Mouldings Plugins Version 5

[Paolo]

A year since the last update, here's the new version, free for old registered users.

It includes, among many other news and improvements, the support for materials.

 

The new version (5) is only for Vectorworks® 2022

 

Full changelog on the site at the link below:

https://fitplot.it/vwplugins/mouldings.html#latest

 

 

Changelog:

• New profiles libraries:

1. Fypon (Fypon Mouldings Search Page)
2. Dykes (Dykes Mouldings Browse Catalog)
3. Updated Signorini catalog
4. Now the full library contains than 2300 profiles!

 

• New Plugin object named  Cannetè meaning a particular decorative technique characterized by a series of narrow repetitive half rounds / grooves / rects along a path.
• New menu tool Canneté Calculation to compute canneté elements in the current layer, subdivided by section's size. User can give the length of the rod the elements are cut from and the program returns the number of rods needed, along with a detailed cuts list.
• New menu tool Siding Calculation to compute sidings elements. As the above, but for sidings elements.
• All plugins objects include material control (a check box), as well as a better management of the textures (in the texture panel of the OIP). Classes support is still available, of course.
• Frame (Rectangular) plugin (and Frames (Array) plugin) now include the 'None' item in the frame profile popup.
• Frame (Array): new Rail at base (extra) parameter, to increase just the rail at base. Also you can have a Frame (Array) object with styles and rails without necessarily set a frame, just set the frame profile to "None" in the profile popup (see above).
• Improved path management for PIOs using paths, such Moulding on 2D Path and Moulding on 3D Path. Easily import / exchange paths choosing from a wide variety of objects (lines, rects, arcs, polygons, polylines etc.).
• You can also use the tools NURBS to Moulding or 2D Path to Moulding to convert many kind of objects (lines, rects, arcs, polygons, polylines etc.) respectively into Moulding on 3D path or Moulding on 2D path plugin objects. Especially for Mouldings on 3D path, you can draw / compose 2d shapes in a 3D working plane (for example a rectangle onto a door panel), then create a moulding out of it! 
• Bug fixing. Error founds have been corrected.

 

 

[MarcelP102]

Very nice update. Materials and more texture control are really welcome. Did a quick test. When assigning a material to an object it seems that it only takes the texture, not the fill of the material.

[Paolo]

Fill and strokes are still driven by classes…

I’ll exclude classes (when material is checked On) in a next update.

[drelARCH]

Great update! 

For us materials are very important and it will be very welcomed if we can get fill by materials. We've built our workflow around materials together with data visualisations controlling fill in sections viewports + materials textures in 3D views/viewports.

 

[Paolo]

New version 5.1 is now available on Gumroad®

@MarcelP102, @drelARCH, @Kevin Allen

Materials rule the fill aspects over classes and they are correctly displayed in viewports / sections.

Many other improvements and fixings, you can read them all here.

 

Also this update is only for Vectorworks® 2022.

Next update will include Vectorworks® 2023 (I am currently testing it…).

[Andy Broomell]

1 hour ago, Paolo said:

Next update will include Vectorworks® 2023 (I am currently testing it…).

 

For what it's worth, I've been using it in 2023 with no issues 🙂 

 

 

Also, I just checked out the v5.1 notes and it reminded me of a request that I have for a future improvement.

 

 

Quote

Moulding on 2D Path plugin:
 The "Only 2D" checkbox has been eliminated. The 3D part is always created.
 "Show Details (2D)" checkbox has been added.
➝ OFF (default): only the footprint of the plugin object is showed (in 2D Plan view)
➝ ON: an "hidden line" view of the plugin object (as seen from top) is shown.

 

There are times where I use a Moulding tool to add geometry to a 3D-only symbol. Because the tools are hybrid, this makes my symbol turn into a hybrid symbol with the 2D Component containing only the Moulding object.

 

It would be handy to have the ability to set the Moulding objects to be 3D only so there isn't any 2D representation whatsoever (sort of the opposite of what we could do before, coincidentally).

 

In fact, I wish we could do this universally for all hybrid objects, but that's a wish for another thread.

 

 

 

Edited July 15, 2022 by Andy Broomell

[Paolo]

@Andy Broomell

It's easy to implement a 3D Only checkbox, thus excluding any 2D object that makes the plugin "hybrid".

 

I am making some experiment and one of the consequences of the "pure" 3D PIO is that you can rotate it in the 3D space (and not just around the Z axis of the current working plane).

 

Once rotated in 3D, I have changed back the 3D Only checkbox to force the 2D hybrid part to be drawn, and that works, but, obviously the represented part is what the object should be in 2D plan view, distorted accordingly to the 3D rotation (see attached figure).

Quote

 

A strange behaviour I noticed is that when the object rotated (X axis @ 45°, in the case below) and then changed to hybrid (3D Only set to OFF), the object matrix (entity matrix) got a reset to the planar view as soon as you try to move / copy the object. Z angle (if any) is preserved, while X and Y are zeroed.

