My friend is mainly interested in using SU to work out a few things in 3D and told me he won't model the entire robot. But he may get pretty close and I may offer to finish it off. The current project is a 25' arm with hand that is controled by a user putting their own hand into a contraption. When the user moves their hand the robot hand mirrors the movement.
It will be able to lift a car off the ground and crush it! It is just going to be too much fun.
I like the presentation and rendering. The mood and the day seems cheerful and pleasant, it lends this feeling to the house. As a scene it all works well. As a study of that house I also have to say that the bus draws my attention more than the house, it's the placement and the color.
Perhaps reposition the bus and tweak the color or replace with someone on a bicycle?
Thanks for posting it.
thanks for the replies, he brought over his laptop and we found that it also does .dwg and there was no problem importing. His free version kept crashing and he is going to try reinstalling the program and see if that helps. I was able to import his files without problem.
I have a friend who uses vellum to design insanely cool robots (which he actually builds) and wants some help bringing some files into SU and seeing how it fits into his workflow.
I have never used Vellum and am not familiar with what file extensions it supports. My friend wasn't infront of his computer but thought it would export .vc6 .dxf and .iges (not sure of the spelling on the last one).
Anyone have experience importing from Vellum or these extensions and any problems I might encounter? I do have AutoCad2004 if needed to use as a workaround tool. It would be nice to not need AutoCad since he doesn't have a copy.
Here is one of his robots (it also has functional flame throwers 
)
good info thanks. I will explore what's available to get higher quality. For this application the file size isn't much of an issue.
That's great, thanks Solo. I guess I have some schooling to do for myself, there is a lot of information there. As I read all this does anyone have any preferences or does everyone just use the default?
I am trying to create a little promotional video from a SU model. Can anyone give me advice about pros and cons to the various codec options and thier various settings. I can't seem to find any discussions about them.
I am using SU6pro, windows xp home, intel pentium M dual core 1.6Ghz 400MHz, 1 GB ram
final output will be a CD or a large downloadable file for one end user (Discovery Channel producer). The video is mainly to show off the features of the next house we will build that is modeled in SU so the video isn't the focus but I would like it to be nice.
Good point Joe, I really didn't take as close a look at the model as you did. Compound curves would be a nightmare. It is something to address for sure. It would be worth it to look at the plate line and mellow out the curves to make it more reasonable to build. Perhaps reighn it in to undulating curves instead of wild curves.
Anything is possible with unlimited time and money but who has that?
I agree with you Joe that it would be much easier with a level top plate but it's certainly not impossible. An undulating top plate can be built as a laminate. Imagine building a wall with only the bottom plate (run the studs wild). Draw the curves you want on a strips of 3/4 plywood. Attach these to either side of the studs and then cut the studs flush to the curves. Now work up a top plate a layer or two at a time using the bottom edge of the plywood to clamp to.
Not the easiest or cheapest way to go, but I don't think that's the primary concern in this project.
Wow quite a flurry of posts since I checked in last. To answer your earlier question a qualified "yes". Many material combinations will work like a ferro-cement skin. The one you suggested may work. The problem might be that the tensile strength of the fabric would not be known and it may seem strong but may not stand up to windshear etc.
I think that if you are serious about making this a habitable structure then at some point you would need to talk with an engineer and watch his eyes bulge when you show him what you want to do 
. The reason I like the crackmaster fiberglass fabric (3' x 90' roll I think) is it is made for this type of application and has known tensile strength you can depend on.
Just be aware that as you increase density you lose R-Value since you are eliminating the pockets of air that provide the insulation. I understand however that you want high density for inbetween the tubes.
Another approach would be a ferro-cement skin which is less fancy than it sounds. It would involve a layer or two of expanded metal lath and cement based plaster. Plastering is a skill set that you can find just about anywhere. You can also use fiberglass mesh like "crackmaster" to reinforce the plaster. You would then paint on a waterproofing membrane of which there are many. It would be very strong. My father in law used to make 10,000-20,000 gal ferro-cement cisterns where the walls were only about 1 1/2" thick with about 7 layers of lath. You of course wouldn't get any R-Value but the roof wouldn't be all lumpy like it would be with foam.
you know in my area polyurathane foam is used as a roofing material itself. It is degraded quickly by UV rays so it has to be covered with a paint or gravel. I have used it on a couple houses I have built for other people. It's great because it will cover odd shapes and pitches (we have a lot of flat roofs with parapets here)and adds insulation as well (about R-5/inch I think). However it is not the most durable of materials and you need a skilled applicator or it's a nightmare. It's also not that cheap, but it does have it's place.
That's great, I love it! Did your son get a kick out of it or is he too young?