i was pretty damn excited to see google docs open their gDrive concept to the public, allowing users to upload any kind of file they wish to their google docs. now that google docs is no longer limited to spreadsheets, documents, forms and presentations, i can start treating google docs as part of my cad drawing management system, hosting .pdfs, .dwfs and even native autocad files if i wish.

i don’t know what kind of system other consulting firms use to keep track of their drawings, but i’ve got lots of experience dealing with project numbers, and a little thing called windows explorer. it gets frustrating when trying to find a geographical location by a job number. and because these are two totally different things, usually some form of a database application is used to reference the two which only adds to time and frustration. especially when that database application hasn’t updated for 10 years. i’ll avoid naming names and just jump to my idea:

i guess i look at google docs as replacing my windows explorer, and using google earth for it’s natural and very inspiring capabilities as a visual searching tool. the idea here is that i want to find a drawing for a certain traffic signal design or street lighting design as quickly as possible. searching for the intersection or roads is a no-brainer in google earth and connecting google earth to drawings on your google docs happens to be pretty simple too.

first things first, i’m going to make sure i upload all my drawings to my google docs, and i’m going to make sure that i set each file to be viewed by anyone (no sign-in required). when you allow anyone to view the file, a public link is provided for copying and pasting. in this case, i prepared each drawing in autodesk’s .dwf format and adobe’s .pdf format, and also prepared a thumbnail image of the first sheet of the drawing set. this could get as involved or as basic as you want, but for the sake of this post i’m going to keep it basic.

now, with the files prepared and the ability to access them using public links, i’m going to take advantage of google earth’s placemark feature, which is pretty much a way to bookmark a coordinate and conveniently name it. what a lot of people don’t know is that inside the description property of the placemark, standard html can be used to populate the balloon that displays when the placemark is selected. below i’m going to use simple html to insert a thumbnail image, a link to a .dwf file and a link to a .pdf file for the intersection drawings of enterprise way & leckie road in kelowna, bc. note the unpopulated quotations ” “, this is where i need to copy and paste the public links from my google docs files.

when each google docs file is made public, a link is provided. this link doesn’t directly connect with the file though. in the case of an image, google docs provides a link to view the image within the google docs interface. good thing they provide an ‘open’ link. i’m going to right click on ‘open’ and copy that link location. this will directly open up the file. the same goes for the .dwf and .pdf files, but look for ‘download’ rather than ‘open’. now it’s just a matter of fitting each link into the appropriate html tag.

now if i click on my placemark positioned at my destination of choice, the relevant drawing information hosted in our google docs is now populated in the placemark balloon. because these links are public, i can save the placemark collections as a .kmz or .kml file and these files can now be emailed to colleagues or saved to a network and made accessible throughout the office.

the thumbnail image is just big enough to let the user identify what kind of drawing the file is by the layout, whether it’s a traffic signal drawing or a street lighting drawing. and the .dwf and .pdf links let the user save or open the respective file directly from google earth.

now with my files hosted within a dynamic file management system, and connected to an intuitive visual searching tool, i benefit from:

• multiple search options: searching by intersection, roadway, address, landmark, building, neighbouring business name, etc rather than just a project number or project name.
• in familiar areas, not even inserting any search words, i may simply find panning and zooming faster.
• visually seeing neighbouring projects which would not normally be connected through a job number/windows explorer system. this is a great benefit when working in an unfamiliar area.
• providing a portable tool that can be accessed publicly or office-wide.
• not dealing with job numbers when it’s a geographical location i’m truly looking for.
• not relying on windows static searching incapability.

also keep in mind this concept could really be used for any kind of document management that revolves around geographical locations. traffic signal and street lighting drawings happens to be the topic here applicable to my work, but i can imagine this concept being suitable for many other applications.

for future topics, i have thoughts on implementing and maintaining the system as well as experimenting with the possibilities within the placemark balloon.

