Why Dado Cutting Was Not Previously Included

One reason dado cutting was not previously included in SketchList 3D is that we had thought joinery only affects board edges and not surfaces. However, we realized that dado cutting is an important joinery type that affects board surfaces. Additionally, we already had most of what we needed to create dados; we just needed to allow the hole to continue off the edges of the board.

How to Cut Dados in SketchList 3D

To cut a dado in SketchList 3D, simply select the surface of a board and click on “non-round holes.” Locate the dado from the bottom-left (like all else in SketchList 3D), enter the width, height, and depth of the cut, and you’re all set. You can switch the values to cut the dado in the vertical direction as well. Make sure to name your dado and provide notes if you like.

Using Dados in Furniture Design

Dado cutting is an essential technique in furniture design and cabinet making. Adding this capability to SketchList 3D allows users to create more detailed and precise designs. With photo-realistic 3D images, you can show clients the care you take with the details of their projects.

In summary

Overall, adding dado cutting to SketchList 3D expands the software’s capabilities and allows users to create more detailed and precise designs. Whether you’re a professional woodworker or a hobbyist, SketchList 3D is a great tool for designing and visualizing your woodworking projects.

The post Enabling Cutting Dado on Surfaces appeared first on SketchList3D.

A survey asked several thousand shop owners to comment on their experiences and problems they faced selling and delivering jobs and what they wanted from their design software.

We asked workshop owners to rank problems they felt they faced  in their businesses.

The most useful benefit of cabinet design software in the shop and office was an accurate and organized set of reports.  SketchList 3D provides a set of reports that are integrated across the sales – production – delivery process.

Respondents were asked to rank typical woodworking reports – cut list, shop drawings, layout diagrams,and  3D renderings – as very important, important, or unimportant.

The results with user comments follow.

1. Cut list [69% very important.]

• “Time is important to be able to pass on work for construction.”
• “[The] drawing program used now does not generate cut lists…wasted time, extra step”
• “Like materials layouts, cut lists are necessary but time consuming.”
• “The cut list is the main advantage of having a furniture design software. It allows me to buy the materials cut just how I need.

2. Shop drawings [65% very important.]

• “Again, this a necessary but time consuming part of projects.”
• “On small projects, not a huge issue but for larger ones this can be a real problem”
• “It’s a must have.”
• “most important to get these done asap”
• “Usually have to draw project twice, one for customer, one for shop”

3. Optimal material layout [55% very important.]

• “Can do it manually, but adjustments take time and still may not be the most efficient”
• “Important for material cost”
• “Optimizing materials layouts by hand can take far too long.’

4. Cost of materials [30% very important.]

• “I find accurate costing determine profit and loss”
• “Sometimes guess work used to estimate materials to be used”
• “[You need] realistic bids in competitive market.”

5. Rendering of 3D images [23% very important.]

• “Customers often need to see something in 3D before ordering.”
• “It is difficult to get a mental picture of the furniture without images how will the finished product, both for me and for which requested the cabinet. “
• “People relate to pictures much more easily than to just numbers.”
• “Much easier to explain a concept with pictures rather than several thousand words.”

Learning New Software

A concern expressed by respondents was the time required to learn a new software package.  At the same time they acknowledge there is always a learning curve.

One respondent said:

“If the software.e delivers the results I need I’ll invest my time in learning.  It will take more work in the beginning and I’ll add-on to my knowledge of the product over time. But as I increase my skills I will be productive on a day-to-day basis. This will help my business.”

Remember the saying ‘Don’t let perfect be the enemy of better’.  You need not know every aspect of every feature in the product.  The features you need to know are only those you use in your designs.  If for example you use pocket screws for assembling, you need not learn how SketchList 3D adds a mortise.

Focus on learning the most-used features first and become productive in a shorter period of time.   That will give you a working base of knowledge that you can build on as you go along.

Three factors influence how long it will take to become productive.

