Boards and edge banding
Draw boards, choose thickness and material, resize with numbers and side arrows, use edge band mode, and chamfer or round board edges.
A board (2D part) is a flat shape with a thickness, like a cabinet side or a shelf. This page covers drawing boards, resizing them, edge banding and chamfering or rounding their edges.
Drawing a board
Choose a board from the library to start drawing. The default tool is the rectangle, and the options bar at the top of the screen offers the other tools (Draw with). See Library.
Edge banding goes on every edge of a new board automatically, using the band you last used for that thickness.
Thickness and material
- If you pick a board from a category (from the Part menu or the Part badge) and that board comes in several thicknesses or materials, Atrium asks you to choose first.
- If you pick it from Recent, it comes in with the same thickness and material as before, and Atrium doesn't ask.
Recent boards
Every time a board is placed (from the Part menu, the Part badge or Replace), that exact board is added to Recent. Each combination of thickness and material gets its own card. The thickness appears on the image, and the material name (and its color) appears under the board name.
Resizing a board
Rectangle width and length
On a shape or board that's still a rectangle, the width and length appear on the model as purple-framed numbers. Click a number and type the new size. The size changes on both sides, and the center stays fixed.
If you drag a single corner on its own, the shape is no longer a rectangle. A rectangle with filleted corners is still a rectangle and keeps its width and length.
Side arrows
Each side of a rectangle has a purple arrow at its midpoint, pointing outward.
- Drag an arrow: Only that side moves, in or out, perpendicular to itself. The opposite side stays fixed. The arrow also picks up snaps. A dotted line shows the new size, and its value appears next to the pointer.
- Click an arrow: Type the new size in that direction. Again, only that side moves.
- Press Esc while dragging to put everything back.
Arrows on any straight shape
A shape that's no longer a rectangle but still has only straight sides (a trapezoid, for example) also has an arrow on each side. Drag it, and that side moves parallel to itself. The neighboring sides keep their direction and get shorter or longer, just like moving a wall in a plan. Click the arrow to type how far to move the side. A positive number moves it outward.
Coming soon
Rectangle width and length and side moves accept numbers only for now. If you need a formula, enter it in the design tree.
Filleted board corners
Fillet or chamfer corners with the Round and Chamfer badges (see The workspace). If one side of a filleted corner has edge banding, the other side gets it too, and the band bends around the arc.
Edge banding
Edge band mode
Select a board and click the Edge band badge. In this mode:
- Each edge has an on/off toggle. On means that edge is banded.
- Next to each toggle that's on, a round button shows the band's profile and opens its card. The button appears and disappears the moment you switch the toggle.
- A toggle that falls under a panel is hidden.
- The gizmo and control points move out of the way.
- Press Esc or select something else to leave this mode.
Band card
In this mode, click a band itself to open its card:
- The band's toggle
- Profile: Square, Top, Bottom or Both. Hover over an option to see that edge of the band turn orange on the model.
- Radius
- Same for all edges
The card opens next to that edge, but it never covers badges or panels. The first Esc closes only the card.
Options bar
In edge band mode, the options bar at the top of the screen has these options:
| Option | What it does |
|---|---|
| Outer / Inner | A single button that toggles with each click. |
| Band type | A chip with the band's name. |
| Remove all | Removes the banding from every edge of the board in one click. When no banding is left, the same button becomes All edges. |
You can revert both Remove all and All edges with a single undo.
New edge band
New edge band is at the end of the band list. Atrium first suggests bringing one in from the Bond library.
Edge banding and processes
A hole, groove or pocket that reaches the edge of a board cuts the edge band too. You can also place a process or draw a groove on the edge band itself; the board and the band are cut together. See Holes, grooves and pockets.
Edge chamfers and rounds
You can chamfer or round the top and bottom edges of a board.
- From the Process button, choose Chamfer or Fillet.
- Hover over the top or bottom edge of any board. That edge lights up, and the material to be removed appears semi-transparent.
- Click to apply it, then click the next edge. Press Esc to finish.
- The sizes are in the options bar at the top of the screen (chamfer: size on the face and on the thickness; round: radius), and Atrium remembers them.
- Dragging a chamfer or round from the library and dropping it on an edge applies it to that edge only.
- Only a visible edge can be picked.
- The edge band on that edge is removed.
- A round on a chamfered edge replaces the chamfer.
Editing chamfers and rounds
- Select the board and click the chamfered or rounded edge. The edge is highlighted, and its card opens with the sizes.
- The badge's trash can, or Delete, removes it from that edge only.
- Click again or press Esc to return to the board.
In the design tree, under the board, Chamfer and Round each have a row (its trash can removes all of them). Under each one, every edge has its own selectable row with its sizes.