3D Truss Models

juju

Wow, seriously, wow. How is the manual coming along?

medeek

What format would be the best for the manual? I am kind of thinking along the lines of HTML documentation similar to the way SketchUp help files are organized but I'm still thinking about this.

The biggest problem right now is the plugin has been rapidly progressing and evolving so its a bit hard to set out a manual that won't need major revisions/rewrite in the very near future.

I'm thinking though in another month or two I should have something together.

pilou

You must also think for Multi-languages of your UI !

medeek

Valley Sets are here:

Proceed with caution though I just put it together so it is still a bit rough around the edges. Further testing and refinement is necessary but it seems to be working fairly decently.

Currently the main roof plane and two points need to be selected rather carefully I'm not sure I can do much about that, if not I will need to document in some detail how to use this function.

medeek

@pilou said:

You must also think for Multi-languages of your UI !

I've been thinking about adding some global settings so one can set language, defaults and other misc. items.

medeek

I've addressed a few bugs with the valley set algorithm and tested it in as many configurations and orientations as possible. It it more solid now. I suggest downloading the latest version of 1.1.7 that I just uploaded to the server.

Note that the plane of the main roof that is selected needs to be a rectangular shape at the moment to properly register (1st point selected). I usually just select the top face of one of the top chords of the trusses. The second point should be at the centerline of the last truss of the secondary roof line and at the ridge (peak) of this truss, the third point is also at the ridge (peak) but at a point towards the main roof. I really need to put the manual together to document this feature and how to use it, or at least a video.

I also updated the geometry algorithm slightly so that it adds additional verts a 48" o/c when the valley trusses get too large. This is keeping in line with standard practice on these types of valley sets. I can also make this an input if someone requests that it be such.

This update was not that complicated (valley sets) other than trying to figure out how to place the set based only on a plane and two points. Obtaining this information and then figuring out the math and code to compute the vertical distance between the bottom of the first valley truss where it rests on the main roof plane and the peak of the secondary roof line was the slightly painful part. The actual geometry of the valley set was surprisingly easy to code.

The real challenge will begin when I try to add some hip sets, I may push that out for awhile.

medeek

Here is an example of a large valley set with a Monopitch Primary Roof and a Common Secondary Roof. Notice the pitch of the monopitch roof is 6:12 while the secondary roof is 12:12.

Rather than calculate the overhang for the secondary roof it is just as easy to to trim the truss tails back and adjust the fascia so that it lines up with the fascia of the main roof after the fact.

Even with all the automation of certain tasks there is still a good bit of manual editing required when complex roof lines are involved however I find that SketchUp has a very intuitive interface for trimming solids and once the basic geometry is there the rest is usually not too much trouble.

medeek

With the main roof sheathing:

juju

I think the most universal is probably to have the manual in PDF?

medeek

I think I'll create in MS Word and then save it into PDF.

medeek

This revised code seems to work:


module Medeek_Engineering_Inc_Extensions

	module MedeekTrussPluginModuleLoader


	require 'sketchup.rb'
	require 'extensions.rb'
	require 'langhandler.rb'

	# Show the Ruby Console at startup so we can
	# see any programming errors we may make.
	# SKETCHUP_CONSOLE.show
	



	this_dir=File.dirname(__FILE__)
	# Fix for ruby 2.0
	if this_dir.respond_to?(;force_encoding)
		this_dir=this_dir.dup.force_encoding("UTF-8")
	end
	PATH=this_dir
	entries=Dir.entries(this_dir)
	ext=".rbs"


	# Add a toolbar item to launch our plugin.

	toolbar = UI;;Toolbar.new "Medeek Truss"
     	
     	cmd = UI;;Command.new("Draw Roof Truss") {

		Sketchup.load(File.join(this_dir,"MEDEEK_ROOF_TRUSS.rbs"))
		Medeek_Engineering_Inc_Extensions;;MedeekTrussPlugin;;MedeekMethods.roof_truss_family_menu
     	}
    		cmd.small_icon = "images/mdkplg_tool_icon16_2.png"
     		cmd.large_icon = "images/mdkplg_tool_icon24_2.png"
     		cmd.tooltip = "Medeek Truss"
    		cmd.status_bar_text = "Draw Roof Truss"
    		cmd.menu_text = "Roof Truss"
     		toolbar = toolbar.add_item cmd
     		# toolbar.show

