Anyone using or tried Virtualwind SU plugin

[driven]

I've been testing TIG's new Manifold beta, which is extremely useful and came across this App for PC's only and I can't check if the plug will work on a Mac without a PC to download the App, so if someone has, or can have a look that would be grand

john

http://www.virtualwind.com/

info lifted from there site...

Virtualwind's advanced 3D wind flow simulation and visualization. Within SketchUp, Virtualwind's Validation Tools identify and visually highlight non-watertight geometries and problematic textures in the model. Non-watertight geometries are typically surfaces on building models that do not have contiguous adjoining edges (i.e., models that do not have a "wetted surface", a "water-tight" exterior). Problematic textures are usually faces with back-only textures or back texture different from front. The Virtualwind toolbar also provides Correction Tools to correct these issues. For non-watertight geometries, there are toolbar icons to remove zero-faced edges and to sew edges together, thereby helping to create a water-tight model.  There are also toolbar icons to correct problematic textures. These model corrections are important to provide more accurate wind flow simulations.

[d12dozr]

From their FAQ:

What operating systems does Virtualwind run on?

Virtualwind is officially supported on Microsoft Windows XP and Window XP-64. Virtualwind is currently compiled as a 32-bit application only, so even though it does run on Microsoft Windows XP-64, it does not take advantage of the added memory addressability.


We've had user reports of Virtualwind functioning perfectly on a wide array of Microsoft operating systems (e.g. Windows Server 2003, Windows Server 2008, Windows Vista. We've also had reports of Virtualwind functioning perfectly on virtualized Microsoft operating systems sitting on non-Microsoft platforms (e.g. Windows Vista running on Macintosh Safari via Parallels, or Windows 2008 running on Linux via Hyper-V). None of these configurations are officially supported, however.

[tfdesign]

Arghhh! FEA! Arghh!

John, this, initially, looks like a great load of fun, but one thing I was told while doing my engineering degree was "don't ever trust FEA". "Always do the maths to prove the computer right (or wrong)"! I recommend this book, instead, if you can't get the plugin to work!

[tfdesign]

(e.g. Windows Vista running on Macintosh Safari via Parallels,

Yeah, right! Here we go again.... This (typical and lazy- I may add) kind of statement, completely disregards the current licencing problem with SketchUp, ie, SketchUp has no way of supporting licences on both Mac and Windows at the same time, from the same single licence (a pity, Google). So if you're going to buy this kind of software, you may as well forget Mac altogether, and just buy a PC (unless of course, you are loaded. )

I'm a bitter Macuser!!

[driven]

Arghhh! FEA! Arghh! :lol:
:D

I'm only interested in the 'watertight' plugin for other uses,

TIG's in the process of writing one [url]viewtopic.php?p=218691#p218691[/url]

initially for 3D printing more directly from SU, but it has soo many other uses, it's worth helping out with some testing...

cheers for the warning about the wind...

john

[driven]

well I got a response to my email re the plugin and heres the official line.

as I actually have an allergy to PC's can someone PM me the ruby, as it not covered by the license and I'll see if it runs on a Mac.


Hi John:

As for your SketchUp Plug-In questions:

1. While Virtualwind in general is officially supported only on Windows XP,
we've had reports of success on a number of different platforms, including
Macs running Microsoft operating systems. I can't directly speak to the
SketchUp Plug-In (since it hasn't yet been internally tested on a Mac), but
I believe it should work -- SketchUp plug-ins are created using a
platform-independent scripting language, so it shouldn't matter what
platform you're running SketchUp on.
(As a proviso though, it's theoretically possible that the SketchUp
plug-in interface itself is different on a Mac than on a PC. If that's the
case, then there might indeed be some incompatibilities.)
Also, if you are going to install the SketchUp Plug-In, be sure that you
have SketchUp already installed, because the Plug-In needs to know where to
find SketchUp to properly install.

2. The Plug-In is only downloadable as a part of the Virtualwind software
download.

3. The Plug-In is not purchasable as a separate package. However, although
the main Virtualwind application is protected by a 30-day trial license,
there are no licensing restrictions on the Plug-In. Therefore, if you go to
the Virtualwind web site and download the Free Trial, you will also get the
unrestricted SketchUp Plug-In.

