|
Sweet Home 3D Forum » List all forums » » Forum: Features use and tips » » » Thread: Re: Create a solid Shape |
|
| Print at Jan 22, 2026, 3:28:12 AM | |
| Posted by stef.salmon at Oct 20, 2025, 2:28:05 PM |
|
Re: Create a solid Shape Hi, I am tracing around an old building and the walls are thick and there are some weird shapes and they need to be filled. How can I create these as solid shapes? I know there is no solid tool in SH3D. Thanks. |
| Posted by Keet at Oct 20, 2025, 3:20:20 PM |
|
Re: Create a solid Shape Generally you create 'weird' shapes by resizing and combining basic shapes like box, cylinder, triangle etc. You can make sides invisible if they are in the way or invisible because they are 'inside' another shape. My DodecagonShapes library offers many other shapes you might find useful. You can also use walls and rooms and export/import these. That allows you to create shapes using curved walls. After import you can adjust the height. If you use a room to create a shape then make sure you un-check the ceiling before export and make sure you do this on a extra level that has an elevation >0. The floor thickness of that will be the height of the created object but you can still change it after import. Another way to get other shapes is to find a model that has that shape as a part of it. Make all parts invisible except the part you want to extract. Export/import and you have that part as a new object. You can select multiple shapes and export them together, after import you have a single object in the created shape. Of course you can include and combine shapes that you created with any of them mentioned methods above. If you want a single material name for that combined object you can edit the obj and mtl files: in the object file change the material name of the first occurrence of "usemtl <name>' to the name you want. Remove all lines starting with 'g ' and 'usemtl ' except the first occurrence (the two lines at the top after the description lines). Edit the mtl file and remove all black starting with 'newmtl <name>" except the first one. Set the name after 'newmtl' to the name you used in the obj file. Of course you can also create objects in another program like Blender and export it as obj file. This you can import in Sweet Home 3D. If you can show us an image we can advise you better. Upload an image to an image host like mediafire or imgur and post the download url in your forum post. ---------------------------------------- Dodecagon.nl 1300+ 3D models, manuals, and projects |
| Posted by stef.salmon at Oct 20, 2025, 3:43:04 PM |
|
Re: Create a solid Shape Hi, Thank you for your detailed reply. So, I added a new level, then drew the shape I wanted with the wall tool. I then double clicked inside the shape with the wall tool. I deselected the display ceiling made the colour dark grey and then selected the item and exported it to OBJ. When I then imported the OBJ using import furniture it came back in exactly the same and not solid. Am I doing something wrong? The shape really needs to be the whole outline of the building and then made solid if possible. Thanks. |
| Posted by stef.salmon at Oct 20, 2025, 3:44:14 PM |
|
Re: Create a solid Shape Are you able to send me an example file? Thanks. |
| Posted by stef.salmon at Oct 20, 2025, 3:47:30 PM |
|
Re: Create a solid Shape This is my file. https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/vjkinnkjx9wmis...cs0n5vyufhc98gtp&dl=0 Thanks. |
| Posted by Keet at Oct 20, 2025, 3:48:48 PM |
|
Re: Create a solid Shape What do you mean by 'solid'? An exported/imported room IS a solid object. I'm not sure what else you expect or what you need. ETA I looked at your file. You exported both walls and room. Select only the room and export that. After import you can adjust the height to a solid block with the height of the walls. That what you are looking for? ---------------------------------------- Dodecagon.nl 1300+ 3D models, manuals, and projects |
| Posted by stef.salmon at Oct 21, 2025, 9:10:17 AM |
|
Re: Create a solid Shape Hi, Yes that's it, how easy was that! Some of the layouts I have been doing recently have taken so long, this will definitely help speed up things. Thank you. |
| Posted by Keet at Oct 21, 2025, 9:59:12 AM |
|
Re: Create a solid Shape Why do you want the rooms as solid objects? Keeping them as room objects has advantages that 'normal' objects don't have: easy to recalculate the surface when you moved a door or wall and you can punch a hole with a staircase. If you really want floors as solid objects then wait with exporting until you are finished with your project and only then export. Leave staircases visible but don't select them, the exported room will have the hole for the staircase after import. ---------------------------------------- Dodecagon.nl 1300+ 3D models, manuals, and projects |
| Posted by stef.salmon at Oct 21, 2025, 1:29:51 PM |
|
Re: Create a solid Shape It is not the room I need Solid, it's the outline of the building, but only when there are some awkward shapes. if it has square lines then the wall tool is fine. The only down side to this is where there is a window or door I then have to leave a gap and then draw those sections with the wall tool. It does seem a bit strange I know but I just needed an easy and quicker way of making solid objects. I used to use Solid Works and with that you could draw whatever you liked and then extrude it. |
| Posted by stef.salmon at Oct 21, 2025, 1:36:04 PM |
|
Re: Create a solid Shape Actually I retract it, it doesn't work how I need it to because once I have re-imported it, I can't see it properly to add the wall sections so I can drop a door or window in. Back to the drawing board! |
| Posted by Keet at Oct 21, 2025, 2:01:11 PM |
|
Re: Create a solid Shape The usual way to start is one of two ways: 1 - Draw the walls, add doors and windows, then add the rooms. 2 - Manually draw the rooms, select the create-wall icon and double click the room. It will add walls around the room. Then add doors and windows. It's not a definite rule but starting with the walls is usually the easiest way. ---------------------------------------- Dodecagon.nl 1300+ 3D models, manuals, and projects |
