topic Re: Custom Curved Stairwell in Modeling

Custom Curved Stairwell

Anonymous — Thu, 25 May 2023 15:33:54 GMT

I'm trying to curve a stair so it will be flush with a wall, but I'm having trouble figuring out how you can change the bend of the stair.

I've seen a few forums on this using the OBJECTIVE tool, but I really haven't found anything actually describing the motions of how to do it.

Help is very much appreciated!!

Thank you in advance

Anthony

Re: Custom Curved Stairwell

Anonymous — Sun, 30 May 2010 05:25:52 GMT

Not sure this is what you are looking for, but
try typing in:
"Custom Stair Based on Manually Drawn Elements"
minus the quote marks of course,
in the search box of the help menu.
lec

Re: Custom Curved Stairwell

Ralph Wessel — Sun, 30 May 2010 16:13:41 GMT

allegronea wrote:
I'm trying to curve a stair so it will be flush with a wall, but I'm having trouble figuring out how you can change the bend of the stair.
I've seen a few forums on this using the OBJECTIVE tool, but I really haven't found anything actually describing the motions of how to do it.

You can use OBJECTiVE to do the following (refer to the attached image):

1. Draw a cross-section through the stair with the fill tool;

2. Select the fill and make a profiled object from it with OBJECTiVE > Component > New Profile. Note that you want to make an Elevation profile. The tool will prompt for an anchor point and bending axis when you create it - the bending axis in this case is horizontal;

3. The New Profile tool places an object over the original fill - use OBJECTiVE > Tools > Rotate to rotate it into the correct orientation;

4. The object has a hotspot at the centre to bend it to the required radius. Note that you can control the profile proportions in the object settings - if you set it to Keep proportions, the object profile won't be stretched as it bends (refer to the 2 examples).

5. The results in 3D

I'll follow this up with a method to add a handrail.

Re: Custom Curved Stairwell

Ralph Wessel — Sun, 30 May 2010 16:31:12 GMT

allegronea wrote:
I've seen a few forums on this using the OBJECTIVE tool, but I really haven't found anything actually describing the motions of how to do it.

You can similarly add a handrail. Referring to the attached image:

1. Draw a cross-section through the handrail with the fill tool;

2. Create a new profile object using OBJECTiVE > Component > New Profile. Make it a Section profile this time, and set the anchor to the point that you would set out the handrail from (probably the centre base);

3. Stretch the profile object from the handrail start to end;

4. Use OBJECTiVE > Tools > Bend to bend the handrail to the stair perimeter;

5. Set the overall handrail rise in the object settings (or use OBJECTiVE > Tools > Offset in an elevation view);

6. You can place other instances of the profile where it levels out, and use OBJECTiVE > Tools > Split to cut the objects at the junction (in plan or elevation);

7. The finished result in 3D.

Hope this helps.

Re: Custom Curved Stairwell

Anonymous — Sun, 30 May 2010 20:55:42 GMT

Hi Ralph
Well, guess I'm confused here.
And sorry about the dumb question, but:
Is the stair you show made and manipulated in Objective or is Objective being used to modify an Archicad stair?
lec

Re: Custom Curved Stairwell

Ralph Wessel — Sun, 30 May 2010 21:00:14 GMT

lec1212 wrote:
Is the stair you show made and manipulated in Objective or is Objective being used to modify an Archicad stair?

It's made and manipulated with OBJECTiVE (see steps 1 & 2 of my first reply). OBJECTiVE can cut or rotate a StairMaker object, but not bend it.

Re: Custom Curved Stairwell

Anonymous — Sun, 30 May 2010 21:22:39 GMT

Thanks Ralph.
Doesn't look like it will give me the kiss of death like Archicad stair tool does when I create a code legal stair and Archicad tells me it's illegal.
I just want to through a wrench at the screen when it does that.
And I'm not even the violent type.
But unfortunately I paid too much for the screen so that's not a real option.
Looks like Objective is.
lec

Re: Custom Curved Stairwell

Gerald Hoffman — Mon, 31 May 2010 00:22:34 GMT

lec1212 wrote:
Thanks Ralph.
Doesn't look like it will give me the kiss of death like Archicad stair tool does
lec

Lec, You know that you can change the settings for the (2*Riser) + Run > or < windows to different values to get rid of that pesky kiss of death right?