to have one of the factory style soft tops on my land cruiser would be a dream. they’re not exactly available. to get your hands on one of these tops is pretty difficult, unless you group up with a bunch of strangers on the forums and foot a lot of money for one to be made overseas, or unless you figure out how to make one yourself.

i’m not knocking the overseas group buys on the forums, there are many satisfied customers with excellent looking tops and big smiles on their faces. the organization of buyers, the money and the wait do seem worth it in the end. but in my case, there’s no guarantee that the bows or the top are going to fit. my ‘cruiser’s outfitted with a first generation aqualu aluminum tub made in kelowna. the fit and finish of the aqualu’s first generation tubs aren’t even close to the tolerances that the aqualu tubs are subjected to now. i’m not planning on getting a new tub anytime soon simply because the current aqualu aluminum has proven to be diehard. seriously, a couple years ago my cruiser drove away from an accident while the 2007 ford escape that t-boned me was totaled.

anyways, because of the tiny differences in tub measurements between the oem tub and the aqualu first gen tub, i’m deciding to fabricate my own factory style soft top. it’s less risk, less money, more accurate and purpose-built strictly for my ‘cruiser. plus i’ll have a big smile on my face when i say i made it.

to date, i’ve grabbed the measurements from my tub and measurements of the factory soft top bows. for the framework, i still have to model out the b-pillars, the door rails and all the mounting bracketry. also because my ‘cruiser has the rear ambulance doors, i’m aiming to reproduce the factory c-type soft top, so a lot more framework has to be completed at the rear.

as i stand up straight and bend my arm up to a 90 degree angle, the measurement from my elbow to the floor happens to be 46″, so that’s exactly how high i designed this bar table to stand. if i ever build a house, it’s going to accommodate the 6’4″ humans (i’ll rant about my height and it’s relation to the average environment in another post). it’s 4 feet long and 2 feet wide. should be enough for two people to sit on either side with ample beer stein swinging real estate for everyone. i have no doubts that my buddies will want to join me at the table for a brew, but i do have doubts that anyone would volunteer to help me when i decide to move out. i haven’t decided on a type of wood yet for either my bookshelf or bar table, but the idea here is that i know this sucker’s going to be heavy. the table top is not going to be glued together but fastened together with three long threaded rods tightened on either end with washers and hex nuts. think ikea, but replace that pansy little allen key with a 1″ air impact wrench (the kind of tool that makes the manly sounds echoing from the auto shop). this design could be torn down relatively easy… with the air compressor… and would save a couple backs when i decide to move.

if you were sitting on a bar stool, the bottom slabs of wood aren’t necessarily positioned as a foot rest. i’m sure they’d be functional if standing next to the table, but the bar stools i have in mind would have individual foot rests. the crossing steel cable was more or less a design feature that i wanted to carry on from the bookshelf, there really isn’t any function to it. maybe to remind drunken knees to remain on their side of the bar table?

in relation to a previous post about underwater rendering, this is a result from another tutorial. this model was supplied with darren brooker’s essential cg lighting techniques with 3ds max. the biggest difference between this rendering and the former is the difference of the rendering engine. this image was created with the default scanline renderer whereas the other was generated with the mental ray renderer. considering the scanline is incredibly quick compared to mental ray, i’m actually impressed. i don’t think the caustics generate as well on the seabed, but at least i didn’t have to leave my computer to grab a coffee while waiting for the result.

simple enough. a bunch of 2″ x 4″ sections and a solid 5/8″ bed. this way when i make multiple shelf supports, i can build the pieces symmetrically and double check all dimensions at once before welding. sure, i still have to measure out and place all these blocks and make sure they’re exactly square, but i only have to do that measuring once. and knowing me and my welding skills, i’ll be making half a dozen of these steel shelf supports when i only need two. maybe i can pawn off the mistakes as ‘works of art’? i’ll link to the ebay auctions in the future.

next item of business, a fire extinguisher… :D

the idea of soap box derby racing originated at a time when there were no video games though. there was just a pure passion for a relatively new automotive industry, and what came with that industry was the adventure of racing these new rolling machines. i’ve looked up all sorts of modern kart designs and seen lots of great ideas, but i thought it was all about taking objects from around the garage or barn yard and using them to create a racer to call your own, not creating fiberglass molds with aerodynamic properties.

i want to design something simple and basic, and have a kind of 1930′s character. when i was sketching out my ideas, i was dividing the design into the different systems.

