Christoph Eckert: November 2011 Archives

Vectorworks interiorcad and interior xs 2012 finally are available. Regardless whether you plan to update from a prior version of interiorcad or you are new to interiorcad, do not hesitate to contact Sven Biermann via phone or +49 251-39089-30 or e-mail at sven.biermann@extragroup.de.

Overview

It is rather painful to draw each Drilling separately on a couple of given Custom Parts each time a user starts a new project. Using Vectorworks symbols can help users to keep some of their stock drillings at hand. Please note the following limitations, though:

• Vectorworks 2012 SP2 is required to work with drillings in symbols.
• Creating such symbols and to cope with their 3D orientation requires strong 3D skills.
• Of course you can also add functional hardware components to the symbols. However, this is not officially supported, as such symbols will not appear in cutting lists or costings.

The Presenter

In the following example, we will show how users can create a symbol representing a castor and a wooden pin for later reuse.

Here's the situation where we want to apply some symbols:

In wireframe mode, some wooden pins are visible:

Symbol Options

The following symbol options are used. Note the option »Convert to group« which will ensure the Drilling PIOs in the symbol are inserted as such:

Castor

The Castor symbol contains four drillings. When inserting the castor, the drillings will automatically connect to the bottom of the presenter:

Wooden Pin

The wooden pin symbol contains a pin and two drillings:

Note that the symbol

• was placed »upright« so that the user can make use of the automatic working plane feature of Vectorworks 2012 when inserting the symbol.


• was created excentrically.

Here's a top view in wireframe mode, which shows the excentric drillings:

Conclusion

Users can create red and blue symbols to keep their stock Drillings available right at their fingertips. Adding 3D components for functional hardware is possible, but is unsopported concerning cutting lists or costings.

Overview

As the Custom Part tool, the Drilling tool supports the magic »Create from Selection« button in the method bar. The created Drillings will connect automatically with adjacent Custom Parts in case the insertion points hit one of its surfaces.

Supported 2D Objects

The Drilling tool supports two types of objects, circles and lines. The firstly created point of a line will become the insertion point of the Drilling after the conversion. Converted circles will lead to drillings where the insertion point is "on top" of the Drilling.

Example

Here's a simple example. Three lines and nine circles are placed on the surfaces of a Custom Part. Then those are converted to drillings. interiorcad automatically glues them together, even creating the required holes in the Custom Part:

Conclusion

Lines and circles are objects interiorcad can convert to 3D Drillings. The resulting Drillings are connected automatically to adjacent Custom Parts in case the insertion points hit the surface of a Custom Part.

Overview

One further Vectorworks command supported by interiorcad's object connection mechanism is Duplicate Array. For example, it can be used to create grid drillings.

Creation of grid Drillings

Create a Custom Part with two Drillings and create a working plane on the surface of the Custom Part:

Choose the Duplicate Array command and enter the shown settings:

Confirm the dialog to create the desired duplicates:

The resulting Drillings are connected with the Custom Part and can be edited via their object info palette:

Conclusion

The object connections introduced in interiorcad 2012 support Vectorworks commands such as »Duplicate Array«.

Overview

The object connection mechanism also supports the distribution of Drillings along a path. Below you find an example of a back which gets some drillings applied along its edges in order to place some screws.

Custom Part and path

First create a Custom Part:

Using the autoplane feature of Vectorworks 2012, draw a rectangle on its surface and inset it by 20 millimeters:

Split the rectangle so that the bottom line is removed:

Move the polygon to the center of the board, as Vectorworks will duplicate the Drillings along the path according to their 3D centers. This way it is ensured that the insertion points of the duplicated Drillings will touch the surface of the Custom Part:

Creating the Drillings

Choose a view perpendicular to the top of the Custom Part's surface. Place a Drilling outside the Custom Part. Choose a diameter of 5mm and a depth of 20mm. Select the Drilling and the path:

Choose the command »Duplicate along Path«. Enter the shown settings:

Press enter to create the Drillings. Vectorworks will automatically place the Drillings as desired, while interiorcad ensures they are automatically connected to the Custom Part:

Conclusion

To create a couple of Drillings along the edges of a Custom Part, interiorcad 2012 supports known Vectorworks techniques. Drillings duplicated along a path are automatically connected with the adjacent Custom Part in case the insertion points of the Drillings touch one of its surfaces.

Overview

In the last posting we have shown the new object connection mechanism which glues together Custom Parts and Drillings. Quoting myself:

In case a Drilling is placed on a Custom Part so that its insertion point is on any of the surfaces of a Custom Part, this Drilling automatically belongs to this Custom Part.

Let's see which operations lead to this behaviour.

Vectorworks Integration

The primary goal of interiorcad 2012 was to integrate it with Vectorworks 2012 as tight as possible. A user who knows how to use Vectorworks should be able to understand Custom Parts and Drillings without reading much documentation, following the »do what I want« paradigm.

As a consequence, Custom Parts and Drillings are pretty aware of most Vectorworks operations. Subsequently you will find a couple of operations which allow the user to connect Drillings with Custom Parts.

Automatic Working Plane

The Drilling tool supports the automatic working plane of Vectorworks 2012, an absolutely outstanding feature. To place a Drilling, just point and click on any surface of a Custom Part:

The Drilling was automatically connected. A cylindric hole was created in the Custom Part:

Mirror Tool

The Mirror tool does not support an automatic working plane. However, using a manually created working plane, it can be used to create the second drilling required. Place a working plane:

Select the Drilling. Select the Mirror tool. Snap to the midpoint of an edge of the surface:

Mirror the Drilling, which will immediately lead to the desired result:

Mirror Tool advanced

To copy the Drillings to the other parts of an object, just use the mirror tool again. interiorcad will automatically connect the copies to the "right" objects without any further user interaction.

