IESVE SketchUp Plug-in version 3 New Features

Transcription

1 IESVE SketchUp Plug-in version 3 INTEGRATED ENVIRONMENTAL SOLUTIONS LIMITED International Sustainability Consulting Developers of the IES <Virtual Environment> Date: June 2010 BOSTON, MA GLASGOW, SCOTLAND DUBLIN, IRELAND LONDON, ENGLAND MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA SAN FRANCISCO, CA DUBAI, UAE

2 Contents Introduction... 3 IESVE SketchUp Plug-in Version Thick Walls Analysis (SketchUp Pro users only)... 4 Push Through Doors and Windows (SketchUp Pro users only)... 5 Build a Storey from a Floor Plan (SketchUp Pro users only)... 6 Enhancements & Troubleshooting Tools... 8 IESVE Menu Options... 8 Identify Rooms in Selected Faces Only... 8 Tidy up Model... 8 Right Click Menu Options... 9 Toggle View of Shading Surfaces Only... 9 Toggle X Ray... 9 Highlight Disconnected Edges... 9 Highlighted Disconnected Surfaces... 9 Clear Highlights... 9 Show or Hide Unselected Faces... 9 Select Groups and Components: Rooms IESVE SketchUp Plug-in Version Groups & Components Select Groups & Components Group & Component Types Group Types: Room (part) & Room (whole) Component Types: Door & Window Shade & Excluded Identify Rooms Page 2

3 Introduction Introduction Welcome to the IESVE plug-in for Google SketchUp Version 3. Version 3 of the plug-in gives the ability to identify rooms in Thick Walls models for the first time. This allows more realistic models to be easily converted to a <VE> analytical model by the plug-in so it can then be analysed at any level of <VE> VE-Ware, VE-Toolkits, VE-Gaia or VE-Pro. New tools are provided to assist with the creation of Thick Walls models. Build a Storey from a Floorplan allows any 2-D DXF or sketch to be quickly extruded into a full 3-D model ready for room identification while Push Thru Doors and Windows can be used to place Door and Window components on outer surfaces of any thick wall model and then push these through to the inner surface so that they are recognised by the IESVE plug-in. Further options in the IESVE menu are now provided to help with model creation and troubleshooting when all rooms are not immediately identified by the plug-in. The information is this document is supplemented by the videos on the IESVE YouTube channel. Page 3

4 Thick Walls Analysis IESVE SketchUp Plug-in Version 3 Thick Walls Analysis (SketchUp Pro users only) The IESVE SketchUp plug-in v3 is able to identify rooms in models that have been modelled with Thick Walls. With no extra input from the user any thick walls model can be run through the plug-in to identify rooms and then the IESVE analyses, whether VE-Ware, VE-Toolkits, VE-Gaia or VE-Pro can be performed. Note: Thick Walls analysis mode only available in SketchUp PRO Note: Thick Walls mode is currently in beta for feedback Before running Identify Rooms select the modelling method on the <VE> Analysis Settings dialog (Tools >> IES >> Set VE Rooms Analysis Options). Maximum Wall Thickness Ensure this is large enough to account for the thickest wall in the model but is less than the width of any room. Page 4

5 Thick Walls Analysis Push Through Doors and Windows (SketchUp Pro users only) A new button is added to the toolbar When a model has been constructed in Thick Walls mode windows and doors can be added as Groups or Components. Ensure the Group/Component has the correct category definition using the IESVE Toolbar Select Groups or Select Components button to define them then place the Groups/Components on the outer surface of walls. With the Window or Door Group/Component selected then select the Push Through button and the Group/Component will be pushed through to the inner surface of the wall and will be correctly recognised by the plug-in when rooms are identified. Page 5

6 Thick Walls Analysis Build a Storey from a Floor Plan (SketchUp Pro users only) A new button is added to the toolbar Use the Build a Storey tool to extrude any flat floor plan (for example a DXF floor plan) into a full height Thick Walls model. Step 1 Start with a 2-D floor plan (this can be a dxf, dwg or simply a 2-D sketch). Step 2 Select the floor plan then click the Build a Storey from a Floor Plan button on the IESVE Toolbar. The Build a Storey settings dialog will be displayed. Enter the Height of each Storey, the Ceiling/Slab Thickness and Number of Storeys then click Go. Page 6

7 Thick Walls Analysis Step 3 The building will be extruded as defined by the settings. Each Storey has room layout as specified in the original floor plan and the number of storeys, storey height and slab thickness (thick walls) are as defined in the settings dialog. Note: the user settings dialog has an option to use the current settings as default, tick this to use these values as default the next time the Build a Storey tool is used. Page 7