• chassis
  • i’m planning on making the chassis out of wood, steel fasteners, and the odd piece of steel angle iron, box tube or round bar. to make the chassis roll, i am using tubed wheelbarrow wheels. i’ll have to source out some sort of tractor seat for the driver. i’m thinking it should go on some sort of adjustable slides so that the racer lasts a couple years before the growth spurt.
• steering
  • my initial thoughts have been to keep the front axle always aligned with springs so that it’s default direction is to drive straight. no steering wheel for this kart. i’m thinking a cable/pulley system with two handles is the most basic way to get the front axle pivoting. pull the left handle, and the racer turns left… right?
• braking
  • the image above includes this full-width pedal which i was initially going to use for braking. i’ve had a couple completely different ideas and i’m sure this will change. either way, the braking will need to be activated by foot if both hands are busy steering. i’m also thinking of using cables and pulleys to brake the racer at the rear wheels.

the to-do list on this project is pretty long, so as ideas come up, i’m just going to post them along with the updated model. the initial goal though is to get a rolling chassis. right now the wheels are just placed right beside the axles. i haven’t figured out quite yet how to secure them to the axles. typical wheelbarrow wheels have built in bearings, so there will be no need for pillow blocks, hopefully just a simple attachment point. whether it be a lag bolt through a pipe with washers and nuts, or a lag bolt fastened directly into the lumber.

continued from ‘solid furniture‘

i wish the tiny little tasks didn’t take so long to get around to, but i got my leveling feet on the model and also came up with an idea for some ‘backing’ for the shelves. i figure the very basic wire rope holds true to the old-school-overbuilt-industrial theme. it wasn’t that long ago when workers walked on high rise girders with less fall protection. i think my books should be just fine.

there are a couple things i need to do before building. i obviously need to build my bill of materials list and collect all the materials and hardware, but i also need to start thinking about how i’m going to weld the angle iron shelf supports to the legs. to be exact and symmetric, i’m thinking a jig is in order. it would be cool to have an adjustable jig made out of steel and a few fasteners, but i think i got a bunch of 2″ x 4″ offcuts and 1/2″ plywood kicking around that’ll do the trick.

darren brooker’s essential cg lighting techniques with 3ds max was probably one of the most eye opening books i’ve read. and it doesn’t just apply to computer graphics. if you pay attention, you can find light anywhere you look.

the above is a result of a tutorial cleverly put together by alessandro cangelosi. the colours were simply changed to suit the kind of perspective i see in local lakes.

with the design process, i wish i somehow recorded my ideas, when they hit me, or how i came across them. looking back, i think around the time i was trying to come up with a general shape or the materials, i was chin deep in a project in north vancouver where an artist used this sort of west-coast industrial shipyard theme and applied it to a new community development site. everything from the buildings, to the sidewalk benches, the lamp posts, etc, it all carried this solid, heavy duty theme in all it’s features. it was very inspiring to see things overbuilt. i can probably attribute this sort of concept to my bookshelf design.

multiple things got in the way and eventually i lost interest in developing my cad model, hence materials were never purchased and the bookshelf was never built. and those books lying on the floor began to stare at me, the authors all hissing and booing every time i walked past.

looking at the progress that i made, and what little changes i’d make to finalize my idea, i really don’t think it would take much time to get cracking on it again. i’m thinking some leveling feet and some sort of backing would finish it. and it would push me to start buying the materials and get my hands working on something other than a keyboard and mouse again.