[Plugin] Parametric Modeling - v0.0.7 - 03 June 2021

Robin Morritt

That would be ideal. Multi-colour of course.

I can only speak for myself, but I imagine such notes in a network of nodes would be the logical equivalent of comments in code. Neat, nice and handy, just as you describe.

jkoll66

I see huge potential in this plugin. What would make it infinitely more useful is the ability to expose variables to a user. Through a dialog box or something. Do you see that coming in the future? Thanks in advance.

Robin Morritt

@jkoll66 said:

the ability to expose variables to a user.

Have you tried the "Get Points" node in the nodes editor, or perhaps use the right click context menu in the SketchUp window in conjunction with a construction point?
If variables were to make it possible to iterate through a loop - as in do ... until - that would open up some possibilities that I would have liked to try out.
My model is too big - moving around in the nodes editor is really slow and redrawing the groups is ridiculous now. Iteration might help a bit, but a better solution would be if Intersect/Unite/Subtract worked with all the groups resulting from a Concatenate or Make Group node.

samuel_t

@jkoll66 said:

I see huge potential in this plugin. What would make it infinitely more useful is the ability to expose variables to a user. Through a dialog box or something. Do you see that coming in the future? Thanks in advance.

I don't know if this answers your request, but you can add a Number node and connect it to at least one Calculate node. From there: number is accessible through a variable named a if you plugged it to "Variable A" input... See documentation to learn more.

Or maybe you're requesting a simplified view dedicated to user, containing only variables?

samuel_t

What's new in 0.0.6 version?

You can extract shape of a curve and apply parametric processings to it. Then, once frozen, you can use it to create a new shape with Curviloft plugin, for example.
Schemas are commentable. Right click in void inside Nodes Editor window then select "Add a comment node" entry.
More points are available in "Get points" nodes.
Points can be inherited.
Plugin was translated to traditional chinese and simplified chinese by Shuang Yu.

Download latest Parametric Modeling plugin from the SketchUcation PluginStore.

Paxhuang

really awesome plugin~ many thanks~
wish there could be more point base function,
for example , link function, one can link two point into line.
thanks~

samuel_t

What's new in 0.0.7 version?

"Move" node has evolved without compatibility break. One can use formulas to define XYZ positions... See the "Parallel Copy" example schema.

Plugin handles more errors. E.g. a zero radius.
Nodes Editor contains a link to a wiki hosted by GitHub.
For developers: Node module was refactored.

Download latest Parametric Modeling plugin from the SketchUcation PluginStore.

samuel_t

What's new in 0.0.2 version?

More node types are available in math domain: "Multiply", "Divide" and "Calculate". With this latter, one can write complex mathematic formulas. See documentation to learn more...
Boolean operations were introduced in Nodes Editor. Unite, intersect and subtract parametric solids thanks to brillant work of Julia Christina Eneroth. Note these operations work on all SketchUp versions, including free ones. Warning: these operations can slowdown SketchUp.
One can structurate parametric model with "Make group" nodes.
One can write queries to target specific parametric entities with "Select" nodes. See documentation to learn more...
Two entries were added to global context menu in Nodes Editor: "Remove all nodes" and "Show or hide minimap". The minimap should help you to navigate more comfortably in large schemas.
A label can be applied to each node of type "Number".
One can use "Paint" node type to apply a material to groups, after a selection for example.
Node state is reflected by a color: red means it's invalid while green means it's selected.
To remove a node, you need to right click on it then select "Remove this node". No more double click...
One can access plugin documentation from Nodes Editor toolbar.
A shelf, a decking on pedestals and a wall fence with pillars are available in examples schemas. Thanks to Jack Tenrev and Simon Joubert for these schemas.
Materials referenced in parametric schema but not existing in model are substituted by random colors.
Layers/tags referenced in parametric schema but not existing in model are created.
Result of "Add" and "Subtract" nodes was corrected. It was incorrect in some cases.
Nodes Editor tooltips display also in old SketchUp versions such as 2017.

Download latest Parametric Modeling plugin from the SketchUcation PluginStore.

samuel_t

What's new in 0.0.5 version?

"Align" and "Get points" nodes types were added. They can help you, for example, to place an entity on top of another one. See new schema: Pencil.
"Copy" and "Move" nodes have evolved a bit. They're retrocompatible.
When you input a decimal number in a node, scale of number defines step for next increment (or decrement). This means if you input 1.25, next increment will be 1.26. Step is adaptive... See documentation to learn more.
Arrows icons in numeric fields were removed because they were too buggy. You can still use keyboard arrows to increment (or decrement).
You can use deg function in "Calculate" nodes to convert degrees to radians... See documentation to learn more.
Selected wire is highlighted.
Plugin was translated to french.

