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Chapter 24
No plan appears
The red bar above the plan, what each message means, and how to choose a calculated fix.
The alarm bar
Removing example parts, changing material, releasing the grain requirement, correcting a typo and removing edge trim also go through Fix and Apply. In a cabinet project, the fix is saved with its source cabinet. Technical import and export errors and crosscutting messages only offer Go to the cause: you choose the file, output or input value yourself.
Fix calculates possible fixes on a copy first. Choices appear one below another, each with its own Before, After and Apply. You see changed parts and sheets needed. Only choices that resolve the target message without a new blocking error appear. Without a suitable choice, Go to the cause remains. One Cancel closes all choices without a change. After applying, Undo goes back and Redo goes forward.
For each does-not-fit message, Go to the cause opens the size of the part involved. When several parts are involved, the message keeps references to all of them; the button opens the first one. Check the cause there. This button does not change a size, sheet or material. If the part no longer exists, The cause is no longer present. appears. The other solution buttons remain available.
If something does not fit, a red bar appears above the plan with 1 part still fits nowhere or 2 parts still fit nowhere, the reason with it, and Go to the cause and, when possible, Fix. The plan area then reads Your parts do not fit on your sheets yet. See the message with solutions.
Read the message literally: it names the part and the size involved. That is nearly always enough to see what went wrong.
The messages in a row
| Message | What is going on | Button |
|---|---|---|
| You have no sheet in Plywood (birch). | The part material or thickness does not match the available sheets. Fix shows concrete available alternatives that fit. With more than three materials, missing sheet sizes or a cabinet thickness you must choose yourself, use Go to the cause. | Fix, Go to the cause |
| These parts are set to 3/4 inch, your Plywood (birch) is 5/8 inch. | The part material or thickness does not match the available sheets. Fix shows concrete available alternatives that fit. With more than three materials, missing sheet sizes or a cabinet thickness you must choose yourself, use Go to the cause. | Fix, Go to the cause |
| Side is just too big because of the edge trim: 96 inch leaves 95 3/4 inch. | Without the edge trim it would fit. The trim applies to all sheets; see Settings. | Set trim to 0, or shorten to the size that is left |
| Side is 48×7 inch, larger than your biggest sheet (96×48 inch). | The piece is simply larger than every sheet you have. Tip: this looks like a typo, double-check the size. | Go to the cause, Split or Swap length and width. If the part is more than twice your largest sheet and fits with one digit less, a button asks whether you meant that size (for example 1090 for 10909) |
| The 2 example parts are 3/4 inch, your sheet is 5/8 inch. | It is about the parts of the example project, not your own input. See Example projects. | Fix: Remove example / Set parts to 18 mm |
| This sheet looks like it was typed in millimeters. | A sheet looks typed in cm or inches. This comes first in the message, because it explains the rest. See Units. | Fix: Convert this sheet only / Convert sheets and parts |
| Side only fits if it may rotate. The grain is locked. | It would fit if it could rotate. See Grain and edge banding. | Allow rotation |
| Not enough Plywood (birch) sheets: they are all full. | A sheet has a maximum quantity, and it is reached. Leave the quantity empty for unlimited. | Fix previews one extra sheet of a fitting size, with stock and sheets needed before and after. Apply then increases the stock. If one extra sheet is not enough, use Go to the cause. |
Fix calculates possible fixes on a copy first. Choices appear one below another, each with its own Before, After and Apply. You see changed parts and sheets needed. Only choices that resolve the target message without a new blocking error appear. Without a suitable choice, Go to the cause remains. One Cancel closes all choices without a change. After applying, Undo goes back and Redo goes forward.
Splitting
For an oversized part, open Fix and inspect the effect of Split. Apply creates fitting pieces and retains the original size for Undo. Cancel keeps the part whole. Without a fitting split result, only Go to the cause remains.
With Choose sizes automatically on, the tool sometimes splits by itself, and says so: 1 part was split to fit an available sheet. Uncheck "Choose sizes automatically" to undo this.
If you get stuck
Work through these four, in this order. In practice it is nearly always one of the first two.
- Is your unit right? A width of 400 in inches is ten metres. Look at the button next to Parts. See Sizes and units.
- Is your material named the same everywhere? "Birch plywood" and "plywood (birch)" are two different materials to the tool. Pick both from the same list.
- Is a quantity set on your sheet? Leave it empty when you may buy as many as needed. See Sheet material.
- Temporarily switch material and thickness off in the Settings block. If the problem disappears, that was it; switch them back on and fix the real cause. See Settings.
If you see nothing at all, not even a message, it probably says Add a part, your cutting plan appears automatically. Then there is simply no part yet.