	cmd2 = UI;;Command.new("Draw Floor Truss") {

       		Sketchup.load(File.join(this_dir,"MEDEEK_FLOOR_TRUSS.rbs"))
		Medeek_Engineering_Inc_Extensions;;MedeekTrussPlugin;;FloorTruss;;MedeekMethods.floor_truss_family_menu
     	}
    		cmd2.small_icon = "images/mdkplg_tool_icon16_3.png"
     		cmd2.large_icon = "images/mdkplg_tool_icon24_3.png"
     		cmd2.tooltip = "Medeek Truss"
    		cmd2.status_bar_text = "Draw Floor Truss"
    		cmd2.menu_text = "Floor Truss"
     		toolbar = toolbar.add_item cmd2
     		# toolbar.show

	cmd3 = UI;;Command.new("Draw Truss Set") {

       		Sketchup.load(File.join(this_dir,"MEDEEK_TRUSS_SET.rbs"))
		Medeek_Engineering_Inc_Extensions;;MedeekTrussPlugin;;TrussSet;;MedeekMethods.truss_set_family_menu
     	}
    		cmd3.small_icon = "images/mdkplg_tool_icon16_4.png"
     		cmd3.large_icon = "images/mdkplg_tool_icon24_4.png"
     		cmd3.tooltip = "Medeek Truss"
    		cmd3.status_bar_text = "Draw Truss Set"
    		cmd3.menu_text = "Truss Set"
     		toolbar = toolbar.add_item cmd3
     		# toolbar.show

	cmd4 = UI;;Command.new("Draw Roof Rafters") {

       		Sketchup.load(File.join(this_dir,"MEDEEK_ROOF_RAFTERS.rbs"))
		Medeek_Engineering_Inc_Extensions;;MedeekTrussPlugin;;RoofRafters;;MedeekMethods.roof_rafters_family_menu
     	}
    		cmd4.small_icon = "images/mdkplg_tool_icon16_5.png"
     		cmd4.large_icon = "images/mdkplg_tool_icon24_5.png"
     		cmd4.tooltip = "Medeek Truss"
    		cmd4.status_bar_text = "Draw Roof Rafters"
    		cmd4.menu_text = "Roof Rafters"
     		toolbar = toolbar.add_item cmd4
     		toolbar.show


	# Add a menu item to launch our plugin.

	submenu = UI.menu("Plugins").add_submenu("Medeek Truss")
	submenu.add_item(cmd)
	submenu.add_item(cmd2)
	submenu.add_item(cmd3)
	submenu.add_item(cmd4)
	


	end
end

medeek

Now the largest file is only about 12,000 lines, a bit more manageable. If I spend some time cleaning it up and compressing redundant sections I can probably get it to half that amount.

medeek

Up until now I have maintained all of the code in one large file. However I keep adding more features so I need to split it out into multiple files to keep things manageable. My new load .rb file is attempting to use a method I found on another board but I'm getting a situation where the first click on the icon loads the plugin as it should however subsequent clicks on the menu or icon do nothing.

The problem is that after the menu item runs once it will not fire again.
Here is a snippet of the Medeek_Load.rb file :

module Medeek_Engineering_Inc_Extensions

	module MedeekTrussPluginModuleLoader

	# Show the Ruby Console at startup so we can
	# see any programming errors we may make.
	# SKETCHUP_CONSOLE.show


	this_dir=File.dirname(__FILE__)
	# Fix for ruby 2.0
	if this_dir.respond_to?(:force_encoding)
		this_dir=this_dir.dup.force_encoding("UTF-8")
	end
	PATH=this_dir
	entries=Dir.entries(this_dir)
	ext=".rbs"


	# Add a toolbar item to launch our plugin.

	toolbar = UI::Toolbar.new "Medeek Truss"

cmd = UI::Command.new("Draw Roof Truss") {

		Sketchup.load(File.join(this_dir,"MEDEEK_ROOF_TRUSS.rbs"))
}
	cmd.small_icon = "images/mdkplg_tool_icon16_2.png"
	cmd.large_icon = "images/mdkplg_tool_icon24_2.png"
	cmd.tooltip = "Medeek Truss"
	cmd.status_bar_text = "Draw Roof Truss"
	cmd.menu_text = "Roof Truss"
	toolbar = toolbar.add_item cmd
	# toolbar.show

	cmd2 = UI::Command.new("Draw Floor Truss") {

	Sketchup.load(File.join(this_dir,"MEDEEK_FLOOR_TRUSS.rbs"))
}
	cmd2.small_icon = "images/mdkplg_tool_icon16_3.png"
	cmd2.large_icon = "images/mdkplg_tool_icon24_3.png"
	cmd2.tooltip = "Medeek Truss"
	cmd2.status_bar_text = "Draw Floor Truss"
	cmd2.menu_text = "Floor Truss"
	toolbar = toolbar.add_item cmd2
	# toolbar.show

