Great video :)
Just not sure what geometry Bonsai are supporting for Wall at the moment - arc, ellipse, bspline ? Just Polyline tool misses curve support at the moment, right?
Bonsai will support anything that IFC supports. At the moment the easiest thing is circular arcs. Later on we can add editing capabilities for other types of arcs.
Thanks @Moult. I tried to understand other type of curve like bspline with a view to implement support in FreeCAD BIM/Arch, seems too advanced for me. So curious to understand if / how Bonsai/IfcOpenShell would support that and maybe FreeCAD BIM just 'borrow' / use IfcOpenShell directly?
[ EDIT - For info, currently FreeCAD Wall tool only support polyline/ complex Sketch with Linear edge, Arc, Circle, Ellipse ]
I have a look and understand IFC supports BSpline.
The issue is when Bspline is used as Wall's axis. FreeCAD Wall tool offset 'mathmatically' linear edge, arc, ellipse, which define the 'axis' of the wall/ wall segment, following its Width to form the baseplate outline of the walls, then extrude them into solid. I failed to find / understand how to offset bspline similarly.
Just curious if this or other algorithm is already in IfcOpenShell so it could be adopted directly :D.
Good point - we can probably just tessellate and offset it as a cheap way to compute - but the original bspline will be kept (in the axis representation).
Yes, approximating them into a series of arc was my approach - trying to build the Ron Champ by Le Corbusier.
[EDIT - for those are curious : https://forum.freecad.org/viewtopic.php?p=559004#p559004) ('Half-built' as shown in FreeCAD forum :D)
Still quite complicated and lot of time used in finding tangent between arc etc. :P
Or any algorithm approximating Bspline (and other spline?) into a series of arc? (or elliptical arc?)
This new tool is fantastic. I would suggest as improvement : preview the wall while drawing, to be able to switch the axis (like "c" shortcut in ArchiCAD)
Hello @bruno_perdigao, I was wondering if you are planning to have the tool extended also to extruded profile geometry: in H-BIM I usually use a lot IfcCovering/MOLDING with a predefined profile to create moldings, and they are often in chain one with the other, so their creation is really really painful, because using Ctrl+Y they are often mitered wrong.
At the moment with your new tool the object is created like a pilaster with Z direction up, i'd like it to be more like a chained wall.
Thanks!
@carlopav said:
Hello @bruno_perdigao, I was wondering if you are planning to have the tool extended also to extruded profile geometry: in H-BIM I usually use a lot IfcCovering/MOLDING with a predefined profile to create moldings, and they are often in chain one with the other, so their creation is really really painful, because using Ctrl+Y they are often mitered wrong.
At the moment with your new tool the object is created like a pilaster with Z direction up, i'd like it to be more like a chained wall.
Thanks!
I played with existing IFC geometry in Bonsai so far only. The last time I tried Walls in "BlenderBIM", it worked the Blender/C4D way only, "Add" object at an arbitrary place (Center/3D Cursor) with arbitrary Dimensions - and need to clean up later - which I somehow never liked.
So somehow I missed that feature from August 2024.
Wall Polyline Tool, for me, is by far the** most important** BIM object creation **Feature in Bonsai **at all !
Thanks so much for that, because :
it finally brings some CAD feeling to Blender
it finally allows to "create" a Wall directly at a desired location, directly with a desired length - no more need for later manipulation/repair/setting up
it does not stop after creating a Wall (like some CADs do !), so I can finally go on drawing Walls uninterrupted as long as I want
Not an issue, but what does not work for me :
SHIFT+P, maybe that meanwhile changed, it works for me with SHIFT+A only (I see in Blender KEYMAP that P/SHIFT+P is already assigned millions of times in Blender, maybe one of my installed AddOns interferes here, which is not detectable by Blenders Keymap)
irrelevant - but just BTW, creating Walls does no more work in todays Blender 4.4 2025/01/10
Don't take that serious but we can dream.
If for some reason Wall Tool developers are in need of additional feature wishes for the future ....
a "rectilinear" Mode, that Auto locks to X or Y axes only, (according to which of these is more near to the cursor position from last click)
a "Rectangle" creation Mode that spans a Room/4 Walls at a time, in YX
a "Quick Draw" Mode, that works like Rectangle Mode above, but also fills the Wall boundary with a Slab, allows to overlap existing Walls and will auto connect/divide overlapping Walls, allows adding/extending areas or subtracting areas by pressing ALT key and such .....
