[Plugin] SectionCutFace

dragon999

Thank you for sharing this ruby

pilger

Incredibly usefull plugin.

I've found a very annoying bug on the new version on Sketchup 8 Pro though. It used to work great with the previous versions.

It fails to create a new layer and move the group backwards a bit so it appears on the section view. I've tried several combinations of the plugin's preferences and all resulted in the same bug.

Here's what i got on my ruby console window:

Error; #<TypeError; reference to deleted Edge>
C;/PROGRA~2/Google/GOOGLE~3/Plugins/SectionCutFace.rb;361;in `faces'
C;/PROGRA~2/Google/GOOGLE~3/Plugins/SectionCutFace.rb;361;in `initialize'
C;/PROGRA~2/Google/GOOGLE~3/Plugins/SectionCutFace.rb;359;in `each'
C;/PROGRA~2/Google/GOOGLE~3/Plugins/SectionCutFace.rb;359;in `initialize'
C;/PROGRA~2/Google/GOOGLE~3/Plugins/SectionCutFace.rb;358;in `times'
C;/PROGRA~2/Google/GOOGLE~3/Plugins/SectionCutFace.rb;358;in `initialize'
C;/PROGRA~2/Google/GOOGLE~3/Plugins/SectionCutFace.rb;476;in `new'
C;/PROGRA~2/Google/GOOGLE~3/Plugins/SectionCutFace.rb;476
C;/PROGRA~2/Google/GOOGLE~3/Plugins/SectionCutFace.rb;361;in `call'
C;/PROGRA~2/Google/GOOGLE~3/Plugins/SectionCutFace.rb;361

TIG

Can you try this [make a backup copy first outside of Plugins in case you mess up!]
Edit the .rb file with Notepad or Notepad++, around line #360 there are these lines

   if e.class == Sketchup;;Edge and @@edges == "No" ###v2.2
      e.erase! if not e.faces[0]
   end #if

change them to read

   if e.class == Sketchup;;Edge and @@edges == "No" ###v2.2
      e.erase! if e.valid? and not e.faces[0]
   end #if

i.e. add in ' e.valid? and'
The code should be OK as it was but this will make it more foolproof
Save it and retry - see if the error repeats - if not let me know and I'll issue an update, if it's still an issue can you post or PM me the SKP with the problem with a brief explanation and I'll try and see what's up...

TIG

Here's v2.6 http://forums.sketchucation.com/viewtopic.php?p=172583#p172583
It now traps for potential rare bugs if it tries to erase an object that's already erased...
[as recently raised by 'pilger']...

Gaieus

Thanks TIG. I rarely use sections but when I do, I always use this plugin, too. I haven't encountered the bug you mentioned yet but it's always good to have the latest build of a plugin.

TIG

On some very complex forms with many overlapping holes etc there's a lot of 'tidying up' to do... and I suspect that rarely it was trying to erase an edge that it'd just erased milliseconds before, as the edges listings 'iterate'... but stripping out invalid edges is not well done in my old code!

Anyway now I've trapped all of the xxx.erase! commands making them xxx.erase! if xxx.valid? - so if it's just erased something and thinks to do it again then it doesn't bother because the .valid? is always false if an object ceases to exist !

I appreciate you probably glazed over after a couple of ruby-red texts... but it's a simple fix to a rare glitch...

Ben Ritter

TIG, thank you again.

Bob James

Great plugin, TIG, thank you

utiler

Cheers, TIG.... one of my favorites.....!

pilger

Ah, sorry for the lack of response back there TIG. I've been sort of away from modeling for a while.

The plugin seems to be working flawlessly now. Perfect. It's one of the plugins i use the most and i had to turn back to an older version i had stored somewhere here when i stumbled upon that problem, so many many thanks for the fix!

braknes

Hi

I've tried several times to install this plugin. I copied it to the plugin folder, restarted SketchUp, but when I right-click on the section plane there is no option to "Add Section-Cut Face". Any idea what might be wrong?

I run SU 8 Pro in OS X
Thanks!

TIG

Braknes

You must have a selection of just one Section-Plane and nothing else at all selected - for this tool to appear in the context-menu as 'Add Section-Cut Face'.

let's consider a few possibilities...
Have you installed the script in the correct place?
To test this open your Ruby Console and type [or copy&paste] these lines...
Sketchup.find_support_file("SectionCutFace.rb", "Plugins")
If it returns ' nil' then the file not there and therefore it isn't auto-loading.
Where is it then?
Move it into Plugins and restart Sketchup...
However, if it returns the full path to the file it's there and it should be auto-loading and therefore available for you to use, if you have an appropriate selection.
If it's there also check that this .rb file has appropriate permissions to be 'read'.
Assuming it's in the right folder, try reloading it; in the Ruby Console type [or copy&paste]
load "SectionCutFace.rb"
Is should then be available in the context-menu, with a suitable selection...
Still not working?? Let's try circumventing the context-menu and running the code from the Ruby Console directly...
Select one Section-Plane... and then type [or copy&paste]
SectionCut.new()
A dialog will open and on OK a faced-section-cut is made.
IF you haven't properly selected a Section-Plane it will still open the dialog, but then on OK it'll produce some error messages in the Console, because we'll have side-stepped the initial checking for an appropriate selection to process and it'll fail !

braknes

Thanks TIG! I got it to work.

This is really a great plugin! Thanks for making life easier

figaro

Hi Tig,
where would i beable to download the section cut face plugin? im struggling to find it

thanks

jolran

At the very first post? It's a tradition..

K-TEE

Thanks.

AlainBo

Hi,
It seems SectionCutFace is not able to map faces if cutted parts are in different altitude.

Here is the model, I want to cut the top of the walls but all walls extremities are not at the same level.

and here is the result

TIG

SectionCutFace needs to try to work out what is to be solid and what is to be void.
If the objects being cut are 'manifold' it's fine, but it there are inter-penetrating forms it can get confused! Give it a helping hand.
It you choose to keep unfaced edges you can always 'face; these later and apply the material...

bcblock

I just installed this plugin and got it to work fine. I want to use it to render a section cut, but when I render with Podium, it renders without the section cut applied. Any suggestions?

Thanks in advance!

TIG

It does render but the the section-cut is ignored.
The section-cut-face is there inside the form.
Use 'Search' for Zorro2 [e.g. http://forums.sketchucation.com/viewtopic.php?p=184604#p184604] - which combined with SectioncutFace - can chop the model along the cut.
Use a copy as it does physically split the model along the plane and erase half of it!!!!
Then render the copy model - Gaieus has some examples of a chapel rendered this way...