[Plugin][$] Curviloft 2.0a - 31 Mar 24 (Loft & Skinning)

fredo6

@jgb said:

Also, I did not use the built-in selection of curves by number. I found it a bit confusing (No, I did not read your very excellent doc fully, yet), I always try things intuitively, before resorting to reading.

No shame! I did not write a documentation (This is why the plugin is still in Beta)
The best way is to have a look at the video and explore.

Fredo

jgb

OK, finally got time to show you what happened.

If you open the model, you will see 3 sets of curves. The 2 sets on the right are copies of the first set on the left. Make visible the layers, 1 at a time as I explain what I did and what happened.

Twisted Curve Demo

Layer 1. The main curves of the duct. The intake ellipse transitions up over a wing spar then down to the circular engine intake. It is not to scale.
Layer 2. The duct curve to follow. In 2 parts, forward and aft. The aft curve formed OK when it was separated from the forward part, so I left them as separate pieces.
Layer 2.1 The 4 curves I selected to form the duct. I did not define which was the path, just clicked on "Create loft junction following a given path". Like I said, I am amazed Curviloft could discern the path.
Layer 3. These are the lines I wanted the duct top and bottom to follow. They were never selected for Curviloft and are an approximate shape only. I used them to create the intermediate curve to eliminate the flat underside seen in...
Layer 4. The resultant first workable duct. The transition was way too flat. The duct needs to have a near constant cross section area throughout.
Layer 5. Moving to the middle set, I created a 1/2 D section by making an arc, then exploding it so to adjust the shape by eye. Then I copied the lines, moved them left and flipped them. Next I moved the copy right to meet with the original set. I've done this hundreds of times before.
Layer 6. Selecting the 4 main curves and the new transition curve, produced this twisted duct.
You will see that the lines seem to go from the right side of the ellipse to both the left and right sides of the transition, then back to the right of the over spar curve.
Layer 7. When I welded the transition curve into a true curve....
Layer 8. The duct formed correctly.
Layer 9. The aft duct formed OK.

Note a few things. When creating this demo, I had difficulty reproducing the twisted duct. The version you see here and may not be able to recreate, was from the original trials on the left set.

Also, a correct duct may not be reproducible. I had trouble reproducing it from the copied set of curves.

So that's it for now.

mac1

See if this is close to what you want. I left portion for your exercise
I put all your primitive geo back to layer 0, created faces for each of the profiles, intersected the center line ref with each of those and used Freedo's tool loft junctions. It looks like you need some more profiles aft
http://sketchup.google.com/3dwarehouse/details?mid=7da88c5f8c6cdc29427d16763a0ff49

jgb

Thanks guys, and for the PM "solutions" as well. I will look at them later this week, as I have no time just now.

Actually I'm not looking for a solution. I have it in the rightmost copy, and it is good enough for my learning purposes. I will not use that particular duct in any model, as it was not to scale, nor to fit the actual airplane at this time. The "real" one will be shorter and the curves a bit more involved to avoid aircraft structure. It is simply a learning exercise for Curviloft using a shape I had difficulty creating using a mesh and tweaking it.

The essence of my post was that it seems Curviloft tried to follow the original DIRECTION of the flipped copy of a curve in segments causing a twist in the surface, and was for Fredo to analyze. Once I welded the flipped curve segments, my duct formed correctly.

rock1

wow,what a plugin fredo!

I should have joined this forum earlier. I never knew about it. What a cool collection of plugins is present here!!

Rich O Brien

Hi Fredo,

Can you look at this file?

CurviLoft_Helix.skp

Using 'Skinning of Shapes' but slight errors appear?

jeff hammond

@unknownuser said:

[attachment=2:o25qv8mt]CurviLoft_Helix.skp[/attachment:o25qv8mt]

Using 'Skinning of Shapes' but slight errors appear?

you have to switch the properties..

for instance, try the same thing with tig's extrude edges by rails.. use the helix lines as the rails and the little shorties as profiles (well, make them curves first).. you'll see a similar though actually worse error.. then, do it again but choose the helix as profiles and the little lines as rails.. all is better.

to do that in curviloft, click in a black area of the preview skin to bring up this dialog:

[attachment=1:o25qv8mt]001.jpg[/attachment:o25qv8mt]

then use the top left button to re-orient
[attachment=0:o25qv8mt]002.jpg[/attachment:o25qv8mt]

Rich O Brien

Thanks Jeff.

