CutPlanMDF grain direction: when can a piece rotate?
Compare sheet grain, piece grain and rotation permission using a door that cannot fit when rotated.
Grain follows the material pattern
“Along height” means the pattern follows the sheet’s vertical axis. A door whose height follows the grain must preserve that relationship. Plain material can use “no grain”.
Allowing rotation and specifying grain are separate decisions. Rotation permits testing a 90-degree orientation; grain can still reject it. Rotation permission never overrides grain constraints.
A geometric fit can still be invalid
Consider a 1,000 × 600 mm usable region with grain along height and a 500 × 800 mm door with the same grain direction. The upright door does not fit. Rotated, its 800 × 500 mm footprint would fit geometrically.
That rotation would align the door grain with the sheet width, conflicting with the sheet’s heightwise pattern. The correct result reports that the piece cannot fit while respecting grain.
Review adjoining visible pieces
Adjacent doors and drawer fronts may need pattern continuity as well as matching direction. The app checks direction but does not track pattern position between pieces. Arrange that finish manually.
The two-door cabinet measures 800 × 1,600 × 450 mm, with two shelves, a back and 397 × 1,596 mm doors. Its example uses non-directional MDF. For woodgrain material, set sheet and door grain and disable rotation where needed.
Related guides: Grain · Saw kerf · Cut sequence