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the August 2002 newsletter
Adding Posts, Railings and Steps (To a Pre-Drawn 3D Deck in Instant Deck
Design)
This simple project shows you
how to use the 3D drawing features of Instant Deck Design to add steps, posts,
and a railing, to a 3D deck once the Deck Wizard has generated the deck
itself. Instant Deck Design is a full-fledged 3D CAD program and modeler, and
well be digging into its 3D features in this example. The L shaped deck will
be used in this simple illustration, but once learned, these same steps can be
applied to a deck with any shape. Lets get started.
Drawing the 3D Deck
- Open Instant Deck Design
- When the Deck Wizard
appears, click the button on the right, the 3D Deck button
- This brings up the Deck
Shape and Size dialog box
- Click the Next Style button
twice until the preview box shows the L shaped deck
click on thumbnail images
to see a larger view
For the purposes of this
example, leave the Deck Width, Length, and Height at their default
values, but as youll see in the next step, the size of the deck does not
matter. Using these easy to follow steps, you can add posts and railings to
any shaped or any sized deck once the Deck Wizard is finished.
Click the Next button through
all the following screens of the Deck Wizard
This should leave you with a
3D Deck, ready for steps, posts and a railing.
Tracing the
Deck Outline
Now lets make a path for our
posts and railing to follow by tracing the outline of our existing deck. Each
part of your 3D deck is drawn on different layers for clarity, and well put
our tracing for our posts and railing on a separate layer, while using the
layer visibility feature of Instant Deck Design to view the existing outline.
Press the L key on your
keyboard to enter the Layer Dialog box
Double-click on the number 7 in the
list to make layer 7 the current layer
Now click the Hide All button, and
notice that all the layers disappear
Click the layer number 2, the Deck
Outline layer choice in the list box
Click the Visible check box beside the
list box
Notice that the green deck outline appears behind the layer dialog
box
Click OK to return to the drawing window
Weve used the layers dialog
box to do several things here. First, weve changed our layer to 7, which is
the layer on which well draw the posts and railing. How do we know were on
that layer? Look at the upper left corner of the screen, just below the menu
bar and main toolbar, and notice that the layer box reads 7. This box is a
handy way to tell at a glance what layer we are drawing on. Secondly, weve
turned all the other layers of the 3D deck off, so we can just view the
outline. This will help us trace the outline more quickly, so lets continue.
Notice that the middle left
view reads Untitled 1 Top in its title bar
Double-click that title bar to
make the top view fill the screen.
Press the Ctrl+W keys to fit the deck
outline to the entire view
Press the V key on your keyboard to start the
line command
Move your cursor to the lower left corner of the deck outline
Right click the mouse to snap to that corner and drag upwards
Notice as you
drag that the rubber band line follows your cursor
Move the cursor to the upper left corner of the deck
Right click the mouse to snap to that corner
and press Enter to end the Line command
Notice that weve traced over
the left edge of our deck outline, and that one of the lines in the outline
now appears as black. Lets repeat this process for another line.
Press V on the keyboard to
start the line command
Move the cursor close to the end of the line we just
drew
Right click the mouse to snap to the end of the line we just drew
Drag the mouse to the right, and notice the rubber band line follows the
cursor
When the mouse is close to the upper right corner of the L Right
click to snap there
Press Enter to end the line command.
Notice that weve traced over
the top edge of our deck outline and that two of the lines in the outline now
appear as black. Lets do the third line.
Press V on the keyboard to
start the line command
Move the cursor close to the end of the line we just
drew
Right click the mouse to snap to the end of the line we just drew
Drag the mouse downward, and notice the rubber band line follows the cursor
When the mouse is close inner crook of the L Right click to snap there
Press
Enter to end the line command.
Notice that weve traced over
the top right edge of our deck outline, and that three of the lines in the
outline now appear as black. We can outline the process weve just repeated
three times as a list of simple steps;
1) Start the Line Command
2) Right click to snap to the endpoint of the last line we drew
3) Drag the
cursor to the next corner of our outer deck outline
4) Right click to snap
the cursor there for the second point of our line
5) Press Enter to end our
Line command
When this process is finished,
well have traced the perimeter of the deck with new single segment lines.
There are only three lines remaining to trace to finish tracing the shape of
our deck, the foot or base of our L shape. Follow the same five steps listed
above for each of the three remaining sides of the deck until the entire outer
shape of the deck has been traced.
Since we are finished tracing
the deck outline, lets turn that layer off, and see our results.
Press the L key on your
keyboard to again bring up the Layer dialog box
Click the number 2, Deck
Outline choice in the list box
Uncheck the visible check box beside the list
Click OK to return to the drawing screen
Click Window in the Menu Bar
Choose Default Tile from the top of the Window menu
This returns us to the default
4-view mode, so were ready to continue with our sample.
