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How To Design A Parametric Bookcase
How To Design A Parametric Bookcase
Step 11: Don't Buy the Encyclopedias Yet . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 Step 12: Then As We Say-Viola! . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13 Related Instructables . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14 Comments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
http://www.instructables.com/id/How-to-Design-a-Parametric-Bookcase/
Author:woodknot
author's website I am an Engineering Technician with 15 years as a glorified government drafter. Another 5 years was spent drawing/programing for a company that had CNC machines. I taught AutoCAD at the local community college. I am now freelancing. My first CAD drawing was using Medusa on a Tektronics cathode ray tube. It was a troll living under a bridge. My last drawing was with Alibre and it was a frame and panel front desk for a New York apartment building. My husband, a Mechanical Engineer, has been a woodworker most of his life.
http://www.instructables.com/id/How-to-Design-a-Parametric-Bookcase/
http://www.instructables.com/id/How-to-Design-a-Parametric-Bookcase/
Step 3: ZOOM-ZOOM-Z-o-o-O-O-O-M
Zoom way out and select Activate 2D Sketch on the XY plane. We are going to start with the side of our Bookcase. We could start with any part, but have chosen the side as the best part to begin the introduction on using parameters with equations. Draw a rectangle, constrain it symmetrically about the X & Y axes, and get ready to dimension the Width and Length. Review the Instructable "Model Woodworking Board or Sheet Part" if you need more detailed information on the steps to draw a simple board. Read it carefully, because it is crammed with everything you need to know in order to construct a board model that will function properly all the way through output for drawing, Bill of Material, and sheet nesting or even CNC machining. Since the focus of this lesson is parametric dimensioning, we will concentrate on the dimensioning aspects of this board part. Add dimensions. We know that the bookcase is 54 inches high. It would be safe to presume then that the side will be 54" long, and we would be right. It would also be safe to say that any drafting program can do this. Since we are using Alibre and it has the advantage of being parametric, we want instead to set the value of the part Length to the (you guessed it) the BOOKCASE_HEIGHT. Add the Length dimension for the board to the horizontal side of the rectangle, and enter the Equation Editor via the dimension dialog box and set the Name to Length and Equation entry to "Bookcase_Height". Complete the entry, and when you return to the drawing area, you should notice the length of the rectangle now contains a parameter name rather than a value, and the horizontal length of the rectangle is 54" long. Press the HOME key to show the entire sketch if it does not currently fit entirely within the drawing area. It may be necessary to check the Show Equations box in the Design Properties to see the parameter names and equations rather than a simple value on your sketches. Go to File > Properties and in the Design Properties dialog box Dimension Tab, the Show Equations box is about half way down on the Left. You can apply this only to the current document for this exercise, but you may want to apply to Both (in the Apply Options tab) if you want to do more work with parametric equations. Dimension the vertical direction of the rectangle for the part using the parameter name Width and Equation Value of "Bookcase_Depth". This will make the board Width equal to the BOOKCASE_DEPTH. If you goof as I did, and made it equal to the BOOKCASE_WIDTH instead, you will get a large square rather than a long rectangle. This is where my husband chimes in with a wise crack about using Breadth instead of Width to define the design dimensions, but now is not the time to admit it. Goofs are pretty obvious with the graphical nature of Alibre, and the beauty of using solid modeling rather than some cabinet design packages. Time to give our Bookcase Side some thickness. Select Extrude Boss and set the extrusion Type to MidPlane. This is in keeping with the best practices described in the Board Instructable and constructing parts symmetrically about the origin when possible. In the depth field instead of just entering 3/4", we know that it we should enter "Bookcase_Thick" for the Depth. You should press the button to the right of the depth field with the 3 dots to enter the Equation Editor, and name the parameter "Thick" and enter "Bookcase_Thick" as the Equation. After returning to the Extrude Boss dialog box, give the Extrude Boss a label of "Part" and click OK. You do not want to be too specific at this time with the name of the Feature for the rectangular solid. If we name it Side now, we will have to rename it each time we re-use this part file to create another part for our model. Being less specific with the feature names allows us to borrow from our growing library of existing part models, and let the name we save the part file under describe the actual use. Not quite Rocket Science, but we are on our way to using parameters and equations to define the dimensions of our parts rather than just values.
http://www.instructables.com/id/How-to-Design-a-Parametric-Bookcase/
Step 4: Wood is not gray unless it has been left in the sun.
