In my previous blog, I introduced my viewers to “The Block Factory” package and I gave a brief demonstration of the WC2 “Block”, which is part of the
Cabinet Blocks category. There are (7) categories of “Blocks” and within each category there are some that are broken down into sub-categories. In this blog I would like to further discuss the Cabinet Blocks and then allow you to view the attached videos. When drawing plans and elevations of cabinet millwork items this group of “Blocks” allow the user to quickly develop shop drawings.
The following is a list of the sub-categories included in the Cabinet Blocks category: Base Cabinet – Drawers, Base Cabinets – Open , Base Cabinets – Sinks, Base Cabinets – Standard, Wall Cabinets, Tall Cabinets, Face Frame Cabinet Blocks, Tops - Cabinet Silhouettes – WCPLANS (Wall Cabinet Plans), as well as, the Cabinet Block - Pulls “Block” that is used within each of the Cabinet Blocks.
As I described the WC2 “Block”, in the previous blog, all of these blocks have a Width & Height parameter, which allows you to change their values, they also includes a flip state, which allows you to mirror or (flip) the cabinet, changing which side the insertion point appears, and finally they have a visibility state, that will allow the user to turn the interior adjustable shelves on or off. What I like most about these blocks, is being able to make certain changes to them individually, without effecting the appearance of the other similar blocks. As an example, say you just had a WC2 cabinet block that was not dynamic, and you pasted is into your drawing, depending on the size and other visual design features that you originally created with, that is all that you get from this block. However; by making this same WC2 cabinet block dynamic, you now have the ability to change certain aspects of one inserted block, with the same name, without affecting the appearance of another block of the same name. This is where dynamic blocks become much more powerful and effective in building cabinet elevations, as well as, making revisions.
The pre-defined parameters & states of the cabinet blocks vary somewhat, depending on the type of cabinet being presented, but the most common parameters and states used in each of these blocks are as follows: (Parameters) Cabinet Width & Cabinet Height, Flip State, and Visibility State.
The cabinet width and height parameters, which allow the user to resize the cabinet, can be further defined, by selecting these parameters in the Block Editor and then by moving your mouse pointer over the properties dialogue palette, you will be able to view all of the properties that pertain to the selected parameter. (This is assuming that you are keeping your properties dialogue palette opened and docked along the edges of your screen). With the properties dialogue palette open, you will see a list of categories and sub-categories that describe or define the selected parameter. There are many things you can change within the properties dialogue pallette, but the category that I want to concentrate on is the Value Set.
The Value Set, by default, has three sub-settings, but depending on which sub-category of Dist type that you choose, these will change.
If you choose to leave the Dist type as the default labeled None, the two sub-settings will remain as Dist minimum and Dist maximum. By leaving None selected, the user can change the distance value, of the block, to any desired size and additionally the user can further restrict this distance to a minimum and maximum size.
The second sub-category of Dist type is labeled as Increment. By selecting Increment, you will now see the following three sub-settings: Dist increment, which allows the user to place an incremental size restriction on how the distance appears, and the Dist minimum and Dist maximum settings, which has the same effect on the distances as explained in the previous example.
The last sub-category under Dist type, which is label as List, when selected, displays one sub-setting labeled as Dist value list. By creating a list of predefined sizes for the distance parameter, the block will only adjust to the sizes listed.
Now that I have explained a little bit of how the Cabinet Blocks parameters work, take a look at the attached video on this subject, as well as, the video on adding a new cabinet pull type to the Cabinet Block - Pull, that is used in the Cabinet Blocks.
