Roof Object - I was WRONG again !!! Part 11

I can't believe it !!  I am flabbergasted.  This beauty of a tool was hiding yet another secret.  One that I said it couldn't do.  I don't think Autodesk knew.  EVEN the roof creator himself didn't know!!  But I am about to show you what we all missed - IT CAN BE DONE!

What?

This roof object (RO), that was created back for ADT1 can overlap itself.  Yes it's true it hasn't changed in all that time and it CAN do what we all thought it couldn't.  You just gotta know how to caress and seduce it.  Actually it's even Much easier than that.

Take a look at these examples and see.  This picture is of just ONE RO.

I discovered this all by accident and there must have been someone else out there that also discovered this but perhaps because you have been told to explode to roof slabs you didn't bother to explore.  But my obsession with this clever tool continues to lead me to discover new tricks.

So how's it done.  Simply by creating extra edges & a gap which allows the object some space and you the opportunity to add an overhang or underlap. These gaps can be made smaller than you can see on a print.  

This example is the centre hip in the roof above. It both overhangs and underlaps itself.  I've shown the gap big enough to see but it can be very small and I turn this blue (eave) line off in display anyway.  The red lines would need stretching into position once you create the roof object but you would then have the RO valleys showing to know where to stretch it to. (It should become obvious if you do one).

Here are 7 edges from the LHS of the roof as numbered above.  I've pasted in each face slope so you can see it collectively.  You can see the whole hip has a higher pitching height (3200) to raise it above the surrounding roof.  You can see an extra 90d slope added to get the gamblet on edge 6.   The height for those egdes with 90 slopes doesn't matter much.  Here's the strange one.  The overhang to edge 1 controls the length of the underhang!  Sweet!

There's a number of different ways to create this shape but possibly one easy way is to draw a RECTangle over the walls that will hold the raised roof.  Offset a small distance (10?) and then again.  Stretch the top of the outside square down 3 x 10 to get the short 45d edge to line with the valley.  (ok I've not shown square distances above-sorry) You would need to lock your walls so they are not stretched and pref have everything else turned off.  This should give you enough points to snap to as you draw around. Erase the rectangles and STRETCH the top of the shape to meet the created valleys.

You will notice the created eave line snapback controlls the under/overlap width.  Drag it back & forward to see how it controls the extent. 

One more BIG tip when manipulating the Roof Object.  We are taught to pick vertices and drag along.  Good advice for everything else but for the RO, the STRETCH (S) command will give you more consistent results.  If an edge won't move, Stretch it instead.  This tip was fed to me by my young drafter who remarked "I can get the roof object to pretty much do what I like now!".

Ok to restress the rules;
- The Eave line cannot overlap itself but the overhang can but only with a gap between.
- I turn off the eave line as it doesn't represent anything I want to show on my drawings.  There may be times when the eave line path required to get the roof object as you want it is not what you want to show either.
- Stretch - don't drag vertice
-Odin Cary found that you may need to have no general overhang set for the roof to work at first so you may need to add overhangs later rather than set them as default.


-Don't forget you can add vertices by my Trim Trick if you need to add extra edges but it may well be quicker to recreate it.

Here is a closeup on how to get that overhang happening in another common situation. Here the secret is a simple gap where it overlaps.  Again the blue line would be turned off and you are left with a clean roof shape. I would stretch the inside snapback blue line to the left once created to line up with the forward ridge.  This will align the underhang with the main roof as you will see if you do it.

Once you get the hang of the rules these are dead easy to create.  How did we all miss it?


Oh dear...... I am going to have to go back and edit my earlier blogs !! agian!

BTW in case you didn't realise, in IE you can RC on an image and ask to open in another TAB and it will open a larger image you can more easily read.  You can also hold the CONTROL key and scroll your mouse to enlarge a web page display.Cheers
Roof On

Design Review 2011 - Walkthroughs??

What a disappointment this product is.  I'm sure some find it useful but after some excitment at the thought of the latest release, the blogs mentioning how lighting and the camera view has been improved, I was certainly let down when I tried it out.

I am comparing the product to ArchiCAD's Virtual Building Explorer which I think has hit bullseye as to what a program designed to give a client the power to virtually walk thru a design should be.  VBE is not free, costing around $600aus for the creation program but the low cost is more than justified by it's output.  This could really sell a design!  Conversely DR looks amateur.  It still can't properly light a model, materials wash out (still), it's view is still terrible, the interface is awkward and hard to manipulate requiring constant changing from one control to another. 

VBE does not require any software to be installed for the end user.  They receive an executable that simply opens an interface to run thru the model.  Navigating is familar to anyone who has ever played a 3D game.  WASD keys forward-back, left & right whilst 'looking' with your mouse.  It's very easy to walk around and look.  DR is just pathetic in comparison.  It can't move sideways whilst looking forward so you can't walk past a building while looking at it. (just dumb). VBE has used OpenGL rendering to produce a game like environment with materials and lighting that look... well like quite a good game.  DR's environment is gawky and ugly.  How come Graphisoft can get an easy camera view inside a building but DR's is like a fish eye camera with bad distortion all round?

