Using Basic Polygon Editing to Create an Upper Cabinet

Now you will use many of the techniques from the previous lesson to create an upper cabinet.

Set up the lesson:

Continue working from the previous section or open kitcab_1.max.

Create the upper left cabinet board:

In the viewport, select the base cabinet and on the Modify panel, rename the object LoCab_18.
On the Create panel, activate (Geometry), then on the Object Type rollout, click to activate Box.
In a viewport, drag out a box of any size.
Referring to our diagram, you can see that the length of the board you will specify in the next step should be 11 3/4”.

The height for upper cabinets of this design is variable, to account for the presence of appliances, sinks, windows, and so on. In this case, the upper cabinet will be installed on a wall with nothing between it and the base cabinet, so you will give it a height of 39”. You will specify this height as a negative value, so you can better position the cabinet as part of the total 93” allowable space.
Go to the Modify panel, and on the Parameters rollout, set Length to 11.75, Width to 0.75, and Height to –39.0.
Keep in mind that as soon as you type in the values, 3ds Max converts the decimal portions to multiples of 1/32”.

Note: It might seem odd to use a negative height for the board. The top of kitchen cabinets is always a fixed height of 84 inches or 93 inches (93 inches in the case of this model). The lower portion can vary in increments of 3 inches, as we mentioned before, so it makes sense to measure the upper cabinet from the top down.
On the main toolbar, activate (Select And Move), then set the Z transform value to 93.0.
The top of the box is now above the base cabinet at the proper height.
Click (Zoom Extents).
Now you need to align the box with the left side of the lower cabinet.
On the main toolbar, click (Align), then in the viewport, click the lower cabinet.
In the Align Selection dialog Align Position (World) group, make sure X Position is on and Y Position and Z Position are off. In the Current Object group, choose Minimum and in the Target Object choose Minimum, then click Apply.
Turn on Y Position and in the Current Object group and Target Object group, choose Maximum, then click OK.
Left panel of upper cabinet aligned with left panel of lower cabinet

Add polygon edges:

In the viewport, right-click the box and from the Transform (lower-right) quadrant choose Convert To Convert To Editable Poly.
On the ribbon Polygon Modeling panel, activate (Edge).
On the ribbon Edit panel, click (Swift Loop) to activate it.
A green virtual loop will now display as you position your cursor near an edge, to help you visualize loop placement.
In the viewport, click a vertical polygon edge.
3ds Max creates an edge loop that is perpendicular to the edge you clicked.
Activate (Select And Move), then set the Z transform spinner to 92.25.
On the Edit panel, activate (Swift Loop) again.
Click a vertical edge to place another horizontal loop, using the green virtual loop as a guide.
Activate (Select And Move), then set the Z transform spinner to 54.75.
This value represents the distance from the floor to the top of the board, (93”), less the height of the board itself (39”), plus the width of the board cut line you want to create (–0.75”).
On the Edit panel, activate (Swift Loop) again.
Click a horizontal edge.
Activate (Select And Move), then set the Y transform spinner to –0.75.
This value represents the cut line for the 0.75-inch back board you will soon create.

You now have all the divisions required to build upon this cabinet component.
On the ribbon Polygon Modeling panel, click (Edge) to exit sub-object selection.

Create a second cabinet board:

On the Edit menu, choose Clone. In the Clone Options dialog Object group, choose Copy, and then click OK.
Move the cloned board on its X axis slightly to the right.
On the main toolbar, click (Align).
In the viewport, click the lower cabinet. In the Align Selection dialog Align Position (World) group, make sure X Position is on and Y Position and Z Position are off. In the Current Object group, choose Maximum, and in the Target Object group, choose Maximum, then click OK.
Select the upper left-hand cabinet board (the original board), and on the ribbon Geometry panel, click (Attach), then click the cloned board.

