Knowing the size of a cardboard box is essential to you working out your packaging requirements. The dimensions of the boxes we stock are always the internal dimensions in millimeters so you as the customer know how much packing space you have.
However, sometimes you might want to know the volume of a box if you are looking to transport goods that are in packet or powder form, or if you are buying packing peanuts to protect goods, as packing peanuts are sold by volume rather than size or weight. And you can find out the amount you need by working out the volume of the box and the volume of your goods.
Volume is the amount of space, measured in cubic units that a 3D object or material takes up. To work out the volume of a cardboard box we’ll need to calculate the size of the box. For packaging needs, this will be the internal size of the box.
The dimensions of a box are measured using the three main dimensions of length width and height.
The dimensions of a cardboard box are commonly expressed in this format and the format is the one you will find on our website.
So for example, with this single wall box, the size is given as 102mm (length) x 102mm (width) x 102mm (height). This box is square as it has an equal length, width and height.
You can calculate the volume of a box by multiplying length x width x height. Using the example of the single wall box this will be 102 x 102 x 102 which equals 1,061,208 cubic millimeters (㎣).
In metric units volume is usually expressed in millimetres and litres. To convert cubic millimeters to litres you divide the number millimeters by 1000. So again using the example of the square single wall box 1,061,208 / 1000 equals 1061.208 litres.
You can calculate the volume of a pyramid by multiplying the area of the base by the height, multiplied by a ⅓. The volume of a pyramid equals ⅓ (base x height). The area of the base can be calculated by multiplying the length of the base by the width.
Calculating the Volume of a Cylinder
The volume of a cylinder can be found by using the equation V = pi * r^2 * h.
Pi = 3.14, r is the radius and h is the height.
If you need any help on working out what size of cardboard box you need, please check out our very handy guide to cardboard box guide.
If you want to find out what Royal Mail charging band your package falls into take a look at out our guide to Post Office parcel size.
Looking to send your package via DPD? We’ve also produced a guide to DPD Parcel Sizes.
