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Truss Hinge Blocks, VW PLEASE FIX!


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I'm becoming more and more frustrated with these hinge blocks that came with the 2020 release of VW Spotlight.  The only ones that seem to work out of the box are the Eurotruss models that they used in the marketing content.  

 

If I try to use a Tomcat hinge, it prompts me to input all of the data.  After I find the associated data from another TC1212 truss object or try to replicate the data from one that works, the geometry completely disappears.  The only way I can select it is to marquee over the area its in.  

 

I've attached a file for reference as well as a screenshot.

 

Any help with this would be greatly appreciated.  Its really frustrating that cornerblocks have been a request for years and now that we finally have them, they don't work.

Tomcat Hinge.vwx

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  • Vectorworks, Inc Employee

@rseybert Sorry to hear your frustrations.  At this point in time with the current coding that particular hinge does not function with Braceworks or Auto Connect and that is why the Truss Record has been removed and it is just a 2D/3D symbol.  Currently, book hinges can only function if the hinge pivot is at the bottom of the symbol in Top/Plan view and center hinges can only function if the hinge pivot is through the Y-axis of the symbol in Top/Plan view; this results in the pivot actually being in the center of the hinge when viewed from a front view in 3D. 

 

Any hinge that has the Truss Hinge Record attached is a non functioning hinge and will not work with Auto Connect or the hinge code.  The record is there so show the weight and model number so if there was a need to use it a point load could be added if desired.  The reason the hinges that don't support the functionality were left in the software was so that users could still use them as manual symbols as some rental houses keep them in inventory.

 

There is a workaround though.  You should be able to use the TC1212 AVB symbol from the same Tomcat library and after inserting into your drawing, rotate the hinge from a side view by 90°.  This will remove the 2D geometry and place the rotation point through the Z-axis as you desire from the TC1212 AHB model.  From this point the hinge degrees will work and you will be able to choose an angle.  The only thing visually you will notice is that the bolt plates will be 90° different between the hinge and truss.

 

If you have any more questions feel free to DM me and I will assist if I can.

 

Justin

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@JustinVH Thanks for the prompt response.

 

4 minutes ago, JustinVH said:

 At this point in time with the current coding that particular hinge does not function with Braceworks or Auto Connect and that is why the Truss Record has been removed and it is just a 2D/3D symbol.

 

What's the timeline that users can expect on this functionality being a reality and working as advertised?  This was voiced as an issue when 2020 was first released.  We're at SP2 and it's still a huge pain.  We appreciate all the hard work you guys do but, frankly, most of the avid users of the software are getting tired of releases featuring functionalities that only sorta work.  

 

While the workaround that you provided does in fact allow the hinge to "act" as a horizontal hinge, it forces all truss you connect to it to roll 90º to mach the gusset plates.  This means that the orientation of the truss is incorrect.  If you try to connect the rotated vertical hinge to an existing run of truss it snaps back to vertical.  If you try to roll the hinge as you suggested, its offset 6" to align the insertion points.  Moving the hinge 6" to eliminate the offset yields the connection to be broken altogether.  I don't see this a being very practical.


Thanks.

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  • 2 years later...

Sorry to bring up an old thread, but I'm reading up on how to make a centrepoint hinge, oriented with the pivot through the Z axis. It's for a Total Fabrications OV40 Hinge, which I have the 3D solids for.

 

Is it still not possible to make a hinge work in this way? If so, what's the timescale on a fix, please?

 

I also get the length error (on both centrepoint and book hinges), despite there being no parameter in the dialogue.

 

 

image.thumb.png.e2313c496c67acbecada1b163a86873d.png

image.png.1dfc1478f0d50eb59f244374db47e213.png

Edited by spettitt
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  • Vectorworks, Inc Employee

@spettittAt this point in time center point hinges cannot be setup in the orientation that you are asking. Center point hinges can only be setup with the rotation point being viewed from the front so that the hinge pivots towards the negative and positive Z directions. In order to insert this hinge so that the rotation is through the Z axis like you have pictured you will need to change the roll angle to 90° at insertion. 

 

The error you are seeing is because there is no height and width dimension in the Cross Section Data of the the truss. Currently it shows a measurement of 0, simply change this to the dimensions of the truss box and that error should be eliminated.

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On 11/21/2022 at 2:57 PM, JustinVH said:

@spettittAt this point in time center point hinges cannot be setup in the orientation that you are asking. Center point hinges can only be setup with the rotation point being viewed from the front so that the hinge pivots towards the negative and positive Z directions. In order to insert this hinge so that the rotation is through the Z axis like you have pictured you will need to change the roll angle to 90° at insertion. 

 

The error you are seeing is because there is no height and width dimension in the Cross Section Data of the the truss. Currently it shows a measurement of 0, simply change this to the dimensions of the truss box and that error should be eliminated.

Thanks Justin, this works great. I presumed the limitation was global rather than just about how it was created, but using the roll angle I can do what I need to having made the symbol.

 

I can't place a hoist directly on the corner block (we would usually use a small inverted bridle under the hoist to pick up either side of the hinge), but this is minor at the moment and there might be a way to use the bridle tools to replicate this anyway. At the moment, placing a hoist just to one side calculates with no issues.

 

Thanks 

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