complex profile and vectorial hatching

[lparke]

I have a complex profile that contains the same material but i would like to customize where the coursing starts and stops. I've tried Design>Align 3D Texture but when I make one adjustment the others are incorrect. I assume I need to adjust the fill (and/or vectorial hatch) origin in the profile editor dialogue box but those options are greyed out in the info box. What am I missing?

[NCornia]

lparke,

You will need to use a separate but identical surface/material to be able to align them both using different alignment origins. Just duplicate the current surface in the Options>Element Attributes>Surfaces dialog (AC17 and above). Then in the complex Profile Editor you can then select just the contour where you need the surface and apply it. Then when you use the Align 3D texture command you can use the command for both faces and they can be aligned independently.

[lparke]

Thank you Nick. I understand the material copy part but not the last sentence about selecting them independently. Since it's a complex profile how do i select just this newly made material in the 3D dialogue box to adjust origin of the vectorial hatch? Even though it's a duplicate material origin shifts for entire wall face. I've tried find and select ... element type is wall and building material is 'newly created material' but nothing can be selected.

[NCornia]

Ah, you are right. I was a bit too hasty on that one. If you first convert the wall into a Morph, then you can edit surfaces independently, as I was thinking. For my first suggestion to work you would need to actually edit the texture of the surface to offset it by a given distance. This means you need to edit the texture in a bitmap editor, shift the mortar to the side and resave as a copy. Then this needs to be added to a complimentary surface in ArchiCAD that can be applied to the detail in the complex profile.

Another option that does not require duplicate materials or editing of textures is to cover the elements in question with a planar Morph using the same surface. You can then align the 3D texture on the Morph plane independently of the wall. You will need to offset it slightly above the surface (about 1/64" to 1/8") to avoid the unsightly plane fight that happens with planes occupying the same space. Of course, this should only be done on walls that are in there final position.

[Link]

I thought you may able to get around this by creating the walls with their textures aligned individually and then merge them into a complex profile, but the texture origins for each become unified in the complex profile. Even the fill origins for each can't be relocated.

This really needs to be made into a wish IMHO.

Cheers,
Link.

[Anonymous]

Are there any other methods in complex profiles to have different origin?

We should be able to do this without converting to morph as this is not an appropriate design workflow if you wish to change it.

Link wrote:
I thought you may able to get around this by creating the walls with their textures aligned individually and then merge them into a complex profile, but the texture origins for each become unified in the complex profile. Even the fill origins for each can't be relocated.

This really needs to be made into a wish IMHO.

Cheers,
Link.

[Link]

I still don't see a way around this, while keeping the structure as one complex profile or morph.

Cheers,
Link.

[Anonymous]

Thank you for the comment

Having many different walls for different surface/texture origin points seems ridiculous. If one could apply different textures to the outside finish of a composite that would be great, without making it a morph or different walls based on the skins.

Trying to do brick or tile patterns is a killer. Either I have to model everything separately based on texture and origin with combo of SEO or complex profiles.

Also It would be great if complex profiles could have more options for 3D view such as an outline pen setting and another for pens for the other lines.

If I have a curve in a complex profile it is hard to make it look right in plan and elevation.

Each different Material of the same complex profile should have independent settings from each other so that one can manipulate line pens better.

What do other people do to accomplish complex brick/tile patterns in 3D? Shadow lines different brick patterns?

Link wrote:
I still don't see a way around this, while keeping the structure as one complex profile or morph.

Cheers,
Link.

[Erwin Edel]

I've had to made huge custom vectorial fills to do this.

Basically draft up all the horizontal/vertical lines that you wish to repeat about, break them down in the seperate surfaces and using hotspots and lines make a custom vectorial fill for each surface.

I save this for the very late stages of project though, in early drafts I just use fills that have a grid of multiples of one smallest measure. For example 60 mm for one layer of bricks, becomes 120 mm for a natural stone layers, or 180 mm for wood facades. Not the best when the software is forcing you in one direction, but we are in a business and our billable hours need to be reasonable.

For tiles, you might be able to use the curtain wall tool. It's quite easy to edit using the extract boundary to fill and redefine from fill method to punch out holes for windows/doors.

[Anonymous]

Thank you Erwin for the info. I will have to reconsider how we model and document situation like this until there are more options for vectorial hatches in complex profiles.

All the comments were helpful.

Erwin wrote:
I've had to made huge custom vectorial fills to do this.

Basically draft up all the horizontal/vertical lines that you wish to repeat about, break them down in the seperate surfaces and using hotspots and lines make a custom vectorial fill for each surface.

I save this for the very late stages of project though, in early drafts I just use fills that have a grid of multiples of one smallest measure. For example 60 mm for one layer of bricks, becomes 120 mm for a natural stone layers, or 180 mm for wood facades. Not the best when the software is forcing you in one direction, but we are in a business and our billable hours need to be reasonable.

For tiles, you might be able to use the curtain wall tool. It's quite easy to edit using the extract boundary to fill and redefine from fill method to punch out holes for windows/doors.