[Plugin] FredoTools::CurviShear 1.5a - 25 Aug 11 (ramps)

fredo6 · 25 Jun 2010, 16:15

CurviShear is a small standalone script allowing to deform a curve or a set of curves by shearing them vertically along their contour. This is typically what is needed to approximate CURVED RAMPS.

This comes from an interesting discussion initiated by rv1974 (see http://forums.sketchucation.com/viewtopic.php?f=15&t=29102#p253279)

https://sketchucation.com/pluginstore?pln=FredoTools
RevertCurve is now installed as part of FredoTools.

See the [url=http://forums.sketchucation.com/viewtopic.php?f=323&t=42089#p373073:17zoyp90]main post for this plugin[/url:17zoyp90] for Installation

No user manual (see section Quick Startbelow)

Language: English and French
Menus: by default, it is installed in Plugins > Curve Shearing and also appears in the Contextual menu when there is at least one curve in the current selection
Icon toolbar: No icon provided
The plugin is free, for private and commercial usage.

Overview
More video to come. Here is a quick one

Select one or several curves
Call the Plugin on the selection (main menu or contextual menu “Curve Shearing”)
The dialog box appears:
Set the base height, the maximum height (from the base height). Can be positive or negative.
The extremities of the curves which will be the most elevated are highlighted. If you prefer the other ends, then toggle the Reverse flag in the combo box
You have an option to generate the ramp within a group.
Parameters are kept within the Sketchup session (but not across sessions)
The new curves are then generated and you exit the plugin
From there you may want to put a skin on the ramp (with Curviloft or TIG’s extrude tools)

IMPORTANT: For the time being, the Direction for Shearing is the Z AXIS. So your curves should preferrably be in the Horizontal plane.

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CurviShear 1.5a - 25 Aug 11: Now part of FredoTools. No major functional change

CurviShear 1.0b - 25 Jun 10 - 22:30 CET: fixed problem of main menu

CurviShear 1.0a - 25 Jun 10 - 19:00 CET: First version

IMPORTANT: Please note that Curviloft is still in Beta and may not be able to generate the skinning of the ramps.

Chris Fullmer · 25 Jun 2010, 16:16

Looks awesome Fredo! Congrats yet again,

Chris

Rich O Brien · 25 Jun 2010, 16:55

Thanks Fredo, very useful!

Enjoy the weekend

pilou · 25 Jun 2010, 17:01

ça tient bien la rampe

Didier Bur · 25 Jun 2010, 18:03

Hi,

Thanks Fredo, good stuff as usual.
Here a part of the file header: Designed November 2010 by Fredo6
Back to the future !

rv1974 · 25 Jun 2010, 18:13

The huge time saver! So far only 2 minor bugs: Only context menu item starts procedure, no reaction from menu-plugins-curve shearing. The Base ramp negative value
(with "-") generates simple offset- no ramp shape.

thomthom · 25 Jun 2010, 18:15

This is brilliant Fredo - we'll have great use of this at the office!

watkins · 25 Jun 2010, 18:19

Dear Fredo6,

As always, a tour de force!

Thank you.

Bob

fredo6 · 25 Jun 2010, 20:33

@rv1974 said:

The huge time saver! So far only 2 minor bugs: Only context menu item starts procedure, no reaction from menu-plugins-curve shearing. The Base ramp negative value
(with "-") generates simple offset- no ramp shape.

I fixed the problem of main menu in the new release.

For the base height, I don't see the problem. By definition, the base height is precisely an offset (up or down), whereas the top height is the maximum value of the height along the curve, on top of the base height.
Do you have a precise case?

Fredo

rv1974 · 25 Jun 2010, 21:36

top=0
base=-100
Isn't it supposed to be sloped?

0-100.skp

fredo6 · 25 Jun 2010, 21:48

@rv1974 said:

top=0
base=-100
Isn't it supposed to be sloped?

No. If top = 0, there is no slope, and base will simply offset the curve(s) up or down.

Note that top and base are given as heights, not Z-coordinates

Fredo

thomthom · 26 Jun 2010, 00:00

Top is relative to Base?
And Base is relative to Ground?

agamemnus · 26 Jun 2010, 04:32

Looks amazing!

MALAISE · 27 Jun 2010, 03:54

Simple and efficient, as usual , THANKS fredo

make.GQ.china · 28 Jun 2010, 05:13

Thanks! A useful plug-in

halroach · 6 Jul 2010, 07:54

Hi Fredo,

I know the plugin contains the word curve in it ... but would there be a way to get it to work on any geometry that isn't necessarily a curve?

If it is possible to get it to work on any geometry, I believe this plugin should eventually work like the Joint Push Pull series (with preview and all), and even be added as one of them. I'd call it something like "joint push/pull to surface"...!?

Fredo! You make Great Stuff!

Susy · 6 Jul 2010, 08:17

Sorry, all powerful Fredo, for interrupting, but what is the entry 'Rail Offset' that is shown in its context menu during the animation of the example? It sounds very interesting (That phrase has taken away the dream for some days) that's it Oh Great Fredo ?

davidlouis · 6 Jul 2010, 19:07

Firstly: fantastic script Fredo! This has really helped a desperate architect frustrated by the 'old' manual way of making ramps, curved kerbs on a slope etc etc...

Secondly: Could I make a small request? Basically, it would be great if the top height value could be input driven relative to the context of the model.... a bit like the 'projection' tools which require you to define a vector (lenght) along which to perform the function. I often make use of this tool with a '0' base height as its easy to extrude the base shape later but if you can think of integrating this variable in the same way that would be cool too.

With the current interface things are easy if you're dealing with whole measurements but a little difficult if you're reading dimensions off a complex model in which non whole numbers are displayed relative to one's setting for the decimal places and in my case often shortened by the ~ prefix in which case i don't know what the exact dimension is.

Hopefully you can see the value in this too...

Thanks again.

David

fredo6 · 6 Jul 2010, 21:23

@davidlouis said:

Secondly: Could I make a small request? Basically, it would be great if the top height value could be input driven relative to the context of the model....

David,

This plugin was written in a few hours and does not include all the bell and whistles that it may deserve. It could be interactive, and with preview, etc...
I can however fix your problem by extending the dialog box to accept altitude, instead of height to the base.

Also, keep in mind that CurviShear is only an approximate solution to the problem. To have a real ramp as a regular surface, you need to have homologue curves, because each curve vertex si deformed according its individual curvilinear distance, not by reference to a common rail.
If I have time, I will also enhance the script to provide something more accurate.

Fredo

fredo6 · 6 Jul 2010, 21:24

@susy said:

Sorry, all powerful Fredo, for interrupting, but what is the entry 'Rail Offset' that is shown in its context menu during the animation of the example? It sounds very interesting (That phrase has taken away the dream for some days) that's it Oh Great Fredo ?

RailOffset is a small script that I wrote for myself to test Curviloft. Nothing fancy, just 3D offsetting.

Fredo