Arcon is a program for architectural and interior design. Arcon - program for architectural design and interior design How to work in the Arcon program

Introducing ArCon 2005

The ArCon program is developed by the German company ELECO Software GmbH. This book will discuss the Russified version of the ArCon+ 8.02 program.

Attention!

Translation of labels for controls, as well as texts of messages of the ArCon program from German into Russian is not always successful, so in the text you may encounter names of buttons that are slightly different from their translation in the program (the meaning, however, remains the same, so there is no confusion should not occur). In addition, individual signatures are not translated (this is not the fault of the translator, but of the German developers ArCon, who did not output all the lines into resource files so that they could be easily replaced during translation). In this case, after the name of the control or any other line in German, the Russian translation will be given in parentheses.

In this chapter, you will first become acquainted with the general principles of working with the program, as well as with the approach implemented by its developers. After this, you will begin to master the interface, which will allow you to further concentrate on working with the program itself, and not on searching and studying the functionality of the required command.

General principle of working with the program

It was noted above that the entire principle of work (design and modeling) with the ArCon program is built on an object-oriented approach. Let's try to figure out what exactly is meant by this name.

Object-oriented modeling

The generally accepted philosophy in most modern graphics systems when creating drawings on a computer is to use the simplest geometric primitives: points, segments and arcs. Using various combinations of the listed primitives, by assigning certain values ​​to their geometric properties (meaning the coordinates of characteristic points, lengths, radii, etc.), as well as using the editing commands built into the program, the user can create an arbitrarily complex image. You could argue that almost any graphics system also contains many more commands for constructing, say, Bezier curves or NURBS curves. However, don’t let this fool you: at the hardware level, all these curves and splines are still translated into a sequential set of segments that approximate the real curve (that is, as close as possible to the actual position of the curve). The approach in three-dimensional solid modeling is approximately the same: a complex three-dimensional object is created through sequential combinations of various basic three-dimensional shapes (cube, sphere, cone, torus, etc.), as well as using basic shaping operations (extrusion, rotation, Boolean operation and etc.).

In most cases, this approach is quite satisfactory for users, since it allows you to create images and models of virtually any shape. However, this comes at the cost of time spent learning functionality graphic system, as well as the time required to create each such drawing or three-dimensional model. The fee, in essence, is not that high, but soon this approach ceased to suit users. The reason for this, first of all, should be considered the fact that when designing, the user creates a model or image of a real (albeit not yet existing) material object. Any such real-world object is endowed with very specific properties that cannot always be conveyed through the image of a regular drawing or 3D model. It should be noted that such a possibility, with the development of means and, accordingly, design requirements, would be far from superfluous. It was this that served as the impetus that forced individual developers to take a slightly different path, as a result of which the object approach was invented.

In object-oriented modeling, the user operates not with the simplest geometric primitives, but with specific objects. For example, when constructing a floor plan of a building, now instead of points, segments and arcs, walls, windows, doors, individual rooms, etc. are used. Each such object is endowed with a certain set of properties that are specified (or assigned by default) when creating an object and are stored in a document file along with the drawing image or the geometry of a 3D model. For windows, these properties may include overall dimensions and description of the window shape (rectangular, semicircular, arched or any other shape), optical properties of the glazing, material and texture of the frame. For walls - the thickness, length and height of the wall, the material of the wall, the texture of the external and internal surfaces, the presence of windows or doors on a given wall, as well as links to objects corresponding to these windows or doors.

In three-dimensional modeling, a 3D scene is also built from individual objects that the system offers the user to choose from. For example, if a certain program is intended for modeling the design of residential rooms or commercial premises, then the database of such a program can be represented by a set of various upholstered or office furniture, cabinets, tables, etc. Each three-dimensional interior object also has specific properties that allow it to be modified in certain limits (change color, configuration, select material and other properties).

There are many benefits to using the object-based approach.

The speed of creating plans and drawings increases by an order of magnitude.

The drawing or model becomes more informative: when selecting (or editing) an object, you can easily determine (replace) its properties, and most of these properties, as a rule, cannot be displayed on a regular drawing or model.

The database of objects is sometimes filled not just with arbitrary, previously prepared, but with completely real objects (for example, real-life pieces of furniture from various companies, materials from specific manufacturers, etc.). In such cases, the program must provide the addresses of supplier companies and manufacturers, to which you can immediately contact and order the necessary materials and other objects immediately after completing the project.

Objects are easy to change and modify, and the program monitors the correctness of setting the values ​​of certain properties (for example, you cannot create a window larger than the dimensions of the wall on which it is placed). This makes your work easier and avoids unintentional mistakes.

The constructed model (drawing) can be presented in the form of a hierarchical tree (Fig. 1.1), which makes it easier to navigate the project, search and edit its individual parts.

Rice. 1.1. An example of a hierarchical representation of a construction plan created based on the object approach

Note

Hierarchical representation is far from new in computer-aided design. However, in this case, the nodes of the tree are not individual parts of the graphic image, which, as a rule, are uninformative and do not carry any semantic load, but specific objects divided according to a certain criterion.

One of the main, but not at all obvious, advantages of the object-oriented approach when creating graphic images is the ability to quickly and fully automatically transition to a three-dimensional image (in other words, the ability to automatically generate a three-dimensional model of the designed object). Taking into account the fact that the set of objects with which the user can operate is in any case limited, and also taking into account the fact that enough information can be included in the properties of each object to get a complete picture of its shape, it becomes possible to implement “raising” a graphic image in 3D without any effort on the part of the user (this is exactly the approach implemented in the ArCon system). As a result, the user almost instantly receives a three-dimensional representation of his project, without spending almost any effort. The resulting three-dimensional model can then be visualized and get a realistic picture or transferred to another system for further editing or engineering calculations. Moreover, in this case the user does not need any special 3D modeling skills at all.

