-1 CABINET DESIGN AND MANUFACTURING SYSTEM FIELD [0001] The present invention relates to the design of cabinets, particularly but not limited to the design and manufacturing of cabinets for the home or office, including typically for kitchen and bathroom. BACKGROUND [0002] When an end-user customer wants to purchase new cabinets such as for a kitchen or bathroom, the traditional way is to approach specialist cabinetmaker businesses, who typically meet at the customers house and design a set of cabinets which will fit the home and which will meet all the designs and specifications of customer. It is also traditional for the initial interaction with the customer to be by way of rough hand sketch, which after final exact measurements are made becomes a more formal drawing, which may then be applied to the final design and manufacturing steps. [0003] At least in the process of the final design and manufacturing steps, computer aided design and/or manufacturing (CADCAM) technology has streamlined the process of coordinating all the complex individual requirements of the customer into a finished product. In recent years, computer technology has migrated to be customer/supplier interaction to enable the customer to be able to review in three dimensions a model of the proposed design, bypassing the manual drawing phase and enabling integration of the customers job requirements with the computer aided manufacturing system, removing the possibility of manufacturing errors due to transcriptional errors which can -2 arise in a manual or semi-manual process. A commercially available example of CADCAM software which provides this capability is Cabinet Vision (see http://www.cabinetvision.com). The Cabinet Vision suite of software enables the cabinetmaker to work with the end user customer and show them an impressive three-dimensional display of the proposed finished product, and optionally to control computer-aided manufacturing machinery such as CNC machines directly. Such automation reduces costs and improves competitiveness both by improving customer interaction and satisfaction and reducing errors and time wastage in the manufacturing process. [0004] Notwithstanding these advances, there are limitations for cabinet making businesses which do not have, or do not always have, direct interaction with the end user customer. A new business model is emerging for small or sole operator third party businesses who interact well with end user customer clients and subcontract the manufacturing to a larger scale business which has the aforementioned advantages of the economies of scale and automation using CADCAM technologies. When the small or sole operator carpenter interfaces with their client, they may not have the expertise or time to be able to operate a sophisticated CADCAM software that is part of an integrated system of a particular manufacturer, either because they deal with a number of alternative manufacturer sources of supply at the same time, or have many different aspects to their business, only one of which is supplying cabinets to their customers. The third party may not wish to take advantage of the three-dimensional visualisation and computer-aided design features of the CADCAM system, and may wish instead to determine their own requirements and dimensions according to the old fashioned method.
-3 [0005] With such a business model, there is a challenge for the manufacturer in identifying a way in which the third party can still provide job specifications to the manufacturer that are able to be integrated into the manufacturing system. In the case of Cabinet Vision, certain functionalities such as pricing information can be easily changed by the user, which is inappropriate in a situation where a third party carpenter, joiner, designer or the like is utilising the software. Most manufacturers who accept orders from third parties receive them in the form of written instructions, which may or may not be produced by alternative computer software, which they then must manually enter into their own integrated CADCAM system such as Cabinet Vision. This then reintroduces the possibility of transcriptional errors and is excessively time-consuming for the manufacturer. While the CADCAM software may contain file conversion programs for accepting certain data files from other versions of other CADCAM or interface software, the manufacturer is still at the mercy of the software provider in respect of the nature and extent of the data able to be transferred. Further, there may be additional parameters relating to the job specification that are internal to the company and are not relevant to the CADCAM system, which it is desirable to include in a single user interface to the third party. [0006] While it would clearly be possible to request a special tailored functionality and access privileges to be purpose-built into the CADCAM software by the manufacturer of the CADCAM software, this would not solve all of the above-mentioned disadvantages. The ideal solution is for a system which can provide a user interface appropriate to a third party client, but which offers at least a degree of automated data transfer into the CADCAM system.
