Search:

Designing furniture and cabinetry for a ShopBot is something we do all the time. Rather than dealing with the problematic conversion of SketchUp designs (Mavin's link), we use the CAD software...

In addition to the QuickStart tutorial that installs with Alibre, check out the Alibre website for more training videos:

http://www.alibre.com/training/
...

All software can be a little daunting to get started. If you would like to send me a couple samples of what you want to model, I will take a look at them and offer some advice to make your job...

The free Alibre Design Xpress can be used to model the barge boards in 3D. Custom routed relief or carvings on them can be added with Cut3D or Aspire.

It is really great to see your model in...

We model such a joint in Alibre Design using the Linear Pattern tool.

But then we model the entire cabinet with the joinery, and the resultant DXF file outputs the length of joint we require. ...

Alibre Design is a good choice for custom part and cabinet design to be used with VCarve Pro or PartWorks. The possibilities will increase once the VCarve Nesting software is released.

Start...

Alibre will do this kind of operation. We use it all the time for cabinet design, as well as other design work as well. The Parametric nature of Alibre Design allows us to drive the design with...

There has been so much interest in this shelf design that I went back and re-created it from scratch with all the mathematical formulas, rather than a graphical solution.

The design now has the...

To use the Alibre model:

1. Open the SphereShelves.AD_PRT Part file and go into the Equation Editor using the f(x) icon on the right side, or Ctrl+E.

2. Modify the MATERIAL_THICK parameter...

Alibre Design is an affordable parametric CAD program, with a free version with limited part count. It is very similar to SolidWorks.

You model a "part" by drawing an outline and then you...

Danny,

Sorry the project zipped is greater than the 50k the posting will allow.

The project has been output for .750" material, but can be output for any other thickness. Email me with...

I have created the design for the spherical shelves in Alibre Design and made it parametric to allow resizing.

The material is currently .771" thick, but that can be resized to suit. I have a...

We do our designs with the Parametric program Alibre Design and set a parameter for the material thickness. This allows us to input the material thickness and have the design modify the slots to...

The curved moldings we have done were created as a Solid and exported as a STL file for carving in Cut3D.

If you can post dimensions for the radius and flats, we would be able to create a solid...

Get yourself a newer faster computer on which to do your design work, and do a fresh re-install of XP on your current system for the ShopBot (and leave off everything else).

Requires some degree...

For modeling Cabinetry and other part that use mainly a profile/outline cuts and pockets, we use Alibre Design. The Xpress version is free and should be adequate for needs from Hobby to light...

I have been drooling over their latest cutter and wondering if it was worth the expense:

http://www.amanatool.com/cncroutingdetails/rc-2252.html

Can you provide more information on the sizes and number of rectangles for each size.

There is a lot of software that would be suitable for the design work, but the selection of software for...

I would like to second Brian's recommendation for Alibre. We have been doing woodworking design in Alibre for quite a few years, as well as coding for the ShopBot.

There are free video and...

I prefer to do my design work with Alibre Design. Once you work with a parametric modeling package with constraints, you will never go back. It is so nice to select a constraint an make a line...

The Blind Dado joint for our cabinet corners consists of milling a 3/8" thick tongue on the end of one piece and the stopped dado slot into another.

The Tongue is done by doing a pocket over the...

Blind Dado! Once we figured out how to do them (CAD to CNC) they have been the staple of my cabinet construction designs.

What about a router vs. Air Drill as second Z? My understanding is a router bearings are better designed for the plunging involved in doing 5mm holes than a Spindle. Router vs. Air Drill because of...

We use the standard 5mm holes for our shelves, and we also drill for the Drawer Slides and Door Hinge Plates. The addition of the holes for the hardware makes it more desirable to use a 5mm bit than...

Max,

In addition to Sean's great advice, I wanted to chime in about a similar lack of accuracy problem in cutting to the line when Sean was cutting the Blind Dado joinery for some cabinets where...