Note

More attention should be paid to this property, since generating a three-dimensional model from drawings has long been a stumbling block for all developers of engineering graphic systems. In fact, in practice, the exact opposite principle is implemented - generating a drawing (essentially a projection of a 3D model) based on a finished model. An attempt to implement the reverse action (transition from a two-dimensional image to 3D) took place in some well-known CAD systems (in particular, in SolidWorks), but it can hardly be called successful. Too strict restrictions are imposed on the two-dimensional image, which does not allow the declared functionality to be applied everywhere. The object approach provides the opportunity to obtain a completed three-dimensional model, of course, taking into account the specifics of specific objects.

Despite the many advantages listed above, the object-oriented approach also has disadvantages.

First of all (and this is obvious) this is the limited set of ready-made objects, as well as the impossibility of changing them arbitrarily. This takes away flexibility from the program, which means that the principle of object-based design can only be applied in specialized systems (such as, for example, ArCon, Professional Home Design Platinum, etc.). Developers of such systems need to thoroughly take into account the specifics of the industry for which the system is intended to automate and solve problems. software, as well as maximizing the ability to customize the properties of the proposed objects.

Here the issue of cost and functionality of the system comes to the fore. If you are 100% sure that a particular specialized program is suitable for your purposes, there should be no doubt when purchasing it. Otherwise, you need to study the functionality in more detail to make sure whether it will be possible to solve the assigned tasks or, in the worst case, you will have to spend money on a “regular” and expensive CAD editor.

The second disadvantage of object-oriented graphical engineering systems is the problem of integration with other graphic systems. It's about not about any problems with data transfer - the exchange of both two-dimensional and three-dimensional information has long been considered a standard for any commercial programs. The essence of the problem lies precisely in the loss of object property values, as well as all hierarchical relationships built between objects. The reason is clear: the system to which you plan to export the project may not support the object approach or may have a list of properties for its own objects that is different from this one. For this reason, when saving a project from the ArCon program to some other format (not an ArCon object), only graphic image.

Note

Looking ahead, I will say that ArCon+ 2005 projects can be exported to various two-dimensional and three-dimensional formats using the File > Export format group of commands (Fig. 1.2). It is important to note that the program supports such well-known data exchange formats as VRML, DXF, the 3ds Max system format, as well as the ability to save the project into an executable EXE file (more on this below).

Rice. 1.2. Supported formats for exporting projects from ArCon

The situation is even worse when importing data from other systems. If they are not brought to a specific format, it is impossible to “take” them into a specialized object system. For example, when importing a drawing from AutoCAD into ArCon, only the image can be loaded. At the same time, ArCon will not be able to independently recognize where in open image windows, doors, walls, etc., and even more so to assign completely reasonable properties to individual objects. This means that further editing of the drawing in ArCon, as well as “raising” it in 3D, is impossible. Importing essentially becomes meaningless, which is why the vast majority of object-oriented design systems do not have functions for reading graphic data from the outside.

However, despite such significant shortcomings, ease of work, and most importantly, the speed and clarity of project implementation prevail. As a result, recently systems like the ArCon program discussed in this book have found wide application in solving various design problems.

The procedure for developing projects in the ArCon environment

The ArCon program, as already noted, is an object-oriented graphic design system designed for the fastest and most convenient design of buildings, residential premises, as well as the development and visualization of their interior.

The ArCon system, being narrow-profile, still covers two different but related areas of design. Firstly, this is the actual design, layout and modeling of various buildings, and secondly, this is everything related to design, both interior and exterior. Considering all of the above, the general principle of operation in the program is divided into two modes: design mode and design mode.

Design mode, or construction mode. Implements the “construction” component of the program functionality and consists of the following sequence of steps.

1. Based on an object-oriented approach, a plan for placing the walls of the modeled building is constructed using the ArCon program.

2. A command is launched to build an object (say, a window), in which the object’s parameters are first configured (shape and size of the window, number of partitions, textures of glass and frames, etc.). Then the object itself is simply placed in the desired place on the building plan (in the case of a window, on one of the walls).

3. Actions similar to those described are repeated for all typical elements of a residential cottage: walls, stairs, ceilings, etc. The necessary geometric and visual settings are set for each object.

Note

At this stage, all actions take place in 2D, that is, all objects are placed on the drawing plan. This means that at first the established visual and geometric settings will not be visible for most objects, but you should still not forget about them at the design stage, since after switching to 3D all defects will immediately become visible.

4. If a multi-story building is being designed, software a new floor is created above or below the current one, after which steps 1–3 are repeated. This creates the required number of floors in the building.

5. The type is selected, as well as various other parameters of the roof of the building; The actual drawing of the roof is done automatically by the program.

6. The plan viewing mode in 3D (sometimes also called design mode) is launched, in which the dimensions of the rooms, the visual location of various objects, etc. are specified. If necessary, you can return to the design mode (to the graphic document) and edit the building plan.

Design mode. Allows you to arrange the interior furnishings of rooms, texturing various surfaces, etc. Consists of the following stages.

1. With the three-dimensional viewing window active, the necessary interior elements (cabinets, tables, lamps, audio and video equipment, heating radiators, etc.) are selected from the catalog of objects and textures of the ArCon program and placed in the rooms of the designed building.

2. If necessary, you can assign textures to various surfaces of three-dimensional objects in the scene (for example, textures to the internal and external surfaces of walls).

3. From the same catalog, exterior elements (objects) are added and placed on the stage: all kinds of plants, garden supplies, elements of a sports ground, etc.

4. All objects are placed properly, after which the orientation and display method of the 3D scene is selected and rendering is performed.

Visualization is the final stage of working on a project, however, any project in the ArCon system can be saved, then opened and edited or modified. The ArCon system for storing data about your own projects has its own file type, which is registered in the operating system when installing the program. ArCon project files have the extension ACP and the icon

The described procedure is the same for all cases, no matter what you are developing in ArCon - a small residential cottage, a multi-story building, or a whole complex of buildings. You will learn more about each stage of working with the program in the following chapters of this book.

Interface and features of ArCon 2005

Before starting to work with the ArCon module, as with any other program, you need to thoroughly familiarize yourself with the interface, system settings and the ability to change both for this program. You already had the opportunity to learn how to work with the program from the previous section. Now we need to figure out how developers implement all this in practice.

