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LarryO

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Everything posted by LarryO

  1. Do the ray tracing cores in the NVIDIA GPUs on the market improve the Vectorworks performance? Or are we simply aiming for higher levels of discrete VRAM (or both)? Not rendering video, scenes or walk throughs. Only want quick response to redraws of viewports and hidden line modes when viewing, panning, zooming, rotating 3d structural assemblies. Are the newer NVIDIA RTX A series a marked improvement over the Turing series? Would it be a waste of $$ to invest in a RTX A5000 or RTX A4000 over say the RTX A2000 or RTX5000? Searching for a new a Win laptop that can drive a second and maybe a third monitor to replace our old 2012 27" iMac. I am led to understand the MacBook Pros run very hot when they drive external monitors and the rest of the office is using desktop workstations on Win10.
  2. I not sure know how to explain this better but I'll give it a try. The object, a handrail bracket, is drawn upon the origin of the symbol. The round extrusion is actually centred on the symbol's origin. In the layer environment an instance of this symbol is placed 800mm from the layer's origin. When one goes to edit the symbol by choosing this instance and invoking Edit 3D the visual render of the object(s) remain at the instance's location relative to the layer's origin but the origin of the symbol moves to the layer's origin while in edit mode along with all the selection capabilities. So we see it where we expect relative to other objects on that layer but cannot select any of the components of the symbol where the render occurs. The application thinks they are placed the relative distance and direction that corresponds to the two origins having been aligned. This behaviour doesn't occur when editing the symbol via the resource's palette because there is no need to render the layer's other objects in grey relative to a selected symbol instance. <edit> There are no other objects on the layer in this snapshot because I didn't want to clutter the view of where the selection highlighting is occurring. </edit>
  3. Having Vectorworks saving the backups to your local drive rather than a networked fileserver I've found that to be more stable also.
  4. check that the "publish to" column shows them as PDF
  5. Wishlist specifics point by point added under the title of Structural Member usability improvements.
  6. This occurs when Edit 3D is engaged in the drawing environment. (not from resources palette) In this example the symbol's placement is 800mm along the X-Axis from the layer's origin. This is where the rendering of the object is occurring but the selections are at the symbol's internal origin that has been placed at the layer's origin. The symbol's origin needs to stay aligned with where it is placed relative to the layer origin and not at the layer origin. Or is it the other way around? The layer origin relative to the symbol's internal origin needs to be offset according to the instance's location.
  7. 1. Needs to have length shown and alterable in the OI palette like any other linear construct. 2. Needs to have the Axis alignment in the OI using a radio button concept similar to that which is implemented for rectangles. The image used in the geometry settings window is well suited for the purpose. 3. The Angle profile should be rotated 180° so the top axis default alignment is to a leg face, not air. Most structural elements are installed utilizing Top of Steel elevation concepts. 4. There needs to be an edit mode to permit addition components and subtraction subtraction components. The insertion of one or more creating selection node(s) which can be dragged outside of the edit mode to relocate the component's position along the member's axis. I would suggest that the axis the components nodes snap to be the top centre axis. These components being 3d symbols or possibly 3d plugin geometry. The former is suited for adding stiffener plates, saddles and connection plates or angles among other things. The latter might be suitable for tools that arrange holes in the flanges or the web or for coping ends of Wide flanges. The ability of a component to remain either plumb to the layer or perpendicular to the axis of sloped members is also a consideration. 5. Being able to snap to those nodes with dimensioning tools. 6. The ability to lock in a slope angle when altering the length of the member is also valuable for sloping steel roof and canopy structures; As is being able to set an angle as an alternative to setting an end elevation. 7. Component edit mode being accessible from the resource palette similar to how symbols are handled. That way all beams can be seen and their member IDs are also available for editing. Beams when placed in a plan layout may start out as being multiple instances like symbols but may need to be duplicated and edited as the development process continues. 8. This is a very useful one and should be a wishlist item of its own. Have a Viewport type which can generate a beam or symbol from the definition. (for placement on sheet layers) Talking 3d here and all the various views that the basic Viewport can display. This creates an easy means to annotate each beam and symbol. Avoids possibly hundreds of classes and or layers being required to control visibility. The current process of laying out beams for a structure is still required but all the layout of each beam would be tremendously simplified and can utilize templates for annotation. One only needs to remember that all symbols and beams be created at their internal origin for best functionality. 9. Having the Viewport mentioned above being able to tap into the member id and or symbol name to facilitate automatic labeling. Or would that be the other way around where labels in the Viewport tap into those ids and names? 10. Profile size should be editable as a pull down at the root level of the OI, not embedded behind a shape selection button. 11. The technical data that the individual members currently provide should be displayed in the OI or accessible from the OI via a button. Weight characteristics for the basic member is a useful piece of data that is currently not provided. 12. Custom sizes as currently provided in the individual member tools is also useful for those sizes that are not in the predefined setting. This is helpful when using bar angle, bar channel and some tubing sizes which are currently not in the selection lists.