Strangely I did use TIG EebyR it it worked perfectly. Though I used one shawty as both 'Profile' and 'Melding Profile'. Didn't try it with separate profiles.

Anyway thanks for the fix

tibet

hi ,
i have deleted curviloft icons by accident.
could you please tell me how to restore them in sketchup 8 pro
thanks

TIG

@tibet said:

hi ,
i have deleted curviloft icons by accident.
could you please tell me how to restore them in sketchup 8 pro
thanks
Go to the first post in this thread and download the files and install them as instructed. The icons will be restored and some other scripts etc will be overwritten - but that doesn't matter...
However, if you don't mean you've actually thrown away the files but you mean you've 'closed the toolbar' or 'deactivated the extension' then simply reactivate the extension through Window > Preferences > Extensions and/or switch on the toolbar through View > Toolbars...

Dave R

@tibet said:

hi ,
i have deleted curviloft icons by accident.
could you please tell me how to restore them in sketchup 8 pro
thanks

It's interesting what you can find on these forums.

pythiaz

Super LOL~!!

66searcher

thanks fredo6
one of the best of all su plugins ! well done!
thanks Karl (Charly)
great works by you motivates me...good luck.

fredo6

Joel,

Can you post the model or a typical case, because I am not clear on the issue you face

Fredo

jgb

I may be doing something wrong, but there is a very simple curve that Curviloft (CL) seems to have a problem with.

If I have 2 surfaces that I punch a hole in, say a round airplane fuselage that I put a round window or door opening in, CL won't face the rim of the opening.

After I delete the 2 wall bits in the opening, I select the 2 perimeters and call CL to do its magic. In effect, create the rim or ring. All I get are magenta lines.

If I join 1 pair of verticies, still no go. I have to draw 2 joiners (close together), and deselect the lines of the perimeter between the 2 joiners and CL does its magic in a flash.

This happens even to 2 rings in free space, unconnected to anything. I have to break both rings, then rejoin them after CL makes the curve.

Yet yesterday I made a large complex curved door, and CL rimmed it perfectly in 5 seconds, compared to 20 minutes or more to my making the perimeter manually. So I'm NOT complaining.

Fredo, as requested. The model I discovered this is way too big to upload, so I made an example.

I drew 2 rings offset in X, Y & Z axis.
Select 2 rings alone and CL will not form a rim.
Join rings with only 1 line, select all and CL creates a twisted rim.
Join rings with 2 lines and select all, no rim forms.
Deselect 2 bits of ring segment and CL forms proper rim.