The main window of the ArCon 2005 program, which opens immediately after launch, is shown in Fig. 1.3. It contains only two toolbars (one vertical and one horizontal) and three menu items that control system settings and new project settings. Currently, only three buttons are active on the toolbars, allowing you to create new project, launch the project wizard, called Project Assistant in the program, or open (load) a previously saved project.

Rice. 1.3. ArCon 2005 version 8.02

The ArCon program can be called a system that only partially supports a multi-document (multi-window) interface. This is partly because, although it is possible to simultaneously display different data (documents) in separate windows (for example, a window with a graphical 2D representation of a building plan and a window with a 3D model of the same building), working on several projects simultaneously is not possible. This means that when opening or creating any new project, the current project must be saved and closed.

To make almost all the buttons on the toolbars active, you need to create a new project.

Advice

For ease of viewing the interface, you can also download one of the examples supplied with the program - anyway, this chapter will not attempt to edit or create anything. The project files supplied with the program are located in the \ArCon\Projekte folder of the directory where you installed the program (by default, this is the root directory of the C:\ drive).

To create a new project, you can use one of three methods.

Click the New project button

on the horizontal toolbar.

Execute the menu command File > New.

Use the key combination Ctrl+N.

Performing any of the above actions leads to the appearance of the Floor Properties window, in which the created project is configured. The window itself, as well as the functions it provides, will be discussed a little later, for now we will concentrate only on the program interface.

After setting the project settings (in the Floor Properties window, click OK), a document opens with a blank sheet (drawing) of the plan, and the main program window should change significantly and look like in Fig. 1.4. In addition, the system menu is significantly expanded with new sections.

Rice. 1.4. Creating a Project with Default Settings (Construction Mode)

Note

By default, when starting a new project, the window opens in design mode (graphical mode for creating a building plan). However, for previously created and fully developed projects (that is, projects with a completed design part), the window can open in design mode. To switch to design mode, you can use the Design Mode button

on the horizontal toolbar (the button is only available in design mode) or by using the F12 function key.

As already noted, the ArCon program has only two toolbars: vertical and horizontal. Regardless of the mode you are in this moment working, the horizontal toolbar contains buttons and controls that control general settings systems: rollback and repetition of completed actions, scale of presentation of graphical or three-dimensional display, display mode of the constructed building, etc. The vertical toolbar contains commands for creating all kinds of objects when constructing a plan (walls, windows, doors, stairs, etc.), as well as for constructing auxiliary geometry, adding dimensions, placing text on the drawing, constructing longitudinal sections, etc.

Even more commands are collected in sections of the system menu, and note that many of them are not repeated, that is, they are not duplicated by buttons on toolbars, as in most other design systems. This means that the menu commands will also have to be studied thoroughly.

Let's begin a detailed examination of the interface with the toolbar commands, as the most important. For both vertical and horizontal panels, the composition of these commands differs significantly in design and construction modes.

Horizontal toolbar

In design mode, this panel contains commands for document management, scaling, as well as checkboxes for individual modes of displaying project data.

New project

– starting the creation of a new project. If there is an active project in the system at the time the command is called, it will be closed (before this, of course, a request will be issued to save the changes made, if any).

Launching the Project Assistant

– the command calls up the project wizard window, in which, step by step, selecting certain parameters from the proposed settings options, the user creates a building on the plan. This is the fastest and most convenient way to create a new project, which, however, is not very flexible. The Project Wizard itself will be discussed in subsequent chapters.

Note

Do not forget that due to a not entirely successful translation, the names of some commands have been changed to be more literate and readable. Therefore, do not be surprised that the names of some commands do not match the tooltips when you hover over the corresponding button, and do not be surprised by the tooltips themselves.

Insert new plan

– clicking this button also launches the Project Wizard without closing the active plan. Thus, the user gets the opportunity to add new buildings to his project using the same project wizard.

Standard buttons Open project

V detailed description dont need.

– allows you to save the current ArCon project in HTML format to present the development as an Internet page on various websites. It should be fairly noted that few today can boast of such functionality. graphic editor. You will read about how to save and how the created HTML file will be presented after you learn how to create projects in ArCon.

– this command starts the process of printing the contents of the current graphic document. This command can also be called using the Ctrl+P key combination. Be careful because executing this command causes data to be sent to the printer instantly. To configure print settings, use the system menu command File > Print Settings.

– this button opens the file save window and allows you to save the current project as a graphic image. This version of the program supports the following formats:

raster dot file BMP;

JPEG file;

Windows WMF metafile;

Windows EMF extended metafile.

The file type of the saved image is selected in the File type drop-down list of the Picture window.

This command is also available in design mode. In this case, it saves a graphical representation of the building model in the current orientation and with the current presentation settings.

The new kind

– clicking this button leads to the appearance of a new window representing the current project (Fig. 1.5). This function allows you to edit a project in several windows at once, displaying different parts of the plan, different floors of buildings, etc. You can create an arbitrary number of such additional windows and place them however you like within the main program window. You can also create a new view window using the menu command Windows > New View.

Rice. 1.5. Additional project data view window

This command is also supported for a three-dimensional representation of a project in design mode (Fig. 1.6).

Rice. 1.6. Additional view window in design mode

Next command – Volumetric planning of the building

– activates a set of special commands for quickly creating a frame from external walls on the plan, using a specific template. This button is a toggle button. If you click it, the vertical toolbar will take the form shown in Fig. 1.7.

Rice. 1.7. Vertical toolbar with the button pressed Volumetric building layout

Buttons appearing on the vertical panel allow you to quickly create outlines from external walls, thus avoiding the need to use commands to create individual walls. When executing the Three-dimensional building layout command, all currently existing buildings become inactive (displayed in pale gray). After editing the plan in volumetric planning mode (the Volumetric development planning button is not pressed), all buildings and structures will become active again, and the vertical toolbar will return to its normal appearance.

Design Mode

– button to switch the current object to design mode (three-dimensional representation). Don't forget that you can use the F12 function key to switch from construction mode to design mode and back.

Commands Cancel

and Restore

are intended to cancel a previous action or repeat one that has just been undone.