Select the Drillings:

Use the Mirror tool:

Proceed:

Move by Points

The object connections support »Move by Points« also, though it is required again to place a manual working plane:

Rotate

Of course the rotation tool is supported as well:

Result

After using the Move by Points tool again, all wooden pins of the chair are placed correctly:

Conclusion

The Custom Part and Drilling PIOs of interiorcad 2012 support an object connection mechanism. The user can continue to use known Vectoworks tools, while interiorcad ensures that it »just works as expected«.

We will show some further examples of supported Vectorworks tools during the next days.

Overview

In the last posting we have shown that the Part Layout is capable of detecting Drillings which are "inside" a Custom Part. This is not true (thus the quotation marks). Instead, we developed an object connection mechanism which glues Custom Parts and Drillings together. In case a Drilling is placed on a Custom Part so that its insertion point is on any of the surfaces of a Custom Part, this Drilling automatically belongs to this Custom Part. Note that the Drillings are subtracted from the Custom Part, but are still PIOs editable via the object info palette.

Moving Custom Parts

Custom Parts with Drillings can be moved, and interiorcad ensures that the Drillings are moved accordingly. It does not matter whether the drillings are selected. Even mixed selections will "just work". Here's a simple example of a Custom Part with a grid drilling being "Ctrl-Dragged" in order to create a copy. Some drillings are grouped, and some single drillings are selected as well. Here's the Ctrl-Drag-operation:

The result is a proper copy of the Custom Part, regardless of the used selection:

Conclusion

interiorcad 2012 introduces an object connection mechanism, used to glue Custom Parts and Drillings together. Moving and copying a Custom Part will always affect its Drillings also.

We will show a couple of more sophisticated modelling techniques during the following days.

Overview

interiorcad 2012 contains a new tool representing a simple drilling. Its feature set is rather limited, as it basically provides two parameters, a diameter and a depth. Either of them can be changed via the drilling's OIP:

Depth

The new drilling PIO is a threedimensional object. Changing the diameter or depth will change its geometry accordingly:

Obviously, a drilling alone is not of much use. Thus drillings placed somewhere in the drawing are drawn in red colour, driven by a dedicated class:

Marriage

Custom Parts are capable of automatically detecting any drillings which belong to it. Creating a part layout will create parts which only include the drillings "inside" a Custom Part:

Moving the drilling outside the Custom Part inside its boundaries will result in a part containing both drillings:

Rotation of drillings

The user may rotate drillings in 3D. Rotations which appearently cannot be output to the NC machine correctly will appear in red color and will be suppressed by a subsequent NC-output:

Conclusion

Both Custom Parts and Drillings are fully aware of the 3D capabilities of Vectorworks 2012. Drillings belonging to a Custom Part will appear in Part Layouts and subsequent NC outputs, except rotated drillings which are not supported by VectorWOP.

Custom Parts support textures for rendering, and the textures are automatically set according to the master data assigned. The default behaviour is to use class textures. In case the class texture is not applicable, the components (board, coverings, edge bandings) use individual textures. The user can override the automatically chosen texture. The menu offers textures as found in the current document and allows to import additional textures from interiorcad's resources:

The templates shipped with interiorcad also make use of the new Renderworks Styles as introduced by Vectorworks 2012:

Overview

We try to constantly listening what our customers have to say about interiorcad. One complaint often heard was that it was too complex and too difficult to learn.

Thus a couple of tools and menu commands have been deprecated, namely the ones that became of less use since we introduced the new frame tool, the worktop and the Custom Part. The workspace now is a stock Vectorworks workspace with the toolsets and menus attached. As a consequence, interiorcad 2012 is much more convenient to learn and use.

Toolsets

The toolsets of interiorcad 2012 only contain its key features. Most Vectorscript based plugins have been removed:

Menu

The menu has slightly changed also. Mainly the commands related to the removed Vectorscript tools have been removed:

Workspace

We dropped the dedicated workspaces for interiorcad and interior xs. Instead, we just append our palettes and menus to the workspaces of Vectorworks rather than providing our very own approach of what a workspace should look like. This will flatten the learning curve for customers who are already familiar with Vectorworks, but new to interiorcad and interior xs.

Backwards Compatibility

Deprected tools and menu commands are still installed, so users can add them to their workspaces whenever necessary.

Listing of legacy objects

Menu Commands

• Adjust, Always, Never, don't adjust
• Assign Glass
• Assign int. stiles and rails
• Assign louver
• Assign perforated metal
• Assign raised panel
• Assign tambour
• Board appearance
• Board from 2D polyline
• Copy frame panel
• Copy profiles
• Copy properties
• Corr. iron along path
• Create 3D routings
• Create drilling pattern
• Delete frame panel
• Delete profiles
• Discard 3D routings
• Edit frame panel
• Edit profiles
• Multi view
• Object from 3D polygon
• Paste frame panel
• Paste profiles
• Paste properties
• Reintegrate 3D routings
• Reorder cabinets
• Shelf from 2d polyline
• Subtract 3D routings
• Symbol along path
• Wireframe

Tools

• Placeholder XG
• As back
• As front
• As left side
• As right side
• As top
• Base unit
• Board 2D path
• Board oval
• Board segment
• Board xg
• Corner unit
• Counter
• Edit board
• Edit corner
• Edit profile
• Extractor hood
• Frame (Vectorscript)
• Glass pane
• Multi drilling
• Pilaster
• Shelf
• Shelf 2D path
• Tambour
• Utility unit
• Wall unit
• Zoom line thickness on/off
• Placeholder

Conclusion

The workspace of Vectorworks interiorcad 2012 provides a user interface which is easier to use, as it is based on stock Vectorworks 2012 workspaces and legacy features have been deprecated.