archicad stuff

Loft plugin for SketchUp

2012-01-27T16:36:00.000+05:30

I don't have AC 15 with the fantastic new shell tool so if I've got to do some complex shapes, (mostly objects - I don't do blobitecture) the fall-back is old SketchUp. Of course there will be lots of polygons and the process is cumbersome but beggars can't be choosers.

http://forums.sketchucation.com/viewtopic.php?t=28586

Have a look at the videos to see what the tool can do.

Chequered Tile Object

2011-09-20T16:20:00.000+05:30

As I said in a previous post, a chequered tile object is something I wanted to create. Well, here it is.

Like the other tile objects, it can be used for floor or wall cladding.
Either or both of the alternating materials can be textures from the loaded library or RGB colours. In the case of the latter, you can choose the type of material it will be (Matte, Metallic, Dull Shine or Transparent).
In 2D, you can choose whether you want to show the chequered pattern with fills.

The second image lists all the available parameters.

For ArchiCAD 13+
Download [11kB]

Simple Filing Cabinet - ArchiCAD Object

2011-09-15T15:17:00.002+05:30

Parameters

A simple filing cabinet which I find very useful.

For ArchiCAD 12+
Download [9kB]

Random Tile Object - Update

2011-09-11T13:00:00.000+05:30

Type 2. RGB Colour with variation

As mentioned in an earlier post, I got in touch with Zahari (Zach) Dimitrov and, since then, he's uploaded a corrected version of his tile object to the depository. However, I wanted more control over an object like this (especially for a current project) so I tried to extend it. Finding myself restricted by the parameters and wanting to remove the usage of CUTPLANE (which I'm not very familiar with), I finally decided to rewrite the entire object from scratch. Zach is fine with this and the object will remain open-source and free to the AC community.

The only question in my head is whether I should split the single object that does many things into separate ones - each with more parametric control. Right now, there are 6 optional tiling types and I'm thinking of making this into 3 separate objects. Additionally, I'm thinking of a chequered tile and percentage weightage for type 6. (More images after the jump).

Comments and suggestions are wanted!

For ArchiCAD 13+
Download [15 kB)

Type 1. Single RGB Colour

Type 3. Smooth RGB Gradient

Type 4. RGB Gradient with Randomisation

Type 5. Single Material


Type 6. Up to 10 Materials Randomised

Roll-Up Cabinet - ArchiCAD Object

2011-08-24T20:11:00.000+05:30

Parameters

A couple of years ago, I'd written a tambour cabinet object for a residential project and using it again recently reminded me that I had intended to share it with the community at some point - after I'd improved it. Well, I haven't had the time to improve it but I'm posting it here anyway.

The object has a number of parameters that can be adjusted including colour, dimension (in detail) and the percentage opening in 3D.

For ArchiCAD 12+
Download [11kB]

Random Tile Object

2011-07-19T21:30:00.002+05:30

Set of tiles with base RGB of 0.2, 0.3, 0.2

In the AC-Depository, there is a tile object called "Tiles with variable colours" by Zach Dimitorv which I thought would be a useful if extended and improved. ~~Wrote to him at the email ID given in the script but have no reply. Given that he's only made two posts on the forum, I wonder if he's moved on.~~

Anyway, for a current project I needed to have closely related colours on a tiled wall so I had to explore the RND function for the first time. It quickly became apparent that the way ArchiCAD generates random numbers isn't exactly random. Searched the AC-Talk forum and first thread that popped up was from as far back as 2004 - and it talked about exactly this problem. Oleg helped out with a little trick to make the numbers more random and Karl gave not just a nice explanation of pseudo-random but also a test object with what he calls the "goofy function". As usual, I learned a lot!

For whatever it's worth, what you see on the left is one of the things that can now be achieved with this object. ~~If anyone is in touch with Zach, please tell me how to contact him so I can give him the updated object.~~ Below is a screenshot of the parameters used.

Edit: Zach (Zahari Dimitrov) just responded to my message and I'll be in touch with him about extending the object further.

