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Sessions 16–18: Concept, Material & CAD

The Arcade Cabinet Project — Milestone 2 of 5

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Sessions 16–18

Concept, Material & CAD

You Have Requirements. Now Design to Them.

Everything from here forward traces back to your Milestone 1 requirements summary — not a fresh idea disconnected from your client.

Step 1: Three Genuinely Different Concepts

Same rule as Unit 1's Session 3: quantity first, no judging yet, genuinely different — not the same cabinet in a different color.

Step 2: Score Them

Same technique as before: build the matrix columns from your client's success criteria and constraints, then use anchored scores you can defend.

Step 3: Choose Real Materials

Session 2 asked you to choose materials for a side panel, a control panel, and a back panel — hypothetically. Now do it for real, for your actual chosen concept.

Step 4: Model the Full Cabinet

Apply Sessions 5–6's assembly and mate skills — but bigger and more complex than the practice box: a monitor opening, a control panel angle, cutouts for buttons and joysticks.

Every Joint, Individually Verified

Session 6's exact rule still applies — a cabinet that looks right from a distance can still hide one bad joint. More panels now means more places for that to happen.

Two Things to Remember

Alignment now means alignment with a real client, not a rubric.

If your highest-scoring concept doesn't actually answer your client's stated need, the matrix hasn't done its job — revisit your scoring.

Two Things to Remember

This model is what Milestone 3 programs toolpaths against.

A CAD mistake here becomes a CAM problem two sessions from now — the same relationship as Session 6 taught.

Next Up

CAM Programming (Sessions 19–20).

Turning this real, unique cabinet design into real toolpaths.

'F' → Fullscreen

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Build

Step 1: Sketch 3 Concepts

Starting from your Milestone 1 requirements, sketch three genuinely different cabinet concepts.

Step 2: Build Your Decision Matrix

Use one client success criterion and three relevant client constraints as your columns. Score each concept using the Session 3 anchors, defend one helpful and one harmful score, and choose provisionally with reasons.

Step 3: Choose Your Materials

For at least your side panels, control panel, and back panel, choose a material and justify it using Session 2's reasoning — applied to your real design this time.

Step 4: Model the Full Assembly

Build your chosen concept as a full CAD assembly, at real stock thickness, with every joint individually verified.

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Checkpoint

Before Session 18 ends, confirm all of the following:

  • Three genuinely different concepts were sketched, not 3 variations on one idea
  • Your decision matrix has real scores and reasoning, tied to your actual client's requirements
  • Each core panel's material is chosen and justified with a real property
  • Your full assembly is modeled at real stock thickness with every joint individually verified
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Reflection

Answer these on your own. Reflections are individual, even when the rest of the session was team work.

  1. What was the hardest part of scaling your CAD skills from Session 6's practice box up to a real cabinet?
  2. Looking at your finished model, which panel do you expect will be the most complex to program in CAM next milestone?
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Submit

Submit your 3 concept sketches, your decision matrix, your material choices with justifications, your full CAD assembly, and your reflection.

Milestone Complete