Can I make this hatch repeat perfectly?

[line-weight]

I think this hatch ought to repeat perfectly (assuming VW uses the actual X,Y offsets I've specified) but it doesn't. Is there a way of achieving this?

 

(vwx file attached)

 

subsoil hatch.vwx

[Tom W.]

I'm not 100% sure how you want it to look - like this?

 

subsoil hatch-2.vwx

 

[line-weight]

Yes that's it, well done. The only difference is that I'd have the dash factor on each level as slightly less than 0.5 to give a few small gaps but that's not important, the important thing is that it repeats infinitely without getting out of sync with itself. I couldn't work out why mine wasn't doing that. What did you change?

[Tom W.]

Here is version with small gaps:

 

subsoil hatch-3.vwx

 

I find the only way I can get these hatches to work is by plotting them out in 2D first + working out all the settings in long hand so to speak. Once I've laboriously established the coordinates/length/offset/dash factor for each of the lines I transfer them to the dialog. Whenever I try + do it intuitively in the dialog I fail miserably. I tried tweaking your settings initially + didn't get anywhere so plotted it out anew + reentered the new settings.

 

Your file had units set to 1mm whereas I always work with mine set to 0.000001mm. There are lots of long numbers in the settings.

 

You know in the German VW they have a command that converts 2D geometry into a hatch automatically? I'd love to know how they came to have it + why no one has thought to offer it to everyone else.

[line-weight]

8 minutes ago, Tom W. said:

Your file had units set to 1mm whereas I always work with mine set to 0.000001mm. There are lots of long numbers in the settings.

 

My strategy had been to get around rounding errors by putting exact numbers directly into the dialogue... which I thought ought to work geometrically but either I didn't work it out properly or VW is doing something to them behind the scenes.

 

I tried making your first hatched square 100 million units wide, and could see that some of the lines were starting to get out of sync, right at the edge.

[line-weight]

Thanks for the hatches anyway, I'll put them into use!

[Tom W.]

1 minute ago, line-weight said:

My strategy had been to get around rounding errors by putting exact numbers directly into the dialogue... which I thought ought to work geometrically but either I didn't work it out properly or VW is doing something to them behind the scenes.

 

When I changed the units in your file to 6 decimal points the numbers in the hatch settings were not round. Not sure why.

 

Yes with the numbers I was using on a large enough scale the hatch will become out of sync, but I'm not mathematically minded enough to work out how you do it with all whole numbers. Not to mention the fact that VW seems to get very slow once you use hatches over too large an area...!

[line-weight]

1 hour ago, Tom W. said:

 

When I changed the units in your file to 6 decimal points the numbers in the hatch settings were not round. Not sure why.

 

Ah yes I see that. Strange.

 

I corrected the ones that weren't quite round.... and it now repeats perfectly (even up to 100 million units away)

[Tom W.]

13 minutes ago, line-weight said:

 

I corrected the ones that weren't quite round.... and it now repeats perfectly (even up to 100 million units away)

 

OK thats weird because when I tried that it didn't give the desired results hence I ended up redoing it from scratch! One day we'll have the automatic hatch maker + won't have to contend with any of this...

[Tom W.]

Ok I checked again + if I just edit the Offset Length parameter + make sure it's 4 in all cases, the hatch works + looks like this:

 

But this is leaving the Repeat Length set to 5.656854. Previously when I looked at it I changed this to 6 across all levels + this was the result:

 

This is why I abandoned ship + drew it out again.

 

@line-weight can you let me know what values you used, when you say you corrected the ones that weren't quite round, and what the end result was?

[line-weight]

Ah, that's because I deliberately defined the repeat as ^X, ^Y rather than length and angle:

 

 

If you change that to the equivalent using length and angle it's:

 

 

My guess is that what has happened is that it's somehow converted from one to the other and back again without me noticing.

 

My original hatch (when the extra decimal places were revealed) had a few values set at things like 3.99987 instead of 4.

