I’m a newbie. I did try searching but could not find a simple answer (my search skills are probably not great…).
If I am designing cabinetry or shelving, and the model is comprised mainly of rectangles – is there an easy way to get every single piece to be oriented according to the largest surface, and projected onto a 2d plane?
Simple example: 3d box with six sides. Orient and project those six sides onto a 2d plane, so a sheet-stock cutting plan can be determined.
Hello - you can use UnrollSrf for this - not the Explode=Yes/No option - with No, you’ll want to set which seams get opened up using UnJoinEdge For individual shelves/panels though, I think you want to Unroll just one face - so ExtractSrf > Copy=Yes and then unroll that extracted face. That will get you the shape to cut without also unrolling the edges and bottom side, if you see what I mean…
(Grasshopper might be the thing to use however, for automating this stuff more thoroughly)
-Pascal
If the sides have thickness which needs to be taken into account (plywood or MDF for example) then creating the plan is more difficult. First build the cabinet model with the desired corner construction. Then for each part ExtractSrf the largest surface. Use UnrollSrf on each extracted surface to have the surfaces on the xy construction plane.
With all due respect to Rhino, my favorite program; once upon a time I drafted for cabinet companies. The programs already built for that process are many miles up the road from anything you’re likely to cobble together. As if the entire Grasshopper team focused strictly on cabinets. There are a few freebie-ware options that might save you hours.
Thanks; the combination of extract then unroll did it. Little tedious…but it worked. The idea of dedicated cabinet software would be good, but I use Rhino for all sorts of home/hobby projects so I am trying to stick with one general design tool as there is not a lot of repetition across my projects. Thanks again for the help!