Interior Elevations

[kevin b]

I am trying to find out how the power users out there are doing interior elevations. Over the last few years (and versions of AC) we have tried a variety of methods, none of which seem perfect, and maybe there is no perfect answer yet.

In a perfect world, it would seem to me that you should be able to model something, (to keep it simple lets say a room that has a piece of casework along one wall base cabinet with sink and an open upper cabinet with shelves) apply materials to those objects so the model renders correctly, the lineweights and fills should all appear correctly in plan view (with that view linked/ imported directly to plotmaker), an interior elevation marker of some sort could be placed in the plan view which is linked to a generated elevation, the lineweights in that generated elevation would be correct (ie. edges of casework bolder than lines on face and so on) that elevation view is imported to plotmaker and moving its location in the layout book updates the plan symbols. You should also be able to place a section or detail marker on that elevation, wich generates a section detail through the cabinets, again with all the lineweights being correct, imported into plotmaker, with symbols linked, etc etc.

Maybe I am doing something wrong, maybe I was taught the wrong way and am missing something in newest version, maybe it just can't be done yet, but I can't get all of these things to happen at once without faking it. Some markers aren't linked and have to be tracked and updated manually, and/or lineweights of elevations are all the same, either have to trace over lines, redraw manually, place interior elevation generated lines in another window and change weights, etc., independent details are used but are linked to markers, etc etc etc.

I'd like to hear how everyone else is doing it, the results they get, pros and cons, etc.

Thanks in advance.

[Anonymous]

Interesting topic. Here is what I do to get my lineweights the way I want in Plotmaker to print correctly. (I was told this is a truly stupid way to setup my plan and PMK files, but for around two hours of work I have great control over how my plans print, and once done, it is reused for each subsequent project.)

AC has the ability to use 255 pens, and I have assigned most of the 255 pens in my template to either a layer, 2D line type or material. To keep track of each pen setting, I exported from AC all the layers I use, each layer combination, and each material to an excel spreadhsheet. I then assign each of the above a different pen number, and pen weight.(15 minutes)

In the plan file, cabinets, plumbing, shelving, interior walls, interior bearing walls, exterior walls, exterior patio walls, brick, stucco, etc, etc, all have different pens assigned. For materials, I actually only assign pens from the spreadsheet to the materials I use. If I use a new material I assign the pen setting at that time.(max 1 hour)

In Plotmaker, I can control the lineweighs by using a PMK pen settings file for each type of plan, such as framing, floor, foundation, etc.(1 hour)

For example, for an interior bearing wall, I might assign pen 21. In my framing plan PMK pen settings file, pen 21 is assigned a very heavy pen weight so the interior bearing wall prints dark. But, in my floor plan PMK pen settings line weight, pen 21 is set to the same lineweight as used for a regular interior wall. Same pen number, but different printing affect.

Since I am usually only using a dozen or so different pens in each plan, it took me a couple of hours to setup the excel file, the project template, and each of my PMK pen settings files.

The key is to make use of as many of the 255 pens allowed and then using a PMK pen settings file to make each plan lineweight really stand out.

Grant

[Anonymous]

I like the idea, if it can save me hours of adding extra 2D lines later for each print etc. Will explore this

[Djordje]

NOELDESIGNS wrote:
Interesting topic. Here is what I do to get my lineweights the way I want in Plotmaker to print correctly. (I was told this is a truly stupid way to setup my plan and PMK files, but for around two hours of work I have great control over how my plans print, and once done, it is reused for each subsequent project.)

It is so "stupid" I am going to copy it into the Tips&Tricks section now.

[Ben Cohen]

Matthew wrote:
In AC9 we can now drag the marker around (when set to "elevation"), so I drag the interior markers to fit together or wherever is needed for the particular room or project.
.

COOL Thanks Mathew, I didnt realize this one. Now I can make a elevation marker that is one portion of a standard interior marker then combine 4 together to create one "linked" elevation marker

Cheers

Ben

[Ben Cohen]

There you go. I tried this in 8.1 but because the marker could not be moved it was very cumbersome, this is sweet. Note I have separated a couple of the markers to show how they fit together. The pink lines are the actual section cut. I love it . I gotta say, 9 is just full of these hidden jems

Cheers

Ben

[Anonymous]

Are people involved in this discussion creating their own markers or are there markers that ship with archicad that allow the desired result. The only marker I could find will auto tag a drawing and sheet number in the middle of the marker, but is numbered with drawing numbers that need to be changed manually around the exterior.

[Erika Epstein]

Ben,
I know one can drag the marker heads around, but I cannot figure out how you split that marker into 4 pieces!
Care to share?
thanks,

[Ben Cohen]

I had to create one (actually hack an existing one). Very little GDL needed just a bit of cut and paste. Message me with your email and I will send it to you

Ben

[Anonymous]

Anyone know how to make the 'elevation' marker for doing interior elevations smaller? No matter what scale I set, or pt size I set the marker to, it remains the same. We are using PM autotext references.

All other section/elevation markers are scaleable - the text in 'elevation' - the marker that looks like an interior elevation marker has scaleable text, and a button to set marker size, but we can get marker size to change in mac or pc platforms - any ideas?

I have the same issue. Seems to me there is a quality control problem in the GDL department of Graphisoft. There are many other library parts that they almost get right, almost usable even

[Anonymous]

This is the one I use most...