[POLL] - Dynamic Components do you use them or not..?
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I have had a similar experience to what is being posted. DC potential seemed big at one time (and I still think the potential is there) but they don't really fit into the "3D for Everyone" motto.
IMHO, here are the big issues with DCs:
- They are good for many different specific things.
- They need to be thoughtfully "authored" for those different specific things.
- They need to communicate that they are for that specific thing.
- They need to be easy to find and implement from the user end.
For example, take a solar panel. A DC solar panel could be built so a user can cycle through different models. Maybe the DC even shows various inverter and grounding wire placements.
A solar panel can also be authored to track the sun (but sadly not truely dynamically, needs be right-click-redrawn after the sun is adjusted).
A solar panel can also be built to glue to a surface and replicate/position when scaled.
An argument could be made that a good solar DC should include all of those points, but detail and replication do not gel. They need to be authored differently.
Additionally, for the sake of argument, say all solar panel DCs on the 3DWH fall into one of those categories, the user pretty much has to download each one and play with it to figure out what it does, and that even assumes that the DCs were correctly authored in the first place, which is extremely rare.
The short of it is that trying to find any component on the warehouse, not just DCs, is akin to finding a clean needle in a stack of dirty hypodermic needles.
If DCs are going to have any success, there needs to be a few things: Skilled component authors, a better find-and-download method, and finally a "dynamic" purpose which is appealing and broad enough to the user that the skilled component author has a reason to make the DC in the first place.
Right now the 3DWH is filled with green-badged DCs that are half or incorrectly built, have an unclear "dynamic" purpose, and generally are a buzzkill for anyone trying to find and use dynamic components in the first place.
Anyhow, this is going from observation to rant so I will end it at that.
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DCs seem useful to me but i am not willing to go through the process of learning how to make them. having said that i have not felt any need to use them so far.
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Thanks guys, that's reassuring. I thought I was the only user out there that never could see that "patience IN = timing saving OUT"
And like Pete said, DC's were the big feature of SU7 when maybe performance should have had a higher ranking...
I hope someone from Google reads this thread, It couldn't be a more precise snapshot of a pro user's opinion....Thanks also Remus, for setting up the poll proper.
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Andrew,
Yes, I use them.
For certain tasks eg modelling staircases - I've found them invaluable and I wouldn't use anything else now.
As pointed out earlier in this thread - DCs are very task specific.
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I have been involved in a project that involves designing and altering industrial staircases.
After a web trawl I couldn't find anything suitable and so I forced myself to learn how to write DCs from scratch.
I could see that it would be really useful for the project I was on.
..........
I designed The Staircase Builder and posted it here:
http://forums.sketchucation.com/viewtopic.php?f=289&t=18545
I hope others find it useful too.I've also written a couple of DCs for Scaffolding (Temporary Works) Design
(Not Publicly Released).
...........
I think DCs can be really useful - but they are much under used at present- posssibly because they can't be designed in the free version of SU.
Google should change that !!!
*** I think putting the Dynamic Component Discussion Forum higher up the Sketchucation Tree might help - currently buried under Sketchup Discussions ***
Its not got a very high profile / visibility at present.
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Its not too difficult to design DCs either.
So if you think you can see a task where they'd be useful I'd just go for it and have a go designing one.
They can be a huge time saver.
..........
Regards
Howard L' - posssibly because they can't be designed in the free version of SU.
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Bingo!!! I think we have established our resident 'DC Einstein'.... I'll be sure to have a look at your stair, Howard.
Thinking about DC's in the general architectural discipline, I think it we could just get components to cut 2 plane properly then I would definitely use DC's in windows and doors. Also, fences, stairs, cabinetry too I guess....
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Why would you need fences and cabinetry cutting two faces?
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@gaieus said:
Why would you need fences and cabinetry cutting two faces?
I was thinking about windows and doors generally, Gaieus. Although it would be nice to be able to inset a sink into a benchtop with no need for editing....
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I would probably use dynamic components more often if I could figure out how, but finding time to use SU as it is already is difficult.
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David,
Have used SU since V2 and have always looked forward to the upgrades and went to V7. Dont bother. THe DC issue has already been covered here. I design commercial kitchen for a living and could see some instances where having a DC would be useful (std benches etc) however the time l wasted learning to use/create DC's I just cant justify.Dont bother upgrading to V7. I find the crossed line cutting more annoying than anything and am about to investigate if there is a way to turn it off.
More importantly reliability for me has gone out the window. SU crashes are regular and after modeling for about a half an hour or so doing some simple operation will freeze my entire operating system as much as I try I cannot find a solution, and it only happens using SU. Gone are the days of Bugsplat so I feel my plight is going to go unnoticed . I am off to try and reload V6.
Chris L
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For the Luddite that I am. .. not having yet upgraded to SU 7. . .what besides Dynamic Comps am I missing? It seems to me that the only big improvement was the fix that ALL Crosed lines would cut and create faces. (BTW. . isn't there a plugin for SU 6 that does this?)
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that's seems to be the General consensus and that is why I just haven't bothered with the upgrade. I would like Cross lines to work better than they do. That's where you and I differ. I find it irritating that when A face should be cut to PushPull and it doesn't but that's another story. Anyway, thanks for the insight.
