SU 8 pro solid tool question
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It's a safety net.
You might want to reuse or even have instances of the components already in the model - you might be unpleasantly surprised if they all suddenly changes aster a boolean operation!
This way you have a group that you can continue adjusting separated from other geometry...
IF you want it as a component right-click context-menu 'Make into Component'.
You can rename it in Entity Info if required.
You can now Select other Component's instances and Replace them with this new one, from the Component Browsers context-menus/pop-outs...
So Sketchup provides you with the most flexible solution with the results of a boolean operation, without any unpleasant surprises...
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While I understand TIG's description of the reason for components to be converted to groups during a Solid tools operation, I would much rather that didn't happen or at least that I have the option to have all instances of a component modified. I would use Solid tools more if I didn't have to go through the process of remaking, renaming and then replacing all the other instances of the component with the modified one.
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@dave r said:
I would much rather that didn't happen or at least that I have the option to have all instances of a component modified.
+1 !!!
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But Dave, wouldn't you rather be in control of what happens, than find that you have accidentally added a tenon onto every rail when you wanted it on just one or two ?
I know that a new closing option to 'make new group of resultant geometry' or 'overwrite existing component[s] of resultant geometry' or 'make new separate component[s] of resultant geometry' would cover all of the likely bases...
You [i.e. me/tt/et al] could script a set of parallel 'solid' tools that simply mimicked the 'solid' tools for their initial steps, and then had a closing dialog to do the last step for you...
The list is already too long...
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That's kind of the point of using components in the first place, or one of them. If I were to edit the rail and add a tenon manually, I would be expecting every other instance to get one, too. If I didn't want the other rails to get tenons, I would have used Make Unique. In my workflow for drawing furniture, I draw the entire model in place but with no joinery. Rails fit between legs but don't have tenons. Legs don't get mortises immediately. Once I have it looking like the piece of furniture, it goes through whatever approval process is required (depending upon the client) and, if the overall dimensions are correct, I add in the joinery. If I use Solid tools for that, I have to jump through a bunch of hoops. Often it is easier to just draw the tenon manually, trace it on the leg and push the face to get the mortise. I also don't have to worry about correcting layer associations while going through renaming components. And, I use 'Leg' for the original leg component, I can't name the Solid tools-modified component 'Leg' until I've replaced all the unmodified legs and purged the original component from the model.
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Tank you guy's for the explanationss ans also your suggestions
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What I do when I need to boolean a component and have it remain a component is open it's instance, group the content, perform the boolean operation then explode. Saves me from replacing and renaming anything.
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I was just typing the same tip as tt...
However, I add....
Edit>Copy the instance [1] that will be subtracted.
Edit the Instance that is to be modified.
Select All and make into a Group [2].
Edit>PasteInPlace so it temporarily duplicates [1] inside the edited instance.
Now do the Solid > Subtract picking [1] and then the temp group [2].
The duplicate [1] and the temp group [2] disappear and the resulting new group with the parts suitably subtracted can now be exploded.
Exit the edit.
All instances of that component will all have the geometry subtraction too: note how the 'subtracted part' is left unchanged outside of the edit as we used a duplicate of it pasted into the edit-session... -
I was thinking about this on my drive into work. Unless the boolean operation is very complex, all that stuff seems like a lot of added work. For something simple like a mortise to match a tenon I would do the following.
Open one leg component for editing.
Switch to X-ray or orbit the camera so I am looking inside the rail at the tenon.
Trace the base of the tenon-usually with the Rectangle tool.
Push the face in to create the mortise.Done. And all the other legs have the same mortises in the correct place. No additional grouping or copying and pasting or anything.
Of course there are some cases with very complex shapes where it is faster to use the Solid tools and do the required fixes to get back to having a component on the desired layer. I originally thought I would find the Solid tools to be much more useful than they are for my workflow.
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Dave, reading your last comments, This is exactly what I was doing so far
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Agreed that a simple tenon or half-lap is probably easier to do by hand... however... Profiling one molding so it nests over the top of another is easier with the Solid tools
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Yes. Coping a molding profile like that is faster with Solid tools. If I had a lot of molding to cope, I would probably do it once, convert the coped molding to a component and then use that one piece of molding for any other pieces that need coping using Make Unique and resizing as needed with Move.
I have run into a few cases where Solid tools "breaks" a solid component/group and leaves it unsolid. I reported it and it was confirmed as a bug so hopefully a fix is on the way. I'll cross my fingers that they add the option to leave things as components, though.
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