h tubes are redundant so surfaces overlap instead of interpenetrate, so it is not a good system.
Cocoon is the best answer these days unless you can get Exowire/Exoskelton to work. If you want more control over shape, feed your uncapped tubes into Cocoon as meta-surfaces and delete any and all of the inner meshes to just keep the outer single closed one, but this is just duplicate-culled lines used as meta-lines:
Turn down the CS input to 0.005 for this result, from 0.02 used for faster preview. In fact bake the lines and only test Cocoon on a few of them in order to get the result you want before doing the whole thing.
Whole thing at 0.005 cell size takes 5 minutes for Cocoon and 2 minutes for refinement to a smooth and even mesh.
Actually, seems like 0.005 is way too fine, giving a 600MB STL file.
So, 0.01 cell size at less than a minute total:
159MB STL which is still a bit too big for places like Shapeways. Wow. OK then 0.02 cell size, but I have to increase diameter or my two smoothing steps in refine collapse things too much, an in fact I set it to no smoothing, getting more volume and a reasonable 46MB STL file:
Alas, now it's more frail and overly organic rather than mechanical. Increasing diameter just merges it into perforated plates too much. File size is simply an issue with this complexity level, so different 3D printing services will have different file size limits.
Exowire/Exoskeleton would work but your original mesh hasn't been MeshMachine remeshed to be regular, so short segments ruin it. Here is just a corner:
I think that's why more wires fails, at least. Pretty temperamental component.
Switching to MeshMachine is needed, I guess, instead of Cocoon refine, to remesh away so many small triangles along the boring tubes. Crucial for good remeshing was to set Flip to 0 or I failed to get a rough enough mesh.
It's an adaptive mesh so I can retain good detail while roughing out the tubes.
MeshMachine is terribly slow for this whole thing, like 6 minutes, and blows up for this overly rough setting, 20 steps, so less rough, ugh, I'm out of time. I think free Autocad Meshmixer is the way to make a better smaller mesh, after a refined output from Cocoon. MeshMachine is just too slow to tweak and when it blows up, creating massive triangles jutting out, it hangs too when you change settings.
Starting with a Cocoon refined mesh certainly helped Meshmixer. Using triangle budget lets me have full control. Here is 150K triangles instead of 200K:
STL file size down to 40MB. I think Shapeways is 70 or 100MB limit? So it can be even finer. Here is the Cocoon output versus the Meshmixer reduction:
To use Meshmixer, turn on View > Show Wireframe, Command-S to select all and use Edit > Reduce from the palette that appears.
Cocoon can end up making a few inner meshes where things get weird in your uneven original mesh with small holes so fish out the main mesh by adding a List Item node.
The best strategy for Cocoon is indeed to make an overly fine STL so you avoid any need to tweak forever in Grasshopper, but then you can achieve a smaller mesh file size while preserving shape instead of things turning all smearly organic in Grasshopper.…
.
Things have been working swimmingly in many areas of the plugin, but one particular problem has been tough to solve. I have two components that are trying to read/write to the same memory at the same time, causing Rhino exceptions and crashes.
The conflicts appear to be happening between two components -- one is a "Layer Events Listener" that reports essentially what type of layer event just happened. The other is a "Set Layer Visibility" component that toggles the visibility of a list of layers.
The code:
public class LayerTools_LayerEventsListener : GH_Component { /// <summary> /// Initializes a new instance of the LayerTools_LayerListener class. /// </summary> public LayerTools_LayerEventsListener() : base("Layer Events Listener", "Layer Listener", "Get granular information about the layer events happening in the Rhino document.", "Squirrel", "Layer Tools") { }
/// <summary> /// Registers all the input parameters for this component. /// </summary> protected override void RegisterInputParams(GH_Component.GH_InputParamManager pManager) { pManager.AddBooleanParameter("Active", "A", "Set to true to listen to layer events in the Rhino document.", GH_ParamAccess.item, false); pManager.AddTextParameter("Exclusions", "E", "Provide a list of exclusions to stop reading specific events (Added, Deleted, Moved, Renamed, Locked, Visibility, Color, Active).", GH_ParamAccess.list); pManager[1].Optional = true; }
