[Plugin] Component Stringer UPDATED May 23, 2013
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Dear Chris,
A lot of people are waiting for long a set of tools to make copy of objects along a path.
With this Component Stringer, we get one of them. A cool one.It is very easy to do various necklaces with it.
I have played it and threw an eye on some corners of it's possibilities.
What it is not made for:
It is not made to make chains when links are imbricated together.
I have tried TIG solution (not exactly the same) with a rather poor result..@tig said:
Make half chain link (U) and use this tool then edit that chain and copy/hand the U geometry into an O loop of say 2.2 the original length, now you have your links; us 'make unique' on one of the links, edit it and rotate its contents 90 degrees. Select every other link and replace with this rotated one... a chain... done.
Also this tool is not made to mix more than one component on to the path. If we need to do that, we have to do another way.
Thnk you again for this tool! you have a great talent to concoct easy but useful and strong tool..
My respect, Simon.
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Hi Ken,
Like TIG said, make your component and then edit it and do what you like to alter the dimensions and shape and it will update as you do it. Very cool. You also have to make sure the axis is in the proper position on your component. Hope that makes sense. I'll be trying more shapes and posting here soon. Awesome script!
Jeff -
Very efficient tool to create wood roofs, barrels ,boats and arches.
Maybe Components axis should be shown
PAM -
If you could also give user options to also scale along the component's other axes:
(1) axes A-B and A-C, or (2) axis A-B, or (3) axis A-C, then you'd have something similar to a blend-along-path.And if it could then "skin" the sides (vertices) of the components, it would be equivalent to a Scaled-Extrusion Along a Path.
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Another gem for the jewel box! Thanks Chris
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Hi Chris, thanks for this great work!!! It is very close to something i have asked questions about in the past....
Like Pilou, I think it would be great to see some rotation options at each segment. Also the suggestion of nil scaling would be nice too so the component is think dependent on segment length.....
I haven't played with it yet but I can say now that it's a BOMB!!!!!!
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@martinrinehart said:
Blows me away, Chris. What was the inspiration?
http://forums.sketchucation.com/viewtopic.php?p=200754#p200754
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The rotation options are implemented here, so they will be in the next release. I also like John's ideas about scaling the components smaller. But that will take a lot of code writing so I would not count on seeing that soon. And I will not be using this tool to add a skin. That's very complex.
But I will say the rotation is working great and is perfect for chains. Nil scaling would be easy to implement. I'll put that in too. So I'll hopefully get this released within the next 24 hours.
Thanks for all the comments!
Chris
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UPDATED!
- Added rotation and twist capabilities
- developed and added my menu items for donations and youtube
- Added a no-scaling option
Ok, there you have it. It now lets you rotate components easier for chain making. I updated the video on the main page, or see it here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_ymYoEHiexgThat shows how I would use it to make chains. Have fun!
Chris
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@chris fullmer said:
UPDATED!
- Added rotation and twist capabilities
- developed and added my menu items for donations and youtube
- Added a no-scaling option
Hi Chris, ....!......
Hi Jeff,
Your Black and white chocolat Skeleton his highly... "eatable"
I thought it was not possible to make imbricated components with this Chris' tool...
You show me I was wrong!
I have tried to find your "how to".
We just have to scale up or reajust with Move tool the component once it is distributed along the path.
Scaled Up with FredoScale
simon -
Can you use FredoScale to apply the same scaling to each component en masse?
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Yes absolutely!
You just need to enter one of the components, select all the geometry, and scale it
*s
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Speedy Chris!
Next add: colors? -
@simon le bon said:
You just need to enter one of the components, select all the geometry, and scale it
Ah! ofcourse - you open up the component! doh! I was thinking it scaled each instance.
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Hi Chris,
Perfect as always
Christophe
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Suggestion: a vertical rotation of each component in the same time between them
Another thing actualy plug works fine with path welded or not
but not with curves "disconnected" : is that normal
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fantastic plugin, Chris. there are going to be a lot of funny spine images in the gallery section now...
just two minor suggestion/question: when running your script it asks you whether start and end of the curve are right. then it lets you define the parameters. that means you will always have to perform at least two clicks, even if the curve direction is correct.
therefore my question: is it possible to go straight to the dialog box, while labeling start and end of the curve and having a check-box for 'reverse curve'?
ideally the 'start' and 'end' labels would dynamically change, when ticking/unticking the check-box.and secondly: could you make the script remember former input during a SketchUp session? (except for the 'reverse curve' check-box of course). that might speed up workflow as well.
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I certainly hope Chris and other Ruby geniuses get hired by the Google SketchUp team. SU might be a dead end if you want NURBS, but there's still a lot to be done with polygonal faces.
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Hey Chris,
This is awesome! Thank you so much. I'm glad to see the PayPal link as well. You deserve it. I also love the crickets sound effects on your tutorials. Your obviously up late at night doing these. Thank you....
Jeff
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Chris, that is amazing. Thank you so much for the quick response to the ideas everyone posted.
Another fantastic plugin. Thanks!!
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