Multibuilder

Why I made it

I could print the parts, but planning them was annoying

MultiBoard and Underware are great systems for building cable management under a desk. The annoying part is working out which plates and channel pieces you need before you start printing.

I made Multibuilder to plan the layout visually, instead of sketching it on paper and then counting every bend, snap and connector by hand.

How it works

Lay it out and get a parts list

You place Octagon Plates on the MultiBoard grid, then add, rotate and colour the Underware pieces over the top. The layout shows the real footprint of the parts and supports the different layers in the system.

As you build, the bill of materials keeps count of the plates, channels, connectors and snaps. It also links back to the original models from the people who made them.

• Grid-based plate placement and layered cable routes
• Straight, corner, junction, riser, cap, and snap parts
• Live, grouped bill of materials with total part count
• Exportable layout artwork for the build bench

What I built

More geometry than I expected

Under the editor there is a fair bit of geometry for rotation, layer order, joins and the footprint of each part. I reuse that geometry for the canvas, selection outlines, parts list and exported layout so they all agree.

It is still in development. My main goal is to make it quick enough for a rough plan, but accurate enough that you can actually print from the list it gives you.