SketchUp 7 for Dummies

A new book of the series "For Dummies" has been released for version 7 of SketchUp
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Wiley Publishing has released a new SketchUp for Dummies book to explore the new SkechUp 7 version. According to Wiley's description with this book you will "start creating models right away" and you can learn to:

• Set up SketchUp, learn about edges and faces, use inferences and guides, and build your first model
• Establish a basic end-to-end workflow for creating and sharing models
• Model non-boxy objects like terrain, characters, bottles, and spheres
• Add details like stairs, gutters, and eaves
• Spruce up your models with styles and shadows to add effects, make objects pop, and enhance realism
• Use the LayOut function to draw with vector tools, add text and callouts, and print your work
• Design buildings and objects, export your models to other design programs or to Google Earth, and explore 3D animation

There are some new sections on the book compared to the previous release covering new features and previously omitted tools:

• a brand new section on the Sandbox tools
• a brand new section on modeling organic shapes with the Scale, Push/Pull, and Follow Me tools
• a brand new section on Dynamic Components, including how to use them and how to create them
• coverage of the new photomodeling tools
• a revised chapter on LayOut 2

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AutoCAD: Single or Multiple Windows

You might want to keep all open files in a single window or have multiple ones. There is a system variable to tweak this.
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The system variable TASKBAR allows us to control if all files show in a single window or on multiple one on the windows task bar. Setting it to 0 will make all files to show on a single element on the task bar, setting it to 1 will show each file as a individual element.
Both with the setting on 0 or 1 you can toggle between files pressing CTRL + TAB or going to the Windows drop down menu and selecting the file you want to see.
I personally use the setting on 1 because I like to switch between files by pressing the corresponding window o the task bar, but each person has a different preference so it is good to know how to switch between the two display modes.

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Rhino: Importing AutoCAD Aliases

You can use some of your AutoCAD aliases in Rhino. It just needs some minor adjustment.
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First thing I missed when starting to use Rhino was being able to draw a line by typing "L" or copying an object by typing "C" (I use C for copy in AutoCAD). I thought I had to get used to the new aliases till Chaitanya told me I could get my AutoCAD aliases in Rhino.
To import aliases to Rhino we need to have them stored in a .txt file, and go to Tools --> Options --> Aliases.
See that you can't directly use your acad.pgp. I tried to simply change the .pgp extension to .txt, but the formatting of the AutoCAD aliases doesn't match the requirements of Rhino. We can very quickly reformat the file though, by erasing all the introduction, and erasing the comas and the asterisks.
Take into consideration that many AutoCAD commands don´t apply to Rhino, so it is wise to create your own .txt file with only those Aliases from CAD that you find indispensable to have available in Rhino. Slowly as you see which Rhino commands you use more often you can keep adding aliases to your aliases file to match your requirements.
You can download my acadtorhino.txt file, it is a quick file that can be used to import the basic ACAD aliases to Rhino (see that a couple of them like C for COPY and R for ROTATE are not AutoCAD standards, but my standards, but you can modify them easily if you are a 2 letter typer)

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AutoCAD:Explode Unexplodable Blocks

Do you find yourself unable to explode certain Blocks? Don't despair, the solution is easier than you might think.
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When a Block is created there are several options that sometimes are overlooked. One of this is the option to not allow the block to be exploded. If you don't know that this exists, you might find yourself unable to explode a block that you really, really, really need to explode (I am no fan of Block exploding, I mostly hate people who do that as a hobby, but sometimes you do need to explode them).
The trick is to open the block definition dialog box (type "b", or "block") without selecting anything. Then on the drop down list search for the block you are unable to explode. You will see that the "allow exploding" option is unselected. Select it and click OK. Now select the Block, enter X for EXPLODE. The Block should explode.
As I said before, be careful about exploding blocks (specially in a multiuser environment). If they have been created as blocks is for a reason, so exploding them might screw up someone else's effort. Remember that Blocks can be scaled, clipped using the XCLIP or CLIPIT commands, etc so consider other options before exploding them.



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Rhino: Easy Creation of Curved Windows and Store Fronts

Creating curved Windows and store fronts might be tedious in other programs. Not in Rhino. You just need to know the right command.
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Do you manually model all the curved parts of your buildings? Stop doing so. Rhino can do it for you. Let's imagine that we want to draw a curved window. We could create the curved mullions, glass, etc, or we can simply use the FlowAlongSrf command. Let me show you what this command does.
We will try to make a curved storefront following a given curve, divided in 4 parts vertically and 5 horizontally. Instead of trying to manually model it we create a flat version of it. See the image below.