Download latest Parametric Modeling plugin from the SketchUcation PluginStore.

alotharian

Hi Samuel,
Excellent plugin. Having played with it a little (creating a dynamically resizable cabinet) I got some feature suggestions:

Navigating in the Node Editor: Currently the Left Mouse button is used to move a node, or move the whole scene (when clicking outside of a node). In a busy screen it would be helpful to have a separate button for the scene moving, e.g. the Middle Mouse Button
Variable names: In a complex editor screen with plenty of nodes and connecting lines it is difficult to find the source of a connected variable. So, when a variable got connected it would be excellent to see the name of the source beside Variable X (even if the long ones wrapped).
Cancelling a node placement: Clicking on a node icon AFAIK, now we must place the node and then delete if it was accidental or wrong. It would be nice to have the cancelling feature by hitting the ESCape.

Thanks for your awesome work.
regards,
Rian

samuel_t

Simon Joubert created a great schema that makes use of latest evolutions of "Move" node.

You can download it here. Right-click. Save link as...

tavuro

Excellent plugin. A suggestion, you need a list box to enter text and be able to select the options. Thanks

patriarch

Nice useful plugin. There are several questions. Is it possible to add components that exist in the model to an assembly? And is it possible to insert lines and planes, profiles? Can I create components instead of groups? And it would also be nice to have the function of renaming existing groups.

samuel_t

@patriarch said:

Nice useful plugin.

I'm glad to hear that

@patriarch said:

Can I create components instead of groups? Is it possible to add components that exist in the model to an assembly?

You can only do parametric operations on a parametric group but you can copy a regular component that exists in model and paste it as a parametric group. To do so: right click on a component in main SketchUp window and select "Parametric Modeling > Extract Shape From Group Or Component".

You can also convert a parametric group to a regular group. To do so: right click in void inside Nodes Editor and select "Freeze parametric entities". Then, convert it to a regular component in main SketchUp window.

@patriarch said:

And is it possible to insert lines and planes, profiles?

Yes. Right click on lines in main SketchUp window and select "Parametric Modeling > Extract Shape From Curve Or Edges".

@patriarch said:

And it would also be nice to have the function of renaming existing groups.

You can rename parametric groups inside Nodes Editor. For regular groups, you can use "Outliner".

WhiteShadow

https://imgur.com/gallery/0xpWNnO

I have to make those snake skin like things, any idea how to do it?

Mariotalluto

Absolutely amazing plugin ! Thanks for make it free

Looking for some example/tutorial cause i am completly lost. I want to create basic paramtric building (volume + balcony),but can't find the way to do it

Thanks !

samuel_t

@whiteshadow said:

https://imgur.com/gallery/0xpWNnO

I have to make those snake skin like things, any idea how to do it?

Sorry for the late reply. It's maybe possible to model this "Snake Skin". Here's an hypothetical plan:

Download Tiling.schema. Make sure downloaded file ends with ".schema", not ".txt".
Open Nodes Editor.
Right click in void to display context menu… Click on "Import schema from a file". Select "Tiling.schema".
Design elementary shape with SketchUp native tools or other plugins. Let's call this shape a "Tile".
Make a "Tile" component. Right click on this component in main SketchUp window. Select "Parametric Modeling > Extract Shape From Group Or Component". "Tile" appears as "Draw shape" in Nodes Editor.
Replace "Draw box" node with "Draw shape" node. Connect "Draw shape" with other nodes.
Use "Copy" node(s) with "X/Y/Z Position" formula(s) to spread "Tile/Draw shape" in 3D space.

samuel_t

@mariotalluto said:

Absolutely amazing plugin ! Thanks for make it free

Thanks for your feedback!

@mariotalluto said:

Looking for some example/tutorial cause i am completly lost. I want to create basic paramtric building (volume + balcony),but can't find the way to do it

There are videos available on YouTube but it's more a plugin overview... I recommend you to import examples: Open the Nodes Editor. Right click in void to display context menu… Click on "Import schema from a file". Select a ".schema" file. Study how nodes are filled and connected. There is also a Wiki.

Traupmann

Some of the supplied schemas require particular models for them to be expanded correctly. Can you please provide those models?

I have been using Parametric Modeling for a while. I find it very useful in solving some problems. I hope you are continuing the effort.

samuel_t

@traupmann said:

Some of the supplied schemas require particular models for them to be expanded correctly. Can you please provide those models?

When you export a parametric schema, everything visible in the Nodes Editor is stored in the .schema file, even custom shapes (extracted from SketchUp viewport).

A parametric schema can be exported from a model then imported in another model, without geometry loss. The only things not embedded in .schema files are materials textures.