Is there an easy way of doing sectional drawings? The method I currently use is just using clipping plane and then making a bounding box around the part I want to split and get rid of.
This way has always worked but I was wondering if there was an easier way of doing it without splitting the OG model?!
Thank you!
Hello - see the Section command - is that what you mean?
-Pascal
In architecture, Section drawing is different than what “section” command produces. If you slice the building and look at each half, that is what I’m talking about. I primarily use Rhino for architecture use. That why I’m asking.
Could you give an example? Image?
have you tried using the clipping plane and selecting it with the objects to use Make2d?
@ivelin.peychev he is saying something like a “cut” where you can see what’s left behind the section or that’s what I understood .
That’s why I want an example. I am not an Architect (per se) I don’t know what their drawings look like.
That is normal mechanical (machine building) section view. Nothing special about it. I do not think he means this.
The first one is an example of a section drawing in architecture.
The second one shows my usual process of making section drawings which includes splitting the object and then rotating it so that on top view you are looking at that intersection and then making 2D of it.
Why do you have to rotate it? Set the CPlane to one of the planar surfaces then when Make2D pick CPlane for the projection.
I think the whole solution is possible to implement via some scripting.
I did, once, didn’t work as expected and I ditched it.
I find this process to be slightly tedious in Rhino. I would recommend using layout space and details to get the views you want, don’t change the model. Cutting it, rotating it, re-positioning, etc. will only cause problems later on if you need to change something.
As others have suggested, using a clipping planes and make 2D is an option, but I feel that it is often a lot of work, and difficult to update when things change. I prefer to use layout space, clipping planes, and the model itself to create the drawing. The upside is it is easier to modify when the model changes, the model stays intact, and you don’t have a lot of unrelated 2D linework and hatching cluttering up your model space. The downside is that when you go to print, only the section lines and hatches, and any dimensions or annotations you place will be vector, all the surface edges of the model will be raster. I feel it is worth the trade-off, both the comparative ease of updating, but also you gain a lot of flexibility in the drawing as changing and modifying display styles can greatly change the look of your drawing.
To get the view you want, create a detail in layout space, by default it will be a top projection. Double click into the detail to make it active, you can then use Shift + Ctrl + Right mouse button to tumble the view. Rotate it to a point where you can easily see where you want you section cut to happen, I then use CPlane with the 3Point option to set the CPlane at the section cut (the XY plane following the cut, the positive Z pointing toward the direction you want to look from). Once the CPlane is set, use the Plan command to orient your camera, and you can now drop in a clipping plane to hide the stuff in front of the section line. Scale the detail, and frame as wanted, then lock the detail.
I then return to model space, call Section, and section the model using the just placed clipping plane as a guide of where to cut my section. Once the section is cut and the resulting lines are still selected, invert and hide so only the section lines remain. Here I do any cleanup needed (usually not a lot) and hatch as needed.
You can choose to leave your 2D section lines and hatches in model space, but I really hate the way it clutters the model. You used to be able to have layers off in model space, but turn them on per detail in layout space, but for some reason McNeel chose to remove that functionality, which is a real shame as it further complicates the drawing process. If you chose to leave your 2d linework and hatching in model space, you are pretty much done at this point.
If you want to keep model space clean, group the resulting linework and hatching then return to layout space.Double click into the detail so it is active, select the group of linework and hatches, and use ChangeSpace to suck it into layout space. Once there, you can un-hide your model, and you should have the 2D linework in layout space, and the rest of the model aligned behind ready for dimensioning.
Obviously at this point if you change the model, you have to manually change your resulting section cut, which is annoying, but you only need to update if the change happens at the section line. The other thing with this method is that you will end up with a LOT of clipping planes (usually at least one per detail you are drawing), so as you go, be sure to name not only the detail itself in the Properties window, but also give the clipping plane that is associated with that detail the same name. That way if you need to change where a clip is happening down the line in a specific detail, you can see what the detail is named, then use SelName to grab the correct clipping plane.
Sam
What stops you from using clipping planes and layouts from producing this look?
And you have to redraw nothing.
