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So I am trying to use the cabinet tool to layout a kitchen.  A lot of options like with all VW tools, prompts are not always descriptive enough to let user  anticipate outcome.  For instance I started in a corner with a base cabinet with blind corner.  Option for the blind is left, right or none.  Assuming that one is viewing the cabinet from face of cabinet I selected left as it will be the "blind side" and of corse the cabinet comes in with the blind portion on the right. When placing the next cabinet 90 deg. to the 'blind' portion pushed my wall out approximately 2".  This was very helpful!  (sarcasm noted) .  

No scribe tool found.  No apparent provision for a dishwasher opening.  Space the cabinets apart and place a separate piece of counter top is the solution I am guessing.  

I'm sure I can customize the daylights out of this tool and write scripts to solve everything.  But why?  Especially when home depot can literally drag someone from the street and in five minutes  or less using their kitchen tool layout a set of kitchen cabinets.  Also typically we like to align the upper cabinets at the top of the cabinet. (a few exceptions due to design or appliances etc) but instead we have to start at bottom of cab to FF.  I guess not a big deal, just more math to keep in you head.  

So do you guys place cabinets and then just create polygons or rectangles - solid fill and connect them to create a smooth surface for top plan 2d plan views?

In the OIP (see attached) what are these options for?  I found them and thought great! I can set class for counter tops and in sheet view port turn off the base  cabs and get the representation of counter tops that I want.  No no no doesn't work that way, so what are these options for?

I know I'm complaining and the fault is mine for not knowing how to use the tools,  so a couple of useful suggestions would be great.  

Thanks.

 

 

Screenshot 2017-01-10 13.06.42.png

Screenshot 2017-01-10 13.12.26.png

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@jmartinarchI feel your pain.  Same gripes.  I just kind of go with the flow.  There definitely have been settings that didn't turn out the way I also expected them too.

The corner cabinet for instance has a bug in it that one corner of the doors the faces are missing depending on the settings used for the look.

Some pieces I use the built in counter option and others I don't and put in a separate counter top.

In the end I've flip flopped from just using 2D geometry to actually using the cabinet tools.  Using the cabinet tools is with the idea of doing up a 3D view.

It (the cabinets) needs tweeking.  When I've got time maybe I'll go through a set up and pick out all the bad stuff and post a wish.

Sorry no real answers for ya.

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Guest Wes Gardner

Hi All,

 

For countertops, lots of folks use the FLOOR tool as it is a hybrid.  I also just extrude shapes as well but then you'll need to add a 2D shape if you want proper plan-views.  Yes, I agree, the cabinets offered in Vectorworks are CONCEPTUAL and yes there are some oddities. If you need/want more power and customization, check out InteriorCAD...the XS version is quite affordable and integrates nicely into Vectorworks.

I tried the Blind/Left and got what I expected...

 

Wes

Blind Left.vwx

Edited by Wes Gardner
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I have interiorCad XS in my office. Unfortunately, they've had a very difficult time keeping up with Vectorworks annual upgrade model. If you only wish to present with slab doors and drawers, I think it will work great for you. If you do mostly traditional style designs with 5 piece doors and drawer fronts (raised or flat panel doors), you're only choice is to stick with VW2014 and the 2014 version of InteriorCad.

 

I LOVE the improvements that 2016, and now 2017 have brought to Vectorworks, however, Interiorcad has become so fundamentally imbedded into my workflow, that I stick with 2014. My worry is that by the time InteriorCad has a fully functional upgrade available, Vectorworks will have moved forward again. It's an ugly scenario.

 

InteriorCad is a great product, they just need to be fully complete with their upgrade in my opinion. Don't get me wrong, InteriorCad is not perfect. It has it's quirks. You'll need to familiarize yourself with it's methods for sure. It's possible that truly realistic examples of the cabinetry being used isn't important enough to the bulk of their users.

 

The flip side of all of this is that the only reason I went outside of the Vectorworks cabinet tools to begin with, was because the VW cabinet objects are not consistent. The top drawer of a standard base cabinet and a drawer stack are not the same size for instance. It is modifiable of course by converting to a group, breaking it down and resizing, but that is a lot of work to make the drawer heads the same height. Secondly, you could make the correction, and save as a symbol, but then you're locked into the size of the overall cabinet, unless you repeat the whole "convert to group", methods again.

 

Now, if there is a fast, repeatable, and customizable way to resize drawer fronts that I'm not aware of, please enlighten me. I pay for service select, yet still hammer away on VW2014. I'd love to move forward.

