Martin, one of the considerable benefits of having "live" strut&tie model is that you can change it on the fly; the logic is:

1. realize that there is too much tension in a tie or compression in a strut
2. Move the node in the model
3. re-check whether change in line angles was sufficient to resolve the overstress

If I draw every inclined line element by defining its coordinates it removes this benefit - you cannot change the node location (line angle) on the fly by simply dragging nodes.

In my case what I need is:
1. Define line by specifying the coordinates
2. Being able to click on the line node and drag it elsewhere
3. Make near nodes "snap" to each other; in this case if 3 lines connect at a point you can click on that point and drag it, changing the geometry of all three lines
4. Being able to add some sort of a fine line grid as an indication of the dimensions (this is a preference)

I understand that this is unlikely to get implemented any time soon - just throwing the idea out there in case Andrey decides to give the plugin another go.

I like that idea.

Thank you Ioan, once I start getting somewhere and have a defined model I have to solve, I will for sure ask your help. While I know basics of strut and tie, it is not my strong topic and I would consider all the opinions I can get.

Thank you for the reference info!

P.S.: It is quite pleasant to see a prominent professor from my alma mater, James G. MacGregor, to be featured in this strut-and-tie modelling how-to. I see quite a few illustrations borrowed from his book .. Which reminds me that many of my questions can be answered by simply going to my own book case, picking up a book and reading it.

... And I went off topic here. My apologies .

Edited by user 09 March 2016 00:22:32(UTC)  | Reason: Not specified

Jean,

Both this and my last post is off topic here. If you have some valuable insight on bridge construction and erection, or Quebec bridge, please open a new thread - I will carefully listen.

To interactively define nodes:
- Create a palette item "node" (maybe like the hinge in the beam FEA example)
- Interactively drag as many node objects from the palette to the positions where you want the nodes to be. You can drag around them afterwards or delete them using the del key.
- The new co-ordinates are reflected in the output matrix.
There is some sort of snap but I didn't manage to understand it.
The canvas objects have a context menu, where you can enter exact co-ordinates and dimensions.

Struts:
Perhaps it is best to have four (or at least two) palette entries with struts in the orientations / and \ and perhaps | and -
and drag them to the approximate locations in order to define the connectivity.

I don't know how to place Text (except you create a polygonal character set). It is possible, as Andrey's viewer examples show, but they may be created with a non-disclosed version of the plugin. I tried to find hints in the source code but failed (perhaps due to that I don't know C).

The beam FEA example shows most of what I know about the modeller region.
- how to set up a palette
- how to initialize the model
- how to process interactive changes
I evaluate the position and the size of the canvas objects as input for the calculations (magnitude of loads, thickness of beams). Best is to play around and see how the output matrix changes.

Have a look at Andrey's examples (e.g. rainbow game). there is much more possible than I have used.

Thank you guys,

It will take me some time to digest the two examples but I certain I will get to a solution

Thanks Davide,

I didn't know how to use Modeller. It opens in 5346
and plots the dotted rectangle. Gorgeous little tool.
The attached *.gif is just pasted by default. Mostly
used for capturing data points from crappy graphs.
It has the option to define the 4 corners in terms of
pixels and values for true XY plots. It was freeware
from Markus Karolweski, but don't know if still in
the web. A stand alone *.exe tool.
Any one interested, easy to attach. No restriction
to redistribute as is.




Jean

Error related to Shapes content based on its size in Modeller was fixed, so I want to share a sample which shows:

• Several simple Shapes;
  
• Auto-calculated horizontal and vertical text (value based on Shape size);
  
• Exporting to Autocad.

P.S.: For now it will work in latest nightly build only.

Best regards.

Edited by user 30 May 2016 01:47:09(UTC)  | Reason: Not specified

I'm curious. I have an application where I have some worksheets set up to calculate strengths of common structural components based on the typical section property formulas. But this requires having the formulas set up for each specific configuration. What I wonder is if this would provide an option for incorporating a more general section property calculator into my worksheet, where I could build up a combined section of basic shapes, get area and centroidal locations from the canvas, and perform calculations to output a moment of inertia, section modulus, etc. for use in additional worksheet calculations. I would like to develop a more versatile and self-contained worksheet and not have to go back to Autocad to get combined section properties. Would this be appropriate use for modeller?

Is it possible that you can automatically draw in the modeller region ?
For example , draw two rectangles , including them directly in the output variable , rather than drag them from templates


Best Regards

Carlos