I love Sketchup first of all… However, I am a custom cabinet builder and we build a lot of custom kitchens and just within the last few months we have bought a CNC machine. I am wondering about when and if you are going to make the items I build be able to optimize and turn it into G code for the CNC. Because I really don’t want to have to go to another software. I love Sketchup and would love to continue to use it. Please help.
I have tried fabber, and maybe I don’t know how to use it, be it seem cheap and unusable for custom kitchens. Thank you!
Well, I don’t know much about CNC machining, but I do know 3D printing and that uses GCode just like it. As for some kind of built in slicer, it’s highly unlikely SketchUp will ever integrate something like that natively. I also wouldn’t hold my breath for any kind of extension because there’s simply too many other pieces of software out there for the purpose of converting your 3D model into GCode. It’s simply more versatile to have SketchUp import and export a number of formats so it can fit in and play nice with other applications.
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Hello Shay,
I do not have much experience with Fabber but it’s my go-to whenever someone asks me about a straight up Sketchup-to-CNC solution. It offers exactly what you’re after but may not be the best solution for YOU.
I’d recommend taking a look at the CabinetSense extension for Sketchup. I have a friend who used that and VCarve to run their shop and had great success. CabinetSense won’t generate GCode, but it WILL nest your cabinet parts onto sheets and produce DXF files for each sheet to use in another CAM software like VCarve.
My other recommendation would be what I currently use in my shop (We do commercial cabinetry and architectural millwork) which is a software called Mozaik in parallel with Sketchup. Mozaik serves as our CAM software. We design all of our cabinets in it and it will handle everything from project conception through final assembly. It has its own optimizer which WILL generate GCode for you to use on your CNC. I’ve had major success running this way. As a bonus point, everything you design in Mozaik can be exported to Sketchup with one-click, seamlessly transitioning from one software to the other. I love this aspect because we can design and create GCode from Mozaik, then export our work to sketchup and create shop drawings with layout. We’ve run hundreds of thousands of dollars in millwork this way over the past 4-5 years. Oh and Mozaik will only cost you $150 a month for their complete package.
Honorable mention:
There is a free extension offered in the extension warehouse called OpenCutList. It has a ton of flexibility and allows you to generate part cutlists from your sketchup models. Again, this will not generate GCode but it will nest your parts which is handy for table saw work or doing take-offs for material quantities.
I hope something here will help you nail down your work flow! Thanks.
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So 150$ per month for 5 years is 9,000 $
Cut 2D Pro from Vectric is 450 $
CabMaker Build and CutMaster Plus together are 280$
CabMaker is extremely flexible and allows you to design cabinets very easily.
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I thank you for your help. I am currently using Mozaik and it does a lot and helps out a lot, but as a custom cabinet shop, I like to build larger cabinets then a bunch of smaller ones. I save material and installation time by do this. However, Mozaik does not have the ability to make all the interior parts for islands built in one piece. It would be awesome if I could bring the island into Sketchup, finish the parts and then send it back into Mozaik, but as I was told by Mozaik, that is not possible. So even though Mozaik is a great software, it’s limited. I can build anything in Sketchup, but limited also. If they merged the two so everything worked both ways in these programs, then there would be nothing limited.
Thanks
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CabMaker has a merge feature where you can horizontally merge 2 or more cabinets.
Thank you for that, but that is very easy to do in Mozaik. The problem i have is creating an island that is 112" x 48" into one cabinet, to include a dishwasher. Also, the cabinets we build are face frame with inset doors and built in toe kicks (not that it matters). Thank you
Seems to me if you are looking for CAD and GCode generation capabilities you might consider moving to modern cabinetry construction. ie not face frame. Kinda like wearing a suit with wide lapels and pants with cuffs over spats.
It is much easier to build frameless. Design assembly and installation.
I appreciate the thought, but that is not my style. I enjoy doing the face frame cabinets and inset doors. All of my work comes from word of mouth, I don’t advertise and I have customers waiting 1 year just for me to build their cabinets.
thanks
I will check it out.
I thank you.
I have a CNC machine for cutting up my cabinets. I currently use Mozai, but am limited to what it can do. Thanks
What post processing software do you use? Or does Mozaik output Gcode to your CNC?
Mozaik does it all
sugiro verificar esse plugin (DINABOX)
Moziak apparently does not “do it all”
I know “Aspire” can import a sketchup file. You then toolpath in Aspire and send on to your CNC.
Sketchup/Aspire might be worth a look. Aspire has a free trial.
Vectric offers a number of choices. For what we do Cut2D Pro, VCarve and Aspire all use the same engine and will work.
Cabmaker and Cutmaster work well with Cut2D Pro as well as the other 2.
CutMaster gives you fine control which allows you to dial in micro tolerances for things like blind mortise and tenons.
I’m not sure that there is any software that can create a single cabinet 112" x 48". But then I wouldn’t ever want to try let alone think about it. How many workers would you need to move a huge cabinet like that. How would you get it in the house and move it up / down stairs or negotiate hallways with corners.
I love this question. I bought an about 8 feet long Artek sofa more than 30 years ago. It is in one piece and we really had to struggle to get it in. Luckily I haven’t had to move it since.
Most kitchen are very simple. I have a cart and i lay the cabinet on its side to get it through the door. I then get it about where it’s going and the lay it back down on one cart, cut out the plumbing holes, 2 guys lift up one end and lay over plumbing (very easy to do on cart) and set it down (over stop blocks), level it, put base around it and done. I have had to make a ramp to roll cabinets up and into house.