Smart scaling components

[thomthom]

It'd be nice to be able to create components with stretching points. For instance, a window: you select the window frame and define stretching parameters. Then you can use this one component to insert into your drawing with various dimensions.

Same concept as Dynamic Blocks in AutoCAD.

[Loewenkatze]

I totally agree. This is the one feature, I am missing each and every day in SU. Being able to scale a window/door/whatever-component without scaling the frame thickness for example, would be so much time-saving...

[gata]

That attribute is called parametric and SU does have it. It was introduced with Ruby scripting ability. A sample script called windows.rb was written, and you can see it also requires parametric.rb too over http://www.sketchup.com/?sid=79

I found a little math error on lines 186 and 191. It's missing '- 1.25'.

if bHorizontal
        wh = (width - 1.25 - (2.0 * outsideFrameWidth)) / 2.0  ### added - 1.25
        w = wh + + insideFrameWidth
        h = height - (2.0 * outsideFrameWidth)
    else
        w = width - (2.0 * outsideFrameWidth)
        wh = (height - 1.25 - (2.0 * outsideFrameWidth)) / 2.0  ### added - 1.25

At the Ruby Library Depot there's parametric_grid.rb which is editable - and a very nice script if you need that sort of thing.

Actually the request would be to make setting up a parametric feature easier. TBD was working on a SU web macro editor for lay-people a while back. Users did not need to know Ruby.

[thomthom]

I see. I really need to have a look at Ruby. I'm familiar with scripting and programming. But It'd still be nice to have a visual editor as writing scripts for each component doesn't quite appeal to my workflow in SU.

[Bruell]

I agree that an advanced scale tool is due in SU but not only for windows but also to be able to scale objects in relation to existing lengths, like we all know from AutoCAD here you can scale from a endpoint to another endpoint in the drawing.

Same with polygons when will we be able to define a Polygon (an octagon) by its side length and its orientation?

[pbacot]

As for something like windows, I too looked for a stretch points function. In 2d CAD a special command is used to essentially stretch lines etc. based on moving their points. Well it took me a while to realize that to resize a window (keeping the frame the same) one simply selects the edges of the frame and glass that are to be moved. Use the move tool and "stretch" is achieved by the stickyness. More complex objects and moves probably will be found that will not respond well, but for me this solves my immediate use.

The parametric side of things is a different worthy issue.

[minguinhirigue]

I am going with pbacot on the fact that we could use simple way to "scale" objects and preserve some specific characteristics, but it's not always possible ! For example, in my window components, glass and frame are two different groups !

There are two things that could be really cool with the completion of the parametric plugin:

• one's the ability to count and extract informations about the parametric instances : pillar with different height, just one click too have the Excel list ! Their is already various tricks to do that for different type of object, but I don't remember a way to do it for scaled components !?
• second's the ability is to keep constraints on parametric objects (distances, axes, point location, etc...). This could be use to do parametric design, a much more powerful way to generate intelligent populated urban and architectural schemes. If you can't imagine the power of this type of design, just take a look at this video : http://fr.youtube.com/watch?v=EhjUli4cYEg

One of the biggest problem with this way of design, it's that it usually works with explicit history and modifiers compilation for all the objects ! What's New in SU7 ?

[gonashvili]

Wanted to make a new thread, but searching revealed I'm no the only one who would wish the scaling were AutoCAD-like

So umm, yea....

[pbacot]

Hamlet. This is an old thread. Dynamic Components are supposed to provide something like this. Look around for dynamic component windows. Personally I don't use them. I create new windows practically every project. I make the different sizes using Fredoscale stretching plugin and a few other tricks. Don't use AutoCAD, so can't speak to that.