cabgen

Parametric cabinet shop drawings, cut list and nesting plan.

Built for the rules in ../cabinet-shop-standards.md. 3D models live in Omacad (../omacad); this tool makes the 2D paper the carpenter actually works from.

Quick start

cd ~/Work/cabinet-gen

# list the styles
python3 -m cabgen.cli styles

# generate a set of drawings for the first job
python3 -m cabgen.cli generate --out out --name "Base-27"

# ... and the 3D model in Omacad
python3 -m cabgen.cli generate --out out --name "Base-27" --with-omacad
python3 -m cabgen.cli omacad --out out --name "Base-27"      # 3D only
python3 -m cabgen.cli open --out out --name "Base-27"        # open it in Omacad

# or the local web form (style dropdown + dimension fields)
python3 -m cabgen.cli web --port 8777
# then open http://127.0.0.1:8777/run
# one base and one upper; a plus adds to either row

# one cabinet, or a run of bases and uppers, from a spreadsheet
python3 -m cabgen.cli kitchen jobs/one-cabinet.csv
python3 -m cabgen.cli kitchen jobs/sample-kitchen.csv --out out/sample-kitchen

open (and generate --with-omacad) shows the model in the one Omacad window. cabgen seeds Omacad's session file with a camera that frames the model and starts run.sh --resume. A window that is already open reloads that model and stays the only window. --no-show writes the file and leaves the window alone.

What comes out (in --out)

File	What it is
<name>-drawing.svg / .pdf	11x17 sheet: front + side elevation, numbered key, notes, cut list, title block
<name>-cutlist-sheet2.*	only if the cut list runs past sheet 1
<name>-cutlist.csv	cut list for the saw (qty, part, material, thk, width, length, banding, laminate, notes)
<name>-cutlist.md	the same, readable
<name>-table-saw.txt	one line per piece, the way it is read off the list
<name>-nest.pdf	nesting sheets, 4x8, 3/16" kerf: parts labelled as in the cut list, offcuts to keep, scrap hatched, cut order below each sheet (print 11x17 at 100%)
<name>-nest-cutlist.md / .csv	the same nest as text: strip by strip cut order, labels, offcuts to keep
<name>-nest-pages/	the individual nest SVG pages that went into the PDF
<name>-params.json	every parameter, so a job can be replayed
<name>.omacad	the 3D model: one named body per part, in mm, opens in Omacad

PDF conversion uses rsvg-convert if it is installed, otherwise cairosvg.

A kitchen from a spreadsheet

jobs/one-cabinet.csv is the current 3-drawer base. Change the width cell. Leave height and depth blank and they stay 33.5 and 23.5.

jobs/sample-kitchen.csv is a run: bases side by side on the floor, uppers above them. Each row is one cabinet, left to right. run is base or upper. An upper's bottom is at 54 inches (# upper_bottom=54 at the top of the file) and its back sits on the same wall as the bases. gap_after is a filler, in inches, before the next cabinet in that row.

Styles you can type: 3drawer, base (1 drawer over 2 doors), upper (2 doors; uppers never have drawers). A filled height or depth replaces the style for that one cabinet.

The command writes one Omacad model of the whole run, a layout table, and one cut list. It opens the model full screen on workspace 3. --no-show skips that.

http://127.0.0.1:8777/run (from cabgen.cli web) starts with one base and one upper. A plus on a row adds a cabinet to that row only. Each row has its own offset from the left wall. The base run can meet no wall, the left wall, the right wall, or both. Both walls add a filler on one side. An open end overhangs the counter 1 inch. A wall end is flush. The end rules named so far are in cabinet-shop-standards.md section 8. That list grows as rules show up.

The model

cabgen/params.py holds everything that can change on a job: outer dimensions, the style, material thicknesses, counter build, front reveals, side conditions, laminate and sheet goods. Styles (base_1drawer_2doors, base_3drawers, upper_2doors) set the case type and give the dimensions a default; anything left None in Params is filled from the style.

