@medeek wrote:
This is unrelated to the functionality of the plugin but I managed after two days of pulling my hair out to somehow get the PayPal Express Checkout to work on the site. A number of clients had been requesting the PayPal option rather than use their credit cards over the internet.
@medeek wrote:
Looking at cantilevered trusses tonight. The use of a wedge, slider or strut depends on the amount of the overhang and in some cases if the overhang (cantilever) is within the scarf cut of the top chord no additional member is required, see image below:
Notice how the web strut is centered over the point of bearing with the long cantilever. Also notice that the panel point placement of this fink truss was not altered with the addition of the cantilever.
Basically this will be a new truss family and I'll start with the fink truss and take it from there. If anyone has shop drawing from truss plants they are willing to share that show different configurations of a cantilever truss, that would be very helpful.
@medeek wrote:
Version 1.2.4 - 01.08.2016
- Plugin integrated with the Medeek Truss Designer.
- Engineering of common fink truss enabled.When a new truss is created (common truss types only for now) the parameters are specified within the dynamic component attribute library. Opening the component options allows one to change some of these values.
The new engineering icon
allows one to automatically transfer all of the truss design parameters directly from SketchUp to the Truss Designer for engineering checks.
@medeek wrote:
The current Medeek Truss Plugin menu now has 5 icons:
The available items are the following:
1.) Draw Roof Truss:
- Common
- Attic
- Monopitch
- Scissor2.) Draw Floor Truss:
- Floor Truss
- TJI Joist3.) Draw Truss Set:
- Valley Set4.) Draw Roof Rafters:
- Gable Roof
- Gable Roof w/ GLB
- TJI Roof w/ GLB
- Hip Roof5.) Engineering Calculations:
- Truss (common truss types only)Note that the menus show additional items that are either being worked on or are planned for future releases.
@medeek wrote:
The truss component in SketchUp is not fully dynamic yet, however if you right click on the actual truss component and open the Dynamic Component -> Component Options dialog box you will see that you can change some options associated with the truss. The items grayed out you cannot currently change but I would like to try and make some of them dynamic as well.
if you make a change here and then proceed with the engineering you will notice the new values are then sent to the calculator. The dynamic attributes revealed in this dialog are what is being sent to the calculator for engineering.
@medeek wrote:
I've done some maintenance on the beam calculator in preparation for integration with the Truss Plugin:
Version 1.0.1 - 01.10.2016
- Updated javascript front end so that selected options are properly retained.
- Updated total load (reactions) to include applied load and selfweight over total span. Results now more closely agree with WoodWorks Sizer Software.
- Inputs now include option for Total Span and Clear Span.
- Removed beam configurations that are not yet complete.
- Beam graphic now shows span geometry with supports.http://design.medeek.com/resources/beam/beam_calculator.pl
At some point I need to come up with a slicker interface that allows for multiple point loads and supports but that is a job for another day.
@medeek wrote:
Version 1.2.5 - 01.10.2016
- Plugin integrated with the Medeek Beam Calculator.
- Engineering of North American glulam beam sizes enabled (Western, Southern Pine).Also note that the Beam Calculator has a very nice PDF report output than can include client and job information.
@medeek wrote:
Screenshot of the Beam Calculator that will pop up when called from the plugin:
So far I only have glulam beams as an option in the plugin but I will probably add LVL, LSL, PSL and Solid Sawn and those can also be analyzed with this same interface.
@medeek wrote:
Engineering Video:
The SketchUp model used in the video can be found here:
@medeek wrote:
Hip Roof Framing:
SketchUp model used in the video can be found here:
@medeek wrote:
Testing the limits of the Medeek Truss Plugin with complex hip roofs. Note that the roof primitives have not been trimmed back. This is primarily a study to determine what additional programming would be required to generate this type of roof automatically:
This for me would be the holy grail of hip roof framing...
@gadget2020 wrote:
If you're looking for another Grail after you've found this one;
- differing eaves heights
- dormer windows
- Half-gables
marvelous work so far
@medeek wrote:
As you can see there is still a tremendous amount of work that can be done here. To that end I've started a KickStarter project which if successful would allow me to devote at least 4-5 months of my undivided attention on the programming of this plugin:
@medeek wrote:
I have been giving some thought to dormers and how to specify them. Below is a dormer design I framed in Solidworks a few years back for a garage design:
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Of course the numerous ways in which one could frame a dormer is probably beyond the scope of this discussion but I would like to consider what geometry needs to be determined in order to orient and size the dormer.
