Exposed Cabinet Rails - User Guide

Contents of this Article...

  • Pull Material Parameters
  • Top Rail Logic
  • Cabinet Level Attributes
  • Mid Rail Logic
  • Mid Rail Attributes
  • 50mm x 18mm Cabinet Rail (1 piece)
    • Job Properties selection
    • Cross Section example with Sage Mitre Handle Door
  • 68mm x 40mm Cabinet Rail (2 piece)
    • Job Properties selection
    • Cross Section Example
  • Sectioning a Cabinet
    • Activate the mid rail
    • Spanning multiple cabinets
    • Drawer clearances
    • Adjust mid rail position
  • How to shape the end further
  • Cut your 2 piece rails as one piece on the CNC

Note: This package uses the existence of the "Cabinet Rail" pull material to trigger the exposed rails. The pull material has parameters to control the rail sizes.

The pull material can be copied and parameters modified to provide your system with additional rail sizes

  • Right Click Cabinet Rail pull material > Properties > Parameters

Top Rail Logic

  • You need to have a drawer, a false front, a door or a panel with a pull on it to activate the top rail on your Base or Vanity cabinet
  • Since the fronts are either handle-less or the door edge is mitered you wont actually have a pull on the door, however, the existence of this pull is the trigger for the cabinet rails
  • When activated - Use cabinet attributes to deactivate, adjust or hide from the nest
  • Height and depth of the rail is determined by the Pull Material DX and DZ parameters (example in preceding image)

Cabinet Level Attributes

  • Cabinet Rail - Mid (Custom Rail Sizes)
    • Allows any mid rail height
  • Cabinet Rail - Top (Activate)
    • Activate and deactivate the top rail and end cut outs
  • Cabinet Rail - Top (Adjust Left)
    • Adjusts the top rail left
  • Cabinet Rail - Top (Adjust Right)
    • Adjusts the top rail right
  • Cabinet Rail - Top (Hide)
    • Hide the top rail when a rail from another cabinet spans this rail space
    • Keep end cut outs for the top rail

Mid Rail Logic

  • You need to have a drawer, a false front, a door or a panel with a pull on it to activate a mid rail on any cabinet type
  • Click on the face split between fronts in section view and give rails their width on the side bar
  • Depth of the rail is determined by the pull material DZ parameter (example in preceding image)

Mid Rail Attributes

  • Dado Operation (Left)
  • Dado Operation (Right)
    • Only use dado operations when the rail doesn't cut all the way through the end or partition
    • Enter operation depth to activate end rebates
  • Rail (Hide)
    • Hide the rail when another rail spans this rail space
    • Keep end cut outs for the mid rail

Job Properties > Cabinet > Hardware > Pull Schedule

  • Cabinet Rail (1 piece)

Cross Section Example

  • Combined here with Sage Mitre Handle Door

Job Properties > Cabinet > Hardware > Pull Schedule

  • Cabinet Rail (2 piece)

Cross Section Example

Sectioning a Cabinet

  • Activate a Mid Rail
  1. Section Editor > Face > Left Click Horizontal Face Split (Note width is 0mm)
  2. Enter your size (our 2 piece rail default is 68mm)
  3. Use Left and Right adjustments to push the rail through ends and partitions

Note: Left and Right Adjustments can be used to span the rail to the correct size for the nest - We would still set up the rail in the adjoining cabinet to push through the ends. Then use the Mid Rail Attribute to "Hide" it, removing it from the nest part list

Spanning Multiple Cabinets

The Mid Rail Right Adjustment is set to span 500mm

Lets set the cabinet attribute for the Top Rail to 500mm also

Drawer Clearances are automatic because we are using Cabinet Vision Parts introduced into the cabinet from the Section Editor

Drawer clearances are automatic, however, the Mid Rail is positioned centrally in height as seen when reviewing the end view above...

Adjusting the Mid Rail Position

In the two images that follow we adjust the drawer front in the section editor - I chose to subtract 18mm from the bottom and add 18mm to the top of each front...

  1. Section Editor > Face > Left Click the top drawer front
  2. Size Adjustment > Bottom (Subtract suitable value)
  3. Edit remaining drawer front top and bottom size adjustments as needed
  4. Review your set up from the end view again

End Shaping - You're able to edit the shape of ends and partitions a little more

We recommend the following steps be taken after you're happy the cabinet set out. Follow these steps to keep the Library Part shape and edit a little further - In this example I will take 100mm x 40mm out from the top edge.

  1. Take the part to part level (Double Click the part in one of the orthographic views)
  2. Shape for Cabinet Rail - Toggle attribute to use shape editor
  3. Edit Shape
  4. Right Click > Remove Constraints with all options selected
  5. Edit Shape
  6. Right Click > Add Constraints
  7. Return and save shape

Review Public Variables on Cabinet Rails-1 (Cab) UCS to cut the 2 piece rail as a single piece...

The Cut as One (Kerf) value should match your saw blade thickness...

Here's our part label as a reference - Note the comment for the guys in the factory