Creating a file

What you need to keep in mind when creating and editing your file before uploading it to Cutr.

Regina Zirion avatar
Written by Regina Zirion
Updated over a week ago

Your file structure

A good file has an organised structure tree, with every part defined as a single component. Each individual component has a logical name. For example, if you are making a corpus, you could think of a structure like this one:

  • Left Panel

  • Right Panel

  • Bottom Panel

  • Middle Panel/Shelf

  • Top Panel

  • Back Panel

  • Front Panel/Door

Why is this important?

In big production facilities, each person that works on your product may not have access to the original file to understand the entire design. Colleagues at our production facilities will most likely understand what they are making by reading the stickers that we place on each one of the design’s components. Being clear on what each component eventually will become will help people to prevent mistakes. If your components all have the same name or if the parts are only labeled with numbers, it is harder to understand what is being produced.

Colours in your file

To help designers and producers get a quick sense of what your design will end up looking like, it is good to colour the parts that are drawn. This can help our manufacturers envision the final product more precisely and prevent mistakes. There is no universal colour palette for each material, so the best practice is to choose an individual colour for each material within your design. For example, you could colour your file according to the materials that you have chosen:

  • Pink = Okoume plywood

  • Light yellow = Arauco or Underlayment

  • Dark yellow = Spruce (2in x 3in beams)

  • Light brown = Oak wood

  • Dark brown = Walnut wood

  • Black = Black MDF

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