Note

The program provides the ability to cancel or repeat not only last action(the so-called top operation on the stack), but also any of the previously executed or canceled ones. To do this, use the drop-down list (Fig. 1.8), which appears after clicking the triangle to the right of the Cancel or Restore button, respectively.

Rice. 1.8. List of operations that can be canceled for a given session of working with the program

After clicking the Zoom button

Using a rectangular frame stretched by the mouse, you can specify a section of the plan that will be adjusted to the size of the document view window.

Team Show all

sets such a scale, as well as the placement of the plan, in which all its parts are displayed within the dimensions of the presentation window.

The next button after the Show All command is a group of commands for placing the cursor and the origin of the coordinate grid on the plan. This group consists of four teams.

– Set origin

– setting a new position of the origin of coordinates.

– Set the origin of the coordinate grid

– origin of the coordinate grid. The point at which the initial grid node is set is indicated; the remaining nodes are built in all directions with the same step.

– Set the origin and grid

– the command sets a new position of the origin of coordinates, while combining the origin of the coordinate grid with it.

– Set the reference point

– setting the reference point (local coordinate system).

In the ArCon program, almost the entire user interface is built on option buttons.

An option button is a control that gives access to several built-in commands (built-in buttons) grouped together. The variant button looks like a regular toolbar button, except that it displays a small black triangle in the lower right corner. As an icon for such a button, the icon of the button included in it that was called last is displayed. This button is located “at the top” of all others and is considered active in the group. By clicking the mouse button on a variant button, the action of the active (last) command is launched. The sign of a group of commands “hidden” under the current (active command) is a small black triangle in the lower right corner of the active command icon. All commands in a given group are displayed in a small panel that appears when you hover over the active button for the group.

The last called command in the group becomes the active command in the group. To call any other command in the group, you must first hover over the icon of the active command, wait for the auxiliary panel with icons of all commands to appear, and click the button you need (a tooltip will be displayed next to each button when you hover the pointer). The required command will be launched, at the same time its button will automatically become active, and the icon will take the place of the option button icon (Fig. 1.9).

Rice. 1.9. A group of commands for setting the position of the origin of coordinates and the origin of the coordinate grid

Advice

I advise you to pay attention to the method of organizing functional (variant) buttons described above, since it is a standard for the ArCon system interface and will be encountered many times in the future.

Correct architectural representation on/off.

– this button is a switch between the plan display mode in accordance with generally accepted standards when constructing drawings of residential buildings and the mode used in the ArCon program (Fig. 1.10). Changes affect the display of doors, windows, stairs and some other objects. In the correct architectural representation mode (the Correct architectural representation on/off button is pressed), it is best to save the drawing as a bitmap image or print the current plan.

Rice. 1.10. Plan display: the mode used in the ArCon system (a) and the mode of the correct architectural representation (b)

By default, the correct architectural (drawing) representation mode is disabled.

Attention!

In True Architectural View mode, you cannot edit (particularly by dragging feature points with the mouse) or select ArCon objects already placed on the plan.

On/off points

– the command controls the display of a grid of points on the plan image. You can snap to the nodes of this grid (points) when building walls or fixing various objects on the plan.

Auxiliary lines on/off

– using this toggle button, lines of auxiliary geometry objects are shown or hidden on the plan. Auxiliary lines are used to create a sketch of a plan or its individual parts for the purpose of subsequent reference to them when constructing walls and creating various other material objects. Commands for constructing auxiliary geometry in a drawing are collected in a special group of buttons on the vertical toolbar.

Layers on/off

– control the display of layers on the plan.

Landscape show/hide

– enable or disable the display of relief elements on the plan or in the three-dimensional view window. To be fair, it should be said that even if the project indicates elevations of the relief, and also specifies textures (grass, soil) for the area surrounding the cottage, turning on this function in graphical mode has practically no effect on the plan. In contrast, in design mode, the differences between the display of a 3D scene are quite noticeable (Fig. 1.11).

Rice. 1.11. Three-dimensional representation of the project with landscape display enabled (a) and disabled (b)

Advice

Disabling the terrain will allow you to make the basements or floors of the constructed building visible, if they were created in the project. When the landscape display is turned on, they are simply not visible.

Wall shading on/off

– the command provides the ability to show or hide the shading of walls on the plan in design mode.

Show interior furnishings

– This button is always pressed by default. Disabling it removes all interior and exterior objects from the plan (Fig. 1.12), leaving only the building itself (walls, windows, stairs, etc.). The effect of this command also extends to the design mode, allowing you to exclude 3D models of interior and exterior elements from the calculations of a 3D scene.

Rice. 1.12. Display of the floor plan with (a) and without (b) interior furnishings

Roof surface on/off

– this button controls the display of roof contours on the building plan. If it is clicked, then the contours of the slopes and ridges of the roof are outlined in light gray on the plan, otherwise the created roof is simply not displayed (Fig. 1.13). Turning off the roof surface improves the presentation of the building drawing, often making it easier to edit or add various objects to the plan, since when turned on, the outline image of the roof simply clutters the drawing.

Rice. 1.13. A building with the outline of the roof outlined (a) and with the roof displayed disabled (b)

This function, like the previous one, also applies to the design mode (Fig. 1.14).

Rice. 1.14. A building with (a) and disabled (b) roof display in design mode

Like the roof and elements of the interior and exterior furnishings, you can show or hide wooden structures in a building (if such, of course, are used in the project). The Wooden structures on/off button is intended for this purpose.

Labels on/off

– the button is responsible for displaying text labels on the building drawing.

Dimensions on/off

– display of dimensions. Dimensions in the program can be created automatically (for example, when building a wall or when fixing an object in plan) or selectively set by the user using special commands. In design mode, this button is disabled and the dimensions of 3D elements are not displayed.

Conflict Prevention

– when enabled, this button provides control of mutual collisions of objects or collisions between an object and a wall when adding new objects, moving or editing existing ones.

