Answering 12 questions concerning furniture design software

Answering 12 most frequently asked questions concerning furniture design software How does WOODEXPERT compare to other solutions on the market?

WHICH IS THE BEST FURNITURE DESIGN SOFTWARE?

What is the best software to design furniture? The one that not only meets the current needs, but also guarantees usability in the event of changing or extending business profile, or unexpected fluctuations in the market. To get a full picture of the situation and make the best possible decision, you have to answer at least several… or dozen of extra questions. What are they?

1. Should the software focus on the design itself, on production, or perhaps on preparing visualisations?
2. Is the furniture design software supposed to provide a connection to CNC machines?
3. What machines should be supported by our software? Nesting centres, beam centres or drills?
4. What brands are the machines you are using or are planning to purchase?
5. Which data can you generate from the software?
6. Is the software provided with a component library? How does it expand and import files from other softwares or manufacturers’ websites?
7. Do you have the opportunity to test the software not only during a short free trial period, but during actual operation for, say, a quarter or two? Do you have to purchase the perpetual licence immediately?
8. Where is the data stored and can several persons from remote locations work on the same design?
9. Is the software provided with manual? Does the company provide support, e.g. during testing period?
10. Does the software support creating cost estimates and calculating machine costs?
11. Does the software support designing any piece of furniture, or is it limited to selected categories, such as kitchen?
12. Is the software fast and intuitive, or does it require extensive knowledge and advanced programming skills from the user?

How does WOODEXPERT compare to the above questions? In answer to these questions:

COMPREHENSIVE SUPPORT OF THE FURNITURE DESIGN AND MANUFACTURING PROCESS (1-5)

WOODEXPERT is a 3D CAD software in which you can design any box furniture, handle welded structures, design upholstery, generate a set of documentation, prepare CNC machining, but if you are also interested in visualization — here you need to invest in SOLIDWORKS Visualize which is fully compatible with the entire environment.

WOODEXPERT is provided with a CAM module in which you can generate an NC code for every machine from any manufacturer. We have specialized in writing post-processors for 20 years, not much in this area can surprise us. If your operations require preparing cutting plans, we can include NESTINGWORKS in the software.

The software has an automatic furniture 2D documentation generator that includes the data relating to edgings, natural wood grain angle or dimensions (it is also possible to enter manual modifications), and an independent BOM Manager responsible for generating bills of materials. In addition to the standard data, you can create customised fields and combine them with customised properties. BOM has a complete set of data required to prepare the furniture production process.

LIBRARY OF INTELLIGENT COMPONENTS (6)

The software comes with a library of smart components, and additionally allows for its easy expansion and import of files from other sources, such as websites. Great freedom of modeling, process collision detection function, material and geometry validation, material assignment, allowances, material legends… and much more designed specifically for furniture designers. They are described in detail in other posts or in videos on our YouTube channel.

YOU HAVE A CHOICE: FREE TRIAL, 3- AND 12-MONTH TERM LICENSES, PERPETUAL LICENSES (7)

In addition to the free 30-day trial period, you now have the option to purchase the software for 3 or 12 months (to learn about the terms of the promotion, contact us by phone: +12 626 06 00, send an email to: woodexpert@solidexpert.com or use the contact form on our website). This kind of time should be completely sufficient to see in practice how the software performs in your company.

24/7 PROJECT DATA SHARING AND DOZENS OF SUPPORT MATERIALS (8-9)

WOODEXPERT operates on the SQL database — that is why working on a design from different workstations and within a larger team is obviously possible, and in particular enjoyable. As for the reports themselves, you can easily send them to a production worker in the form of a simple link — he or she does not need WOODEXPERT installed on his or her workstation to open it.

The software is accompanied by a manual, several dozens of video tutorials not only guiding you step by step through furniture design processes (chest of drawers, wardrobe, yacht furniture, camper van furniture, hotel furniture, table, etc.), but also explaining in detail the most interesting software functionalities. We provide support from our team both during the free trial period and, of course, later during the actual use of the software.

In WOODEXPERT, you will prepare cost estimates and price machinery costs. In addition, the program is equipped with a rather interesting function for preparing furniture packages— it allows you to plan the process of packing them (what elements, what filling, dimensions, etc.) without loss.

FLEXIBILITY AND VERSATILITY (10-12)

WOODEXPERT was created for the design of all box furniture, it also gives the possibility to prepare upholstered furniture, doors, windows or stairs. This is possible thanks to its integration with SOLIDWORKS. It will reduce the time required to design kitchen, office, hotel, customised, individual furniture, built-in wardrobes, etc.

And the best thing at the end — the software is very intuitive, this was one of the most important design goals. Library extension is simple and requires no deep knowledge from the user. What should also please many of the users is that, as the direct manufacturer of our CAD, we can extend it at any time with functionality written just for the customer. Such cooperation provides benefits for both sides — us satisfying users, furniture manufacturers satisfying their design needs and maximizing process optimization.

I can’t help but encourage you to check out WOODEXPERT — you can download a demo version from our website and test it for 30 days for free, or go a step further and purchase a 3 or 12-month license. For those fully convinced, a perpetual license will be the best way to go.