I'm sorry but there is just no comparison between the 2 programs.  VBE is professional and very impressive.  DR is like something developed by a back yard operation.  I don't get how Autodesk could miss the mark by so much.  VBE has been out for years.  Graphisoft purchased the technology when they bought a company and they have really used it well.  I'm told that Adesk also had "Walkthrough" back in the 90's but they dropped the ball and have not picked it up.  Perhaps they thought that DR was meeting it but anyone who thinks so has not checked out how high Graphisoft have raised the benchmark.  I am very frustrated and embarrassed that DR is the best I can offer to the sales team. 

Visit the VBE site and download the samples at the bottom of the page and then make some noise on the newsgroups or directly to Adesk.  I don't think they see any need to compete.

Adesk have committed themselves to a crossplatform approach and the navigation tools are used in many Adesk programs such as Autocad, Max, Maya, Design Review, Navisworks, such that you can open an unfamiliar program and understand how to navigate a model.  Sounds good but the tools they chose to incorporate are just plain awkward.  Difficult to use I would not like to give them to a company director and watch him embarrass himself trying to move around and look about.   The navigators are the wrong choice.  Have none of the programmers have ever played a 3D game?  How easy it could be. Was it an executive decision by the power brockers?  Instead they designed a convoluted system that requires training to operate.  After a few hours I have can navigate somewhat successfully but it's still not freedom.

Sigh.  If you pop in to Adesk development it appears there's nothing good on the horizon either.

Auto Title Blocks & Fast Plotting

If you are doing large projects in ACA or just Autocad you should be making use of the PN or the SSM (Sheet Set Manager) which automates the numbering, labelling and naming of files and compiles a title sheet for you.  Hawever if you are working on smaller projects this may seem a bit overkill.  I wanted to share some available tools that can be used that will bring great efficiency if you are only using a 1 file approach (even multistorey) as I do.  I do use x-ref's, keeping the survey and entourage seperate (and maybe others) but essentially I draw and set up plot sheets in the same file using paper space tabs.

Template
The big one that saves you time is using a template with all your settings already installed and maybe some basic styles and componants.  Your text & dim styles, layers that are not created by your layer key standard (non aec entities).  (I cheat and grab a similar project.)   I start my model at 0,0 (floor plan or site plan) and when I flip to my floor plan sheet it's viewport is ready to print (maybe a little tweaking).  I put my elevations in the same place each time and they also will be ready to print from their layout.  This also allows for the correct layers to be already set so selecting the Electrical layout will show the plan already in Reflected display rep and have text and dims turned off etc.  For two storey, the right layers are set in each floor plan along with the correct cutplane and display rep (see my 1 file multi-storey approach).

Fields

First, hopefully you have been using fields to derive automatic information useful to list on your drawing sheet.  Fields such as Date Plotted will automatically collect the plotted date and insert it into your drawing and be updated each time it's plotted.  I often store drawings in pdf format for others to utilize and that pdf will clearly show it's plot date so plotted sheets can be compared.  It also shows the file name of the drawing file so we know which file it came from.  There are many fields that can be used in your title block or anywhere in the drawing, even if you don't want to display it.  Some may only need to be viewed by the CAD drafter.  (You can see here I was using ACA2011 and it was constantly crashing - you can see 'recover' in the file name.) By default Fields will show with a non printing grey background so you can tell them apart from normal text.

To insert fields go to the 'Insert' menu or under the 'Annotate' ribbon and the extra pulldown.

But you can also create your own....

Drawing Properties

Here you can set up fields to hold the custom data you require to access in your drawing.. 

In earlier versions you can find this under the File menu or by clicking the tiny arrow bottom RHS of screen, typing _dwgprops or in later versions under the Big A

I have created up a series of fields that can then be accessed by the title block for each sheet.  The advantage of using DP to hold your data rather than entering directly into your title block block is that it's much quicker to edit and access.   It's also accessible as fields and can be referenced in more places than one.  Where I have a client name, I can have that field entered into my title block as well as sheet set cover in a different font and setout all in my template file.  Can't do that if entered straight into your title block.  Open a template, save as new job, enter client name once and it appears on every sheet title block AND the cover with only the one entry.  Spelt it wrong?  Update quickly once and be confident that everywhere it appears it has been corrected.

CTAB

Another not well known trick here is to use the 'ctab' field inserted into the title block to reference the name and number of each sheet.  The CTAB field reads the name of the layout.  Now you only get one reference here for each layout but I put a space between my sheet number and the sheet title and I can use some old fashion fudge action to split them into 2 parts. 

Use of a 2d solid object effectively blocks out the parts I don't want of the same field 'ctab' used twice as shown here.  You could use a solid hatch, wipeout, aecpolygon or such for the covering but they all have issues.  My 2d Solid is slightly off white 255,255,254 and has a 'Standard' plot style assigned (STB) as to alway print the colour white regardless of the plot style used.  The beauty here is the TAB name doubles for organising your drawing as the layout names are visible when you are working. You can see that here I haven't entered the site size or the R coding yet.

