A request today for the barrel vault truss.  I had been working on the algorithm for this truss type about 18 months ago but the lack of interest caused me to stop.  Below is a matrix of potential configurations:



If anyone has some shop drawings for this truss type that they are willing to share I would be grateful.

I will try and knock this one out next week.  I will probably utilize an html/svg UI since the look and feel of this truss type will be important to the designer (barrel height and barrel width).

Version 2.0.3d - 2017.10.15
- Added PinkWood SAFEjoists™ I-joists: PKI 10, PKI 20, PKI 23, PKI 35Plus, PKI 40, PKI 50.



This I-joist manufacturer has a pink protective coating on the ends. The purpose of the end coating is to protect the joist against moisture penetration.

In addition, PinkWood offers Class A and Class B Fire Rated joists often referred to as "SAFEJoists". These joists are protected with an intumescent Fire Rated Coating, and have tan colored coating on the web.

Manufactured in Calgary, Alberta, Canada.

Now that I've got things configured correctly it is quite easy for me to add in new manufacturers and their entire series of I-joists.  If you are interested in seeing a particular brand added to the plugin please feel free to contact me.

Version 2.0.3c - 10.14.2017

- Added Red Built Red-I™ I-joists: 45, 65, 90, 90H, 90HS.

Version 2.0.3b - 10.14.2017

- Face mount hangers added for solid sawn floor joists.





LUS24
LUS26
LUS28
LUS210 (this hanger used by both 2x10 and 2x12 joists)

Version 2.0.3 - 10.13.2017
- Added the option to provide a face mount hanger for inset floor joists with ledgers.
- Added the option to provide a top flange hanger for inset floor joists without ledgers.
- Added an option in the global settings to enable or disable manufacturer's logos.

The ITS hanger family:

https://3dwarehouse.sketchup.com/model/5bafc450-3dda-4443-a526-f10019c16ddf/Simpson-Strong-Tie-ITS-Face-Mount-Hangers

The following hangers are included:

ITS1.81/9.5
ITS1.81/11.88
ITS1.81/14
ITS1.81/16

ITS2.06/9.5
ITS2.06/11.88
ITS2.06/14
ITS2.06/16

ITS2.37/9.5
ITS2.37/11.88
ITS2.37/14
ITS2.37/16

ITS2.56/9.5
ITS2.56/11.88
ITS2.56/14
ITS2.56/16

ITS3.56/9.5
ITS3.56/11.88
ITS3.56/14
ITS3.56/16

Price dropped to $15.00 for a new license and $10.00 for a renewal.

Top flange hangers without a ledger:



This is a Simpson ITS1.81/9.5, this is the equivalent to the the IUS series but in  top flange configuration.

After giving it much thought I've decided that selling my plugins would be a bad idea.  They've literally become a part of me, who I am and what I do.  To part with them would leave a hole, so in the end this becomes an emotional decision for me rather than one that is solely based on monetary gain.

The Medeek plugins will continue as they are for the foreseeable future.

I've also noticed sales of the plugin has completely dried up over the last two weeks, I don't know if this because I was considering the sale of my plugin or if is indicating a saturation point.  It does make me wonder if lowering the plugin price even further would drive a larger volume of users. 

Lets say for example I lowered the price to $10.00, would I then expect a double or triple increase in sales?  When I look at the number people who have actually installed the plugin it is well over 10,000 now, and I only started keeping track about a year ago, so the number could easily be double that.  If the price was lower ($10.00) could I get at least 10% of the installed base to upgrade to a registered version, if so this type of marketing makes sense. 

But then again perhaps I have hit an actual saturation point, where "real" users have all been potentially exposed to the plugin and everyone else is just testing it out but never will purchase it for serious use.

Ultimately, I am just trying to find a way to monetize my efforts more and somehow enable myself to spend even more time developing this plugin and all of others I've started cooking up.

