Making a kitchen cabinet a dynamic component....questions.
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this would indicate that it is possible.
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Awesome....getting excited now. It doesn't really take much tho
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thats weird every post you make says 297????? maybe smack the side of your computer, must be stuck.
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That wouldn't surprise me. It's froze on me three times tonight!
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ooh! says 300 now. OK, everyone you can pay attention to click draw now.
Open the secret members area -
Jeff,
I'll try and answer some of your questions for you (see below).
I'm definitely no expert on DC's - I've just picked them up along the way, and its all self taught.
We are all in the same boat learning as we go along.
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The work you are involved in (kitchen units / kitchen design) would lend itself very nicely to DCs.
DC's take a bit of setting up initially - but you'll get faster creating them and in the long run they save you time.
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I've not seen any Video Tutorials but try and look at Aidan Chopra's Channel on YouTube - he might have done some on DC's:
http://www.youtube.com/user/aidanchopra#p/a
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Another place to start is the SketchUp 7 Manual - download the PDF from the official Google SketchUp website.
From memory, there's a chapter or two on DC's which is quite helpful with examples you can work through.Downloading and looking at DCs created by others - I also find this very useful - we can learn a lot from each other - there are some very clever people here at Sketchucation !!! There are some very skilled people out there.
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Your Original Questions- can I set certain parts of a component visible or invisible by choice off a list.
Yes, you can Hide / Unhide Geometry in a DC (See a DC I've created - Staircase Builder, you can Hide / Unhide Risers).- can I have a few different sub_components that are in the same position as the other sub-components and have the option to show only one by choice on a list.
Yes, you could possibly use IF statements here to help, or use Hide / Unhide as above, or simply just turn layers on or off.- can I populate a model with multiples of the same component and have different options chosen for each one?
Yes, DC's behave slightly differently to regular Components. eg You place one DC - such as a Kitchen Wall Cabinet - Set variables in a dialog box (Width, Height etc). Copy Component, set new variables for second Cabinet - Original Cabinet remains unchanged - no need to "Make Unique" (Unlike regular Components).
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Checkout Google Warehouse plus DCs on this site - I think there are some DC kitchen cabinets etc available.
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I've also created a Door Builder DC posted in here somewhere.
This will show you how to create opening and closing doors - might look good on your units !!!
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Good Luck
RegardsHoward L'
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Morning Howard,
Thanks very much for your reply and many suggestions. Yes there are quite a few people on here that have so much talent that I guess I get lazy sometimes and prefer to just ask and maybe save time and get a quick answer before I invest a lot of time looking myself. Now that I know that my questions on DC's are possible, I'll check out you ideas. I also know that people get busy and have lives and can not reply right away or the person that has the magic answer may not be online for a bit. So I apologize for the lack of patience I may have at times. I've been using Sketchup for about 5 yrs or so but I must say that I have learned so much more on this forum in the last year because of everyones help. For this, I thank everyone!
Cheers,
Jeff
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Jeff,
See these links, quite useful also:http://sketchup.google.com/support/bin/answer.py?hl=en&answer=115544
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RegardsHoward L'
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Thanks again Howard,
I found the first link but the second is one I didn't find on the site. It will be quite useful once I become a DC Guru
. Thanks very much!Cheers,
Jeff
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Jeff,
Sorry I didn't see your question earlier. I did some work on some DC cabinets a few of months ago. I wanted a cabinet whose door could be set for either a right-hand or left-hand door swing. The method I worked out was to create two doors, only one of which would be visible. There's a "Door Swing Direction" parameter which can be set for either a right or left swing. Making a selection unhides the approprate door and hides the other. Each door's rotation parameters adjust for their individual rotation axis. Perhaps not the most elegant solution, but it seems to work fairly well.
Each door's rotation formula actually contains both a rotation AND a translation component - so that it works the way modern, higher quality hinges work.
The DC also lets you adjust it's width, as well as extend the drawer.
Good luck,
Frank
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