  8. Thanks Josh, You are probably correct about the tool being recent. I went to use it today and came across a rather obvious omission. The script doesn't report the length in the OI palette. Some of the other physical characteristics that are reported in the WideFlange-3D tool are not there yet either. Measures that are useful when coping the ends and confirming alignments etc. It's probably still in beta development. Matt, Yes, I'll probably get around to that. It seems that what I have been poking at with VW Scripting is probably more suited to the SDK environment which I've never seemed to prioritize in learning. The companies I've worked for over the years have never had the software development as their focus.
  9. Hmmm.... OK now for the stupid question. omg When did this tool become part of the Architectural package? I've been customizing MiniCad's 🙃 menu for so long that I failed to notice its introduction. 🙄 The symbol technique saves significant presentation time even for one off beams. Having the same beam linked on two different drawing layers ensures no changes will occur to one without occurring in the other. And being able to place each beam in a construction plan layer for orientation within the building as well as a detailing (layer) environment aligned to its origin means that viewport views do not require significant realignment of crop and annotations from prepared templates. The views of course revolve about the origin of the layer; Viewports have no means to know we want to revolve about a particular object. And there is no chance of class settings overriding the objects within the symbol when a class is being utilized for visibility purposes. I guess it would be too much to ask for a beam presentation viewport which synchronized with the Member Id to present a beam for annotating on a sheet layer? Then there wouldn't be a need for the symbolization nor the layout layer and hundreds of visibility classes. Mind you I still would need to do so for those components used in reinforcing, connecting and capping. Plus the structural member tool doesn't do coping, holes, etc. There would have to be some intermediate means to modify the structural solid, similar to resource editing symbols.
  10. The current process is as thus: 1. Receive Arch pdfs (and Structural if we're lucky, sometimes it is just notes written upon the Arch drawings). 2. Import to scale onto an empty drawing layer if the pdf is clean and doesn't bog down the interaction within the drawing file. 3. Create 2nd layer for placing our work and place lines representing beams using the pdf as a raw snap to environment before ensuring all lines terminate at centre lines, grids, and other logical points. 4. Create 3rd layer and begin by placing 3DWideFlange columns at the origin using the line lengths to set their length. 5. Convert each to a symbol utilizing the origin 0,0 and naming each symbol their unique name B1, B2, B3 ... 6. Coordinate a unique class to each symbol with a prefixed Visibility-B1, Visibility-B2, Visibility-B3 ... 7. Rotate each symbol down into the horizontal position with its origin to the top side and snapped to 0,0,0. 8. Copy and paste each beam symbol to 2nd layer replacing the line used to ascertain their length. At this point because we used symbols we can utilize different class visibility concepts to suit in presenting and creating the overall assembly and installation views. 9. Change the Z value to the elevation the beam is to be located at in the structure/assembly. 10. At this point everything is snapped to centre lines etc. and the fun begins. We cope the flanges, subtract the holes, add plates to stiffen at bearing points, insert and align bolts and add connection clips or end plates, plus occasionally a few other kinds of components. 11. All those components would also be symbolized and placed on the 3rd layer. 12. Sheets are created and named for each beam and a viewport to layer 3 is placed with the class of the representative beam visible. At which point annotation is created, front, top, bottom, end, detail and section views are taken as needed. Hence the need to have one layer for overall plan layout and another for presenting them on sheets. 13. A similar process to step 12 is required for each component part. When I have a better beam function done it will compile steps 3 through 8 hopefully into one process of laying out the beams over the pdf plan. Then I will have some time to mess around with introducing components.