I would love to be able to gather the tab names together for a sheet list but I don't believe this option exists except maybe thru some clever programming. 

Another benefit to this method is that when printing a layout to a pdf, Acad assumes the dwg file name and appends the layout name so I will get ClientName-Poolhouse-02-FloorPlan.pdf as the default name to save which returns a nice set of pdfs.  Not useful if you print multi sheet pdf's but they can be difficult to email especially if the recipient only wants the site plan.  To be honest, Acad is somewhat random here and does not always assume the full name - but most times.  It also doesn't appear to work in AcadLite.

Draw Once
I adopt a Draw Once philosophy to my drawings (where possible) to reduce the error factor.  We all make them but if we can minimise the times we draw something it will reduce errors especially when changes are made.. 
If you are labelling each title block individually then you are doing a lot of extra work and not making use of the software effectively and greatly increasing your chances of errors.  If a clients name is spelt wrong, it would take me about 30sec's to open a dwg file, change the name once and send a whole set of drawings to a printer (real or pdf).  The use of a field fills in the project details in the title block but also on the cover sheet in a completely different font & size. I can even do something arty by doubling it up and fading the 2nd one behind for a shadow effect.

Plotting
By using clearly labeled layers and discipline to what goes on them we can reuse the same drawing for different printed sheets turning layers on/off.  Here is Australia, smaller practises layering is atrocious and few follow any sort of good practise.  Unfortunately If they do have a good office scheme then getting drafters to follow it is another difficult task.

Page Setups
If you aren't using these then you have to read these links.  (Still picking corners??)  This tool makes plotting SO much easier and who likes to spend time plotting?  Once setup, this makes it easier to print either a hard copy or pdf set, print a half size set or print to a different printer at a few clicks.
Archidigm's page setup tips
Ellen Finklesteins tips
Cad Geek - Importing page setups
Heidi Hewitt

I have some other practises that might be helpful.

Metric or Imperial
If you are a metric user, make sure you are using metric templates, your own or Out Of The Box.  MEASUREMENT should be set to 1 for metric and this forces Autocad to reference metric linetypes and hatch files (Acadiso.lin ad Acadiso.pat).  I often get .dwg files that have a setting of 0 and they will reference the imperial files and it can be difficult to get dashed lines and hatches to display correctly with your drawing.  To correct, you need to set Measurement to 1, reload every loaded linetype and regen.    Depending on how the linetype was scaled can effect the outcome.  Linetypes should really be drawn a 1 scale although you will have to adjust the useful 'batting' linetype to the size required.

Now here's where I seriously divert from recommended practise.  I set LTScale to 25 and leave it.  I don't change LTS or think about it.  I set my Paper space layouts PSLTSCALE to 0 which removes dynamic adjustment of linetypes but for residential work, using the common linetypes like dashed, hidden, Centre, Dashdot, EvenDash, Divide (and even iso02100 dash space) will produce reliable results that just work.  I mostly do not consider scale on linestypes.  As I see them in model space is how they will print in paper space and I don't have to remember to set LTS back to 1 to print.  For the scale used in residential work (1:10,50,100,200) this all works perfectly. (let me know if you want to see a file of this working in practise).

Of course this is old advice with the new MSCALE setting which dynamically adjusts according to the set annotative scale but I prefer my simpler and reliable practise. If you do larger work (commerical) then learning the MSCALE setting is a must and will make the whole linetype scale problem go away (at least that's what they tell me).

Now ducking for cover!

Cheers

Archidigm.com update

Have you been back to Archidigm.com lately.  I have often linked to his site with it's great teaching tips and spoke about his ready made content and system.  Odin has given fantastic support to the ADT/ACA community both with his teaching and downloadable content.  If you are in the US you may be able to avail his services but for those around the world he has a wealth of in depth information on the web site.

Did I mention that he released his Development Guide, last written for ADT2005 for free download.  Although we have moved on 7 versions since then, many of the base concepts have not changed a great deal and you will find great tips here.

Odin continues to release updates on his excellant content, the latest being an update to his previously released Fences kit for ACA2010/11.  If you are looking to do interior renders or illustrations then his Kitchen & Bathroom Kits could bring great productivty gains with the ready made componants for cabinets, fixtures and fittings ready to drop in and assemble and they are also designed to be used to produce the Construction Documents so you are not double handling, reducing errors. 

He has also released a Furniture Kit, TV's, Garage doors, Fridges, Streets and there are some package deals going where you can save by bulk buying.  Purchasing of a kit also gives you 1 years access to the OSMOSIS learning web site which contains even more indepth information on all sort of things ACA.

A large portion of my knowledge of ACA that has lead to productivity gains has come about from scouring the Archidigm web site so get on over and dig in.

Cheers.

Render Materials in a 32bit world.

Further on from my discussion about the use of aecMaterials....

