Elliptical Stair

[Tom Klaber]

How would one go about creating an elliptical stair in Vectorworks?

[Jeff Prince]

I believe you would have to model it like you build one in real life.  I’ve seen framing examples online before, they are very gorgeous.

[Tom W.]

There is an elliptical stair configuration with the legacy Custom Stair tooL:

 

[markdd]

If you want to model it from scratch, then I would have thought that the Helix Spiral command is the place to start. Equal Top and Bottom Radius. Ungroup it so it is just a NURBS curve. then Place it inside a group. Stretch the Group to the Elipse that you need using the Group control points, then start modelling the treads.....

 

I know nothing about how an eliptical staircase should be constructed, but this seems like a good place to start....

[Tom Klaber]

Thanks!

 

@vectorworks - hate to say this... but we need a BETTER STAIR TOOL!  

[zoomer]

Did this in 2001 in Microstation.

At that time there were no Stair Tools.

 

Kind of a nightmare. I felt with the carpenters too.

But i think they somehow like such stuff and do it

quite often.

 

[Tobias Kern]

Hi,

in the Marionette library must be one from Dominique Corpartaux for such kind of stairs.

Greetings

Tobi

[mac@stairworks]

Be careful using the stair tools. Curves and winders don't have a consistent run at the travel line.

They're fine if code doesn't matter...

Tom, if you have a plan you can P.M. me I might be able to help you.

[line-weight]

On 2/20/2023 at 12:24 PM, Tobias Kern said:

Hi,

in the Marionette library must be one from Dominique Corpartaux for such kind of stairs.

Greetings

Tobi

Can anyone point me where to find this?

[Benson Shaw]

Not marionette, but previous thread about modeling elliptical stair might also be helpful:

 

-B

 

[line-weight]

5 hours ago, Benson Shaw said:

Not marionette, but previous thread about modeling elliptical stair might also be helpful:

 

-B

 

Thanks.

 

Looking for something somewhat parametric at this stage though, so that I can fiddle with various options.

 

I've ended up using the legacy "custom stair" tool which allows a sort of ellipse made up of several curved sections joined together. Rather painful to make adjustments to but better than nothing.

[Gadzooks]

3 hours ago, line-weight said:

I've ended up using the legacy "custom stair" tool

 

Funny how the legacy stair tool is often the best way to tackle 'architectural' stairs with a bit more style.

 

This is an older but still interesting stair being 'hand drawn'  - Sorry nothing parametric about it, but once you have the 2D layout its not too much to adapt and develop to 3D 

https://youtu.be/aj7m40TAjco?si=NMFlsPJ1pft4W-IH

 

[line-weight]

Yeah I nearly always end up modelling stairs from scratch for the detailed design ... but try to use a "close enough" parametric one at early stages.

[Joe-SA]

I made this one a couple of years ago using the Custom Stair tool and a series of 3 radial stair segments all in one object.  There is actually a 4th straight segment making the top tread.

 

Certainly not simple and had a major fuss factor with hard to predict results but we got very close to what we needed in the end.  The structural stringers came later.

 

Joe 

 

 

[line-weight]

That's fairly much the method I've used. The limitation is that each segment has to be a whole number of treads which means that the radius can only change at points determined by whole tread-depths. This gets more problematic, the sharper the radius is. That aside though, it doesn't work too badly.

[VIRTUALENVIRONS]

Not something that VW's does easily