RCPs, Ceilings

[Anonymous]

This may sound goofy, but what's the best way to do an RCP in AC?

I've got an RCP layer combo set up by my instructor from last semester, so I'm sure that will help - but what's the best way to show symbols for light fixtures that one can actually see and that are somewhat standardized, rather than just the actual light objects, which I find are generally about the size of pinpoints? Should I just make a separate layer for the 2D symbols (I know there are a few built in), and then turn off the actual light sources in the layer combo?

Or is there some way to make the actual light objects just show up as symbols - and only in the RCP? I obviously don't want them disappearing in 3D views, sections, or elevations, and I like being able to see them in plan view as well, at least while I'm working on the model.

And along with this, what's the best way to get things like ceiling grids and dropped ceilings a) into the model in the first place and b) to display on the RCP? I've generally just been using the underside of the slab above for my ceilings so far (and relying on the material and the fill pattern), but this is obviously limiting, to say the least, and doesn't exactly produce usable results for an RCP that I've been able to figure out yet.

Also, for P&S, do any of you actually model things like light switches and outlets? And if so (I've not tried it yet), I suppose the next question would be if there's a way to make them show up as just symbols in an RCP as well.

Wendy

[Anonymous]

See it.

http://www.aecbytes.com/tipsandtricks/2006/issue7-archicad.html

[Anonymous]

That's a huge help, thanks.

So would you then not place a single slab for the entire story above? Or how would you go about putting different finishes on different parts of the ceiling, say, in different rooms? Or if you just wanted a ceiling with different finishes in one space, say some kind of pattern?

The lighting question is still my main one at the moment, so any help with that would be appreciated.

Wendy

[Anonymous]

There are several possibilities to position and change the grid or module-direction.
The easiest way is with vector-direction tool.
Or you can change also in 3d with 3D texture §"$"%§ in menu plan.

[Erika Epstein]

Wendy wrote:

So would you then not place a single slab for the entire story above?
Wendy

I model the different types of ceilings with different slabs. This way each slab can be modeled with its correct thickness, cover and section fills and structural backing as appropriate. Sections will then appear more accurately.

Wendy wrote:


Should I just make a separate layer for the 2D symbols (I know there are a few built in), and then turn off the actual light sources in the layer combo?
Wendy

I find this works well. For fixtures you use often you could also develop a set of 3D lights whose 2D symbol is the graphic symbol you want.

[SeaGeoff]

Erika wrote:
I model the different types of ceilings with different slabs. This way each slab can be modeled with its correct thickness, cover and section fills and structural backing as appropriate. Sections will then appear more accurately.

I would extend this to finished flooring as well. Then the structural floor system can be easily subtracted from the exterior walls (w/ SEO) to get a proper junction while the interior walls can be set on the subfloor without the need for SEOs. It requires more steps and demands more maintenance but yields superior results.

Here's an instance where I would like some of Revit's lock features so I could connect the finished slabs to the bounding walls. I still think I would prefer to model separate finished slabs, for the reasons Erika list above, as opposed to trying to devise a composite system flexible enough to handle varying finish thicknesses and junction conditions. In the long run I'd like to see composites "built" from simulated real-world materials (framing, plywood, GWB, etc) to create assemblies who's sub-elements could be linked as appropriate. In this example the finish floor and ceiling slabs would be fastened to the structural slab such that the whole assembly could be moved up or down (z axis) as a single unit while their edges could be linked to individual walls, or better yet enhanced zones, so that entire spaces (rooms) could be manipulated as easily as editing a polyline.

Sorry, thinking out loud (dreaming) again. We still have a long way to go.

[Anonymous]

To make RCP completly in 3D is very very dangerous and many work (enough nonsense).
Without lighting fixtures and air ducts and so on....

[Anonymous]

Archi wrote:
3D texture §"$"%§ in menu plan.

Uh, could you translate this into English, or at least Roman alpha characters of some sort, please <g>? This looks like you're swearing at me ;->

Thanks.

Wendy

[Anonymous]

Erika wrote:

Wendy wrote:

I model the different types of ceilings with different slabs. This way each slab can be modeled with its correct thickness, cover and section fills and structural backing as appropriate. Sections will then appear more accurately.

So you do use separate slabs for each ceiling from the floor slab above, if I'm understanding you correctly?

Erika wrote:
I find this works well. For fixtures you use often you could also develop a set of 3D lights whose 2D symbol is the graphic symbol you want.

That's a great idea!

I'd have to do this in the GDL script, wouldn't I?

For that matter, why don't all fixtures just have the graphic symbols as their 2D symbols to start with? That would make a whole lot more sense.

Wendy

[Anonymous]

Archi wrote:
There are several possibilities to position and change the grid or module-direction.
The easiest way is with vector-direction tool.

I presume you mean the fill handle? If so, I've gotten reasonably familiar with that (finally!).

But what do y'all do when you've got multiple finishes on one surface? Like marble in one room and wood in another? Or one material inset into another? Or even the same material, but oriented differently?

I just did a bathroom floor with 12" Botticino marble tile laid on the diagonal, surrounded by a 3" border of it laid straight. I had to do it with multiple slabs and fills on top of the base floor slab, cutting a hole in one and then filling it with another, plus fooling with separate fills to make the lines show up. The whole thing was the world's biggest pain in the neck, especially when I changed walls. I then had to manually adjust multiple things on the floor - multiple slabs, and multiple fills, in order to be able to adjust the fill patterns to line the border up with the shower curb, and to line that up with the wall tile. And then the tile pattern *still* doesn't show up in my renderings!

I also had to do something similar with the shower curb and walls - but there, the additional wall elements I put in for the tile kept completely disappearing for some unknown reason.

I know this more accurately shows the actual construction, but good lord, it's a pain in the behind while you're still trying to design the thing and messing with dimensions and wall positions and the like!

This space is only about 11'x5', too; I can't imagine what it would be like to have to go through this whole kind of process every time I need a pattern in my floor or other surfaces - and I like doing them.

I gave up on my next project and skipped the extra slabs, just putting fills, because I just didn't have the time to mess with multiple objects. I didn't have the time with the bathroom floor, either, but that one's actually getting installed (and in my own house, too <g>), unlike the school projects, which are much more conceptual in nature, so it simply *had* to be right, and show the tile pattern accurately.

I learned a lot from this process, but surely there's an easier way? I want to be able to do the same kinds of things on ceilings as I do on walls and floors. Not that I've figured out how to do this sort of thing on walls, either <sigh>.

Wendy