Show/hide sections

– this command is intended to demonstrate sections of a building. Before you can display sections, you must create them using the Define Section command. When the Show/Hide Sections button is pressed, the specified section (or sections - there may be several of them) is displayed directly on the plan in a small rectangular area delimited by a thin red line with red markers at the corners (Fig. 1.15). This area can be freely dragged with the mouse and placed anywhere on the current graphics sheet. If the Show/Hide Sections button is not pressed, the rectangular area with the section image will disappear (but this does not mean that the section itself will disappear).

Rice. 1.15. Section and its display on the plan

You can also resize this rectangular area. To do this, move the mouse pointer to one of the red square markers at the corners of the overall section rectangle and, pressing the mouse button, drag it (Fig. 1.16).

Rice. 1.16. Changing the position and size of the rectangular section display area

The last control element of the horizontal toolbar is not a button, but a drop-down list of floors of the active building on the plan (Fig. 1.17). The selected item in this list corresponds to the active floor in the building.

Rice. 1.17. Dropdown list of active building floors

Note

Elements of the active floor (layout, interior, labels) are displayed in black (clearly highlighted), while elements of all other inactive floors are always drawn in gray (blanked).

To be precise, the drop-down list mentioned above is not the very last horizontal bar control. On the far right side there are two more buttons: 3D viewing window

The first command launches a small modeless window that displays a 3D model of the building at the current stage of execution. This window moves freely within the main program window and in no way interferes with further work with the plan, while always remaining in position on top of other windows. The image in this window can be rotated, zoomed in or out, but cannot be scaled. It follows from this that this auxiliary window serves only for a better visual representation of changes in the plan during its development or editing. The second button is used to call the ArCon program help system. You can use it if you know German well enough.

When you switch to design mode, the set of horizontal toolbar controls does not change, but individual buttons become unavailable (Auxiliary lines on/off, Wall hatching on/off, Labels on/off, Dimensions on/off, Show/hide sections, etc.). In addition, in design mode, another horizontal panel appears - the control panel for the presentation of a three-dimensional image (Fig. 1.18). The buttons and other controls it contains will be described in detail when we'll talk about working in design mode.

Rice. 1.18. 3D View Control Panel

In conclusion, it should be noted that most of the commands that control the display of the plan and its elements are duplicated by the commands of the Display menu (Fig. 1.19).

Rice. 1.19. Display menu commands

In addition, there are other specific commands in this menu that will be discussed later. Now let's move on to studying the commands presented on the vertical toolbar of the main ArCon program window.

Vertical toolbar

The composition of a vertical panel, in contrast to the composition of a horizontal panel, is significantly different for design and design modes. Let's start looking at the commands of this panel that are available to the user in design mode. Please note that this is just a review, not a study of commands. You can learn more about how to work with the most commonly used ArCon functions in subsequent chapters.

A special feature of the vertical toolbar is that it is rich in all kinds of commands - most of them are presented in the form of logically combined groups of buttons (in the program they are called variant buttons). Let me remind you that the sign of a group of buttons is a small black triangle in the lower right corner of the icon of any of the buttons (more precisely, the one that was called last and is currently considered active).

The topmost one is a group of two commands for selecting drawing objects.

– Select element

– activates the mode of selection (selection) of any element in the drawing or three-dimensional representation window (wall, window, any interior element, etc.).

Note

When selecting an object in a drawing, the system may sometimes display a message that you are trying to select an element that, according to the settings, should not be selected. Setting up the list of objects that you can then select on the plan (in other words, setting up the selection filter) is done on the Selected elements tab of the Capture and selection window in design mode (Fig. 1.20). This window can be called up by executing the menu command Options > Program > Capture and Select > In Design Mode or by using the keyboard shortcut Ctrl+Spacebar. By default, not all checkboxes on this tab are selected. I recommend clicking the All button to immediately select all the checkboxes (as in Fig. 1.20), thereby allowing the selection and selection of any plan objects.

Rice. 1.20. Selection filter settings window

– Select area

– allows you to select an arbitrary polygonal area. All objects that are partially or completely inside this area will be selected. To define a selection polygon, you must sequentially specify its vertices by clicking the mouse button at the required points of the plan. To finish specifying points (that is, stop executing the command), press the Esc key.

The next group - Install Walls - is without a doubt considered the most commonly used and consists of the following commands:

– External wall (thickness 30 cm)

– External wall (thickness 24 cm)

– Load-bearing wall (thickness 30 cm)

– Load-bearing wall (thickness 24 cm)

– Non-load-bearing wall (thickness 13.5 cm)

– Non-load-bearing wall (thickness 11.5 cm)

– Lightweight partition (thickness 5 cm)

– Virtual wall

The purpose of each button is clear from its name, except for the last one – the virtual wall. A virtual wall serves to conditionally divide rooms into separate sections (rooms). How to use this tool is up to you.

It is necessary to pause here a little to describe one more interesting feature ArCon program interface. After calling some commands (for example, any of the above for constructing walls in a drawing), another additional panel with its own set of buttons appears next to the vertical toolbar (Fig. 1.21). These buttons provide access to some specific capabilities of the previously called command (in Fig. 1.21 this is the command for building external walls), thus implementing possible options construction of this or that object. This means that the previously called function is not itself a function of constructing or creating a specific object, it just opens access to the specific construction procedures nested within it. One of these additional buttons is always pressed (for walls, the default is the command for continuous wall input). It follows that when the "parent" command is called, you automatically enter one of the default construction modes offered by the system. If you select any other construction option from those proposed on the additional vertical panel, the previous command is automatically canceled.

Rice. 1.21. Additional panel with tool buttons

For each of the commands for constructing external or internal walls, you can use the following construction options.

– Continuous entry of walls

– in this mode, you can sequentially create an unlimited number of interconnected walls, indicating their starting and ending points with the mouse (Fig. 1.22). In this case, the end of each previous wall is considered the beginning of the next one. To stop entering, you must use the Ecs key.

Rice. 1.22. Continuous entry of walls into ArCon

Please also note that after connecting or crossing walls, the program automatically selects a new room on the plan - a room (Fig. 1.23).

