[Plugin] Shape Bender Beta

cancincon

@dave r said:

Did you select a component before trying to run the plugin?

yes i did

thomthom

Did you perhaps select a group instead?

cancincon

@thomthom said:

Did you perhaps select a group instead?

hmm...maybe...

well i am not even sure, i just made a cylinder and clicked on it with selection tool so it turns blue (so this is where i thought i selected it)

Sorry, i know it sounds stupid but i would still appreciate some pointers about how to use this plug-in : (

Thanks

TIG

You need a 'Group' of geometry that you want to 'bend', a straight 'Line' parallel with the X-axis [Red] that determines the extents of the bending [note that this line cannor be connected to anything else!] and a 'curve' [i.e. an Arc, Bezier or collection of Edges 'Welded' into a Curve] that the bend will follow.

To make a group select your required geometry [e.g. your cylinder] right-click and 'Make Group'; it now selects as a single object because the geometry is inside it [you can also use a component-instance instead of a group - then use 'Make Component'!]...

The relative placement of the group[or component], the line and the curve affect the resultant bending.

Select the group[or component] and start the 'Shape Bender' tool.
Follow the prompts - pick the line - then pick the curve - swap the start/end with arrow-keys IF required [e.g. the ghost-image of the potential bent result looks 'twisted'].
Press <enter> and the group is copied in a 'bent' form, as a new 'shape bender component'...

thomthom

You made a cylinder - as in you drew a circle and push-pulled it? Then what? Did you group it or make it into a component?

cancincon

@tig said:

You need a 'Group' of geometry that you want to 'bend', a straight 'Line' parallel with the X-axis [Red] that determines the extents of the bending [note that this line cannor be connected to anything else!] and a 'curve' [i.e. an Arc, Bezier or collection of Edges 'Welded' into a Curve] that the bend will follow.

To make a group select your required geometry [e.g. your cylinder] right-click and 'Make Group'; it now selects as a single object because the geometry is inside it [you can also use a component-instance instead of a group - then use 'Make Component'!]...

The relative placement of the group[or component], the line and the curve affect the resultant bending.

Select the group[or component] and start the 'Shape Bender' tool.
Follow the prompts - pick the line - then pick the curve - swap the start/end with arrow-keys IF required [e.g. the ghost-image of the potential bent result looks 'twisted'].
Press <enter> and the group is copied in a 'bent' form, as a new 'shape bender component'...[attachment=0:31120sgk]Capture.PNG[/attachment:31120sgk]

Phew...that did it

Thanks to everyone who bothered to give an answer, I appreciate it : ))

avraz

first of all thanks alot for your work -i just bought your repeat copy plug for landscaping and im very happy with it
i also got the shape bender which i really enjoy playing with .
the problem is-it works on 2 computers in version 7 but on my version 8 which i got alot of plugins installed in it , as soon as i pick the component and the 2 lines it starting to process and get stuck on 1-7% and writes that it is looking for components to explode
i tried with a component and with a group i tried reenstalling it ,the shapes i used r as simple as they come and my computer is very strong
my best guess is that is is clashing with another plugin
i got about 100 plugins so if you know of such plug that might be causing such a problem it will help alot

TIG

Have you installed progressbar.rb on both PCs ?

avraz

@tig said:

Have you installed progressbar.rb on both PCs ?

yes i did
on the same computer i got v7 that works but got very few plugs in its library and v8 with alot of plugs that doesnt work correctly

araz

@tobobo said:

Do you have to mist uptodate Compent Spray plugin?, as i believe there is a clash with bender and the previous plugin.

i removed the component spray and it worked
thanks alot for the advice-problem solved

Tobobo

Do you have the most up to date Compent Spray plugin? as i believe there is a clash with bender and the previous version of the plugin.

Tobobo

the new version of component spray works with the bender plugin
@araz said:

i removed the component spray and it worked
thanks alot for the advice-problem solved

Apologise for the poor typing, i've corrected the post

onezero

@tig said:

You have unzipped the files into folder named after the zip and moved that folder into Plugins.
The only shape bender related stuff you should have in Plugins is the loader rb file and the subfolder, like this [attachment=0:2fm4zizk]Capture1.PNG[/attachment:2fm4zizk] and that subfolder should contain these files [attachment=1:2fm4zizk]Capture.PNG[/attachment:2fm4zizk] I.E. you move the file and subfolder that were in the zip into Plugins AND NOT the unzipped folder [clf_shape_bender_v005] itself...

Howdy everyone,
I'm sort of a newbie to SU. Well, I'm a newbie when it comes to using a MAC and SU. I've played with SU for years on a PC and recently I've made the move to Macintosh ( macbook pro) and the above help from TIG has by far been the most valuable advice and visual guide for getting this plugin to work.
I was repeatedly moving the whole zip file folder to the plugins and was absolutely confounded as to why it did not work. I installed and reinstalled again and again with the same result. I never had this frustrating difficulty on a PC.
Anyway, THANK YOU TIG and everyone else!! I am now on my way to enjoying (hopefully) the SU experience on my Apple.

I wish there was an energetic young person with a lot of time on their hands that could put all the MAC problems into a thread or topic so it would be easier to pinpoint some problems but I know that would be a huge task - just some wishful thinking on my part.

Keep up the good work everyone! This is a great website with an absolutely encouraging and positive atmosphere--renews my hope for mankind, in a way.

saj33

Can somebody help? I've been trying to let my staircase follow a curved path. I selected the component, used the plugin then, when it comes to selecting a line on the red axis, my mouse can't select it. Nothing happens. Note, it does select when I'm not using the plugin. What do you think's the problem?

TIG

This line you must pick that is parallel to the red axis must be completely 'unattached' - i.e. it cannot join onto another line, or edge a face etc.
It also has to be a piece of separate geometry in the active-entities context [i.e. with the group/component that you want to bend].
The same points apply to the 'curve' you will need to pick next...

breeze

thank you very much

disturbed13

i have an issue
this plug-in doesnt work right

am i doing something wrong here or what?

Dave R

Could you post the SKP so we can take a look?

disturbed13

@dave r said:

Could you post the SKP so we can take a look?

sure some background first so you understand what i am trying to accomplish
im in the process of designing a tree climbing spider robot
and im working on one of the legs, ive decided to have a 'thumb-like' appendage to grasp onto branches in the canopy
now my mind is turning and it would be a good idea to add a saw-tooth like pattern to the inside of each
for better grasping ability
however i cant get the blasted mini pyramids to follow the curve of the main leg
i havent tried the grasping limb yet

the leg

TIG

The 'line' you are asked to pick initially needs to be parallel to the Red axis and it cannot touch anything else.
Your supplied SKP only has two lines parallel to the Red axis; BUT both of these touch a line drawn on the Green axis, so they won't work!
Erase the connected line and then the Lines parallel to the Red axis will be available and the tool should work.
Note that the length of the 'line' and the 'arc', and the location of them relative to the object that's to be bent will affect the 'bending' - experiment with some different settings...