Need help on using components to create steel structure

Box

Is this the type of thing you are trying to achieve?

martynaaas

@box said:

Is this the type of thing you are trying to achieve?
[attachment=1:3ahf283s]Rails.JPG[/attachment:3ahf283s]
[attachment=0:3ahf283s]Latt.JPG[/attachment:3ahf283s]

Cant open file since it's saved in 2015 but from screenshots looks exactly what I was trying to achieve in the first place. Maybe I would just change the number of segments/lines going across but overall I like the result. Could you explain how you did it?

Box

I took the major lines from your model and created a clean solid of the building.
Then I used Tig's Extrude Edges by Rails to Lattice (Part of Tig's Extrusion tools) to create the grid lines. Then I used Lines2tubes to create the net structure.
It up to you how many lines you delete from the lattice and what you do with them, but the main thing is to start with a clean structure that has smooth lines with matching segmentation.

By the way, a simple Purge of your 45mb model dropped it to around 20mb. You have loose hidden geometry all over the place and you have raw geometry on a layer other than layer0, never do that. I got lost trying to find my round in it, you even have geometry that is hidden that I couldn't even work out how to get it unhidden. To be honest it's a real mess.

So I've made you a quick one with some parts as an example and saved it as SU8.

Twist Tower SU8.skp

martynaaas

Thank you!

For the organisation of the file, I have to agree that it was pretty messy and mostly it's because of lack of time. It was done very quickly and I wasn't hoping to do anything else with it so I just left the way it was. I do have to agree that organised file makes your workflow much easier.

Thanks again, not only for giving the solution but also explaining the process and giving some tips. Didn't know you have such great community here

EDIT: One quick question: how did you turn that messy structure into solid mass?

Box

@martynaaas said:

EDIT: One quick question: how did you turn that messy structure into solid mass?

Laboriously! You were lucky it was too hot to go outside with a hangover today.

I exploded your model down to raw geometry removed all the loose junk floating about, got rid of all the layers and preloved components and moved everything to layer0. You must have had some clipping issues going on because you had bits of stuff a long way from the origin.

Once it was a coherent lump of geometry I picked out the major edges and pasted them into a new model. Once there I was able to repair the broken edges and remove the lonely vertices, eventually getting some consistent curves. Those curves I then smoothed, cleaned up and adjusted the segmentation with a combination of Curvizard and Polyline Segmentor and brute force.
When I finally had the proper structural edges I was able to use Extrude edges by rails to produce the faces cleanly. Once you have all the faces you explode them and group them and if done correctly you end up with a solid.
That solid then become the basis for the rest of your designwork and should never be edited directly. It is the master from which you can always go back to to get something. Make it a component and file it away and only use copies of it.

martynaaas

Wow, I'm pretty lucky indeed. I knew I'm not using SU to it's full potential but I never even thought of such workflow and will definetely follow this way. I did actually had terrible clipping issues which were unknwown for me and just had to be ignored to due short terms.

The way I came up with this design is just ridiculous when I think of it. I did it with Rotate and Scale, then used some soapskin to create lots of bugged faces which I then replaced with more unnecessary lines.

I'm thanking you for your rich insight not only on my problem but my general skills and ways of improving it. I never used this forum before and I already learned what seemed such a huge thing to do at first. Thank you guys for sharing your knowledge!