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Truss Cross: what why, how to get rid of?


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What is this crap and how do I get rid of it?

See attached pic and file

I tried using an existing symbol in my library and a newly imported symbol from Tomcat.

I placed the corner block using the insert truss tool from a front view to stack it on top of a 10 vertical piece these data tags became visible.

When selected they show up in OIP as a Truss Cross.

There's no class associated with them.

So I deleted them, only to have them come back when I nudged the whole truss piece

WTF is this crap?

A new "tool" that I didn't ask for?

Why Why Why Vectorworks do you make my life so miserable?

Anyone know how to get rid of them?

Thanks

-mickey

 

 

 

 

truss cross.jpg

truss cross.vwx

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  • Vectorworks, Inc Employee

OK this is weird and should not be happening. Just taking a look.

 

They denote a connection between 2 separate rigging items and have data fields so force data can be populated after a braceworks calculation. 

 

However, your truss should be able to just connect, so I am just doing a bit more digging now...

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  • Vectorworks, Inc Employee

OK I think I have fixed it. The truss symbol data was missing Bottom 3d (Screenshot Attached). This was causing the truss to connect using the insert connection mode (as if you were doughty clip the two truss pieces together). By validating this field (that side? or face?) of the truss object will now connect using the preferred truss connections and will no longer create the connection crosses on your drawing.

 

 

Screenshot 2021-06-22 at 10.15.20.png

Truss Cross new.vwx

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Thanks Tom,

That's something that needs to be fixed in the Tomcat library.

This must be some new feature because I've never seen this before.

Did you just check the unchecked box, and fill in the XYZ based on the top?

I'd like to know in case I see this again

 

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  • Vectorworks, Inc Employee

It looks like the issue is not with the truss corner as the corner is setup properly.  That particular corner has no Bottom 3D connection as it is a 5-way corner and the geometry reflects that as there are no gussets on the bottom.

 

This may be a bug in the truss code and not the content.

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@JustinVH You bring up an interesting point.

In a 5 way corner what is "top"

This might explain some of the cussing I was doing at VW while trying to build a simple 4 post truss box around a stage.

Using the insert truss tool I had placed a 10' stick as a leg vertically, and when trying to insert the corner block it kept putting it on the bottom of the leg and not the top.

I had to manually move it, then it all of the various pieces I attached using the insert truss tool where sideways not top and bottom.

A simple 30'x30' box with 4 legs should have taken 30 seconds to a minute to build using the insert truss tool, and instead it took me a half hour part of which was fighting the anomaly we see here.

It seems the VW truss tools have gotten more complicated than useful.

How would I set a 5 way corner so the open end is on top, or on the side if the corner was part of a larger system?

 

 

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  • Vectorworks, Inc Employee

In a 5 way corner the open end of the corner is considered the top so this particular symbol is upside down so that will be corrected for the next version.  It is an older symbol and was missed when the standards were changed a couple of versions ago.

 

When I build truss structures that beed to be built vertically I always do so from an isometric view so that I can pick whether I want to build up or down as the default direction is down when building in Top/Plan view.

 

In order to have a 5 way corner with the open to the side you have to manually rotate the corner once placed or make a duplicate symbol and adjust the 3D geometry so that the open end is on the side that is preferred.  I was able to manually rotate the corner using the rotate tool to get the open portion to different directions.  It appears that when the hanging angle of 90° is used to insert a vertical truss the corner connections get rotated oddly.  This is what was causing the open end to be in an odd location.  I found that if I insert the first vertical leg on the ground from a Top view and connect the corner I can then switch to a front view and use the rotate tool to rotate the whole structure vertical.  From there I can connect the remainder of the truss to complete the rig.

 

I have also attached two corners for you, one with the opening at the top which is correct and the other with the opening to the right.  When you place the corner with the right opening onto a piece of truss on the ground and rotate to vertical the opening will be at the top.

5 Way Corner Extras.vwx

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  • 7 months later...

This stupid dialog has come back to bite me again.

Using 12" truss instead of 20" this time, and getting the same ridiculous truss cross pop up.

I hate braceworks so much it makes me sick to my stomach.

It's infuriating how much harder it has made using the truss tools.

 

 

 

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  • 1 year later...

This crap is still happening, it's been almost 2 years now.

 

This is not a truss corner problem and not a tomcat problem as this happens with all truss brands and sizes.

 

This is a Braceworks problem.

 

Braceworks is garbage, I did not purchase Braceworks, I purchased Vectorworks. I do not want Braceworks.

 

I don't need Braceworks help with load calculations, or telling me that two pieces of truss are connected, I know they're connected, I connected them.

 

Having to constantly stop and reclass these stupid pointless crosses is seriously affecting my workflow.

 

Please give those of us who do not want Braceworks the option turn them off completely.

 

We are paying money every year for the software to work not tell us how we should work.

 

Fix this.

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Attached is what the class list looks like in my generic spotlight template I use for creating drawings.

I don't see truss cross and when I search in classes for truss cross I get "There are no items in this view"  and yet when I put truss together the crosses pop up randomly.

 

When they do pop up their class is always none.

 

I have no idea why the cross chose the section in the attached picture and not all the others, the truss is all exactly the same Prolyte just different lengths, they are all classed rigging-truss-truss as is the corner block.

I CTRL/Shift and drag a piece away and then drag it to its new connection or simply mirror tool it and at random times the cross will pop up. I have tried shutting off the magnet class in rigging-truss which seems to stop them popping up while im working on that session but once I save and reopen they start popping up again.

many times I have re-classed them to a new class and turned off the class only to find they reappear when I open the file the next day as duplicates of none class, when I check the new class I created to turn them off, the ones I turned off are there so the duplicates are new.

 

I have been a VW user for more than a decade and this function of braceworks is by far the most useless and annoying.

 

I purchased Vectorworks and I am really tired of a program I did not order or ever want (braceworks) messing with my drawings and slowing my work down.

 

classes.png

mag off.png

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  • Vectorworks, Inc Employee

In the Spotlight Preferences there is an option to assign truss cross objects to a certain class of your choosing. This is off by default and needs to be activated by the user. I was also mistaken, the default class is Rigging-Truss Cross not Rigging-Truss-Truss Cross.

 

 

Screenshot 2024-01-03 at 18.50.21.png

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