MDF Raised Panel door process (How To ? )

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David2180
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MDF Raised Panel door process (How To ? )

Post by David2180 »

I'm trying to figure out the best way to set up a raised panel MDF door file that I can resize and reuse without having to redraw the inner panel every time , I'm currently planning to use this bit set from vortex https://www.vortextool.com/pub/media/assets/7900.pdf
Is there a way to do this in the design or somehow in a offset tool path from the outer dimensions? I've also got the INS-7965 Bit that usually runs just in a corner and not around the whole door so not really sure if offset would work here?
Also whats the best way to draw the cabinet boxes with dado's and shelve pin holes so when its resized the dados and holes stay the same distance from the edges (Parametric modeling in essence)

Thank you for any advice you can give in regards to this. Even if there is another software I should consider using,I've looked at cabinet making software which seems easy enough but more than I may need.

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Adrian
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Re: MDF Raised Panel door process (How To ? )

Post by Adrian »

VCarve is not parametric although you can emulate some of it by using document variables and formulas in the offsets, cut depths etc in the toolpaths.

I don't do cabinets these days but when I used to I realised that 90% of the work was the same thing over and over so I just created template files of all the parts and then dragged and dropped them into a new job when needed.

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Re: MDF Raised Panel door process (How To ? )

Post by Leo »

No Vectric is not parametric, BUT, there is a scale feature such that you CAN set the dimensions of a selection to exact "X" and "Y" dimensions.
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dealguy11
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Re: MDF Raised Panel door process (How To ? )

Post by dealguy11 »

This takes a bit of work to set up, but does what you want and is quick to use after you set it up. It's possible to create an Excel spreadsheet where you enter the door size, stile and rail widths and have Excel calculate the corners of each of the cutting vectors for your specific door style. Paul Rowntree has a gadget for VCarve Pro and Aspire that allows you enter points into a CSV-formatted file and create vectors from those points (called CSV to 2D gadget...you can find it with Google). You can set up cells in your spreadsheet formatted for Paul's gadget to input the doors into VCarve Pro or Aspire.

My spreadsheet for this is kind of stupid, in that I just set up 100 blocks in the spreadsheet for 100 doors, and I have 1 spreadsheet for each major door style (the number and position of vectors varies by style). At some point I will use macros to automate it a bit better so it can do an unlimited number of doors and styles.

Once the vectors are in VCarve Pro, you can use toolpath templates to automate the creation of the toolpaths.

In the meantime I have cut several hundred sheets of doors using this approach. It takes me perhaps 20 minutes to set up a 60-80 door job. My spreadsheet is extremely purpose-built and would be difficult for me to support for other people, so I don't distribute it, but if you have a reasonable understanding of Excel you should be able to set up something like this. Could also be done with a database program like Access.
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BenjaminwithCNC
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Re: MDF Raised Panel door process (How To ? )

Post by BenjaminwithCNC »

Is there no gadget for this?

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Adrian
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Re: MDF Raised Panel door process (How To ? )

Post by Adrian »

BenjaminwithCNC wrote:
Mon Jun 07, 2021 1:25 pm
Is there no gadget for this?
There's a cabinet maker one - viewtopic.php?f=51&t=33007

It doesn't do doors but Jim has created a whole range of different gadgets for drawers, dovetails joints etc so he might be interested in developing one for you.

Years ago (back when @Last owned it) I wrote a doors and cabinets plugin for Sketchup but I never bothered when I started using VCarve etc as I found that I was doing the same basic door shapes over and over so a parts library was all I really needed.

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dealguy11
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Re: MDF Raised Panel door process (How To ? )

Post by dealguy11 »

One thing you might try is to set up a standard door with the profiles you need for that door. For each door size, make a copy of the template. Select all the vectors in the copy. Hit "N" to enter node editing mode - you should see the nodes on all the vectors. To increase width, click and drag to select all the nodes on one side of the door, for all the vectors. Right click on one of the highlighted nodes, click on "Properties", and enter an offset in X to move all the vectors, with relative move specified. So if your template door is 12" wide and the door you're creating is 18 3/16", then you would do a 6 3/16" relative move. Similarly, if the desired door is 10 3/8, then you'd enter a -1 5/8" move (negative). All the nodes should move that distance at once and the vectors making up the profiles will not change distance in relation to one another.

Do the same thing with all the nodes at the top of the door to adjust the height.

If you start with a relatively small template door with an easy-to-calculate size, like 10" x 10", then the calculations are simple, and mostly addition.

This way you're making only 2 adjustments to the template for each door size, and you're not redrawing the door each time.
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TomWS
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Re: MDF Raised Panel door process (How To ? )

Post by TomWS »

dealguy11 wrote:
Mon Jun 07, 2021 3:29 pm
One thing you might try is to set up a standard door with the profiles you need for that door. For each door size, make a copy of the template. Select all the vectors in the copy. Hit "N" to enter node editing mode - you should see the nodes on all the vectors. To increase width, click and drag to select all the nodes on one side of the door, for all the vectors. Right click on one of the highlighted nodes, click on "Properties", and enter an offset in X to move all the vectors, with relative move specified. So if your template door is 12" wide and the door you're creating is 18 3/16", then you would do a 6 3/16" relative move. Similarly, if the desired door is 10 3/8, then you'd enter a -1 5/8" move (negative). All the nodes should move that distance at once and the vectors making up the profiles will not change distance in relation to one another.
If I understand your sequence correctly, you select all the nodes that make up the right side stiles AND the right side of all the rails and panels. Then, as you move, you're completely moving the stiles, and stretching the rails and panels, keeping both the rails and the stiles the same width (which is what one would want). By the same token, doing a similar thing to the top stretches the stiles and panels, but, again, keeping the rails and stiles the proper width.
This sounds like a good solution and I would think could be easily implemented as a script (saying that without having done a script yet :oops: ). The tricky part would be if its a multipanel door (eg, has a middle rail).

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dealguy11
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Re: MDF Raised Panel door process (How To ? )

Post by dealguy11 »

Yes, sounds like you've got it. For multi-light doors, there will be more work. If it's only 4 lights, then you can have a template with crossed mullions and adjust the nodes at each rail and stile (i.e., 4 moves). With more lights, you'll need to do math to figure out how to move them. In the doors I do, it's pretty rare that I do a lot of them with more than 4, so I'd do them on an as-needed basis rather than try to template them.
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