Hey I wanted to share some ideas about creating render materials with ACA.  Not the method itself but some methodology that I have dreamed up in an effort to reduce the RAM overhead with windows 32bit that causes so many crashes in rendering.  It obviously taxes the system considerably and 32bit Windows is limited in how much memory it can access.  So .... my thinking was how do I reduce the number of render materials I am using. Have you noticed how slow the Materials pallete makes Acad run when it's open.  I am learning rendering and have some way to go to get the most out of the new rendering engine now in AutoCAD (Mental Ray).  I often have materials I don't want but can't delete because they are buried in some style somewhere and there really is no quick or easy way of finding where it's attached.  When opening the Material pallete the system slows and doing anything suffers from having the pallete open and the more materials present the worse it is.   So ..... what was my brilliant idea this time?

How can you reduce the number of render materials (RMAT) used?  Well, where you need to apply a bitmap to show tiles, paving, bricks, grass etc you will need a RMat with a bitmap applied (as in a picture of brickwork or roof tiles).  But where you don't, you may be able to use one render material for several different instances by setting the diffuse colour to By Object which removes the colour factor from the Render Material definition.  To explain....  here are different examples in practise.

If I have a colourbond roof, whereas previously I tried attaching a bitmap of the colour together with a bump map of the sheeting, now I have no diffuse map, setting the colour to By Object.  Now the material will apply with the bump giving the impression of a corregated roof sheet but the colour comes from the aecMaterial definition.  Furthermore if I have several roofs of different colour, rather than setup several aecMaterial definitions, I can set this colour also to By Object and then physically pick each roof and set it's colour by the old acad colour dropdown.  Better By Style but this method even reduces the number of aecMaterial definitions and also allows quick adjustment of different roofs.  (Note:  I use .stb plotstyles so that I can use any colour and it doesn't define line thickness) 

For the above image, the roof corrugation simply comes from the render material however the walls are swept profiles.  However I could use the same RMaterial by rotating the RMAT in the aecMaterial definition for walls with horizontal sheeting.

For the gutter and ridge/hip cappings (Missing on the front unit-woops) I use to define an aecMaterial definition with colour and then attach a Render Material called Ridge or such.  However NOW where an item is solid colour, I may assign it to 1 of 4 paint finishes, Paint-Matt, Paint-SemiGloss, Paint-Gloss and Paint-HighGloss.  These RMats have their colour set to By Object so they can be used for any instances of any colour and they will be rendered appropriately.  The HighGloss I apply to Car bodies etc - anything with really high gloss!  Furthermore these same paint finishes are now available to any furniture etc I insert. 

So a TV surround may have Paint-HighGloss applied to the black casing and it doesn't introduce another Render Material but does render with that lovely gloss.  Of course if you want a timber finish you will need a bitmap and it's own RMat.  I have always held back on interiors not wanting to fuss with so many render materials.  Max might be great but AutoCAD will never be a renderers dream, however following these principles I can create a library of furniture that will not introduce any RMATs into my file at all, again (unless I am using bitmaps but even then following a simple approach I can greatly reduce this as well).  So a table maybe given a color and a RMat applied in the block and I can just drop it in and move on.  If required, make the table ByBlock and you can set the colour on the fly without exploding the block.  This also allows you to remove any and all layers from the table block and put it all on layer 0.  No unwanted layers added to your file.  Ever downloaded a block online to find it have wierd colours assigned?  Usually this is following someones colour-to-render assignments but why not use a direct approach and just colour it the colour you want and assign the material.  I think using .stb's has pushed me in this direction but a 3D model of a chair has only one purpose - it's appearance in 3D so colour it as it should be and remove all those obnoxious layers. 

Tip:  SETNESTEDOBJECTSBYBLOCK will quickly set all items within a block to 'ByBlock'.  Put all your bits in the one file (like a style file) and create your render materials.  Apart from the paint series, try StainlessSteel etc.  Then these RMats are available in that file to assign to any componant.

Previously I had 2 seperate RMats for window glass and car window glass.  However with the Glass Render Material colour set to By Object, I can darken the car glass objects so you can't see in (no interiors!) and still be able to have transparency for the building windows.  Setting the colour in the aecMaterial setting for glass to the windows I can control the windows glass colour/transparency/look.  I could even control different styles or windows separately if I needed to.  All this is setup and defined in my library file for the car so it's ready to just drop in and render.

This all has 2 main effects 

• It reduces the number of RMats required thereby reducing the overhead and easing the load when opening & closing the (render) Materials Pallete.
• It becomes quicker to adjust colours when you don't need to open said Pallete but can either use aec style boxes or even just by picking objects knowing you have already set the correct 'Gloss level'.

I have car models which I wish to quickly x-ref in and have render without fussing.  For a carpark, I might use the one car several times.  By setting the car body colour to By Block I can use the same car a number of times and simply select the X-ref and choose an acad colour for each.  Because I also have Paint-HighGloss applied in the car file it renders glossy without introducing another Render Material into your file.  This is applied to Acad objects not aec ACA objects so it's simple to apply without any styles etc.

