creating a canted curved glass curtain wall

Thanks go to everyone for the lively response! Peter Devlin sent me his custom standing conoid object to use. Though I would love to have had a control control with differing top and bottom paths like Karl mentioned.

BTW - the student version does import DWG files.

I again appreciate everyones help and response in this forum.

Till next issue arises.

Susan Locsin
Architecture Student
University of Washington

Peter wrote:
I did look at the conoid object and it is easy to make
it tilt up in 3D. The easy thing to do with the 2D symbol
is to have the symbol be a 3D top view projection in 2D.
I've made the modification to "conoid"
and you are welcome to it.

Peter, I'm struggling with this same thing myself at the moment, and I cannot for the life of me figure out how to get the views right. Would you mind sharing your modified conoid with me, or helping me through getting the view set up the way I need it? I never have fully grasped these view projections, although I'm making progress, but I'm still not quite there. How exactly do you "have the symbol be a 3D view projection in 2D"?

I can get a sideways view of the conoid in 3D using orbit, of course, but I can't get it to save properly so that it will stand up. The only attempt that's worked at all still put the object back into the model lying on its side like the original when I tried to place an instance of it.

I've also tried to follow others' recommendations for how to handle the object in the GDL window, and I'm afraid I'm at a complete loss there.

Wendy

Wendy,
I don't have the original modified conoid object but I do have
a conoid object I made from scratch for a completely different purpose.
If you could tell me exactly what you want the conoid object to do
then I can see if I coded my object to do what you want it to do.

You can, using 3D views, save an object or AC tool element
so they are rotated in space. I usually don't use this method
but tend to save a tool element as a GDL object and write
GDL transformation commands into the 3D script.

A way to have an objects 2D symbol be a projection of
the top view of the 3D model is to put GDL PROJECT2
commands into the 2D script of the object.
Peter Devlin

Peter wrote:
Wendy,
I don't have the original modified conoid object but I do have
a conoid object I made from scratch for a completely different purpose.
If you could tell me exactly what you want the conoid object to do
then I can see if I coded my object to do what you want it to do.

I'm not sure what you mean by "what you want [it] to do", but basically, I need it to be glass, and be able to adjust the base and top diameters as well as the height, since I'm still working out the dimensions of the object I need. It's going to be a sort of cupola topping a staircase on the roof, and will itself have a flat, glass roof, in turn topped by a spire.

You can, using 3D views, save an object or AC tool element
so they are rotated in space.

I've managed this once before, but the basic system eludes me still, especially since I cannot for the life of me find the parallel projection settings any more.

Where on earth did they disappear to in the AC10 interface? I stumbled across them the other day when I opened up pretty much all the toolbars and palettes, but was left with not being able to tell where exactly the button was, and lost the settings when I had to reinstall AC.

I've been tearing my hair out all evening, going through all the tools, toolbars, palettes, and menu commands in the work environments setting area, and I simply can't find them without using the command layout scheme my instructor set up, which is basically the AC9 interface, but I don't really want to use that.

I usually don't use this method
but tend to save a tool element as a GDL object and write
GDL transformation commands into the 3D script.

One of these days, I really need to sit down and just play with GDL scripts - or better yet, find someone to give me a quick introduction. I'm really still completely clueless in that department.

I did learn last semester how to add ROTX to rotate the object, but I'm afraid I'm suffering from CRS <sigh>.

A way to have an objects 2D symbol be a projection of
the top view of the 3D model is to put GDL PROJECT2
commands into the 2D script of the object.
Peter Devlin

I'll see if I can figure out how to do that. Thanks.

Wendy

Wendy,
I believe my object will do what you want.
Give me your e-mail address and I will send it to you.
My e-mail address is in my signature.

In AC 10 the 3D projection settings are in
View->3D view mode->3D projection settings...
As you can see, there are twelve of them
three of which are parallel projections, top, bottom, and side view.
This same dialog is where you set the view angle as well.

Peter Devlin