D
p.s.. . .I am a fellow SU 2 user as well. I felt the best upgrade was Version 5. I didn't feel V6 was anything to write my mother about but in some ways it has been okay. I've stuck with it.. . .but 7 . ..
I just don't know.
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I like 7 pretty good. I have not experienced more splats with it than any other version - which is to say that I rarely get any splats, and 7 has been no different.
As for DC's I decided to learn them, and I did. It was a frustrating weekend, but that was all it took.
But I quickly decided I wanted more than what DC's offered, which is what lead me to learn Ruby recently.
So I like DC's ok, but I don't find much use for them personally. But that could change possibly. I LOVE the line crossing breaking edges feature. That has been a huge success by my book.
So I voted that I do not use DC's, although I do know how to use them...
Chris
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So Chris. .. my friend. . .could you write me a simple little ruby that would do the lines cross thing for my V6 and make my life much less frustrating??? Please oh please oh please????
if it is simple and easy. .. that is..
Muchos Gracias
Merci
Danke Schoen
etc
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@christopher love said:
David,
Have used SU since V2 and have always looked forward to the upgrades and went to V7. Dont bother. THe DC issue has already been covered here. I design commercial kitchen for a living and could see some instances where having a DC would be useful (std benches etc) however the time l wasted learning to use/create DC's I just cant justify.Dont bother upgrading to V7. I find the crossed line cutting more annoying than anything and am about to investigate if there is a way to turn it off.
More importantly reliability for me has gone out the window. SU crashes are regular and after modeling for about a half an hour or so doing some simple operation will freeze my entire operating system as much as I try I cannot find a solution, and it only happens using SU. Gone are the days of Bugsplat so I feel my plight is going to go unnoticed . I am off to try and reload V6.
Chris L
Good to see you here, Chris!!! I remember conversing quite a while ago when you sent me some of your commercial models...
I started with V3 and agree with you David, V5 was the best upgrade!!!
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@unknownuser said:
I would far rather have the ability to 'morph' from one shape to another, rather like lofting which I know from Turbocad. It would be neat to be able to have the morph over a selected number of steps however, as it is my opinion I am open to suggestions on alternative methods from you guys.
Here is one version:
http://forums.sketchucation.com/viewtopic.php?f=180&t=21134and TIG is working on another that is more of a sweep to rails that should be released this upcoming month. I've also written a loft tool, that is in need of improvement, but is a good start. Always keep an eye on the ruby forum
Chris
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Hi,
YES I use Dynamic Components and like this BIG improvement of SketchUp. I develop more than 200 DC and continue to work on more advanced project. I hope Google will improve them on next version SketchUp 8.
I tried to create a website ( http://www.up-automat.com ) to sell quality DC but people are not interested, so I decide to keep them for my work (and saving a lot of time...).
Best,
Christophe -
Hi Christophe,
Glad to see someone being enthusiastic with DC's. We (including me) seem a bit pessimistic about them here in the posts (I have my reason; if I make a component, it's very likely that I won't ever use it again so why bother to make it more complex?) but I was sure that there are people who use them regularly and find them useful.
As for your website; I think it's not very informative about you trying to sell them and even about the vast amount of DC's you have made (and could be available) so far.
I mean some more "aggressive marketing" on that website might let (and maybe even make) people be interested and buy those DC's -
Hi,
I am enthusiastic too. I think it can be a great design tool, but I think it is important to change our workflow to use it.It is hard to understand, time consuming and can become complexe quickly, but can be very rewarding and effective when working.
To the guy designing kitchens: Think it twice! This is exactly the kind work that benefits the most from DCs. Not only it will be way quicker to draw, add a couple onclick stuff and your clients will love it when they come to your office.
I am still learning all this, but all the new possibilities that are now available make me enthusiastic.
Jerome
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I created and use DC's all the time. They are incredible time savers for repetitive tasks and common components. I use them primarily for residential construction detail drawings where components get reused constantly. Simple DC's can be built with very little investment of time. For instance, I have "smart lumber" components where I can quickly insert the needed lumber dimensions (2x4's 2x10's, etc. and length) The component takes care of setting the proper true size of the component so I don't need to remember the conversions from nominal to actual. (2x4 to 1.5"x3.5" etc.) The options are set up as picklists which are far faster to set than browsing through a large component library looking for the right size item. Another good use is to dynamically change the dimensions of joist hangers, etc. depending on the lumber.
More sophisticated components would allow building fully framed walls with options for spacing, openings, etc. but these require more thinking and investment of time. Constructing custom roof joists are another perfect example and there is an example of this on the 3D Warehouse.
DC's do suffer from one MAJOR limitation though. (which I hope the SketchUp guys will address in
Currently, there are no DC values for rotating or scaling textures. If your DC changes the dimensions of an object, the texture is scaled, much like using the scale tool. But in the case of lumber textures for instance, you want the texture to remain unscaled when dimensions change. (like how the push-pull tool changes dimensions) Until this limitation is fixed, it's better to apply textures to a DC AFTER it has been dimensioned.If SketchUp fixes this one major limitation, DC's will become even more powerful and helpful.
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