1.   What is your goal for your design software?
2.  How much detail does your design require?
3.  Can you use components from your library in your design?

Goals:  Experience shows us that having a goal helps focus learning.

Goals might include:

• Creating high quality 3D images to show prospects.
• Generating cut lists
• Making shop drawings
• Brainstorming and exploring design ideas
• Creating a floor layout for a room
• Layout out parts on sheet goods to minimize waste
• Creating parts files to export to your CNC process
• Creating a portfolio of images and drawings for a proposal
• Calculating material costs.

Of course you may decide that you want to achieve several or all of these goals with your cabinet design software. However, you should prioritize and focus your efforts to generate the most important outputs as soon as possible.

Amount of Detail

More detail and more complexity require more time to master. It might seem that users would want to know every last function of the software and how it is used to create masterpiece designs. But this survey shows that only 40% or respondents are interested in highly detailed designs (defined by “show every joint, old, and detail in the design”).

But 60% said prior to selling the job less detail was required in the designs or plans.  They added that they did not need to know every detail since at any point in the design since their shop experience filled in any gaps.  How to layout holes for shelf pins was one example given of how a standard approach of doing things takes over from the need to design them all..

Consider the following about including details.  Will the detail be visible? Would you add a drawer slide even if that slide is hidden in the images?  But it is probably necessary to add drawer handles and moldings to convey the feeling and look of the job..

Several users report that at the beginning of a design they work with a minimum of detail.  After closing a sale, they modify the design as necessary. This keeps from wasting time detailing those jobs designed but not sold.

Many times a deadline determines the amount of time available for design, and non-essential details can be overlooked to speed the process.

Stock versus one off

The third factor in design times is that trade-off between the use of stock items and creating one off designs.

With a library of standard cabinets, doors, drawers, hardware, assemblies you can simply copy an item into your design. You can either use the items that come with SketchList 3D or make your own standards.

Because modifications with SketchList 3D are easy to make, you can combine stock and one off. Just take a standard component and modify it to fit the job: change the sizes, add a door or drawer, change the material.

“We designed this hanging drawer unit as required by the client’s architect. It took probably 10 minutes. We took that unit, changed its size, and the number and layout of the drawers and had that finished in like a minute.”

Truly one off designs take more time. But even with highly custom work, there are many strategies when designing that save time. For example, you might create a segment of a design, clone and mirror that segment, re-size it, and use it elsewhere in that job.  In any case as you create your designs you can save them for use in other jobs.

SketchList 3D – an Integrated Approach

In SketchList 3D woodworking design app and reporting are completely integrated. As you design you create all reports. Changes in design automatically shows in the reports. This saves time on the initial preparation of the design and makes changes very easy to accommodate.

The post Survey Results Cabinet Design Software appeared first on SketchList3D.

SketchList 3D has a new feature to make this kitchen design software even faster and more accurate – without keying in any numbers. Our latest release – due out this week – supports a powerful align tool. Using the align tool you pick the board [or object] you want to align to, hold down the shift key and mouse click on other boards [or objects] then click the align tool object.
You can align in three directions – left / right, bottom / top, and front / back. You can choose to align to the inside of a board [like butting boards] or to the outside of the boards. You can also align to the center of a board.

Again – click the ‘target board’, hold down the shift key and click one or more ‘moving boards’, and click the appropriate icon. Simple.

You can also combine align functions. Move a board so it butts against the edge of the target board, then click the centering icon so the moving board is also centered on the target.

You can also insert a temporary board, set it in place, and use it as a bit of a target or snap to line. When you are finished – delete the temporary board.

Make a quick book case? Insert the left side. Insert a shelf. Align the shelf to the inside of the side board. Red dot-drag the shelf to the proper side. Clone and space shelves. Clone the left side. Click one of the shelves. Hold down the shift key and click a side board. Click the align right – outside icon. Boom. How easy was that?