  11. I started out attempting to use the provided plugins as a basis for creating beams in plan rather than columns as the current tools create. But I found that I wasn't able to rotate along either the X nor the Y axis only the Z. So I went onto changing the working plan in the hope that I could have the plugin align to that but it doesn't look for the active work plane and generates upon the layer plane instead. So this was my final attempt of using VWs WideFlange tools thinking that I could use the outline generated to produce a beam with the extrusion function. I didn't want to have to start from scratch to generate all the data and the 3d outlines from the data files simply to have a beam that could be placed and adjusted as a linear object. It is actually quite tedious to create them as 3D columns then rotated them into position, measure the length in 3d space from junction centre to junction centre and then set them to their final length using the OI palette before one can get to the actual work of creating appropriate connections for each end and placing the various stiffeners and connection holes. Ultimately I want a beam creation and connection tool(s) suitable to do structural work that can prepare linked symbols for use in manufacturing drawings.
  12. Are there techniques or settings to retain the resolution of images captured by Window's snipping tool when pasting them into VWs? Or retain the resolution seen in the pdf when one ungroups an imported pdf to use the image produced?
  13. Neither function has any effect upon the WideFlange object, unlike if "ungroup" or "convert to group" is invoked by the operator. When invoked by the operator the former triggers a dialog confirming the desire to do so upon a "high-level object" and the latter will do so without the confirmation dialog. Beam_Handle:=CreateCustomObject('Wide Flange',0,0,0); ResetObject(Beam_Handle); message(nil=Beam_Handle); HUngroup(LNewObj); SymbolToGroup(Beam_Handle,1); HMove(Beam_Handle, 50.0, 0.0); This should have failed to move the object if either HUngroup or SymbolToGroup had devolved the WideFlange into a simple polyline because the handle to the WideFlange would have cease to exist if successful. Something else must be going on here. The functions do not work upon the WideFlange in a linear object script nor as a tool script.
  14. deselect all objects in the active window. change the fill to solid in the attributes palette. change the colour to what you expect it to be, ie green, white, or "by class". You may need to choose a pattern instead of solid and set foreground and background colours independently. After setting colours you return the fill setting to your default setting.
  15. Using Message() in this manner resulted in a handle. Beam_Handle:=CreateCustomObject('Wide Flange',0,0,0); Message(Beam_Handle); HUngroup(Beam_Handle); edit: I can even move the Wide Flange before attempting to ungroup it.
  16. Does anyone know how to get a Wide Flange object ungrouped? This command is not having the desired effect. HUngroup(Beam_Handle); When ungrouping manually one would receive a dialog inquiring if you are sure that you want to ungroup high-level objects. Is there a boolean variable I need to preset to TRUE prior to invoking HUngroup? DSelectAll; BeginXtrd(0,600); Beam_Handle:=CreateCustomObject('Wide Flange',0,0,0); HUngroup(Beam_Handle); EndXtrd; Beam_Handle := LNewObj; Rotate3D(#-0.0000000000000d,#90.00000000000d,#30.0000000000000d); Locus3D(0,0,0);
  17. So I managed to reverse the path direction, but it was not without it's difficulties. The profile interacted with the path differently such that it didn't die out into the tapered shaft tip. The edge reemerged slightly suggesting that the profile's angle has been altered, so I had to shorten the path. And the final subtraction could not be computed until I rotated the main object so that it was slicing out a different part of the screw tip. But the aspect that I am a little stumped upon is in my effort to turn/direct the top end of the thread into the shaft. The product's thread dies into the side of the shaft at both ends. I joined a 90° arc (after converting it to nurbs) to the top end of the nurbs path thinking that was the way to approach it but the extrude command rejects the path after the segment is added. I've left the arc and original nurbs path embedded inside the extrude's path. The compose command will join them into one nurbs path after converting the arc to nurbs. Any thoughts? sds25200r0.1.vwx
  18. Ah yes, you are correct Mark, 3D assemblies do behave like symbols in that regard. Even though I have been working with 3d more frequently I had forgotten that aspect. I tend to avoid flipping/mirroring solid structures that are not symbols and I realized when you said it I also tend to decompose and reassemble flipped 3d objects, I had forgotten why that step became routine.