/// <summary> /// Registers all the output parameters for this component. /// </summary> protected override void RegisterOutputParams(GH_Component.GH_OutputParamManager pManager) { pManager.AddBooleanParameter("Initialized", "I", "Whether the listener changed from passive to active.", GH_ParamAccess.item); pManager.AddTextParameter("Document Name", "doc", "Name of the Rhino document that is changing.", GH_ParamAccess.item); pManager.AddTextParameter("Layer Path", "path", "Path of the modifed layer.", GH_ParamAccess.item); pManager.AddIntegerParameter("Layer Index", "ID", "Index of the modified layer.", GH_ParamAccess.item); pManager.AddIntegerParameter("Sort Index", "SID", "Sort index of the modified layer.", GH_ParamAccess.item); pManager.AddTextParameter("Event Type", "T", "Type of the modification.", GH_ParamAccess.item); pManager.AddBooleanParameter("Added", "A", "If the layer has been added.", GH_ParamAccess.item); pManager.AddBooleanParameter("Deleted", "D", "If the layer has been deleted.", GH_ParamAccess.item); pManager.AddBooleanParameter("Moved", "M", "If the layer has been moved.", GH_ParamAccess.item); pManager.AddBooleanParameter("Renamed", "R", "If the layer has been renamed.", GH_ParamAccess.item); pManager.AddBooleanParameter("Locked", "L", "If the layer locked setting has changed.", GH_ParamAccess.item); pManager.AddBooleanParameter("Visibility", "V", "If the layer's visibility has changed.", GH_ParamAccess.item); pManager.AddBooleanParameter("Color", "C", "If the layer's color has changed.", GH_ParamAccess.item); pManager.AddBooleanParameter("Active", "Act", "If the active layer has changed.", GH_ParamAccess.item); }
/// <summary> /// This is the method that actually does the work. /// </summary> /// <param name="DA">The DA object is used to retrieve from inputs and store in outputs.</param> protected override void SolveInstance(IGH_DataAccess DA) { bool active = false; List<string> exclusions = new List<string>();
DA.GetData(0, ref active); DA.GetDataList(1, exclusions);
RhinoDoc thisDoc = null;
bool initialize = false;
string dName = null; string activePath = null; int layerIndex = -1; int sortIndex = -1; string eventType = null; bool added = false; bool deleted = false; bool moved = false; bool renamed = false; bool locked = false; bool visibility = false; bool color = false; bool current = false;
if (active) { thisDoc = RhinoDoc.ActiveDoc;
initialize = (!previouslyActive) ? true : false;
RhinoDoc.LayerTableEvent -= RhinoDoc_LayerTableEvent; RhinoDoc.LayerTableEvent += RhinoDoc_LayerTableEvent; previouslyActive = true;
} else {
RhinoDoc.LayerTableEvent -= RhinoDoc_LayerTableEvent; previouslyActive = false; }
if (ev != null) { dName = ev.Document.Name; layerIndex = ev.LayerIndex; eventType = ev.EventType.ToString();
if (!exclusions.Contains("Active")) { if (ev.EventType.ToString() == "Current") { // active layer has just been changed current = true; }
}
if (!exclusions.Contains("Moved")) { if (ev.EventType.ToString() == "Sorted") { // active layer has just been changed moved = true; }
}
if (!exclusions.Contains("Added")) { if (ev.EventType.ToString() == "Added") { // layer has just been added activePath = ev.NewState.FullPath; added = true; }
}
if (!exclusions.Contains("Active")) { if (ev.EventType.ToString() == "Deleted") { // layer has just been added
deleted = true; } }
if (ev.EventType.ToString() == "Modified") { // layer has been modified activePath = ev.NewState.FullPath;
//skip sortindex eventType = ev.EventType.ToString();
if (ev.OldState != null && ev.NewState != null) { if (!exclusions.Contains("Locked")) { if (ev.OldState.IsLocked != ev.NewState.IsLocked) locked = true;
} if (!exclusions.Contains("Visibility")) { if (ev.OldState.IsVisible != ev.NewState.IsVisible) visibility = true; }
if (!exclusions.Contains("Moved")) { if (ev.OldState.ParentLayerId != ev.NewState.ParentLayerId) moved = true; }
//if (ev.OldState.SortIndex != ev.NewState.SortIndex) moved = true; if (!exclusions.Contains("Renamed")) { if (ev.OldState.Name != ev.NewState.Name) renamed = true; }
if (!exclusions.Contains("Color")) { if (ev.OldState.Color != ev.NewState.Color) color = true; } }
} }
DA.SetData(0, initialize); DA.SetData(1, dName); DA.SetData(2, activePath); DA.SetData(3, layerIndex); DA.SetData(4, sortIndex); DA.SetData(5, eventType); DA.SetData(6, added); DA.SetData(7, deleted); DA.SetData(8, moved); DA.SetData(9, renamed); DA.SetData(10, locked); DA.SetData(11, visibility); DA.SetData(12, color); DA.SetData(13, current);
}
static bool previouslyActive = false; Rhino.DocObjects.Tables.LayerTableEventArgs ev = null;
void RhinoDoc_LayerTableEvent(object sender, Rhino.DocObjects.Tables.LayerTableEventArgs e) { ev = e;this.ExpireSolution(true); }
And for the layer visibility component:
public LayerTools_SetActiveLayer() : base("Set Active Layer", "SetActiveLayer", "Set the active layer in the Rhino document.", "Squirrel", "Layer Tools") { }
/// <summary> /// Registers all the input parameters for this component. /// </summary> protected override void RegisterInputParams(GH_Component.GH_InputParamManager pManager) { pManager.AddBooleanParameter("Active", "A", "Set to true to change the active layer in Rhino.", GH_ParamAccess.item, false); pManager.AddTextParameter("Path", "P", "Full path of the layer to be activated.", GH_ParamAccess.item); }
