Hi Chris,

I've attached an illustration for you. I wasn't certain where to post since the 'context' of my inquiry is organic modeling, but also about what tool to use for a particular organic modeling situation.

Warm regards

Bob

I've been working on a project that uses a 'lot' of crown molding. In my model, I'd like to be able to cut to size and separate crown moldings using as few processing steps as possible.

The Zoro2 plugin 'almost' meets my needs except that when you cut through a single solid group, the result isn't two separate solid groups. As shown in my illustration, I have to go through a lot of manipulations to get to what I need.

Now, the Trim_to_plane plugin achieves 'exactly the result I want i.e., two separate solid groups (with all the faces), but I have found no way to use it on a shape like a crown molding.

I think what I need is a plugin that produces the same results as a compound miter saw in the physical world.

Question: Is anyone aware of a plugin (free or paid) that can do what I want (shown in bottom half of illustration) in as many (or fewer) steps?

zorrow plugin test.skp

Dave,

Thanks for your input....it's much appreciated

What I've learned today in this forum goes a long way to explaining many of the strange results I was getting when importing images onto solid surfaces. I'm now revisiting some of my past projects.

Although I'm impressed by the depth and breadth of knowledge in this forum, I'm more impressed with the fact that there's folks like you who take the time to help others less knowledgeable in Sketchup. I think I'm going to be here for a long time

warm regards

Bob

Well...it seems (for me at least) your never to old to learn something new. It didn't occur to me to look at the .rb file in a text editor. Good call, thanks

The fact that the surface of the circle was face down was a complete surprise to me. I wasn't aware (until you mentioned it) that the darker (blue-gray)side of the face of a Circle is actually its bottom surface. It seemed intuitive to me that if I'm looking down at a circle when I create it, that it's surface would be facing up at me -- apparently not.

Your recommendation to "make your Style's back-face material a bright blue" and to use "monochrome mode", makes a lot of sense. I'll take your advice going forward. With respect to the 'FixReversedFaceMaterials' plugin, I will certainly add it to my collection, along with a gratuity.

I welcome your sage advice.

warm regards

Bob

TIG,

First I'd like to thank you for your amazing plug-ins. They are all incredibly useful.

I had two questions:

1 - Your Super Drape plugin (above) is is labeled version 3.1, but your download 'appears' to be v3.0. Is this simply a typo?

2 - I experimented with this plugin using various constructs, all of which were grouped (see attachment). All worked well until I attempted to drape grouped text onto the surface of a circle. It appears that the material doesn't transfer. It's probably something I'm doing wrong so if you can...please let me know.

warm regards

Bob

SuperDrape Material anomolie.skp

Nicolas.

What a beautiful presentation. You must have put a lot of effort into that. It looks quite elegant.

Are you a professional illustrator or Architect by profession?

Personally, I've never rendered anything. I typically use Sketchup as a quick modeling tool to visualize in 3D whatever I want to build, 'before' I build it e.g., This spring, I used it to model my deck before I built it. I saved a lot of time exploring design possibilities and also to identify problems assembly before actually building it. I used 3DS Solidworks do do the FEA's on certain structural components but used Sketchup do do the more interesting (an fun) design work. Using Sketchup, I also saved a small fortune in waste material by modeling my structural components 'before' cutting them to size.

At this moment, I'm modeling my kitchen and living room space in advance of an upcoming renovation. The money I'm saving in wasted time and materials by using Sketchup is being diverted to buying more and more plugins.

By the way, the table you rendered actually exists in my living room, along with a 'lot' of other pieces, all of which I'm trying to decide where to place 'before' I renovate the space.

In all honesty, I've never had so much fun with 'any' software before. It seems there is no end to how I can use Sketchup. Now that I've seen the results you've obtained with my humble table, I'm jumping on the render wagon.

Cheers

Bob

Nicolas,

I've not used SketchUV or Thrupaint to-date. Reducing model complexity (thus file size) is sound advice, I will certainly explore both.

Thank you again for your time and expertise -- it's very much appreciated.

leminilab,

I thought you might like to see your contribution to my model. I must say, it looks a lot better now that it has feet. This model is free to download by anyone.

Thanks again.

