Overview

The Ci Cabinets tool provides design freedom to create and document joinery within the Building Information Model.

Glossary of Terms

These terms are used in the documentation and in the user interface:

Cabinet	A complete cabinet structure (may be subdivided into units and modules).
Partition	A cabinet may be split along vertical and horizontal lines. Each of these lines is referred to as a partition. The partition may be of different types – unit, module, vertical divider or horizontal shelf.
Unit	The physical item that will be delivered to site. It may be subdivided into modules. Each unit includes a wall at each end, a base and a top.
Module	A division within a unit. Adjacent modules may include a partition wall (e.g. two adjacent cupboard modules have separate internal spaces), or there may be no partition wall (e.g. two drawers in a stack are not typically separated by a partition). Each module has a type, a front and a handle type.
Module Type	Each module has a type that controls the function of the module (e.g. door, drawer, open shelving, slide-out bins)
Front	The panel style associated with the module’s door, drawer-front, etc.
Handle	The handle type used by a module.
Shelf	A horizontal division within a module. It may be a fixed shelf, slats, roll-out tray or a horizontal rail.
Vertical Divider	A vertical internal divider within a module.
Face	The front face of the cabinet.
Plinth	The ‘toe kick’ panel that runs along the front of a floor-mounted cabinet.
Muntins	Glazing-bar patterns that may be applied to glass panels.
Space	Carcass walls, top, base, partitions, shelves and vertical dividers form spaces within the cabinet. Each such space may be filled with a space filler.
Space Filler	Items for visualization, such as glassware, tableware, storage jars and wine racks.

Design Flexibility

The software provides a high level of design flexibility. Design options include:

• A range of cabinet shapes (rectangular, corner, angled corner, custom shape)
• Face-frame construction options (Frameless, Inset, Half Overlay, or Full Overlay)
• Base types (Adjustable Legs, Extend Walls, Inset from Cabinet, or None (for wall-mounted cabinets))
• Ability to configure a cabinet as a set of units and modules
• Ability to define shelves and dividers within a given module
• An extensive range of customizable module types (single drawer, drawer stack, doors, slide-out bins, slide-out shelving, etc.)
• A range of customizable shelf types (solid shelf, slat shelf, roll-out shelf, wardrobe rails)
• A range of customizable drawer/door fronts
• A range of customizable handle types including recessed handles
• A customizable bench top with a range of edge types (upstand/splashback, nosing, waterfall edge)

Supported Documentation Types

Having designed the cabinetry for a project, it’s important to be able to document it so as to communicate the design effectively to the customer, manufacturer and the construction team. The software provides a number of documentation options. Many of these are controlled by the Model View Options, so that each view can show an appropriate subset of the information.

Model View Option Settings

From the Document menu, choose Model View > Model View Options to bring up the Model View Options palette. On this palette you will see listed the settings for CI Cabinets.

Open the CI Cabinets tab to view the options and settings. Click on the Options button to show options for the view.

On the Options page you’ll see settings for Model Views (i.e. Section, Elevation, Interior Elevation, 3D and 3D Document views) and for Plan View.

Model Views

Options for Model Views (section, elevation, interior elevation, 3D, etc.) include:

• Show Opening Lines – These lines indicate the opening direction and method for each module. However in some views (e.g. presentation renderings) it would be distracting to show these.

Choose how the arrows should show for hinged doors, and what symbol should be used for drawers.

Select a pen for the opening lines.

• Show Shelves as Dashed Lines – If this option is selected, any internal vertical dividers or horizontal shelves, will be projected onto the front face of the cabinets.
• Show Labels on Module Fronts - Each module may be labelled. Each module type has a default label, which is applied on selection. The default label may be overwritten.
• Doors & Drawers All Shut - In presentation views you might want to show some doors or drawers open. In other views (e.g. sections, elevations, interior elevations) you will want to show all closed. Use the checkbox to control this for each view.
• Opening Lines symbols – Choose how the opening lines should appear.