After some thought I think the following points, planes and lengths would define the geometry of a typical dormer:
1.) Main Roof Plane
2.) Attic Floor Plane
3.) Offset from exterior wall below (how far the dormer is out of plane from the ext. wall below).
4.) Pitch of Dormer roof
5.) Dormer width
6.) Dormer height (distance from attic floor plane to top plate of dormer wall)
7.) Window width, height, and header depth
8.) Dormer wall thickness (2x4 or 2x6)
9.) Dormer rafter depth
10.) Position of Dormer along length of buildingItems 2,3 and 10 can be combined into a single point selection.
@medeek wrote:
Pondering complex hip roofs this afternoon and considering the graphic below:
A few rules seem to emerge:
1.) An outside corner will always create a hip that is 45 deg. from each leg of the corner.
2.) An inside corner will likewise always create a valley 135 deg. from each leg of the corner.
3.) Where two hips or flying hips meet a ridge will extend 135 deg. from each hip.
4.) When two valleys meet at 90 deg. they will terminate and a ridge will extend at 45 deg. from each valley.
5.) With a building with walls only running north-south or east-west all ridge lines will always be north-south or east-west.
6.) Likewise all hips, valleys and flying hips will be oriented northwest, northeast, southwest, or southeast.
7.) When a valley meets a ridge, (they will always meet at 45 deg) a flying hip is generated that is 90 deg. from the valley and 135 deg from the ridge.
8.) When two valleys meet at 180 deg. from each other, the result will be either to flying hips perp. to the valleys or the degenerate case of 4 valleys and 4 ridges.
9.) When a valley and a hip meet each other at 180 deg. then two ridges that are 45 deg from the valley will be the result (typical L shaped roof).
10.) When 4 hips meet the result is a pyramid.There may be a few other degenerate cases I'm missing but I think that covers it.
@medeek wrote:
Variation in plate heights, pitches, overhangs and even mixing hip and gable (half hip, dutch gable) further complicate the matter. To begin with I need a algorithm to generate the roof planes, then the framing just falls out from there. To create the roof planes I need a fairly robust straight skeleton implementation.
@robhurd wrote:
Not sure if SketchUp will allow it but why not try and advertise your crowdfunding project on their facebook page to build up some momentum? 322,000 like might count towards something
. I would really love to see this become a worthwhile venture for you.
@medeek wrote:
SketchUp was already gracious enough to feature me in their last newsletter so I don't know if I want to press my luck by requesting more feature time on their Facebook page. Unfortunately, I did not have the Kickstarter campaign advertised when the feature hit so I missed the momentum I could have had, my bad.
Regardless if I get funded or not this venture has already proven wildly worthwhile and rewarding for me on a very personal level. Its opened my eyes to SketchUp and what can be done with it. Prior to this I never really gave SketchUp serious notice or thought of it as a design platform that could do "real" work.
I've enjoyed the time spent plugging away the code and my understanding of all truss and roof types has increased significantly. Its taken me a while to wrap my head around the API, but the more I use it the more its grown on me. I applaud the SketchUp programmers and powers that be that had the foresight to make this interface available to the "average Joe" like myself, and the ability to create something that never existed before.
I will continue to make progress on the plugin but a funded Kickstarter campaign would give me the ability to devote my undivided attention to the project for a good 5 months at least. Considering what I've been able to do in three months while juggling other jobs I think I could do some great things and really make this plugin shine.
Realistically though, I think this plugin does have a limited audience at this stage in its development. Not every architect or designer is interested in the nuts and bolts of roof framing, trusses or other engineering related items. There is a certain group of people that find the plugin very useful and are as excited about it as I am and then there is a large majority who don't see the need. Which brings me to the next question, what should I add to make it more useful and applicable to "your design needs".
allows one to automatically transfer all of the truss design parameters directly from SketchUp to the Truss Designer for engineering checks.
marvelous work so far
