[Plugin] Shape Bender Beta v0.55 UPDATED April 21, 2010

[•BTM]

Oh bummer! Well I just PM'ed Chris Phillips, we'll see if he has any thoughts about what the problem might be and if its fixable.

The alternative is to always draw the line from right to left, and if the arc is oriented the wrong direction, just cancel out of the shape bender and scale the arc manually on the red axis. Then re-run shape bender and the curve will be oriented correctly. a litle more time consuming, but its not bad.

Chris

...I just move the first line to the other side of my shape. it seems to do the same thing.

[gilles]

One word: GREAT

I attach here two files LIMON2-en.skp and LIMON3.skp.
The first one is a tuto I made for staircase stringer creation (translated by GreyHead).
The second is the same shape made with SHAPE BENDER.

The result is the same but you can imagine how much time the first one takes to do.

GREAT.
THANKS.

[Jeff Hammond]

nice example of putting this ruby to use gilles.. great results and i can imagine it being one heck of a time saver.

[Chris Fullmer]

UPDATED v0.5 beta!

You must delete the clf_chap_bender.rb in the plugins folder if you had an older version of this plugin installed.

0.5 Beta:: 2009-04-11

• Added a toolbar and icon
• Added new mouse pointers that sort of hint at what you should be trying to click on next
• Fixed the bug where the bent shape would not appear smoothed until you double clicked on it. Should look good now immediately after bending.
• Added extensions support so this plugin can be turned off through the extensions manager.
• Added Progressbar.rb support. It is now required. Get it at smustard.com

The icon is not great. I'd consider replacing it in the next release if anyone feels so motivated to design a better one.

Also, this plugin now requires progressbar.

ok, thanks!

Chris

[Jeff Hammond]

hey chris..

re: toolbar
i'm wondering if you can add some lines in the future updates for the mac users.. supposedly macs don't remember if the toolbar is on or off in the same way pcs do and the scripts need a little something to help the macs along..

i replaced line 993 with this:

Code: Select all

case toolbar.get_last_state
    when 1
       toolbar.restore
    when -1   
       toolbar.show
    end

it's working well. i can have the toolbar off when i quit sketchup and it will stay closed upon a relaunch..

fwiw, that code might as well be chinese.. i don't understand it but it's something fredo figured out..

here's a copy of the modification for you to look at and see if there would be any problems with keeping it in the future releases.
[edit - removed link -- no longer necessary]
(with perpendicular face tools, i did the same thing at line 748 of release 1.2)


thanks


[edit] oh, two more things..
1. the reasoning behind this for me is that i can customize the toolbar at the top of my SU window which can contain tools that only have one icon or for toolbars which contain more icons but i really only use one or two of them. if the toolbar doesn't let me turn it off, then have have two of the same icons in different places on my screen + the small toolbars (containing 1 or 2 icons) just seem a little lonely sitting amongst the bigger toolbars.

2. yeah, you should get one of the icon makers around here to make some for this script and perpendicular face.. here's a screenshot of the customized toolbar:

the little tiny spec sitting between the view selections and 1001bit extrude icon is the perp.face icon ... the shape bender icon doesn't have a transparent background. i think it'd be cool to get the same person to do your whole suite just for a consistent CF look..


and yeah, i hope i'm not bumming you out with these weird little nit-picks

[Chris Fullmer]

Updated - minor. v0.51 beta

Ok, thanks Jeff. I got the code in place for the Mac please test it and let me know if I got it right. I also gave the icon a transparent background so it doesn't stand out so much. Its still ugly though

And Jeff, why is your perpendicular face tool icon so tiny? That's kind of weird. It should be the normal size.

Chris

[Jeff Hammond]

sweet.
the toolbar works. thank you.

i wouldn't necessarily say the icon looks ugly.. if anything, once you use the tool, the icon describes it perfectly.

i'm not sure what's up with the tiny icon.
they look good in their regular toolbar

all three of them are tiny with the custom toolbar though and they're the only 3 i've ever seen it happen with..

BTM has perpendicular face and a mac.. i wonder if he's getting the same thing?

[Daniel S]

oops.. this version dosen`t work for me. I have progressbar.rb
I can select the first line and the endline. But it dosen´t show the object in wireframe mode and with enter dosen´t accept... so i can´t bend.

