There are times when a complete digital prototype is more work than it’s worth. This last while, I have been building quite a few things out of broken down pallet wood. Because the pieces are full of nails, I often can’t cut exactly where my Inventor plans call for a cut. So I end up deviating from the plan almost immediately. What I really need is just a simple layout with some rough dimensions to get the ball rolling. I have found AutoCAD is just the ticket for these project. After only a few minutes in the software I’m ready to hit the shop. And when I’m building for someone else, these drawings are usually enough to get sign off on the project.
The following are a few of my past pallet projects where I was able to make use of simple layouts inside AutoCAD and then jump straight into the shop. Since I know all my base dimensions, I end with very few bad cuts and zero wasted wood.
I’ll start with my most recent project. I made these for my wife for Mother’s Day. Only about 15 minutes in AutoCAD and 3 hours in the shop and I was done.
A few other times I have found AutoCAD useful is when I put together some barn doors for our church. So far I have made three different sets. Each with a different pattern. I really don’t need to know the exact dimension of each part. All I really need is a simple layout. So back to AutoCAD for a simple layout. I had this rail made locally so it was included in my layout for overall dimensions.
On this one I added a bit more detail and was able to get a manual count of boards needed. And it was good enough to get approval on the design. No need for fancy renderings, etc. it’s just a barn door right. My goal here is to get back into the shop as quick as possible.
That’s right… I found some 9’ long pallets.
Here again is a simple display stand project with the layout all done in AutoCAD. It was also out of the 9’ pallets I broke apart. Really all I needed was the overall dimensions and the rest I could figure out as it went together. Because each pieces has a slightly different thickness, you can run into problems cutting everything at once and then trying to fit them together.
I have also made a number of signs using AutoCAD. I’ve been projecting the AutoCAD screen directly onto the boards to trace the letters I need to cut out. (some of us don’t have CNC machines… yet)
AutoCAD's Arc Aligned Text is a tool on the Express tab. Make sure you include the Express Tools when installing AutoCAD. There are a lot of useful tools on that tab that many users miss.
Because AutoCAD is so fast and easy to use, it is the way to go when planning layouts and concepts. Sometimes a quick layout is all you really need for these quick one-off project.
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