As explained above, 4 sets of rings

hygicell

I am getting a lot of error messages on the Fredo6 plugins at startup of Sketchup 8 Pro:
please help
Error Loading File H:/programmas/google/Google SketchUp 8/Plugins/CURVILOFT_Dir_10/CurviloftAlgo.rb
uninitialized constant Curviloft::T6Error Loading File H:/programmas/google/Google SketchUp 8/Plugins/CURVILOFT_Dir_10/CurviloftCurveMover.rb
uninitialized constant Curviloft::T6Error Loading File H:/programmas/google/Google SketchUp 8/Plugins/CURVILOFT_Dir_10/CurviloftLoader.rb
uninitialized constant Curviloft::T6Error Loading File H:/programmas/google/Google SketchUp 8/Plugins/CURVILOFT_Dir_10/CurviloftPalette.rb
uninitialized constant Curviloft::T6Error Loading File H:/programmas/google/Google SketchUp 8/Plugins/CURVILOFT_Dir_10/CurviloftTool.rb
uninitialized constant Curviloft::T6Error Loading File H:/programmas/google/Google SketchUp 8/Plugins/CURVILOFT_Dir_10/__loader.rb
undefined method effective_load' for nil:NilClassError Loading File H:/programmas/google/Google SketchUp 8/Plugins/CURVILOFT_Dir_11/CurviloftAlgo.rb uninitialized constant Curviloft::T6Error Loading File H:/programmas/google/Google SketchUp 8/Plugins/CURVILOFT_Dir_11/CurviloftCurveMover.rb uninitialized constant Curviloft::T6Error Loading File H:/programmas/google/Google SketchUp 8/Plugins/CURVILOFT_Dir_11/CurviloftPalette.rb uninitialized constant Curviloft::T6Error Loading File H:/programmas/google/Google SketchUp 8/Plugins/CURVILOFT_Dir_11/CurviloftTool.rb uninitialized constant Curviloft::T6Error Loading File H:/programmas/google/Google SketchUp 8/Plugins/CURVILOFT_Dir_11/__loader.rb undefined method effective_load' for nil:NilClassError Loading File H:/programmas/google/Google SketchUp 8/Plugins/CURVILOFT_Dir_11/bootstrap_Curviloft.rb
uninitialized constant Curviloft::T6Error Loading File H:/programmas/google/Google SketchUp 8/Plugins/FREDOSCALE_Dir_21/__loader.rb
undefined method effective_load' for nil:NilClassError Loading File H:/programmas/google/Google SketchUp 8/Plugins/FREDOSCALE_Dir_21/bootstrap_FredoScale.rb (eval):1: uninitialized constant FredoScale::T6Error Loading File H:/programmas/google/Google SketchUp 8/Plugins/FREESCALE_Dir_10/FreeScale_Common.rb uninitialized constant FreeScale::T6Error Loading File H:/programmas/google/Google SketchUp 8/Plugins/FREESCALE_Dir_10/FreeScale_Tool.rb uninitialized constant FreeScale::SU_MAJOR_VERSIONError Loading File H:/programmas/google/Google SketchUp 8/Plugins/FREESCALE_Dir_10/__loader.rb undefined method effective_load' for nil:NilClassError Loading File H:/programmas/google/Google SketchUp 8/Plugins/GHOSTCOMP_Dir_10/GhostCompAlgo.rb
uninitialized constant GhostComp::T6Error Loading File H:/programmas/google/Google SketchUp 8/Plugins/GHOSTCOMP_Dir_10/GhostCompLoader.rb
uninitialized constant GhostComp::T6Error Loading File H:/programmas/google/Google SketchUp 8/Plugins/GHOSTCOMP_Dir_10/__loader.rb
undefined method effective_load' for nil:NilClassError Loading File H:/programmas/google/Google SketchUp 8/Plugins/HOVERSELECT_Dir_11/HoverSelect_Palette.rb uninitialized constant HoverSelect::T6Error Loading File H:/programmas/google/Google SketchUp 8/Plugins/HOVERSELECT_Dir_11/HoverSelect_main.rb uninitialized constant HoverSelect::T6Error Loading File H:/programmas/google/Google SketchUp 8/Plugins/HOVERSELECT_Dir_11/__loader.rb undefined method effective_load' for nil:NilClassError Loading File H:/programmas/google/Google SketchUp 8/Plugins/ROUNDCORNER_Dir_22/__loader.rb
undefined method effective_load' for nil:NilClassError Loading File H:/programmas/google/Google SketchUp 8/Plugins/ROUNDCORNER_Dir_22/bootstrap_RoundCorner.rb uninitialized constant RoundCorner::T6Error Loading File H:/programmas/google/Google SketchUp 8/Plugins/TOS_Dir_18/EraserOnSurface.rb uninitialized constant SUToolsOnSurface::T6Error Loading File H:/programmas/google/Google SketchUp 8/Plugins/TOS_Dir_18/FreehandOnSurface.rb uninitialized constant SUToolsOnSurface::T6Error Loading File H:/programmas/google/Google SketchUp 8/Plugins/TOS_Dir_18/LibOnSurface.rb uninitialized constant SUToolsOnSurface::T6Error Loading File H:/programmas/google/Google SketchUp 8/Plugins/TOS_Dir_18/LineOnSurface.rb uninitialized constant SUToolsOnSurface::T6Error Loading File H:/programmas/google/Google SketchUp 8/Plugins/TOS_Dir_18/OffsetAlgoOnSurface.rb uninitialized constant SUToolsOnSurface::T6Error Loading File H:/programmas/google/Google SketchUp 8/Plugins/TOS_Dir_18/OffsetOnSurface.rb uninitialized constant SUToolsOnSurface::T6Error Loading File H:/programmas/google/Google SketchUp 8/Plugins/TOS_Dir_18/PaletteOnSurface.rb uninitialized constant SUToolsOnSurface::T6Error Loading File H:/programmas/google/Google SketchUp 8/Plugins/TOS_Dir_18/PolylineOnSurface.rb uninitialized constant SUToolsOnSurface::T6Error Loading File H:/programmas/google/Google SketchUp 8/Plugins/TOS_Dir_18/__loader.rb undefined method effective_load' for nil:NilClassError Loading File H:/programmas/google/Google SketchUp 8/Plugins/TOS_Dir_18/bootstrap_OnSurface.rb
uninitialized constant SUToolsOnSurface::T6Error Loading File H:/programmas/google/Google SketchUp 8/Plugins/TT_Lib2/arc.rb
uninitialized constant TTError Loading File H:/programmas/google/Google SketchUp 8/Plugins/TT_Lib2/attributes.rb
uninitialized constant TTError Loading File H:/programmas/google/Google SketchUp 8/Plugins/TT_Lib2/babelfish.rb
uninitialized constant TTError Loading File H:/programmas/google/Google SketchUp 8/Plugins/TT_Lib2/bezier.rb
uninitialized constant TTError Loading File H:/programmas/google/Google SketchUp 8/Plugins/TT_Lib2/binary.rb
uninitialized constant TTError Loading File H:/programmas/google/Google SketchUp 8/Plugins/TT_Lib2/bounds.rb
uninitialized constant TTError Loading File H:/programmas/google/Google SketchUp 8/Plugins/TT_Lib2/color.rb
uninitialized constant TTError Loading File H:/programmas/google/Google SketchUp 8/Plugins/ruby/singleton.rb
undefined method extend_object' for Singleton'

