3D modeling tools

[Anonymous]

I am so disappointed by what v9 introduced as new modelling features that i dont know what to expect for v10 and when it will be availiable.

We need BUILDING tools. Ok with simple rectangular walls and slabs and simple roofs but that is not all one need to do architecture.

If you do small houses that is ok but definately not enough for big structures.

My main nightmair? Having to move 2-3 walls from a finished building.
I have to move the walls, move then the beams, (hoping i dont get gaps and lines) move columns, change slabs, change zones, change and that for EVERY floor. All that just to move say one wall 10cm

Well i am almost sure that v10 will bring us more freeform walls. Why?
I cannot imagine that this most wished tool will be once again absent.
Is that enough. Definately not.

I hope that v10 will be an anniversary edition both for GS and for us.
So lets hope we get the tools that we didnt get in v9 and at least the number of new features we got for v8

[Djordje]

oreopoulos wrote:
My main nightmair? Having to move 2-3 walls from a finished building.
I have to move the walls, move then the beams, (hoping i dont get gaps and lines) move columns, change slabs, change zones, change and that for EVERY floor. All that just to move say one wall 10cm

Fat marquee does not do it for you? Agree about the zones, they have to be manually updated.

[Djordje]

I split the Wishlist topic and moved the discussion here; it is a better place for it. The point in the Wishlist has been loudly and clearly made already.

[Anonymous]

Djordje, didn't you mean "your honorable moderator" not "your horrible moderator?"
I am glad the point was made loud and clear, as long as it was loud enough to be heard in Budapest and not just Dubai.

Nice to see that AA is as negative about AC as ever he used to be on the old forum - Albert, why not just switch away from AC? Try FormZ or SketchUp or something and tie it to a simple CAD program. Go to www.pushpullbar.com and see what those guys are making in Sketchup, it'll knock your socks off.

Re: wall tool, I certainly hope we'll see a more flexible one in Version 10, and I certainly hope we'll have either more building tools or enough flexibility added to meshes, walls, slabs and roofs to meet all modeling needs.

When on earth do we expect V10 anyway, late 2006?

Brad

17" Mac Powerbook G4, 1.5 GHZ, 1 GB Ram, OS 10.3

[Anonymous]

kllk said:

4.VECTORWORKS. HAVENT TRYED IT. ANYONE HAD SOME EXPERIENCES WITH IT?


I had. Some time ago. A very easy to learn soft. Still like it, it's my second choice. It also has NURBS modeling for 3D.

Have a look at these movies:

http://www.nemetschek.net/vectorworks/movies.html

[Anonymous]

Djordje wrote:
Fat marquee does not do it for you? Agree about the zones, they have to be manually updated.

only zones? slabs? If there was a relationship bettween wall and slab that the wall is a boundary edge for the slab. moving the wall would alter the slab (and of course we could lock unlock than relationship). Isn it how we suppose it should work?

[Anonymous]

Djordje wrote:
I split the Wishlist topic and moved the discussion here; it is a better place for it. The point in the Wishlist has been loudly and clearly made already.

I don't know, Djordje; I think we need a "Philosophy of Architecture" Area. We could break it down into Design, Practice, Tools, etc.

What do you say????

Woody

[Dwight]

Just wanted to add a plug for NeverCenter's "Silo" product brought to my attention by our colleague Wally Dunsmoor.

http://www.nevercenter.com/

This inexpensive modeler builds smooth freeform objects that can easily be imported smoothly into ArchiCAD with the 3DS import tool. Use the "Force Smooth" option. Switch y for Z axis also as they employ the standard 3DS coordinates - that the ArchiCAD universe does not.

17 day demo. US$109. [ go figure - they have a strange concept of numbers in… wherever they are.]

I am too busy to really get into this, but it seems like time well spent. Perhaps some other colleague can go to work on this one and let us all know the pitfalls and benefits???

an example - not a great one - attached.

[Djordje]

oreopoulos wrote:

Djordje wrote:
Fat marquee does not do it for you? Agree about the zones, they have to be manually updated.

only zones? slabs? If there was a relationship bettween wall and slab that the wall is a boundary edge for the slab. moving the wall would alter the slab (and of course we could lock unlock than relationship). Isn it how we suppose it should work?

Well ...

I will let Scott answer this one 😉

In some cases, yes, in some, no.

Let's see - you want to resize the slab, because you are not getting the coverage required by the client. The walls are linked. The roof is also linked (we are talking a shed here, rectangle with 5% slope roof). I move the edge of the slab with the pet palette. The wall that is on that edge should know that it moves, while the joining walls extend each other. The steel structure columns know also that they should resize their spacing, and as the shed is 120m long, the expansion joint also moves. The fire escape doors also reposition themselves to required distance, and the racking layout recalculates itself, adding another 128 Europallets so that the client can make more money.

Quite a smart thingy ... what computing has to be done here, I wonder?

All this I have seen done by a building fully scripted in GDL some eight years ago. It is far from impossible, but I personally don't think it is such a big deal. Fat marquee, once you master it, does do wonders, even on irregular shapes.

This is not to say that relationships would not be good, especially if the usual work one does is full of constraints and rules - like in the residential design. But, maybe from the lack of experience, I can't see why the fat marquee approach would be any slower or less complicated than setting relationships?

[Anonymous]

Djordje wrote:

Quite a smart thingy ... what computing has to be done here, I wonder?

I think not much.
Actually not everything is neccecary on relationships.
And as in revit you can also unlock the reference.
The computer power need is i think not big.
Actually is a simple loop. If it takes a human to do it in 1 hour the computer will do it in 0.1sec. Just a loop through all referenced objects and a recursive call to each one.

The example you stated above is a very simple case
you can actually lock distances and things like that.
The best feature of 2 in revit (with the other one beeing the advanced curtain walls feature) that i really am "jealous" of revit.

In my opinion (i may be wrong) i dont expect an architects tool to be able to create complex surfaces such as numbs or surfaces made by 3dstudio.
If i wanted to design furniture i would buy such a program.
Of course that does not mean we need 3d tools (we are talking about tools and we dont even have rotate in Z!!!)