To make the final result easier to handle, be sure that you Group the Storefront Mullions together. Once you have them grouped, you need to extrude the curve to the height you want the store front to be. After that you need to create a plane that matches the size of the flat store front that you have created. Something like the image below.

After we have this, everything is ready. Select the flat storefront. Type FlowAlongSrf. Select the plane near the flat storefront as base surface and select the curved surface as the target surface. These are the results.

The command FlowAlongSrf really makes modelling of curved façades much easier. See some other examples of what you can achieve with it, both based on the same 5 x 4 module.

Thanks to Chaitanya for teaching me today this.

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AutoCAD: Dealing with Ellipses

Ellipses are necessary but troublesome. Learn to deal with them appropriately.
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If you have a Boss like mine who loves ellipse shaped Buildings, Drop-offs, Piazzas, etc. you probably have to deal with ellipses more than you wish. Ellipses are quite troublesome.
First of all they don't offset as ellipses, rather when we offset an ellipse the parallel geometry obtained is a SPLINE. Splines have the disadvantage that they can only be trimmed but not extended.

One way to partially solve this problem is to know the PELLIPSE system variable. The default value of this paramter is 0, which means ellipses are drawn as ellipses. If we set it to 1, instead of an ellipse the geometry drawn is a POLYLINE. The advantage of using polylines is that they can be exploded (Ellipses can't) and when offset they remain polylines. Another advantage is that Polylines can be converted to other types of objects (in ACA you can convert them to Walls, Spaces, etc).
The disadvantage of drawing ellipses as Polylines is that since they are an approximation of an ellipse made with multiple curved segments, if we trim part of the ellipse shaped polyline we will probably not going to be able to recover the old geometry by using the extend command.
Another consideration when deciding if you want to set PELLIPSE to 1 or 0 is to think if you will need to modify that ellipse often. If you will be trimming and extending segments of an ellipse my recommendation is to keep it in 0 (the ellipse is a "smart object" you will be able to recover all of its geometry from its smallest segment if is a real ellipse, if it is a polyline yo will have to redraw it) If you will be offsetting the ellipse better set it to 1 so you avoid getting Splines that will leave you with no flexibility.
Another issue I found when dealing with ellipses is when I want to redraw one that is not aligned with the active UCS. For some reason the "UCS Object" feature doesn't allign properly with the axis of ellipses. So, if you want to draw an ellipse using the same alignment for its axis as a previous one this is what you need to do.
You need to know the concept of Quadrant Osnap. In ellipses (and circles) quadrant osnap is a point on the ellipse that intersects the ellipse axis. See the three images below for a clearer explanation (click on the image to enlarge)

The image on the left shows a selected ellipse. The grips we see correspond to the centre and quadrant osnaps of the ellipse that we will use to get the righ UCS alignment. The image in the middle shows how we can access the Osnap contextual menu to select the quadrant osnap. (follow this link for more info on the topic). The image on the right shows the line from quadrant to quadrant drawn. We will use the align UCS to Object to this line to get the correct UCS that will allow us to redraw an ellipse equal or parallel to the original one.(This only works with Ellipses drawn with PELLIPSE = 0).

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AutoCAD: Muiltiple XREF repath - The Reference Manager

AutoCAD Installs an external application that allows you to repath multiple XREFs.
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The Reference Manager is a utility introduced in AutoCAD 2004 that is not very well known since it is external to AutoCAD itself. The purpose of it, as it name states, is to Manage the External References.
To access it you need to go to Start --> Programs --> Autodesk --> AutoCAD 20XX --> Reference Manager.
The interface is pretty simple. The main use I found for it is to re-path XREFs that have been moved to different folders. You cans elect all the XREFs that need re-pathing, right click on them and click "Edit Selected Paths". See the image below.
The Reference Manager allows you to Manage any file that a drawing uses as a Reference, such as plot style tables, Fonts, Images and XREFs. Being Images and XREFs the ones that most commonly are misplaced, this are the types of files that you will most commonly re-path through the Reference Manager.
Re-pathing is something that you can do in AutoCAD using the XRef Manager, the Image Manager, etc. But when a file that was referenced in 100 drawings has been chenaged of location, you don;t want to enter those 100 drawings and repath this XREF in each one. The Reference Manager allows you to do this for the 100 drawings in a few clicks.
What I miss in the Reference Manager is the option to not only repath (choose the folder of the XREF) but also choose a new XREF. Sometimes the broken path is due to a change on the name of a file rather than a change of location. It would be great if the Reference Manager allowed us to point multiple files to the new XREF.