Watch this video…

Align is a very powerful and flexible tool. Think about the ways you can use it. Experiment and see what it can do for you.

The post Kitchen Cabinet Layout Software Designs Numbers-Free appeared first on SketchList3D.

Well sometimes simple is not!   A while back we added three new board icons to the SketchList 3D woodworking design software.  These allow you to insert boards of any one of the three orientations into any container [assembly, door, drawer, or hardware] in your design.  These boards come – out of the box – as 3/4 inch birch sheet good materials.  The idea is that sometime you just want a fast design.  Besides using the change all material function you can change any board’s material one at a  time.  The cool thing is that when you change a board – say material from birch to oak – that material becomes the material used for the next board you insert.

Still some people do get confused by the icons.

This is a segment of the main form.  The three icons in the yellow highlight are the [relatively] new ones.

1. The first is for panels and most frame situations [rials and stiles].  Its surface faces the front of the assembly and the thickness is front to back.
2. The second is for sides and dividers.  Its surface is left to right.
3. The third is for shelving and such.  Its surface faces top and bottom.
4. The fourth icon – with the plus – is the old fashioned ‘new board form’ that gives you complete control over the board attributes.

This video will show how I use both the ‘old’ form and the three new icons to make a box.  Near the end of the video I show an example of doing it wrong!

Wrong means using the incorrect orientation for a board.  In my example I insert a vertical board and resize is so it appears horizontal.  This is a fairly common newbie mistake.  The problem is the the woodworking design software optimizer is looking to match the part thickness with the thickness of the material.  The BIG hint that something is wrong is that a part thickness will show as – say 12 – when you know it’s rally 3/4.  Is is because the orientation is wrong.  The bigger hint is that you will see lots of red boxes when you try to optimize the project.  [If you’ve never seen these – maybe you can skip the video!]

The post Woodworking Design Software – Boards Video appeared first on SketchList3D.

Here is an example of work designed by SketchList 3D user William LaRue of Ballston Spa, NY. He is a relative new-comer to the SketchList 3D cabinet design software tool. He is an experienced woodworker – in business for over 30 years. His smaller shop of four employees is constantly turning out cabinetry, furniture, and an assorted range of other products. You can see his work at

www.laruewoodworking.com

This sample is his fourth design with SketchList 3D. He has used the software for 2 – 3 weeks.

Notice the reality he is able to achieve by taking photo graphs of the room and importing those images into SketchList 3D objects for use in his designs.

The prospects now sees exactly what they are going to get. On top of that William was able to provide some alternatives.

This first image on the left is a photograph of the room

The second image shows how William replicated the existing room in SketchList 3D capturing all of the important elements — pattern, color and style.

In the the third image he had added a book shelf to the left of the fireplace and mantle.

This is a side view of the SketchList 3D model of the bookcase. Notice the beaded board back on the bottom case.
In the next image you see the proposal for placing the bookcase on the right.

As you view the images think of that William’s prospect is seeing and thinking.

Certainly not about how it’s done, or does this person know what he’s doing – or maybe not even about the price. That prospect is thinking ‘”This looks great: , This will work nicely.” , “Maybe a case on both sides would be best..”

He or she is engaged in the creation of something that adds value to the room, increases utility, and is something to be proud of owning.

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So in a few minutes the bookcases are combined in the overall project – giving the prospect what he or she wanted.

The bookcase on the left is cloned, moved to the right, and automatically stretched to fit into the space available.

Sales tool? Design Tool? Planning Tool? You Pick.

SketchList 3D becomes a strategic part of a woodworking firm’s business. The prospect is totally engrossed in the process. In fact many times will say to friends admiring the end product “Yes I did design that for that spot.” Ownership in every sense of the concept.

A side benefit for the woodworker – the process of thinking about how this is going to be made has already started. It can be tested, and tried, and modified until it’s just right. All without wasting a minute in the shop or a penny on material.