Create the top, bottom, and back boards:

On the ribbon Polygon Modeling panel, activate (Polygon).
Click and +click to select the polygons that form the attachment points for the right-hand board.
Orbit the view, then +click to select the corresponding polygons on the left panel.
On the ribbon Polygons panel, click (Bridge).
3ds Max connects the selected polygons.
Press +Z to undo the orbit.
Bottom, top, and back panels created from selected polygons
Orbit a little more to get a better view of the side of the cabinet.
On the ribbon Polygon Modeling panel, activate (Edge).
On the ribbon Modify Selection panel, activate (Loop Mode).
One by one, select the loops shown in the following illustrations, and on the ribbon Loops panel, +click (Remove Loop) to remove the loops and their vertices.
Repeat the preceding step for the other side of the cabinet.
Click (Edge) again to exit the Edge sub-object level.

Create shelves:

Orbit the scene until you can see the front of the cabinet.
On the Create panel, activate (Geometry), then on the Object Type rollout, click to activate Box.
In the viewport, drag out a box of any size.
In the Parameters rollout, set Width to 16 3/8.
Like the shelf you created for the base cabinet, this value represents the full width of the cabinet (18 inches), less a 3/4 inch width of each side board, less another 1/8 inch space to provide room to remove the shelf, if needed.

Set Length to 10.5, which will be the depth of the shelf, and Height to 0.75, which is the thickness of the cabinet boards.
On the main toolbar, click (Align), then in the viewport, click the upper cabinet.
In the Align Selection dialog Align Position (World) group, turn on X Position, Y Position, and Z Position, and in the Current Object and Target Object groups, choose Center, then click OK.
Move the shelf on its Y axis until it touches the backboard. This adjustment is easiest in the Top viewport.
+move the shelf upward on its Z axis, and in the Clone Options dialog Objects group, make sure Copy is on, then click OK.
Adjust the height of the two shelves until they are spaced apart equally.
Select the cabinet.
On the ribbon Polygon Modeling panel, click Modify Mode to turn it on. On the Geometry panel, click (Attach), then click the two shelves.
Right-click to turn off the Attach tool.
Next, you will assign material IDs to the polygons so they can receive different sub-materials.

Assign Material IDs:

On the main toolbar, click (Material Editor) to open the Compact Material Editor.
Click the top-left sample slot to make it active. The material in this slot is named Cabinets.
Drag from the Cabinets sample slot and release the mouse over the upper cabinet to apply this material.
Dragging and dropping is an alternative way of applying materials.
Close the Compact Material Editor.
On the ribbon Polygon Selection panel, activate (Polygon).
Press +A to select all the polygons in the upper cabinet.
On the ribbon Properties panel drop-down portion, click (MatIDs).
On the Set ID dialog, type 1 in the Set ID field, then press .
Close the Set ID dialog.
In the viewport, click and +click to select the polygons that face forward, as shown in the next illustration.
On the Properties panel drop-down portion, click (MatIDs) once more, and on the Set ID dialog, type 2 in the Set ID field, then press .
Close the Set ID dialog.
Click an empty part of the viewport to deselect the polygons.
On the ribbon Polygon Selection panel, click (Polygon) to exit the Polygon sub-object level.

Adjust the pivot:

Finally, modify the upper cabinet so that its local coordinates, represented by its pivot point, are the same as those of the lower cabinet. This way, the next time you want to place the upper cabinet in the scene, it will be positioned at the correct height in relation to the floor and in line with the lower cabinet.

Go to the Hierarchy panel, and in the Adjust Pivot rollout Move/Rotate/Scale group, click to turn on Affect Pivot Only.
On the main toolbar, click (Align), then click the lower cabinet.
In the Align Selection dialog Align Position (World) group, turn on X Position, Y Position, and Z Position and in the Current Object and Target Object groups, choose Pivot Point, then click OK.

Left: Upper cabinet before pivot alignment

Right: Upper cabinet after pivot alignment
In the Hierarchy panel Adjust Pivot rollout Move/Rotate/Scale group, click to turn off Affect Pivot Only.
Select the upper cabinet and on the Modify panel, rename the object HiCab_18_39.

Save your work:

Save your scene as my_kitcab_2.max.

Using Extrusions and Bevel Profiling to Create Cabinet Doors

Using Basic Polygon Editing to Create an Upper Cabinet

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