The front build (top down): top stretcher, drawer fronts with a reveal between them, a flat drawer rail under the fronts, a 1/8" reveal, then the doors. The rails are visible at the case front. See the standards file, section 2, and TBD #11/#12.

Layout

cabgen/params.py     parameters, style presets, the web form fields
cabgen/parts.py      the part schedule and the vertical layout of the fronts
cabgen/model3d.py    where every part sits in space (X width, Y depth, Z height)
cabgen/omacad_export.py  writes the .omacad project (uses the Omacad venv)
cabgen/draw.py       the 11x17 shop drawing and the nesting sheets
cabgen/cutlist.py    csv / markdown / table-saw output
cabgen/nesting.py    kerf-aware nesting, grain constrained
cabgen/svg.py        small SVG writer (text, hatch, clipping)
cabgen/units.py      inch formatting in the simplest fractions
cabgen/web.py        the local web form (stdlib only)
tools/check_svg.py   layout checker: off-page elements and overlapping text

The 3D model

model3d.py places every part in the cabinet's own coordinates (X = width from the left face, Y = depth from the case front, Z = height from the floor) and omacad_export.py writes one named Omacad body per part, in millimetres, into a .omacad project. The exporter runs the Omacad venv (~/Work/omacad/.venv/bin/python) as a subprocess, so nothing from Omacad is imported here.

Open out/<name>.omacad in Omacad: the timeline has one box feature per part, named after the cut list, so a part can be traced back to its cut list row.

Checking the drawings

There is no way to look at a PDF in this environment, so the drawings are checked structurally:

python3 tools/check_svg.py out/base-27-drawing.svg

It reports any element off the page and any pair of text labels that overlap. Run it after every change to draw.py.

Whole-project nesting

python3 -m cabgen.cli kitchen <sheet.csv> --out DIR (and "Show in Omacad" on the group form) also writes <job>-nest.pdf, <job>-nest-cutlist.md and <job>-nest-cutlist.csv. Code: cabgen/nest_project.py; rules: cabinet-shop-standards.md section 5, Nesting. Options: --kerf, --sheet-w, --sheet-l. Tests: tests/test_nest_project.py.

Client sheet

python3 -m cabgen.cli client <sheet.csv> --out out/client-sheet writes <sheet>-client-sheet.pdf (11x17 landscape): page 1 is the whole kitchen (front elevation, plan, end view, 3D view, cabinet schedule, title block), then one detail page per cabinet style (front, side, top, 3D of one cabinet, plus the widths of that style in the job). PNG previews of every page come too. The group form's "Client sheet (PDF)" button builds the same PDF without touching Omacad. Code: cabgen/client_sheet.py. Tests: tests/test_client_sheet.py.

Countertop

Pick it on the group form or in the CSV: # counter=laminate (default), solid, or none; # splash_left=yes|no, # splash_right=yes|no (side splashes are on by default at wall ends). Rules and assumptions: ~/Work/cabinet-shop-standards.md section 3. Code: cabgen/counter.py.

• Laminate: 3/4" ply top + 4" ply build-up strips (glued and stapled) at the front, ends and every cabinet joint; laminate takeoff in sq ft, in order (sides, front, top).
• Solid surface: 1/2" top, 1-1/4" edge strip in a rabbet, 1" ply stiffeners. Solid surface is listed, not nested; the plywood is nested with the rest of the project.
• Seams: only when the run is longer than 96" (plywood) / 144" (solid surface), always on a cabinet joint, pieces about equal. Laminate seams use Brook's method: 6" strip centred on the seam (3" per piece), dogbone pockets 1/2" deep, adhesive, dogbone clamps at install.
• Out: <job>-counter.md (parts, takeoff, seams, assumptions), counter parts in the cut list and nest (labels CT1-...), and a countertop page (page 2) in the client sheet.