How Alphacam-based parametric door and cabinet door macros work

A parametric macro is not a fixed drawing but a rule that generates a drawing from dimensions: width, height, stile allowance, hole distance and a few other numbers go in; the door geometry is recomputed from them every time. "Alphacam-based" means the rule is written in Alphacam's own VBA API and draws directly into the Alphacam drawing, onto the right layers — not a drawing produced elsewhere and carried in as DXF. This article explains how the GMacros door and cabinet-door macros are structured; the same principles apply to anyone writing their own.

Why parametric? The three costs of drawing by hand

• Time: one door contour + pattern + 2 hinges + handle hole is 3–5 minutes by hand; a 30-door order is 2 hours.
• Errors: every hand-typed dimension risks a wrong digit, a forgotten edgeband allowance, a mirrored hole. The error shows up at the machine; material is lost.
• Inconsistency: two operators draw the same door on different layers with different corner radii; Auto Style works for one and not the other.

A parametric macro solves all three: the dimension list is entered, geometry follows from the rule, layers are fixed. The operator's job is typing the dimensions correctly and checking the result.

Parameters taken by the cabinet-door macros

The four design tools in GMacros Tools use the same logic but are series oriented: Gasket Door Design takes a width×height list and draws the whole series; Panel Door Design produces the requested number of inner offsets from the outer size; Panel Door Layout draws the door from top/bottom/left/right stile and panel sizes and duplicates it; Slat Door Design draws the grid panel from edge/rebate allowance and slat count. The door types themselves are covered in Cabinet door drawing in Alphacam: membrane, panel, American, framed, glazed and louvred doors.

Parameters of the door macros

On an interior door leaf the work, unlike a cabinet door, is hardware recesses: hinge pockets distributed evenly by door height (2–4 hinges; hinge length, width and screw holes), the lock body pocket with handle/cylinder holes at a fixed height, and decorative frames on the face (the American panel look). GMacros Door reduces these three jobs to three buttons; when the door height changes, the hinge distribution is recomputed automatically.

Series-production flow: list → drawing → NC

1. The order list is prepared: type, width, height, quantity (can be pasted from Excel).
2. The macro button is pressed; type and fixed parameters (band allowance, hinge distance) are chosen on the form — last values are remembered.
3. The macro draws every door, each on KESIM/KANAL/DELIK/ETIKET, with size and sequence number in its label.
4. Nesting places them on sheets; Auto Style assigns operations by layer name.
5. The post-processor writes the NC file. Manual intervention: none.

Limits of a parametric macro

A macro does work whose rule is known. Free-form patterns (carving, relief), 3D surfaces and one-off custom designs are not its domain; those are done by hand or with 3D CAM. The macro's right place is work that repeats under the same rule: doors, interior doors, carcasses. Because 80% of a shop's output is those three, the gain is large; Alphacam's normal tools remain in place for the other 20%.

License and installation

Each package is one .arb add-in and one license key; the installer is a single file, the key is entered once and bound to the computer. Time-based (1–5 years), perpetual or usage-count plans are available; purchase and activation are on How it works. For the add-in mechanism: What is an Alphacam add-in, how is it installed and how does it work?