 

There's something a bit odd going on anyway because sometimes when I open the hatch settings I see this:

 

 

Which is not right, of course.

[Tobias Kern]

Hi,

 

you can test this both hatches (one with gaps).

Angle: 45° 

File = VW 2024 + VW 2023

 

Made in the German version, with the feature Tom mentioned above.

Hope this helps.

 

 

Greetings

Tobi

hatch v2023.vwx hatch v2024.vwx

Edited November 18, 2023 by Tobias Kern

[line-weight]

On 11/18/2023 at 3:08 PM, Tobias Kern said:

Hi,

 

you can test this both hatches (one with gaps).

Angle: 45° 

File = VW 2024 + VW 2023

 

Made in the German version, with the feature Tom mentioned above.

Hope this helps.

 

 

Greetings

Tobi

hatch v2023.vwx 156.23 kB · 0 downloads hatch v2024.vwx 167.39 kB · 1 download

 

Thanks, can confirm these seem to repeat perfectly over large distances. Even though, when I look at the settings for the hatches, they don't seem to be made from round numbers.

[Tobias Kern]

Hi line-weight,

 

if you want another hatch style,

i can make you one.

 

Draw the one you like, and i convert the drawing into the hatch for you.

 

Greetings

Tobi

[_James]

On 11/17/2023 at 4:31 PM, Tom W. said:

You know in the German VW they have a command that converts 2D geometry into a hatch automatically? I'd love to know how they came to have it + why no one has thought to offer it to everyone else.

Crazy! This would be great to have. Nothing makes me feel more dumb than trying to make a hatch in VW.

[Tom W.]

2 minutes ago, _James said:

Nothing makes me feel more dumb than trying to make a hatch in VW.

 

Totally. Imagine trying to make something like this using the current interface:

 

Got to be completely impossible right? So tied to existing using resources...

[line-weight]

The hatch I really want is a plywood hatch that magically aligns itself with the direction of the plywood in my sections....

 

 

[Tom W.]

9 minutes ago, line-weight said:

The hatch I really want is a plywood hatch that magically aligns itself with the direction of the plywood in my sections....

 

 

 

I take it then the plywood is 3D solid + not wall/slab/roof component?

[line-weight]

9 minutes ago, Tom W. said:

 

I take it then the plywood is 3D solid + not wall/slab/roof component?

Yup, often but not always.

 

Can you align hatches in wall/slab/roof components though?

Edited November 20, 2023 by line-weight

[Tom W.]

Just now, line-weight said:

Can you align hatches in wall/slab/roof components though?

 

Yes. Enable 'Rotate in Wall' in the Edit Hatch dialog.

[Amanda McDermott]

Interesting thread, thanks - I've made a wishlist request, please upvote..!

 

[line-weight]

19 minutes ago, Tom W. said:

 

Yes. Enable 'Rotate in Wall' in the Edit Hatch dialog.

Ah, thanks.

[Christiaan]

2 hours ago, _James said:

Crazy! This would be great to have. Nothing makes me feel more dumb than trying to make a hatch in VW.

Same here 😆

[Tobias Kern]

Hi,

 

today I created a Jira request that the script we can use in the German version

should also be made available for your version in the future.

 

Maybe I'll also get permission to share the script directly,
then you can test it to see if it works for you.

 

It is possible that the script is already included and is not integrated

into the menu of your installation.

 

The script is called: Convertir en hachure.vsm
and could be located in the Plug-Ins folder.

 

Best regards
Tobi

[Tom W.]

Thanks Tobi can't see any plug-ins with that name, in French or otherwise.

 

A jira request was made last year not sure if anything came of it...

 

Thanks!

[Vectorworks drafter Shiv]

Hi Tobi,

 

can you please share us Convertir en hachure.vsm script

 

also how to use it

We receive lot of time to make specific hatch request for architectural drafting and 3D Model drawings

 

Thanks to all for your Support and help.

 

 

Edited March 16 by Vectorworks drafter Shiv