Cabinet back with full dado and scribe with eCabinets

[dlcw]

Using eCabinets, is it possible to select a full dado back and have it inset to leave a 1/8" scribe? See picture. When I try to do this I get a full dado the width of the back 1/2" and a 1/8" piece of material left on the cabinet side. This would break off in a heart beat and not leave me a scribe.


662


Thanks,

Don
www.diamondlakewoodworks.com (http://www.diamondlakewoodworks.com)

[Gary Campbell]

Don...
If using a 1/2" back, try this or adjust accordingly. Select 5/8 as back thickness, full dado and 0 back inset. Set your dado depth as required. As long as you dont have anywhere you need a tight dado, this should work.

Gary

[thewoodcrafter]

Don,

The program will not rabbet.
It will only dado.
What is wrong with the dado?
It will do what your picture shows only with a 1/8" piece. I would break that off before assembly and staple the back in.
Then you have what you want.

Your other option is to nest with 5/8" back material with no inset. I make special material
for things I don't want to cut. I can them DO NOT CUT in the sheet goods.
To be able to nest and cut your backs add display panels the size and from the material you need.

[thewoodcrafter]

I see Gary types with more than 2 fingers.

[Gary Campbell]

Thanks Roger...
but really only 2.

Don...
Roger makes a good point, you wont be able to cut the backs. A possibly cleaner way would be to use a 3/4" back with a -1/8 offset. Not sure if that one would cut, but might leave a cleaner cut.
Remember, it is software, if they didnt want you to trick it or bend the rules, they would call it hardware.
Gary

[dlcw]

Thank you Gary and Roger.

I was afraid that rabbiting was not an option with eCabinets. Rogers idea of just break it off and fasten the back in place seems to be the way to go.

All right! I get to make cabinet parts, break them and charge the customer for them :-) Who could ask for a better line of work.... LOL

Don

[kerry_fullington]

Don,

Here is a copy of Larry Epplin's directions on the eCabinets forum to get what you are after.

" Larry Epplin » Fri, Aug 28 2009, 7:35AM

To get it to show graphically in eCabinets Kerry's suggestion is the way to go, however, this will created an 1/8" wide pocket at the machine which means an additional operation. If you would like it do be done in 1 operation per dado then Brian's suggestion is the way to go. By using Fit Clearance in the Back Settings - Construction Parameters the dados will be made wider by that amount. So you should remove the back inset value and apply 1/4" Fit Clearance for dados. This will make the dado 1/8" wider on both sides. Keep in mind that the Fit Clearance value is not applied to the graphical display "

Kerry

[dlcw]

Thanks Kerry. I read this over on the eCabs forum. It sounds like a better way to go then cutting the dado and breaking off the excess. I think going forward I will use Larry's method.

Thanks to everyone for your help on this. I figured there had to be a way to trick the software into doing what was needed.

Don

[kerry_fullington]

Don,

The method Larry describes gets the result you want in a single operation. It doesn't show up graphically in eCabinets but you can always look at the part in the nest diagrams to make sure it is going to cut the way you want.

Kerry

[Gary Campbell]

Kerry...
Thanks for the post over here. I sometimes forget that many ShopBotters dont follow the eCabs forum. Lets hope that the SB Link users do.

Don...
Using Larry's instruction, I was able to apply those settings to a blind dado box (sides to top & deck) using a 1/2" back with 1/8" back inset and .25 fit clearance. It did return the "rabbet" that you referred to above with proper dimensions. It also nested the back material, and even tho this is not that important to me, showed a 1/2" back 1/8" inset graphically. Shown, but not in the actual location. I also noted that the top (back flush) size does not reflect the size created by the additional clearance and would have to be manually trimmed. I dont think adjusting the inset for the top panel only will work.

Sometimes there is one solution to make parts cut correctly, and another to make them display properly. When going out to cnc, cut properly must win. Having to recut on a table saw doesnt seem like a good option, as there is a lot of dust or parts stacked on my slider!


Kerry..
a couple more questions;
Do you have any idea what percentage of eCabs users cut on a CNC? (inhouse or out)

Is there a way to see the CNC output (nest) for a cabinet in the CE? It appears to me that I need to save the cab as a batch prior to generating the cnc output. I find that an audit of actual sizes of parts & geo shapes to be the most useful tool in eCabs. Having to generate an ESJ for each just to look at the cuts is not productive.
Gary

[kerry_fullington]

Gary,

I have no idea how many eCab users are taking advantage of CNC.

There is no way to nest from the Cabinet Editor. You must save the cabinet and simply open the cabinet in Batch and nest it to look at your cuts. If you need to look at several cabinets just batch them one at a time and remove them from batch after you are done. You don't have to save the batch job and create the esj file just use batch to view your cabinet files. In this case think of batch as a viewer for your CNC output.
Also remember that you can take a cabinet into the Cabinet Editor from Batch if you need to make changes to it. You can save changes and return it to batch to look at it again.
Kerry

[dlcw]

Kerry and Gary,

Thank you both for your insight into this solution.

I guess I'm more of the mindset of functional versus visual when it comes to eCabs. Of course I could be all wrong in this mindset. I know I'll never be near the level of you Kerry. I've seen some of your postings and they are incredible! As the potential solution to this need is mostly functional, the visual aspects in presenting a design to a customer are not as important an issue (correct me if I'm wrong Kerry) as this part of the cabinet is against a "wall". Prior to cutting the part it will have to be audited during nesting to ensure the cuts will perform properly. I guess some testing might be in order to make sure all the settings are correct.

Don

[Gary Campbell]

Kerry...
Thanks... I was taking uneeded steps.

Don...
Correction from above. I applied 1/8 back inset that was uneeded. Doesnt matter, with this eliminated, top still does not reflect size of "rabbet"

Gary

[kerry_fullington]

Don,

To insure that everything is OK when you use a procedure like Larry suggests, do what Gary and I are discussing. Save the cabinet then open it in Batch and nest it, then by double clicking the sheets then the exact part you can see if the cut is being made properly. The nest diagram will give you the length and width of the dado that is being cut.
This is also very helpful to check for placement of hardware holes or starting points for shelf pin holes etc. The nest diagram will give you the exact location of each of these.
Kerry

[bws]

I was wondering if anyone out there that has the plug-in that can read (and write) the ecabinets data files that ecabinets by Thermwood outputs to (.TWD).
My question is can you bring in a .TWD file and output another data file in .DXF?
If that is true, can anyone offer a "re-formattig" service?
Thanks
Jim

[thewoodcrafter]

Jim,
That can not be done.
No way, no how.

Besides, it is against the user agreement to hack the TWD file. Only the ShopBot Link program (and a Thermwood machine) can read a TWD file.