[Plugin] K2WS_Tools a joint tool set for SU

ktkoh · 3 Sept 2011, 20:36

UPDATED TO VER 2.1.0 8/1/2014
Access by Tools/K2WS_Tools/Select desired Tool

This plugin works on components and the Joint Tools (Biscuits, Domino, Dowel, Loose Tenon, M&T ) add the joint feature to both components with options to add detail to only one of the components or add joint reinforcement component (ie. Dowels)

This is the new version 2.1.0 of K2WS_Tools for you to try. The first difference you will notice is in the menu. After selecting Tools/K2WS_Tools/Dowels a toolbar for the dowel program will open in your file. There are 2 icons with the joint tools for:

Complete Joint: Select 2 Components to make the Joint the program will ask the user to select the desired operation on the selected joint. (Complete Joint, Single Comp, etc)
Help This opens a help file for each program that describes its basic use.

The toolbar is only temporary for that SU secession so I would just leave it in the main view but move out of your way.

The other major difference is that parts added to complete joints are now instances of a component so if you add 2 loose tenons to a joint there will be 1 component and 1 instance. Also if any other joints use the same size loose tenon these will also be instances.

Also the joint face dimensions are displayed for your convenience as you specify the joint data required.

This was added to the SU PlugIn Store today.

Keith

Version 2.1.0

davidheim1 · 4 Sept 2011, 14:25

The tool set sounds very intriguing. But I can't figure out where to put the files once I download and unzip them. In the tools folder? The plug-ins folder?I continually get an error message saying there's no file to load. I have to confess that I'm often bedeviled by where to park files like these. I'm running a Mac, OX X 10.5.
Thanks for your help.
dh

ktkoh · 4 Sept 2011, 22:59

The should be unziped in the Plugins folder. If not then copy the file loadK2WS_Tools.rb to the Plugins folder and then copy the dir K2WS_Tools and all its files also to the Plugins directory. I don't know the path to the Plugins folder for a Mac.

Keith

davidheim1 · 4 Sept 2011, 23:51

i have both files in the plugins folder, but I still get the error message when I start SU. The path I'm following is:
Applications>Library>Application support>SketchUp 8>Plugins. Any suggestions?

Dave R · 5 Sept 2011, 00:19

Keith, I finally got a chance to install this on my Mac. I also get an error:

"Error Loading File loadK2WS_Tools.rb
no such file to load -- K2WS_Tools\K2_ToolsLoader.rb"

I had a look and K2_ToolsLoader is in the K2WS_Tools folder. Mac uses a forward slash instead of the back slash. I wonder if that is the problem.

Edited to add: the back slash was indeed the problem. I edited the line

require 'K2WS_Tools\K2_ToolsLoader.rb'

to

require 'K2WS_Tools/K2_ToolsLoader.rb'

and it loads and works fine.

TIG · 5 Sept 2011, 08:18

Another issue is one of the require lines [I think in the 'T' code?] looks to your own PC's folder structure, rather than the Tool's folder itself - presumably this was left over from in house testing ?

Dave R · 5 Sept 2011, 11:47

Keith, I'm seeing several problems. First, nothing happens when I choose the M-T tool. Perhaps it has to do with what TIG pointed out.

The Loose Tenon tool works but I see the same problem I saw before. That is, when putting the mortise on the second end of the rail, the tool deformed the legs. See the attached image. The legs started out as square and all was fine with the leg on the left. Then I tried putting the mortise in the other end of the rail and the legs ended up as you see here. I could avoid that by making the legs unrelated components but that doesn't make a lot of sense.

I wonder if you could just ask the user if they want the opposite end of the component to receive the same mortise and leave the second copy of the leg out of it altogether.