/// <summary> /// Registers all the output parameters for this component. /// </summary> protected override void RegisterOutputParams(GH_Component.GH_OutputParamManager pManager) { pManager.AddIntegerParameter("Layer ID", "ID", "Index of layer that has been activated.", GH_ParamAccess.item); pManager.AddBooleanParameter("Status", "St", "True when the layer has been activated.", GH_ParamAccess.item); }
/// <summary> /// This is the method that actually does the work. /// </summary> /// <param name="DA">The DA object is used to retrieve from inputs and store in outputs.</param> protected override void SolveInstance(IGH_DataAccess DA) { bool active = false; string path = "";
if (!DA.GetData(0, ref active)) return; if (!DA.GetData(1, ref path)) return;
int layer_index = -1; bool status = false;
if (path != null) {
Rhino.RhinoDoc doc = Rhino.RhinoDoc.ActiveDoc; Rhino.DocObjects.Tables.LayerTable layertable = doc.Layers;
layer_index = layertable.FindByFullPath(path, true);
if (layer_index > 0) { // if exists RhinoDoc.ActiveDoc.Layers.SetCurrentLayerIndex(layer_index, true); status = true; } }
DA.SetData(0, layer_index); DA.SetData(1, status); }
Now originally I was getting exceptions when changing multiple layers' visibility properties, which would cause the Event Listener to fire and try to read the Visibility property before the memory has been released by the Set Layer Visibility component. That led me to add an "Exceptions" input, that would allow me to disable the reading of Visibility events at the source in the Layer Events listener. That helped me manage about 95% of the crashes I was getting, but I still get strange crashes in other event properties, even when that property shouldn't be affected. For instance, I am getting a crash here on the Name property in the event from the delegate function, even though I am only changing Visibility at any one time:
I have a few ideas but they all seem pretty hacky. One is to try to set a flag that is readable by any component in the plugin -- so that the event listener can see if a "set" component is currently running and abort before causing an exception. The other is creating a delay in the event listener, somthing like 200ms, to allow any set components to finish what they are doing before reading the event. Neither seems super ideal.
Any ideas?
Thanks,
Marc
…
peuvent se diviser une surface avec ne importe quel motif imaginable. 3. Ici, je fournir un moyen de le faire via Lunchbox ... cela fonctionne mais il est fixe et donc nous avons besoin de jouer avec des arbres de données afin de créer le motif approprié par cas. 4. L'autre composante est un joint C # qui fait beaucoup de choses autres que de diviser ne importe quelle collection de points avec de nombreux modèles (voir le modèle ANDRE que je ai fait pour vous). 5. Vous devez décomposer une polysurface en morceaux afin de travailler sur les subdivisions. 6. Je donne une autre définition ainsi que pourrait agir comme un tutoriel sur la façon de traiter des ensembles de points via des composants de GH standards et des méthodes classiques.
Avertissez si tous ceux-ci apparaissent floue pour vous: Si oui, je pourrais écrire une définition utilisant des composants de GH classiques - mais vous perdrez les variations de motifs de division.
mieux, Peter
…
olves some changes to the Rhino SDK, so it's likely that there will be problems running 0.8.0008 under Rhino5 until the next Rhino5 WIP goes out.
Changes since 0.8.0007:
● Added a Mesh|Mesh intersection component.
● Added a Mesh|Curve intersection component.
● Added a Replace List component (Sets.List dropdown)
● Added Integer Division component (Math.Operator dropdown)
● Added ToRadians component (Math.Trig dropdown)
● Added ToDegrees component (Math.Trig dropdown)
● Added Cube component (Math.Polynomials dropdown)
● Added CubeRoot component (Math.Polynomials dropdown)
● Added Round component which exposes Round, Ceiling and Floor functions (Math.Util dropdown)
● Added Negative component (Math.Operators dropdown)
● Added Absolute component (Math.Operators dropdown)
● Added 'One over X' component (Math.Polynomials dropdown)
● Updated to Quantum Whale code editor version 1.62
● Added String Sort component (Sets.Strings dropdown)
● Added Create Set component (Sets.Sets panel)
● Added Set Union component (Sets.Sets panel)
● Added Set Difference component (Sets.Sets panel)
● Added Set Symmetric Difference component (Sets.Sets dropdown)
● Added Set Intersection component (Sets.Sets panel)
● Added Set Carthesian Product component (Sets.Sets panel)
● Added SubSet test component (Sets.Sets panel)
● Added Disjoint Set test component (Sets.Sets dropdown)
● Added Set Majority component (Sets.Sets dropdown)
● Added Set Member Index component (Sets.Sets dropdown)
● Added Set Replace Member component (Sets.Sets dropdown)
● Added Set Remove Consecutive Identical Members component (Sets.Sets dropdown)
● Added Mass Multiplication component (Math.Operators dropdown)
● Simplify Tree component now by default collapses *all* coincident path elements.
