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Software for planning wood bookcases/cabinets/tables etc?
app103:
btw...mouser...if you ever need to build a fence, let me know. I am available and it will be the most beautiful sturdy work of genius you have ever seen. (I need to get pics of the one I did with my dad)
Jimdoria:
For this kind of project, SketchUp is a great choice. MUCH simpler to use and faster to learn than a "regular" CAD program. There's a free version available from Google that you can try out.
http://sketchup.google.com/ It's supposed to be mostly for adding 3-D buildings to Google Earth but you can use it for anything.
Working with SketchUp is much more intuitive than slinging polygons as you must do in many 3-D apps, and much more like working with real objects. Want to cut a hole in a board? Draw the board (elongated cube) then use the circle tool to draw a circle on the board (the pencil automatically snaps to the board's surface) then cut out the circle. If you ever tried to do this in a traditional 3-D app, wrestling with triangulation or subdividing polygons or object intersections, you'll appreciate how radical this simple approach is.
In short, if you want to learn a CAD program, buy a CAD program, but if you want to quickly produce some useful 3-D drawings, check out SketchUp.
Before Google bought them, the company that actually wrote this app (@Last Software) seemed like a pretty cool outfit. I always liked SketchUp, but couldn't afford it at the $500 price point. The full version (now called Sketchup Pro) is still available from http://www.sketchup.com/?id=2.
The main benefits for which you need the Pro version are:
* Export 3D models to CAD and other 3D formats.
* Export 2D vector images.
* Create multi-page design documents and presentations.
* Arrange and annotate multiple scaled images on a single-page.
* Create customized elements and symbols for your presentations using 2D Vector graphics toolset.
* Create, document and present your designs using a single software package.
* Receive professional email technical support.
pao:
For this kind of project, SketchUp is a great choice. MUCH simpler to use and faster to learn than a "regular" CAD program. There's a free version available from Google that you can try out.-Jimdoria (February 08, 2007, 11:06 AM)
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One caveat with SketchUp: I've found it difficult to do exact dimensioning. It requires some mouse-and-keyboard-fu, and changing dimensions after the fact is difficult enough that I've found it easier to delete missized objects and start over. I'd prefer a parametric CAD system for generating plans for fine furnishings; that is to say, anything I was putting inside as opposed to a garage.
Or, you can use pencil and paper, as I did for my headboard, which came out fine. I'd suggest getting a good, ghosted grid paper; I'm partial to the engineer's computation pad myself. It is green paper with the grid printed on the reverse so it just shows through. Of course, I'm an engineering student, and always have this stuff around, so I may be biased. A light, ghosted grid is essential, though, since it lets you use an erasable pencil without (1) damaging the grid lines, and (2) confusing your lines with the grid.
Miles:
Hi Mouser,
Parametrics are good for this kind of task.
Here is a free parametric program which is quite simple to use:
http://www.alibre.com/xpress/software/alibre-design-xpress.asp
mouser:
Just a quick update picture of my wall-to-wall floor-to-ceiling bookcase installation so far:
It still needs the adjustable shelves painted and put in, and then trim painted and put on as the "face" of the bookshelves (i.e. all the unpainted face edges you can see will have a nice thick front covering them and making the entire bookcase look like 1 single unit) and covering the gaps in sides and top+bottom.
total size is about 16 feet long by 9 feet tall. bottom section is 12" deep, top section is 8" deep.
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