Creating and Updating Construction Schedules
A step-by-step guide to building and editing the construction rules that DESIGN uses to generate your products.
A Construction Schedule defines how DESIGN builds your products. It tells the system which part types make up each face of a product, how those parts join together, and how features like reveals, face frames, toe kicks, drawer boxes, and connectors are applied.
Whenever you create or change a product that uses a schedule, DESIGN reads the schedule and automatically generates the parts and geometry for you. Setting up a schedule once lets every product built from it stay consistent.
Good to know: Each schedule is tied to a Schedule Type (for example, Frameless Cabinets or Face Frame Cabinets). Create a separate Construction Schedule for each product category you build. |
Global vs. Project schedules
Schedules can be saved in two scopes. Use the Global / Project toggle at the top of the Construction Schedules panel to switch between them:
• Global – reusable across all of your projects. Set up your company’s standard schedules here.
• Project – specific to the project you are working in. Use this for one-off configurations.
You can move a schedule between scopes at any time using Import from Project (Global to Project) or Export to Global (Project to Global).
Creating a Construction Schedule
1. Open the Construction Schedules panel.
2. Choose the scope you want using the Global / Project toggle at the top of the panel.
3. Click Create Construction Schedule.
4. In the dialog, enter a Name and an optional Description.
5. Select the Schedule Type this schedule applies to.
6. Choose a Face Type: Frameless or Face Frame.
7. If you chose Face Frame, select a Face Frame Joinery option – Stiles Run Through or Rails Run Through.
8. Set the Default Part Types. Assign a part type for each face shown. The Create button stays disabled until every required Default Part Type has been assigned.
9. Click Create. The new schedule opens in the panel, ready to configure.
Tip: The available settings depend on Face Type, so confirm whether the product is frameless or face frame before creating the schedule. You won’t be able to click Create until the Default Part Types are filled in. |
Configuring the schedule
After creating the schedule, set up its sections in the panel. The sections you see depend on the Face Type you chose. Expand a section to edit it.
Default Part Types
Assign the part type DESIGN should use for each face and situation. Exposed options apply when a face is visible; concealed options apply when a face is fully covered.
• Front, Split, and Exterior parts
• Exposed and Concealed: Top, Bottom, End, and Back
• Toe Kick Face and Toe Kick (top surface)
• For Face Frame schedules: Top Rail, Bottom Rail, Mid Rail, Left Stile, Right Stile, and Mid Stile
Reveals (Frameless) or Face Frame sizes (Face Frame)
For Frameless schedules, set the Reveals – the spacing around openings: Top, Bottom, Left, Right, Horizontal, and Vertical.
For Face Frame schedules, set the frame member widths instead: Top Rail, Bottom Rail, Mid Rail, Left Stile, Right Stile, and Mid Stile.
Toe Kick
Use this section to define integral toe kicks. Set the Height and Depth; DESIGN notches the End part types according to those values.
Drawer Boxes
Control how drawer boxes are generated:
• Box Schedule Type – the schedule type used for the drawer box parts
• Guide Schedule Type and Guide Part Type – where to find the part schedule that contains the guide, and which part type has the guide material associated to it
• Fixed Bottom – a set distance from the bottom; leave blank to let DESIGN calculate the position from the guide’s bottom clearance
Connectors
Define the connector hardware applied to your products:
• Schedule Type – the schedule type used for connector parts
• Default Part Type – used automatically when you manually assign connectors
• Hinge Part Type and Pull Part Type – the part types used for hinges and pulls
Part-level settings
Expand any part type to fine-tune how it is built. The most common settings are:
Setting | What it does |
Inset | How far the part is set in. |
Grain | Grain direction – Parallel To Wall or Perpendicular To Wall. |
Placement | How the part is placed vertically within the product – Standard, Floating, Edge, or Custom. |
Stretchers | Whether a stretcher is added and its orientation – None, Horizontal, or Vertical – plus its width. |
Apply Toe Kick | Applies to the face. When the part is set to the face and this is toggled on, the toe kick dimensions are applied to it. |
Stops Line Bore By Section | Splits line boring into individual bores per section. Enable for parts like fixed shelves so adjacent adjustable shelves bore correctly. |
Joints
Inside a part type, open the Joints section to define how that part connects to others. For each joint, choose the part it connects to and a Joint Type: Dowel, Dado, Pocket, Cam, or Connect To Boundary. You can also select a saved Library Joinery item, enter an Adjustment offset, or switch the joint to use a Connector instead.
Color cue: An orange highlight on a joint means an adjustment has been entered. Click it to expand and review the details. |
Updating a Construction Schedule
1. Open the Construction Schedules panel and select the schedule from the list.
2. Confirm you are in the correct scope (Global or Project).
3. Expand the section you want to change and edit the values.
4. Click Update to save your changes.
Heads up: When you update a schedule, every product that uses it is rebuilt automatically to match. Review your products after making changes. |