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Author Topic: Unable to hook up xsplineMatID with Material operator  (Read 499 times)

CJ3766

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Unable to hook up xsplineMatID with Material operator
« on: September 13, 2022, 08:16:21 AM »
Hi,
 I am working on placing louvres on a building exterior.
Same mesh but two colours in different parts of the building.
I found this thread which is exactly what I was looking for, but I can't recreate the same thing in my scene.
The Material operator in my version of RC does not have the "From and To" inputs that we can see in that other thread.
Could you please tell me if I'm doing something wrong?
I'm attaching both screenshots. One from the old thread, and one from my scene.

Another problem I'm having, is trying to get the same louvre mesh, but this time a different vertical scale.
The horizontal scale is decided by spline length, but the vertical scale is something i can't get to work with a 2S array.
My work around is to use different source geometry for different heights.
Is there a way to use the same Louvre mesh but for different vertical scale as well?

Any help would be appreciated.
Thank you!


Paul Roberts

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Re: Unable to hook up xsplineMatID with Material operator
« Reply #1 on: September 13, 2022, 01:07:01 PM »
HI,

Thanks for the question. You can expose nearly any parameter as an input by Right-Clicking on the node and selecting Export Parameters.



In order to make the height adjustable, I would use an A2S generator instead. This allows you to create an array with an adjustable X and Y size. To use it, I'd slice your geometry into 6 parts as shown below.



From the bottom left you have geometry to create the :
- Bottom Start/End (using mirror)
- Bottom
- Left/Right (using mirror) Sides
- Default
- Top Start/End (using mirror)
- Top

The graph also uses Compose operators for the corner and X Evenly inputs. We use these to combine the End, a gap and then the start segments to create multiple louvres along the spline with spaces between them. You'll also see that I use a macro called Segment Y Role which allows you to access additional inputs for the X Corner and X Evenly inputs.

I've exposed parameters for the height, spacing between louvres and size of regularly spaced louvres.



It's a bit of a complex style, so please let me know if you have any questions.

Best,

Paul
Paul Roberts
iToo Software

CJ3766

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Re: Unable to hook up xsplineMatID with Material operator
« Reply #2 on: September 13, 2022, 03:36:11 PM »
Above and beyond, as always. Thank you Paul & team.
Will study this file and try to recreate it in my project.


I once called you an "F1 medic sitting in an AMG Merc. Super fast, dependable and a life saver"
Same compliment still applies :)
 
Also, thank you for doing the live sessions on YouTube.
I hope to be a more active participant once I watch all the old ones.




Paul Roberts

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Re: Unable to hook up xsplineMatID with Material operator
« Reply #3 on: September 13, 2022, 03:39:34 PM »
Ha ha - that's kind of you to say. Always happy to help out.

Cheers!
Paul.
Paul Roberts
iToo Software