This does not happen when the PIO receives a reset (i.e. you change a parameter in the OIP)!

 

This may lead to unwanted / unexpected results…

 

 

Edit:

I've found a way to manage this:

when the object is rotated on X or Y axis then the 2D drawing is performed a 3D planar ref.

The 2D is performed if 3D Only parameter is set to OFF, of course.

Also it takes to check ON the plugin option flag "reset on rotation" to update rotation changes.

 

That was easy for the Moulding on 2D Path, other plugins may require more effort…

 

 

 

Edited July 18, 2022 by Paolo

[MarcelP102]

Hi @Paolo

 

I've noticed the new profiles wont show, see below. I've checked the folder, the files are there.

 

 

It's a nice update, I'm also liking the "Show Details (2D)"  option.

 

Now that we can use the fill of the material another idea comes to mind; can this be smart like the Structural Members. So that it automatically shows the right 2D representation depending if the object is below or above the section ('hoogte snijvlak'). Using the fill of the material only when cut. And using fill of class when below section line. The dashed line representing the above section position of the profile can perhaps be another class? Or separate setting like Structural Members has.

 

[Andy Broomell]

1 hour ago, Paolo said:

@Andy Broomell

It's easy to implement a 3D Only checkbox, thus excluding any 2D object that makes the plugin "hybrid".

 

I am making some experiment and one of the consequences of the "pure" 3D PIO is that you can rotate it in the 3D space (and not just around the Z axis of the current working plane).

 

Once rotated in 3D, I have changed back the 3D Only checkbox to force the 2D hybrid part to be drawn, and that works, but, obviously the represented part is what the object should be in 2D plan view, distorted accordingly to the 3D rotation (see attached figure).

 

A strange behaviour I noticed is that when the object rotated (X axis @ 45°, in the case below) and then changed to hybrid (3D Only set to OFF), the object matrix (entity matrix) got a reset to the planar view as soon as you try to move / copy the object. Z angle (if any) is preserved, while X and Y are zeroed.

This does not happen when the PIO receives a reset (i.e. you change a parameter in the OIP)!

 

This may lead to unwanted / unexpected results…

Any suggestion is welcome.

 

Everything after the first paragraph is a bit above my comprehension of how things work. 😅 But thank you for exploring this so quickly!

 

The idea of 3D Only is very enticing but it sounds like it does open up additional complications that I'm not sure how they'd need to be dealt with.

 

 

Perhaps related to this, I've always wondered if the "Moulding on 2D Path" tool could be made to inherently work on 3D planes (or Automatic), therefore allowing you to interactively draw wall paneling directly onto a wall, for example. And I mean the path would still be planar / not NURBS.

 

Right now wall paneling is probably best achieved with the Frame tools, but I prefer the direct path editing available with Moulding on 2D Path tool. I'm sure generating the 2D component is what makes this idea complex, but if the tool could be set 3D Only, perhaps this opens up that possibility?

[Paolo]

1 hour ago, MarcelP102 said:

Hi @Paolo

 

I've noticed the new profiles wont show, see below. I've checked the folder, the files are there.

 

 

It's a nice update, I'm also liking the "Show Details (2D)"  option.

 

Now that we can use the fill of the material another idea comes to mind; can this be smart like the Structural Members. So that it automatically shows the right 2D representation depending if the object is below or above the section ('hoogte snijvlak'). Using the fill of the material only when cut. And using fill of class when below section line. The dashed line representing the above section position of the profile can perhaps be another class? Or separate setting like Structural Members has.

 

 

Sorry @MarcelP102 (and other users…)

The problem with the new profiles is due to the " char used for inches contained in the file names, that Windows does not like!

You (and others) should receive the new corrected library via Gumroad® email.

 

About your wish, I'll take a look as soon as I can.

[Paolo]

1 hour ago, Andy Broomell said:

 

Everything after the first paragraph is a bit above my comprehension of how things work. 😅 But thank you for exploring this so quickly!

 

The idea of 3D Only is very enticing but it sounds like it does open up additional complications that I'm not sure how they'd need to be dealt with.

 

 

Perhaps related to this, I've always wondered if the "Moulding on 2D Path" tool could be made to inherently work on 3D planes (or Automatic), therefore allowing you to interactively draw wall paneling directly onto a wall, for example. And I mean the path would still be planar / not NURBS.

 

Right now wall paneling is probably best achieved with the Frame tools, but I prefer the direct path editing available with Moulding on 2D Path tool. I'm sure generating the 2D component is what makes this idea complex, but if the tool could be set 3D Only, perhaps this opens up that possibility?

I have edited my post before, having found a way out to the inconsistency I had found.

I'll send you the Moulding on 2D Path plugin to you privately, so you can play with it.