Plan View

Options for Plan Views include:

• Cutting Plane Height - A dedicated cutting plane defines how cabinets display in a particular view. This helps to bring either under-bench or wall-hung units into focus. If the cabinet is positioned above the set cutting plane height, the object’s outline is drawn using a customisable line type, by default this is dashed. If the cutting plane slices through a cabinet, the construction detail (walls and vertical dividers) is displayed.
• Reflected Ceiling Plan – When this option is On, everything above the cutting plane is displayed as an outline with background polygon and everything below is represented with simple clear outline. When Off, everything below the cutting plane is displayed with detail and everything above in simple clear outline.
• Show Unit Partitions on Outline Views – Cabinets that are not cut through by the cutting plane, are shown as outlines. On these outline views, the location of unit partitions may be shown or hidden.
• Doors & Drawers opening Angle and Margin – In plan-view, the doors and drawers can be shown open.

Scheduling Cabinets

Cabinets may be scheduled. Note the section Supported Workflows on choosing the best workflow to use, if you intend to schedule cabinetry.

Supported Workflows

The workflow for modelling cabinets will depend on the requirements of the project.

• For some projects, the documented cabinetry is intended only to indicate design intent, while the precise details are left to cabinet manufacturers. In this case, the cabinet may be modeled as a single entity containing multiple units. When scheduled, the cabinet will be listed as a whole. This approach provides quick initial placement and later editing.
• In other projects, you may be working with clearly defined units that must be scheduled. In this case, each unit should be modeled and placed as a separate cabinet. This approach permits scheduling of the individual units. If you save favorites of the units you intend to use, it can be relatively quick to place the cabinetry.

CI Cabinets works well for both workflows.

Supported Construction Methods

Cabinet Top

The cabinet top may be open or closed.

Face Frame Types

Four face-frame options are supported:

• Frameless – the door/drawer fronts fit directly onto the carcass
• Inset – a framework is attached to the carcass front, and the door/drawer fronts fit within this frame
• Half-Overlay – a framework is attached to the carcass front, and the door/drawer fronts close onto this framework. The fronts overlap the framework by a narrow margin.
• Full Overlay – a framework is attached to the carcass front, and the door/drawer fronts close onto this framework. The door/drawer fronts overlap far enough to effectively hide the framework when closed.

Plinth Types

Four base methods are supported:

• Adjustable legs
• Walls extend to floor – for joinery where the ends extend down to the floor to form a part of the plinth
• Inset from Cabinet - for joinery where the plinth is constructed separately from the carcass
• No plinth – use this for wall-mounted cabinets

Objects in the Library

The library includes a handful of objects, each of which has a specific purpose:

• CI Bench Top - A polygonal benchtop that can include holes, nosings, upstands and waterfall edges. This would typically be used to form the benchtop for kitchen cabinetry.
• CI Cabinet - A basic, rectangular cabinet. This would be used for most under-bench or wall-hung cabinets.
• CI Cabinet Corner - An L-shaped corner cabinet.
• CI Cabinet Corner Angled - A corner cabinet with angled front.
• CI Cabinet Polygon - A cabinet with customisable shape in elevation. It could be used, for instance, to model:
  • A cabinet whose top follows a raking ceiling or a flight of stairs.
  • An odd-shaped bookshelf.
  The Ci Cabinet Linear is better suited for rectangular cabinets.
• CI Edge Moulding - An object to add pelmets and crown mouldings to cabinets. Compatible with complex profiles.

Custom Components

The cabinet supports the following custom component types:

• Cabinet Door - essentially this is a custom front.
• Cabinet Muntins – for use in fronts containing glass panels.
• Knob – a cabinet handle.
• Cabinet Oven - a custom oven unit that can be directly incorporated into the cabinet.
• Space Filler - an item that can be inserted into any space within the cabinet.