Room Stamp & Schedule

2011-07-13T20:25:00.001+05:30

I've been meaning to modify the default zone stamp for ages and finally got down to it during down-time a few days ago. Basically, I wanted:

bT Room Stamp

Room dimensions in feet or metric
Ability to wrap the zone name
Dividing lines instead of boxes
Zone number on top
Automatic scheduling of actual skirting length (default stamp does not actually take door widths into account)

Alongside, I needed a schedule scheme to list finishes in a certain way. Here is what it looks like.

For ArchiCAD 13+

The download contains the Zone Stamp as well as an XML file to import the interactive schedule scheme.

Switchplate Object

2011-06-25T17:01:00.001+05:30

3D View

Yesterday I finally completed a modular switchplate object that's been half-baked for many moons. Before this, it was restricted to just 8 modules in a single line but, as of yesterday, it can have up to 3 rows of 10 modules each - which is more than what's available in most markets.

Default dimensions as well as module types are based on the Panasonic/Anchor Roma range which is the most popular and widely used one in India.

Using it over the coming weeks in live projects will tell me if there are any bugs. This image shows the object in 3D. Material options are available for switches, the plate, the circuit-breakers, indicators (on switches) and the LED night light.

What remains to be done is to see if I can change the level of detail based on MVO. I'm still trying to wrap my head around that! At the moment, I need the detailed 3D only for schedules.

Object Interface

For ArchiCAD 13+
Download [32 kB]

Three sites added

2011-01-24T19:31:00.000+05:30

Jared asked for Shoegnome to be included. He also pointed out that archicad.ca and tr.archicad.us were no longer in existence. The former has been replaced by Andy's plusplus and the latter is gone forever. :(

Ila asked for ArchiCAD Links to be included and even though it's a Hungarian site, there is enough English language content to make it very worthwhile.

Finally, Erich has started Rabbit Hole - a blog to help get people started on GDL. There are also a few downloadable objects that he'll be posting.

Sky Backgrounds for Renderings

2010-06-07T10:35:00.003+05:30

Was looking for some (free) sky backgrounds for renderings and found Open Eye Visuals. Also got some free ones at 1000skies that are 2000px wide which are more than enough for my needs (higher resolutions and the full 360° skies can be ordered for a fee).

Edit: Open Eye Visuals, linked above, is no longer in existence.

I don't have projects in Abu Dhabi!

2009-12-10T12:54:00.007+05:30

By default - unless you've changed your template - ArchiCAD sets your location as Abu Dhabi - alphabetically the first in the list that contains not a single Indian city. :(

Anyway, I decided to make my own list with about 80 or so cities and towns across the country including all the state capitals. ~~At the moment there's no place on the depository to upload attribute files but I've asked Laszlo if such a section can be added. If not, I'll post it on my main site sometime soon.~~

Edit: A section for attribute files has been created on the depository and I've uploaded the file there as well. Alternatively, you can download it from here.

Added Karl's archispectives.com

2009-12-10T12:54:00.001+05:30

Again, I don't know how I've not seen it before!

Modular Joinery Object

2009-04-20T14:59:00.003+05:30

I've been pestering my local reseller for weeks to get hold of the modular joinery object created by Ralph Wessel. This morning, I received the CD with the object and have only gone through the tutorial video so far but, my goodness, it's a fantastic piece of work!

OpenGDL added

2009-01-28T17:39:00.003+05:30

Added Frank Beister's OpenGDL - how did I miss it earlier?

ArchiCAD Searches

2008-12-01T17:37:00.007+05:30

Very often, the results thrown up by the archicad-talk forum's built-in search are inadequate or just plain off the mark. Seeing this thread got me thinking that if Google is doing a better job of indexing and parsing results from the forum then maybe the searches I've added to the Firefox interface with the Add to Search Bar extension are not as effective as I'd like them to be.

Of course we can always add the site:whatever.com command to the query but it's cumbersome and I almost never remember to use it. Besides if you want to search more than one site, it's pretty much useless. In other words, lazy folks like myself need easy-to-use, ready-made, dedicated, archicad search engines and that's exactly what we have here.

Try them out on the left side of this page. The first box searches the forum and the second... heck, you can read that for yourself. If there are other sources of knowledge that are useful, please hit the comments. Oh, and:

IF browser = "firefox" THEN
use Add to Search Bar extension
ELSE
bookmark this page
ENDIF

Sorry, couldn't resist. ;) Hope this helps someone other than myself.