The shop drawings, parts lists, cutting diagrams – purchase lists are finished when the design is finished.

All that’s left to do is head into the shop and hand the job over.

Result – What Did the Prospect Say?

“Will,

Really nice presentation. Looks like you had some fun too with moving pictures around etc. I feel like I’m watching an episode of Property Brothers.

We would like pricing on both “Our Option” and Option 4.

Could you also provide the dimensions on both options.

Thanks,”

The post Samples and Designs – Cabinet Design Software appeared first on SketchList3D.

Adding a mortise and tenon joint SketchList 3D – Cabinet Design Software

This week three people have asked about using mortise and tenon joinery in SketchList 3D.   As I thought about the questions, I found it’s not all that clear on how to do this. Because unlike all other joinery in SketchList 3D – mortise and tenon is two different functions.   The tenon is created on the edge of a board through the joinery function and the mortise is cut on a surface as a non-round hole.

Of course that is not clear on first hearing.  So let me try it again.  If this doesn’t work – there’s a video at the end!

First of all  “the basic mortise and tenon comprises two components: the mortise hole and the tenon. The tenon, formed on the end of a member, is inserted into a square or rectangular hole cut into the corresponding member.” (Wikipedia – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mortise_and_tenon)

Basically it’s the old put this tab into that slot.  It’s strong and exacting – the tenon must fit into the mortise.   And as many a woodworker can tell you, if they’re honest, you really need to pay attention to the length of the tenon and make sure so you do not cut the board short!

Back to SketchList 3D.   Two processes to make the joint.

First the tenon.  Select the board, go to board detail level, and select the edge on which yo want to place the board.   Click the joinery button.

The details of the joint are placed into the following form.

“Lengthen by”  is the ‘depth’  of the tenon.  You want to center vertically.  Here I used 1/4 for the height.  Centering horizontally on a 22 inch board has a 14 inch tenon with a 4 inch offset on either end.

Next the mortise – which is a non-round hole.  To place this properly you need to know the distance of the tenon board from the bottom of the assembly.  In our sample that is 12 inch.  At the board detail level select the surface on which the mortise will be cut.

Selecting the non-round hole button you will see this form.

The three dimensions that size  the mortise [height, width, and depth] are from the size of the tenon.  The location [a, b] are a mixture.  The B dimension is simply the 4 incSo the hes that the tenon is offset from the foront of the board.  We set this in the tenon form.  The A   dimension is the sum of the value of the bottom of the shelf [distance bottom of shelf is from bottom of assembly] – in this case 12 AND the vertical offset of the tenon – in this case 1/4 inch.

Click OK and you are set.

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Cabinet Design Software Choice – Which is Best for You?

From time to time people write in about my cabinet design software asking if they should invest the money for the Pro version or can they get by with the Hobby.  There is a chart on www/sketchlist.com that compares the two – but those types of charts leave me feeling undecided.  So let me try this…

If you are making money with your woodworking buy the Pro.  Again — if you are making money with your woodworking buy the Pro.

That being said the Hobby version exists because lots of people make a project or two a year, want to design it right, don’t want to invest more than $100, and are willing to take the time it takes to design the work.   These woodworkers only need to impress themselves (ok well maybe the spouse) and don’t need high end images.  They can get by with using only 2 assemblies.   If they need a shop drawing – they can create it on screen and do a print screen to put it on paper.  One woodgrain and/or color will do.  And if they want to save some time and money by optimizing the layout of parts on materials – they can buy the add-on to do this. ( Think of the cost of one sheet of pylwood materia saved!)

Frankly in terms of design I can acheive almost  anything in Hobby as I can in the Pro.   But it is more complicated and takes more time.  And the outputs are not as impressive.

