The days of the craftsman are not behind us, but the future of woodworking is more than single pieces of furniture honed by an artist from felling the tree to applying the final layer of urethane. The future of furniture, IKEA not withstanding, is custom pieces quickly produced or modular pieces ranging from solid oak dressers to sheet metal filing cabinets. In order to be cost effective across such a wide range of customer demands, furniture makers need state-of-the-art tools. Autodesk Woodwork for Inventor (W4I) is one such tool.
Woodwork for Inventor is an add-on for the Autodesk Inventor mechanical design software which turns the software into a work environment for computer-aided design of furniture and other wooden products. Woodwork for Inventor enhances the base Autodesk Inventor product by providing additional features:
- Material Assignment and Grouping
- Edge Banding
- Blank Sizing
- Part Types: profile, timber, or board
- Glued Composite Parts
- Library of Furniture Components
- Hardware Arrangement and Automated Holes
- Assembly Copying and Prototyping
- BOM Generation (Cut Lists), and
- CNC Preparation
Furniture making is quickly growing into a market that is very critical of time to market. With increased complexity in design and customization, furniture makers are yearning for tools to shorten their design time and improve their time to market. Woodwork for Inventor can do just that.
Sources:
http://cadsetterout.com/guest-posts/what-design-software-for-furniture/