● Casting error messages are now vaguely less geeky.
● Added polygon center component (Curve.Analysis dropdown).
● Font Defaults are now copied from the OS Fonts.
● Slider Initialization codes can now be used to specify decimal places.
● Profiler widget now displays long time spans in seconds, minutes and hours.
● Added an IsoVist component (Intersect.Mathematical panel)
● Added an IsoVist Ray component (Intersect.Mathematical panel)
● MRU missing file checks are now threaded to prevent UI delays when files are located on slow media.
● Expression Editor has been redesigned.
● Slider Component popup has been redesigned.
● Slider Components now have customizable grip-styles (accessible via popup only)
● Slider Components are now 20 pixels wider by default than before.
● Slider Controls now draw focus rectangle to indicate caret capture.
● Slider Control text input is now automatically activated by a keypress when the slider has focus.
● Slider Controls that are locked are now rendered greyed out.
● Tumbler Controls now draw themselves in 3D style when they are focused.
● Tumbler Control text input is now automatically activated by a keypress when the slider has focus.
● Tumbler Controls that are locked are now rendered greyed out.
● Generic Data parameters now allow setting multiple items via the menu.
● Text display has been rewritten for Text Panels and Param Viewers, making it faster.
● Null items in Text Panels are now drawn transparently.
● Empty strings in Text Panels are now drawn transparently as "<empty>".
● Path mapping operations that do not involve List Indices are faster.
○ Point Parameters could not be baked from the toolbar, this is fixed.
○ Negative slider initialization codes would result in erroneous limits, this is fixed.
○ Fixed a bug with the normal vector output of the Spherical Cloud component.
○ ASCII control code characters in strings prevented ghx serialization, this is fixed.
○ Fixed several bugs with ReadFile component custom parser scripts.
○ Fixed a bug (without introducing other ones I hope) with screwed up output data trees in case of partial path overlaps.
○ Empty branches would get skipped by the PathMapper, this is fixed.
○ Transform multiplication was the wrong way 'round, this is fixed.
○ There was (at least one) bug in the Curve Offset direction code, it got fixed.
○ Fixed a bug with the Convex Hull algorithm (while inebriated on Tokaj no less).
Important notes:
The zero-length-slider-ultra-crash may or may not still happen. I've fixed a bug in slider code that may or may not explain why it happened to begin with (though probably it doesn't) and also some safety code. Please let me know if this is still a problem.
All the Set components operate on simple data types only (Booleans, Integers, Numbers, Complex Numbers, Strings, Intervals, Vectors & Points). They will not work correctly on more complex types such as Curves, Meshes or Breps. I do not know if they ever will.
I've tried making the sliders and tumblers (the controls, not the canvas objects) easier to use. Basically it should now be obvious based on the display whether a slider or tumbler has focus. Slider have a dotted rectangle drawn in them when focused, tumblers are drawn as 3D objects instead of flat objects). When a slider or tumbler has focus, just typing should automatically bring up the text input override. Please test that this works as advertised and is not 'weird'.
Note to GHA developers: The Internal_Icon_24x24 property on Components and Custom object is now Obsolete. It still exists for the time being, but you are advised to use the Icon property instead.
--
David Rutten
david@mcneel.com
Poprad, Slovakia…
8.3.0 ************* IDF Context for following error/warning message: ************* Note -- lines truncated at 300 characters, if necessary... ************* 829 Construction, ************* indicated Name=PELLE001 ************* Only last 10 lines before error line shown.....
