11 replies to this topic

[Bruce Roorda]

Does anyone know if there are more updated stair railings such as ones with wood newel posts and metal balusters than all wood like the attached pic.

[Jon Davis]

We sure need some. Need some more fence options too... 

[Henry Buckner]

The sizes, style and finishes of the railing components can all be edited independently- i.e  wood posts with metal rails, wood rails with metal balusters, etc.

[Mark Petri]

You can also use posts, lathe, profiles, etc. to create any combination of railing you desire. Some take a bit of work to get right, but it can be worth it for a good looking railing.

[Keith Almond]

I use wood railings with metal spindles regularly ... Try and find a railing system that's close to what you want, save it as something else and experiment with editing spindles/rails/posts and changing the finishes to get what you want. You can create virtually anything ...

[Bruce Roorda]

The sizes, style and finishes of the railing components can all be edited independently- i.e  wood posts with metal rails, wood rails with metal balusters, etc.

I see there railing items can be edited, however, there are no options for metal rails, or metal balusters, box newel post, etc.  

[Bruce Roorda]

I use wood railings with metal spindles regularly ... Try and find a railing system that's close to what you want, save it as something else and experiment with editing spindles/rails/posts and changing the finishes to get what you want. You can create virtually anything ...

 

The railing system my client wants is LJ Smith products. One would think SoftPlan could do with railings like they do with window manufacturers. Meanwhile, looks like you have many years of SoftPlan under your belt (I started with version 7), so how would one do a railing with a 6519 hand rail, LJRA-4091 box newel posts, and alternating LI-9044, LI-30544, and LI-30844 metal balusters. To be honest, I haven't done much interior 3D modeling until this project I'm designing since I hadn't bought a 3DConnextion until recently. So I haven't worked at all with the railing definitions or finishes to generate interior pics for a client to review..

[Keith Almond]

Well ... Bruce , I have to apologise. As far as I can make out, it's not possible to create a square profiled newel post ...

 

The handrail was simple, it's just a profile ... no problem! TIP: If you can dowload a PDF of the profile (and you can!) then you can import as shapes (adjust size to suit) and save as a handrail profile very quickly.

 

Ths spindles are simple to lathe, and multiple spindle profiles can be easily created and inserted in the railing definition ... Again, not a problem.

 

The newel, is entirely a different matter. I created a symbol and saved it as a 3D model, which I dropped over a 4" x 4" square post ... The level of detail you can get depends on how much time you want to spend on it. Of course, being lazy, I didn't spend too long on it.

 

This is a quick attempt to get what you wanted ...

 

 2019.10.26_11h50m02s_001.png   469.82KB   26 downloads

 

How does that look?

 

In case it's any use to you, I enclose the Handrail - 6519.spy file (had to zip it to upload it to the forum) - put it in the PROFILES > HANDRAIL folder.

Attached Files

•  Handrail - 6519.zip   1.91KB   19 downloads

[Bruce Roorda]

Well ... Bruce , I have to apologise. As far as I can make out, it's not possible to create a square profiled newel post ...

 

The handrail was simple, it's just a profile ... no problem! TIP: If you can dowload a PDF of the profile (and you can!) then you can import as shapes (adjust size to suit) and save as a handrail profile very quickly.

 

Ths spindles are simple to lathe, and multiple spindle profiles can be easily created and inserted in the railing definition ... Again, not a problem.

 

The newel, is entirely a different matter. I created a symbol and saved it as a 3D model, which I dropped over a 4" x 4" square post ... The level of detail you can get depends on how much time you want to spend on it. Of course, being lazy, I didn't spend too long on it.

 

This is a quick attempt to get what you wanted ...

 

2019.10.26_11h50m02s_001.png

 

How does that look?

That looks great Keith, and IMHO certainly suffices for an interior "look" of a stairwell railing for a client's approval. Unfortunate SoftPlan doesn't have stair manufacturers components with detail selections like one can do with windows. Not that I'm lazy, just not enough hours in the day and billable design hours on some projects to take the time to do what you did quickly (some of us less quickly), and/or for novices to utilize from the stair railings library. Looking forward to honing my skills on this project. Thanks for the insight/instruction.

[Keith Almond]

Here are the spindles too. If you want them

 

Save them to the LATHE > SPINDLES folder

Attached Files

•  Spindles.zip   2.54KB   24 downloads

[Bruce Roorda]

Here are the spindles too. If you want them

 

Save them to the LATHE > SPINDLES folder

Thanks for the help Keith. That certainly was quick and easy. Could you explain how to create an .spy file? Sometime I would like to work on some different Post styles.

[Allen McDonnell]

Well ... Bruce , I have to apologise. As far as I can make out, it's not possible to create a square profiled newel post ...

 

The handrail was simple, it's just a profile ... no problem! TIP: If you can dowload a PDF of the profile (and you can!) then you can import as shapes (adjust size to suit) and save as a handrail profile very quickly.

 

Ths spindles are simple to lathe, and multiple spindle profiles can be easily created and inserted in the railing definition ... Again, not a problem.

 

The newel, is entirely a different matter. I created a symbol and saved it as a 3D model, which I dropped over a 4" x 4" square post ... The level of detail you can get depends on how much time you want to spend on it. Of course, being lazy, I didn't spend too long on it.

 

This is a quick attempt to get what you wanted ...

 

2019.10.26_11h50m02s_001.png

 

How does that look?

 

In case it's any use to you, I enclose the Handrail - 6519.spy file (had to zip it to upload it to the forum) - put it in the PROFILES > HANDRAIL folder.

Great work...and...tutorial.