The Nearly Complete Guide to eCabinet Systems

[Jason Susnjara]

The Nearly Complete Guide to eCabinet Systems

There have been many questions about just what is this book. What will it do for me? Hopefully, you’ll find some of the answers to your questions below.

The guide is intended to walk the designer step-by-step through all aspects of using eCabinet Systems. It has been named “The Nearly Complete Guide” because not one text can fully contain the imagination of our users. Instead, it attempts to guide the designer through basic applications, i.e., cabinet construction, room layout, cabinet installation, generation of reports and cut lists and more. The guide also presents many out-of-the-box, real world scenarios.

With a total page count of 669 pages, the guide is a substantial document. One that provides step-by-step instructions in a type face that is large enough to read easily and is filled with many graphic screen shots identifying the specific dialog or area of discussion.

Please select the link to the Table of Contents to review the materials covered by the guide, then click on the additional links to view short excerpts from the guide.

The cost for the guide is $110 plus tax with shipping included. It is printed in-house on a per order basis. Please note that a version of this guide is also included with our training sessions.

If you have any further questions about the book or our training sessions, please feel free to contact me.

If you’d like to purchase the book, please contact our Technical Service Department or visit http://www.woodworkerswholesale.com.


Thanks,

Dennis L. Englert
Manager of Product Training
800-533-6901 ext. 234

[Gary Urlacher]

Thanks for this note Jason.
I am using ecabinets to produce cabinets. Mostly via the batch module. I would like to learn more about the program
becouse it does do a great job at making my cabinets (Along with the Thermwood router of course).

I am using other software for 3d drawings, quoting etc but I want to learn more about ecabinets to see if I will be able to
one day do it all from the one software package. I know it is close but there is some issues with the doors and drawers
for me and reporting but I ordered a copy of the book you speak about and look forward to getting ecabinets to the next level
for me.

Cheers


Gary Urlacher

[BEN HOLM]

I dont know who to call yet but I ordered this book just before thanksgiving time and have not gotten it and has not been billed to my credit card yet. Just seeing if it could get solved on the forum. Im on the west coast and always for get to call until I get home.
Ben Holm
Torrance CA 90503
310.462.5510

[Dean Fehribach]

I dont know who to call yet but I ordered this book just before thanksgiving time and have not gotten it and has not been billed to my credit card yet. Just seeing if it could get solved on the forum. Im on the west coast and always for get to call until I get home.
Ben Holm
Torrance CA 90503
310.462.5510

Ben,

We were having some problems with our book printing system for more than a week. Plus, Dennis just updated the edition to the December edition, so the wait may be worth it because you'll get the latest edition.

[Gary Urlacher]

I got my copy today and boy oh boy, Lots of pages.
Time to make a large pot of coffee, sit back and learn something.

Thanks for the quick delivery etc.

Gary Urlacher

[Neville Bastian]

I also got the guide last October.
As there have been a few changes and additions, what are Thermwood plans for keeping these up to date?
My suggestion is allowing us to down load the updates. Those without the book will find the updates not much use to them.
If each time Dennis does the additions maybe they could reference back to a downloadable PDF file.

Keep up the good work Dennis.

Regards

Neville

[David Tuttle]

I got the manual, and have worked through the display part and have used the index to answer many of my simple question. Well, worth the investment.

[Geoffrey Au]

I am Newbie for ecabinet , i just wanna what the difference between the manual and this Guide.

Is it the same stuff?

If i buy that Guide now, any update for later on the time?

Thank you

[Dennis Englert]

An email was forwarded to me from our Support section regarding "The Nearly Complete Guide to eCabinet Systems" and a question was posed was about the availability of future updates for this guide with inference that the updates would be free. My response also answers the same question as posted here.

My email reply provided the following:

Quote:

I was looking at possible solutions to updating printed materials and have discussed solutions for this at length. Whether updates are provided via hard copy or pdf, it still takes a significant amount of resources to create the content, then generate, process and distribute the materials . Even electronic distribution is not without significant problems, i.e., invalid addresses, blocked content, and more, thus inflicting addtional investment for resolution. There may be a company out there, but I, personally do not know of a company that offers lifetime updates or replacements for a one-time purchase of a like product. The fee for that initial purchase would have to be substantial or there would need to be an ongoing fee. At some point, the contents of the guide will be entirely updated and reprinted rather than just incorporating a page change. Thermwood would then incur a loss on every book that was previously sold and this loss would continue from then on. There would be no end in sight. Since eCabinet Systems is not standing still and will continue to evolve, this type of support to our customers would be unsustainable.

The current pricing of $110 with shipping for "The Nearly Complete Guide to eCabinet Systems" was established for a one time purchase. The content of the book reflects the content of the sofware, i.e., eCabinet Systems at the time of purchase. Unlike Microsoft, we do not get the benefit of cost reductions from large volume printing. I've received quotes from many printers and all quotes exceeded our selling price of $110. We are fortunate to have in-house capabilities and are able to offer the guide at this value and fortunately, we have the flexibility to make changes without inventorying outdated materials.

With all that being said, you can stay updated. We are offering a subscription for our Online Video Tutorials. That subscription does provide you with "The Nearly Complete Guide to eCabinet Systems". With the subscription, we will be providing updated materials for the online tutorials and "The Nearly Complete Guide to eCabinet Systems". In regards to the guide, my intent is to provide the customer with a .pdf file for updates. If the guide incurs a significant change that results in a reprint, we'll ship a replacement book. When eCabinets makes a version change, there will be a short video posted online so that the current subscribers can review and quickly adapt to the changes or software additions. The remainder of the online tutorials will be updated to reflect the changes as soon as possible. The current cost for the online training is $950 for a one-year subscription. There is an introductory offer that lets you sign-up for this program and get a two-year subscription. But you have to sign-up prior to the completion all of the video content. That offer is going to be discontinued soon, possibly, as early as mid-next week as I'm nearly finished with the video content. Currently, I have over 18 hours of video available online and all major subject matter is currently covered by these videos and the latest eCab Intro online video. As time goes on I'll be adding additional content to the online video folders. That content may cover advanced techniques or just simply different methods, while some of the content will be addressing topics that have appeared repetively on the forum.

