LEGRABOX and Auto homes
LEGRABOX and Auto homes
As most will know, the versatility of Blum LEGRABOX allows it to be used outside the traditional application areas of kitchens, bedrooms and bathrooms into all living areas of the home. This month however, I was involved in a project where a customer wanted to install LEGRABOX into an auto home.
This was a challenge I undertook with Graeme MacKenzie, a Director of Riemann Ltd who was building his own auto-home from scratch in a van. Graeme showed me the special Aluminium frame he designed in CAD to house his project, along with the special floor layout for the van.
From the expertise required in producing this, it was obvious I was dealing with a fellow ‘Techie”. Graeme however had no previous experience with our product so needed our assistance when it came to drawer selection.
Space was at a premium so planning the drawer layout was particularly important. Additionally, as we were working inside a vehicle the weight was also a consideration. To account for this Graeme opted to use 12mm ply fronts to make every reduction he could. This was made possible by the EXPANDO-T technology for thin fronts which is exclusive to the LEGRABOX drawer range.
Another asset we had to help Graeme was the Blum Cabinet Configurator, which simplified the work we had to do. Using a receipt of sketches showing frontal sizes and gap layout, I keyed the information into the system which calculated all the runner mounting and front drilling data.
Although, that didn’t make the project run of the mill at all. One of the cabinets had an unusual feature which was that the lower front extended down past the bottom of the cabinet. There was also a unique side overlay situation but none of these were a problem for OCC. I utilised the ‘FREE’ planning philosophy which allows maximum storage space, the trade-off being that the bottom frontal drilling differs from all subsequent drawers above.
The Blum Universal Drilling Jig is ideal for these fronts as, not only will it accurately position the holes for the front brackets, but it comes complete with a drill bush to prevent accidentally drilling right through the thin front.
I was able to email back the CAD files so that Graeme was able to drop the cabinets straight into his primary CAD file for the van. Once we had planned all the cabinets, from OCC I was able to generate an accumulated parts schedule. This gave Graeme a complete ‘shopping list’ to send to a Blum distributor for price & delivery information.
This was one of the first projects where I had used OCC from start to finish. I think Graeme was pleased as he anticipated a complicated and difficult task but it turned out to be one of the simplest parts of his build so far. You can read his words for yourself:
From the outset it was clear to me that Blum’s LEGRABOX system—with its mix of good looks, tight tolerances and adjustability—was the ideal storage solution for this premium adventure home. Unfortunately, trying to achieve the look of ‘effortless simplicity’ in a small space is anything but simple, and I soon found myself grappling with all sorts of design quirks. I reached out to David at Blum for help and within the space of a few hours he was able to provide a detailed design that quite literally fitted like a glove. David and Blum’s OCC software make this stuff look easy…what a pleasure!
Written by Dave Grant - Blum Technical Team
Matthew Glanfield
Author