Day 8 – Wall Framing

Earlier on in the year, we added quite a few cool new things to the Wall Framing Tool in version 12.
These are all available in v13 now as well, and since we didn’t make much noise about them at the time, we’re doing it now instead!
The main thing is support for Steel Wall Framing, as well as custom Sill and Jamb solutions, and Partial Structure Display
Click here to see the original message: http://blog.cadimagetools.com/2009/02/steel-wall-framing/

Tags: 13 Days

Viewing Wall Frames from the Exterior Side

The orientation the composite skins are displayed in the Options > Element Attributes > Composites… palette (above) is the same orientation that these skins will be displayed in the elevated frame view (below).

To display the exterior side of a wall in the elevated frame view, make your composite so that the exterior skin is at the bottom of the composite settings display, and your interior skin at the top.

Tags: Wall Framing

Steel Wall Framing

Over the past few years a number of people have requested that the Wall Framing tool be extended to allow for steel wall framing.

The main requirements for a steel framing system are:

• Display C-section members in 3D, plan and elevated frame views.
• Orientate members within the wall
• Allow the design of custom solutions for sills, plates, lintels, etc.
• Extend the member ends into the steel channels.

The recent hotfix provides all of this functionality.

You can now define three types of member: timber, steel (C-section) and generic.

The Partial Structures presets now include trimmer studs and sills.

This means you can now design custom solutions for sills and jambs, in which the members are positioned and oriented within the wall.

As you can see, each steel member allows all other members to automatically extend into its channel.

Tags: Steel Framing, Steel Wall Framing

Cadimage Tools Hotfix 3

We are pleased to announce the release of the Third hotfix for the Cadimage Tools for ArchiCAD 12. This update brings a number of fixes as well as the introduction of Steel Framing into the Wall Framing Tool. We have also updated the installer to support English, German, Spanish, French, Russian and Norwegian localised versions of ArchiCAD. Get the latest versions here:

http://www.cadimagetools.com/myAccount/downloads.aspx

And make sure to read the release reports to find more details on what has been done.

Tags: Hotfix

Wall Framing for ArchiCAD 12 Released!

We are pleased to announce the release of the Wall Framing tool for ArchiCAD 12. You can download it right away at the downloads page. There’s also some tips on how it works and how to use it in a previous post here, and a series of tutorial videos to get you started quickly:

• Wall Framing Presets
• Attach Framing to a Composite
• Place Frames
• Keyboard Shortcuts
• Elevate Frames
• Edit Frames

Wall Framing for ArchiCAD 12

It’s taken a while but we are ready to go with a Pre-release of Wall Framing for ArchiCAD 12.

Based on 4 years of Customer Feedback from around the world, and constant improvement, we decided it was time to rebuild our Wall Framing Tool. While this update has taken a little longer than anticipated we expect you’ll find the wait was worth it!

Before launching the final product, we will publish two pre-release versions of the tool. The idea is to give existing Wall Framing tool customers the opportunity to trial the software and provide input to ensure the best possible outcome.

The first of these pre-release versions is available now for PC, and the second is scheduled to follow in the next 7-10 days for PC and Mac.

If you would like to use the Pre-release version please contact me (andrew@cadimagetools.com)

I’m excited by the potential of our new Wall Framing Tool. While it already represents a huge step forward, we already have future enhancements in mind. The new Wall Framing Tool has been designed to last for many years. It is effectively a platform for future development, so expect to see many improvements to this product over the next few years.

Specific improvements to the new Wall Framing tool include:

Multiple Skins

Multiple skins of framing, battens and panels are integral to the new system. These skins tie into the composite wall structure for tight integration with ArchiCAD. Individual control over each skin provides unprecedented flexibility.

Automatic Framing Around Openings

Openings are now framed up correctly as the frame is placed into the wall. In the old system, you had to individually specify the framing around each opening. If you change the size of an opening, and re-build the wall frame, the lintel will be automatically re-sized. The new tool uses span tables to assign lintels, sills and studs to all the openings simultaneously.

Stacked Openings

Openings placed above one another are now framed individually. This was always a shortcoming of the original system.

Customizable System

The new tool is highly customizable. You can create your own framing members, panels, end junctions, side junctions, lintels, top plate assemblies, etc. You can define span tables for lintels and junctions. At the top level you can use the structures you defined to create framing skins, batten skins and panel skins that can be assigned to composite walls.

Simplified Settings

Each object has a relatively simple user interface, presenting only the settings needed to drive that object. This doesn’t mean that the flexibility of the system has been reduced, in fact the new system is far richer than the old Wall Framing tool. It just means that the complexity of the system is spread over a number of simpler dialogs. You can focus on one aspect of the system at a time, without being overwhelmed by the number of settings.

User Controlled Processes

To avoid unnecessary processing, frames are rebuilt on demand. If you adjust a wall, or change the position of a window opening, the frame does not automatically rebuild. To rebuild all frames use the new menu item, and only the frames that require updating will be reconstructed. Less processing means a faster system resulting in more efficient work.

Edit Individual Members and Panels

One of the most exciting new developments for the Wall Framing tool is the ability to edit the elevated wall frames. Each piece of timber is placed as a separate object that can be deleted, moved or edited individually. The panels are placed as fill polygons so these can be edited too. Special editing tools are provided. You can also add members and panels into the frame. This allows you to rather easily design a custom frame for any given wall.

To get a feel for how the new tool works, check out these tutorials:

• Wall Framing Presets
• Attach Framing to a Composite
• Place Frames
• Keyboard Shortcuts
• Elevate Frames
• Edit Frames