Any idea what is happening?

Daniel S

[Chris Fullmer]

Boy, its giving a few errors there. But it sort of looks like I might have implemented the progressbar wrong in the exploding part of the program. Could you upload a model that is not working? Thanks,

Chris

[Chris Fullmer]

Oh, I have another idea Daniel. Do you have component spray installed? If so, make sure you have the most recent version. Here's the link:

viewtopic.php?f=180&t=16446&st=0&sk=t&sd=a&hilit=component+spray#p129280

Chris

[Daniel S]

Oh, I have another idea Daniel. Do you have component spray installed? If so, make sure you have the most recent version. Here's the link:

viewtopic.php?f=180&t=16446&st=0&sk=t&sd=a&hilit=component+spray#p129280

Chris

I update the component spray plugin and now Shape Bender works fine.

Thank you,
Daniel S

[EarthMover]

Chris, thanks so much for the work you've put into this tool. It works very similarly to the Path Deformation modifier in 3ds Max, but is much easier and quicker in SU. I used the shape bender to bend an array of bullnose pool coping and mortar joints around the shape of a pool. It worked like a charm!

Shape Bender1.jpg

Shape Bender3.jpg

Shape Bender_pool.jpg

[xrok1]

please please if its possible could the script writters who make toolbars have them floating when they first appear! i'm getting soooo tired of rearanging my messed up toolbars its just not funny anymore.

[Chris Fullmer]

Sorry xrok, I don't think its possible. I could be wrong, and if I am, I'll fix the script to do that.

@Earthmover, that looks great! That is a good example of where the script is helpful, thanks! In some future iteration of the script, I would like it to be able to work with closed loops, like a pool outline. Then you could easily bend the tiles around in one move.

I also have some plans for a few additional utilities for this tool.

Planned Utilities:
1. Scale the line to be the same length as the pre-bent shape
2. Scale the shape to be the same length as the line
3. Scale both the be the same length as the curve

I see all of these as being additional icons and menu items that can be activated before beginning to bend the shape (getting them to work while the bend tool has been activated already mgiht be tricky because of the shape subdividing that happens. But it might be do-able.).

Anyhow, just some thoughts for the future of the script. Then there is also planar shape bending to try to implement.......

Chris

[sepo]

For some reason the last version is not working for me. The plugin starts and just stays without bending it. It shows error in console and on progress bar.Attached screen.

[Chris Fullmer]

If you have component spray installed, make sure you update it to the newest version:

viewtopic.php?f=180&t=16446&st=0&sk=t&sd=a&hilit=component+spray#p129280

If not, then it could be another plugin. You might have to go through them to find the offender. Then we can work out a solution hopefully, sorry for the inconvenience Sepo,

Chris

[sepo]

Chris
I have removed all plugins and it is still showing the error. The funny bit is that I managed to install it on the laptop and it works fine there.

[thomthom]

Chris, maybe your plugin could detect the old version of component spray and alert the users? That might make things easier for you as Component Spray is so widely used, but not necessarily updated.

[Chris Fullmer]

@Thom - Thats not a bad idea, I'll have to look into that. That could save some headaches for me and the users.

@Sepo - bummer! Well, one thing we could stil do. The screenshot you provided is missing some of the error messages. Could you try it again on a fresh clean model and open the ruby console before you start the plugin. Then select the shape, then activate the plugin. Then click on the line, then curve. As soon as the error message start coming in, deactivate the tool (or else the message will keep repeating themselves forever!). Then once its de-activated, go tot he console and make it wide and tall and select everything in the console from top to bottom and apste it here.

That is the only thing I can think to try. Then I can see all the errors and maybe one will help.

