3D polyline, wire, tube or pipe lengths in schedules

[boatingcow]

Hi everyone,

Often at the early stages of design, I like to produce schedules of pipe and wiring lengths, where for any given 'diameter' or 'wire gauge', I can give an early estimate of the total lengths required (at a later stage in design, other software is used for the final component design, drawings and bills-of-material). At the moment this is slow and clunky. I'd like to be able to model splines (or arcs at least) and arbitrary direction changes in 3D. It seems I can have one or two but not all of these things...

In the past I have used:

> Spline: 2D only. Doesn't report length in schedules, have to export element information to a text file
> Morph: Almost perfect for modelling arbitrary 3D networks. Doesn't report edge lengths anywhere, so have to resort to manual measurement
> MEP modeller: Straight sections and radius bends only. Schedules list every individual item length, misses bend lengths.
> Beams (or walls) and columns with profiles: Fine for modelling orthogonal networks. Schedules list every individual item length.
> Shells (detailed): Plan only. Reports circumference rather than length.
> GDL objects: 3DMD, Oliver Dentan are close, but I'm not a GDL programmer so can't make them do what I need (yet)!

Can anyone suggest a better workflow than any of the below? I'd be happy to look at upgrading to a newer ArchiCAD, or investing a bit of time in GDL, but as the morph tool is so close (already reports areas and volumes) maybe I'm missing a trick already?

Thanks for your help.

[sinceV6]

Hi.
Looks like you have explored almost all options. Would be great if morphs could report edge length, but until then I think GDL is your best bet. You can use the poyline script I posted or the one Mariosmic added.

You can use the "Freccia zig 14" object, from the object depository. Although it reports a full length distance, it is practically 2D; but could give close enough estimates.

Best regards.

[Anonymous]

I thought about a similar issue regarding dimensions scheduling for morphs and i wonder
If it could be possible to use the algebraic formula of getting the distance between X1,Y1,Z1 and X2,Y2,Z2 spatial points ?

And just a another related question. Is it possible to report radial and angular dimensions in schedules?How about as dimensions in preview image?