Ruby api - Get the thickness of component

nXqd

Hi everyone,
This is my very first post in this great forum. I encounter some problem when finding and using ruby api.
What I want to do know is duplicate a component - (by selecting it using model.selection[0] ), and put the duplicated one on top of the original one. I have problem with find the x,y,z of a component in space and its thickness.
I think this should be an easy issue for experienced sketchup users here

thomthom

<drunkcode>

<span class="syntaxdefault"><br />model&nbsp;</span><span class="syntaxkeyword">=&nbsp;</span><span class="syntaxdefault">Sketchup</span><span class="syntaxkeyword">.</span><span class="syntaxdefault">active_model<br />instance&nbsp;</span><span class="syntaxkeyword">=&nbsp;</span><span class="syntaxdefault">model</span><span class="syntaxkeyword">.</span><span class="syntaxdefault">selection</span><span class="syntaxkeyword">[</span><span class="syntaxdefault">0</span><span class="syntaxkeyword">]<br /></span><span class="syntaxdefault">point&nbsp;</span><span class="syntaxkeyword">=&nbsp;</span><span class="syntaxdefault">instance</span><span class="syntaxkeyword">.</span><span class="syntaxdefault">bounds</span><span class="syntaxkeyword">.</span><span class="syntaxdefault">corner</span><span class="syntaxkeyword">(</span><span class="syntaxdefault">4</span><span class="syntaxkeyword">)<br /></span><span class="syntaxdefault">tr&nbsp;</span><span class="syntaxkeyword">=&nbsp;</span><span class="syntaxdefault">Geom</span><span class="syntaxkeyword">;;</span><span class="syntaxdefault">Transformation</span><span class="syntaxkeyword">.new(&nbsp;</span><span class="syntaxdefault">point&nbsp;</span><span class="syntaxkeyword">)<br /></span><span class="syntaxdefault">model</span><span class="syntaxkeyword">.</span><span class="syntaxdefault">active_entities</span><span class="syntaxkeyword">.</span><span class="syntaxdefault">add_instance</span><span class="syntaxkeyword">(&nbsp;</span><span class="syntaxdefault">instance</span><span class="syntaxkeyword">.</span><span class="syntaxdefault">definition</span><span class="syntaxkeyword">,&nbsp;</span><span class="syntaxdefault">tr&nbsp;</span><span class="syntaxkeyword">)<br />&nbsp;</span><span class="syntaxdefault"></span>

</drunkcode>

TIG

You have instance1.
That has bounds.
So to find its vertical extent use
zz=instance1.bounds.depth
Note that the three values for a bounding-box are counter-intuitive - following the old CAD conventions when z/depth was out of the screen - it's NOT the 'height' !
So bounds
.width >>> x Red
.height >>> y Green
.depth >>> z Blue
You can also get its transformation
tr=instance1.transformation
Use that to insert your duplicate.
instance2=instance1.parent.entities.add_instance(instance1,definition, tr)
This now overlays the two exactly.
To move the new instance up in the 'z' by ' zz' make a vector and apply a second transformation to it - you could apply it as you insert it BUT this is perhaps an easier way to get your head around...
ve=Z_AXIS.clone ve.length=z tv=Geom::Transformation.translation(ve) instance2.transform!(tv)
The second instance should now rise up so its bottom-most part aligns with the original's top-most part.

nXqd

@TIG
Thanks for the great long and damn useful answer. I will try it today