************* 832 AIR WALL2, !- - Layer 2 ************* 833 X-LAM, !- - Layer 3 ************* 834 POLYSTYRENE2, !- - Layer 4 ************* 835 PANNELLO VIP, !- - Layer 5 ************* 836 POLYSTYRENE2, !- - Layer 6 ************* 837 X-LAM, !- - Layer 7 ************* 838 LANA DI ROCCIAS, !- - Layer 8 ************* 839 VANO IMPIANTI, !- - Layer 9 ************* 840 LANA DI ROCCIAS, !- - Layer 10 ************* 841 LASTRA IN GESSOFIBRA, !- - Layer 11 ** Severe ** IP: IDF line~841 Error detected for Object=CONSTRUCTION ** ~~~ ** Maximum arguments reached for this object, trying to process ->LASTRA IN GESSOFIBRA<- ************* IDF Context for following error/warning message: ************* Note -- lines truncated at 300 characters, if necessary... ************* 985 Construction, ************* indicated Name=ROOF001 ************* Only last 10 lines before error line shown..... ************* 988 TRAVETTI, !- - Layer 2 ************* 989 TAVOLATO, !- - Layer 3 ************* 990 POLYSTYRENE2, !- - Layer 4 ************* 991 PANNELLO VIP, !- - Layer 5 ************* 992 POLYSTYRENE2, !- - Layer 6 ************* 993 X-LAM, !- - Layer 7 ************* 994 LANA DI ROCCIAS, !- - Layer 8 ************* 995 VANO IMPIANTI, !- - Layer 9 ************* 996 LANA DI ROCCIAS, !- - Layer 10 ************* 997 LASTRA IN GESSOFIBRA, !- - Layer 11 ** Severe ** IP: IDF line~997 Error detected for Object=CONSTRUCTION ** ~~~ ** Maximum arguments reached for this object, trying to process ->LASTRA IN GESSOFIBRA<- ** Warning ** IP: Note -- Some missing fields have been filled with defaults. See the audit output file for details. ** Severe ** IP: Possible incorrect IDD File ** ~~~ ** IDD Version:"IDD_Version 8.3.0" ** ~~~ ** Version in IDF="8.3" not the same as expected="8.3" ** ~~~ ** Possible Invalid Numerics or other problems ** Fatal ** IP: Errors occurred on processing IDF file. Preceding condition(s) cause termination. ...Summary of Errors that led to program termination: ..... Reference severe error count=3 ..... Last severe error=IP: Possible incorrect IDD File ************* Warning: Node connection errors not checked - most system input has not been read (see previous warning). ************* Fatal error -- final processing. Program exited before simulations began. See previous error messages. ************* EnergyPlus Warmup Error Summary. During Warmup: 0 Warning; 0 Severe Errors. ************* EnergyPlus Sizing Error Summary. During Sizing: 0 Warning; 0 Severe Errors. ************* EnergyPlus Terminated--Fatal Error Detected. 1 Warning; 3 Severe Errors; Elapsed Time=00hr 00min 0.34sec
My question is how i can fix it ??? and why it tell me that:
** Severe ** IP: Possible incorrect IDD File** ~~~ ** IDD Version:"IDD_Version 8.3.0"** ~~~ ** Version in IDF="8.3" not the same as expected="8.3"** ~~~ ** Possible Invalid Numerics or other problems** Fatal ** IP: Errors occurred on processing IDF file. Preceding condition(s) cause termination....Summary of Errors that led to program termination:
Help me pleaseeeeeeee
Happy new year!!!!!…
8.3.0************* IDF Context for following error/warning message:************* Note -- lines truncated at 300 characters, if necessary...************* 829 Construction,************* indicated Name=PELLE001************* Only last 10 lines before error line shown.....
************* 832 AIR WALL2, !- - Layer 2************* 833 X-LAM, !- - Layer 3************* 834 POLYSTYRENE2, !- - Layer 4************* 835 PANNELLO VIP, !- - Layer 5************* 836 POLYSTYRENE2, !- - Layer 6************* 837 X-LAM, !- - Layer 7************* 838 LANA DI ROCCIAS, !- - Layer 8************* 839 VANO IMPIANTI, !- - Layer 9************* 840 LANA DI ROCCIAS, !- - Layer 10************* 841 LASTRA IN GESSOFIBRA, !- - Layer 11** Severe ** IP: IDF line~841 Error detected for Object=CONSTRUCTION** ~~~ ** Maximum arguments reached for this object, trying to process ->LASTRA IN GESSOFIBRA<-************* IDF Context for following error/warning message:************* Note -- lines truncated at 300 characters, if necessary...************* 985 Construction,************* indicated Name=ROOF001************* Only last 10 lines before error line shown.....************* 988 TRAVETTI, !- - Layer 2************* 989 TAVOLATO, !- - Layer 3************* 990 POLYSTYRENE2, !- - Layer 4************* 991 PANNELLO VIP, !- - Layer 5************* 992 POLYSTYRENE2, !- - Layer 6************* 993 X-LAM, !- - Layer 7************* 994 LANA DI ROCCIAS, !- - Layer 8************* 995 VANO IMPIANTI, !- - Layer 9************* 996 LANA DI ROCCIAS, !- - Layer 10************* 997 LASTRA IN GESSOFIBRA, !- - Layer 11** Severe ** IP: IDF line~997 Error detected for Object=CONSTRUCTION** ~~~ ** Maximum arguments reached for this object, trying to process ->LASTRA IN GESSOFIBRA<-** Warning ** IP: Note -- Some missing fields have been filled with defaults. See the audit output file for details.