Cheers

Re: Custom Curved Stairwell

Anonymous — Mon, 31 May 2010 00:57:41 GMT

Hi Gerald
No I did not know that.
Thank you, but now,
I've just got so use to building my stairs with roofs and slabs, stairmaker is just a part of the program I don't want to visit anymore.
Well maybe if there was ever to be a REAL major upgrade I'd reconsider.
Bye the way, if I did not mention how totally awesome the pdf's of plans were that you posted a little while ago, many hats off to you.

lec

One of my adventures on Vancouver Island.
As a totally unrelated to forum side note; My son and I got stuck in somebodies sloped gravel driveway as I was trying to turn around 1/2way on the way back from Port Renfrew B.C. to Victoria.
Nobody was home, no cell with me, out a ways from anywhere it seems.
Gate was locked so I unbolted the gate to the rest of the driveway, drove down the rest of the way, turned around and gunned it to get out.
Tried to put gate back in condition I found it, however.....
Lost one of the bolts in the bushes and had to leave a note with some compensation on the porch.
Hope that wasn't your place:-))
Or if it was, hope I left enough!
Or did I already mention this to you once before a while ago?
lec

Re: Custom Curved Stairwell

Anonymous — Mon, 31 May 2010 16:08:38 GMT

And here's an example of why I hand built stairs.
Can't imagine Stairmaker doing this anytime soon.
Hope I'm wrong.
lec

Re: Custom Curved Stairwell

Anonymous — Mon, 31 May 2010 16:10:30 GMT

2nd image

Re: Custom Curved Stairwell

Anonymous — Mon, 31 May 2010 16:14:00 GMT

Just one of the Section cuts

Re: Custom Curved Stairwell

Gerald Hoffman — Mon, 31 May 2010 16:57:30 GMT

lec1212 wrote:
One of my adventures on Vancouver Island.
As a totally unrelated to forum side note; My son and I got stuck in somebodies sloped gravel driveway as I was trying to turn around 1/2way on the way back from Port Renfrew B.C. to Victoria.
Hope that wasn't your place:-))
lec

Lec, Well as you have been to Vancouver Island you know it is pretty big as islands go. No it wasn't my place, that would have been too big a coincidence I think. 😉. I live near Mill Bay about 45 min drive north of Victoria, not nearly as far off the beaten track as Port Renfrew. I've been out there to go fishing.

As far as your stairs go, what you illustrated is basically what I am doing now as well. I use Objective to make up stringers and use slabs and walls for my treads and risers. I basically model it as it would be built. In the end is seems to just work better than any of the Stair tools that I have seen so far as well. I used different layers for structural components and finish flooring to make it easier for editing or showing 3D views of just the structural parts if I need to.

I wonder whether anyone could actually develop a tool that would build a correct residential wood framed stair which could cover enough variations to make it useful. Generalized tools give you general results. It is why I changed to ArchiCAD from SoftPlan years ago.

Cheers,

Re: Custom Curved Stairwell

Anonymous — Mon, 31 May 2010 19:42:36 GMT

"that would have been too big a coincidence I think"
Oh yeh, that was meant as joke, for sure.

"I wonder whether anyone could actually develop a tool that would build a correct residential wood framed stair which could cover enough variations to make it useful."
Your absolutely right.
My hope (I've expressed before, but got shot down), is that maybe the general concepts behind the Curtain Wall could be modified for a stair tool that came a lot closer, G.S./Ralph??

Must have been through Mill Bay on another trip back in 73 once on the way to Nanaimo from Victoria to see off some wild folks ride "Bathtubs" to North of Vancouver I think it was.
Beautiful country you live in for sure. If I was Canadian I think Vancouver Island is where I'd want to live.

Also from Ralph's post I see advantages to using Objective for Stairs.
Think I'll finally order that up from Ralph next week.

Thanks again for you help.
Take care.
Be safe out there.
lec

Re: Custom Curved Stairwell

Anonymous — Tue, 01 Jun 2010 14:39:25 GMT

Gerald or Ralph
I have another question.
What is the main advantage of using Objective for stringers vs using roofs as I have done in previous posted image?
lec

Re: Custom Curved Stairwell

Ralph Wessel — Wed, 02 Jun 2010 10:04:27 GMT

lec1212 wrote:
What is the main advantage of using Objective for stringers vs using roofs as I have done in previous posted image?

I think it's a bigger issue than just the stringers - it all comes down to detailing. You can produce a great deal with ArchiCAD out of the box. If StairMaker's concept of a stair is the kind of thing you make, then it's a great tool. If your stairs have stringers that look like a thin roof and your treads/risers look like slabs/walls, then the roof/slab/wall tools are fine for making stairs too.

But if you subscribe to the idea that "God is in the detail", you can quickly hit barriers. I rarely use StairMaker because the end product doesn't look the way I want it to. And roofs/slabs/walls all have distinct modelling limitations - you may eventually get what you want, but it involves countless work-arounds that are painful to reproduce when the design changes.

OBJECTiVE provides raw 3D modelling tools to fill these gaps - rotation, cutting, bending, etc. - without filling your library with 'dumb' objects. The things you produce with OBJECTiVE are aware of their native form and the transformations applied to them, so they remain pliable and (more important) quantifiable, i.e. for scheduling and construction.

I have many example, but I've attached just one snapshot of a stair detail modelled with OBJECTiVE. These tools make it easy to bend and cut parts to their required shape in a way that ArchiCAD alone doesn't provide.