Hint : Any Render Materials in your x-ref files will travel into the Render Material Pallete unless they have the same name as one existing in the host file.  Updates in the X'Ref'd file will not affect those in the host file unless you unattach, purge the material and reattach.  Of course if there is already a used material by the same name it will have no effect to change the RMAT in the X-ref file.

Your Acad library of 3D objects can be set to ByBlock for colour and assigned a simple 'Paint-Gloss' and it will render ok.  If your block is inside a MVB then sorry you don't have this luxury and the colour is defined in the 3D block used.

I am still working through the above process but it has already brought about a good efficiency return and finally given me confidence about how to set up my 3D library of bits to enhance a design presentation without spending heaps of time adjusting each little part.  Maybe the methodology can be useful to you too.

Hopefully I can post some more tips that have really helped me slim down the file and improve efficiency. 

I've converted many MassElements to Solids with a material assigned such as the must be famous door panel.  Having Paint-Gloss applied I can easily update the colour in the door style definition rather than having to chase down a MassElement style or exploding the block itself to find I've done an object override.  It's there now - easy to get to.  I have always tried to stay within the system but I realised that in this case, ME's are actually detrimental to efficiency and weren't helping.  Plus Solids have exceeded ME's capabilities (i.e. curves!).

To the right I clip various dialogue boxes to hopefully show you the path.  If you are new at this it can seem a bit daunting but most of this would be set up in your library files and you only need to tweak a colour here and there. You can see the render material has no colour assigned.  You can also assign a % of colour and % of bitmap if that helps.

Also to mention that I go against the long winded approach to naming that is adopted in Adesk products.  Of course this may be necessary for a hospital wing but you are going to bring your system to it's knees if you try to have so many RMats that you need to group them so catagorically. Unlike Max, ACA is also trying to do lots of other things than just concentrate on shapes and materials.  So I use direct names.
Roof-Colourbond.
BrickFace   (I should use WallBrickFace but that's too longwinded for me).
Also the shorter, the less scrolling you will have to do.
Grass  etc

ah I could waffle on forever..... hope this helps you.
cheers

Materialisationability

Using the ByMaterial settings.

Maybe because my materials are different to what's available OOTB (I didn't even know what CMU was), I set about creating my own materials including bitmaps of bricks and timber finishes etc. but I ended up with lots of overrides in my wall styles to show the floor plan hatching as I wanted it, the backlining, the section view.  It's a very labour intensive process and not very efficient.  Ok maybe I didn't understand what I was doing but a year or so back I  'got' the idea of using the ByMaterial setting and it has vastly simplified my process and therefore the maintenance and editing of my projects.  Now this isn't my own wacky creation - it's how the OOTB content is setup to perform so it's as per the creators intended.  Duh!  At first it seemed too laborious to set up but it's not and pays dividends down the track.  If you can use the American materials even better - it's set up for you.  There are other packs available.  I have the UK set, a pack has even been released for Chinese content!

Now I want to be able to quickly design up a building, shoot 3D's in the design process, then document all in as efficient process as possible. 3D's are an extra that most avoid but it's an enjoyable one and if you can make the process efficient then it's not really much extra effort to create.  All your modelling becomes part of the CD's so that time is not wasted.   My main work is common residential and it's all the more important to have an efficient process because the drawing fee is not generous!

I have found that aecMaterials is a big part of the key to get this process happening efficiently.

So now here's what a typical wall style use to look like for me and how it look's now.

You'll notice that there are now NO style overrides now which as said before reduces the effort = productivity boost.  All wall styles are controlled by the 'Standard' wall style settings. (ok not all - more on that later).

Background
I have come to the conclusion that it's best is to stay as close to OOTB as possible but probably most international users will need to customise for local conditions. So here is my practise I have adopted with the Display Representations (DR).

Presentation DR is used for designing & sketching and renderings.
Medium Detail is used for construction drawings usually at 1:100
High Detail is used for Detailing at 1:20-1:1
Low Detail is used for Site plans
Reflected is used for service layouts (generally just electrical) (With a lowered cutplane to show doors & windows) 

Above is a sample wall taken from the UK Wall Styles shown with the different display rep's.  If you examine them they won't have overrides except where required to remove endcaps but these can and should be removed or displayed for the standard style.  I undid the overrides and got the same outcome.  i.e. For Low Detail you would generally not want endcaps for any style and conversely you would for High Detail - so the settings can be made in the standard wall style and set for all styles.

Remember too that if you add extra DR's you will multiply your maintenance so be cautious and only add what you really need.  See if you can make use of an existing unused DR (screened?) instead of creating a new one. 

I know that some don't like to manipulate layers but it does give you another dimension of control and it's easy if you follow good practise and make use of the (express) layer tools.

How the OOTB content works... (wish I'd understood this before - DOH!). Open the wall style drawing from the Content/Styles folder. Then cycle thru the different DR's and see how the wall display changes.  Turn on your LineWeight display so you can see the Bold lines. Now click on any wall and see if they have any overrides set - (No!)

