Hi guys and girls :)
I guess I will give you a quick bit of background so you get an idea of where I am coming from.
Iam a 32 year old electrician from Melbourne Victoria designing my own house and found TFP a great way to do it. Envisioneer was way out of price range for what I need and found this to be perfect. Basically the plan is to come up with the design then take printed versions to engineer, builder and trade friends/relatives etc.
I noticed Allan as been providing a few different BiM files for people, the brick veneer and gutter ones come to mind.
Ok my question, was just curious if there was a catalogue as such that any of you have made with these files all in one place or do I need to just search forums for individual bits and pieces I may need?
Thanks in advance Bert.
Hi Bert,
Welcome to the Forum. :)
Basically I think you have answered your own question - generally best to start looking elsewhere only when you can't find what you are looking for in the existing catalogue. If you start importing things that you might use at some time, you run the risk of bloating the catalogue, slowing the program down in the process and taking too long to sort though everything you have - most of which you won't use! The existing catalogue starts at about 35MB - if you are not careful you can quickly double that. Some imported objects can be very large and take up so much memory that the program can grind to a halt. Most built-in TFP objects use very little memory. My catalogue is 47MB and I do not mind sharing it with you, but it is highly possible that the things I have customised or added will be things that you would not use, so I think it is better to gradually build your own catalogue of things you know you will use.
If you can't find what you want there are several options that I will list in MY preferred order. Note I said this is MY preference only, others may disagree but I have come to this conclusion after umpteen years using the program, almost daily and in that time I have found by my own experience and that of others on the forum who have run into difficulties, that the closer you stick to the original program catalogue the better - you will have the least problems. So.....
1. USE TFP COMBINED OBJECTS
Put several TFP items together to form other objects, turning off Collision so they will blend together easily. Just because an object is called one thing does not mean it can't be used for another that is the same or a similar shape or can be joined to something else to make a totally different shape. A very useful object is the Custom Member in Interior Accessories / Decorative. It is just a box with a different texture on each face, but it can be resized and placed at any angle, so one or more can be used to build almost anything. Being native TFP objects, they do not cause problems, will invariably render correctly, but, (like most imported objects also), can create extra 'lines' in Plan view where objects are overlapped. See the following thread for other shapes you can used to build an object: http://forums.turbofloorplan.com/index.php/topic,315.0.html (http://forums.turbofloorplan.com/index.php/topic,315.0.html)
2. CREATE OBJECTS IN TFP USING TFP TOOLS.
By this I mean to use the Walls, floor etc to make other things. The Floor and Ceiling can be cut to any shape and the ceiling can be angled also, so these are very versitile tools to make other things. Being native TFP objects they do not cause problems. See the PDF in the following thread for exaples of how to do this (and how to save it for later use as mentioned in 3 below): http://forums.turbofloorplan.com/index.php/topic,1130.0.html (http://forums.turbofloorplan.com/index.php/topic,1130.0.html)
3. EXPORT COMBINED TFP OBJECT AND SAVE AS 3DS FILES
If you want to reuse an object (created in 1 or 2 above) in future models, you can export it as a 3DS file and import it again into your catalogue where it will be just one object. This will then have limited editability, total size in each direction and texture but is in effect still a TFP object and will usually cause no problems, can be used as many times as you like and will render correctly.
4. IMPORT TFP OR ENVISIONEER BIM FILES
A BIM file is just a way of sharing a TFP or Envisioneer object with someone else, so if someone already has what you are looking for, they will likely be willing to share it as a BIM file. The BIM file will preseve the object, its place in the catalogue, textures etc. The guttering, brick veneer walls etc that you referred to, are an example. I created those in Envisioneer, where it is possible to incorporate these features in the wall or to easily create a profile for the gutter. This functionality within Envisioneer illustrate one of the reasons why it costs so much more than TFP, although there are many more major features than this of course! The point is however, that TFP will display these features (the Veneer, cavity etc in the wall) even though it does not have the functionality to change them. As long as the versions are the same, (TFP V16 = ENV V7) then they will share BLD and BIM files.