	cmd3 = UI::Command.new("Draw Truss Set") {

	Sketchup.load(File.join(this_dir,"MEDEEK_TRUSS_SET.rbs"))
}
	cmd3.small_icon = "images/mdkplg_tool_icon16_4.png"
	cmd3.large_icon = "images/mdkplg_tool_icon24_4.png"
	cmd3.tooltip = "Medeek Truss"
	cmd3.status_bar_text = "Draw Truss Set"
	cmd3.menu_text = "Truss Set"
	toolbar = toolbar.add_item cmd3
	toolbar.show

	cmd4 = UI::Command.new("Draw Roof Rafters") {

	Sketchup.load(File.join(this_dir,"MEDEEK_ROOF_RAFTERS.rbs"))
}
	cmd4.small_icon = "images/mdkplg_tool_icon16_5.png"
	cmd4.large_icon = "images/mdkplg_tool_icon24_5.png"
	cmd4.tooltip = "Medeek Truss"
	cmd4.status_bar_text = "Draw Roof Rafters"
	cmd4.menu_text = "Roof Rafters"
	toolbar = toolbar.add_item cmd4
	toolbar.show


	# Add a menu item to launch our plugin.

	submenu = UI.menu("Plugins").add_submenu("Medeek Truss")
	submenu.add_item("Roof Truss") { Sketchup.load(File.join(this_dir,"MEDEEK_ROOF_TRUSS.rbs")) }
	submenu.add_item("Floor Truss") { Sketchup.load(File.join(this_dir,"MEDEEK_FLOOR_TRUSS.rbs")) }
	submenu.add_item("Truss Set") { Sketchup.load(File.join(this_dir,"MEDEEK_TRUSS_SET.rbs")) }
	submenu.add_item("Roof Rafters") { Sketchup.load(File.join(this_dir,"MEDEEK_ROOF_RAFTERS.rbs")) }
	


	end
end

juju

@medeek said:

Now the largest file is only about 12,000 lines, a bit more manageable. If I spend some time cleaning it up and compressing redundant sections I can probably get it to half that amount.

Coding related queries will probably be addressed a lot faster if you post them in the developers section of the forum?

http://sketchucation.com/forums/viewforum.php?f=180

medeek

Version 1.1.8 - 12.07.2015

Added Gable Rafter Roof.
Advanced options enabled for gable rafter roofs (sub-fascia, outlookers, sheathing, and rakeboards).
New submenu item and toolbar icon added for rafter roof type.
Plugin divided into multiple files for ease of management.

Structural outlookers for this type of a roof are still somewhat of a question. If they are horizontal it makes sense to notch the gable rafter but what if they are vertical?

medeek

Version 1.1.8 - 12.08.2015

Structural Outlookers enabled for gable rafter roofs (vertical & horizontal).

Notice in this case I have left the gable rafter in place but notched clean through it, so essentially it is blocking. However, I have also given the option for removing the gable rafter entirely. You will also notice that the gable rafter is the same depth as the outlookers, when you choose "CUSTOM" for the gable end rafter it allows one to specify the depth of this rafter.

When structural outlookers are used in a vertical orientation it is common practice to have them bear directly on the double top plate of the gable wall (balloon framed to roof). If there is some configuration that is standard in your neck of the woods that I am missing please let me know. I am currently providing three different configurations for the gable end rafters.

I think I am ready to now attack the gable rafter roof with glulam beam.

medeek

Admittedly the user interface is still very rough around the edges. One thing I've started working on is making the default values assume the last values inputted by the user. The code is fairly simple but updating all of the different menus is tedious because I have quite a few truss types now. This should make creating multiple truss sets in a document even quicker since parameters like roof pitch, overhangs and heel heights are typically the same for a given structure.

To test this functionality currently, download the latest version 1.1.8 and test the common truss types (Imperial Units). I will be updating all menus so that this functionality is present.

medeek

I'm wondering with my rafter roof if I should provide an option to draw ceiling joists?

pcmoor

option to draw ceiling joists? That would be great and a collar tie and ridge tie option. Better still give the option to place them at a given height.

medeek

Adding in ceiling joists is not a big deal but I don't want to add features that only complicate the plugin and the user experience. I could also make an option to offset the ceiling joist off of the wall top plate for a "raised" ceiling joist.