Doors and drawers

[leigh mills]

Hi guys,
We are just coming to design the doors and drawers and i wondered if someone could help me out? At the moment we create our doors using an alpha cam package, we have around 20 different styles of doors and the style of door can be rectangle, arc or curves or sometimes both. These can also be single panel, double panel and so on, so we have around 300 doors. I have looked at the door and drawer designer and found that you cant put double panels on a door and when doing an arch it will only add an arch to the top. If you could be kind enough to share how you have designed yours i would be very grateful. (Using the MDF doors)

[Damon Nabors]

Leigh, you can pull up a display panel of what ever door size you want, then take the panel into the parts editor and create the geometry on the panel and cut it out with a profile tool that you have save or created. It is time consuming, but you can have fun creating new designs.

Here is a crude door example that I just made in a hurry to show you that you can make most any shape.

[leigh mills]

thanks damon i thought this would be the only way of doing it, problem is you cant resize. would you not be able to use a back? i would of liked my doors to come up in the door drawer editor really, so is it not possible to create a door and input in the door drawer editor. because by doing my own door i will have to allign it up myself, this isnt a problem for me but the designer may have a few problems trying to put the door in place all the time. Will it be different on the cut list at all?

Leigh

[DanEpps]

You can resize...IF you use a cabinet part (like a back panel) instead of a display panel and set constraints on the geometry.

[Gene Davis]

Leigh, I am disappointed that the software cannot do what you want. I would like the same, but haven't seen it in the package.

What you are asking for is the ability to "edit" doors and drawerfronts in the door/drawerfront designer part of the package, so as to create your entire offering in one or more libraries, then be able to bring them into "rooms" or batch jobs for both rendered submittals and production (cut lists, CNC, etc.).

Just as you can do today with the any of the 18 Conestoga door models there are in the library. What you want is your own library with your 300+ doors in it, and, I'll bet, the ability to bring a door style into a room or job batch at a specified woodgrain, color, or solid color.

Doing what has been suggested with display panels won't do what you want. Doing machine-carved doors with face routs that have quarter circles and ogee arches, and then to have models done as such be resizeable, with all the rules of configuration embedded, is beyond what eCabs can do today.

Making doors by using cabinet backs and then using the constraint manager won't do the job you want, either, because what you want is to be able to select your doors and bring them into cabs at cab build time, to be placed by the software in or on the openings specified.

You don't want to tediously build and render one kitchen. You want, instead, to build and render job after job, many per day, day in and day out, with customer-selected door options popped in and out as required.

We take a job to a Lowe's or Home Depot every six months or so, and sit down in the kitchen cabinet department to have the job priced in a couple different manufacturers (Kraft Maid, etc.) and with all possible options. We do this as a "market check" so we can price things right. Whenever we do this, I am always in awe of how the 2020 software (or whatever they use) can swap out doors, finishes, etc., selecting from a huge library of choices, just using a simple windows-type dropdown selector.

[DanEpps]

Gene

To state that all of these functions "are beyond what eCabinets can do" is just flat incorrect!

You have to learn to work within what the software is designed to do and not try to force everyone to do things the way you want. You continue to extoll the virtues of other software packages but you don't seem to understand that those packages are designed for room layout, NOT CUSTOM CABINET DESIGN AND MANUFACTURING!

There is a huge difference between eCabinets and other software packages. If you don't like anything about eCabinets, why do you continue to use it?

Please, do us ALL a huge favor and just stop using eCabinets and use those "better" software packages and their forums!

[leigh mills]

Dan
Im not putting down the package at all, i have been very happy with the pakage. Im just asking questions to see if its possible, in case i miss something out, as i dont know the package as well as you guys! sorry if i came accross like this but i assure you i am not thinking in this way. I am setting this up for a company and want to do the best as i can.

Sorry dan
Leigh

[Dean Fehribach]

Leigh, your question is valid and users will (hopefully) help you out. Please don't get discouraged.

[DanEpps]

Dan
Im not putting down the package at all, i have been very happy with the pakage. Im just asking questions to see if its possible, in case i miss something out, as i dont know the package as well as you guys! sorry if i came accross like this but i assure you i am not thinking in this way. I am setting this up for a company and want to do the best as i can.

Sorry dan
Leigh

It certainly wasn't you Leigh...Gene is the one who puts eCabinets down at every opportunity he gets.

Your questions are always welcome, just as responses that actually contribute to the question being asked are always welcome.

I appologize that you misunderstood the direction of my response.

[Damon Nabors]

Gene, I started typing a response and then erased it, it is not worth my time. Maybe you need to purchase 20/20 or some other software so you can rest easy at night.

[Dean Fehribach]

Gene, I started typing a response and then erased it, it is not worth my time. Maybe you need to purchase 20/20 or some other software so you can rest easy at night.

I don't think he wants to know how much it'd cost to get his cabinet and door designs implemented into their package.

[leigh mills]

Hi guys i have tried this now, looking at your picture you seem to be fine with it. when i enter the profile tool the corners dont seem to miter together, they are just straight! Is ther a way to miter the corners?

[Kerry Fullington]

I too would like to see improvements in the door/drawer front designer to be more versatile. This has been discussed many times but apparently it isn't getting enough response from enough members (through the feedback in eCabinets) to get the attention it needs for Thermwood to go forward with it. Right now I use a secondary door designer software to get my cut lists. It works OK but I would like it all in eCabinets. Keep asking for it and it will come.

Gene,
The reason HD can change door styles etc so fast is because they are just painting pictures and pricing. they don't have to create the cut list, material list and machine code that eCabinets does. This makes it fast and easy but you can't build off their designs and you can't do anything custom besides putting filler A on Box B and filler C on box D. With them you can't get a cut list, you only get a truckload of cabinets in cardboard boxes to un-crate and install.

Kerry

[Glenn Warner]

Leigh, I am disappointed that the software cannot do what you want. I would like the same, but haven't seen it in the package.

We take a job to a Lowe's or Home Depot every six months or so, and sit down in the kitchen cabinet department to have the job priced in a couple different manufacturers (Kraft Maid, etc.) and with all possible options. We do this as a "market check" so we can price things right. Whenever we do this, I am always in awe of how the 2020 software (or whatever they use) can swap out doors, finishes, etc., selecting from a huge library of choices, just using a simple windows-type dropdown selector.

Gene,

As long as your cabinets are multiples of 3", standard heights, and stock designs from manufacturers catalogs. Where do you suppose those catalogs come from?

[Dean Fehribach]

OK, enough side tracking here. Let's get back to the OP's original question.