4. Performance is highly dependent on the nature of the geometry. For most
models in the Google 3D Warehouse, the Plug-In operations complete in a
reasonable amount of time (usually within a couple of seconds, though
sometimes they may take a minute or two).
In extreme cases, the Plug-In can take a considerable amount of time: on
a model with 100,000 Faces and a thousand Group/Components, some operations
may take about an hour to complete. However, it's worth noting that native
SketchUp operations on such models take a similarly long amount of time
(Exploding all Groups -- which is a core SketchUp functionality -- can take
over an hour in such cases).
Usually, such extreme models are originally created by a CAD package
outside of SketchUp, and then were exported to SKP format. If the original
model is available, I would instead recommend trying to bypass SketchUp
altogether: I would try to use the original source CAD package to generate
an STL file (many CAD packages can do this), and then import the STL
directly into Virtualwind.

If you have any further questions or would like any clarifications, please
don't hesitate to write back.

Best Regards,

Brian Mackie
Director of Marketing
Virtualwind Inc.
brian.mackie@virtualwind.com

[d12dozr]

This folder has one .rb and a Virtualwind folder from my Plugins folder. I think I got it all, but lemme know if it doesnt work.

Trying hanger skp with Manifold 1.4 on PC...Sketchup has been unresponsive for the last 15 mins.

On a side note, this collaboration would be a good use for Google Wave...whaddya think?

[driven]

This folder has one .rb and a Virtualwind folder from my Plugins folder. I think I got it all, but lemme know if it doesnt work.

Trying hanger skp with Manifold 1.4 on PC...Sketchup has been unresponsive for the last 15 mins.

On a side note, this collaboration would be a good use for Google Wave...whaddya think?

cheers for this..

is the counter running, it's zipping off numbers here, so it's doing something, 40 mins in. give me time to check out all the posts I don't often read

what's google wave??? I'll have to google it...
I've got all the toolbars up...any instructions???

[d12dozr]

I dont see any counter...just a '0' at the bottom left of my screen and the hourglass. Still unresponsive...could it be my laptop can't handle it? (this is my first time using Manifold)

Google Wave is "email on steroids" - invite only right now. Some of us from the forum tried it a couple months ago and it crashed when too many users were added. PM me your email address if you wanna give it a whirl.


Youtube vid if you want to see it: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rDu2A3WzQpo

[d12dozr]

Dont you get tooltips from the toolbar?

Here's the help files... the links inside the document wont work, but you can manually open each one...just look at the name - -look for "Correcting Geometry"

[driven]

Just the names so the one below the one with the red bit... great name heh it is very interesting fling blind

[d12dozr]

Here's a screen grab of the watertightness part of the menu...watertightness section of toolbar circled. Hopefully that explains it. Second image shows what running statistics does.

[kisskovi]

Anyone has the full Virtualwind trial? They went down, no more downloads from their site (www.virtualwind.com)
if anyone could share this app. it would be very appreciated.
I think the last update was 2.1, but lesser version is also welcome.
Please help me out, if you can.

[d12dozr]

Edit: I had a trial version which has expired and doesn't work any more.

[kisskovi]

I can give you an ftp access to upload, if you prefer it over rapidshare or such...
I won't bother otherwise, but i cant find any place left to get this app.

cheers,
kisskovi

[tensai.always]

Can you please upload it into rapidshare or somewhere else? this software is really helpful. it would help lots of people

[d12dozr]

Can you please upload it into rapidshare or somewhere else? this software is really helpful. it would help lots of people

Edit: I had a trial version which has expired and doesn't work any more.

[Krisidious]

if you're on a mac couldn't you just install the windows on mac hack?

http://hacknmod.com/hack/hack-windows-xp-to-look-like-a-mac-desktop/

[Krisidious]

VIRTUALWIND CLOSING DOWN NOTICE

We at Virtualwind are sorry to announce that we will be closing our doors on July 30, 2010. Effective July 26th, we ceased to sell, distribute, or support Virtualwind. The Virtualwind website will remain active for an indeterminate period of time to provide access to the on-line training and support material.

We would like to talke this opportunity to sincerely thank all of our customers and trial version users for their support and encouragement over this last year, and wish them all the very best. For further guidance on solutions to wind engineering challenges, please consult with our parent company, RWDI Inc.

Best Regards,

The Virtualwind Team

[daber2000]

This folder has one .rb and a Virtualwind folder from my Plugins folder. I think I got it all, but lemme know if it doesnt work.

Trying hanger skp with Manifold 1.4 on PC...Sketchup has been unresponsive for the last 15 mins.

On a side note, this collaboration would be a good use for Google Wave...whaddya think?

I am able to install the plugin in sketchup 7 (so glad i kept an install file copy), but when i try clicking on RUN/launch, there is some message stating that I need an .exe file. Do you have this file? Thanks!!