Rice. 1.23. Room automatically allocated by the program

Note

Pressing the Esc key interrupts the current wall entry sequence, but does not cancel the continuous wall entry mode, nor does it stop the action of the wall construction command itself. To exit the wall building command, you must press Esc again. To switch to another construction mode, click the corresponding button on the additional vertical toolbar.

– Install a separate wall

– installs a separate wall. The position of the wall is determined by two sequentially indicated points on the plan. After fixing the wall (specifying its end point with a mouse click), the construction of the wall does not continue, but you remain in the current construction mode.

– Install the wall perpendicularly

– a new wall is built strictly perpendicular (Fig. 1.24) to the specified object in the drawing (namely to another wall or to an auxiliary line). After fixing the wall (second click), as in the previous command, the construction of the wall is interrupted.

Rice. 1.24. Mode for building a wall perpendicular to another wall

– Install the wall at an angle

– the command is similar to the previous one with the difference that the new wall is laid at an arbitrary angle to the base wall or the specified auxiliary line.

– Parallel wall

– this function allows you to build walls parallel to specified rectilinear plan objects.

– Middle wall

– a wall is created in the middle between two specified points.

– Parallel wall in the distance

– the command is similar to the Parallel wall command, but allows you to set the exact distance between the base object and the wall being created.

The next command – Round walls – is intended for building round walls of various configurations. There are several ways to do this, just like for regular walls, presented on the additional vertical toolbar.

– Rounding two walls

– the command is used to construct a fillet between two walls (not necessarily intersecting).

The starting and ending points of the arc can only be fixed on existing walls, otherwise it will be impossible to build a round wall in this mode (Fig. 1.25).

Rice. 1.25. Constructing a rounding of two walls

Note

You have probably already noticed that when creating any walls (both straight and circular), after specifying their starting point, they are drawn with thin gray lines and change their shape when you move the mouse pointer. This method of displaying objects that are being created but not yet fixed is called phantom display. Phantom mapping allows you to see the shape of an object even before it is created (finally recorded in the drawing), which greatly facilitates the designer's decisions regarding the shape and placement of the created object. Phantom display is also used when constructing or placing any other objects on the plan: walls, windows, doors, stairs, etc.

– Simple arch (wall extension)

– a curved section of a house wall is built on an extension of one of the walls, as a result the wall does not close. The arch itself is built at two points, one of which is the end of the specified wall, the other is specified by the user by clicking the mouse button (Fig. 1.26, A).

– Arc on the wall

– the action of the command is similar to the previous one, only the arc is created by three points and the extreme point of the arc is not fixed at the edge of the wall (that is, the wall is not extended, but is rounded by an arc (Fig. 1.26, b)).

Rice. 1.26. Constructing an arc: extending the wall (a) and arcing onto the wall (b)

– Free circle segment (3P)

– the wall is built in the form of an arc, and first its extreme points are indicated, and then you “stretch” the arc to the required size and fix the third point (thus determining the radius of the segment).

– Free circle segment (MP)

– the wall, as in the previous case, is built in an arbitrary place on the plan in the form of an arc, for which the start and end points are specified, but the radius is determined not by the placement of the third point of the arc, but by fixing the center of the arc (segment).

– Circle through the center point

– a closed circular wall is constructed by specifying the center of the circle and a point on the circle itself (determining the radius).

– Circle by 3 points

– the command action is similar to the previous mode, only the circle is constructed through three arbitrary points on the plan sheet. Of course, the points should not lie on the same line.

– Spline walls

– the team appeared only in latest version program and allows you to build walls in the form of spline curves. After specifying the characteristic points of the spline in the drawing, you should press the Enter key twice (the first time all points are fixed, the second time the creation of the wall is confirmed), in the window that appears (Fig. 1.27) select the type of wall, set its thickness, as well as the length of the segment (segment) , which will approximate this spline. As a result of all the actions performed, you can get various buildings with curved walls (Fig. 1.28).

Rice. 1.27. Window for setting parameters of spline walls

Rice. 1.28. Rooms created using the Spline Walls command

Install the support beam

and Install the superstructure

– commands for constructing load-bearing beams on the ceiling or under the floor of the corresponding room (Fig. 1.29).

Rice. 1.29. Image of the sub-beam and super-beam in the drawing (a) and in the three-dimensional model (b)

The Door command group is represented by an option button

and contains a huge number of procedures for placing various types of doors on the plan (Fig. 1.30).

Rice. 1.30. Macro buttons for building doors in the ArCon program

You will learn more about various types of doors, their configuration and placement in the following chapters. The appearance of some of the ready-made door objects offered in the program is shown in Fig. 1.31.

Rice. 1.31. Doors: plan view (a) and three-dimensional model (b)

When placing doors on the drawing (the selected door is simply fixed by clicking the mouse button on any of the walls), three options are possible, represented by separate buttons on the additional vertical panel.

– Random placement

– the door is fixed in the user-specified position on the wall (the center of the door coincides with the point specified by the mouse). This option is always offered by default.

– Position the door at a distance

– the door is placed at a specified distance from the reference point (set immediately after calling this command).

– Position the door in the middle

– the door is located strictly in the middle of the specified wall.

The next option button, Windows, implements the construction of various types of windows (Fig. 1.32). The methods for placing windows on walls are no different from the methods described above for doors. You will learn more about working with this command, as well as about the types of windows offered in the system and the possibilities for editing them in the following chapters.

Rice. 1.32. Macro buttons for building windows

Commands for building various types of stairs are also collected in one option button (Fig. 1.33).

Rice. 1.33. Commands for building different types of stairs

All stairs in the program are divided into wooden and concrete. On the panel (see Fig. 1.33) in the first column there are all kinds of stairs made of wood (the pictograms are highlighted in yellow), in the second column there are the same types, but made of concrete (the pictograms are highlighted in pale gray). In addition, at the very bottom (the pictogram is located below and to the left) there are stairs from the real German manufacturer KENNGOTT.

Structurally, you can create the following types of stairs (according to the placement of buttons in Fig. 1.33).