Changing our Viewing Angle
Before we begin drawing posts, lets change our angle so its a little easier
to see what were drawing in 3D mode. Press the Ctrl+Alt+V keys on your
keyboard to bring up the View toolbar. It should appear just below your Main
Toolbar and Coordinate Bar.
Notice that in the left most
drop-down menu of the View Toolbar, it shows us we are in Perspective view,
which means were viewing our 3D deck from a specific point in 3D space. Pull
down this drop-down view, and choose parallel from the choices listed.
Parallel view will reduce the perspective distortion in the main view, and
make our example easier to follow. In fact the two readouts to the right of
this drop down show us the horizontal and vertical coordinates of our current
view. Replace the 20 in the first field with 55, and the 15 in the second
field with 35 then press the Tab key to see our 3D Deck tracing change view in
the main window.
Drawing the First Post
Now
lets draw using precision entry.
Click Solids in the Menu Bar
Choose Box from the Solids menu
Click Point in the Menu Bar
Choose Point
XYZ from the Point men
This brings up the Point XYZ dialog box
When this box appears, press
Enter to start drawing the post at the screen origin
Click Point in the Menu
Bar
Click Point Relative from the Point Menu
This brings up the Point
Relative dialog box
Now try this ... redo the posts to be a
half foot square, type 6 in the DX field, and 6 in the DZ field. Notice as
you tab to another field that Instant Deck Design replaces what you typed with
the decimal equivalent of the number of inches you entered, in this case
changing to .5 for half a foot. Since we want our posts to be four feet high
from the bottom of the deck, enter 4 in the DY field, and click the OK button
to return to the drawing screen.
This first post is now drawn to
the exact size needed, so now set its handle point.
Left click the post to select it
Press the Ctrl+H keys to start the Set
Handles command
Click Point in the Menu Bar
Click PointXYZ in the Point
menu
Type 3 in the X field
Type 4 in the Y field
Type 4 in the Z field
Notice again that Instant Deck
Design has replaced our inch values with a decimal, in this case .25, or 1/4th
of a foot. This will set the handle of our first post in the exact center of
the top of the post.
Press Enter to end the Set
Handles Command
Making Copies
Now that the hard parts done,
lets finish placing posts.
Click Draw in the Menu Bar
Click Array from the Draw menu
Click the Along Curve check box
Click the
Keep Perpendicular Check box
In the Direction 1 field, enter 5
Click on the left line of our
deck tracing, (the top line in the main view)
Notice that the posts have
been arrayed along that line
Press the F3 key to repeat
the last command, and bring up the Array dialog box
Enter 3 in the Direction
1 field
Click the top line in our deck tracing, (the rightmost line in the
main view)
Notice that posts have been arrayed along that line.
Press the F3 key to repeat
the last command, and bring up the Array dialog box
Click the inner line of
the L, (the next one around our tracing)
Notice that posts have been arrayed
along that line
Press the F3 key to repeat the last command, and bring up
the Array dialog box
Enter 5 in the Direction 1 field
Click the next line
around our tracing
Notice that posts have been arrayed along that line
Press the F3 key to repeat the last command, and bring up the Array dialog box
Enter 3 in the Direction 1 field
Click the right line, which is next
around our tracing
Notice that posts have been arrayed along that line
Press the F3 key to repeat the last command, and bring up the Array dialog box
Enter 6 in the Direction 1 field
Click the next line around our tracing,
the last line
Notice that posts have been arrayed along that line
Since
our first post is still selected, and we no longer need it, press Delete to
remove it
Adding the Railing
Now that our
posts are placed, its time to add our railing.
Click Solids in the Menu Bar
Click Box from the Solids menu
Move the cursor to the empty center portion
of our main view
Left click to set the first corner of our railing
Click
Point in the Menu Bar
Click Point Relative in the Point menu
In the DX
field type 6
In the DY field type 6
In the DZ field type 0
Press Enter to complete the box
Were using a single box, or
plane as our railing, which well not extrude along each of the trace lines of
our deck. Now that the box has been drawn, well just select it, set its
handle location, then extrude it along the line to finish our railing.
Click on the box to select it
Press the Ctrl+H keys to start the Set Handles command
Click Point in the
Menu Bar
Click Center of Gravity from the Point menu
Move the cursor near
the box, and left click one time
Press Enter to end the Set Handles command
Now the box is selected with
its handle at the center point of the box, so lets continue with the
extrusion command.
Click Draw from the Menu Bar
Click Extrude
In the Extrude Dialog box which appears click the Along a
Curve check box
Make sure Perpendicular Extrude is also checked
Click the left most line on
our deck to complete the extrusion.
Press F3 to bring up the
Extrude command again
Click the next line in sequence on our outline
Continue to press F3 and click
on the rest of the four lines until the railing has been extruded all along
the deck outline. When finished, press Delete to remove our box since its no
longer needed.
