How do you make a start.

[garethace]

i start by taking the cad files into microstation to clean them up. they are created in autocad, but i learned microstation years ago, and love it for drafting.

 

Can't argue with that!

 

Thumbs up.

 

And I believe that FormZ is by far and away the more superior architectural modeller, I have been stuck with a copy of VIZ now for ages, and for the little bit of 3D I do in my own spare time, I could never justify buying Z.

[garethace]

Just waiting for Gareth to get us on this one, but it's been true on my last 3 projects. Not enough to realize at first but then - Hey! My roof doesn't fit.

 

 

I once fixed that problem for a scheme, whose drawings were approaching construction document stage in an architects office. Unfortunately for me though, having fixed the problem of elevations not syncing up with the plans, I mistakenly made the chairs to print red instead of blue.... and was kicked off the job because of that. I was instructed that editing the drawings meant to edit them, not to change them completely. Everyone in an architects office is shit scared to change anything, even something as obvious as a plan not matching up with an elevation, for fear that some senior architect will realise that you have 'fixed' the drawings, i.e. done some serious clean up work on them, and will boot you straight off the project. In my particular case, they replaced me with a complete novice to CAD, someone who would 'play along'. In fact, I had only given that other person their first ever lesson in 2D CAD, only a short while before this happened - it was just to enforce the point to me, that what I did was not appreciated.

 

The real truth of the matter is that architects pretend to use CAD, but they are really a long, long ways from getting their heads fully around this 'new technology'. Later on, still not too in favour with the boss for making his chairs red instead of blue, or blue instead of red.... I was told to teach that person who replaced me, how to use '3D CAD' and she was given a whole load of '3D' Stuff to do. You see, now, how it pays to play along with the boss, and not fiddle with drawings?

 

The trouble with people who draw CAD in architect's offices, is that very often they are not 'senior' enough to do major things like making drawings work properly. Hell I often saw builders building a whole building with NO drawings from the architect,.... scary stuff. The problem with the architects, is even though they themselves don't use CAD to draft, they still like to imagine that draughts persons are merely an 'extension' of their own presence. I.e. If a draughtsperson takes on any initiative of their own, they must be 'malfunctioning' and operating as 'a law onto themselves', a maverick and must be promptly taken away from the project. And subjected to all kinds of shock treatment and mind 'cleansing' processes, before being allowed anywhere near a construction document ever again! Hence why I have a lot of fuzzy hair I guess!

 

Think of that film called the MATRIX, where people only think they are alive, think they are really doing something everyday, but in truth are just stuck in millions of vats of 'GOO', just lying their attached to some bigger, brainier machine intelligence software. The architects, in this case 'being the machine'.

 

It is kind of a gealousy thing, architects want to feel as if the drawings are 'of their own hand', yet at the same time they need someone else to actually use AutoCAd to draft it properly. Because in this country at least, they simply will not take the time to learn CAD themselves. But I agree with you, you would think that making matching elevations and plans was an obvious thing to do.... but not in architect's eyes.... if you do, the principal architect think you are being 'too cocky' and need to be taken down a peg or two. Politics. I think this is why Architects love to employ you CG guys too, rather than giving the same responsibility of doing 3D to someone such as myself you would be more than capable in knowledge of how computers, 3D software works etc, etc. In fact, I think I would possibly put certain individuals here at the CG board to shame in what I know about 3D. But the fact is, I would not be allowed by any architect to use VIZ in an office.

 

Another good example of this, is how drawings come into you without any proper layer organisation... it was not that the person who drew these drawings didn't understand the concept of what layers do in AutoCAD. But that they were so afraid to modify or otherwise 'fix' anything in case the architect would come down on top of them like tonne of f*** bricks! Accusing them of maliciously f*** around with the CAD drawing! The same as if you had come into THEIR office and sprayed the place with cans of aerosol! The Architects solution to this problem, again, is to delegate the problem to you guys in CG, pay you guys 'to sort the problem' or otherwise 'worry' about it. Because as far as an architect is normally concerned, layers and good effective CAD practice are not their problem. It is always somebody else's. But at the same time, they make you so afraid, that you will not fix the problem at all, or sort our the CAD layers, in case the boss architect comes after you will a load of accusations, and reduces you to 2mm high in the process, by substituting you with some 'nothing' with 2 weeks CAD experience.

 

Brian O' Hanlon.

[garethace]

I used to model completely in AutoCAD

 

Nowadays I do it in two ways..

 

If it is a AutoCAD file, I convert all the wall lines to polyline and froze unwanted text or dims.

 

after that I give a extrude to polylines in MAx and the walls are ready. and add windows, details, furniture..

 

If it is a hand drawing.. I scan the plan and elevations.. Map to planes and use planes as reference images but this is not that much accurate If accuracy is important, I model in AutoCAD.

 

 

 

Another example of someone who should REALLY unlock the hidden power of the bevel profile modifier.

 

Damned cadalyst, took the tutorial off the web though, when they took over CADENCE magazine.

 

The tutorial was there up until last autumn at least!

[garethace]

Like most of everybody on this topic,I do the same thing: autocad to viz. If I am having a real difficult time, or know I can do it faster, Ido a boundary in cad and extrude it in viz.

 

 

If you convert them into regions in AutoCAD you should be able to boolean together awkward ones, before linking/importing into VIZ.

 

Regions in AutoCAd are like 2D solids, you can punch holes, or do whatever you want with them, fabulous things.

 

BOUNDARY is a powerful tool in AutoCAD though, especially if you set it to create the new boundary on a new named layer called BOUNDARYS or something.