– Straight staircase (wood) and Straight staircase (monolith) – using these commands, a straight staircase is created in the building from wood or concrete, respectively. For construction, three points are sequentially indicated: the first determines the anchor point of the staircase on the plan (the lower right point of the first step), the second - the length of the staircase in the horizontal direction (you seem to stretch the staircase), the third point specifies the width of the staircase (steps). The default stair height is determined by the given floor height. After fixing the last point, a window for setting the parameters of the created staircase will appear on the screen. This window is the same for both concrete and wooden stairs.

Note

Setting the parameters of stairs will be discussed in Chapter. 4, when we talk about working in design mode in more detail.

– Staircase with landing, L-shaped (wood) and Staircase with landing, L-shaped (monolith) - these two teams create an L-shaped staircase (Fig. 1.34). To build this type of stairs, you also need to specify three points that define the rectangle into which the projection of the stairs will be inscribed on the plan. The height, as for all other types, is set by default to the height of the floor. After fixing the last point on the screen, the L-shaped staircase settings window will appear.

Rice. 1.34. L-shaped staircase: plan view (a) and three-dimensional model (b)

– Staircase with landing, U-shaped (wood) and Staircase with landing, U-shaped (monolithic) – these commands create wooden or concrete U-shaped stairs. The entry and settings are practically no different from L-shaped stairs, it’s just that the landing is much wider (Fig. 1.35).

Rice. 1.35. 3D model of a U-shaped staircase

– L-shaped staircase (wood) and L-shaped staircase (monolith) – an L-shaped staircase with a bend, differs from the usual L-shaped one only in that at the turning point there is a slight bend, but there is no landing (Fig. 1.36). In the staircase settings, its length before bending and length after bending are specified (from where the bending radius is calculated). To place it on the plan, you also need to specify three points that do not lie on the same line.

Rice. 1.36. 3D model of an L-shaped staircase with a bend

– Arched staircase (wood) and Arched staircase (monolith) – using these commands, circular staircases are built. To construct, you need to specify four points (dimensional rectangle). In the staircase parameters, in addition to those common to all types of stairs, you also set the radius of the circular staircase and the angle of the staircase segment.

– U-shaped staircase (wood) and U-shaped staircase (monolith) – U-shaped staircase with bends (without landing). Its structure is the same as a regular U-shaped staircase, only with bends on the landing, as in an L-shaped staircase with a bend.

– Spiral staircase, with a central post

– this command creates a spiral (spiral) staircase (Fig. 1.37).

Rice. 1.37. Spiral staircase: plan view (a) and three-dimensional model (b)

(Concrete platform) – a concrete sloping platform is being built in front of the terminal or hangar.

– Polygonale Wendertreppe (Holz) and Polygonale Wendertreppe (Beton) – these two commands provide the ability to build a staircase consisting of arbitrarily oriented straight sections (in other words, along an arbitrary polyline).

Install the ceiling

– the command is used to form polygon-shaped floors over individual rooms or entire floors.

Set up a platform

– the action of the command is similar to the Set Slab command, only a polygonal platform is created at the base of the floor.

Install a balcony

– using this command you can quickly create a balcony near one of the external walls of the cottage being developed (Fig. 1.38).

Rice. 1.38. 3D model of a balcony

Install railings

– the purpose of this command is to create free (not associated with stairs) railings and barriers.

Insert object

is a very powerful command that allows you to insert various objects from the ArCon object catalog into a plan in design mode. The thing is that previously adding interior and exterior objects was possible only in design mode. To insert an object, simply call the command and place the object on the plan by clicking in the desired place with the mouse button. To select the object you want to insert, click right click mouse on this button, as a result of which the Select Object window should appear (Fig. 1.39), from which the required object is selected.

Rice. 1.39. Adding Interior and Exterior Objects in Design Mode

The Columns option button (Fig. 1.40) is represented by a set of commands for creating various columns in the project: from the simplest (round or rectangular in cross-section) to very complex, profile ones.

Rice. 1.40. Macro buttons for building columns

The Insert chimney command group (Fig. 1.41) is used to add one of the proposed types of chimney to the building being designed.

Rice. 1.41. Buttons for building chimneys

Building a roof in ArCon is implemented through a group of commands combined into one option button.

Attention!

To build the roof of a house, you must first create a new floor, otherwise the roof will simply cover everything built on the current floor.

Let's look at the basic commands for building roofs of various types:

Freeform roof

Shed roof

Gable roof

Hip roof

Half hip roof

Mansard roof with gable

Mansard-hip roof

Spherical roof

In most cases, for the normal construction of a roof, one first command is enough (the other three are, as it were, special cases of it and are used to create roofs for various auxiliary structures near the house).

The construction itself is implemented by three different ways, presented on an additional vertical toolbar.

Rectangular roof contour

– the roof is built along the contour of a rectangle specified by the user. The rectangle is stretched by the mouse immediately after calling the command.

Automatic contour detection

– the contour of the roof is determined automatically by the contour of the walls of the building (upper floor). This is the most optimal way of construction, especially for houses with a fairly complex plan configuration.

Polygonal roof outline

– when choosing this mode, you manually specify a polygon along the contour of which the roof will be built. This method is convenient if you need to create a roof of some special contour - not rectangular, but also not exactly repeating the contour of the building. A polygon is defined by specifying its vertices; after specifying the vertices, you must press the Esc key or right-click. Be careful, the last vertex of the polygon will be the point on the sheet where the mouse pointer was at the moment you pressed the Esc key. In other words, when you plan to finish entering a polygon, you need to position the mouse pointer at the point where the last vertex of the polygon should be, and only then press Esc (or right-click).

The program provides a group of commands for constructing various dormer windows (small windows on the roof slopes). The buttons that implement the construction of such elements are collected in a single option button (Fig. 1.42), which is located under the option button for constructing roofs. To create dormer windows, you need to specify three (for some types, two are enough) points that determine the dimensions of the window placed on the roof. After this, a window will appear on the screen with additional settings for a specific type of dormer window. The system automatically draws the dormer window on the plan and in the three-dimensional model.

Rice. 1.42. Command for constructing windows on roof slopes

Of course, such windows (Fig. 1.43) can only be built after the roof has been created on the building.