While the choices and the applications of color are limited, with the use of some color, shadow, reflectivity, and opacity. We can come close to an acceptable brown color. Hover your arrow over the yucky government gray slab and right click. Choose Color Properties. When the Color box comes up check the color button. I chose the numbers in the custom color section. If you cannot read it, they are: Hue: 30 Sat: 100 and Lum: 180. I added it as a custom color so that it would always be available, at least when I want maple. I must add another note about the Board Instructable. It has lots of wood colors formulas. Want wenge?
http://www.instructables.com/id/How-to-Design-a-Parametric-Bookcase/
Step 6: E=mc2
(this is a long one so get coffee) Now we can get down to the really fun part. We are going to use parametric equations to define the dimensions for the back of the Bookcase. To save us the boring task of drawing another rectangle, constraining, dimensioning and entering all the dimensions that define the bookcase, we will instead open the Side part (if not still open) and do a Save As under the new part file name 'Back'. This will allow us to go directly to re-defining the size of the rectangular part that will now become the back of our bookcase. The normal orientation for the back of a cabinet or bookcase is that with the grain running vertically. It does not matter that we have created the part for the back laying on its side, because it will be oriented vertically when it is constrained into the bookcase assembly. What is important here, is that the Width of the Back will be related to the Width (Breadth for my husband) of the bookcase. In this design, the back will be inset between the two side/end panels of the bookcase. So, the Width of our Back panel will be the Width of the Bookcase, minus the thickness of the two bookcase side panels. Open the Equation Editor, and MODIFY the Width parameter for the part, and replace the current Equation with a new equation that defines the Width of the Back. I am sure you are already way ahead of me, but that Equation will be 'Bookcase_Width - 2*Bookcase_Thick'. Bookcase_Thick is the value used to define the thickness of each Side panel in our first part. Maybe you can already see how all the parts for an entire cabinet can be defined if you create all the parameters to describe the cabinet. Counter_Height, Counter_Thick, Toekick_Height, Toekick_Depth, Cabinet_Width, Cabinet_Depth... all can be defined (and easily modified) to provide all the information required to specify the dimensions of every part. The Top of a cabinet is sandwiched between the two cabinet ends would have the same Length formula as the Width of our bookcase back. The equation for the Length of the Top would then be something similar to 'Cabinet_Width - LeftEnd_Thick - RightEnd_Thick' where a thickness is defined for each end in order to allow differing thicknesses if desired (which we have encountered far more than you would think). While it may appear at this time that it is more trouble than it is worth to go through every single part and change the values that define the cabinet itself, there are techniques that make this a reasonable task. From the use of Configurations in the Professional and Expert versions of Alibre to create multiple parts in the same part file, to Spreadsheet driven parameters, and even custom programs written using the Alibre API interface. Creating parametric driven models can make creating common woodworking designs quite simple and quickly. Xpress users should not loose heart because you too can benefit from configurations. A properly constructed model using configurations will allow you to manipulate the defining parameter values and use a model composed of a significant number of parts, while only be regarded by Xpress as a single part because all the parts are contained in a single part file. But, you can tell I have been listening too much because my husband prattles on about configurations and modeling. Time to finish the back to our bookcase. Open the Equation Editor again, and MODIFY the Length parameter. Since the back of a bookcase usually ends at the bottom shelf and does not go all the way to the
http://www.instructables.com/id/How-to-Design-a-Parametric-Bookcase/
floor, we will subtract the Toe kick height from the Height of the bookcase in order to get the length of the back. Replace the Equation for the Length of our part with 'Bookcase_Height - Toekick_Height'. Since the thickness of the Back does not change, save the part file and we are done with the Back part.
http://www.instructables.com/id/How-to-Design-a-Parametric-Bookcase/
http://www.instructables.com/id/How-to-Design-a-Parametric-Bookcase/
http://www.instructables.com/id/How-to-Design-a-Parametric-Bookcase/
http://www.instructables.com/id/How-to-Design-a-Parametric-Bookcase/
http://www.instructables.com/id/How-to-Design-a-Parametric-Bookcase/
http://www.instructables.com/id/How-to-Design-a-Parametric-Bookcase/
http://www.instructables.com/id/How-to-Design-a-Parametric-Bookcase/
Related Instructables
http://www.instructables.com/id/How-to-Design-a-Parametric-Bookcase/
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reddawggie says:
Dec 24, 2009. 3:16 AM REPLY Great instructable! I designed and built the physical shelf with this, and I used your molding extrusion instructable for the corner lock miters. Thanks!
tichus says:
Mar 27, 2009. 6:07 AM REPLY I know this may be premature, But I am interested in making a knockdown version of a similar bookcase. Is it possible to set up precision drill holes for camlocks with this program, so that everything stays snug? Ps. Know any good woodshops in Jacksonville, Fl looking for talented furniture design and build?
edina2015 says:
I didn't like how it was put in computer format
grahamshere says:
Mar 21, 2008. 12:55 AM REPLY HI. I'm just getting into alibre and these tuts are great But, on step 6 when I go to modify the width parameter the ok button grays out on me after I enter any words.I'm using Alibre Design. I don't know if this is the right place to ask this . If not just send me to the right area to ask questions. Thank you.
woodknot says:
Mar 21, 2008. 11:56 AM REPLY The OK button will be grayed out if there is an error in the parameter name or value. There can not be any spaces or dashes in the name (which is probably not the case here), and the parameter names in the formulas have to match over valid parameter names. I will check for a problem in the instructable, but I suspect a misspelling of a parameter name or lack of math operation to separate parameter names. I am glad the tutorials are helping, and we are working to prepare more aimed specifically at using Alibre for woodworking.
http://www.instructables.com/id/How-to-Design-a-Parametric-Bookcase/