  19. When creating and assembling solids try to do so at the origin of the document and move them into their final place. What is frequently happening when you mirror or change standard views is the action is done so about the origin. Much like symbols, most solids store the relationship to the origin at creation. When they are moved the relationship to the drawing environment's 0,0 origin that shows in the object info palette is to this stored object's origin. Think of a vase in the corner of a room. The actions you perform in the drawing environment will occur about the centre of the room and not the centre of the vase. If you remove the walls and save the scene then mirror it the vase will jump to a new location in the view because the centre of the room was saved as a reference for future operations.
  20. 🙃 That's my left-handedness shining through. hehe
  21. This model while highly detailed may not be a perfect copy as noted in the document's notes. I do not represent the manufacturer. This is only a personal interest in creating 3d objects that are potentially useful because they are not yet in VW's kit of parts. I hope that you find this useful in seeing my creation process for this item. It may not be the most optimized creation. I welcome any critique towards doing so while retaining the aspects presented. If there is a more suitable location for sharing these types of things, please advise. Thanks. Larry sds25200.vwx
  22. I've been experiencing screen flashing and delayed response to changes made in the object info palette as well as crashes if I attempt to make another click in the palette too soon when one of these delays is under way. I have finally captured a file from which part of this is repeatable on my setup. Open the file in VW2021 Attempt to change the background render of the viewport to OPENGL. The image will flash after about ten seconds. There will be no change yet as expected but during this time the OI palette is not responsive and VWs has crashed occasionally to desktop when I try clicking the update button more than once. Now if you have waited until the flash click the update viewport button. If you fail to move the mouse away from the palette the program is very sluggish in initiating the rendering process. VW 2021 SP4.1 (Build 6109975) 64bit 8930 1555 & 1625 Richmond Ave.vwx My OI palette resides over top of the main program window, right side with title bar covering the notification bell. The main window has the navigation - classes palette active & anchored on the right side (and both layers palettes). Hopefully this helps capture this bug (and it is not my GPU hardware failing).
  23. Is there some simple method that I'm missing for creating a Section Viewport perpendicular to the working plane of an object? The Section Viewport tool rejects Viewports that have been aligned to 3d working planes. Having to Rotate a whole 3d model out of plane to capture the detail at a sloping corner seems a bit awkward.
  24. So I think maybe is in the same category. VW2021 sp4.1 The item clouded in the section viewport is a group of three objects assigned to an invisible class. A symbol within that grouping, also assigned the invisible class is invisible but the other two objects which are assigned a visible class inside the invisible grouping stubbornly remain visible. This does not occur when utilizing "Open GL" rendering as seen by the gray in section detail 3, but when utilizing "Hidden Line"(the foreground setting in section detail 3) and "Dashed Hidden Line" they erroneously show objects within invisible groupings. This doesn't occur with regular viewports, details 1 and 2. Unfortunately I don't know of another way to control clipping of the depth of field except though sectioning.
  25. I think you can use the Hole Tapped (metric)-3d tool under Detailing. Get the custom size to as close as you can. I think it will limit the pitch to 0.84. Ungroup the plugin, ungroup the solid addition, ungroup the solid subtraction, select the sweep that looks like the threads and adjust the pitch to 0.75 Then all I think you need to do is redo the subtraction and addition to get the physical 3d object again. It will not be a plugin anymore but it should be a length of threaded post with 0.75 pitch. The depth of the profile might be a little off though.
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