How would you draw this in ArchiCAD?

[Anonymous]

I need to draw this model I have made for a project at University. So far I have only drawn a 3D house in ArchiCAD, but that was made up from walls etc. What I want is a basic frame to show the shape and intersection of my model. Which tools etc, would I use to get it 3D

[Ralph Wessel]

NStocks wrote:
No, he was referring to the current version of AutoCAD and ArchiCAD. He said that AutoCAD has ' required ' 3DS and a few other programs and just labelled it Autodesk... Not to be a ' Mac fan ' but you can quite simply tell that AutoCAD was made to work on a PC, by the layout of the toolbars etc. I think that he only recommends AutoCAD because at least 90% of the students will have Windows' PC's ( 4 of my group have Mac's and are using Bootcamp, Windows 7 and AutoCAD as well as sketchp, but that's because they are influenced by what the tutor has said, in the lecture to 170 students, that is ) and the University have PC's of which they can run AutoCAD for free and use the latest version each year.

Attached is a 5 minute preview of what it will look like in Sketchup, I think that it will look o.k, but it won't have that certain quality that ArchiCAd offers, and I'm not to keen on the section cuts and not sure if it has elevation settings.

How long would it take you to create my model to a ' perfect ' quality ? I'm not asking you to send me the version ( though screenshots would be helpful ) nor asking you to spend your time creating it, I just want an idea of how long a professional can do it.

OK, I've attached some images showing a better quality result, i.e. one that might actually work. I've constructed each segment out of two parts - a part that bends to the curve and a separate flat part where the segments are riveted together. I've bent the profile to a radius of 10,000mm and made each segment 100mm thick. If every segment is to fold cleanly over the previous, the radius will have to increase by 100mm. So I start with the profile of the smallest segment and progressively increase the profile length by 100mm at either end:

• 1. Extend the polygon edges by 100mm from the previous using the polygon edge offset
  2. Create a new elevation profile from the polygon
  3. Edit the settings of the new profile - the bending offset will be half the profile length (i.e. radius is half the diameter)
  4. It's easier to arrange the segments in plan, so use OBJECTiVE's Rotate to tilt the profile over by 90 degrees (onto its side)
  5. I can then use ArchiCAD's ordinary 2D rotate to swivel the next segment into position
  6. In this example I'm able to use the same end segment for the fixing point. I create two copies, align it to the segment base, and then use OBJECTiVE's Alignment tool to align the ends with the top and bottom of the curved profile
  7. When the segments are all complete, they can be rotated back to the correct plane using OBJECTiVE's Rotate tool
  8. The finished result in 3D
  9. A close-up of the fixing point

This model looks clean. Constructing the model took about 10-15 minutes, but you could spend a lot longer if you wanted to 'tweak' each profile for just the right look.

[Anonymous]

Thank you very very much ! That's more like the view of the cardboard model. I'm going to try it on Sunday ( working all day Saturday ) and I will post what I have, then I can move onto the next stage, I doubt will be as complex. When it comes to cut sections etc. would I annotate the diagram manually, rather than have ArchiCAD automatically put the dimensions in ? The construction will be out of polyester/steel and some membrane, and if I were to have these in a scale, the front shields would only be around 8mm thick, this could be a problem with what it looks like physically.

Thanks again Ralph,

Nathan

[Ralph Wessel]

NStocks wrote:
Thank you very very much ! That's more like the profile I used to make a cardboard model from.

You can also make the connecting rivet using OBJECTiVE's lathed profiles - just draw a half section through the profile with the polyline tool (see image) and use OBJECTiVE > Component > New Profile.

An example rendering is also shown below - note that the junction between the different parts making up each segment are no longer visible.

[Ralph Wessel]

NStocks wrote:
He said that AutoCAD has ' required ' 3DS and a few other programs and just labelled it Autodesk... Not to be a ' Mac fan ' but you can quite simply tell that AutoCAD was made to work on a PC, by the layout of the toolbars etc. I think that he only recommends AutoCAD because at least 90% of the students will have Windows' PC's ( 4 of my group have Mac's and are using Bootcamp, Windows 7 and AutoCAD as well as sketchp, but that's because they are influenced by what the tutor has said, in the lecture to 170 students, that is ) and the University have PC's of which they can run AutoCAD for free and use the latest version each year.

It seems to me that there would be every advantage in moving to ArchiCAD. Consider the facts:

• AutoCAD
  - Works for 90% of your computers (PC only)
  - Free to the university
  - The dinosaur of architectural design software

• ArchiCAD
  - Works for 100% of your computers (Mac and PC)
  - Free to the university
  - Contemporary BIM software

Although AutoCAD is probably still used in many practices, it's primarily due to the same inertia (or budget constraints) that kept architects working on the drawing board. I can't think of a single redeeming feature of the software otherwise. It seems a pity to be learning outdated practices at university.

