Is there a way to make recessed lights cut only ceiling?

[YoderW]

Hello! I've made a custom symbol for recessed can lights, and I'm wondering if there's a way to cut a hole in the ceiling for it without cutting through the roof? We have started making 360 panorama renders for some of our home models at work, so I'd like to get the models as realistic as possible now that clients could look up into the lights. 

 

I've seen and done the method to create a CAD line and convert it to Hole in Roof/Custom Ceiling, but that creates a hole in both the ceiling and the roof, which doesn't look great for our exterior shots. We can make a separate model for those interiors if need be, but I'd like to just make one for everything if possible. I've also tried to just convert a CAD circle to a Hole in Ceiling Platform, but that moves the can light symbol up above the ceiling with the hole. Is my only option to use the ceiling platform hole and change the symbol to go off the floor's elevation rather than be ceiling mounted?

 

Edit: New additional question, using the last method I mentioned with the hole in ceiling and the can light as floor mounted. Is there a way to add the Hole in Ceiling to a CAD block so it automatically creates that hole anytime I place the symbol? I'm trying the same method I've used for sinks to cut a hole in a countertop, but it doesn't seem to be working.

[YoderW]

Just now, solver said:

Why are you trying to make a hole? What does your symbol do/look like that you cannot use a light from the library?

 

 

It actually goes up into the ceiling by about an inch, so when I set it to be ceiling and flush mounted the ceiling finish covers the LED part of the light. The default symbols in Chief have the same issue, so they're not truly "recessed" which is most of what my company uses in their homes. It's not a major issue, but it would be a nice touch to have for realism now that we're creating 360 panorama renders of our models so I figured I would try to figure it out in my down time. 

[YoderW]

Here is a screenshot as an example. It's hard to get an image that reads well, but the light goes up into the ceiling a bit. This is with that last method I mentioned, so it's possible, but the hole in ceiling doesn't seem to work as part of a CAD block so I'm not sure how practical it will be to use. My hope was to set that CAD block as the symbol's default so it would create the hole anytime I placed the symbol and we wouldn't need to manually place one for every light in every home.

[MarkMc]

Not sure why you want a hole? The electricians I deal with want centers. Can make a light symbol that has depth, fits into the ceiling and works. Quickie attached.

IF for some reason you need to show the holes instead you could use a detail from view and paste it in place. Just make the CAD block for the symbol the size of the hole instead of the size of the fixture.

Can light.calibz

[Alaskan_Son]

Don't use a Hole in Custom Roof / Custom Ceiling.  Instead, place the hole using CAD, select the ceiling plane, click Polyline Subtraction, and then click the hole to subtract it from the ceiling.  If the hole is in an automatically created ceiling, just use a Hole In Ceiling Platform.

[YoderW]

3 hours ago, solver said:

I see what you are saying. I made a light symbol and used the hole in ceiling and found the same thing.

 

Are you sure it's worth the trouble?

 

What you can do is select both the light and hole, then copy/paste.

 

If they are in a pattern you could use multiple copy. Or place temporary points and use point-to-point to place them.

 

For most it probably isn't worth it. But the copy/paste method you mentioned looks to be the way to do it. Our superiors and clients go nuts for photorealism wherever we can provide it, so hopefully this will add an extra "wow" factor. 

 

3 hours ago, MarkMc said:

Not sure why you want a hole? The electricians I deal with want centers. Can make a light symbol that has depth, fits into the ceiling and works. Quickie attached.

 

Purely for aesthetic purposes and photorealism, our Chief models are only used to export to Lumion for renders. Since we've started making 360 renders where clients can look wherever they want, I thought it would be a nice touch to have the recessed can lights actually recess into the ceiling. 

 

3 hours ago, Alaskan_Son said:

Don't use a Hole in Custom Roof / Custom Ceiling.  Instead, place the hole using CAD, select the ceiling plane, click Polyline Subtraction, and then click the hole to subtract it from the ceiling.  If the hole is in an automatically created ceiling, just use a Hole In Ceiling Platform.

 

I haven't done much with actual ceiling planes, but I toyed around with that some and I seem to get the same results and issues I'm finding in my current method: It works, but I can't add the hole to the symbol's CAD block to automatically cut into the ceiling when I place the light. That was a good thought, though. 

 

 

Thank you all for your comments! I think the best solution currently is to place the light as floor mounted with an offset to match the ceiling height, add the hole in the ceiling, then select both and copy/paste as needed. It's a little clunky, but it'll get the job done. 

[Alaskan_Son]

9 minutes ago, YoderW said:

I haven't done much with actual ceiling planes, but I toyed around with that some and I seem to get the same results and issues I'm finding in my current method: It works, but I can't add the hole to the symbol's CAD block to automatically cut into the ceiling when I place the light. That was a good thought, though. 

 

I was only giving you some options that won't cut a hole in the roof above.  Wasn't addressing the other issue at all.