AC12 curtainwall vs AC11 USA storefront

[Dennis Lee]

I know this has been discussed in another thread a little bit, but I really am having some difficulty trying to create a simple storefront door / window as shown using the curtainwall tool.

Can anyone make something like this using the curtainwall tool? If so could you share the settings used to make it?

All frames are 2" wide by 4" deep.

[Dennis Lee]

The main problem I had was getting the door to go all the way down to the bottom of the frame. It was always offset by the thickness of the boundary frame at the bottom, even though the frame itself could be turned invisible.

Upon further review, I think the easiest way to do this would be to select the bottom frame, make the thickness to be very minimal (1/64"), and then make it invisible.

Couple of bugs though - in the cw door object. 1) There is a "clamp" that goes around the whole door, and there is no way to control the size of it or to have it or not. 2) The door handles icons in the settings is different from what is actually put on the door, for the styles 10 - 15.

Conclusion so far: For smaller storefront units that repeat within a project (typical interior office door/window), or storefront windows for commercial spaces (which all pop right into the walls creating its own opening) - it is far easier to use the storefront library parts from the AC11 migration library.

The curtainwall tool seems to be great for stand alone glass walls (curtain wall !!!) and other custom system constructions, but not as good for storefront door / window openings that go into a host wall.

Anyway, I hope that GS would include the storefront objects as part of the AC12 library in the future.

[__archiben]

Dennis wrote:
Anyway, I hope that GS would include the storefront objects as part of the AC12 library in the future.

i believe that the storefront objects were included in the AC11 migration library installed in your AC12 folder. you could unpack that library and transfer those specific objects to your company library for the time being?

~/archiben

[Dennis Lee]

Yes, I think it's not a problem for now. I can just load the AC11 migration library for the projects I'd like to use storefronts. I was just hoping that they wouldn't abandon these parts after V12, thinking that the CW tool should take care of everything.

[Anonymous]

Dennis

I've been playing around with the CW tools and accessories as well to get the hang of it.
I've noticed the pesky bottom mullion staying put as well.
Nice tool...but needs an enhancement.
The point support-spider patch fitting tool is confusing to me still.
Wish we could insert a composite-rainscreen- or terra cotta panel into a bay.

I also noticed that the hardware choices for doors are still European in nature.
I mean come on....80-90% of the hardware on aluminum storefront doors in the US is a 1" round offset push-pull set. I have yet to see this very common choice.

[Djordje]

~/archiben wrote:

Dennis wrote:
Anyway, I hope that GS would include the storefront objects as part of the AC12 library in the future.

i believe that the storefront objects were included in the AC11 migration library installed in your AC12 folder. you could unpack that library and transfer those specific objects to your company library for the time being?

~/archiben

This is in fact a recommendation from GS, that I for one am going to take.

It is crazy to expect anyone to use the CW tool for a simple glazed entrance ...