Medeek

The following toolbar will be added for HVAC Appliances: The HVAC Appliance tool will be for adding AC units, furnaces, fans, VAV’s, boilers etc… Essentially any preconfigured HVAC equipment that is not duct work. The will be simple stand alone assemblies that one can reposition using the native tools.

Oval, round and rectangular are now up and running:

The next few days will be spent checking and double checking that the transition algorithms are robust and can handle all of the adjustments that get thrown at them. Overall they aren't too complicated, however when you start adding in offsets and rotations things can change very quickly. This morning I started with offsets and size differences for a RECT-RECT transition, which is by far the simplest of all the transition permutations. There are three different duct profiles which then yield six different possible combinations at any given transition, and each one needs to be tested and checked: RECT-RECT RND-RND OVAL-OVAL RECT-RND RECT-OVAL RND-OVAL (The text labels shown are just my temporary debugging markers so that I can track my points) Adding a rotation to a duct segment is probably going to be the worst case scenario in all of this, but I'm sure I can figure it out eventually.

I just watched this video on inserting HVAC ducting: https://www.chiefarchitect.com/videos/watch/10157/creating-hvac-ductwork.html Using moldings for ducting doesn't seem very intuitive to me but it looks like you can cobble something together but it does take working through a lot of menus etc...

I couldn't get the video to load either, the audio is there but no visuals, strange. Anyhow, I can see the framing is all messed up, not sure what is happening there. This isn't a terribly complicated wall so I'm assuming Chief has an answer for it, maybe you somehow misconfigured it? However, you being as experienced a Chief user as you are I kind of doubt that is the issue here. I'm now starting on Transitions and Tees for the Medeek HVAC plugin, this is getting more interesting: If Chief has no specialized system for HVAC or ducting then importing a complete duct network from SketchUp may be a good solution.

With the ability to edit Segments and Nodes we can now create something like this: hvac_su026_8001583×983 210 KB Next I need to add in some common transitions and some common “terminations”.

Those details are stunning. Very nice work. I would say your details are easily on par with anything Nick Sonder puts out and he has been the SketchUp detail king for some years now.

Thank-you for the vote of confidence, it is greatly appreciated. I think most Chief users realize that what I do is simply adding more tools into their already well equipped tool bag that is Chief Architect, Just another resource if needed. I'm not trying to supplant Chief or say that SketchUp is even better, that is not my goal. However, some things are just easier to deal with in SketchUp so why not use the geometry and bring it into Chief as needed. Think of it this way, I don't paint a picture with a pencil and I don't write a letter with a brush. We select the appropriate tool to match the job. I think the down voters are just those very few individuals who feel threatened by what can be done within SketchUp, which is an exceptional 3D modeler. However, rather than feel threatened just realize that SketchUp can potentially augment your experience in Chief, you can up your game to the next level and even save some time in the process. On a slightly different note here are some more screenshots of the new HVAC plugin as I throw the kitchen sink at it:

There will be numerous assets that will be included within this plugin. AC condenser units like the ones shown are a good example of such assets. Note that any asset that is included within my plugin(s) is personally modeled by me and inspected. It has to be free of any stray geometry, a SketchUp solid (or solids), dimensionally accurate and have as low of poly count as possible while still providing a realistic representation.

On a different note I am currently working on a new plugin called "Medeek HVAC" for SketchUp. This one should be interesting. I'm curious if Chief has any tools for working with HVAC systems, primarily with ductwork? The same duct assembly but with different profiles:

I'm not sure exactly what you are describing here, but I can give it some consideration. Please send me a screenshot or two, usually a picture clears things up immediately.

Tutorial 28 - Beam Pockets with Floor Trusses (8:00 min.) https://youtu.be/gMu0IMCeiag

In many cases when you introduce a stairwell opening into a floor like this it will be along the perimeter of the floor assembly as shown. In these cases it is simpler to create your floor perimeter with the opening in mind: floor_su287_8001533×955 439 KB floor_su288_8001460×1003 305 KB floor_su289_8001475×1079 309 KB Note, in order to create the additional gable truss (2x6 ply) I first changed my ply width to 5.5" then copied the gable truss at the interior of the stair well, then pasted it in place in the root of the model and then edited the floor assembly back to the typical 3.5" ply width. Alternatively one could simply frame this small pony wall with the Wall plugin (ie. conventional framing) just as easily. I’m not exactly sure how the trusses would work where the LVL beam/header is positioned at the start of the stairwell, obviously we would need some kind of header at that location.

I've been posting these videos recently so that everyone is aware that I am very actively developing my suite of extensions for SketchUp. Some of this may not very applicable for every Chief user but some of it may be. If you have any suggestions please feel free to reach out (nathan@medeek.com). I will spend a couple more weeks on the Floor plugin and then I intend to refocus back onto the Truss plugin and apply some updates to the Timber Truss module as promised. I think timber trusses is one thing that is sorely lacking in Chief (and other architectural packages/software) and I would really like to make some progress on that front. I appreciate all of the messages and encouragement I have received even though I am not specifically a Chief user. My hope is that my extensions can be an additional resource for Chief users and yet another tool in your tool belt

Tutorial 70 - Advanced Framing Options for Windows (11:03 min.)

Let me know if you have any specific questions on the Truss plugin (for SketchUp). You can also reach me at any time at nathan@medeek.com

Truss Plugin Update: Version 3.7.1 - 04.18.2025 - Enabled wood grain texture for the following truss types: flat. - Added metal plates for all attic trusses. - Added an attic furring option for attic trusses. - Fixed a minor bug in the gable cut option for attic trusses.

Medeek Wall Update - Version 3.9.8 - 05.04.2025 - Added the Connect Corner tool to the Medeek Wall Tools II toolbar. - Updated the Opening Copy tool with the left and right hand slider window. - Fixed a specific bug related to glulam columns with a vertical offset equal to the wall bottom plate thickness. Tutorial 69 - Connect Corner Tool (9:12 min.)