3D Truss Models
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Version 2.0.5 - 11.05.2017
- Added gutters and downspouts for rafter and truss hip roofs.
- Gutter menu added to the global settings.
- Custom roof layer added for gutters in the layer menu within the global settings.
I still need to add gutters and downspouts to the gable roofs (truss and rafter).
Four gutter types with two different downspout types.
This is a new feature so please send me your feedback and I will try to address all of the issues.
The gutter shown is a 6" half round with a 2.75" round downspout. The gutter and downspouts are separate solids so that one can easily adjust the placement of the downspouts after the fact.
The downspout angle is 15 degrees, with a 3" drop out of the gutter and a downspout center line radius of 3".
View model here:
3D Warehouse
3D Warehouse is a website of searchable, pre-made 3D models that works seamlessly with SketchUp.
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K-Style gutter with "2x3" downspouts.
I may need to add a few more user configurable variables:
- offset from bldg. corner (currently I have it offset 0" from the framing)
- offset from framed wall (currently I have it offset 1" from the framing)
- downspout radius (currently set at 3" @ CL)
- downspout drop (currently set at 3" before the first bend)
Right now these values are all hard coded into the plugin.
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Version 2.0.5b - 11.06.2017
- Fixed a minor bug with the downspout module, downspout solid is now a uniform extrusion with no unnecessary seams or edges.
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Version 2.0.5c - 11.07.2017
- Fixed a minor bug with the gutter layer for installation upgrades of the plugin.
If you have version 2.0.5b please upgrade to this version or be sure to open up the global settings and click on the layers tab, this will create the default gutter layer setting.
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Version 2.0.6 - 11.10.2017
- Added gutters and downspouts for rafter and truss gable roofs.
- Added gutters and downspouts for dutch gable rafter roofs.
I still need to add gutters to monoslope truss roofs, shed roofs and some other specialized truss roofs. Adding the gutters to the common truss roof became slightly more complicated when I realized I also had to deal with roof returns and their various configurations.
This gable roof has a hip return with fully wrapped gutter, you can also choose to half wrap or no wrap (linear gutter only at eaves, does not wrap around corner).
The dutch gable is really no different than the regular hip roof, when it comes to the gutter and its configuration, but internally it is a completely different set of advanced options.
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Very nice looking models!
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Half wrap of a hip roof return:
All of the gutters and downspouts are constructed as solids so that it is easy to manipulate them with Pro's boolean tools or other third party solid tools.
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Version 2.0.6b - 2017.11.11
I've added a text file in the materials sub-folder that allows one to modify the available materials (colors) for the gutters within the global settings menu.
The default values are:
8B4513:BROWN
B87333:COPPER
C0C0C0:SILVER
FFD700:GOLD
8B0000:DARK RED
0000CD:MEDIUM BLUE
006400:DARK GREEN
556B2F:DARK OLIVE GREEN
FFFFF0:IVORYIf all of these custom materials are deleted then only "white" will be available "FFFFFF" in the global settings.
The first six letters is the RGB value for the color, the description after the colon is the color name.
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The Medeek Seal of Authenticity:
This will be shown in the new license tab of the plugin global settings when the copy is fully registered.
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Had a little fun with AutoCAD and SketchUp yesterday. I created the arc aligned text in AutoCAD first and then imported the DXF, then completed the solid model in SketchUp:
I can't believe I used to solid model in AutoCAD, what a clunky interface for that sort of thing. I will say though that AutoCAD is still king when it comes to 2D drawings though, SketchUp has a ways to go in that regard.
Even solid modeling in SolidWorks seems really slow and awkward now, and that used to be my goto for anything 3D.
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Version 2.0.7 - 11.16.2017
- Added license tab to the global settings.
- Minor updates to the licensing system.
I've spent a couple days on adding language support but was unable to roll it out with this latest release. I will keep working on this in the next few days and hopefully have something to show for my efforts with the next major release.
As far as languages go I am planning on producing language files for each of the SU supported languages.
Any help with translating some of these very construction specific terms and phrases would be greatly appreciated. Google translate seems to work quite well but I don't completely trust some of its translations.
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Starting to make some head way on the translation / language support:
I've decided to devise my own language handler since I could not get the built in one to work.
The upside is that this allows me so support any language I choose, not just the languages supported by SketchUp. I will be adding in an option in the general settings where the user can select their language of choice.
I will also be storing the language data in a new sub-folder "lang". My intent is to be able to make it possible for the user to add their own language file and translations if they need to.
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I've identified a couple of major bugs with the gutter module when using metric templates. I will address those later today and roll out a sub-release. I apologize for not catching those earlier.
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My first menu in Japanese:
Fortunately, I know a little Japanese so I think I've got these more or less correct. I will probably need to have a native Japanese speaker who is familiar with the construction industry check these over for me.
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I've added in a language option into the General tab of the Global Settings:
I currently have nine languages that I will support however if there are any others that you would like to see added please feel free to suggest one.
I think this method is preferable over using the locale of the installed plugin since someone that is running a french version of SketchUp may want to run the plugin in English or some other combination. This allows the user to customize their user experience exactly.
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Version 2.0.8 - 11.18.2017
- Added language support for the following languages: French, Spanish, German, Russian, Swedish, Japanese, Korean, Chinese.
- Added a language option in to the "General Tab" of the Global Settings.
- Fixed a bug in the gutter module for metric templates.
There is still a huge amount of work to get all of the menus translated into the eight languages given above.
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I apologize Version 2.0.8 had a fatal flaw in it that thankfully someone pointed out to me this morning. Please re-download sub-rev. 2.0.8b which addresses this issue immdediately.
The problem is that I am encrypting the .rb files into .rbs when I sign the plugin. I don't want to encrypt the language files in the "lang" folder however the signing page did not know to discriminate so it encrypted those files as well and hence broke my links to them from the plugin load module.
Once I sign the extension and encrypted it I had to re-open the .rbz and put back in the unencrypted language files, problem solved.
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Found this image on Mitek's South African Website, its insane how big that truss assembly is:
This one is enlightening in that is shows the system of battens being used on the roof:
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Based on Mitek's worldwide coverage alone I should probably also support the following additional languages:
Czech
Polish
Portugese (Brazil)
Finish
Romanian -
Web based (HTML) user inputs will also require translation. These are a little more challenging than the regular (non-graphical) UI but nothing a little javascript could not overcome.
Here is the gutter tab of the global settings translated into Japanese:
The translation (creation of language files) for each menu and alert will take some time and effort.
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