Explode Imported 3D CAD Block

[Opelsauce]

Greetings,

 

I am working on "co-existance" with 2020 Design in our office.  The new department manager is a fan of 2020 Design's pricing and ordering capabilities but wants to also take advantage of Chief Architect's rendering capabilities.  I have successfully exported from 2020 to a 3D DWG file and imported it into Chief with reasonably good 3D geometry results.  The problem is that the content (cabinets, countertops, appliances, walls, etc.) are imported into Chief as a single 3D block which I have been unable to explode.  I have not changed the proportions of the 3D box and have turned all layers to unlocked & displayed.  Are imported 3D blocks simply not editable once brought into Chief?

 

When I select the block, there is no option to explode it (blocks native to Chief show this symbol ).  The closest option I get is to "open a CAD block window to edit the CAD block owner of the selected CAD block instance"   but when I attempt to edit the CAD Block this way, not surprisingly, all geometry is a 2D polyline. I can change material assignments on much of the 3D geometry, but the changes are made to a wholesale group with no opportunity to change individual elements (for example, the stove will either be all black, all stainless, etc. but I cannot change the burner grates separately).  Furthermore, I cannot modify any portions of the block to fix 3D translation errors.

 

It seems crazy to me that 3D geometry can be imported but not able to be revised once brought into Chief.  Any help / insight would be greatly appreciated.  Please let me know if it would be beneficial to provide the plan file, which is a little over 13 mb.

[Joe_Carrick]

That symbol is "Edit CAB Block" not "Explode".

Generally any 3D Blocks or 3D Symbols imported into Chief are just Geometry and can't be broken down into component parts.  The best you can do is use the "Remove Surface Tool".

 

2020 and Chief are totally different apps and have capabilities.  Interactivity isn't one of them.

[Opelsauce]

Great question but the answer is somewhat open ended:

 

The initial goal is to place the imported design (cabinets, moldings, appliances, etc.) in a Chief room, then add lighting, adjust materials, clean up geometry so we can provide renderings for presentation to the client.  Schedules and material lists generated from Chief are not needed for the imported content (since 2020 Design would handle that), but lighting, windows, doors, etc. would be generated from Chief when appropriate.  The key for me it be able to revise parts of the imported 3D geometry to fix errors and modify content, including deleting portions if necessary.

 

If we are able to achieve the above, then creating design development and construction documents would be the next (final?) goal. This ought to be reasonably accomplished because the imported 3D content already conveys accurate plan and elevation information.

 

As always, your comments are appreciated.

[Opelsauce]

Joe,

 

When I place a native Chief block and select it, the icon I was referring to describes it as "Explode CAD Block".

The option presented when I select the imported 3D block is the "Edit CAD Block" you may be referring to.

[Joe_Carrick]

39 minutes ago, Opelsauce said:

Joe,

 

When I place a native Chief block and select it, the icon I was referring to describes it as "Explode CAD Block".

The option presented when I select the imported 3D block is the "Edit CAD Block" you may be referring to.

A Chief CAD Block isn't the same thing as the imported 3D Block. The Chief CAD Block contains all the intelligence of the objects within it.  The imported 3D Block is just a 3D Symbol without the original intelligence.

You are not going to be able to use it for the purpose you outlined.  Your best bet would be to use Chief's Cabinets in the model for rendering purposes.  Take a look at Rene's (Rabbit) Kitchen Tools and the use of "Style Pallets" to get what you need.

[Opelsauce]

Thanks very much to the both of you for the prompt responses.

It appears that my initial conclusion that we would not be able to edit the imported 3D content to satisfy our needs is unfortunately, correct.

[Opelsauce]

Joe,

 

Being relatively new to this forum, I have no idea how to navigate to Rene's (Rabbit) Kitchen Tools.  I have come across a handful of his videos while researching other topics and found them helpful, but a search for style palettes turned up a long list that has yet to include kitchen tools.

 

Am I missing something obvious / can you point me in the right direction?

 

Thanks again for your help.

[DBCooper]

There is no good way to explode a symbol in Chief.  You can manually delete surfaces in a camera view and then create a new symbol out of what you have left (and what ever else you have added) but if you are trying to remove a bunch of surfaces this will be a big pain.  You would be better off only exporting out the components you want to keep from 20-20 and then bringing them in to Chief separately.

 

In my opinion (which is probably worth every penny you paid for it), you should not try to do your design in 20-20 and then use Chief for your renderings.  You would be far better off using Chief for all of your design work, working drawings, and presentation views/walkthroughs and then only use 20-20 for what it is actually good at (pricing/ordering).  You could actually do everything in Chief but you might have to jump through some more hoops to do your pricing (and convince the manager that this is the best way to go).

 

There are a number of people I have seen on the forums that moved to Chief from 20-20 that might have some better advice about how to make the transition easier.  I believe that there are some that only use 20-20 for pricing and some that don't use it at all anymore.  You might want to post a new question geared more towards how you can use 20-20 and Chief together.

 

[Joe_Carrick]

17 minutes ago, Opelsauce said:

Joe,

 

Being relatively new to this forum, I have no idea how to navigate to Rene's (Rabbit) Kitchen Tools

 

[Opelsauce]

DB - You are spot on with your comments about a preferable approach to the design process.  I agree that the 2020 front end / Chief backend approach is bass ackwards but the new department head is adamant in his opinion that we need to give potential clients a more dialed in price and delivery schedule before we spend time further developing the design.  2020 is good for what it is, but our previous design manager who had well over 10 years experience using Chief is gone and I'm stuck as a relative newbie using Chief trying to convince him that Chief is part of the reason we have been successful.  And BTW, your opinion is worth a thousand times what I paid for it.

 

Joe - thanks for pointing me to Rene / Rabbits design shop, but I must confess to being slightly confused as to how one might find this and similar resources on this forum. Is it simply insider information from those in the know or did I miss the way to find superuser tips and resources? (kinda like the Chief training videos but produced by those with their boots on the ground)

[Renerabbitt]

15 minutes ago, Opelsauce said:

Rene / Rabbits

Inside info is a good way of putting it. We all know each other from years and years of conversations. We all have an idea of who's who as well, Joe in my mind is always the macro king and goes above and beyond in project analysis down in san diego(He's much more than my association with him but the thought is hard coded in my brain). DBCooper has a wealth of knowledge, seemingly rooted in the programs extensive help files, he is relatively new to me in terms of the forum but always points people in the right direction.
You'll find over time there are a strong group of maybe 50 users that are extremely knowledgeable in the software.
In terms of your dept head, from an outsiders perspective, this points to inexperience. If anyone has been in this business long enough, historical data kindve scoots over for built in experience based numbers...if we are counting stick by stick we are doing something wrong. Lead time is another story, I understand that much. With a little bit of time and effort, you can build the same ordering system in chief with a few caveats...I would argue that you could get to a purchase order faster in chief with a fully built library.

[Joe_Carrick]

42 minutes ago, Opelsauce said:

Joe - thanks for pointing me to Rene / Rabbits design shop, but I must confess to being slightly confused as to how one might find this and similar resources on this forum.

Make sure you subscribe to more than just the Q&A Forum.  There are some additional Forums that will help you find helpful information.