8 Enhancements & Troubleshooting Tools Enhancements & Troubleshooting Tools New tools are provided in the IESVE menu and right click menu options to make it easier to review the analytical model after rooms have been identified and to help the user to improve the quality of the model geometry before moving on to the VE analyses. IESVE Menu Options To access the IESVE menu tools, on the SketchUp Menu bar select Tools >> IES. The new options are: Identify Rooms in Selected Faces Only Use this tool to run the room finding algorithm on a reduced set of faces. Select the faces that bound the rooms you want to analyse then select this option. Note: this tool can be most useful when troubleshooting sections of the geometry that do not find rooms as expected. Tidy up Model The Tidy Model options allow the user to remove superfluous lines that may slow down or inhibit the room identification process, ensuring a faster and higher quality model transfer to the <VE>. Delete Detached Lines Delete any lines in the model that do not form part of a surface boundary. Delete Polygons with a Single Face Removes any closed loops within a surface. Delete all Text (exc. Room Names) Deletes all extra text from the SketchUp model (leaves room names as identified by the IESVE plug-in) Page 8

9 Enhancements & Troubleshooting Tools Right Click Menu Options When rooms have been identified and the IESVE Analytical model is displayed, right click will display the tools menu. New options here are: Toggle View of Shading Surfaces Only Select this option to display or hide all shading surfaces on the analytical model. Toggle X Ray Select this option to display the IESVE analytical model with all surfaces in X-ray mode or not. Highlight Disconnected Edges Use this tool to help troubleshoot rooms that were not found by the plug-in. Any edges that are not connected are highlighted blue. Highlighted Disconnected Surfaces Use this tool to help troubleshoot rooms that were not found by the plug-in. Any surfaces that are not connected are highlighted red. Clear Highlights Select this option to remove the highlighting on any disconnected surfaces or edges. Show or Hide Unselected Faces This option allows the model to be hidden with only faces selected by the user left to assist with any further modelling the user wishes to do. Page 9

10 Enhancements & Troubleshooting Tools Select Groups and Components: Rooms The Select groups options have been renamed. Room surfaces is used when the Group contains surfaces that form only part of a room shell. Previously called room (part). Whole room(s) is used when the Group contains all the surfaces that bound the room (or set of rooms). Previously called room (whole). All other options are as defined in version 2 of the IESVE plug-in for SketchUp. Page 10

11 Groups & Components IESVE SketchUp Plug-in Version 2 Groups & Components Select Groups & Components The Select Groups and Select Components dialogs have been enhanced to improve usability. The format of the dialogs now allows the user to quickly and easily identify Groups or Components in the model and set their type before running the room identification tool; Thumbnails are enlarged to easily identify components Lines separate each group/component for fast searching Components within a Group are collected together Group & Component Types New options are now added to the Groups/Components Type dropdown. Options are now Room (part) Room (whole) Shade Door Window Excluded Page 11

12 Groups & Components Group Types: Room (part) & Room (whole) Room type is expanded to allow a Group to be defined as Room (whole) or Room (part). Define the Group as Room (whole) when all surfaces that comprise the room or block of rooms are included in the Group. This will significantly speed up the Room Identification process as the plug-in will analyse each Group defined Room (whole) individually before moving on to the next. Where rooms have not been grouped in this way then any Groups of surfaces that are to be considered as rooms in the model should be defined as Room (part). All Groups defined as Room (part) are analysed together with ungrouped surfaces when identifying rooms so the process can take longer. Component Types: Door & Window Components can now be recognised by the plug-in as being Window and Door openings in the <VE> model. When creating Door and Window components it is important to ensure that they have the correct properties: o Glue to must be set o Cut Opening should be selected o Axes must be set so component can be placed Note: Glazed panels on windows are still defined using 1 99 % opacity materials. Page 12

13 Groups & Components Shade & Excluded As in previous version of the plug-in any Groups or Components defined as Shade will be identified in the <VE> project as Local Shading surfaces. Any Groups or Components marked as Excluded will be ignored by the Room Identification tool and will not be present in the <VE> project. This can be used to speed up the room finding process by ignoring any model details that will not be used in the <VE> analyses. Identify Rooms The Identify Rooms tool has been improved so that it can analyse geometry more efficiently and it is now easier for the user to locate rooms and set room properties. When used in conjunction with Room Groups (as described above) geometry transfer between SketchUp and <VE> is significantly faster. When in Rooms analysis mode the model is displayed in X-Ray view to make it easier to view highlighted rooms. The order in which rooms are identified is more structured (especially when model is built using Room Groups) and rooms are listed in the <VE> Room Properties dialog in order by room number. Page 13