TIG

Frank

Sounds like you haven't got all of the files installed in the right places ?
Please reread the installation instructions.
Also see this thread for help on extracting zipped files and keeping their subfolder structure with Plugins etc http://forums.sketchucation.com/viewtopic.php?f=323&t=35746
Also if you have inadvertently put files directly into Plugins that ought to be within a subfolder, then please remove them as they might cause unexpected results as they will then auto-load at startup rather than when the main tool wants them to...

jgb

@unknownuser said:

Joel,

Can you post the model or a typical case, because I am not clear on the issue you face

Fredo

Fredo

I did! I appended it to my post, but so far no reply.

jeff hammond

@jgb said:

@unknownuser said:

Joel,

Can you post the model or a typical case, because I am not clear on the issue you face

Fredo

Fredo

I did! I appended it to my post, but so far no reply.

i can skin that thing with zero problems.
i think you might be using the wrong tool.. i think you're trying to use curviloft's Skinning when you should be using regular Loft (the first of the 3 icons in the toolbar)

just select the two rings then click on the Loft icon.

hygicell

@tig said:

Frank

Sounds like you haven't got all of the files installed in the right places ?
Please reread the installation instructions.
Also see this thread for help on extracting zipped files and keeping their subfolder structure with Plugins etc http://forums.sketchucation.com/viewtopic.php?f=323&t=35746
Also if you have inadvertently put files directly into Plugins that ought to be within a subfolder, then please remove them as they might cause unexpected results as they will then auto-load at startup rather than when the main tool wants them to...

I have reinstalled everything as per the instructions
then ran duplicate cleaner 2.0 to find any .rb leftovers from the previous installation directly into plugins folder and erased them

the problem remains

should I be looking for other files than with the .rb extension and erase these duplicates too?

Frank