If for some reason Wall Tool developers are in need of additional feature wishes for the future ....
a "rectilinear" Mode, that Auto locks to X or Y axes only, (according to which of these is more near to the cursor position from last click)
a "Rectangle" creation Mode that spans a Room/4 Walls at a time, in YX
a "Quick Draw" Mode, that works like Rectangle Mode above, but also fills the Wall boundary with a Slab, allows to overlap existing Walls and will auto connect/divide overlapping Walls, allows adding/extending areas or subtracting areas by pressing ALT key and such .....
something similar is available in latest revisions, if you select a slab and go to wall tool you can automatically add all the walls around the same slab
something similar is available in latest revisions, if you select a slab and go to wall tool you can automatically add all the walls around the same slab
@steverugi said:
something similar is available in latest revisions, if you select a slab and go to wall tool you can automatically add all the walls around the same slab
Not exactly what I was thinking of - but cool !
A bit of a hidden feature though, it took quite some while for me to check Tool palettes, before I just tried SHIFT+A
:-)
something similar is available in latest revisions, if you select a slab and go to wall tool you can automatically add all the walls around the same slab
And vice versa :). Select all walls in a closed loop, and with the slab tool selected, press SHIFT+A. Voila!
@steverugi said:
something similar is available in latest revisions, if you select a slab and go to wall tool you can automatically add all the walls around the same slab
A bit of a hidden feature though, it took quite some while for me to check Tool palettes, before I just tried SHIFT+A
I don't think the feature is finalized though, as of release 250112 walls are positioned with their origin inside along the edge of the slab
but you can shift+F (flip) them to make it work as expected
I realized that too but did not want to bother again :)
I tried to switch the Wall's control lines positions to bring them inside the Slab area, but that just gave a mess ......
It works fine when selecting Walls and create a Slab from these though.
@steverugi said:
something similar is available in latest revisions, if you select a slab and go to wall tool you can automatically add all the walls around the same slab
A bit of a hidden feature though, it took quite some while for me to check Tool palettes, before I just tried SHIFT+A
I don't think the feature is finalized though, as of release 250112 walls are positioned with their origin inside along the edge of the slab
but you can shift+F (flip) them to make it work as expected
@Owura_qu said:
And vice versa :). Select all walls in a closed loop, and with the slab tool selected, press SHIFT+A. Voila!
@bruno_perdigao Is it possible to give an offset distance while creating the slab in this way? If the wall has multiple layers, I think it would be awesome if the slab edge could be aligned with the core layer of the wall.
@Owura_qu Not yet, but I'll be working on the next few days in a few improvements regarding IfcMaterialLayerSetUsage and I'll keep in mind your suggestion.
Hi @bruno_perdigao I might have missed something but it looks like wall snaps don't work anymore. I am using the latest buildbonsai_py311-0.8.1-alpha250121-windows
See video Attached
Comments
Great video :)
Just not sure what geometry Bonsai are supporting for Wall at the moment - arc, ellipse, bspline ? Just Polyline tool misses curve support at the moment, right?
Bonsai will support anything that IFC supports. At the moment the easiest thing is circular arcs. Later on we can add editing capabilities for other types of arcs.
Thanks @Moult. I tried to understand other type of curve like bspline with a view to implement support in FreeCAD BIM/Arch, seems too advanced for me. So curious to understand if / how Bonsai/IfcOpenShell would support that and maybe FreeCAD BIM just 'borrow' / use IfcOpenShell directly?
[ EDIT - For info, currently FreeCAD Wall tool only support polyline/ complex Sketch with Linear edge, Arc, Circle, Ellipse ]
BSplines are supported in IFC, but we have no way to edit it yet in Bonsai: https://ifc43-docs.standards.buildingsmart.org/IFC/RELEASE/IFC4x3/HTML/lexical/IfcBoundedCurve.htm
I have a look and understand IFC supports BSpline.
The issue is when Bspline is used as Wall's axis. FreeCAD Wall tool offset 'mathmatically' linear edge, arc, ellipse, which define the 'axis' of the wall/ wall segment, following its Width to form the baseplate outline of the walls, then extrude them into solid. I failed to find / understand how to offset bspline similarly.
Just curious if this or other algorithm is already in IfcOpenShell so it could be adopted directly :D.
Good point - we can probably just tessellate and offset it as a cheap way to compute - but the original bspline will be kept (in the axis representation).
