Follow the assembly guide

The guide puts the work in build order: all the parts first, each machining job once, and the same sub-assemblies together. Check every dimension against your own measurements before cutting.

Open the guide#

1. In the tab bar under the 3D view, click Whole project. For one assembly, select it and click Selection.
2. Click the Guide tab.
3. To use the guide at the bench, click Open in a new tab.

The page has the same steps and the same 3D view, and it fits a tablet or a phone. After a change to the model, open the page again.

The order of the steps#

The steps come from the model, in phases:

1. Prepare the parts: cut and label every part, and band the edges that the model bands.
2. Machine and finish the parts: one step for each operation, then the surface finish.
3. Make up the sub-assemblies: the drawer boxes, door frames and other glue-ups.
4. Assemble in the workshop: glue up each carcass, then fit its back, kick board and runners.
5. Install on site: place and join the carcasses, scribe the fillers, fix to the wall, fit the shelves.
6. Fit the fronts: the drawer boxes on their runners, the drawer fronts, the doors.
7. Finish: the handles, then adjust the doors and drawer fronts.

A table or other piece with no carcass has no Install on site phase, unless the stability check says to fix it to the wall.

Parts that are the same#

Parts with the same cut-list letter are the same: the same size, material and machining. A step gives each letter once, with how many the step uses. For example, A ×10 left drawer side, 450 × 150 × 15.

Sub-assemblies and carcasses made of the same letters are one batch. The guide gives one step for all of them, for example Glue up 5 drawer boxes. Do each step on all of them before you go to the next step.

Step through the guide#

The parts of the step are orange, with their cut-list letters, pulled out from where they go.

1. Read the step and its Check.
2. Click ▶ Play, or press P, to slide the parts into place.
3. Drag in the 3D view to look from another side. Click Reset view to go back.
4. When the step is complete, select Done.
5. Click Next →, or press the right arrow key.

On the page, click a step in the list to go to it. The ticks stay in this browser, and a tick on the page also shows in the Guide tab.

Choose CNC or by hand#

A machining step has two buttons, in the Guide tab and on the page. The project keeps the choice.

• By hand: the step gives the tools. Mark out cuts from the cut-list notes or the part drawing in the Pack PDF.
• CNC: machine the parts from a DXF file. See Export a DXF file for a CNC or laser.

A drilling step shows each joint and draws the holes of each part face, to 0.5 mm.

When the model does not say#

The model does not give every fixing, for example for a back panel or between two carcasses. The step then says so, and tells you what to choose or mark.

Print the guide#

Click Guide PDF in the Guide tab, or Export PDF on the page. Each phase starts on a new sheet, with one or two steps and their pictures on each sheet. The hole positions come at the end.

Next: the workshop pack has the same steps, with the cut list and the drawings.