For Presentation (DR) drawings the walls are shown as a solid fill. Any wall with any material will simply show as a solid fill. All the componant displays are turned off so no individual componants (Brick, frame. cavity) will show giving you a nice simple solid for any wall (regardless the style). This is all controlled from the Standard wall style as there are no style overrides.  Have a look at a wall style at the Layer/C/L tab and note which componants are on. (remember that no matter which wall you pick, you are looking at the settings in the Standard wall style as there are no style overrides).  So all wall styles will show the same shrinkwrap and sw hatch.  Bring in a new wall style and it displays the same.  OOTB uses the standard material for the shrinkwrap but I added my own material 'Shrinkwrap Wall' so I know it only applies to walls. Sometimes I may use diagonal lines instead of solid fill and I may not want that everywhere standard is used.

For Medium Detail the shrinkwrap hatch is turned off and the shrinkwrap is used as the overall backline.  The componant displays are now turned on and control of the componants is controlled by your material settings. This is so because the ByMaterial boxes are ticked. No overrides are set in individual styles because your custom control happens in the material definitions (MD). This is the trap for international users because we may not have sets of appropriate material definitions set up. But hopefully I can show you why it's worth the effort if it's required. (remember you may use the OOTB materials).

The beauty here is that if you change the display of your certain brick material every wall style containing that componant will be instantly changed, in plan, elevation, section and even a render view. Done in one simple edit.  If you have overrides in your wall styles you would need to chase every instance of that (brick) and remember each setting you changed (i.e. hatch, scale and rotation, pen thickness and plot style etc).  The material once defined can be stored and retrieved and applied to any wall (or other) style just by assigning the material.
 For High Detail, it's much the same as Medium except the hatching is shown for a larger scale for details but remember the hatching comes from the material definition not the wall style.  Shrinkwrap could be a thicker line for the larger scale.
In the Reflected DR, the componants are again not displayed, the shrinkwrap hatch is turned off and the Shrinkwrap is a light line instead of bold. A nice background for your electrical & ceiling drawings.  You could even turn your componants display on here and shrinkwrap off if you wish to show cavity or some level of detail.  Your material settings could ensure the lines are all still light. You would not usually have your componant hatching turned on.


Remember there are no wall style overrides (except for special walls) so this is all determined in only my (1) Standard wall style and the aecmaterials definitions. This IS pretty much how the OOTB styles are set up and it's easy to adjust the whole drawing and all wall styles in one shot.

Next: But what about?? - some overrides you DO need to make.

Customisations I've made.

Why this is important for efficient renders

Why I thnk some of the OOTB is over the top - simplify!

Here's a couple of customisations that I needed to make to get this working for me.

I created a new material called 'ShrinkwrapWall'. Every wall gets this assigned for it's shrinkwrap material. (I created this rather than use 'standard' as that is applied to many styles and componants and I wanted to be able to control my walls independantly.  If you don't do this, just remember that 'Standard' is used for your wall styles so don't change it without thinking about the consequences)

Because my wall cavities are empty I need to create a material that wouldn't show but because there are no overrides to control this one componant I needed another trick to make it disappear.  Realise that in your standard wall style you have no idea which componant is which, they are just numbers and you don't know which one is your cavity.  So using the ByMaterial setting I created an 'Air' componant (which is also useful elsewhere).  In most DR's this material display is turned off and doesn't display.

Tip: Alias aecMaterialDefinitions to MD for quick access.

Multiple Levels in a single Drawing File? Part 1

Now this may take several posts to discuss and some of you at least will think me mad. "Why would you want to do that? Just use the Project Navigator (PN)."

I have used the PN way back in ADT2005 when it first was implemented after I read through Paul Aubin's Mastering ADT2004. I documented a four story addition to a 3 story building, the floors not lining up with the existing building (ceiling heights not as high as the 10' original). It also had an uneven dual stairwell with central lift between the two buildings. The whole effort to turn it into a backpackers hostel. Now I shudder to think I dared dive into a heavy project like this with an architect's deadline to please, with such a new concept as the PN (all on an old P166) but I was very pleasantly surprised at how easy it all came together. Various repeated Ensuites became Elements inserted into Constructs into Views and Sheets. Seperate drawings for external, internal, ceilings & electrical etc. The only major problem I had was my sheets template didn't have the same adjustments to the Display reps that my Views had and it caused me a fair amount of trouble to adjust items afterwards. All this to say that I have used PN successfully and I understand it's advantages.

I have used it again from time to time on largish projects where it was advantageous to break it down into smaller componants. I used it when I had to assemble 65 "little boxes on a hillside" for a rendered illustration (Right).

I like how you can select some entities, drag them into the PN and drop to create a new file or even into (merge) another file without opening it. The PN is a really smooth organiser.

But....