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Rhino Plugins: Block Editor

Rhino does not have Block Editor by default, but there is a plugin for that.
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If you start using Rhino like me coming from an AutoCAD, Microstation and/or SketchUp background you'll be used to create Blocks, Cells or Components, to edit them later.
Rhino by default does not have a Block Editor so you might find yourself a bit lost if you imported a file in Rhino from other applications that work with Blocks or similar entities.
No problem. Rhino, very similarly as SketchUp, has a wide range of Plugins to enhance its functionality. One of this is the Block Editor plugin, that will add the needed functionality to your Rhino. To download it go to this link. The Mcneel website has plenty of information about how to install plugins.
You need to use the PlugInManager command to load the Plugin, browse to the location where you have the plugin stored and click OK. After that you can select a block and run the command InPlaceBlockEdit to edit the block.
To manage Blocks Rhino has the BlockManager that allows you update and delete existing blocks and linked files.

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Follow CAD Addict on Twitter

Now you can follow CAD Addict also on twitter
Some months ago I started to use twitter. Since it seems to be working pretty good and I keep getting new followers almost every day I thought I'd share with everyone the possibility to follow the posts directly from your Twitter account. To do so, follow this link and click follow, if you don't have a twitter account you'll have to register first.
Remember that you can also subscribe to the RSS feed using the links on the upper right corner of the CAD Addict website.
For those using Facebook, I also created a page through NetworkedBlogs application.

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AutoCAD: Disable XREF Preview

Disable the XREF Preview to improve performance on the Select Reference File contextual Menu.
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When XREFs are big files or have big image files attached to it they might become a problem if your computer is not very powerful. As I mentioned on a previous post, you can optimize performance by using the old XREF Manager instead of the new External References Palette.
One more way to improve performance is to tell AutoCAD to not show a preview of the XREF when using the "Select Reference File" pop up window. I can't tell right now which versions have this options, but I can confirm that ACA 2009 has it. See the picture below.
Unchecking the option "Preview" under the "Views" menu on the upper right side of the Dialog will stop showing XREF Previews making everything faster and smoother.


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SketchUp Plugins: Creating Tensile Like Structures

Learn about a Plugin that will allow you too create Curved Tensile-like surfaces.
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Soap Skin Bubble is a Plugin developed by Josef Leibinger intended to represent tensile like structures.
The truth is that as you will learn with some practice, it is a tool to create almost any curved surface based on it´s profiles. THe plugin includes a Flash animation that I am including below and that quickly shows some of the features of this Plugin.

The Plugin use is not very intuitive, in the beginning you might think it is not working properly. Just give it some trial an error and you´ll see you can achieve almost any shape with it, so it is worth the time it takes to get used to its "weird" behaviour.
You can download the Plugin here directly on the developer website. You can find some more information and examples that will help you understand better how to use the Plugin.

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Rhino: Commands List

A quick reference of commands for Rhino.
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Rhino is a great tool for designing and modeling complex shaped buildings. We've have recently increased in my office the use of this tool and it is giving results far better than what we could achieve with SketchUp, so expect to get also tips about Rhino once in a while.
I have started lately to get some time to restart my Rhino training and one of the first things I was looking for was a list of commands. The help provided with the program is actually great. For an online list of commands you can go to the McNeel website where the list is reproduced.
This post will be in the future the directory where I will update any commands I find specially important to know when using Rhino.

• BlockManager: Updates and deletes Blocks and linked files.
• FlowAlongSrf: Transforms a group to match any type of curved or flat surface.
  
• InPlaceBlockEdit: Edits Blocks in Place (requires the Block Editor PlugIn)
• PluginManager: Allows you to load Plugins
• SoftMove: Moves objects according to their distance from a central point.
  

Remember that Rhino has a similar system of Aliases like AutoCAD. See this post to know how to import AutoCAD Aliases or your customized ones.


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