-4 [0007] There is therefore a need to provide an improved computer-aided design and/or manufacturing system that meets the requirements of relating with third parties rather than end-user customers. [0008] Throughout this specification and the claims the term CADCAM refers to a system which is able to provide computer aided design functionality, such as to enable the three dimensional design of a set of cabinets in a premises and its three-dimensional display to the user, and/or computer aided manufacturing functionality, such as to schedule and control CNC machinery to cut the required panels to suit a designed cabinet system. [0009] Throughout this specification and the claims the term "third party" refers to any client or associate of the manufacturer who obtains requirements from end users and places orders with the cabinet manufacturer. This includes a carpenter, joiner, cabinetmaker, designer or the like. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION [0010] The inventor has discovered that it is possible to circumvent the limitations mentioned above by understanding and directly accessing data files privately used by the CADCAM software. [0011] According to a first broad aspect of the invention there is provided a composite CADCAM software system suitable for use by both cabinet manufacturers and third parties, the third parties having fewer rights of access to certain functionalities -5 than the cabinet manufacturers, comprising: a CADCAM software program, adapted to provide CADCAM functions to a cabinet manufacturer, including to accept manufacturer job specification instructions from a user of the CADCAM software program and to store the manufacturer job specification instructions in a CADCAM data file for later recall and editing of the job specification instructions, the instructions being stored in the CADCAM data file according to a CADCAM software program format designed primarily for internal use by the CADCAM software system; and a third party job specification program, adapted to accept third party job specification instructions from a user thereof consistent with the fewer rights of access and to store at least some of the third party job specification instructions in a third party data file in a format sufficiently similar to the CADCAM software program format such that the CADCAM software program can open and recognise the data file as a CADCAM data file, thereby allowing processing and/or editing of the third party job specification instructions from within the CADCAM software program as if it was originally created as a CADCAM data file on an earlier session of the CADCAM software program. The third party job specification instructions may include a job scope and a job materials selection. The third party job specification instructions may also include a cabinet selection. [0012] In accordance with a second broad aspect of the invention there is provided, using the composite CADCAM software system of the first broad aspect of the invention, a method of obtaining and integrating the third party job specification instructions into the CADCAM software program, comprising the steps of: using the third party job specification program to accept the third party job specification instructions; using the third party job specification program to store the -6 third party job specification instructions in the third party data file; using the CADCAM software program to open the third party data file, thereby allowing the processing and/or editing of the third party job specification instructions from within the CADCAM software system. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS [0013] Figure 1 is a functional block diagram of the composite system according to an embodiment of the first broad aspect of the invention; [0014] Figure 2 is a block diagram of method steps according to an embodiment of the second broad aspect of the invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS [0015] An embodiment illustrating both aspects of the current invention will now be described. [0016] Referring first to Figure 1, composite CADCAM software system 10 comprises CADCAM software program 20 and third party job specification program 30. In this embodiment, CADCAM software program 20 is the Cabinet Vision software described in the background section of this description. Third party job specification program 30 is tailor-made to suit the requirements of accepting job specifications for an operator in the cabinetmaking industry. Typically that operator will be a carpenter or contractor who deals direct with the end user -7 customer, and has sufficient knowledge and skills in how to design and construct the relevant cabinet systems. CADCAM software program 20 interacts with a user at CADCAM software program terminal 50. The user may be located remotely from a computer running the program, and is typically an employee of a cabinet manufacturer company. Third party job specification program 30 will typically be located on a server and accessed via the Internet on third party terminal 60 by a third party operator such as a carpenter, designer, joiner or contractor who interacts with the end user customer and uses the cabinet manufacturer as a contractor to supply the manufactured cabinets or parts thereof. In a computer aided manufacturing mode, CADCAM software program 20 interacts with devices such as CNC machines in factory 40. [0017] Both CADCAM software program 20 and third party job specification program 30 are able to access common databases (not shown) which define a whole range of characteristics of the products out of which cabinets are made. These databases are maintained and regularly updated by the manufacture as different suppliers become available supplying different products to be used in the construction. [0018] CADCAM software program 20, as with almost all software programs, utilises a data storage function to store the job specifications that the user has entered during a session and other settings. Specifically in relation to cabinets, the user may specify the job scope, namely for example whether full assembly of the cabinets once manufactured is required, whether hinges are required to be supplied, whether cabinet legs are required or components or hardware for the drawers. The user will also specify the materials selection for the job, namely the style, colour and finish of doors, which may have many -8 subcomponents including shape, edging etc, and