Best way to cut many holes in a Morph / Slab?

[Anonymous]

As topic is there a faster way to punch holes into morphs?
Im making a custom lasercut facade screen below

I have tried a couple of different methods one is more labourious but seems to be more productive, what im doing is extremely computer resource heavy

as it is creating many complex polygons, and I was impressed with the ability of archicad 20 managing to keep increasing the complexity cutting out geometric shapes from a slab using a magic wand to a 2d shape element, one by one...

but then i got bored of that cutting out holes one by one and tried to find a faster way to do it but archicad after 20mins of computation Pushing archicad and my coputer resources to the limit atm (using up to 93% of computers ram) decided it didnt like to do it the 'shortcut' way where I created a bunch of slabs to punch out of the slab and converting them both to morphs but there doesnt seem to be a way to subtract multiple selected morph elements out from a single morph it also only lets you do it one by one.

I also tried using solid element operator and subtracting the slabs out of the morph but as soon as i deleted the source elements the holes disappeared also...

The image below shows the slabs in green that im trying to subtract
from the blue sheet below, the holes cut in the blue sheet are a result of the slow labourious one by one method of the magic wand subtraction

[Karl Ottenstein]

I'd take a step back and ask why you need this modeled as actual holes vs a surface material that renders as transparent holes? And what kind of size/scale of surface are we talking about?

If you don't need the holes to be transparent (like real holes) in linework / plan /elevation but only in 3D, then a custom surface that has transparent holes along with a custom 2D fill that has the circles is the most efficient way of doing it (for fast model navigation / drawing generation).

If you actually need the holes in the slab/panel, then, yes, with SEO you have to put the source elements on their own layer and hide the layer, not delete the elements. The elements must exist. Or, you can punch actual holes in the slab (select slab, with slab tool selected, magic wand hole linework - hole is removed). I don't know if Morph holes are more efficient (model speed terms) than slab holes.

If you want dynamic control over the holes and some random or regular placement, then this actually corresponds to one of the examples given by Graphisoft when introducing the ARCHICAD 20 <-->Grasshopper connection, where you can slide controls in Grasshopper and dynamically see the model change in ARCHICAD. See the KCC video at 19:20 to 21:15
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qs6mosv-Omw

Here are more Grasshopper-AC videos at the Help Center:
http://helpcenter.graphisoft.com/videos/rhino-grasshopper-archicad/
and text info:
http://helpcenter.graphisoft.com/tips/teamwork/grasshopper-archicad-live-connection/

[Anonymous]

Hi Karl

Thanks for the speedy reply, the holes need to be there in 3d for visualisation purposes for the client to be able to walk around a 3d rendered model in bimx and or artlantis movie presentations
The panels are approx 1.2m by 3.0m 4mm thick and there will be at least 4 of them. (I remember someone on here saying "model it like it is") and if we cant do that in a cad program then there are some serious problems with our modeling software, if we arent pushing the limits of our designs/models/boundaries then we may as well go back to living in caves

So far i have found that if i build the slab on the flat and have the operators sitting below, then subtracted with an upwards extrusion the slab holes are punched (after about 15mins of processing) then I can convert the resulted slab into a static morph shape so that im able to rotate it into the vertical orientation and have it as a facade panel.
I find once an object becomes a morph it is extremely labourious to edit or modify, should i need to change dimensions i would likely start again from scratch.

Is there a way i could perhaps add complex holes instead that were able to be parametric and editable within a slab or wall? to achieve what im trying to build here?

The grasshopper presentation was impressive for sure,
but what im trying to create doesnt necessarily require a complex algorhithmic program at at extra expense and also would have to learn how to use it.
This is fairly simple geometry here, but archicad seems to struggle with it
I can create a building with 100,000 walls but the second I try to punch 2000 holes in a wall it seems to struggle?

Attached below is another example of a screen Im creating
I have noticed you cant magic wand a complete section of polylines into a slab without basically dividing it up into a grid then I can combine them all together adding to the slab selection and magic wanding togther back into the more complex shape.

[David Collins]

Another way to cut holes in morphs:

1. Create the overall panel as a flat morph with zero depth. Place separate flat morphs in the same plane as the base morph wherever you need to punch a hole. Do a "Union" on all the morphs. Using the white (sub-element) selection arrow, you can now select and delete each of the morph planes you placed for the holes. Extrude the final morph to whatever depth you need.

2. Another thought: Your screen is modular. Why don't you model just the basic unit and then repeat it as many times as you need? Then you can join all the modules together with morph "Union" and "Trim" back to your frame as needed. While this doesn't give you a parametric screen, the fact that you're only modeling the basic unit once should allow you to bang out variations without too much pain.

Courage!

[Anonymous]

Hi David thanks for your info on creating a morph with zero thickness
but if i have 2000 morph shapes sitting there dont i still have to subtract each shape one by one?

I completed the first screen using slabs and subtractions then converting the final resultant shape into a morph but the second i want to move it or duplicate it makes the computer hang for a good 5 mins just due to the complex geometry of the morph

yes you are right this screen is designed as modular id only need slight tweaking to trim it to fit to a sloping roof and then add a frame edge back to the screen shape without too much trouble.

The other screen (tree branches) however is not modular im spending forever tracing around individual branches with slabs and this is a very time consuming method (what have i got myself in for here) especially as im intending each screen to be a unique pattern.
I suppose there is no need to unify the slabs together until i finish each screen they can remain in gridline sections of simpler slab geometry until which time i can convert all the final slabs into a single morph for each individual screen

if only there was a way for archicad to convert a jpg or image into lines i tried exploding but this has no effect im not sure if vector images such as a png are able to be exploded in archicad into lines?
or perhaps an image to dwg converter of some type

[Richard Morrison]

If primarily for presentation, it seems like a transparent image with an alpha channel mask would be the way to go. http://archicad-talk.graphisoft.com/viewtopic.php?t=5304 as an example.

[Anonymous]

Hi Richard

Thanks for that, this seems like it would be the best option so far, it is also far easier to use an existing image and play around with it in photoshop, than have to retrace the whole thing in archicad, although I do find working in cad far more accurate.

Im guessing I wont want to get too close in the rendering/movie presentation as the flat bitmap effect or pixelated edges might become a little more obvious.

right now I have to remember how to work the alpha channel masks in photoshop it has been a while since i have had a play with it.