I'm pretty sure that offset curves are always an approximation (except for straight lines and circular arcs)
..also if you actually want to build a curved wall it makes a lot of sense to break it down into a set of circular arcs first.
Yes, approximating them into a series of arc was my approach - trying to build the Ron Champ by Le Corbusier.
[EDIT - for those are curious : https://forum.freecad.org/viewtopic.php?p=559004#p559004) ('Half-built' as shown in FreeCAD forum :D)
Still quite complicated and lot of time used in finding tangent between arc etc. :P
Or any algorithm approximating Bspline (and other spline?) into a series of arc? (or elliptical arc?)
Found a research paper :D
I forgot I wrote this series of articles on breaking down curves into arcs:
https://medium.com/@brunopostle/hey-ovals-are-better-than-ellipses-for-buildings-e8de4a9ae7b4
https://medium.com/@brunopostle/actually-drawing-some-ovals-that-are-not-ellipses-444ba9fd9cf8
https://medium.com/@brunopostle/drawing-complex-curves-from-circular-arcs-5ce32b3d1306
This new tool is fantastic. I would suggest as improvement : preview the wall while drawing, to be able to switch the axis (like "c" shortcut in ArchiCAD)
Hello @bruno_perdigao, I was wondering if you are planning to have the tool extended also to extruded profile geometry: in H-BIM I usually use a lot IfcCovering/MOLDING with a predefined profile to create moldings, and they are often in chain one with the other, so their creation is really really painful, because using Ctrl+Y they are often mitered wrong.
At the moment with your new tool the object is created like a pilaster with Z direction up, i'd like it to be more like a chained wall.
Thanks!
Hi @carlopav, yes. There are still a few things to improve in the wall and slab tools before moving to other tools. But it's on the roadmap.
related: https://github.com/IfcOpenShell/IfcOpenShell/issues/5790#issuecomment-2581078388
I played with existing IFC geometry in Bonsai so far only. The last time I tried Walls in "BlenderBIM", it worked the Blender/C4D way only, "Add" object at an arbitrary place (Center/3D Cursor) with arbitrary Dimensions - and need to clean up later - which I somehow never liked.
So somehow I missed that feature from August 2024.
Wall Polyline Tool, for me, is by far the** most important** BIM object creation **Feature in Bonsai **at all !
Thanks so much for that, because :
Not an issue, but what does not work for me :
Don't take that serious but we can dream.
If for some reason Wall Tool developers are in need of additional feature wishes for the future ....
@zoomer
something similar is available in latest revisions, if you select a slab and go to wall tool you can automatically
addall the walls around the same slabNow that is a nice feature
Not exactly what I was thinking of - but cool !
A bit of a hidden feature though, it took quite some while for me to check Tool palettes, before I just tried SHIFT+A
:-)
@bruno_perdigao I just had the time to test it, super!
It works exactly as i dreamed :)
And vice versa :). Select all walls in a closed loop, and with the slab tool selected, press SHIFT+A. Voila!
@zoomer said:
I don't think the feature is finalized though, as of release 250112 walls are positioned with their origin inside along the edge of the slab
but you can shift+F (flip) them to make it work as expected
I realized that too but did not want to bother again :)
I tried to switch the Wall's control lines positions to bring them inside the Slab area, but that just gave a mess ......
It works fine when selecting Walls and create a Slab from these though.
I've added a commit today that should fix this: https://github.com/IfcOpenShell/IfcOpenShell/commit/8d63845f3d80d597ddc0b6b028c37310848c921e
@bruno_perdigao Is it possible to give an offset distance while creating the slab in this way? If the wall has multiple layers, I think it would be awesome if the slab edge could be aligned with the core layer of the wall.
@Owura_qu Not yet, but I'll be working on the next few days in a few improvements regarding IfcMaterialLayerSetUsage and I'll keep in mind your suggestion.
Hi @bruno_perdigao I might have missed something but it looks like wall snaps don't work anymore. I am using the latest buildbonsai_py311-0.8.1-alpha250121-windows
See video Attached
Edit - Found it
@Shegs
good catch, I was about to report it, but how do you make the bottom of that menu show?
mine stops at "Rotation Increment"
thanks
it shows when I clicked it, I did not have to do anything.
Update to the latest unstable. It got committed last night here:
https://github.com/IfcOpenShell/IfcOpenShell/commit/5649708ca48c0be0986b5f92524737127296e988
Honestly i'm a bit puzzled why the need for duplicate items in the snapping menu, instead of just reading the standard ones.