I played with the dovetails quickly last night. It seems to work as expected.

ktkoh · 5 Sept 2011, 13:17

Dave: Which tool do you use for the second end of the strecher?
Here is a picture of the M&T Joint tool on the Right end which makes the tenon on the strecher and the mortise in the leg. The legs are the same component flipped so the other leg has the mortise. Next I use the Tenon tool and added a tenon to the left end of the strecher. This is a picture of the results.
When using the loose tenon tool use the loose tenon Joint first then the mortise tool on the other end of the strecher and see if that gives the same results

I removed all the test directories the file and dir from the plugins dir restarted my computer and downloaded the zip file and installed it on my computer. So far no problems with any programs. Is there a better way to test?

Keith

TIG · 5 Sept 2011, 13:20

The \ OR the / work on a PC - but a MAC wants a /

Dave R · 5 Sept 2011, 13:44

Keith, I see what you're doing, I think. As I said, I used the Loose Tenon tool. It isn't logical to me to have to use different tools on opposite ends of the rail. It does work that way, though. I'm not real keen on having to hide the second leg before cutting that mortise in the end of the rail but I couldn't select the top edge of the rail without doing so.

Also, while I've got you, could things like the dominoes and loose tenons be inserted as instances of the same component? You can see in the attached screen grab what happen in a cut list.

It's getting there, though.

ktkoh · 5 Sept 2011, 14:40

Dave: I know you might need to hide the other component some times it seems to depend on what view you are looking at. You can do this without leaving the tool with a right click on the component and select hide the tool should stay active.

At this time I don't know of a way to add copies of an component in a plugin. If I find a way to do this I can update later. That was why when I first sent you this it only added one component and it seemed you felt the joint was not complete.

Mac users: I replaced the \ with / so the files should work on your systems.

I did find that the M&T Joint tool still had require pointin to my dir so I also changed that. The zip file has been revised.

Keith

alex_t · 11 Sept 2011, 18:11

Perfect plugin! Thank you!

nanolin · 12 Apr 2013, 00:39

Hello.
Anyone who uses this plugin could tell me how the board is at 45?
(Spline Joint)

Make a video for all functions would be best.

thanks

sorry my English is google translator

eneu3 · 24 Jun 2013, 17:58

Thanks for the really nice plug-in. I use it often. It saves me a lot of time.

I just downloaded Sketchup 2013 on both my Mac and PC. The tool still works just fine on the Mac, but I've run into an issue on the PC. When making a M/T joint, for instance, it won't save any edits to the parameters. And it won't do anything if I click "Save". If I click "Cancel", at least it lets me put in the mortise depth parameter, but then it won't do anything after that.

Like I said, no issue on the Mac!

Wonder!

Dave R · 24 Jun 2013, 18:07

What version is your OS? Perhaps you need to set the permissions for the Plugins folder for SU2013 to allow access.

emlyn80 · 25 Jun 2013, 19:52

I can't get the tools to work. I see them in the tool menu but nothing happens. I am using the free version of SU2013, is that the problem?
Thanks

eneu3 · 26 Jun 2013, 16:37

Dave, you were correct about the permission issue.

After I posted my note, I did some digging around on the internet and saw that permissions can be a problem for some of the plugins. I could see the file where the preferences were being kept could not get updated.

I recently got a new laptop and it has Windows 7 installed. So I did some more web surfing and figured out how to get the permissions set properly. Basically, I had to make myself the owner of the CREATOR OWNER group.

All works well now!

Dave R · 26 Jun 2013, 16:44

Ed, thanks for letting us know. Maybe that will help someone else down the road.

studeag · 23 Oct 2013, 23:25

I've just upgrade to 2013 and it does not work, is there a solution, I've try a lot of things without success

Alain

TIG · 23 Oct 2013, 23:47

Have you double-checked the security permissions issues and running as administrator etc, as outlined earlier?

Then...
Exactly 'how' is it not working ?

Not installing at all?
Not installing properly?
Not loading?
Not making menu entries?
No doing what you expect?
Generating error message dialogs?
Generating error messages in the Ruby Console?
Causing bugsplats/crashes?

From this quick list you can see that there is considerably more information you could offer us, which might then help us to help you...