Measuring tips/tricks/automation

Scripting
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I’ve been wondering if anyone else uses macros or scripts to aid in performing measurement in Rhino and thought this could be a good thread to try and pull them together. This might be dimensioning, but I’m more talking about check dimensions.

Please post your favorite dimensioning macros/scripts in Rhino (i think requests are also great).

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Our office also uses Catia, which many things are not intuitive about that program but the measurement tool is very easy to pick up. it has a lot of logic built in depending on what it is measuring, for example: surface to surface angle or dimension, angle between two lines by selecting the lines, etc. all from one main command.

I dabbled in some macros and python scripting to make a few. Here is an example of a macro using closest point

dim

The macro for it

_ClosestPt
pause
Object
CreateLine=No
pause
_SelLast
_LineThroughPt
Delete
-_DimCurveLength
selLast
Style=Zahner_Regular
_ZoomSelected

Its nice to have what is measured and a dim remain while you may be checking.

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This reply by @Helvetosaur to this post was really nice to find the closest point between any two objects.

I have been meaning to try and import the VB to python.

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Not necessary, here is a Python version.
ClosestPt2Objects.py (3.7 KB)

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5

Amazing!

6

Cool macro, I was wondering if you have a version for finding the furthest point too. Or a command equivalent to ClosestPt for finding the furthest point.

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I’m not actively aware of any command function, so sounds like something to do in python. probably sim to what Mitch has for the closes but in reverse.

this (old) strategy in grasshopper might work to build out recursively. becomes more tricky in 3d, but maybe using a sphere…

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ok folded Mitches python and my Macro (need to make a python) to get an example going. Used the ETO library to make a menu for which dimension tool to use.

ezgif.com-gif-maker

If anyone wants to try it. once i get it a little more refined i’ll post the code too, or if anyone is interested i can put it up but it would just be the ETO at this point.

BELT.rhp (20.5 KB)

started working on place for this to live on github https://github.com/nathan-barnes/BELT

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