topic Fill timber sections with an 'x' in Modeling

Fill timber sections with an 'x'

jamespage11 — Tue, 09 May 2023 14:41:47 GMT

Hi.

Has anyone else worked out a quick and easy way to do this?

(see picture)

The convention, in South Africa at least (not too sure about the rest of the world), for showing new timber in section is with a cross from corner to corner, but I have to touch up "by hand" all my purlins, rafters, wall plates, etc, etc, etc in section and it can be a bit tedious. I thought I might be able to create a new fill that could stretch to fill the cut surface rather than tile, but that doesn't seem to be possible.

Any suggestions?

Re: Fill timber sections with an 'x'

Ralph Wessel — Tue, 03 May 2011 08:43:51 GMT

jamespage11 wrote:
The convention, in South Africa at least (not too sure about the rest of the world), for showing new timber in section is with a cross from corner to corner[]. Any suggestions?

Try modelling the framing with OBJECTiVE. Many of the timber objects bundled with the software provide an option to show a single or double line in section (see image).

Re: Fill timber sections with an 'x'

jamespage11 — Tue, 03 May 2011 08:56:47 GMT

Thanks Ralph for the suggestion. That's exactly what I want to do!

But $300 is a bit steep just to hatch a few timber sections (although I'm sure the software does a lot more than that too.)

Surely there must be an easier (cheaper) way to do this in ArchiCAD itself?

Re: Fill timber sections with an 'x'

Link — Tue, 03 May 2011 12:32:23 GMT

It can be done with complex profiles. And I know it has been discussed here before as I was part of one of the conversations. Try a search with complex profiles and top plates and/or studs.

Cheers,
Link.

Re: Fill timber sections with an 'x'

Anonymous — Wed, 04 May 2011 01:38:24 GMT

But $300 is a bit steep just to hatch a few timber sections (although I'm sure the software does a lot more than that too.)

Try this exercise:

Estimate how much time you typically would spend per project manually adding cross lines to plan/section drawings (and make allowance for manually adjusting these lines when the client wants 'minor changes' late in the documentation process) and multiply this by your standard hourly rate for drafting/documentation.

I suspect you will find that the investment pays for itself by the first project, without even considering all the other features.

Re: Fill timber sections with an 'x'

Richard Morrison — Wed, 04 May 2011 01:46:36 GMT

kombibob wrote:
Try this exercise:

Estimate how much time you typically would spend per project manually adding cross lines to plan/section drawings (and make allowance for manually adjusting these lines when the client wants 'minor changes' late in the documentation process) and multiply this by your standard hourly rate for drafting/documentation.

I suspect you will find that the investment pays for itself by the first project, without even considering all the other features.

Except if he's billing hourly, he'll LOSE money by being efficient.

Re: Fill timber sections with an 'x'

Anonymous — Wed, 04 May 2011 02:18:30 GMT

Except if he's billing hourly, he'll LOSE money by being efficient. Wink

Depends on how you determine your hourly rate - if you are being realistic, it should include for operational costs, including software upgrades and subscription.

Re: Fill timber sections with an 'x'

Richard Morrison — Wed, 04 May 2011 02:26:01 GMT

kombibob wrote:
Except if he's billing hourly, he'll LOSE money by being efficient. Wink
Depends on how you determine your hourly rate - if you are being realistic, it should include for operational costs, including software upgrades and subscription.

Okay, guess I should have said "He'll make LESS money by being efficient."

Re: Fill timber sections with an 'x'

jamespage11 — Wed, 04 May 2011 06:26:44 GMT

Thanks Link, I had done a search before posting and saw some things about using custom profiles, but it would still be nice if there was a simple fill that could be streched rather than tiled, or something to that effect, which could be used with all ArchiCAD elements; the curtain wall, roof wizard, objects, beams, slabs etc; rather than always having to model up any timber I need with custom profiles.

And thanks Richard, I had a laugh despite it going over some people's heads..

Re: Fill timber sections with an 'x'

Anonymous — Wed, 04 May 2011 22:47:14 GMT

I'd be very keen to learn how to do this as well. I believe it is achievable in Revit.

Re: Fill timber sections with an 'x'

jamespage11 — Thu, 05 May 2011 11:57:03 GMT

Careful, pretty sure that last phrase'll get you kicked off this forum.

Re: Fill timber sections with an 'x'

Karl Ottenstein — Thu, 05 May 2011 16:36:58 GMT

Link wrote:
It can be done with complex profiles. And I know it has been discussed here before as I was part of one of the conversations. Try a search with complex profiles and top plates and/or studs.

Cheers,
Link.

As Link said, this has been discussed countless times with profiles given for beams, plates within walls, etc.

The attached image summarizes what you need to do for a beam...

1. Make a square the size of the SMALLEST timber/beam you will ever have. (Profiles can be stretched bigger, but never smaller.)

2. Use the Split command or shortcut to cut this square into four triangles. (Select square, split once from corner to corner. Now select the two resulting triangles and split from the opposite corners - you now have 4 triangles.)

3. Assign DIFFERENT fills to adjacent triangles: ArchiCAD will only show a line between fills if they are different in name/index number (appearance is irrelevant). In this case, you need two fills, indicated as "A" and "B" in the screenshot. If you need a particular fill and do not have another that looks like it, just duplicate the original and use the duplicate for 'B'.

4. Make sure that you have the Horizontal and Vertical stretch enabled and the stretch lines on the outside faces of your square as shown (default).

5. Save the profile.

When you use this profile with the beam or wall tool, the cross will show up in section. Since you have made it a stretchy profile, you can specify whatever dimensions are required for your beam and the "x" will show up properly.

Cheers,
Karl

PS I don't believe the (limited) START edition of ArchiCAD has this feature.

Re: Fill timber sections with an 'x'

Anonymous — Tue, 10 May 2011 01:09:42 GMT

Fantastic! Thanks Karl, much appreciated.

Re: Fill timber sections with an 'x'

Anonymous — Tue, 10 May 2011 08:34:07 GMT

Karl wrote:

The attached image summarizes what you need to do for a beam...

We need a "like" button in this forum. Really.

Re: Fill timber sections with an 'x'

Rod Jurich — Tue, 10 May 2011 10:44:41 GMT

Krippahl wrote:
/.......

We need a "like" button in this forum. Really.

2nd that

Re: Fill timber sections with an 'x'

Karl Ottenstein — Tue, 10 May 2011 17:03:11 GMT

Thanks, guys.