Board Orientation & Optimizer in Cabinet Design Software

Board orientation, along with grain orientation in the cabinet design software, serves to map boards onto the materials from which they will be cut.

The main idea is to identify the thickness dimension of the board and tie that to the thickness of the material when using the SketchList 3D cabinet design software.

In the

1. Flat orientation the thickness = depth.
2. Horizontal orientation the thickness = height
3. Vertical orientation the thickness = width.

Secondarily SketchList 3D must map the dimensions of the board onto the dimensions of the material. Dimensions of material are always quoted and width and length. Dimensions of boards vary depending on orientation.

In the:

1. Flat orientation dimensions are height by width. Generally this maps onto the material with height of board = width of material and width of board = length of material.
2. Horizontal orientation dimensions are depth by width. Generally this maps onto the material with depth of board = width of material and width of board = length of material.
3. Vertical orientation dimensions are depth by height. Generally this maps onto the material with depth of board = width of material and height of board = length of material.

Grain direction plays a big role in the layout of boards on materials. In fact for a given material and thickness, grain direction is the next determinant of how the boards get laid out. When a new material is created, you enter the grain direction for that material. The choices are width, length, or none

Even if a board physically fits onto a material by size alone – for example a 24 X 60 inch board and a 48 X 96 inch material – it will not fit if the grain direction of the board is 24 inch and the grain direction of the material is 96 inch.

The setting of the grain direction impacts layout. The 48 x 96 material with the grain direction set to length with fit the 24 x 60 board with the grain direction going the 60 inch direction. But the board with the grain going the 24 inch direction cannot map onto the 48 x 96 material. Grain direction matters.

Pay attention to your design when you are inserting boards. Even though SketchList 3D will allow any side of the board to become any size – the grain direction and thickness matters when it comes to optimized layouts.

If you run the optimizer and see a lot of red boxes !!!!! you may created a material but forgotten to size that material.  Or you might have picked an incorrect orientation or set the grain direction the wrong way.

To see an example watch this video.

Cabinet Design Software Optimized Parts Layout – Cut List Plus