Medeek Electrical
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Update available - 03.21.2019
http://design.medeek.com/resources/electricalpluginchangelog.html
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Version 1.0.0 - 03.23.2019
- The Medeek Electrical extension moved from BETA status to initial full release.- Created the HTML edit panel menu and enabled editing for load centers (service panels).
- Created the HTML edit safety device menu and enabled editing for wall and ceiling mounted safety devices (exit signs, smoke detectors, CO detectors, horn/strobes).
- Created the HTML edit light fixture menu and enabled editing for wall and ceiling mounted light fixtures.
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Tutorial 2 - Light Fixtures (17:50 min.):
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Justin Geis with SketchUp Essentials just posted a review of the plugin:
Overall I think the video is excellent however the demo was of version 0.9.6 so he was not able to demonstrate the parametric ability of the plugin.
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Version 1.0.1 - 03.28.2019
- Parameter hightlight (input) color added to General tab of global settings.
- Fixed a bug with the safety devices module.
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The light fixture module actually needs to be more like the safety device module where you have a custom library for certain classes of lights and the corresponding symbol.
I need to add in the following light types and symbol:
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Vanity
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Fluorescent (surface, suspended, recessed)
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Ceiling Fan
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Ceiling Fan w/ Light
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Canister (Can Light)
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Surface
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Suspended
I'm also debating whether to add in something for enclosed vents/fans for (bathrooms, laundry rooms, kitchens). Technically this is part of the HVAC or mechanical system but usually gets tucked into the electrical plan, thoughts?
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I will be adding in an additional toolbar "Medeek Electrical II":
This toolbar will be for misc. electrical devices that do not fit neatly into the categories already provided (switches, outlets, low voltage, load centers, safety, light fixtures).
The first two items that will be added are: Heaters, Vent (fans)
Heaters will include items such as cadet wall heaters, shop/garage ceiling mount heaters etc...
Vents will include typical ceiling mount vent fans for bathrooms, laundry and kitchens. Regular ceiling fans and ceiling fans with lights will actually be included with the light fixtures module.
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Version 1.0.2 - 04.01.2019
- Created the Medeek Electrical secondary toolbar, with two additional functions/tools: Draw Heater, Draw Vent.
- Enabled the ability to draw ceiling (garage/shop) and wall mount heaters.
- Enabled the ability to draw ceiling mount exhaust fans, with or without light.
If you would like to see a specific piece of electrical hardware or device added to the plugin please let me know, I am very open to suggestions on how to make this plugin more useful.
I've had numerous requests for extending the plugin to encompass the British electrical standards however no one has sent me any literature (or links to literature, manufacturers etc...) or low poly models. I am interested in making this plugin more universal and extending its coverage to other electrical standards however I don't have enough experience with these others standards yet and I will need more guidance if I am to do this correctly.
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I need to add in the option for ceiling fans and ceiling fans with lights.
What would be the suggested 2D symbol for these two light fixture options, I would like to keep it fairly simple but appealing.
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Ultimately the number of included electrical devices and fixtures will probably exceed the amount of devices that I want to package as default with the plugin. My thinking on this is that down the road I can provide "packs" that the user can drop into the appropriate plugin library sub-folder to add more pre-configured components to the plugin.
For example the commercial electrician or designer may want a much larger selection of fire and safety devices than the average residential designer. It doesn't make much sense to overly bloat the plugin size to include all of these specialized electrical components when most of the user base will not use them. Rather it makes sense to provide these electrical device "packs" as an upgrade type feature where the user decides for themselves which additional devices they would like to have available for their use.
Also if enough people utilize this plugin it may also garner the interest of some of the manufacturers who then might be willing to provide some "official" models of their hardware (low poly preferably) for use within the plugin. Looking at a number of manufacturer's websites lately and there is only a handful that provide any sort of 3D models and those are usually in Revit. I would like to see more SketchUp models become available.
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Version 1.0.3 - 04.03.2019
- Added an advanced option for outlets to display the outlet height with the 2D symbol.
If this advanced option proves popular I can also add it to switches, low voltage outlets, safety devices (wall mounted), and light fixtures (wall mounted).
This advanced option is per customer request.
On my own electrical plans I typically don't call out the switch or outlet height however in some cases I have provided a height call out with GFCI outlets installed in the garage.
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First look at wall mounted (surface) fluorescent light fixtures:
First look at vanity light fixtures:
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Version 1.0.4 - 04.06.2019
- Added the following light fixture categories and symbols: Surface, Recessed, Vanity, Ceiling Fan, Ceiling Fan w/ Light, Fluorescent (Surface Mount).
Now that I've reworked the light fixture module it is much more conducive to adding in additional light fixture categories/types, at some point I may even allow the user to add in custom categories. I still need to add in the fluorescent suspended and recessed categories and their corresponding symbols. However, I usually won't add in a category until I have a minimum of one default fixture to place into the library for that category.
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Version 1.0.4b - 04.07.2019
- Added the following light fixture category and symbol: Fluorescent (Recessed).
Included fixtures are a 2x4 and 2x2 troffer.
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Version 1.0.4c - 04.08.2019
- Added the following light fixture category and symbol: Fluorescent (Suspended).
The only other major type of lighting that is missing is track lighting and possibly some variants of existing lighting types that indicate they are LED rather than fluorescent or incandescent.
With fluorescent lighting there is a small text file in each library sub-folder that specifies the dimensions of the light fixture. Technically the numbers for each light fixture can be set to any value (width, depth, length), they are only used to provide the wireframe preview and help with the placement if you toggle the fixture justification. I will put out a tutorial on how to use these config files and setup your own custom fixtures.
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There seems to be a demand for the height callout next to the various electrical devices so I'm working at adding it to all wall mounted electrical devices.
First look at the height callout for switches:
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Nathaniel, maybe you should create a mechanism whereby the end-user can format their own symbols according to your method? So I can have my own custom models (and variety) but how they are structured needs to conform to your methods to work flawlessly with your extensions. You can keep your examples in there, for reference or if end-user doesn't want to go through process of creating their own.
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Version 1.0.4d - 04.09.2019
- Added an advanced option for switches and low voltage outlets to display the device height with the 2D symbol.
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Users can already create their own models for certain fixtures and then simply upload them into the appropriate library folder. For example there are currently nine sub-folders within the light_fixtures sub-folder:
ceiling_fan
ceiling_fan_light
fluorescent_recess
fluorescent_surface
fluorescent_suspended
recessed
surface
suspended
vanityThe user can put as many pre-configured *.skp files into these sub-folders as they like and the plugin can then utilize them.
Each of these light fixture types entails a specific 2D symbol which the plugin provides. Also the categories currently cannot be altered or added to. In the future I may devise a system whereby the user can add new categories for a device type and also their own custom 2D symbols, I'm just not there yet.
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