[Plugin] Shape Bender Beta

Chris Fullmer · 23 Feb 2010, 17:38

Thanks TIG for stepping in and helping here. I'll throw in my observations here as well.

Shape bender is really slow at breaking down internal components. So if your component you are bending has internal components or groups, it will go LOTS faster if you explode them all first. It can be slow you might think it was broken.

And if you are having problems, please open the ruby console and then run the script and copy and paste all errors into this thread and then we can troubleshoot.

If you have component spray (a different plugin) installed, please make sure it the most recent version. Previous versions had conflicts with progressbar, which in turn broke every script that uses progresbar, including shapebender. You might try removing component spray temporarily to see if that helps.

If you can not select the straight line, you might need to right click on the model axis and choose "Reset Axis", and then try the script again.

Keep reporting back here with specific errors, and exactly where the script breaks down, and we (I mean me and anyone like TIG who is kind enough to help me!) should be able to troublshoot most anything,

Chris

arjunmax09 · 24 Feb 2010, 14:44

i've the most recent one version of component spray and also tried resetting the axis but to no avail i'm attaching the video of what happens when i try to bend a simple cuboid....please ...someone find the solution to this problem

the video where i try to bend the cuboid but to no avail

Chris Fullmer · 24 Feb 2010, 15:47

Hi arjunmax, that looks like a progressbar error. Or rather, it looks like progressbar mgiht not be installed? or else you actually have an old version of component spray.

Could you temporarily remove component spray from your plugins folder and see if that fixes anything? Also try opening the ruby console in the Window > Ruby Console menu, then run the script. Se what kind of errors it outputs. Thanks,

Chris

arjunmax09 · 25 Feb 2010, 05:53

@chris fullmer said:

Hi arjunmax, that looks like a progressbar error. Or rather, it looks like progressbar mgiht not be installed? or else you actually have an old version of component spray.

Could you temporarily remove component spray from your plugins folder and see if that fixes anything? Also try opening the ruby console in the Window > Ruby Console menu, then run the script. Se what kind of errors it outputs. Thanks,

Chris

Thanks Chris for this cool suggestion.... i removed the component spray from the plugins folder... and my Shape Bender is workin' absolutely fine..

Chris Fullmer · 25 Feb 2010, 06:06

That means you just need to search this forum for the most recent component spray, download and install it. The new version (now 6 months old at least) does not cause any conflicts.

Chris

arjunmax09 · 25 Feb 2010, 06:07

@chris fullmer said:

Hi arjunmax, that looks like a progressbar error. Or rather, it looks like progressbar mgiht not be installed? or else you actually have an old version of component spray.

Could you temporarily remove component spray from your plugins folder and see if that fixes anything? Also try opening the ruby console in the Window > Ruby Console menu, then run the script. Se what kind of errors it outputs. Thanks,

Chris

Thanks Chris for this valuable suggestion... the shape bender is finally working!!!! anyway.... now what should i do to compononent spray???

Chris Fullmer · 25 Feb 2010, 06:46

Just go download the newest version of component spray here:

http://forums.sketchucation.com/viewtopic.php?f=323&t=11746

And install it. Shape bender will still work, and component spray will work too. It is a very good script,

Chris

thomthom · 25 Feb 2010, 07:19

Chris, I wonder if there is a way you can detect this old version of CompSpray? And then have a messagebox pop up telling them to upgrade it - avoiding this same question in the future.

Chris Fullmer · 25 Feb 2010, 07:35

Probaly about 10 pages of this thread are directly related to component spray.....that would probably be a good thing to add!

I'll have to track down a bad version of the script though. Anyone who has a bad version want to PM it to me?

Chris

arjunmax09 · 25 Feb 2010, 13:15

@chris fullmer said:

Just go download the newest version of component spray here:

http://forums.sketchucation.com/viewtopic.php?f=323&t=11746

And install it. Shape bender will still work, and component spray will work too. It is a very good script,

Chris

Thanks a lot Chris!!!! can't wait to download the new compo spray!!

arjunmax09 · 26 Feb 2010, 05:11

hey chris... is there a way to increase the segments of the bended object...?? I've attached a video of the object i want to bend...I think if there's no such option...adding one to your plugin will really improve it....

Can I increase the number of segments in bending.zip

Chris Fullmer · 26 Feb 2010, 05:25

It bends in however many segments are in the curve line. So if you want a fine detail in the bend, your curve needs to have finer detail. I made it this way so that the bending always matches up the curve that you are trying to fit to. It is more useful this way for bending a shape to an existing curves - like curving a logo onto a curved existing wall.

So jsut try adding segments to your curve,

Chris

arjunmax09 · 26 Feb 2010, 06:14

oh is see..!!! Thanks Chris..

arjunmax09 · 27 Feb 2010, 12:14

@august said:

Hi arjunmax09,

@arjunmax09 said:

... is there a way to increase the segments of the bended object?...

If that's clear, great. If that's confusing, try thinking of it this way:

It works as if the Shape Bender picks up the object and the guide line at the same time and then bends, stretches, or shrinks the guide line to fit the target curve, bending, stretching, or shrinking the object along with whatever it does to get the guide line to fit onto the target curve. Depending on the shape of the target curve, the size of the bending object, and the distance between the guide line and the bending object, some parts of the object may be compressed while other parts may be stretched. But regardless of stretching or compressing of the object, one segment of the bent guide line is created for each segment of the target curve.

I hope this helps,
August

Thanks a lot Mr. August!! I must say that was a really a complete crash course in "SHAPE BENDING USING SHAPE BENDER - EVERY CONCEPT EXPLAINED Thank you very much!!

Chris Fullmer · 27 Feb 2010, 16:34

Yes Thanks August. I find that this plugin works better the more you understand what it is doing behind the scenes. It becomes easier to get predictable results if you know how the plugin works, and how it tried to process the given shapes.

Chris

August · 27 Feb 2010, 23:19

@chris fullmer said:

Yes, Thanks August.
You're Welcome. Being able to make that kind of difference is a big part of why I got into Technical Writing.

@unknownuser said:

I find that this plugin works better the more you understand what it is doing behind the scenes.
I find that's true for a lot of things, and it's part of my personal philosphy about writing instructions and explanations.

Chris, have you or anyone else done any more of a tutorial on this than your video at the beginning of this thread? This has become one of those plugins that, for me, has become an indespensible part of what makes Sketchup magical and I'm thinking of puting it on my to-do list.

I had just been using Shape Bender the day before "arjunmax09" asked his question, so how I think about how the tool works was very fresh in my mind. I've attached an image of the logo I used Shape Bender on.

August

Chris Fullmer · 27 Feb 2010, 23:38

Yeah, Simon le Bon put together a fairly comprehensive (and very dense) thread about how he has used shape bender. I think I jumped in a little helped hammer out some of the technical intricacies and quirks in the code (of which there are plenty).

The thread I am thinking of is in the tutorial section, and he was making a wine jug? or a woven basekt? boy, now I don't recall exactly. Plus there is probably more info towards the start of this thread too.

A fairly simple, yet accurate and comprehensive tutorial on this plugin would be greatly appreciated. So a HUGE thanks in advance if you ever get around to it.

Chris

arjunmax09 · 28 Feb 2010, 05:17

@chris fullmer said:

Just go download the newest version of component spray here:

http://forums.sketchucation.com/viewtopic.php?f=323&t=11746

And install it. Shape bender will still work, and component spray will work too. It is a very good script,

Chris

I downloaded the latest component spray from the above link... and unzipped its ruby script in my plugins folder... but it still interferes with the ShapeBender Tool. If I remove the compo_spray.rb file from my plugins folder the shape bender works fine. What should I do now??

Chris Fullmer · 28 Feb 2010, 05:48

Hmmm, that is very odd. I have not heard of that before. MAke sure that when you download it and open it, you are not opening an old cached version of the file or something...?

arjunmax09 · 28 Feb 2010, 07:32

no i am not downloading any cached version... internet explorer windows pops up "do you want to save this file??>yes>save in my documents>that's it....