches the base of the container. Use it for heavier items that need more stability.
    • 📚: This icon indicates that the item is stackable and you can put something on top of it. Note that some items that are not stackable can still be placed on top of other items. If you want to avoid this, check both ⬇ and 📚 icons.
  • What are h_filter and v_filter?

    h_filter and v_filter are tools that help you see through the boxes in the container. h_filter removes the front wall of the container and shows you what’s behind it. v_filter removes the top lid of the container and shows you what’s inside it.

  • What is Container mode?

    Container mode lets you choose how many containers you want to use for your cargo. If you think your cargo will fit into one container, choose Single. If you think you will need more than one container, choose Multiple.

  • What is Priority

    Priority lets you choose how to prioritize the items in the container. It is a number between 1 and 100 and the higher number means higher priority. For example, if you have 2 items with priority 1 and 2 items with priority 2, the items with priority 2 will be placed in the container first. Priority can also be combined with Stack different priority option. If you disallow it, items with different priorities will not be stacked on top of each other.

  • What is Stack different priority?

    If you select disallow, items with different priorities will be placed in the container separately. If you select allow, items with different priorities can be stacked on top of each other. Let's say you want to stack some items on top of each other at the back of the container. You can do that by giving them the same priority and Disallowing the Stack different priority option.

  • What is Load mode?

    Load mode lets you choose how to fill the container with your boxes. Back to Front mode pushes the boxes to the back side of the container and leaves more space on the left side. Bottom To Top mode fills the container from the bottom up and leaves more space on the top.

  • What is Quantity mode?

    For example, you might want to know how many boxes of a certain size can fit into the container. Fill Container option in Quantity mode lets you do that.

  • Can I save or share my results?

    Yes, you can save or share your results easily. After each calculation, you will see that the address bar changes. You can copy the URL from there or click on the Copy Result URL button. You can bookmark the page or send the link to someone else. They can view your results for free, but they have to register and log in first, which is also free.

  • Who are you?

    Want to know more about me? Click here

How to use