Modeling
About Archicad's design tools, element connections, modeling concepts, etc.

How do I model a glass railing?

Anonymous
Not applicable
I'd like to model a railing on a sloped surface similar to the one in the pic. I tried the railing tool but in my model I don't see the panels of the railing (I don't see any panels at all, just the toprail, the outer posts and an empty space in between). The toprail has a rectangular profile in the model but I want to change it a circular one (under toprail settings - rail21 is selected which is circular in the image but rectangular in the model).
21 REPLIES 21
lots of ways to do it. I modeled some of this glass railing as beams, exploded to morphs, some of it as walls where it was useful. Use glass material.

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Barry Kelly
Moderator
It is quite easy as a railing.

Set your segmentation. Set the top rail and choose the profile. To be continued...

Barry.
One of the forum moderators.
Versions 6.5 to 27
Dell XPS- i7-6700 @ 3.4Ghz, 16GB ram, GeForce GTX 960 (2GB), Windows 10
Lenovo Thinkpad - i7-1270P 2.20 GHz, 32GB RAM, Nvidia T550, Windows 11
Barry Kelly
Moderator
Make sure you add an internal post and make it 'invisible'. Add a panel and click between the post to place it. Also open the default GS template and have a look at the favourites in there.
You can also export/import these to other files.

Barry.
One of the forum moderators.
Versions 6.5 to 27
Dell XPS- i7-6700 @ 3.4Ghz, 16GB ram, GeForce GTX 960 (2GB), Windows 10
Lenovo Thinkpad - i7-1270P 2.20 GHz, 32GB RAM, Nvidia T550, Windows 11
Anonymous
Not applicable
Thank you, Steve and Barry! My railing made with the railing tool is visible only in the edit mode. When I exit this mode, I see only the outer posts and the toprail. I don't know why the panels are not visible in the 3D.
David Maudlin
Virtuoso
anto_bg wrote:
My railing made with the railing tool is visible only in the edit mode. When I exit this mode, I see only the outer posts and the toprail. I don't know why the panels are not visible in the 3D.
Check the 3D Styles dialog box and see if Transparency is on. This may make the glass panels nearly invisible.

David
David Maudlin / Architect
www.davidmaudlin.com
Digital Architecture
AC27 USA • iMac 27" 4.0GHz Quad-core i7 OSX11 | 24 gb ram • MacBook Pro M3 Pro | 36 gb ram OSX14
Anonymous
Not applicable
I unchecked the Transparency option in the 3D styles menu but the panels didn't appear (all other glass surfaces became opaque). The edit mode is still the only mode where I see them.
Barry Kelly
Moderator
What happens if you change the panels to a different material?
Or add fixings?
If you have a railing with balusters do they show?

Barry.
One of the forum moderators.
Versions 6.5 to 27
Dell XPS- i7-6700 @ 3.4Ghz, 16GB ram, GeForce GTX 960 (2GB), Windows 10
Lenovo Thinkpad - i7-1270P 2.20 GHz, 32GB RAM, Nvidia T550, Windows 11
Anonymous
Not applicable
In the edit mode I changed the glass to another material but I was still seeing the glass panels, in the 3D view -the panels were again invisible. When I added inner posts and/or balusters - they were visible in the 3D view.
David Maudlin
Virtuoso
anto_bg:

The "glass" you are seeing in the 3D Window is actually the Segments & Nodes, try hiding them in the upper left editing palette. In your Railings Settings dialog box, the Panel should appear green in the preview, so click the "+" button and then click in the panel area to add the Panel to your scheme.

David
David Maudlin / Architect
www.davidmaudlin.com
Digital Architecture
AC27 USA • iMac 27" 4.0GHz Quad-core i7 OSX11 | 24 gb ram • MacBook Pro M3 Pro | 36 gb ram OSX14