Step One: The Design

Recently I began using Alibre Design 3-D CAD to help speed up the design process. It helps me design the way I think, rather than the way one has to draw.

The basic process starts by drawing a box, on the computer screen. Then by clicking a button and filling in a few numbers the box gets 'extruded' into a block with 6 sides with the basic dimensions of the finished cabinet.

Then I can cut and shape opening, add parts and details and refine the design. It's more more intuitive for me than hand drawing, which requires having all the finished elements already in mind (or making dozens of drafts to get there). And by linking certain design aspect to others, interrelated parts are automatically updated when changes are made.

This is what this cabinet looks like in Alibre Design. The green lines are the reference planes.

What you see is the front view, but in the CAD I can easily rotate it and view it from any angle. When I'm finished, Alibre allows me to easily output scale drawings to show clients and to work from.

Once the final design is agreed upon, a bill of materials needs to be assembled. This is the shopping list of things I'll need to build the project, down to every last screw.

In order to create a BOM I need to fist generate a cut-list, which is a list of the exact parts I'll need to make from various wood products. Using the design and dimensions from Alibre, I now switch to another program called Cutlist Plus (I use the Gold Edition). Here I enter each part's length, width and thickness, as well as descriptions, material choices and notes.

When I've finished, Cutlist Plus automatically arranges the parts on hypothetical pieces of wood (based on a raw materials database I create based on what my suppliers have available), and generates a list of what sizes and quantities materials I need.

To this list I add things like hinges, shelf supports, stains and finishes, until I have a complete list of everything I must have on had to build the project. Making an accurate list the first time through comes from experience.

For example: This project calls for flipper doors on the top, which limits the overlay options for hinges. So I much match the overlay of the upper and lower doors, using different hinge systems, in order to finish with an aesthetically appealing look. The first time I had to do this, I had to do a lot of research about what was available. Now I just know which parts to use.

Now that I have a bill of materials, I can go shopping. In this case I had to visit 5 different venders to get the parts, which meant 3 hours driving all over town. Since I had a complete list, just made one circular trip, which saved time and gas. So the extra time spent figuring meant less time driving around, and that's money saved for me and my client, not to mention better for the environment.

Next: The Carcass