pauljordan
2011-06-14, 04:11 PM
One of my users had the idea of some type of laser pointer tool where you can set it at a defined elevation and look in a direction to see where your pipe or conduit would hit. To move that idea a little further, being able to assign a defined shape (4" dia circle target, or 4x12 rectangular target) would allow us to see the best path to lay out piping or cable tray or whatever process we are using for clash detection and general layouts.
A dialog box with a few shapes that we could change the dimensions of would be the start, perhaps the starting elevation as well. Once the rotation is set, the user would be able to adjust the angle of the path they are taking (in case it's something like sloped pipe for plumbing as an example). OK, the angled path could come in the next release but, the horizontal pathing is already there using several methods of movement through the model.
Basically, you'd set your shape or just a dot if that's what you want, select the elevation and travel along a path to see how clear it would be.
A dialog box with a few shapes that we could change the dimensions of would be the start, perhaps the starting elevation as well. Once the rotation is set, the user would be able to adjust the angle of the path they are taking (in case it's something like sloped pipe for plumbing as an example). OK, the angled path could come in the next release but, the horizontal pathing is already there using several methods of movement through the model.
Basically, you'd set your shape or just a dot if that's what you want, select the elevation and travel along a path to see how clear it would be.