Woodworking Software Primer
This article provides an overview of different types of woodworking
software, some terminology, and other information to help you learn
about the world of woodworking software.
CAD
Probably the most popular category of woodworking software is software
for designing furniture and other projects made from wood.
Computer-Aided Design (CAD) is a generic term for programs that are used
to graphically design objects on a computer screen via capabilities such
as zooming, rotating, copying, stretching, layering, and viewing from
different perspectives. Some CAD programs contain a library of object
templates so that for example, you could select a basic dresser template
and then manipulate it as you see fit without having to create the
drawing from scratch. Most decent programs also produce printouts of
dimensioned drawings and materials lists - highly desirable features for
woodworking projects. Low-end CAD packages (say, under $200) are
typically of the 2D variety whereas the higher-end systems usually
provide so-called 3D capabilities in which you can rotate and view
objects from any perspective to better appreciate the appearance of the
finished product.
Some of the advantages of CAD include the ability to reuse previously
designed components and to make changes quickly and easily. After the
learning curve has been mastered, many woodworkers are able to design
furniture more quickly on the computer than with pencil and paper. This
is especially true of complex or large projects. Speaking of the
learning curve, it seems that one's opinions of a particular CAD product
are directly related to one's proficiency with it - once you become
proficient with a given product, you "learn to like it" and you're
likely to stick with that product. Note that the user interfaces
to many CAD programs are modeled after AutoCAD (the big dog on the CAD
block) although a number of people find the AutoCAD interface to be less
than intuitive.
Most CAD products are fairly generic, which makes them appropriate
for designing furniture as well as car parts, buildings, electronic
equipment, and so on. However, there are a few products that are
designed specifically for woodworking applications. One of these is
Design Intuition, a conservatively priced 3D CAD application that ships
with a customizable library of projects and has other neat features such
as a materials list generator. Moving up the price scale, there are also
CAD products for cabinet builders. These are discussed next.
Cabinet Design
Cabinet design software is a specialized type of CAD software for
automating the production of cabinets. These programs, generally
targeted for commercial cabinet-making businesses, tend to be fairly
elaborate and can range in price from a couple hundred to thousands of
dollars. Features include cabinet templates, wood species selection,
selection/editing of components (mullions, panels, rails, etc.),
hardware and joinery choices, price and labor calculations, and printing
of drawings, cut lists, stick-on labels containing part numbers, and
custom reports. Many of the high end cabinet design packages also
include 3D presentation features (some with simulated wood grain), panel
optimizers, and interfaces to operate computerized panel saws, routers,
shapers, and other equipment.
Deck and Home Design
Deck and home design programs are essentially specialized CAD packages
containing many of the standard CAD features mentioned earlier, in
addition to their own special layout tools and template libraries. For
example, the
3D Home Architect program by Broderbund provides an extensive
collection of movable objects such as stairs, doors, windows, sinks,
tubs, beds, cabinets, tables, and electrical components. Deck and home
design programs also help deal with issues such as loading factors and
compliance with building codes.
Door Design
There are quite a few programs for designing wooden doors, either the
flat or raised panel variety. Many of these programs generate diagrams
and cutlists given the overall dimensions of the door plus the
dimensions of the rails, stiles, and other door components. (there are
some free Excel spreadsheets that do this). Industrial grade products
such as Door Pro provide capabilities such as job costing, bids,
confirmation reports, invoices, contracts, user-defined cut lists and
panel optimization.
Drawer Design
This category includes programs that
compute dimensions and cutlists for wooden drawers. An example is the
Drawer
Sizer, a utility for designing a graduated set of drawers using
different proportioning systems. Some of the more sophisticated drawer
design products handle a number of joinery options including standard
box construction, through and half-blind dovetails, rabbit & dado or
locking miter joints. The simpler programs generally just handle a
single type of joint.
Shelf Design
Shelf design software is used to determine shelf spacing, shelf sag,
maximum no-sag loads, and to create material lists for constructing
bookshelves and other furniture items with shelves. Our entry in
this genre is the
Sagulator, an online calculator that computes shelf sag given type
of shelf material, load, and shelf dimensions.
Stair Design
Stair design programs facilitate the design of both simple stairs and
more complex stairway systems. They perform a variety of calculations
such as computing the number of treads given rise and run, tread width,
stair pitch, horizontal distance, headroom to ceiling, and so on. Many
of the products in this category are made for the staircase
manufacturing industry and sport capabilities such as 3-D viewing, parts
list generation, custom quotes, and even integration with CNC machinery.
