Etymology Originally in reference to the hollow-tube frames used as cases or mounting in various machines but now usually understood in reference to factory packaging and default standards.
...the standards F 0, to support the jointing devices, consisting in the combination of the cutter-heads supported by adjustable box standards Y, having sliding bearings in the bars V f.1884 June, Manufacturer & Builder, page 127:
Box standard or boxed standard, the standard, or main framework, of a machine or engine, which is hollowed internally to obtain the maximum of strength with the minimum of material.1888, Lockwood's Dictionary of Mechanical Engineering, page 45:
box standard
adj
Etymology Originally in reference to the hollow-tube frames used as cases or mounting in various machines but now usually understood in reference to factory packaging and default standards.
1
Hobbies, Lifestyle, MotorcyclingUK, Colloquial, Used especially in automotive Synonym of standard, especially with connotations of plainness and lack of modification.