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

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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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                                  • dereiD Offline
                                    derei
                                    last edited by

                                    @dave r said:

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

                                    Unless the author comes with a update at one point and the old (modified) script is replaced... that was my point. I already edited several of the plugins I use.

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

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                                    • E Offline
                                      Einstein
                                      last edited by

                                      Hi,
                                      I'm confused.
                                      I can see this plugin had an update recently [Version Updated: 2021-04-12 09:26:24]
                                      but it's been version 1.4.1 since 2013. Why was it updated now while it's still the same version and no changes were introduced?

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                                      • TIGT Offline
                                        TIG Moderator
                                        last edited by

                                        The current version is v1.4.1
                                        https://sketchucation.com/pluginstore?pln=ae_WireTool
                                        Perhaps the author [ae] finally decided to re-sign it to suit the newer SketchUp versions, but the code was otherwise unchanged ?

                                        TIG

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