{"id":14741,"date":"2026-09-15T06:39:37","date_gmt":"2026-09-15T06:39:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bonitopak.com\/?p=14741"},"modified":"2026-09-19T07:07:51","modified_gmt":"2026-09-19T07:07:51","slug":"how-to-design-a-custom-pulp-egg-tray","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bonitopak.com\/ar\/how-to-design-a-custom-pulp-egg-tray\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Design a Custom Pulp Egg Tray: Cell Size, Depth and Wall Thickness"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Leo Chan<\/strong>\u00a0 |\u00a0 Writer, BonitoPak\u00a0 |\u00a0 20+ years in molded pulp packaging<\/p>\n

Custom egg tray design comes down to three numbers: how wide each cell is, how deep it sits, and how thick the wall is. Get those right and the rest of the tray follows. Get them wrong and you have tooling that produces a tray your eggs rattle in or crack in, and tooling doesn’t get adjusted after it’s cut.<\/span><\/p>\n

The good news is that you can settle all three before you talk to a supplier. It starts with your eggs, not with a catalog.<\/span><\/p>\n

Start With the Eggs, Not the Tray<\/strong><\/h2>\n

The most common mistake in this whole process is specifying a count without specifying a grade. A 30-cell tray cut for large eggs won’t seat jumbos, and a jumbo cell leaves medium eggs loose.<\/span><\/p>\n

US egg sizes are set by weight per dozen, not by physical size. These are the USDA weight classes:<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
Weight class<\/span><\/td>\nMinimum net weight per dozen<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Jumbo<\/span><\/td>\n30 oz<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Extra large<\/span><\/td>\n27 oz<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Large<\/span><\/td>\n24 oz<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Medium<\/span><\/td>\n21 oz<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Small<\/span><\/td>\n18 oz<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Peewee<\/span><\/td>\n15 oz<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

Weight tells you roughly what to expect, but it doesn’t give you a cell dimension. For that, measure.<\/span><\/p>\n

How to measure properly:<\/span><\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Take at least 20 to 30 eggs from a normal week of production.<\/span><\/li>\n
  2. Measure the width at the widest point and the length tip to tip.<\/span><\/li>\n
  3. Record the largest width you find, not the average.<\/span><\/li>\n
  4. Repeat for your biggest layers, since flock age changes egg size over a laying cycle.<\/span><\/li>\n
  5. Send a dozen real eggs to your supplier with the specification.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    Design for the largest egg you regularly pack. A cell that comfortably holds your biggest egg still holds a slightly smaller one. The reverse never works.<\/span><\/p>\n

    Spec 1: Cell Size<\/strong><\/h2>\n

    Cell width is the spec that decides whether eggs sit properly. A standard large chicken egg measures roughly 1.75 to 1.87 inches (44 to 47.5 mm) across the widest point, and cells are cut with a small amount of clearance around that.<\/span><\/p>\n

    Getting egg tray cell size wrong fails in two directions:<\/span><\/p>\n