 

I've attached a quick render showing InteriorCad created cabinets stacked on top of the same cabinets created using Vectorworks Cabinets. I should point out that with the InteriorCad cabinets, I can use any outside door/drawer edges and panel styles (I use the actual ones my cabinet suppliers use). I've opted not to for this image, but the can have the drawer boxes shown as well. Looking at the cabinets on the bottom, you'll see the drawer head size issue I mentioned above. 

 

EDIT: My apologies to jmartinarch for hijacking his thread! 

 

 

InteriorCad-VW cabs.png

Edited by Chris Fleming
Apologies for the hijack.
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I agree wholeheartedly with Chris Fleming.  I too use interiorcad, but I have moved on from 2014.  Version 2014 was really the last usable version of interiorcad.  They DO NOT keep up with VW upgrades at all, and have lost a lot of functionality from the 2014 version.

 

I hope one day they get things sorted out, but the transition to their new "vision" of producing "production realism" (which is a great concept!) has been years in the making and is nowhere near done yet.

Until then....I plug along with 2016 and when it craps out (which is a lot), I go back to basic VW 3D tools to get by.  

 

As for jmartinarch, sorry I can't help you with your issues with the VW cabinet tools.  The last time I tried to use them it was years ago and they are/were very limited.  In the past I have resorted to basic 3D geometry to represent the cabinets and filled-in the details in the viewport.  This works fine until you need a 3D view....

 

 

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The height of each drawer should be easily set in the Object Info palette.

Should be an easy add to the NEXT service pack.

Please do this.

 

Also...I am trying to understand the comment above "Version 2014 was really the last usable version of interiorcad." In this other very recent thread there are videos that appear very clearly to be using InteriorCad with VW2017...So what is going on here? 

 

 

Edited by gmm18
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Hot dam...

The "Custom Cabinet Tool" already in VW2017 works out pretty well once you get a few cabinet types built up in your drawing from the raw starting point that the tool gives you.

 

This is exactly the solution for the type of cabinetry design I do...(not sending anything to CNCs). 

 

Edited by gmm18
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gmm18:  To clarify my statement about InteriorCAD 2014, it was the last versions that was fully functional.  Not from a CNC production standpoint, but from a visualization standpoint.  I must preface this with saying I am using version 2016.  I can't comment on 2017.

 

There has been a lot of functionality stripped out from 2104.  To name a few:  

- no stile and rail doors (for the US market this would be a huge deal, for me in Canada not so much)

- extremely limited kick options

- limited scribes

- division tool is clunky and not stable

- the entire plug-in is not very stable

- no drawer boxes (only drawer fronts)

- for me, the program doesn't work unless I'm using metric measurements (again, not a big deal here in Canada, and this maybe something specific to my set-up).

 

The videos you mention are fantastic.  They look great and I hope they are a sign of things to come.  But I have seen these videos for a few years, but real world results are not the same.

 

I think they are on the right track, and I continue to follow the progress.  But they started in a new direction after 2014 called "production realism" (I think that's what they're calling it).  It has been now 3 versions (2015, 2016, 2017) and reports are that it's not quite ready yet. 

 

I can't wait until they prove me wrong....I will be the first to put my money down.  I do cabinet drawing/production every day.

 

 

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  • 4 months later...
On 2017-01-23 at 5:52 PM, Ride said:

gmm18:  To clarify my statement about InteriorCAD 2014, it was the last versions that was fully functional.  Not from a CNC production standpoint, but from a visualization standpoint.  I must preface this with saying I am using version 2016.  I can't comment on 2017.

 

There has been a lot of functionality stripped out from 2104.  To name a few:  

- no stile and rail doors (for the US market this would be a huge deal, for me in Canada not so much)

- extremely limited kick options

- limited scribes

- division tool is clunky and not stable

- the entire plug-in is not very stable

- no drawer boxes (only drawer fronts)

- for me, the program doesn't work unless I'm using metric measurements (again, not a big deal here in Canada, and this maybe something specific to my set-up).

 

The videos you mention are fantastic.  They look great and I hope they are a sign of things to come.  But I have seen these videos for a few years, but real world results are not the same.

 

I think they are on the right track, and I continue to follow the progress.  But they started in a new direction after 2014 called "production realism" (I think that's what they're calling it).  It has been now 3 versions (2015, 2016, 2017) and reports are that it's not quite ready yet. 

 

I can't wait until they prove me wrong....I will be the first to put my money down.  I do cabinet drawing/production every day.

 

 

 

 

I really appreciate reading your experience over the last few versions of Interiorcad.  I am a new user and only have experience with 2017.  I have been working with clients that need shaker doors on their cabinets, so I have to do a work around to achieve that.