Most of my work has been in smaller residential projects and I just think it's over-kill. Vision-Rez must agree and had created their own one file/multi level approach though you can use the PN if you want.  There are advantages to splitting files up.  I still do that keeping entourage for rendering and the survey in separate files but on the main, it's all in the one file.

Just to clarify I am talking multi-storey residential or small commercial/industrial.  If I were to do a larger many mutli-floor project again I would happily consider using the PN.

So what are the advantages to a one file approach and why would I bother?

• I can easily project a wall to a gable roof without having to copy a roof into my present construct (adding the layer), project and then delete the roof again. I don't need to draw a PLine either! It's all there.
• I can add a mutli-storey window to both floors without having to add an ME to subtract in the 2nd floor file or wall edit etc because it's in the same file! Just add the window as an interference to the 2nd wall - done.
• I only have to create object styles used on 2 or more levels once and if I edit, it's edited!
• If I edit a material for the ground floor, I don't have to copy/overwrite it/save/reload x-ref/regen in any other files to get it to the 2nd floor.  This especially applies to render materials.  Editing and copying across gets old real quick!
• I can create a file trail legacy by simply renaming the file, advancing a version No. without worrying about without messing up a PN file hierachy. (I have had files corrupt completely.)
• I can even create multi-floor walls that span more than one level though this may or may not be successful depending on the circumstances.
• I use only one stair and it's there, available to project walls to the u/side etc.

Disadvantages?

• Only one person can work on the project at one time - not quite true as you can either keep the model in a one file approach and x-ref that into other files to create elevations, sections, room layouts, details etc if required. These can be dropped back into the main file once completed for easy filing etc. Remember you can even import a page layout if it's been setup in a different file. You could also adopt a 1 file for the model approach and x-ref that into other drawings to document. This method would even work within the PN.

So I am suggesting it's easier and more straight forward without work arounds or doing the same task more than once in separate files. Everything is there available for you to deal with in the one file. With a modern computer's power it is not too much of a strain on resources either providing the 'house' does not look like a shopping centre.

For most of my projects I have tried to create some degree of a rendered image, because I enjoy it.  In ADT2006 each copy of a render material would come through the x-ref and you would end up with say 3 seperate copies of the same "ExtBrick". The new Mental Ray rendering engine in ACA2008 onwards is clever enough to assume the same name is the same material (but you can still end up with lots of materials anyway) so that's a big plus.  (If I succeed in removing an unwanted Material from one file I don't have it come back again from the 2nd floor.)

I am intending to add future posts about how I set about to create 'a System' to achieve this approach and hope you come along for the ride. It may offer some other tips even if I don't convince you to have a go. It involved creating;

• A Layer Key Style that includes a layer designator. Early Autodesk Australia offered Australian content packs with ADT1 with 'L1-Wall' as the the layer designator. It seems they abandoned this approach when the PN came to power as it does away with any need for level designators in your layers (1 level per file) but it was interesting that they had it there at all. At some point they must have considered a one file multi floor approach. Oh and the level designator could be anywhere in your layer name such as A-Wall-L1.
• Ability to control the Z level and lock it at that. (So when you draw a 2nd floor wall it's at the 2nd floor level and doesn't snap to ground floor entities.
• Place to hold your different floor height levels (i.e. 2nd floor height above ground).
• Ability to efficiently switch between levels. (One big reason why I wanted to learn AutoLisp). This should automate this whole list here.
• Ability for a variety of options in layer display (ie. show 2nd floor with ground floor walls underlay, show ground floor electrical layout, roof or footing plan).
• Some simple additions to Display Representations to allow the change to the cutplane. (Don't worry this part is easy!)

If all this sounds too complex stay with me. I've really researched for this to make things simpler and it has achieved that.  If you think it might help you I am happy to share!  It does rely on layer manipulations which are easy but may be a problem if you have hardcoded layers into your styles.  ( I don't recommend that however it may still be possible).

Here's a quick preview
I type L1 and the drawing shows me the ground floor ready to draw.
I type L2 and the drawing shows the upper floor ready to draw.
I type L1E and the drawing shows me the ground floor electrical layout ready to draw.
               and I think it really should be that simple.

If you want you could make a toolbar/pallete command/ribbon button to type L1 for you but typing is by far quicker.

cheers

Autocad Architecture 2011 is out ...

.... for a couple of weeks+ now, I must have timed it just right and had it downloaded and installed before the US woke up.   In case you missed it you will not receive a DVD in the mail unless you specify it at your subscription site (log on to tick the box).

I will reserve most of my opinion until I put it into production.  There are some helpful reviews, but apart from the small amount of changes to ACA (which I expected) I like what I see.  There are some nice additions to AutoCAD (see review).  PolyLines have finally been updated !!  Rendering has again been overhauled.  Hatching is too (in ACA objects??).

