Last week, we received a call from one of our end users who had implemented Woodworking for Inventor the year before. He was highly satisfied with it; he even noted that not only has their productivity increased but also the speed and quality of both engineering departments and shop floors! Those types of calls are always delightful to have, however this time around, there was more purpose behind his message: what else can we do as an organization to help them?
We love hearing from our customers – after all, that's how progress is made in any industry – and take pride in being able to provide solutions tailored specifically for them.
Management has determined that the best way to maximize efficiency is to provide users with time and resources for self-education, equipping them with necessary tools they may have avoided because of a perception of difficulty. By following the same protocols and guidelines, many departments have seen dramatic increases in performance without having to recruit new employees; rather they are able to use their current staff members more effectively.
To illustrate the techniques we discussed, we have composed an example of a cabinet with many components. The face frame and other pieces are separate sub-assemblies that must be connected via joinery or woodworking to form one unified structure. With such careful construction, it is essential to perform housekeeping tasks for increasing efficiency in assembly process.
To experience the power of our software for yourself, feel free to download a trial and explore what it has to offer. Additionally, you can visit our website directly at the links found on this page; if that isn't enough, contact us directly and we'll provide access to a demonstration version.
Our customers have developed a variety of catalog systems that use either rigorous or relaxed standards. With this process, individual parts and sub-assemblies can be inserted into folders for assembly purposes, to be utilized repeatedly in the future.
Our customers have expanded the standard capability of creating families and parts, as well as model states. Some users even take advantage of part development and assembly development systems that rely on I logic or spreadsheets to control their designs; for a hybrid approach, all these tools can be used together.
Our tutorial today will be unique as we'll combine two separate systems to create a hybrid of independent and dependent components. To start, let's use joinery - an effective way to build accuracy, speed up the process, and ensure good quality in both pilot hole development AND location.
Our goal for today is to determine how we can quickly alter the joinery of an existing product, from biscuits to pocket screws or dowels, and lock dowels effortlessly.
Let's get started on this project by first exploring our options with library items. This caucus is a great resource that can be easily adapted to meet the specifications of the joinery; such as, connection points, dimensional data and more. Step one is setting up this project in a way that allows it to remain variable throughout its development.
To clarify, the basics I'm referring to are the allowances I have set up between my back panels and side panels. As you can see when we enter wireframe mode, no joinery is present - such as dowels or biscuits, pocket screws etc. However it is obvious that these components come with pre-arranged tolerances.
To maximize the user experience, we strongly recommend that our end users utilize our logic forms. Through these forms they can edit and customize their unit as needed - such as reducing its width from 40 to 32! Editing these fields is simple and straightforward, especially when you consider all of the other possibilities available for augmenting this particular unit.
Core thickness is the measurement of everything besides the back panel. By altering this, you can modify the entire piece while keeping crucial clearances in mind for machining purposes. Additionally, with a simple change to our vertical panel from 12 inches to 15 inches, we are able to effortlessly adjust it and continue working on other parts of your project.
The purpose of this is to construct your libraries in such a way that you can effortlessly adjust them according to the job or company. You may not be able to understand everything, but it's possible for you to get at least 50% more than what a standard Library item would offer.
One of the most difficult things to alter is preparing for a future end result. To ensure our projects are successful, we carefully assess what might happen in the long run and that's why you'll find face frame joinery and Phase fade joinery on every project we work on. These added details guarantee success down the road!
We have four possible setups; no joinery, pocket screws, biscuits or lock dowels. For example, if I wish to use only biscuits and not include any pocket screws in my design, the corresponding model will already adjust all of the necessary settings as well as maintain center lines that are at least three or four inches away from either side.
If we want a traditional biscuit joint instead of pocket screws, we can switch it up. We now have the option for lock dowels as well. However, keep in mind that these require pilot holes and specific construction to be machined before assembly.
To finish off, I'm going to switch back to pocket screws for the next step. Scope helps by adding in all of the pilot hole information that is required. The process should be fairly easy and straightforward - let's turn off shading so you can better visualize what it will do. It doesn't matter whether or not you are machining on a CNC router; this data creation procedure remains simple either way!
After initially considering pocket screws, we decided on using biscuits. You can see them in place now, but the existing holes for the screw pockets remain until I reshape it. Then these pilot holes disappear and new ones appear to accommodate the biscuit joinery instead.
By anticipating and preparing for changes in our jobs, we are able to craft a much more efficient process that yields accurate outcomes much faster. Let's take a closer look at this strategy and adjust one of these elements accordingly.
To experience the power of our software for yourself, feel free to download a trial and explore what it has to offer. Additionally, you can visit our website directly at the links found on this page; if that isn't enough, contact us directly and we'll provide access to a demonstration version.