Hi Peter,

Thanks for your encouraging feed back on our websites.

Our websites are a lot of work for Stefan and myself, but well worth it when see how it can help and bring people together across the world.

For what I understand you are doing, I wouldn’t think Pro PP would be really worth the investment.

The update is quite a hefty sum to fork out, which I consider a great investment if you are designing and running regularly projects through a CNC.

However, if you just cut occasionally curved parts, drawing and setting up in CAD works well even if it can be a bit longer.

You seem well organised and set up for what you are doing at the moment.

There are 2 differences between Standard and Pro, Standard will not draw nor manage hardware and when you set up a cabinet with slopes cut outs etc. you will not get the separate part drawings.

Cheers,

Ness

Hi Peter,

I understand perfectly where you are and how you work.

do you use Dynalog files to run you CNC?

Upgrade to Polyboard Pro PP – 70% of the price you paid your Pro version.

EDIT: we no longer sell ProgeCAD, please buy direct from their website here.

However, I’m not very enthusiastic about selling the latest version as I’m finding a lot of the problems when loading DXF files and the imagery commands are not up to the last versions either.

What do you want to do with Progecad?

where did you buy your Polyboard?

Cheers,

Ness

Hi Pete,

EDIT: please note, Polyboard Standard is not available to buy from our website. We offer Pro and Pro PP, both with 100% of design features, the key difference is Pro PP offers CNC output.

Polyboard Standard will not manage hardware.

This means that parts drawings will only be rectangles with no positioning of drillings or grooves etc.

I’m not even sure that the version prints part drawings.

In general we don’t sell the Standard version as although it allows one to build more complex projects with slopes etc. you can’t build these project because you can’t output a printed dimensioned drawing of the part.

The Pro version will manage hardware and print dimensioned drawings for each part.

If one doesn’t have a CNC this version gives everything you need to build any project, hardware lists, part by part drawings with the hardware positions marked and dimensioned.

The Pro PP version does the same except it will also write the files to drive a CNC router.

The version best adapted depends on the way you work.

In my opinion, in today’s economic context, the majority of small  woodworking businesses making made to measure cabinetry have several  options depending on how they want to cut and manufacture:

Either they want to  design, cut, manufacture and install, in which case they need at least a small CNC and Polyboard Pro PP.

Or they want to design, install and subcontract the cut and machining to a specialist company., in which case a good option is Polyboard Pro.

It would also be possible to simply use the free version as this version has all the design functions, however it’s not possible to get instantly the price of the project  as you design, a great asset if you are quoting for a job.

As well as the Standard version outputs the cutting lists for one-off projects that you might want to build occasionally in shop. 

Of course, these are the 2 extremes and various mixes of the 2 situations might be better for some companies.

However, I do feel that, in today’s context, small businesses will have to focus more and more on the jobs they are good and efficient at, design, proposing solutions and installation, whereas cutting and manufacturing will be less and less profitable and better outsourced to businesses organised specifically around these operations.

All the best,

Ness

Hi Peter,

Polyboard will not print directly a scaled drawing. The drawings are dimensioned and best fitted to the paper size.

To print to scale you have to open the DXF files in CAD and print from a CAD program.

In general dimensioned drawings are enough to build a project but full-size templates can be useful for marking our specially shaped parts. 

Strictly speaking, Polyboard can’t put handles on a cabinet but can only provide the machining for them.

For display purposes, it’s possible to map an image file onto a cabinet that includes the handles.

 This is just a cabinet with a picture of a door with handles mapped onto the facade.

All the best,

Ness