JTB World.
ArchiDigm.com
David Koch's Architect's Desktop

Commercial reviews
Autodesk
Imaginit (uk)


Don't forget that ACA is built on Autocad and there are also good reviews that I think offer tools that will be useful in ACA

Cadalyst
Cadalyst
Cad Panacea
upfrontezine
World Access (What the russians think)
Cadit
Ellen Finklestein
Lynne Allen's Acad 2011 ticks and tips booklet
CadManDo
AUGI

Futher to that, there has been a couple of useful additions to Design Review (free download) to make it better for walkthroughs for residential work.  They have improved the lighting problems and added a field of view to widen the camera angle.  Whilst welcome they still fall well short of ArchiCAD's virtual building Modeller. The navigation interface is still awkward and liable to embarrass a company executive as he tries to 'walk' through a design.  I have still to download and trial the latest version of Navisworks Freedom (free download) which supposedly offers better tools for walkthroughs. 

Design Review ...er.. review

Hopefully I might find an AutoDesk product that can work in conjunction with ACA to accomplish this is a professional manner that doesn't leave me embarrased ("ArchiCAD can do that").

Oh and if you missed it, Autodesk thought they'd ask whether they could delete the menu's and toolbars altogether from the Autodesk range.  After the incredible negative reaction to the robbin, they have the audacity to ask this?  Is it hopeful that many will not see it and they can see 'our research shows we can delete it"??  No that's far too cynical!  Anyway, you can log in here and make your comments known either way.  (I wonder if this means the old screen manu is done for?)  As for me I am trying to loose my dependence on pull down menu's without relying too much on the Rabbin.  The keyboard is always quicker and has not changed for a long time.  If you don't want to loose too much productivity every time they change the interface (do you think the ribbum is here forever??) then divorce yourself as much as possible and practical from the interface.

http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/Toolbars

CheersExitech (uk)

Roof Object part 10 - the Hole Truth

Ok I did say I would offer another tip about putting holes in the ACA Roof Object.
Well the Truth is you can't.  Be nice to be able to wouldn't it!


UPDATE: Best practise shown in my video on youtube here.
Whole Roof Object Playlist here.

But I can get you close enough to get the job done in an efficient manner without resorting to slabs.

Here I'm going to show you how to create....

Dormer Roofs (ok this is another Sergej tip and he keeps telling me I have to share this one) but this technique could be used for adding any hole.

We start with our roof sketched out using the roof object.  We add our dormers, and it looks great on the sketch & 3D but now we are onto working drawings and we want to subtract the holes to do sections and interior shots.  Ulp!  Do we explode to aecSlabs                                            NOooooooooooo!

Here's what I would do : 

Note 1;  Odin has pointed out to me that you don't need to start with an ME.  Using the command MassElementConvert (or just type MassElement and use the C option) you can turn a roof odject and many other objects into an ME.  I tried it with a mess of aec objects and solids and it worked with them all.  If you have shapes that are part of your roof that are not suited to a RO or even slab, then feel free to use any object required.  He also emphasises that using the model explorer will allow you to edit more freely later whereas my approach means to edit is to basically delete or keep the original elements to remake your shape. You then have to freeze or export the objects for safekeeping but  the brilliance of the MODELEXPLORER is it keeps all the objects hidden away unless you need to access them.




OLD SCHOOL NOTICE:  Subsequent to Odin's helpful tip this is not the preferred method although it will work.  The Best approach (See Odin's note) is to use MODELEXPLORER as it retains all the parts of your roof and you can edit later.


Create a small MassElement (ME) (*see note 1 below) on your roof layer in one corner in a style defined as 'Roof'.  This should be completely inside the roof object (It's going to disappear).  Next we create ME objects to use as subtractives for the dormer holes that would be cut out of the main roof.  These have no need of any style.  (*1 After we've finished maybe put these items with your main roof object onto a non-print layer to be frozen later or WBLOCK them out as a separate drawing (out the way) as you may want to go back and edit the roof.) 

Select your 1st ME, right click and add (union) the roof object to the ME using the Boolean functions and then also Subtract the dormer hole objects the same way.   No need to add the dormer roofs as they can stay separate roof objects (unless you want to!).  Done!  You can add the roof material to your roof ME style the same as the RO's.

*1 Keeping the original roof object and negatives allows you to make adustments later if required.  Reposition and recut holes.

You know this is a great trick and the funny thing is that Odin Cary showed us all years ago in this page in his instruction set.   I did read it but didn't understand the potential.  This method improved and simplified in the next release after he wrote his article and I show here how simple it has become.

I've shown a simpler example so hopefully together we can show you that this could be a great option to create that Dormer roof or other complex roof with a hole for your next project.   Odin's example uses the model explorer which still works and may be easier to edit but it's no longer necessary.  

Tip:  When creating the dormer roofs here I made a square roof and gave the back edge a 145d pitch (180d - 35d (my roof pitch) to get the dormer to run into the roof.  However the Roof Object will give you am unwanted face on the inside and also square off the overhang where it meets the roof and I had tricks to work around this - WRONG WAY.  Duh!  Create a 5 sided object with the back 2 edges at 90d to nestle into the roof.  Simple & done.

And that's the hole truth.

.Cheers