Development and Updates for the Medeek Truss Plugin

[Medeek]

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.

[Medeek]

The IUS hanger family:

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

[Medeek]

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.

[Medeek]

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.

[Medeek]

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

[Medeek]

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

[Medeek]

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.

[Medeek]

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)

[Medeek]

Version 2.0.3c - 10.14.2017

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

[Medeek]

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.

[Medeek]

[Medeek]

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).

[Medeek]

I've got some direction on how to deal with engineering for beams and joists, not high on the priority list right now but I've been giving it some thought:

https://forums.sketchup.com/t/intersecting-faces-or-edges/53452

At first gathering the geometric information from the model seemed the most challenging aspect of this problem but after giving it more thought, dealing with multi-span beams with various distributed and point loads is also not a trivial problem.  My current beam calculator is very limited in this respect and can only handle very simple loading on a single span.

http://design.medeek.com/resources/beam/beam_calculator.pl

And yet even with the simplicity of the span and loading the logic and calculations required is fairly substantial.  The output of the beam calculator will attest to this.

To properly analyze a multi-span beam with complex loading requires some magic from my engineering texts (ie. matrix analysis).  Since beams and joists are one dimensional as compared with trusses (two dimensional) the math is not nearly as cumbersome but it should prove to be a bit of a challenge.

[Medeek]

Version 2.0.4 - 10.21.2017
- Added Parallel Chord (vaulted) truss type, configurations: (2/2, 4/4, 6/6).







I will still need to enable structural outlookers and plates for this truss type, but everything else should be there:

- Roof Cladding
- Roof Sheathing
- Gable Wall Cladding
- Gable Wall Sheathing
- Ceiling Gypsum
- Ridge Cap

etc...

View model here:

https://3dwarehouse.sketchup.com/model/1a7064f4-b059-46ff-928b-7b2408185555/Parallel-Chord-Truss-Roof-Vaulted

[Medeek]

The updated truss menu: