Bonzai3D - double take
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@thomthom said:
You can create the same in SU for most of it, true. But Bonzai is a NURBS modeller, a different animal. It can deal with solids and geometry is more parametric than SU.
Thanks Thomthom,
So in other words for my application as 99.999% commercial architecture/landscape architecture, SU is still it. I will admit, I really like their demo of contours and terrains tho..
Rick
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SU is fine.
But Bonzai is fine as well for that. Let you cut into solid walls. And the walls have parametric width and height.
I did try out the terrain tool, very nice in that it let you choose between smooth and stepped, but it requires all contours to be connected. Any small caps, as there often is in the data one get, will prevent it from generating terrain. While SU's sandbox tool accepts any amount of garbage.
The cleaner the contours the better the terrain of course, but at least SU let you get at a starting point, while Bonzai just flat out refuses to play game. To me that was disappointing because I can't can't go through all the contours to ensure they are connected to generate a terrain. The data is just too big for that, and one have no idea where the smallest gap might hide. -
thom did you try the object doctor? i'd be curious to know if that would work.
bonzai should have better dialogs and trouble shooting when it fails at certain operations or the object doctor should run automatically.
still waiting for the update
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No - I have not tried the Doctor.
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it would be nice to know. if you have a minute maybe you could try and see? or send me a file so i could try it.
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I'm not sure if I have any dwg counter data files at home. Might have to try it out at the office tomorrow...
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We are pleased to announce that the bonzai3d 2.1 update has now been released. To update a registered version of bonzai3d (v. 2.0), simply select Check for Updates from the bonzai3d Help Menu and follow the prompts.
We have also released the 2.1 Trial version of bonzai3d, which can be downloaded from the usual Trial Download page, or by filling out this form:
The complete description of what is new in bonzai3d 2.1 can be found in this PDF, which is also downloaded automatically to your bonzai3d folder when you run the automatic update.
What’s new in bonzai3d v2.1:
Dimension unit display: Dimension styles have been enhanced with a new option : Include Units.
NURBS by Lofting tool: New options have been added to the N-Loft tool.
Match View tool: A new option, Angle Only has been added to increase the flexibility of the view matching process.
Snap to ghosted objects: A new Snap To Ghosted option has been added to the Object Snaps Options palette.
SketchUp 7.0 import: The sketchup importer can now import files created with SkecthUp 7.
On Windows, this new SKP importer will require an additional library from Microsoft. Please download this specific version of Microsoft’s vcredist_x86.exe from near the bottom of This Page:
Bug corrections:
There are over 50 bug corrections in this version. Here are a few highlights:
• Stability of operations on smooth object has been improved.
• Area pick of parts is now much faster.
• Large JPEG images are now correctly displayed.
• Triangulate export option is now available for Facetted and Parametric exports..
• Closing and Saving a project is now enabled when Isolate Object is active (projects are saved without the objects isolated).
• 3Dconnexion devices now respect changes to axes set in the System Preferences on Macintosh.
• Space bar on Windows no longer creates two spaces when editing names in attributes dialog for layers, views, lights, scenes, reference & clipping planes.
• The Angle field of the input palette that is displayed with the line drawing tool now accepts typed input correctly.
• Background images no longer display upside down in certain cases.
• Text objects are now exported to DWG at their proper size.
• Export to DWG no longer triangulates all faces.
• DWG export now correctly exports view spin parameter.
• Changing the view now activates the Save and Save As... items in the File menu.
• Switching to another tool after right clicking in an active result buffer no longer causes a hang.
• The Piranesi export now works correctly.
• The degree symbol now displays correctly.
• Deleting control points on splines now works properly.
• and many more.....Let us know what you think! 
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Hey - that looks like a nice update. Sorts out some of my issues, I can tell by just a glance.
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how does one determine if one need that MS patch?
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Thomas,
Real contours never end, and as such, we require the contours to at least end outside of the boundary of the site. (It could be possible to make an inaccurate terrain by guessing what the contours should be, but quality geometry and accuracy are very important to us, so we require proper contours to get the best results.)
Finding end points that are inside the site boundary can be pretty easy if you turn on the Show First Point option from the Interactive Tab of the Wireframe Display Options. Any endpoint that is inside the site boundary (and not part of a closed line) then needs to be joined to another line, or moved outside the site boundary.
This is pretty easy (even with complex contours) once you know the trick, but if you have any questions or problems with a specific file, feel free to ZIP and email it to support@bonzai3d.com so we can take a look at it and give you some help.
Regarding the Microsoft vcredist, if you have the latest version of SketchUp, then you should already have it (but you should install it again if SKP fails in general).
ps. Yes, Thomas, a couple of these bugs were thanks to your reports. (Thanks again!
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@bonzai3d support said:
This is pretty easy (even with complex contours) once you know the trick, but if you have any questions or problems with a specific file, feel free to ZIP and email it to support@bonzai3d.com so we can take a look at it and give you some help.
I can see if I can dig out. I make terrains from DWG data, they they always have lots of caps here and there. It would take ages to stitch it up manually. You might see the scale better if I send a sample.
@bonzai3d support said:
Real contours never end, and as such, we require the contours to at least end outside of the boundary of the site. (It could be possible to make an inaccurate terrain by guessing what the contours should be, but quality geometry and accuracy are very important to us, so we require proper contours to get the best results.)
Sure, accuracy is good. But for the type of jobs I work with, I never have such ideal data. This is where I miss a tool that can interpolate most of it. Usually it's good enough.
The most common type of gaps are microscopic gaps you can hardly see, and some are chunks where lines are removed. For instance, a map where you usually got contour every 1 meter, in steep areas, the surveyor data is often showing only each 5 meters suddenly.To me the terrain tools look to work best when you create the contours yourself manually. But not so well when used to visualize actual data.
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Thomas,
If the breaks are microscopic, you can just use the Join tool to automatically join open lines within whatever tolerance you like. (Just set the Tolerance greater than the microscopic gap -- but smaller than the distance between segments that you don't want to join...)
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@bonzai3d support said:
Real contours never end ....
umm, if you have a hill or a ditch they do.
I might have to try the software out especially on my AutoCAD contours. In AutoCAD (well, actually Civil 3D) the contours are all perfect; i.e. no breaks. When I import them into SU, they are fragmented and have holes. Some rubies help somewhat, but my experience is that I'd rather have all my teeth removed with pliers and without Novocaine.
Rick
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is anyone else having a nightmare with 2.1? i upgraded (use term loosely) and the first thing i tried; terrain in light of recent discussion; froze my whole system, i couldn't even bring up the task manager or start menu... then i got these popping up
never seen this in my life. WTF? a run command. 
maybe i should wait for ver 3?
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Rick,
In the case of a hill or a pond, the contours will be closed, so their last point is the same as the first point. Contours always connect back to themselves somewhere...
Xrok,
The Insufficient memory message probably appears because you are trying to generate a Meshed Terrain using a very small mesh size relative to the size of the terrain site boundary. Measure the longest length of the site, divide this by ~20, and use this distance as a starting point for your mesh spacing for the terrain model.
Once you generate this properly, you can then determine the desired mesh spacing (perhaps 1/50th or 1/100th of your site length).
Regarding the Run command, this is Microsoft's Security Policy manager, and it is coming up because of your security policy settings on your computer. True, bonzai3d will try to connect to the internet to access tutorial video files, or download files from Google's Warehouse, so perhaps you have set up some security measures to bring up this run command in that event? (No one else has reported this, and we are not seeing this on any of our computers, so we are not sure what settings that you may have employed that are causing this to appear -- but this is because of your settings and not because of the update -- other than the fact that bonzai3d 2.1 is a "different program" than version 2.0.)
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This may be of interest?
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just received an email:
Bonzai 3D v2.2 is out
also, a free webinar this thursday (sept30,10)
https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/732623209@unknownuser said:
You are personally invited to attend this free webinar by Markus Bonn, who will create an architectural building using bonzai3d as a conceptual design tool, highlighting the fluid workflow and 3d sketching capabilities of the program.
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doesn't say anything about working better, just trying to do things SU does already?????????
maybe they could prioritize function over feature. Personally, i'll check back in a couple versions. -
They're not quite in your Weight-class yet Rocky!
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@xrok1 said:
doesn't say anything about working better, just trying to do things SU does already?????????
maybe they could prioritize function over feature. Personally, i'll check back in a couple versions.you might be right about a couple of more versions... supposedly, they're going hard at the flagship so i'm sure it will trickle down the pipeline.. (thinking some of the things needing worked on in bonzai are also needed in form-z.. if i were them, i'd do form-z first too)
[/speculation]@unknownuser said:
You will also be pleased to know that work on form.Z 7.0 is at full
speed and making noticeable strides. More to come on this in the near
future.
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