merc

once your drawing is complete, is there something that tell you how much wood you need to make what you drew?

Willie T

Yes, there is. But herein comes the rub....

As with most any cad program, to apply such an 'add-on' as you are describing there is some preliminary preparation necessary. And in S/U, this is good because this particular way of drawing is how you should be working in S/U anyway.

Each specific part that you wish to include in your tally needs to be created and labled. For instance, a 10' 2x4 would be drawn, then named as a COMPONENT, and given the special name of something like "10'- 2x4". Same thing with any other piece in the drawing. Create it, then name it a special, individual name.

After this, you go ahead and assign specific 'attributes' to each component. The plugin (add-on) needs these attributes to search out exactly what you want to know about that component.

The 'add-on' programs you can download for your purpose will search out, and count all of the components you have specified, and/or specific attributes of each component. Some of the programs calculate certain factors of those components, (like 'length'), and give you accumulated reports. Some just tell you how many of a specific component you are using in that particular drawing.

I don't use this software, so others here will have to fill you in on all the details.

merc

thank you
that was a good explaination.
I hope others will chime in with how to name the componets and where to get the add ons.

thanks

mics_54

on components
http://www.finewoodworking.com/blog/design-click-build
find a post relevent to your interest in the list of SU "how to's" by Tim Killen or Dave Richards.

on cutlist
http://lumberjocks.com/daltxguy/blog/5143

Willie T

This may help explain 'groups' and 'components' a little better:

When you draw with S/U, the various lines you make have a tendency to 'attach' themselves to other lines they come into contact with. I guess this is to somehow make drawing easier, but it does present some problems. What happens is when you 'select' a line or several lines that make up a part of the drawing in anticipation of modifying the part, (moving or rotating or something like that), you sometimes inadvertently 'select' lines you didn't intend to because S/U, at times, 'sees' them as all one unit.

This is why you often see some very strange warping and twisting of things you try to modify. There is a way around this.

The simple solution is to make either a 'group' or a 'component' of the particular small part you just finished creating. This JUST FINISHED part is important. Make groups or components right away...... before you get too much other junk drawn around the intended target. If you don't it will often come back to bite you in the butt.

You do this by 'selecting' that part with the mouse box. When it is 'selected' - all blue and dotted - you RIGHT CLICK and choose either 'Make Group' or 'Make Component'.

A 'GROUP' will not require a name. It will just make those lines you 'selected' a single entity called a 'GROUP'. Forever, (until you 'select' EXPLODE) those particular lines will remain together as a 'Group'. They will remain unaffected by any lines drawn on them, in them, or around them unless you specifically choose to 'EDIT the GROUP'. Then your 'editing' will only effect that particular GROUP..... not the rest of the drawing.

A 'COMPONENT' works much the same way, except that you will be asked to choose some sort of name for any component you create. And, as mentioned earlier, you can assign various 'attributes' to each of the components you create within your drawing. Attributes aren't a big deal. If you looked at me, you might assign these 'attributes' to me.... male, white, tall, brown haired, old. You assign attributes so 'plug in' programs (like a cut list) can search for specifics. If you ask the program to find all the young white males on this forum, for instance, it would NOT find me. Why? Because I am 'old', not young. That word 'old' was an attribute assigned to me, so the plug in used it in making its selection.

The best part to groups and components is that those already created remain unaffected by all the work you do around them. Even if you make more groups or components attached to them. This makes your drawing SOOOOooo much easier!

Envision this: You are going to draw a chair. A chair has several separate parts that make up the chair, itself. It has a seat. It has legs, It has a back. It might have arms. It might have cushions.

The smart way to learn to use S/U (and you WILL regret it if you do NOT learn this) is to create any drawing in segments. And at least make 'groups' of each of the segments. For the chair, draw the seat. Now stop and take a moment to select all the parts of that seat (all the lines it took to make the seat), and turn it into a group (or a component named SEAT)

Ok, now continue drawing. Make a leg. Now stop and make a group or component of that leg.

You can now click on that leg group, and ALL of the leg will be selected. You can easily COPY that LEG Group (or component, depending on which you chose), and place it around the bottom of the chair for the other three leg positions.

Continue on, and make the chair back. GROUP or COMPONENT it.

On and On, till you have built your chair of all the various groups or components required to make a chair.

Now>>> 'Select' the WHOLE chair, and you can actually include all those separate groups or components into one great big group or component called CHAIR (or whatever you choose to call it.) with many smaller groups or components inside it.

That CHAIR will always remain safe from any alterations (unless you specifically choose to edit it) and you can move, copy, rotate it, whatever to your heart's content.

Now, here is the neat thing.................

A group is minor league. A group remains just an individual group. Change (edit) one of those legs you created, and ONLY that leg changes. The other three stay just like they were.

But a Component is big stuff! Change one component (like a chair leg), and all the other LEG components are automatically changed too. Neat if you have made thirty five pieces, and later find out they should have all been one inch bigger. No problem. Change one.... they all change.

And......... Yes, if you want to, you can choose the MAKE UNIQUE function, and your changes will be limited to only that particular component.... the others, although identical copies of the original you are now editing, will NOT change.

So, the moral? Learn early to always create your drawings with tons of groups or components.

Think of a group or component as nothing more than a protected small drawing within your larger drawing. This is why you can go online and pick some COMPONENT someone, somewhere created, and import it into your own drawing. You're just dragging their previously drawn object into your drawing. Now it is yours to use and modify. What a time saver !