| Posted by stef.salmon at Oct 21, 2025, 2:26:43 PM |
|
Re: Create a solid Shape That works, but then the walls are not solid. |
| Posted by Keet at Oct 21, 2025, 3:44:50 PM |
|
Re: Create a solid Shape ...but then the walls are not solid. What is the purpose of the walls being solid?As wall objects they are solid, depending on how you look at it. Basically, walls and rooms are just objects like any other furniture, they just have a few extra/different properties. Just like the rooms you can export and import them but then they have lost the special properties that makes them walls. Maybe you can explain why you want 'solid' objects instead of Wall objects. Then we can advise you how to handle it in the best way. ---------------------------------------- Dodecagon.nl 1300+ 3D models, manuals, and projects |
| Posted by stef.salmon at Oct 21, 2025, 4:09:24 PM |
|
Re: Create a solid Shape Sorry for going back and forth on this. Below are two samples, the 1st is what I'm trying to do now and the 2nd was one I did where the walls are just either straight or slightly curved. The Create Wall tool works perfect for the 2nd option. I can use the same method for the 2nd one, but because there are all different shapes it takes so long to do. The 2nd option works like you said by manually drawing the walls as rooms and then clicking in the area, which draws in the walls, however there are voids between the walls, which I suppose isn't a major issue, but they would look nicer filled, if that makes sense. Example 1 https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/j4joyst5wgc76p...tvfliyfi0moiap00&dl=0 Example 2 https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/bfd9s2xvd2ee4i...lo9f4otc6cvhf9h1&dl=0 Thanks. |
| Posted by Keet at Oct 21, 2025, 5:56:06 PM |
|
Re: Create a solid Shape I think I now understand what you meant by 'solid': the open spaces where you created the room to get the walls, that you would like to be filled in. The room you used is not a regular room, it is the 'inside' of a very thick wall. Here's a trick to create your solid walls: You already have the walls, select the create room icon and click on a wall, not inside the walls. It will create a room with the outer circumference of the walls. Export/import, change the height to the height of the walls and you have a solid wall. Remember that this is now a normal furniture object without the properties of a Wall object. You can place doors in or against it by moving them with the cursor keys but they will not create a hole. ...but because there are all different shapes it takes so long to do. Keeps you from the street I've spend hundreds of hours on some projects, not to mention the many hours creating custom models. It's a hobby, the point is that it takes time! And this is a large project with very few repeating layouts, so hardly any use for copy/paste.---------------------------------------- Dodecagon.nl 1300+ 3D models, manuals, and projects |
| Posted by dorin at Oct 23, 2025, 9:16:56 AM |
|
Re: Create a solid Shape "Even old dog learn new tricks" select the create room icon and click on a wall I've never know this trick.Thanks! @stef.salmon From your picture I don't understand way you use cavity walls in place of normal walls? Except the case when the cavity really exist on the original house. To reproduce an old house with many different thickness wall is not an easy task but there is tricks and friends I know that while I've done it for around 20 old buildings. ---------------------------------------- A computer program does what you tell it to do, not what you want it to do. Murphy's Law When all else fails, read the instructions. Murphy's Law If you don't like "AS IS", DIY. Dorin's law |
| Posted by stef.salmon at Oct 23, 2025, 10:25:24 AM |
|
Re: Create a solid Shape I totally understand. Thank you very much for all your help. |
| Posted by stef.salmon at Oct 23, 2025, 10:26:22 AM |
|
Re: Create a solid Shape Its always good to learn new tricks! 😉 |
| Posted by Keet at Oct 23, 2025, 10:27:15 AM |
|
Re: Create a solid Shape @dorin "Even old dog learn new tricks" That option is available since around 2008 I think, so not that long select the create room icon and click on a wall I've never know this trick.Thanks! @stef.salmon Dorin has a point in using different thicknesses of walls instead of all kinds of other tricks. That way you have your solid walls AND they remain wall objects with all their benefits. Connecting walls with different thicknesses can be a little tricky but they don't have to be connected. Simply touching each other is enough to make them look like they are connected. Dorin has created a very nice post explaining measuring with different thicknesses: https://www.sweethome3d.com/support/forum/viewthread_thread,9807#46003 In addition to that: two parallel walls that touch look like they are a single wall, you can use that too. ---------------------------------------- Dodecagon.nl 1300+ 3D models, manuals, and projects |
| Posted by dorin at Oct 23, 2025, 6:28:58 PM |
|
Re: Create a solid Shape @stef.salmon I know you probably don't need this but it don't hurt to much to take a look at: https://www.sweethome3d.com/blog/how-to-design-wall-recesses https://www.sweethome3d.com/support/forum/viewthread_thread,7813 https://www.sweethome3d.com/support/forum/viewthread_thread,8833 @Keet Probably, but I'm a decade over Unix epoch. ![]() ---------------------------------------- A computer program does what you tell it to do, not what you want it to do. Murphy's Law When all else fails, read the instructions. Murphy's Law If you don't like "AS IS", DIY. Dorin's law |
| Posted by stef.salmon at Oct 24, 2025, 8:38:31 AM |
|
Re: Create a solid Shape Thanks!😉 |
|
|
Current timezone is GMT Jan 22, 2026, 3:28:12 AM |