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Interiorcad learning curve and general software advice sought, thanks!


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Hi,

 

I'm in the process of setting up a bespoke kitchen/cabinet making business, I need a software solution to go from initial design to cnc manufacturing. I come from a custom home building background and up to now have used a combination of sketchup and manual (Ipad pro with pencil) drafting.

 

For my new business, obviously, the sooner I am productive the better.

 

I initially thought I would use sketchup, an extension called cabinetsense and vectric v carve pro for nesting/toolpath creation. I've looked into it and feel like this workflow wouldn't be too much of a stretch for me to learn and be productive in a reasonable amount of time.

 

I'm attracted to Interiorcad as it seems better suited to euro style cabinetry (I'm in the UK). Also as far as I can tell it's the go-to software for this industry in Germany, and I trust that the Germans know what's up when it comes to custom kitchen manufacturing.

 

I'm also attracted to Vectorworks due to it's ability to deliver complete 2d construction documents for both interiors and custom houses. So feel like Vectorworks and Interiorcad could offer a one stop shop for the wide range of tasks that I need. I also intend to employ others in the near future and Vectorworks is used widely in the UK.

 

I'd just like to get some advice on whether what I'm proposing is realistic for someone with minimal CAD skills to learn and be basically productive within say, 3-4 months time, or whether I might be biting off more than I can chew. The alternative would be to stick with the sketchup based workflow I'm more familiar with and transition over to VW/IC over a longer period of time.

 

Also, with Interiorcad, do you need an additional CAM software for toolpath creation and nesting? Can't quite tell from the website.

 

Any help appreciated!

 

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  • Vectorworks, Inc Employee

Hi @sol117 interiorcad is perfectly suited to bespoke cabinetry because it combines the flexibility of Vectorworks with a state of the art parametric cabinet and powerful 3D custom parts. In fact the top UK bespoke kitchen designers and manufacturers are already switching to interiorcad because of its unrivalled combination of presentation/visualisation, costing/material takeoffs and CNC interface. With most modern CNC workcentres, you won't even need an additional middleware. You can output your 3D designs straight to your machines.

Don't worry too much about the learning curve. As you are correctly pointing out, interiorcad is used by the vast majority of companies in Germany now and we are only getting started in the rest of the world, with the UK being our first international stepping stone - with some happy customers.

You will master any software if it is suited to your job and interiorcad is, 100%. If you want me to put you in touch with some active users (there are now considerably more than the ones whose testimonials we are using on our web site), PM me. Also happy to answer all your questions in a Zoom call/demo.

Thanks!

 

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54 minutes ago, Stephan Moenninghoff said:

Hi @sol117 interiorcad is perfectly suited to bespoke cabinetry because it combines the flexibility of Vectorworks with a state of the art parametric cabinet and powerful 3D custom parts. In fact the top UK bespoke kitchen designers and manufacturers are already switching to interiorcad because of its unrivalled combination of presentation/visualisation, costing/material takeoffs and CNC interface. With most modern CNC workcentres, you won't even need an additional middleware. You can output your 3D designs straight to your machines.

Don't worry too much about the learning curve. As you are correctly pointing out, interiorcad is used by the vast majority of companies in Germany now and we are only getting started in the rest of the world, with the UK being our first international stepping stone - with some happy customers.

You will master any software if it is suited to your job and interiorcad is, 100%. If you want me to put you in touch with some active users (there are now considerably more than the ones whose testimonials we are using on our web site), PM me. Also happy to answer all your questions in a Zoom call/demo.

Thanks!

Thanks for your info. I'm probably overthinking the learning curve. Up to now I've always been too busy to learn, so just opted for whatever option got the job done with minimal downtime.

 

Is vectorworks proficiency required before Interiorcad can be used? Or can I just start learning what I need the software to do immediately? I.e. 3d modelling direct to cnc.

Edited by sol117
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  • Vectorworks, Inc Employee

Vectorworks basic knowledge is a good foundation to becoming a successful interiorcad user. Get in touch with Vectorworks UK to get info on who can teach you. Once you have the basics under your belt, give me a shout and I'll teach you what you need to know for interiorcad.

A word of advice: as tempting as it might appear - avoid going down the easy path. Sketchup is great software but it is not for what you want. We did not choose Vectorworks randomly as a foundation for interiorcad 😉

Edited by Stephan Moenninghoff
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On 5/28/2022 at 7:43 PM, Stephan Moenninghoff said:

Vectorworks basic knowledge is a good foundation to becoming a successful interiorcad user. Get in touch with Vectorworks UK to get info on who can teach you. Once you have the basics under your belt, give me a shout and I'll teach you what you need to know for interiorcad.

A word of advice: as tempting as it might appear - avoid going down the easy path. Sketchup is great software but it is not for what you want. We did not choose Vectorworks randomly as a foundation for interiorcad 😉

 

 

Thanks for getting back to me. I’m keen to start the learning process. I’d like to learn by working towards a typical project. I know what I need at the end but don’t know where to start and the normal workflow.

 

Initially, I intend to do all initial design development/visualisation in Sketchup, just because I already know how to and don’t wish to overload myself. I may change to exclusively VW/IC later if it makes sense to. So firstly I’d like to learn what I need to output for project delivery only.

 

Altogether I need 2d Plans and Elevations to include mechanical and electrical, to share with others. I then need the 3d parametric modelling direct to CNC for in house production.

 

Considering I have zero knowledge of both VW and IC, where would you begin learning in order to deliver the above? Do I learn to draft in 2d within VW to create the plans/elevations before then learning IC? I presume once you have proficiency you 3d model in IC first before creating the 2d documentation?

 

Thanks Again,

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