The guide has received good reviews as well as training at our facility and seminars elsewhere. The video tutorials are based upon our 5-day course and "The Nearly Complete Guide to eCabinet Sytems" is used in that course. I believe that the video tutorial and guide will deliver more bang for the buck than other methods, and you don't have any added travel or per diem costs. You can view it anywhere online and are not restricted to one person sitting in a classroom for a fee. Your employees can watch it at anytime and from any computer also. At the office or at home, doesn't matter. You'll have a password and an email address to logon with. Both are for your use and not for resale or reprint.

Everyone learns differently. Time permitting I personally learn from a well written document. Others need more one-on-one, so a formal class works best. The video tutorials are the marriage of both methods.

Long story made short. If you purchase the guide; updates are not included. If you purchase the online video tutorials, updates for both are provided through the subscription period. If you subscribe soon, you may still qualify for the two-year subscription.

Good luck and I sincerely hope that you enjoy using eCabinet Systems. It is indeed a very powerful software.

End Quote

I'd like to add that if you purchase "The Nearly Complete Guide to eCabinet Systems" and then decide to purchase the video within 90 days, we'll give you a $90 credit on the complete package. We would not be sending out a second guide. You'll probably have to contact our tech services section directly to manually process that, since online purchases would charge full price.

Thanks to everyone for their interest,


Dennis L. Englert
Manager of Product Training
Thermwood Corporation

[Dennis Englert]

An email went out this week to all eCabinet Systems registrants.

The introductory offer for the Online Video Training expires on 29 May 2009. With that offer you would receive a two year subscription for this service rather than one year. The Nearly Complete Guide to eCabinet Systems, a 600 plus page manual is included with the purchase.


Dennis

[Neville Bastian]

Hi Dennis,
Is there a new version for Vr 6 in the pipeline?
I bought 5 and due to printing costs and freight it cost me over $300 landed in Oz.Could you discuss with Jason doing a downloadable PDF version where you have some copyright watermark saying sold to Classic Cabinetry for example. This would reduce pirate copies floating around if that it is why you will only sell it in a printed form.
If this is not possible how about posted out on a memory stick to outside USA purchases? This would reduce freight costs.
Regards

Neville

[Bryan J Tanner]

Neville,

Wow, I have been looking at purchasing the guide, but I think that landing it in NZ for that much could be a little out of touch with the value I feel It would have for me.

I understand that Thermwood need to guard against pirating etc... But I'm sure there must be a way to service all of us outside the US with a digital copy. For a price of course.....

[Dennis Englert]

Version 6 - The Nearly Complete Guide to eCabinet Systems

Available on our website, www.ecabinetsystems.com, this guide is around 700 pages. That seems daunting, but if you check some of the reviews you'll find that there are a lot of graphics and it is in large enough print to be easily readable from a distance.

Overseas shipment. A posting above revealed extraordinary fees for shipping to the "down under". While we don't control the rates, after research, I've found that the U.S. Postal Service has a flat rate box fee. The box that is referred to as a Medium Flat Box has a shipping price of $43.45 (U.S. dollar). This may not hold true, but it appears that it is the same rate to most countries. Offered in two box sizes, i.e., 13 5/8" x 11 7/8" x 3 3/8" or 11" x 8 1/2" x 5 1/2". I believe that the latter box size would fit three tightly. A single book weighs 3.95 pounds, so three books and a box would weigh well under the 20 pound limit for hte fixed rate. Currently, a pdf version will not be made available.

New Subscription Program
eCabinet Systems Online Video Series

We are now offering a monthly subscription for the online video series. The monthly fee for this service is $25.

The videos are available for viewing via an online service, www.screencast.com only. Once a "free" Screencast.com account is established you'll be able to view over 20 hours of video clips from any computer anywhere with internet access. You'll be able to login by providing an email address and password.

This entire program is a work in progress, thus new materials will be added and modified continuously. The series is comprised of five folders. The first folder provides introductory information as well as a series of "What's new in Version 6". The next folder pertains to the Cabinet and Assembly Editor. The third folder covers Job Process, i.e., the Custom Layout Editor, Batch Cabinet Editor, and other modules pertinent to reports and sales tools. The fourth folder is a conglomerate of features that might be considered non-basic. For example, there are several video clips on using the Part Editor, the Constraint Manager, the Shape Manager and the Display Part Editor. Additionally, there is a folder marked "Bonus" which will contain video clips of advanced processes and processes that just don't fit anywhere else.

For those that purchase the online video subscription, for the most part, the Guide and online series are organized similarly.

On another posting elsewhere, someone recommended viewing the videos on a second monitor. That's a great recommendation! You can use eCabinets while watching and even rewinding the tutorial. At $25 this certainly the least costly and may be the most effective and productive way to learn eCabinets.


Thanks for your interest in these products,


Dennis L Englert
Manager of Product Training
Thermwood Corporation

[Gerry A Brown]

I just received my copy of the nearly complete guide to E cabinets in Southern Alberta Canada. Although Thermwood picks up the cost of shipping UPS charged me $40.00 brokerage fee. I think this cost could be avoided if the the book was sent USPS. Maybe you could consider offering this option to customers in Canada. UPS is well known for charging exorbitant brokerage fees and I avoid them whenever possible.

FWIW
Gerry

[Dennis Englert]

Thanks for the info. I'll check into this.

Dennis