The IUS hanger family:

https://3dwarehouse.sketchup.com/model/ce6a9edf-2429-4dab-a664-d1db6f332bd8/IUS-Hangers

With the inset joists I thought it would be really cool to have the plugin be able to auto-select the correct joist hanger and insert it at both ends of the I-joist or sawn lumber.  I quickly modeled up a simplified version of an IUS1.81/11.88 Simpson Face-Mount I-Joist hanger and with the addition of one simple function I was able to do this:



View model here:

https://3dwarehouse.sketchup.com/model/96cd27dc-3e84-43d6-98cf-b22575c0526d/TJI-Floor-and-Foundation-with-Hangers

I haven't yet released this most recent addition because I only have two sizes of hangers created so far.  There are five typical flange widths and the following typical I-joists depths:  9.5, 11.875, 14, and 16.  So if you do the math I need to model 20 different face mount I-Joist hangers and 20 top flange I-joist hangers (IUS and ITS series).  For sawn lumber a similar situation exists for 2x6, 2x8, 2x10 and 2x12 joists.

I was considering using the official Simpson models from the 3D Warehouse but they are too complex, a minimalistic hanger gets the point across just as well.

When I get home from work I usually only have a couple hours to hammer away at things so some more low hanging fruit gets picked.

This morning I've spent some time reviewing my roadmap and my "todo" list.  I'm still working on the straight skeleton implementation, and that is the big one right now.  The small upgrades and fixes I've released over the last few days have been some low hanging fruit that I've gravitated towards to break up my heavier coding sessions.  Its rewarding to achieve a few small victories and push them out when your bogged down and progress seems retarded.

The plugin as a whole has quite of bit of functionality but it also is very limited in many respects.  This really jumps out at me when I try to model up some recent homes that I did structural work on a few months ago.  The biggest issues seem to be:

- Inability to cut holes in floors or create polygon floor outlines.
- The same issue with roofs in that the plugin is only really good at rectangular roof outlines.  The straight skeleton implementation will address this, at least for rafter roofs initially, truss roofs will be a much bigger problem.
- There is no function for editing a roof or floor assembly, it's fire and forget.  This feature would be particularly useful when you botched one parameter and just need to go back and edit something minor rather than recreating the entire assembly (not that this is too difficult).
- I'm missing a good staircase creator/editor.
- Not all of the truss types are up to speed with all the recent advanced options, so much to do.
- The manual is almost non-existent.

The list of limitations goes on.  The plugin has potential but its certainly a work in progress and far from the polished gemstone it needs to be.

With all that being said I feel like moving my price to $40.00 was and is probably a bit of an over reach.  Personally I would not pay that amount for the functionality offered, its too much.  I've dropped my price back down to $30.00 and the renewal price is now $20.00, hopefully this is more commensurate with the amount of functionality and utility offered.

At some point in the near future when I have fully addressed most if not all of the above issues then I will look at raising the price to its former level.

For those users who purchased the plugin at the $40.00 price I have no problem in extending your license a pro-rated amount.  Please feel free to email me with your request for the license extension.

Version 2.0.2b - 10.07.2017
- I-Joists are branded with respective manufacturer's logo.

Version 2.0.2 - 10.07.2017
- Added the option to inset floor joists with ledger.
- Added the option to inset floor joists without ledger.

I just realized that today is the two year anniversary of the Truss Plugin, crazy to think that I've already been working on this thing for two years.  Progress has been incremental but fairly steady.  There are still some big obstacles and goals ahead.

The new inset option also works well if you are using joist pockets in the foundation:



This model was created with the Truss Plugin and the Foundation Plugin.  Foundation wall is 8" thick with the pockets set at 2.25" deep and the bearing length of the joists set at 2".  The floor sheathing layer is turned off for clarity.

View model here:

https://3dwarehouse.sketchup.com/model/cfa8f834-6a60-4175-b393-cfa39223c244/TJI-Floor-and-Foundation