 

Rob

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Guest BillV
On 1/23/2017 at 6:49 AM, gmm18 said:

 

We have added a plug in to Interiorcad to provide output via Enroute for nesting directly to CNC.  We are able to output the Classic Cabinet and  the 3d Custom Part and also the New Cabinet 3d. Having said that the new cabinet 3d remains very much a work in progress for Extra Group so if you are on a MAC your options are limited and nesting is not available on MAC.  Types of CNC for which we have output are Biesse, Felder, SCM and Anderson. This effectively provides a "screen to machine"  solution.

 

Edited by BillV
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Hi, I'm Hans Martin Kern, CTO of extragroup, the makers of interiorcad / interior xs.
 

As some of you have pointed out, our focus has been on driving NC machinery for custom part based designs lately.


Rest assured, we feel the pain of those who are using interiorcad / interior xs primarily for detailed cabinet visualization. We are (slowly but steadily) adding more functionality to the new Cabinet object - interiorcad 2017 introduced additional scribe options, additional kick options and rotated stretchers. Shaker-style / stile & rail doors (and faceframes, of course) are very much on our radar and will be (re-)introduced in future versions.
 

If you have any specific cabinet design / visualization options you would like to see us address rather sooner than later, please don't hesitate to get in touch with me (just use the board's message option).
 

I look forward to your feedback.

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  • 2 months later...

I have been using interiorcad xs for several years and want to move to the next level of Interiorcad. At this time it is difficult in the US to get support for the software here in the U.S. or am I looking in the wrong places? Specifically on producing documents and nesting to CNC. 

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  • Vectorworks, Inc Employee
5 hours ago, SMI said:

I have been using interiorcad xs for several years and want to move to the next level of Interiorcad. At this time it is difficult in the US to get support for the software here in the U.S. or am I looking in the wrong places? Specifically on producing documents and nesting to CNC. 

Hi @SMI, while we do not have an official dealer in the US, you are welcome to PM me with any specific questions you may have. We now offer a wide range of outputs to various CNC machines, as well as a DXF-based export that is user-configurable. So, we should be able to get you up and running with interiorcad ASAP.

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I have xs I have been using since 2012 and been working off of a demo of the full version of interiorcad. I am trying to upgrade to the full version but can't get hold of the gentleman that has been servicing the US. Next closest is Resolve in Canada but they won't sell to me. I like the program but the lack of support may push us in an entirely different direction.  Any help would be appreciated. 

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We have been Vectorworks agents for 20 years and have a good installed base of Interiorcad Users. We have also developed a range of Plug Ins to Interiorcad which facilitate such things such as grain matching  and mortice and tenon joints. We  have provided training and support to users in the US.

 

As you may have seen from my earlier post we can  provide output to CNC via Enroute  (for nesting) or to Alphacam and aspan.

Edited by BillV
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  • Vectorworks, Inc Employee
8 hours ago, SMI said:

I have xs I have been using since 2012 and been working off of a demo of the full version of interiorcad. I am trying to upgrade to the full version but can't get hold of the gentleman that has been servicing the US. Next closest is Resolve in Canada but they won't sell to me. I like the program but the lack of support may push us in an entirely different direction.  Any help would be appreciated. 

@SMIplease contact Sven Biermann (sven.biermann@extragroup.de) for sales. Thank you!

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  • 5 months later...
On 9/18/2017 at 1:53 PM, Stephan Moenninghoff said:

Hi all,

I have just posted a video preview of interiorcad 2018 here: 

Keep the comments coming. Thanks for your input!

 

Hello Stephan,

Please excuse my lack of knowledge.  I have been using VWX on a Mac for years for public projects and only recently I have started taking on residential work.  As you know the VWX's cabinet library is not adequate for laying out and modeling a residential kitchen.  So I have requested a demo of  interior xs. I have downloaded it and installed it under Applications.  So how do I access it when I am working on a floor plan?

I have never installed extensions so hence my difficulty. I would appreciate any help you may give me.  Thank you for your time!

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  • Vectorworks, Inc Employee
3 hours ago, dollymama94 said:

 

Hello Stephan,

Please excuse my lack of knowledge.  I have been using VWX on a Mac for years for public projects and only recently I have started taking on residential work.  As you know the VWX's cabinet library is not adequate for laying out and modeling a residential kitchen.  So I have requested a demo of  interior xs. I have downloaded it and installed it under Applications.  So how do I access it when I am working on a floor plan?

I have never installed extensions so hence my difficulty. I would appreciate any help you may give me.  Thank you for your time!

 

If you have installed interiorcad or interior xs correctly, it is immediately available in VWX. You may have to switch workspaces though. Go to Tools -> Workspaces and find the interiorcad /interior xs workspace. Does that help?

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