[Software] MecaBricks - Online Design Tool

[BlackHole]

I'm successfully building quite a large model using Mecabricks, But I need help with the layout of the Workshop page itself.

With Workshop open, the Help option drops down to User Manual and Video Tutorials - but I can't open the User Manual which I really need, as a relative newcomer!

Also, somehow, I've managed to toggle off ALL the sidebars, I just have a black space next to my view window - I can no longer change colours of anything! I've noticed in various screengrabs that you also configure the sidebars in different ways, like displaying parts as a grid rather than the scrolling bar. Knowing how to change the layout of the Workshop window would be a great help!

[Scrubs]

Hello,

Sorry for this late answer, but I'm still away overseas on holiday until the end of august

I only finished the new version of the workshop just before leaving and therefore I didn't have the time to write the updated version of the user manual. It shall come in september when I will be back.

Regarding the sidebars, they are not supposed to be toggled or modified in the last version (it was the case in previous versions) so I'm not too sure how it happens. If you manage to see it again I'd be interested in the process so that I can fix that.

Don't hesitate to ask me if you have any other questions. I'll be happy to try to answer them.

[BlackHole]

Scrubs, thanks so much for replying. Sorry to interrupt your holiday! I'm struggling a little without the colour palette (now that it's disappeared) but I'm still building. Wondered if my 2,500 piece model had overloaded it? I'll try it on a different PC tomorrow,.

But it's a great programme to dry-run big projects. I'm trying to make a model from a painting and learning about how painters cheat their perspective! On Saturday I'll start buying bricks, easier now that I know which ones to get!

Thanks again, Mark H

[BlackHole]

Ah, in Chrome, the wide sidebar tools (colour palette etc) disappear in certain magnifications! On a PC, holding control and rolling the mouse wheel, the different magnifications determine whether the sidebar appears. It's missing if the window is zoomed in at 110% and anything above 125% zoom. But at least I know now how the fault works.

I've also put my first work in progress online!

[Scrubs]

Hello,

Thank you for your feedback. I will check that. It's true that I didn't try it with a zoom different than 100%.

I've seen your WIP. Pretty cool so far

[xinbei]

The webapp is very nice and easy to use. Thank you for all the effort!

I have a suggestion/question: the black bricks in the display mode do not work well with the black sketch contours. Would it be possible to change the colors of sketch contours of the black bricks to grey or light grey or white?

[Scrubs]

Hello,

Thanks for your suggestion. I will make some trials to see if it makes a difference and how to do that.

Cheers

[gerkenz]

@Scrubs: congrats on creating this nice online creator.

I just need a feature to export the model as .stl or .blend file to be able to render it offline and to have a backup of my own "digital work". It is possible to add this feature or do you want to run it as an sandbox solution only? Or maybe I just didn't found the export dialog?

Thanks.

[Scrubs]

Thank you.

It's not the first time I've been asked for this feature :) It is currently not available however I shall be able to do something to get .stl or .obj files. I can let you know when I get something usable if you wish as I'm not sure yet if I want to make that available for everybody or not.

[gerkenz]

Yes, I understand. I would make it a donation feature if you are willing to handle different user levels.

Sign me in for a beta tester for this feature! Because this will help the workflow from LDD to a Blender Render a lot! Thnx.

[Scrubs]

Ok, sounds good. It might be in the next couple of weeks hopefully.

[Scrubs]

It was actually quicker than what I said. I made the STL exporter. It is available in the File menu of the workshop under Export STL - only if you are logged in.

Here is a model I exported from mecabricks and then imported and rendered quickly with Blender:

A few more explanation here.

Edited October 14, 2014 by Scrubs

[gerkenz]

Hi just tested it - Perfect! This is really a feature a lot designers will like very very much I think!

I will do more testing on the weekend. Thanks a lot for this fast implementation.

Needless to say that a corresponding material lib would be perfect, too.

[Scrubs]

I'm not too familiar with the other 3D formats so I'm not too sure how to export models with materials and decorations. I would have to learn quite a lot before coding it. If someone has a starting point for that I take it ;-)

[gerkenz]

I tried LeoCAD to export some test *.ldr files. It exports the wavefront *.obj format ( vertices and plane informations ) along with an *.mtl file ( color information ). But I didn't checked the format itself so far.

[Scrubs]

Yes, It's kinda what I was going for. I need to learn the format specification then...

[Scrubs]

Tonight I started to code an OBJ exporter for mecabricks. It's almost finished but I wanted to package the files together so that it's more convenient to download (*.obj, *.mtl and .png decorations in a zip file). Therefore I might only put it online this weekend at the latest.

With this format, you can access the bricks independently and tune the materials to get a nice render.

Here is the same example as yesterday but exported with the OBJ exporter.

OBJ Export by mecabricks, on Flickr

Hope you will like it!

Edited October 15, 2014 by Scrubs

[legolijntje]

That looks very nice

[Scrubs]

I put online the OBJ exporter in mecabricks. It keeps each brick separated and also export the textures. The function generates a zip file containing the .obj and .mtl files as well as a "decorations" folder that includes the textures needed for the model. I'd love to see some of your renderings .

It is located in the "File" menu on the top bar of the workshop page - You need to be logged in to use it.

Mecabricks OBJ Export by mecabricks, on Flickr

Edited October 16, 2014 by Scrubs

[gerkenz]

Nice!... a quick test will bring this raw render in blender! A perfect starting point! Thanks a lot.

[Scrubs]

No worries.

You can use the "smooth" button in blender to avoid the facet effect.

[Cy_Bored1337]

Wait

I put online the OBJ exporter in mecabricks. It keeps each brick separated and also export the textures. The function generates a zip file containing the .obj and .mtl files as well as a "decorations" folder that includes the textures needed for the model. I'd love to see some of your renderings .

It is located in the "File" menu on the top bar of the workshop page - You need to be logged in to use it.

Mecabricks OBJ Export by mecabricks, on Flickr

Does that mean we can put our own decorations?

[Scrubs]

Hello,

Yes, you can use your own decorations. Here is a simple example with a "Flat Tile 1X2". I simply replaced the current decoration (joker) by a custom image in the folder. Decorations are applied following UV maps. You need to get them first to know how to organise your image. Of course I own the templates for all the decorated parts but you can also display it in Blender for example.

Edited October 17, 2014 by Scrubs

[Renderbricks]

Thanks for the OBJ exporter. Everything looks awesome. *:-)

Edited October 17, 2014 by virtualrepublic

[Scrubs]

Hello,

I started to work on a module for flexible parts that will be added to the workshop in the future.

It will be based on paths built from Bezier curves and the UI will let you play with the control points (a bit like adobe Illustrator).

Here is a short video showing what I can already do after the first lines of code I wrote tonight:

Edited October 30, 2014 by Scrubs