Glass Table.rar

To: leminilab & cotty:

Nicely done...I'm excited to get started on this. I bought Artisan to tackle this one. Now, using your suggestions, I see the light at the end of the tunnel now. I hope I have an opportunity to return the favor. I'll post my final results for anyone who has a need for a glass & Brass table model. I've included a screenshot of the nearly-finished model:

Warm regards

Bob

pbacot,

Sorry for the disappointment....I was speaking metaphorically about my organic "brick wall".

Thanks for the suggestions as they definitely show that this is doable with a little more work. It really looks like I'm going to have to build this a section at a time, then splice them together.

With respect to my "intent" for this model: It is simply part of my home modeling/renovation project. I'm modeling my living space (including furniture) to better visualize it before I start [re]moving walls. So modeling the legs are really more of an intellectual exercise

warm regards

Delighted that you found this worthy of looking at. It's certainly brought me a lot of challenges. If nothing else, I've learned a lot about many of the Fredo6 plugin capabilities.

Using FFD I've come pretty close to being to deform a cylinder to create the the bulbus profile at one end of the cylinder by manipulating the control points of FFD in while using the control key with the scale tool. Sadly, no plugin I've tried can correctly restrict the radial deformation of the cylinder within two defined planes. If I can achieve this, I can then use Fredo6's Fredoscale to 'bend' the cylinder to the shape I need. The rest of the 'flutes' I can reproduce using Artisan.

I think that if I could just find a plugin that could actually model one of those old glass thermometers (the ones that have a bulb on the end), I'd be most of the way home.

I've added a few more pictures to better illustrate what I'm trying to model. Hope this clarifies things a bit more

Hi....

I've found myself up to my neck in an organic modeling conundrum thatI'm hoping more experienced Sketchup enthusiasts can offer some guidance in solving.

Specifically, I've been modeling a brass & glass end table. All was going well until I tried modeling the table's feet. As shown in the attached photos, they are are truly organic in design. I'm not entirely certain if I can continue forward using Sketchup to model them. If there is anyone who can offer some suggestions on what plugin or technique to use to successfully model these feet, I would be very appreciative.

Warm regards

Hi to all from Canada's Capital - Ottawa Ontario. Permit me to introduce myself, BSintzel.

I've come to this forum to share with (and learn from,) other forum members. From what I've experienced so far, this forum includes a 'lot' of good folk that share my belief that there are no stupid questions, just stupid answers. This has been my mantra throughout my career. That said, I look forward to sharing what I know with others, and learning a bit more each day by asking, what some may consider, dumb questions.

My background is somewhat varied, as I've been around for a long time (62 years) and I have enjoyed careers ranging from aircraft and auto mechanic, Mechanical Engineering Technologist, Lotus Notes developer, ER Modeler and scientific programmer at Canada's National Research Council (NRC).

My experience with computer-aided modeling has been mostly limited to parametric modeling with 3DS Solidworks. Although intellectually challenging, I found that Solidworks didn't meet my 'rapid/low-cost' modeling needs. Since discovering Sketchup a year ago, I've found that I can achieve most (if not all) of my home design goals without having to endure a steep learning curve, or paying a fortune in software fees.

I've used Sketchup to successfully model my new deck prior to building it. I'm now using Sketchup to to model my new kitchen and living room before I renovate them. That said, I've found myself up to my neck in an organic modeling conundrum that I'm hoping more experienced Sketchup enthusiasts can offer some guidance in solving.

Specifically, I've been modeling a brass & glass end table. All was going well until I tried modeling the table's feet. As shown in the attached photos, they are are truly organic in design. I'm not entirely certain if I can continue forward using Sketchup to model them. If there is anyone who can offer some suggestions on what plugin or technique to use to successfully model these feet, I would be very appreciative.

Warm regards

Thomas,

Before I advise Bitdefender that tt_api.so is not a Trojan, could you please confirm the hash checksum of your tt_api.so against mine? At least that way, I can back up my assertion to the Bitdefender folks.

I've attached my tt_api.so specifics.

Thanks again

Thomas,

You are indeed correct in that I 'should have' referred to the tt_api.so file. Thanks for catching that.

warm regards

This is probably nothing...but, Bitdefender Internet Security 2013 has identified TT-Lib - 2.6.0\TT_Lib2\libraries\win32\tt_api.so as a Trojan.Generic.KD.811184

Either the signature recognized by Bitdefender is in error, or TT_api.so has been compromised. Just to be sure, would you please post the checksum of your original tt-cleanup plugin.

warm regards

p.s.

I use every script you've produced and had amazing results. A tip of my hat to you sir.