[Anonymous]

Ralph wrote:

NStocks wrote:
He said that AutoCAD has ' required ' 3DS and a few other programs and just labelled it Autodesk... Not to be a ' Mac fan ' but you can quite simply tell that AutoCAD was made to work on a PC, by the layout of the toolbars etc. I think that he only recommends AutoCAD because at least 90% of the students will have Windows' PC's ( 4 of my group have Mac's and are using Bootcamp, Windows 7 and AutoCAD as well as sketchp, but that's because they are influenced by what the tutor has said, in the lecture to 170 students, that is ) and the University have PC's of which they can run AutoCAD for free and use the latest version each year.

It seems to me that there would be every advantage in moving to ArchiCAD. Consider the facts:

• AutoCAD
  - Works for 90% of your computers (PC only)
  - Free to the university
  - The dinosaur of architectural design software

• ArchiCAD
  - Works for 100% of your computers (Mac and PC)
  - Free to the university
  - Contemporary BIM software

Although AutoCAD is probably still used in many practices, it's primarily due to the same inertia (or budget constraints) that kept architects working on the drawing board. I can't think of a single redeeming feature of the software otherwise. It seems a pity to be learning outdated practices at university.

I know, I though that AutoCAD was too far behind, at least for 3D and I think that because the University can get the next years version ( were running 2010) they think it's an update, well it is, but in reality nothing has changed. My personal Tutor said that AutoCAD is good for 2D but it's not as good for 3D as ArchiCAD is, I tried drawing something in 3D AutoCAD and it required more stages to accomplish it, not to mention the fact that you need to keep changing ' tabs' at the top to get to different tool sets ( similar to Microsoft Office 2007, PC version ). She has/does also use Microstation if you've heard of it, but I couldn't really find a ' solid ' website to download it.

I think it's soley based on budget and because most people will want to use the largest growing piece of software ( apparantley ). AutoCAD also has BIM doesn't it ?

[Ralph Wessel]

NStocks wrote:
I think it's soley based on budget and because most people will want to use the largest growing piece of software ( apparantley ). AutoCAD also has BIM doesn't it ?

ArchiCAD is free to educational users - that sounds pretty good for the budget. I can't really comment on what most people would want to use, but then I'm not really interested either. If you want to be the best, pick the best tool for the job. Graphisoft is an innovative company and ArchiCAD is 100% dedicated to architecture. Autodesk is not a company I associate with innovation, and they spread themselves too thin by trying to be everything to everyone. Although Revit (Autodesk's BIM product) is gaining ground on ArchiCAD, it's still significantly behind IMO. The latest teamwork in ArchiCAD 13 has really propelled ArchiCAD forward too.

[Anonymous]

Ralph wrote:

NStocks wrote:
I think it's soley based on budget and because most people will want to use the largest growing piece of software ( apparantley ). AutoCAD also has BIM doesn't it ?

ArchiCAD is free to educational users - that sounds pretty good for the budget. I can't really comment on what most people would want to use, but then I'm not really interested either. If you want to be the best, pick the best tool for the job. Graphisoft is an innovative company and ArchiCAD is 100% dedicated to architecture. Autodesk is not a company I associate with innovation, and they spread themselves too thin by trying to be everything to everyone. Although Revit (Autodesk's BIM product) is gaining ground on ArchiCAD, it's still significantly behind IMO. The latest teamwork in ArchiCAD 13 has really propelled ArchiCAD forward too.

Do you know if I would be able to upgrade to ArchiCAD 12 ? I'm on a educational licence ? I'm not even going to think about moving over to AutoCAD, I prefer ArchiCAD and would rather spend my time learning about that. If there's something I can't do in ArchiCAD I will use sketchup since I know how to use that now. I really don't understand why were using AutoCAD though, it's causing problems for Mac users ! ( well not me )

[Anonymous]

When I offset the edge by 100mm, how do I do it so that it just makes the profile longer, rather than wider and longer ?

Thank You

[Ralph Wessel]

NStocks wrote:
When I offset the edge by 100mm, how do I do it so that it just makes the profile longer, rather than wider and longer ?

I finished the profile curves at a tangent to a line perpendicular to the end, so when the end is offset it remains the same width (see image). You will need to add an extra vertex for the first offset though, otherwise you'll get an extension of the adjacent curve.

[Anonymous]

Ralph wrote:

NStocks wrote:
When I offset the edge by 100mm, how do I do it so that it just makes the profile longer, rather than wider and longer ?

I finished the profile curves at a tangent to a line perpendicular to the end, so when the end is offset it remains the same width (see image). You will need to add an extra vertex for the first offset though, otherwise you'll get an extension of the adjacent curve.

So should I just add the end pieces ( rounded-edged with the joining hole ) separately by:

Have the centre piece with straight ends set at an offset of 100mm each curve, then add the curved end piece of which are always the same, then add them all together as a fill i.e no individual pieces, then use OBJECTiVE to make them round ?

When I come to cutting sections and adding dimensions, should I just manually add dimensions i.e not use the actual ones that are on the drawing ? The reason I ask it because they will be bigger or smaller than what is actually shown on the model. Although I may need to use the same procedure when creating the model out of materials.