Click Window in the Menu Bar
Choose Default Tile in the Window menu
Press the Ctrl+A keys to select all
our objects
Click Tools in the Menu Bar
Click Group Define in the Tools
menu
Now the posts and railings can
be selected together as one part, and moved up. These were drawn at the ground
level because we traced the ground outline to make our path for the Array and
Extrusion commands. But now that they are defined as a group, you can move
them up to sit on the deck, or use the Resizing Handles in the Options menu to
change their size as a single item.
Drawing Steps
Now that weve
finished drawing the posts and railing, we just need to add a few simple steps
to the drawing. Like the posts and railings, well draw the steps on their own
layer, and start off by drawing a single 2D step profile.
Press the L key on your
keyboard to bring up the Layer dialog box
Double-click the number 8 in the
list to make layer 8 current
Click the Hide All button to hide layer 7 and
the posts and railings we just drew
Click OK to return to the drawing.
Press V on the keyboard to start the Line command
Left click near the middle
of the screen to start the line
Click Point in the Menu Bar
Click Point
Relative from the Point menu
In the DY field type 1
Make sure the other
two fields read 0
Click OK to accept a 1 foot height
Press F3 to bring the
Point Relative dialog box back up
In the DZ field type 1
Make sure the
other two fields read 0
Click OK to accept a 1 foot step depth
Press Enter to end the Line command
Of course, of you want your
steps to be taller or deeper than 1 foot, you can just press Ctrl+Z to undo
the step profile we just drew, and enter different numbers. Otherwise, lets
continue.
Right click near the bottom
of the step profile to select it
Click Draw in the Menu Bar
Click Array
from the Draw menu
Uncheck the Along a Curve check box
Type a 1 in the
Direction 1 field
Type a 1 in the Direction 2 field
Type a 3 in the
Direction 3 field
If you want more copies of your
step here, you can enter a higher number in the Direction 3 field.
Move the cursor near the top
of the 2D step profile
Right click to complete the command
Press the Ctrl+W keys to fit the steps to the main window.
Press the Q key to go into
the Options dialog box
Click the General Tab
In the Working Plane of 2D
mode section click the ZY check box
Click OK to return to the drawing screen
Click Point in the Menu Bar
Click Origin from the Point Menu
Right click
to the 2D step profile
Click Options in the Menu Bar
Click 2D Mode at the top of the Options menu
Now that we are in 2D mode,
notice that we are looking at our step profile from the side view. Press the H
key to enter Orthogonal Mode, so that every line we draw is constrained either
horizontally or vertically. Now press the V key to start the line command, and
draw two lines from each end of the step profile, one horizontal, the other
vertical, which cross at their endpoints.
Press the D key to start the
Section Delete command
Click the Intersect-1 snap tool, (fourth down on the
Snap Toolbar)
Move the cursor over the point where the two lines cross
When you see the snap preview box appear, left click
Drag the cursor down
and to the right
When the green rubber band box is longer than both lines,
left click again
Notice that the horizontal line
has been trimmed. Now lets use the same command to trim the second line.
Press the D key to start the
Section Delete command
Click the Intersect-1 snap tool, (fourth down on the
Snap Toolbar)
Move the cursor over the point where the two lines cross
When you see the snap preview box appear, left click
Drag the cursor down
close to the lines endpoint
Right click to complete the command
Notice
that the ends have been trimmed, leaving us with a finished step profile.
Now lets make this profile a
plane and extrude it.
Click Options in the Menu Bar
Click the 2D Mode choice to return to our four 3D views
Press Ctrl+A to
select all the items on the screen
Choose Make Plane from the Edit /
Selection Edit sub menu
Press the X key to start the Extrude command
Uncheck the Along a Curve command
Right click to the top of our 2D step
profile.
Click Point in the Menu Bar
Click Point Relative in the Point
menu
In the DX field type 5 to make our steps 5 feet wide
Make sure the
other fields read 0
Click OK to return to the drawing screen
Press Enter
to complete the Extrude command
Press Ctrl+W to fit the steps to the main
window
Press Ctrl+A to select everything on the screen
Click Tools in the
Menu Bar
Click Group Define from the Tools Menu
Press the Escape key to
deselect the steps
You now have a completed set of
steps on layer 8 and a completed set of posts and a railing on layer 7. Both
these items are defined as a group, so you can easily move them around to
where they belong on the deck, or use the Resizing Handles in the Options menu
to resize them easily. Just press the Show All button to view all the layers
again, and your deck will appear with your newly drawn items. Using the Save
Layer button in the Layer dialog box will let you save your steps and posts
and railings out as parts which can then be brought back into any 3D deck
design and added easily. If stored with the standard Deck Items, (in a folder
underneath the Instant Deck Design folder), you can even drag and drop steps
and railings you have drawn onto your current deck with the Insert Deck Item
command.
Remember also that the simple
boxes weve used here for posts and railings are the quickest way to get the
job done, and that any 2D profile shape that you draw can be made into a plane
and arrayed and extruded to make your own custom railings.
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