bjw Posted January 24, 2008 Share Posted January 24, 2008 OK, So I admit that I'm a total novice at 3d...I'm mostly a lighting designer and really only need to know how to hang a light at a certain height. However, I'm trying to do a 3d layout of a theater and I cannot for the life of me figure out how to make an I-Beam using the i-beam tool into a 3-D object. I just want to be able to set the length of the thing and for it to appear in the proper orientation in plan mode. So what's the idiotically simple way to do it? Quote Link to comment
Gytis Posted January 24, 2008 Share Posted January 24, 2008 Modify>Ungroup, so it becomes a polyline, then extrude, rotate as needed. Quote Link to comment
bjw Posted January 24, 2008 Author Share Posted January 24, 2008 of course! I just did a tutorial about that. thanks Quote Link to comment
islandmon Posted January 24, 2008 Share Posted January 24, 2008 Modify>Ungroup, so it becomes a polyline, then extrude, rotate as needed. If you plan on doing renders, then NURBS is best. Therefore, use this recipe: 1) convert to polyline then convert to NURBS 2) create line for path > convert to NURBS Make one I beam in the sideview for each W rating, then Create Symbol> duplicate> edit Path to vary the length. Placing a 2dRect creates a hybrid symbol for plan. NURBS Structural Steel example Quote Link to comment
Tom G. Posted January 24, 2008 Share Posted January 24, 2008 (edited) islandmon: I've converted the polyline to nurbs and made a path and extruded along path. Also done the same with a Convert to Nurbs but find the nurbs i-beam renders the same--except for Hidden Line render and Sketch--as a polyline extrusion. Can you be more specific in why there is a benefit to nurbs, other than when cutting away (curving) parts of the i-beam? Thanks Edited January 24, 2008 by tguy Quote Link to comment
islandmon Posted January 25, 2008 Share Posted January 25, 2008 A single NURBS path is more memory efficient than multiple polygonal mesh extrusions. A polygon mesh renders as individual facets and is good for simple constructions. Whereas, the polyline>NURBS Profile for the I-Beam is sufficiently detailed to benefit from a NURBS>Path procedure. For example a simple square beam extrusion would not benefit from ExtrudeAlongPath which is designed for more complex geometries. Matching the geometry to the 3d procedure is half the fun of using VW... Quote Link to comment
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