5. IMPORT MANUFACTURERS BIM FILES
There are many sources of BIM files as they are sometimes produced by different manufacturers and they contain their own products. Obviously they hope you will use them in the model and subsequently decide to buy the real ones when you build! You need to be a bit careful with these as they can be large, high definition files and there can be many of them in a set, so you run the risk of bloating the catalogue. If they have been produced to work in Envisioneer then they should behave and render correctly in TFP.
6. IMPORT 3DS FILES FROM OTHER SOURCES
Searching the web will result in many 3DS files that usually work fine in TFP. Again they can be very large files, so be cautious. TFP does have a function to reduce the size of such objects, but this will deteriorate the 'quality' of the 3D object and can leave holes in it also. If they are not too big they will usually behave witout any problems.
7. IMPORT SKETCHUP (SKP) FILES
SketchUp is a 3D program, originally created by Google and is excellent for easily creating 3D objects, that can be imported into TFP. I have listed it last, not to imply anything necessarily wrong with SKP files, but often on the forum, if someone is having problems, a SketchUp file, (or even a 3DS file created in other 3D software) has been identified as the culprit. SketchUp Warehouse has a huge variety of models and most will be fine in TFP but you must choose a SketchUp version that is compatible with TFP. Older versions will be OK, but the latest version won't, as they has been programmed since TFP V16 was produced so TFP does not know about any new features. Use SKP V7 or less. Most SKP files in the Warehouse are created by users and some (hopefully only a few) are not well done. I have personally come across quite a few that have little bits of surfaces scattered around the object. Obviously the object started out larger, sections were deleted by the creator but little bits of those sections were left behind, floating around the object. These can cause real issues as TFP tries to resolve and render these fragmemnts. If the SKP object seems to be just what you want, then try it (maybe first in a new blank model) but if odd things start to happen later, keep in mind that it may be the cause.
Hope that is not an 'information overload', but hopefuly it may explain some things for yourself and others.
Allan
I'd only add a couple more ideas:
- Using TFP you can export existing TFP catalog items and modify them in another 3D program, manage the size and quality and control domains for texture application, and export (usually .3ds), re-import into TFP
- Start from scratch or using another program item (Such as SU or Carrrara Studio or Blender), make what you want
Consider that if you insert an object into a .bld file, it will be there but not in the catalog unless you save it in the catalog.
A good catalog management idea is to create your own catalog....maybe just start with the default, give it a new name, delete large unwanted seldom used stuff, save all your files you may use and want to keep in one place and not lose.....you can open/close/use a variety of catalogs (one at a time) in TFP for any .bld file. Then you won't have one large burdensome catalog file but still be able to find everything.
And don't forget the catalog has a search tool that works well if you know the name of your item.
Doug.S
PS always save a backup copy of your catalog(s) in case it gets corrupted (rare)....easier than a re-install of TFP
Thanks heaps for your help guys. I have sketch up and have imported some vehicles, trailer etc. Some were corrupt and used the info in the forum to show the hidden bits and pieces and delete those sections.
I have also found alot of BiM files and created my own from the TFP models, colorbond roof and windows from trade catalogue's. I think I must of overloaded and crashed it however because it froze when I closed the program and next time I went in all I could get was a limited version of a catalogue did not even have the au/nzs elements.
I reinstalled from the cd and got it back and have started again. I will this time sort out my catalogue's and delete what I won't use and just keep the back up copy's somewhere elese re your advice.
So good to see how friendly and helpfull people are here. Look forward to more friendly advice if I need it in the future :)
Quote from: BazzaSparks on May 27, 2013, 06:16:27 PM
I have also found alot of BiM files and created my own from the TFP models, colorbond roof and windows from trade catalogue's.
If you have not done so already, there is no need to import the Colorbond roof materials - they are already there - under Corrugated Panelling.
Allan