Most Efficient Way To Get To A Cut List For Sheet Goods For Cabinets

adventhomes

By adventhomes,
in General Q & A

 Share

Recommended Posts

adventhomes

adventhomes

Posted
Posted

We do mainly kitchen and bathroom renovations and we have recently added a custom cabinet shop ... so I am trying to figure out what the most efficient way would be for me to get from a kitchen design in CA X7 (with the various cabinets of course) to a cut list for the various sheet goods ... any ideas?

 

The materials list or components list will just say I need a cabinet, for example, 30"x24"x36" and seems to be assuming I will buy that as an end-product fully assembled cabinet ... it doesn't tell me of course what individual pieces I need to cut to build this (ie. gable sizes, base, back, etc) and so I cannot easily tell how many sheets of ply, etc are needed.  I realize if I had a list of actual component parts then there is software available that can turn that list in to a cut list to maximize the use of each sheet, but it is the in-between step I can't figure out a solution for without abandoning CA altogether and doing everything in a cabinet building solution ... which then would't cover all the other aspects of the construction which is why it would be preferable to keep as much in CA as possible & reduce duplication.

 

I hope the question makes sense ;-)  Basically how can I get a list of actual component parts of a cabinet shell or drawer box so I can work out the sheet goods to buy and create a cut list for the shop?  Does anyone know of another application perhaps that would be compatible with CA that I could export the materials list from CA in to if I can't actually achieve this in CA?

Link to comment
Share on other sites
evergreen

evergreen

Posted
Posted

Try a 3D Printer!

All kidding aside, I don't think this link exists. I have worked for a cabinet company in the past and all our cut lists were done manually. From time to time conversations did take place about cut list automation and research on this did produce software, but that was one part of it. To complete the loop, of course, you need the machinery that communicates with the software...one of the systems (CNC, Software, Coaching) with setup was estimated at around $200,000! And that was considered mediocre. This was a while ago, don't know how software/machinery/pricing has changed since then.

This same company, who I no longer work for but now do business with, still do it the "old fashioned" way. They do have sophisticated machinery to help with speed and accuracy but nothing fully automated.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
TheKitchenAbode

TheKitchenAbode

Posted
Posted

Don't think Chief was designed with this purpose in mind. There are other programs available specifically designed to do this. A small custom carpentry shop I have worked with has this, doubt if they paid too much, however it likely does not handle NC machines. I do know that they have to redo my design as their software cannot work directly with Chief files. Pain in the neck and just another chance for mistakes.

 

Graham  

Link to comment
Share on other sites
TheKitchenAbode

TheKitchenAbode

Posted
Posted

Given the volumes we may just go with the spreadsheet idea ... I figured that may be the answer but always worth asking. Thanks for the feedback.

 

Glad to have had the opportunity. Let me know if this works out to be an appropriate solution or if you need a sounding board while developing this I would be pleased to assist. Not to give my age away but I have been working extensively with spreadsheets since their inception, how about an Apple II+ and VisiCalc. Might have been a hand-me-down system from Fred Flintstone, state-of-art memory, 64k of built-in Mammoths (no elephants then).

 

Graham

Link to comment
Share on other sites
adventhomes

adventhomes

Posted
  • Author
Posted

Glad to have had the opportunity. Let me know if this works out to be an appropriate solution or if you need a sounding board while developing this I would be pleased to assist. Not to give my age away but I have been working extensively with spreadsheets since their inception, how about an Apple II+ and VisiCalc. Might have been a hand-me-down system from Fred Flintstone, state-of-art memory, 64k of built-in Mammoths (no elephants then).

 

Graham

First computer I used was a Sinclair Spectrum with 64K and a cassette drive when I was about 15 back in Scotland ... I created a program in Basic for my mother to use to generate her grocery shopping list.  Now that was a long time ago!  My father used to work for a local construction company and he ran their Olivetti which used punch cards ... and it needed a room of it's own so it would not over-heat.  But I detract ;-)

I use ConstructionSuite for project management/scheduling, estimating, proposals, change orders, etc.  It integrates with the Desktop version of QuickBooks I use for generating PO's, Invoices, etc.

 

Since posting this thread I've come across an app called CutList Plus ... looking in to this a wee bit to see if it might do the trick.  Last thing I want is to have to create the designs again in another application.  It seems to essentially be a macro that takes the parts dimensions for gables, etc and turns them in to a cut list for the sheet goods and dimensional lumber.  There was a time when I could perhaps have written a macro myself (I once wrote a complex MRP system using Lotus 123 for an electronics manufacturer) but those times are long gone.  As I've aged my artistic side has blossomed but my inner tech geek has suffered a bit ;-)  Any ways plan to try this CutList app thingy as apparently you can import details in to it ... so will see if it will accept materials list from CA.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
  • 3 weeks later...

Please sign in to comment

You will be able to leave a comment after signing in



Sign In Now
 Share
Go to topic listing