Note that the framing is actually part of the wall’s complex profile in 3D, and is not drawn manually in 2D! WHY DRAW AT ALL? RIGHT: Section of the same intersection, with wall selected in green. LEFT: 3D Cutaway of complex profile wall intersection a simple flat roof slab (which is made translucent for presentation purposes note the green selection highlighting the left-hand wall element, showing it is notched to allow space for the slab and includes the waterproofing at the top. Put in a bit more effort in 3D and save a lot of time in 2D! Voila, your section drawing will look great right away. In addition, you can make the structural slab penetrate the wall to the framing line, and use Solid Element Operations as needed to remove the overlap. This depends a lot on your modeling skill and how you approach this task.įor example, your section doesn’t have to look incomplete or “wrong” if you use a complex profile that represents the wall with framing and sheathing integrated.
ARCHICAD FREE 3D MODELS MANUAL
Many users incorrectly assume that section drawings always require a lot of manual cleanup. Then move each of the others back, snapping easily to the good one. That may make it hard to clean up, even if you zoom in, since when you adjust a node it may snap to itself or to another node that isn’t exactly in the right place.Ī simple technique is to move all but one of the nodes away from the area, and make sure the remaining one is in correct position. Sometimes you may have the end points or nodes of several elements very close to each other, but not quite on top of each other (as they should be). Here’s a simple tip that may save you some frustration. If you do it right in 3D you won’t need to clean it up in 2D. You can use Virtual Trace to align things cleanly and make sure that you’re snapping properly. Perhaps one element is actually in front of the other one, or there’s a slight gap or overlap because their heights aren’t coordinated. However, if something’s a little bit off, you will see an extraneous line in your elevation. This is certainly true for generic elements like walls, slabs and roofs that combine nicely. If you stack elements on top of each other so they have the same surface material and the same plane, then ArchiCAD generally will remove the line in between them. Here’s one area that many users stumble over. You’ll then be able to create elegant and beautiful sections and elevations that are virtually complete directly from the model, and require almost no cleanup or additional line work. Supplement the basics with more sophisticated approaches such as complex profiles and solid element operations. Start by mastering basic modeling techniques with proper snapping and alignment. The sixth key to Best Practices is to model as well as you can, so you can draw less and less.ĪrchiCAD is able to generate beautiful 2D drawings directly from the 3D model if you create your model well. I don’t know about you, but drafting for hours is not my cup of tea.
I love doing it, and I’m especially satisfied when this enjoyable work pays off by not having to draft very much in 2D. Speaking of things that make me happy, modeling in 3D in ArchiCAD is a lot of fun.
I write back to every person who sends me a note. The Russian wrote “I am very happy I found the man who will help me achieve what I need to do in ArchiCAD.”
In the past few days I’ve gotten thank-you notes from China, Russia, Spain and India, among other countries. And thanks for your answer to a comment I made of your third installment some days ago!” One person from Chile wrote “Following your ArchiCAD emails, which are incredibly useful. I’m enjoying reading them as they come in from all over.
This is the sixth installment in my 7 Keys to Best Practices mini-course. 0 ArchiCAD Training | Learn to Model Better – The Sixth Key to Best Practices