Microvellum engineers the work. This prices it.
Microvellum automates millwork engineering and manufacturing from a configured library. PlankCAD does none of that — it works out what a job should cost and produces the quote, in a browser, with nothing to configure first.
Microvellum sits at the engineering end of this trade: a library-driven system that turns millwork into fully engineered parts and machine output, aimed at shops with the volume and the staff to run it.
The power comes from the library, and so does the commitment. Configuring it to match how your shop actually builds is a real project, and the return on that work arrives over years rather than weeks.
That is a reasonable trade for a commercial millwork operation. It is a poor trade for a shop whose immediate problem is that quotes take too long and margin is guesswork.
Microvellum: engineering automation from a configured library
Desktop software built on a CAD platform, driven by a library that encodes your construction standards. Once configured it produces engineered parts, machining data and reporting across a job at scale. It is a manufacturing system, and it expects to be set up like one.
PlankCAD: a price and a quote, from the first session
No library, no configuration, no install. Enter the costs your shop actually pays — materials, hardware, labour hours against your rates — apply waste, overhead and a true gross-margin target, and export a customer-ready PDF quote. Cut lists and sheet optimization are there when the job is won, offcuts carry forward as stock, and actual cost gets recorded against the estimate so the next quote is grounded in what really happened.
Where the two differ.
| Dimension | Microvellum | PlankCAD |
|---|---|---|
| Setup before first use | Library configuration — a project in itself | None. Sign up and enter costs |
| Built for | Engineering and manufacturing at volume | Pricing the job and quoting the customer |
| Machining output | Yes — its core purpose | None. It does not drive machines |
| Runs in | Installed desktop CAD software | Any browser |
| Margin | Part of job costing and reporting | True gross margin — profit over selling price, not markup over cost |
| Customer-facing output | Engineering drawings and reports | A PDF quote with scope, line items, tax, total and terms |
| Who it suits | Shops with engineering staff | Owner-run shops pricing their own work |
When Microvellum is the right tool
- You run commercial millwork at a volume that justifies engineering automation.
- You have someone whose job is to own and maintain the library.
- You need engineered shop drawings and machine output from one source of truth.
- Your work is repeatable enough that a configured library pays for itself.
Using both
Estimating and engineering are different stages, and nothing here interferes with the second. Quote the enquiry in a browser, and engineer the won work where you already do it.
PlankCAD and Microvellum.
None of the kind Microvellum needs. There is no library to configure and nothing to install — you sign up, enter the costs your shop pays and the rates you charge, and quote. The trade is real and worth stating plainly: no configuration also means no engineering automation and no machine output.
For pricing and quoting, yes — the cost model does not care whether the work is residential or commercial. For engineered shop drawings, machine output and production at volume, a system like Microvellum is doing something PlankCAD does not attempt.
A priced estimate with the math visible, a customer-ready PDF quote with scope, line items, tax, total and terms, a cut list nested onto your sheet sizes, and a record of what the job actually cost against what you estimated.
Build your first estimate free.
No credit card required. Price the job, save the draft, and export the customer quote.
Deterministic Estimate Math · Your Quotes On Your Account · No Hidden Fees