** Severe ** IP: Possible incorrect IDD File** ~~~ ** IDD Version:"IDD_Version 8.3.0"** ~~~ ** Version in IDF="8.3" not the same as expected="8.3"** ~~~ ** Possible Invalid Numerics or other problems** Fatal ** IP: Errors occurred on processing IDF file. Preceding condition(s) cause termination....Summary of Errors that led to program termination:..... Reference severe error count=3..... Last severe error=IP: Possible incorrect IDD File************* Warning: Node connection errors not checked - most system input has not been read (see previous warning).************* Fatal error -- final processing. Program exited before simulations began. See previous error messages.************* EnergyPlus Warmup Error Summary. During Warmup: 0 Warning; 0 Severe Errors.************* EnergyPlus Sizing Error Summary. During Sizing: 0 Warning; 0 Severe Errors.************* EnergyPlus Terminated--Fatal Error Detected. 1 Warning; 3 Severe Errors; Elapsed Time=00hr 00min 0.34sec
My question is how i can fix it ??? and why it tell me that:
** Severe ** IP: Possible incorrect IDD File** ~~~ ** IDD Version:"IDD_Version 8.3.0"** ~~~ ** Version in IDF="8.3" not the same as expected="8.3"** ~~~ ** Possible Invalid Numerics or other problems** Fatal ** IP: Errors occurred on processing IDF file. Preceding condition(s) cause termination....Summary of Errors that led to program termination:
Help me pleaseeeeeeee
Thanks and Happy new year!!!!!…
oftware connections built from the initial seed of the project. As always you can download the new release from Food4Rhino. Make sure to remove the older version of Ladybug and Honeybee and update your scripts.
This release is also special since today it is just about 3 years (3 years and 2 weeks) from the first release of Ladybug. As with any release, there have been a number of bug fixes and improvements but we also have some major news this time. In no specific order and to ensure that the biggest developments do not get lost in the extensive list of updates, here are the major ones:
Mostapha is re-writing Ladybug!
Ladybug for DynamoBIM is finally available.
Chris made bakeIt really useful by incorporating an export pathway to PDFs and vector-based programs.
Honeybee is now connected to THERM and the LBNL suite thanks to Chris Mackey.
Sarith has addressed a much-desired wish for Honeybee (Hi Theodore!) by adding components to model electric lighting with Radiance.
Djordje is on his way to making renewable energy deeply integrated with Ladybug by releasing components for modeling solar hot water.
There is new bug. Check the bottom of the post for Dragonfly!
Last but definitely not least (in case you’re not still convinced that this release is a major one) Miguel has started a new project that brings some of Ladybug’s features directly to Rhino. We mean Rhino Rhino - A Rhino plugin! Say hi to Icarus! #surprise
Before we forget! Ladybug and Honeybee now have official stickers. Yes! We know about T-Shirts and mugs and they will be next. For now, you can deck-out your laptops and powerhouse simulation machines with the symbology of our collaborative software ecosystem.
Now go grab a cup of tea/coffee and read the details below:
Rewriting Ladybug!
Perhaps the most far-reaching development of the last 4 months is an effort on the part of Mostapha to initiate a well structured, well documented, flexible, and extendable version of the Ladybug libraries. While such code is something that few community members will interact with directly, a well-documented library is critical for maintaining the project, adding new features, and for porting Ladybug to other software platforms.
The new Ladybug libraries are still under development across a number of new repositories and they separate a ladybug-core, which includes epw parsing and all non-geometric functions, from interface-specific geometry libraries. This allows us to easily extend Ladybug to other platforms with a different geometry library for each platform (ie. ladybug-grasshopper, ladybug-dynamo, ladybug-web, etc) all of which are developed on top of the ladybug-core.
Without getting too technical, here is an example of a useful outcome of this development. If you want to know the number of hours that relative humidity is more than 90% for a given epw, all that you have to code (in any python interface) is the following:
import ladybug as lb
_epwFile = r"C:\EnergyPlusV7-2-0\WeatherData\USA_CO_Golden-NREL.724666_TMY3.epw"
epwfile = lb.epw.EPW(_epwFile)
filteredData = epwfile.relativeHumidity.filterByConditionalStatement('x>90')
print "Number of hours with Humidity more than 90 is %d "%len(filteredData.timeStamps)
Compare that to the 500 + lines that you would have had to write previously for this operation, which were usually tied to a single interface! Now let’s see what will happen if you want to use the geometry-specific libraries. Let’s draw a sunpath in Grasshopper:
import ladybuggrasshopper.epw as epw
import ladybuggrasshopper.sunpath as sunpath
# get location data form epw file
location = epw.EPW(_epwFile).location
# initiate sunpath based on location
sp = sunpath.Sunpath.fromLocation(location, northAngle = 0, daylightSavingPeriod = None, basePoint =cenPt, scale = scale, sunScale = sunScale)
# draw sunpath geometry
sp.drawAnnualSunpath()
# assign geometries to outputs
...
