Model-IT REALLY annoys me

[jerry]

And that's putting it mildly……

Take today for example. I have a simple house to build. I draw around the floor plan, using DXF locks, all looks fine. A model check reports no errors. Great. Then I copy the floor and go to modify the heights in order to draw the second floor, and instead of seeing two levels in the edit element heights dialogue box (i.e. floor and ceiling), it reports that I have 4 !!! (0.000000, 2.663669, 2.753377, 2.787152, 2.82) Just where does it get this from ? No amount of "tidy" or rebuild helps, I am going to have to rebuild it. For pete's sake……..


Jerry

PS: standard IES response to this, is "don't use DXF locks, use grid locks instead". OK, so why provide the facility if it doesn't work properly ?

[jerry]

Ahhhhhh, it's doing it again, and this time I am using grid locks.
So far, I have spent over an hour trying without success to draw the ground floor storey of a house !!!

This really is a seriously infuriating piece of software……

Jerry

[Complex Potential]

Yes, unfortunately IES ModelIT works subtly different to the vast majority of other 3D drawing packages and often leaves beginners frustrated. It's really not a "pick up and use" type of affair.

At my company I do not allow guys to work unsupervised on live projects with IES until they've spent several weeks shadowing an experienced user and being watched like a hawk. If all else fails, go on the IES training courses but they are expensive.

If it's any consolation, it gets easier.

CP

[swilson]

Just a thought have you been drawing this from a dxf file from an autocad/revit drawing.

If so I came across a similar problem where the drawing hadn't been flattened in cad and as a result my dxf was not flat and the points you I was snapping to are at different heights.

Then again snapping to grid should not cause this.

also how are you copying the floor as this may be the root of the problem?

[ZapBran]

I guess the snap to dxf point is doing exactly that... snapping to the very point IES reads directly from the file 9.98723478926 gazillion or whatever so it's probably acting as it sees it correctly. I've yet to draw the building model that needed less than 1cm snapping to look right - I'd advise setting your grid to that and drawing over it.
As for the different heights - I only saw that a few times when working on high-rises (think it was about floor 11,13 or 15 - definitely odd number) when a sub 1mm error crept in (best guess it was a rounding issue). Simple solution - bring in at 0m and move up using the dx command.

If it's taking an hour to draw a simple house I'd say, and I'd say it with the utmost respect, you are doing something wrong.

Zap

[JohnLloyd]

I don't draw to grid when in 'plan' view simply because whenever you have walls that are not parallel or perpendicular to the grid, it's not possible to connect to them AND stick to the grid.

How do you get around those ones?

p.s. the title of this thread made me chuckle. It annoys us all mate, but learning to master it is all part of the charm of IES.

[Complex Potential]

I click as I go past the vertex point so I have something to connect to later. It sometimes means I end up with a subtle kink in my walls and it's particularly difficult for very small rooms but generally it works fine sticking to grid.

[JohnLloyd]

That is exactly what I used to do, but doesn't help when you need to go back and modify the geometry of the model in the future when the architectural layout gets developed. You also end up with a lot more surfaces that you really need, slowing the model run-time down.

That also used to often give me erroneous inner volume representation. I suppose this may no longer be the case seeing as the inner volume implementation seems to have been significantly improved over the years.

It's a question of balancing the advantages with the disadvantages I suppose.

[bootsam]

There is a 'flatten' macro in autocad. If you search the acad forum you will find it. Its very very useful. Some architects are lazy and import 3d objects like doors into 2d plans. Then when they draw partitions they snap to the top etc. The way to tell is to take a view 'left'. If its one narrow line, youre fine. If its a zigzag, you need to 'flatten' it. This drives me nuts.

I never worry too much about being 100% accurate with a model. 98% is fine. Thus I trace the internal perimeter of a building as my outline. I then just go down the middle of partitions witha single line and trim it all at the end to get a simplistic floor plan. This is what I use to build the model. ModelIT can draw some complex shapes once you get your head around moving the room around to cut chunks off. As the slice mechanism is fixed to plan view.

Keep in mind floors above and use the outline to keep it all inline.

[ecoboost]

Just use sketchup to get your building in, if you require something more complex and would rather not import/export al the time then sub-contract to someone who knows how to use the modelling software in IES. Simples