Woodshop Design
Software also exists to design a woodshop. For example, with Grizzly's
free online
Workshop Planner, you first create a dimensioned outline of the
shop, and then drag-n-drop tools, work tables, benches, lumber racks,
and other shop items into position. Some products also enable you
to layout lighting, electrical, and dust collection systems. If you
already own a CAD package, there's a good chance it would suffice for
designing a shop (although decent tool templates are sometimes hard to
come by).
Other Types of Woodworking Software
Woodworking Calculators
This is a catch-all category that includes programs to perform tasks
such as unit conversions, materials list generation, and calculations of
board feet requirements , moisture-related wood movement, angles of
compound miter joints, angles of jeweler's blades, arc, circle, and
ellipse parameters, picture frame lengths, and segmented bowl layouts.
Many of these calculators are shareware, several are implemented as
Excel spreadsheets, and several others, such as
The Tabulator, are
Internet-based utilities.
Computer-Numerically Controlled (CNC), Computer-Aided Manufacturing
(CAM)
As the name indicates, CNC and CAM software is used to control the
movement of a machine such as a router or a panel saw. A fairly simple
application of this technology is the creation of wooden signs. The
instructions or coordinates for controlling a machine are generated by a
CAD module that is integrated with the control software, or that may
exist as a stand-alone application. Several of the high-end cabinet
design packages are capable of communicating with CNC machinery. As you
might expect, computerized manufacturing systems can costs thousands of
dollars and are generally intended for industrial operations, although
some cheaper systems have appeared in recent years.
Educational/Reference
If you're interested in educational woodworking software, there are a
handful of products to consider. One of these is the
Woodworking Companion, an instructional CD that teaches you about
woodworking tools, wood properties, milling and joinery techniques,
safety, shop math, and finishing. Some products are focused on
woods and wood properties. An example here is Woods of
the World, a multimedia database containing information on 900
different species of wood - physical and woodworking properties,
mechanical values, photographs, common uses, and lots more.
Panel Optimization
Panel optimization programs are used to produce the most efficient
cutting patterns on boards, plywood, and other sheet materials. They can
significantly reduce layout time for large and/or complex projects and
are indispensable for large commercial cabinet manufacturers. In fact,
most high-end cabinet making packages include panel optimization
capabilities. Many optimizers provide features such as layout based on
wood grain orientation, saw kerf compensation, and printouts depicting
the cuts to make on each board or panel. Some optimizers are of the
"guillotine" variety for performing end-to-end cuts with panel or table
saws. Other optimizers layout the cuts without regard to making through
cuts - these are typically used with CNC routers. There are lots of
panel optimization products on the market -- this has been a real growth
industry in recent years! A personal favorite is
Cutlist Plus.
Project Costing and Management
There are several programs on the market to assist in costing
out woodworking projects and keeping track of materials, time logs,
suppliers, customers, and so on. For example, the Woodworker's Estimate
Helper generates price quotes by accounting for material costs (lumber,
sheet stock, hardware, glue, finish, ...), labor rates, shop overhead,
and various miscellaneous expenses. Other programs like ProjectPAK
emphasize the complete project management aspects of commercial shops:
estimating, bidding, contact management, takeoff, quotation, order
entry, purchasing, invoicing, job costing, and related management tasks.
This software category seems to be of considerable interest to many shop
owners based on the questions that I receive.
Inventory and Process Control
Commercial manufacturing operations have specialized software needs for
monitoring the flow of materials into and out of the shop, for floor
scheduling, and for estimating material requirements for projects.
You'll see terms such as "stock control" and "process flow" used here.
These types of software may be networked to mating software at the
suppliers' sites, to query databases for material availability and
prices, to order material that is running low, and to generally keep
track of manufacturing-related activities. Several of the high-end
cabinet making packages include inventory and process control features.
Log and Lumber Calculators
If you prefer to mill your boards from scratch, there are calculators
for estimating lumber yield, tree value, lumber volume, and lumber
weight. As you might expect, there are also software products used by
the commercial lumber industry for grading lumber, sawing logs into
boards, and log inventory management.
Structural Analysis and Design
This category includes software for sizing of structural
members such as joists, studs, beams, and columns based on different
load conditions. For example, a program named Timber Beam Design assists
in designing appropriately-sized beams based on span lengths, taking
into account deflection criteria and safety factors. Architects,
engineers, and builders are typical users of this type of software.
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