Finally we ask, how would this code will look if we wanted to make a sunpath for dynamo? Well, it will be exactly the same! Just change ladybuggrasshopper in the second line to ladybugdynamo! Here is the code which is creating the sunpath below.
With this ease of scripting, we hope to involve more of our community members in our development and make it easy for others to use ladybug in their various preferred applications. By the next release, we will produce an API documentation (documentation of all the ladybug classes, methods and properties that you can script with) and begin making tutorials for those interested in getting deeper into Ladybug development.
LADYBUG
1 - Initial Release of Ladybug for Dynamo:
As is evident from the post above, we are happy to announce the first release of Ladybug for Dynamo! You can download the ladybug package from Dynamo package manager. Make sure to download version 0.0.6 which is actually 0.0.1! It took a number of trial and errors to get it up there. Once you have the file downloaded you can watch these videos to get started:
The source code can be find under ladybug-dynamo repository and (as you can already guess) it is using the new code base. It includes a very small toolkit of essential Ladybug components/nodes but it has enough to get you started. You can import weather files, draw sunpaths and run sunlighthours or radiation analyses.
There are two known issues in this release but neither of them is critical. You need to have Dynamo 0.9.1 or higher installed which you can download from here (http://dynamobuilds.com/). It is recommended that you run the scripts with ‘Manual’ run (as opposed to ‘Automatic’) since the more intense calculations can make Dynamo crash in automatic mode.
To put things in perspective, here is how we would map Ladybug for Dynamo vs Ladybug and Honeybee for Grasshopper on the classic ‘Hype graph’. The good news is that what we learned a lot from the last three years, making development of the Dynamo version easier and getting us to the plateau of productivity faster.
We should also note that the current development of the Dynamo interface is behind that of the Ladybug-Core, which means there are a number of features that are developed in the code but haven’t made their way to the nodes yet. They will be added gradually over the next month or two.
If you’re interested to get involved in the development process or have ideas for the development, follow ladybug on Facebook, Twitter and Github. We will only post major release news here. Facebook, github and twitter will be the main channels for posting the development process. There will also be a release of a new ladybug for Grasshopper soon that will use the came Ladybug-Core libraries as the Dynamo interface [Trying hard not to name it as Ladybug 2].
2 - New Project “Icarus” Provides Ladybug Capabilities Directly in Rhino
Speaking of expanded cross-platform capabilities, the talented Miguel Rus has produced a standalone Rhino Plugin off of the original Ladybug code that has been included in this release. After writing his own core C# libraries, Miguel’s plugin enables users to produce sunpath and run sunlight hours analyses in the Rhino scene without need of opening Grasshopper or engaging the (sometimes daunting) act of visual scripting.
This release includes his initial RHP plugin file. It is hoped that Miguel’s efforts will extend some of the capabilities of environmental design to individuals who are unfamiliar with visual scripting, casting the network of our community into new territory. We need your help spreading the word about Icarus since the people who will benefit the most from it have probably not read this far into the release notes. Also, as the project is in the early stages, your feedback can make a great difference. You can download the current release from this link.
Once you download the zip file. Right click and unblock it. Then extract the files under C:\Program Files\Rhinoceros 5 (64-bit)\Plug-ins\ folder. Drag and drop the RHP file into Rhino and you should be ready to go. You can either type Icarus in the command line or open it via the panels. Here is a short video that shows how to run a sunlighhours analysis study in Rhino.
3 - BakeIt Input Now Supports a Pathway to PDF +Vector Programs
As promised in the previous release, the BakeIt_ option available on Ladybug’s visual components has been enhanced to provide a full pathway to vector-based programs (like Illustrator and Inkscape) and eases the export to vector formats like PDFs.
This means that the BakeIt_ operation now places all text in the Rhino scene as actual editable text (not meshes) and any colored meshes are output as groups of colored hatches (so that they appear as color-filled polygons in vector-based programs). There is still an option to bake the colored geometries as light meshes (which requires smaller amounts of memory and computation time) but the new hatched capability should make it easier to incorporate Ladybug graphics in architectural drawings and documents like this vector psychrometric chart.
4 - Physiological Equivalent Temperature (PET) Now Available
Thanks to the efforts of Djordje Spasic, it is now possible to compute the common outdoor comfort metric ‘Physiological Equivalent Temperature’ (PET) with Ladybug. The capability has been included with this release of “Thermal Comfort Indices” component and is supported by a “Body Characteristics” component in the Extra tab. PET is particularly helpful for evaluating outdoor comfort at a high spatial resolution and so the next Honeybee release will include an option for PET with the microclimate map workflow.
