Colorbond panel fence created with editing a preset railing in Australia

[mthd]

Hi there, has anyone in Australia successfully created colorbond fencing with an edit of a preset railing ? I don’t need a high level of detail except to show the metal sheet profile in the panel settings. How do I get a colorbond panel to show up in my railing panel setting ? A standard Bunnings fence kit with inserts is what I am trying to model up. 

I do have “CI tools Coverings” installed so I might just draw a standard railing with a few edits and just clad the rail or even draw a wall and just add the colorbond profile to it ? If you have a better method please reply.

Please see the PDF below for a picture of what I am trying to model.

Thank you.

https://www.steeline.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/Panel-Fencing-Installation-Guide-Stee495_Prod...

[Lingwisyer]

Given kit sizes, could you just model the profile using a shell on the floor plan, then save it as a custom panel? Or if you are going rib to rib, save it as a custom baluster?

Ling.

[Gerry Leonor]

if you don't plan to be too accurate, i'd just use a standard post + rail + solid panel.

With the solid panel using a Surface with the Colorbond vertical cladding.

the issue with this is that you won't be able to set a unique starting point of each of the solid panels. meaning the vertical sheeting won't ever start from, say, the bottom left of each panel. but that would just be splitting hairs at this point.

[mthd]

Good tip LW, that is a more precise method of creating a colorbond panel sheet by the looks ?

Thanks GL, You mean I could get problems like this thread below shows ?

https://community.Graphisoft.com/t5/Design-forum/Using-AC21-Railing-for-Metal-Fence/m-p/219845#M1191...

I think I am going to have to follow these and your steps closely unless things have changed a bit in newer versions of Archicad ?

I ill let you know how I go.

[Gerry Leonor]

if you used my recommendation, i doubt you'd have problems like that.

they've added another element to my proposal. this is so they could get one that not only looks OK in elevation, but also in 3D if you, say, want to have shadows acting upon the  fence. mine is a lot simpler with less parts, but not enough 3D detail.

[mthd]

That’s good to hear that I will not get those problems in the older post.

I was hoping to somehow substitute the solid panel for a colorbond fence sheeting panel if that is actually possible ? And then try and get the top and bottom rails flush with the sheeting ? I think once I get that right I might be able to have that set as a template item hopefully ?

LW is suggesting that I model that panel with the shell tool somehow ?

This video shows the modelling of a colorbond sheet profile with the morph tool not the shell tool ?

https://youtu.be/IDC6TWDewNA

[Gerry Leonor]

yep, then your going a little bit more detailed than how i'd do it.

try it out. i haven't had the need to create custom panels for Rails, however.

[Lingwisyer]

You draw the profile on the floorplan using the polyline extrusion option in the shell tool.

You can then save it as a custom railing panel or baluster. The issue with saving as a custom panel is that they do not curve, and with both options, you will want your posts to have a spacing matching some multiple of your panel or baluster else you will get the gaps as show in your linked post. Sort of workable to an extent with the end offsets as shown, but not ideal.

Balusters use custom posts. Do not recall the orientation required, but if need be, quite likely, use a reference block to rotate the shell in 3D.

Custom panels, unless properly scripted, will always be orthoganal, so there maybe some complications if you need to slope the fence down a hill. See this thread.

Ling.

[mthd]

Thankfully the site is flat and the fence has no curves in it. It’s good to know what problems to look out for too.

I am not bothering with any scripting language, I will draw the line there. I surely appreciate you sharing your master class method above for all of us to benefit from.

Thank you very much to both of you for the tips and clear methods, both of you are champions.

I may opt for the easier method that Garry has outlined for me because that’s all I might be capable of these days lol !

[Barry Kelly]

Railings can not have custom panels.

The best you can do is a plane panel with a surface material that has a vertical hatch pattern to represent the sheeting ribs in elevation/3D and a texture of the sheeting so it looks good in 3D renders.

You can use custom profile balusters as linked to in one of the previous posts.

I stand corrected - they can.

Just save as a library object and choose custom panel

The other problem with railings is the top & bottom rails and panels, will follow the rake of the railing.

So if on a sloping site you will not get stepped panels unless you break up the length into separate rails.

Even with segments in the rail I don't think you can have vertical changes in height.

I don't think it is possible to have a single railing that steps in height - at least it is not obvious to me.

Fine though if you do want it to rake.

Barry.