the style of panels and bench tops. Further, the user may specify as part of a design session the cabinet selection i.e. the number and size of cabinets, and all other similar dimensions and details that form part of the design of a cabinet system. During and/or at the end of an input session, the choices of the user which defined the job at hand including the above-mentioned job scope, job materials selection and cabinet selection process, will be stored in one or more data files 21, 22 designed for the internal use of the CADCAM software program 20 to enable later recall and editing of the session. Typically, the CADCAM data files 21, 22 are in a format that has been specifically determined by the software designer to correspond with the data structures of the CADCAM software program. The data file may be in the form of binary SQL database but more commonly is a simple text file that can be interpreted by the CADCAM software system. In the case of the Cabinet Vision software, the data files are text files of multiple types in a format similar to a Windows.".ini" file. [0019] Because of the accessibility of the text file format and almost self-explanatory nature of the format used (comprising named variables etc), it is possible in this case by trial and error, observing the way the data file changes as a job specification is changed, to ascertain the rules by which the format operates to record the job specification instructions. The job scope and job materials selection is stored in the file with an extension .ORD, and the cabinet selection data is stored in a file with extension .CVC. [0020] Third party job specification program 30 provides a means by which a third party may specify the aforementioned job scope, job materials selection, and cabinet selection externally of the -9 CADCAM program. At the conclusion of a session, a user of the third party job specification program 30 may opt to print a job specification sheet 31 which is a conventional way of communicating with the manufacturer. The job specification sheet 31 may include additional information not relevant to the CADCAM process that is required by the manufacturer, for example delivery address, delivery zoning, or billing information. According to the invention an additional route is provided whereby the user may activate an option to create a third party data file 32 containing at least some of the third party job specification instructions (typically all of the instructions relevant the CADCAM software program), in a format sufficiently complying with the discovered format of the CADCAM datafiles 21, 22. Alternatively the third party data file 32 may be created automatically. As the person skilled in the art of software programming will appreciate, once the format is discovered either by trial and error or by direct provision of information from the original programmer of the CADCAM software program, it is straightforward process to code the appropriate translation software. [0021] The advantage of creating third party data file 32 is that a user of the CADCAM software program at the manufacturer now has a much reduced administrative burden in converting the instructions of the third party into a design integrated with the CADCAM software program. The user simply opens the third party data file 32 which the CADCAM software program 20 recognises as a valid file as though it was originally created on an earlier session of the CADCAM software program. From that point, additional information may have been provided on the job specification sheet 31, such as free-form comments and instructions, or components of the job specification that are not able to be translated directly, that is printed out and -10 still requires manual input and manipulation by the user of CADCAM software program 20. [0022] Briefly and by way of summary referring to Figure 2 where the methods steps are set out, in step 101 a third party user starts a session on third party terminal 60, in step 102 the program accepts the job specification instructions from the user and in step 103 the program translates in stores the third party data file 32. Sometime later, a manufacturer employee starts a session on the CADCAM terminal 50 of the CADCAM software program 20, and in step 202 locates and opens the third party data file 32, enabling step 203 which is to edit and process the stored instructions to generate a complete CADCAM job which can then eventually proceed to factory 40. [0023] The invention thus provides a way of meeting the requirements of a cabinet manufacturer who deals with third parties for whom it may not be appropriate for desirable to grant or be given full access to a CADCAM software program, but nonetheless who desires to minimise duplication of data entry and the consequent time wasting and errors while maintaining an integrated CADCAM system. The invention provides a way of making use of existing systems tailored to manufacturers who deal with end user customers, rather than attempting to have an entire bespoke system programmed. [0024] Persons skilled in the art will also appreciate that many variations may be made to the invention without departing from the scope of the invention. [0025] For example, while the embodiment above described was constructed using deduction and observation over a period of the CADCAM data files generated from user sessions, the invention -11 extends to systems constructed by other more straightforward methodologies, including by or with the assistance of the original owner or developer of the CADCAM software program in question. [0026] In the claims which follow and in the preceding description of the invention, except where the context requires otherwise due to express language or necessary implication, the word "comprise" or variations such as "comprises" or "comprising" is used in an inclusive sense, i.e. to specify the presence of the stated features but not to preclude the presence or addition of further features in various embodiments of the invention. Further, any method steps recited in the claims are not necessarily intended to be performed temporally in the sequence written, or to be performed without pause once started, unless the context requires it. [0027] It is to be understood that, if any prior art publication is referred to herein, such reference does not constitute an admission that the publication forms a part of the common general knowledge in the art, in Australia or any other country.