Plug-in Functional Description
3DS Max plug-ins have priority in our implementation. Architecture
uses 3DS Max for almost all of the visual modeling that these plug-ins
are designed to assist.
A TIN mesh is basically a net of triangles. Architecture uses
these for the terrain data.
3DS Max Plug-Ins
Boolean operations:
These two plug ins were not discussed at the original meeting
Lift function with adjustable anchor:
This is used to lift a group of objects to the level of the TIN mesh terrain.
The adjustable anchor refers to the point on the objects that will be aligned
vertically (Z) with the mesh. The example application is when 2000
new trees are planted on campus, and the x/y locations are known, this
plug-in will be used to snap the trees to the terrain so that they are
planted in the ground.
Drape:
This plug-in takes a flat 2-D curve and projects it onto the TIN mesh terrain
data. The end result is the same curve visually from overhead, but
it now follows the mesh in Z. The example application is that roads
are defined initially as 2-D curves in a blueprint, and are then draped
onto the mesh to produce the center line for the road.
Parametric components:
This plug-in will take a group of parameters describing an architectural
object (door, window, etc.) and generate the model. It must follow
regulations specific to each object type in the creation (minimum door
size, etc.).
Texture mapping along the path:
The example application for this plug-in is for road texturing. Roads
are defined by the 3-D curve of their center lines. A cross section
of the road is the lophted (stretched) along the curve to produce the model.
The plug-in will solve the problem of accurately texture mapping this road
automatically after it has been created. (Apparently it is not as
big an issue if texturing is done as the object is lophted, but architecture
wants the ability to texture after the fact). This involves applying
a standard road tile texture to each trapezoidal section of the road.
The main concern is the visual continuity of the road and the center line.
Synchronized texture mapping:
The problem this plug-in should solve is the issue of matching the edges
of textures on surfaces such as brick walls. If three faces meet
at a corner, and all three are of brick, then with a standard texturing
gizmo like a box, it is possible to get the bricks to line up correctly
on two faces but not three. What is needed is the ability to simply
line up the textures for all three faces.
Capping extruded entities:
This plug-in is a patch tool for TIN meshes. It should basically
fill in a hole (possibly selected by the user) in a TIN mesh with faces.
The example application is that when buildings are placed onto the terrain,
the terrain is clipped out in the area the building occupies so that it
will not overlap the building. If the building needs to be moved
or removed, then architecture needs a simple tool to quickly patch the
hole.
Creating terrain step models from contour lines:
This plug-in will take a 2-D contour line drawing and generate some form
of 3-D data. It is unclear if this data is in the form of a TIN mesh
or a stepped terrace style model as of yet.
AutoCAD Plug Ins
Generation of TIN meshes from sets of 3D points:
This takes a set of 3D points and using some algorithm generates a mesh
by picking appropriate triangles. This will involve some combinatorics
to figure out the best system for choosing triangles from a list of points.
Conversion of TIN meshes into contour lines:
This is exactly what it sounds like: take a TIN mesh terrain and
generate a 2-D contour line drawing.
Filter with selectable criteria for 3D polylines:
This takes a 3D curve and attempts to reduce the number of points defining
the curve (increasing efficiency) without changing the line aesthetically.
The user should be able to specify a maximum "difference" between the original
and new curves, although the primary importance is visual, not mathematical.
The desire for this plug in arises from the fact that architecture is already
able to manually reduce curves defining road centerlines (created using
drape) by %30 or %40. This take a lot of time, however, and an automatic
solution would be preferable.
Drape:
This function is the same as the above for 3DS Max.
Lift function with adjustible anchor:
This function is the same as the above for 3DS Max.
Creating terrain step models from contour lines:
This function is the same as the above for 3DS Max.