VW to CNC Workflow

[soundman]

This is a case of "there has to be a better way"

I've drawn a simple 3 step staircase in VW using extrudes just as it would be cut out of a sheet of 3/4" Plywood. Nothing fancy - just some treads, risers a back and a couple side pieces. The model looks great and now I'm ready to prepare the file to send to the CNC and have been asked to nest all the pieces. The process the shop told me to follow was to make a duplicate, rotate everything so it was 'flat' in top view and then adjust the the Z height to make all the extrudes sit on the same level. I feel like there has to be a better way to 'flatten' the model. I don't like that this is destructive to the original model (any changes made after flattening won't be reflected in the model) and that it takes some time. For this example top and bottom only matter so the better face of wood is facing out but once we start getting into curved peices it seems like it could get harry if some things are rotated left VS right.

Any tips? In my head there would be a 'smash' button that would flatten out the model....

 

[kicknargel]

In terms of making it non-destructive, you could make every piece a 3D symbol. If you have pieces that repeat or mirror, they can be multiple instances of the same symbol. Then on separate design layers you could arrange those symbols into a staircase, or nested into sheets for cutting. Any edit to a symbol would propegate to the other instances. This would be an annoying process.

I'm certain there are other modeling softwares that are much more conducive to prepping for CNC. IMO, vectorworks (which I use) excels in generating drafting, but not so much in the 3D world.

 

[Dacheeseman1928]

It sounds like what they need is a 2D version of your parts. I draft in Autocad but I'm sure there is a way to "trace" 2D objects off your 3D model in VW. My experience has been the simpler the object the easier it is for the CNC guys to cut. I stick with 2D polylines when I can.