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    [Plugin] WireTool (Catenary) (1.4.1) – updated 06.03.2013

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    • M Offline
      moluasa
      last edited by

      Might also be cool to work with for line art!

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      • A Offline
        Aerilius
        last edited by

        Minor update (1.4.0):

        • converted it into a SketchUp Extension (that you can turn on/off)
        • added icons and cursor
          Please remove older version if you update.
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        • OxerO Offline
          Oxer
          last edited by

          Thanks for the update!!
          This is the spanish language:
          %(#FF0000)["es" => {
          "Draw Wires" => "Dibujar Cables",
          "Catenary" => "Catenaria",
          "Tool to draw catenary curves." => "Herramienta para dibujar curvas catenarias."
          "Arc Length" => "Longitud Arco",
          "Segments" => "Segmentos",
          "Distance" => "Distancia",
          "Select first end" => "Selecciona Primer Final",
          "Select second end" => "Selecciona Segundo Final"
          },]
          You can to include in the next version.

          EDIT: On Mac the icon doesn't show but I have added the line below in the end of the WireTool.rb file and now it shows:

             %(#FF0000)[UI::Toolbar.new(@@translate["Draw Wires"]).add_item(cmd)]
          

          "The result is the end what is important is the process" by Oxer
          [http://www.oxervision.blogspot.com/(http://www.oxervision.blogspot.com/)]

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          • A Offline
            Aerilius
            last edited by

            Thanks!

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            • gillesG Offline
              gilles
              last edited by

              I notice that you specify a length you always got a approximation, not the desired length.

              " c'est curieux chez les marins ce besoin de faire des phrases "

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              • A Offline
                Aerilius
                last edited by

                That has two reasons: SketchUp has no curves and like arcs, the length of these catenary curves isn't the sum of the segments.
                The other reason is that the numerical algorithm needs many many more iterations to reduce the bulge if the curve is almost straight (100% should theoretically give a straight line). I'm working on improving this.

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                • gillesG Offline
                  gilles
                  last edited by

                  Good work by the way, a useful one.

                  " c'est curieux chez les marins ce besoin de faire des phrases "

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                  • A Offline
                    Aerilius
                    last edited by

                    Just to give you an idea: I increased the number of iterations (at every mouse move) from 10 to 150 and the overlength is still half of what it was before (and 150 iterations is far too much). But at least I know which part to optimize.

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                    • Bob JamesB Offline
                      Bob James
                      last edited by

                      @aerilius said:

                      Minor update (1.4.0):- added icons and cursor

                      I don't see "draw wires" in my toolbar list

                      i7-4930K 3.4Ghz, 2x GTX780 6GB, 32GB DDR3-1600 ECC, OCZ Vertex 4 500GB, WD Black 3TB, 32TB NAS, 4x 27" Monitors, SpaceMouse Pro, X-keys XK-60

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                      • TIGT Offline
                        TIG Moderator
                        last edited by

                        @bob james said:

                        @aerilius said:

                        Minor update (1.4.0):- added icons and cursor

                        I don't see "draw wires" in my toolbar list

                        Did you first activate its Extension under Preferences ?

                        TIG

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                        • A Offline
                          Aerilius
                          last edited by

                          I've uploaded a new version 1.4.1 improving the 100% curve length issue (curve was too long).

                          The previous version didn't mention any toolbar (only icon image), though as it seems nobody else has a problem with one-button toolbars I added one ☀ . I hope it doesn't increase the toolbar mess.

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                          • OxerO Offline
                            Oxer
                            last edited by

                            Thanks Aerilius!!
                            I have saw that you have included the line for the Toolbar and spanish language, thanks again.

                            "The result is the end what is important is the process" by Oxer
                            [http://www.oxervision.blogspot.com/(http://www.oxervision.blogspot.com/)]

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                            • irwanwrI Offline
                              irwanwr
                              last edited by

                              Thank you very much for this plugin.

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                              • S Offline
                                slander
                                last edited by

                                Thanks very much for this. It produces a really lovely result for drawing thin arches.
                                I noticed a small problem when I move the endpoints of an existing catenary around - gravity seems to veer away at an peculiar angle. All plan-plane moves seem to work just fine though.

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                                • A Offline
                                  Aerilius
                                  last edited by

                                  Hi,
                                  the resulting curve is just SketchUp geometry, and does not expose physical behavior of a wire. When moving one end point of an arc, it shows normal SketchUp behavior (ie. SketchUp tries to squeeze or stretch the arc to fit to both end points).
                                  But a wire that really (physically) moves with attached objects would be a cool feature. The plugin would need observers to watch all the time on all these arcs, and recalculate an arc once an endpoint is changed.

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                                  • B Offline
                                    Ben Ritter
                                    last edited by

                                    I cannot get the plugin to work with specific inputs. It creates a the same curve no matter what I enter.

                                    Can you help?

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                                    • B Offline
                                      Ben Ritter
                                      last edited by

                                      Never mind, I figured it out. You have to press Enter after entering the distance, etc.

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                                      • E Offline
                                        escufi
                                        last edited by

                                        Nice Plugin Aerilius , very usefull. Thanks a lot

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                                        • dereiD Offline
                                          derei
                                          last edited by

                                          Very nice and useful !
                                          One question: shouldn't be better suited under DRAW menu, instead of Extensions?
                                          There is a uncanny tendency to put the plugins under Tools or Extensions menus... leaving all others with too little entries, even if the plugin in cause should better fit in other menu.

                                          Cheers.

                                          DESIGNER AND ARTIST [DEREI.UK](http://derei.uk/l)

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                                          • Dave RD Offline
                                            Dave R
                                            last edited by

                                            Nothing is preventing you from editing the .rb file and changing it to appear in the draw menu.

                                            Etaoin Shrdlu

                                            %

                                            (THERE'S NO PLACE LIKE)

                                            G28 X0.0 Y0.0 Z0.0

                                            M30

                                            %

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