Convert CAD drawings lines to tile joints and window mullion

[Oscar Tung]

Hi everyone. I would like to know if anyone has found a good solution to converting CAD lines (single) to tile groute/joints or window mullion, in a way that it is possible to adjust the groute with or mullion profile if needed.  Espeically for covering a large area. 

It is very common for elements suh as aluminium  panels, paving, or mullion, where it is mostly a repeating pattern, but areas such as corner there is always a unique tile cut. I have tried many solutions ( modeling: railclone, edit poly+inset,  texturing :1  large texture, multiple textures, substance designer...) over the years, but the solution remains very tedious to setup or not very versatile.

Any tips would be greatly appreciated. 

[Nicolai Bongard]

Are you using max and vray? if so:

If you are looking for 3d/geometry stonework, railclone seems like the best bet.

If you just want a texture, and all the stones have been outlined/drawn with linework, you can edit the spline, extrude all edges upwards. Make sure the resulting geometry intersects with the plane/surface you want your stone material to be on. Then create a blend material with a grout material and a stone material, then use a vray distance tex that relates to the extruded line geometry to blend between the materials. Then you can adjust the grout width with the distance of the vray distance tex.

When it comes to windows, just use sweep modifier on the line. Create a custom profile with editable spline and use that to sweep along the mullion-spline. Then you can just edit the profile as needed.