I do use the Pro version.   It accomplishes designs much, much  faster saving me time.   And for most of us  time is precious.  I can have any number of assemblies in a project.  I can define a standard assemblies, doors, drawers, hardware, and boards and call them into my designs from my standards library as needed.   I can create any number of shop drawings and know that any change in design automatically reflects in the drawings.  I can use any number of material grains and colors – and most importantly  I can generate 3D images in photo quality formats.   These images  sell my proposals.   In addition I can create spinning 3D images of my designs and send them to prospects so they can view and spin them as PDF (world wide, free standard viewer) files on their own computer screens.  The optimizer is built in and shows me how to lay out the parts on the materials to reduce waste.  This output links to the purchase report that shows me exactly what materials to buy.

So everyone should get the Pro version – like everyone should have a powerful CNC machine in the garage cutting out parts :).  BUT not eveyone can afford that – or uses it enough to justify the cost.  So make a choice.  In any case buy cabinet design software because it will improve your design and your work .  This is because you will have thoughtfully gone over every aspect – virtually – on your computer screen – before buying materials.  You’ll find when you go to the shop to make whatever it is you’re gong to make – it will come our better.

By the way – some ask why is this cabinet design software and not furniture design software.  Well it’s both really.  Designing from the board level lets you make pretty much anything you need.

Thanks,.

Dave

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I got an email from a user that we can turn into a bit of – as they say – a teaching moment.
“My computer just updated and now I have nothing…I have many projects that are just gone!  HELP!

Our programmer linked into this user’s computer and found that something wierd happened to the file causing the customers  in that file  to be deleted.   It took about an hour but it was fixed.

The result was,  in the words of the user….

“Thanks for fixing this!  I was a little stressed…you guys rock!”

Now actually  the amount of emails related to file or disk failure is extremely low — like maybe one every month or so.  But disks do fail and files do become corrupt.  And the resulting work to get data back, if even possible, certainly justifies the time it takes to do some backup.

To help you better manage your SketchList 3D files I put togeter this video.
[responsive_vid]

However – the one, sure, rock solid thing I do (meaing it’s a good idea   ) is to export individual projects from SketchList 3D and save them to some external device.    Mine is a flash driture drive labeled “projects from furniture design software” work.   This way – if all else goes to, well, you can move these to another computer, or a new drive, or whatever.

More later,

Dave Rozewski

The post Furniture Design Software – File Management appeared first on SketchList3D.

Finally it’s ALMOST finished.  I had been asked to put together a series of videos on one project.  I choose a desk that I might actually build someday.  The front assemblies – left and right – close back on the center unit.  The backs of those assemblies have five piece doors on them to make it look more like furniture.  It’s a case where woodworking software allows me to “build” something before I commit to it.  The shop drawings and optimized parts layout diagrams will help me do the planning.  Parts list and purchase lists – of course.

The real kicker is that the video accompanying this design is about 90 minutes long (bad – too long) BUT it is indexed so you can so directly to – for example face frames ( good – complete).

I noticed after that I overlooked hardware.  I will get to that and put on an extra segment.

If something is missing – let me know.

This video even covers file management – answering often asked questions like “How do I restore a file?”

Let me know what you think.

Thanks,

Dave

The post Home office – furniture design software 3d model appeared first on SketchList3D.

“I am trying program and couldn’t find a way of rotating a door inside of an assembly, is it really possible? If I wanted to do a “strange” design and create two adjacent doors with 90 degree correlation, then how do I do it?”

Well let me tell you about the business man looking for a one armed economist.  Why?  Because every economist  he ever listened to said “on one hand…. on the other hand…”.

On one hand you can’t rotate a door or drawer within an assembly.  At least not right now.

On the other hand this video LINK TO VIDEO CLICK THIS show you how to get around that.

A few steps.

1.  Put door in assembly.
2.  Clone (or clone and mirror) that assembly.
3.  Rotate the cloned assembly 90 degrees.
4.  Merge the two assemblies.

Presto chango — all done.

Don’t forget stretch and shrink as other useful assembly tools in the tools set of our cabinet and furniture design software.

Thanks,

Dave

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