Chris

[sepo]

Error: #<ArgumentError: comparison of Float with nil failed>
(eval):44:in `>'
(eval):44:in `update'
C:/Program Files/Google/Google SketchUp 7/Plugins/clf_shape_bender/clf_shape_bender.rb:533:in `exploder'
C:/Program Files/Google/Google SketchUp 7/Plugins/clf_shape_bender/clf_shape_bender.rb:526:in `each'
C:/Program Files/Google/Google SketchUp 7/Plugins/clf_shape_bender/clf_shape_bender.rb:526:in `exploder'
C:/Program Files/Google/Google SketchUp 7/Plugins/clf_shape_bender/clf_shape_bender.rb:244:in `onLButtonUp'
Error: #<NoMethodError: undefined method `/' for nil:NilClass>
C:/Program Files/Google/Google SketchUp 7/Plugins/clf_shape_bender/clf_shape_bender.rb:671:in `draw'
C:/Program Files/Google/Google SketchUp 7/Plugins/clf_shape_bender/clf_shape_bender.rb:526
Error: #<NoMethodError: undefined method `/' for nil:NilClass>
C:/Program Files/Google/Google SketchUp 7/Plugins/clf_shape_bender/clf_shape_bender.rb:671:in `draw'
C:/Program Files/Google/Google SketchUp 7/Plugins/clf_shape_bender/clf_shape_bender.rb:671
Error: #<NoMethodError: undefined method `/' for nil:NilClass>
C:/Program Files/Google/Google SketchUp 7/Plugins/clf_shape_bender/clf_shape_bender.rb:671:in `draw'
C:/Program Files/Google/Google SketchUp 7/Plugins/clf_shape_bender/clf_shape_bender.rb:671
Error: #<NoMethodError: undefined method `/' for nil:NilClass>
C:/Program Files/Google/Google SketchUp 7/Plugins/clf_shape_bender/clf_shape_bender.rb:671:in `draw'
C:/Program Files/Google/Google SketchUp 7/Plugins/clf_shape_bender/clf_shape_bender.rb:671
Error: #<NoMethodError: undefined method `/' for

[sepo]

This is what I get and than it start repeating itself

[Chris Fullmer]

Thats perfect, thanks! I'll see if I can find the problem there.

Chris

[Chris Fullmer]

Hmm, that is a progressbar error. What OS are you running?

[sepo]

XP

[sepo]

I have reinstalled progressbar.rb but still same error.

[David_H]

So Chris. . .I got the new version. Works pretty well. Sorry you were working this weekend on it. I hope you still had time to dye a few Easter Eggs.

Anyway, couple of q's. 1) are there supposed to be more than 1 icon on the toolbar. Seems I downloaded several png's. Edit. . .Oh wait! The other pngs are for the cursor. . .D'uh
2) the original Group doesn't erase. Is that a change with the latest iteration or what?

[Chris Fullmer]

Hi David, no worries, I had plenty of Easter egg time. It was a good weekend.

Yes, the original component/group is suppose to stay in place now. That was a recent change.

As for the errors you're getting Sepo, I should be more clear, its not a problem with progressbar. Progressbar is working fine. Its something to do with what I am feeding to progressbar. That has always been an issue with the component spray. Could you try running make faces with the ruby console open and see what happens? If it is also broken, then that will help determine that there is still something somewhere messing with progressbar. Thanks!

Chris

And don't hesitate to tell me you're tired of troubleshooting for me. I gldaly would do it myself if I could reproduce the error, so a great big thanks for all your time Sepo!

[tulacong]

thank

[Jeff Hammond]

i'm wondering how difficult it would be to make a ruby that preps an object to be bent. (it could be a part of ShapeBender or separate as it would benefit fredo's bend tool as well)..

it would basically replace the need for doing some repetitive steps in order to set up certain objects to be bent cleanly.. i can achieve the proper shape via math or the more simpler route of SU inferencing but the ruby could work either way (or can it?)

this ruby has already made it a lot faster for me to draw curved shapes because i can do all the prep work on xyz axis and then bend it later.. something with one compound curve used to take me 20-30 minutes to draw and now i can do it in 5-10... introducing yet another curve (2nd attachment collides 3 different radii) used to take me over an hour to draw and i can do that in ~20 minutes now.

my question is whether or not this is out of the scope of a ruby script. ??

bend1.skp

so if the first example is possible, how about adding yet another curve into the mix?

bend2.skp

oh, am i the only one noticing a huge slow down with the introduction of the progress bar? certain actions are at least 10,000x slower now.

[edit] also, those examples show the problem with the softened edge when trying to do precision fitting.. i could extend the straight line to get hard ends but then nothing goes in it's right place.

[sepo]

Chris I am not at my desktop at moment, so I can't really test it. I will test it tomorrow on my desktop. And it is not a problem at all. I am very greatful to you for your wonderful free scripts and if I can help with anything please do not hesitate to ask.