5 - Solar Hot Water Components Available in WIP
Chengchu Yan and Djordje Spasic have built a set of components that perform detailed estimates of solar hot water. The components are currently undergoing final stages of testing and are available in the WIP tab of this release. You can read the full release notes for the components here.
6 - New Ladybug Graphic Standards
With the parallel efforts or so many developers, we have made an effort in this release to standardize the means by which you interact with the components. This includes warnings for missing inputs and the ability to make either icons or text appear on the components as you wish (Hi Andres!). A full list of all graphic standards can be found here. If you have any thoughts or comments on the new standards, feel free to voice them here.
7 - Wet Bulb Temperature Now Available
Thanks to Antonello Di Nunzio - the newest member of the Ladybug development team, it is now possible to calculate wet bulb temperature with Ladybug. Antonello’s component can be found under the WIP tab and takes inputs of dry bulb temperature, relative humidity, and barometric pressure.
8 - New View Analysis Types
The view analysis component now allows for several different view studies in addition to the previous ‘view to test points.’ These include, skyview (which is helpful for studies of outdoor micro-climate), as well as spherical view and ‘cone of vision’ view, which are helpful for indoor studies evaluating the overall visual connection to the outdoors.
HONEYBEE
1 - Connection to THERM and LBNL Programs
With this release, many of you will notice that a new tab has been added to Honeybee. The tab “11 | THERM” includes 7 new components that enable you to export ready-to-simulate Lawrence Berkeley National Lab (LBNL) THERM files from Rhino/Grasshopper. THERM is a 2D finite element heat flow engine that is used to evaluate the performance of wall/window construction details by simulating thermal bridging behavior. The new Honeybee tab represents the first ever CAD plugin interface for THERM, which has been in demand since the first release of LBNL THERM several years ago. The export workflow involves the drawing of window/wall construction details in Rhino and the assigning of materials and boundary conditions in Grasshopper to produce ready-to-simulate THERM files that allow you to bypass the limited drawing interface of THERM completely. Additional components in the “11 | THERM” tab allow you to import the results of THERM simulations back into Grasshopper and assist with incorporating THERM results into Honeybee EnergyPlus simulations. Finally, two components assist with a connection to LBNL WINDOW for advanced modeling of Glazing constructions. Example files illustrating many of the capabilities of the new components can be found in there links.
THERM_Export_Workflow, THERM_Comparison_of_Stud_Wall_Constructions
Analyze_THERM_Results, Thermal_Bridging_with_THERM_and_EnergyPlus
Import_Glazing_System_from_LBNL_WINDOW, Import_LBNL_WINDOW_Glazing_Assembly_for_EnergyPlus
It is recommended that those who are using these THERM components for the first time begin by exploring this example file.
Tutorial videos on how to use the components will be posted soon. A great deal of thanks is due to the LBNL team that was responsive to questions at the start of the development and special thanks goes to Payette Architects, which allowed Chris Mackey (the author of the components) a significant amount of paid time to develop them.
2 - Electrical Lighting Components with Enhanced Capabilities for Importing and Manipulating IES Files
Thanks to the efforts of Sarith Subramaniam, it is now much easier and more flexible to include electric lighting in Honeybee Radiance simulations. A series of very exciting images and videos can be found in his release post.
You can find the components under WIP tab. Sarith is looking for feedback and wishes. Please give them a try and let him know your thoughts. Several example files showing how to use the components can be found here. 1, 2, 3.
3- Expanded Dynamic Shade Capabilities
After great demand, it is now possible to assign several different types of control strategies for interior blinds and shades for EnergyPlus simulations. Control thresholds range from zone temperature, to zone cooling load, to radiation on windows, to many combinations of these variables. The new component also features the ability to run EnergyPlus simulations with electrochromic glazing. An example file showing many of the new capabilities can be found here.
Dragonfly Beta
In order to link the capabilities of Ladybug + Honeybee to a wider range of climatic data sets and analytical tools, a new insect has been initiated under the name of Dragonfly. While the Dragonfly components are not included with the download of this release, the most recent version can be downloaded here. An example file showing how to use Dragonfly to warp EPW data to account for urban heat island effect can also be found here. By the next release, the capabilities of Dragonfly should be robust enough for it to fly on its own. Additional features that will be implemented in the next few months include importing thermal satellite image data to Rhino/GH as well as the ability to warp EPW files to account for climate change projections. Anyone interested in testing out the new insect should feel free to contact Chris Mackey.
And finally, it is with great pleasure that we welcome Sarith and Antonello to the team. As mentioned in the above release notes, Sarith has added a robust implementation for electric light modeling with Honeybee and Antonello has added a component to calculate wet bulb temperature while providing stellar support to a number of people here on the GH forum.
As always let us know your comments and suggestions.
Enjoy!
Ladybug+Honeybee development team
PS: Special thanks to Chris for writing most of the release notes!…