Rice. 1.43. Examples of dormer windows

In addition to dormer windows, the program has a large number of functions for creating ordinary roof windows (Fig. 1.44).

Rice. 1.44. Commands for creating windows directly in the roof of a house

The next group contains four commands that implement various aspects of working with the landscape around the designed building.

– Mark the land

– a rectangular area is allocated for the land around the house, which can be assigned a certain texture (for example, grass or soil).

– Determine the area of ​​the site

– an area is allocated for tiles, gravel or any other coverings that can be placed within the land plot.

– Determine the hole on the site

– the command creates rectangular holes in the earth’s surface (land plot). Using this function, you can organize entrances to various semi-basements, etc., provided that the terrain around the house has already been created.

– Set elevation mark

– after calling the command, a point is indicated, then the height of this point is specified in the window that appears.

Using the listed commands, you can form various landscape features around the building being developed (such, for example, as in Fig. 1.6 or 1.11, A).

The ArCon system, in addition to organizing the landscape, offers a number of functions for shaping the relief. All of them are collected in an option button (Fig. 1.45) and allow you to create following features relief:

– entrance – a piece-shaped level elevation (for example, the entrance to a garage);

– edges (breaks);

– smooth ups and downs;

– corner elevations.

Rice. 1.45. Relief formation macro commands

The Auxiliary Geometry group of buttons provides access to commands for constructing ordinary geometric primitives and shapes, which can then be used as a reference when constructing more complex objects. This group includes the following commands:

– Auxiliary line

– Auxiliary segment

– Auxiliary rectangle

– Auxiliary circle

– Auxiliary ellipse

Using the Insert Text command

You can place any text on the plan sheet.

The Dimensions option button allows you to place dimensions of various types on the plan (Fig. 1.46).

Rice. 1.46. Option button for sizing

Defining a cut

– after calling this command in the plan, you must specify the start and end points of the cut line. If the Show/Hide Sections button is pressed on the horizontal toolbar, then a rectangular area with a section made along the specified line will immediately appear in the drawing (see Fig. 1.16).

Edit walls

– this command is a shell for a group of commands for editing walls, which open when called on an additional vertical panel. With these commands you can easily extend, connect, break and move walls already built in the project.

Most of the vertical toolbar commands in design mode are duplicated by the Insert menu commands.

In design mode, the composition of the vertical toolbar is completely different.

Selecting an object

– the purpose of the command is the same as in the design mode, namely, transferring the system to the object selection mode.

Choose all

– the command selects all objects present in the three-dimensional scene (here we mean interior and exterior objects, but not architectural elements). When a 3D object is selected, a green dimensional parallelepiped is drawn around it (Fig. 1.47).

Rice. 1.47. Selected 3D object

Group

– the command combines selected plan objects into a group. In this case, the combined element (group) is moved, edited and scaled as a single object. The dimensional parallelepiped for a group covers all objects included in it. The button is active only when at least two separate objects are selected in the 3D view window.

Cancel grouping

– splits the selected group into components (individual objects).

Copy

– this group of commands contains two buttons, the first of which launches the command to copy the selected object, and the second allows you to create an array of copies of the object.

Delete

– removing the selected object from the scene.

The group of buttons for rotation relative to orthogonal axes is represented by three variant buttons, each of which is responsible for rotating the selected object or group around the corresponding coordinate axis (Z, X or Y). All option buttons have the same composition and appearance(Fig. 1.48).

Rice. 1.48. Option button for rotating the selected object

As you can see, the commands of this group of buttons allow you to rotate a three-dimensional object by an angle of 90°, 45° or 30°, as well as freely rotate it around a coordinate axis.

Note

In the ArCon system it is accepted that for all objects in normal position The Z axis is directed upward.

One of the commands (namely for the most frequently used rotation around an axis normal to the foundation) is given separately. This command is called Arbitrary rotation around the Z axis. In the same group as it is the Arbitrary rotation command (Fig. 1.49), which provides the ability to freely rotate a selected object in space.

Rice. 1.49. A group of commands for rotation around the Z axis and for arbitrary spatial rotation

Selected objects/groups to loading position

– pressing this button moves all selected objects of the three-dimensional scene to the initial position (that is, to the position in which these objects were initially installed immediately after insertion from the object catalog).

Mirror

– using this function you can mirror an object or group of objects.

Align command group (Fig. 1.50) – allows you to align the dimensional parallelepipeds of selected objects in one of the following ways:

– align to front, back, left or right;

– place all objects in the middle between the extreme upper and lower, right and left, or rear and front dimensional points of the objects;

– arrange objects evenly in length, width or height.

Rice. 1.50. Alignment command group

On off. lamps

– turns on or off all 3D scene lights. The button is active only if lamps have been added to the project.

Select texture/material

– pressing the button switches the system to the texture selection (borrowing) mode. After calling the command, you must click on the object (or part of it, if different textures are applied to the object) to save the texture to the memory buffer.

Transfer selected texture/material

– transfers a texture from the memory buffer to the specified object or part of it, thereby replacing the current texture. This command should only be called after calling the Select Texture/Material command and borrowing a texture from another object.

Calculation of lighting for a separate room

– lighting calculations and visualization of a separate room are carried out.

– saving the selected object in O2C format.

Create Plate (PIC) – the command is intended to create a polygonal platform at the base of the current floor.

ArCon modellier funktionen (ArCon modeling tool)

– this command opens access to a subroutine (Fig. 1.51) for modeling individual objects, which can then be used in the program. This application has quite powerful functionality and is called AcMod. Using the AcMod module, you can independently develop various three-dimensional models of interior and exterior objects, which will then be saved in a common database and used on an equal basis with standard ArCon objects.

Rice. 1.51. AcMod module for developing your own 3D objects

You will learn more about the ArCon modeling tool in subsequent chapters.

You can also call most of the commands listed above that are available in design mode using the program’s system menu. All of them are represented by menu commands in two groups Editing and Settings.

This concludes the consideration of the interface and basic capabilities of the ArCon program, but let’s begin full-time work It's still early. The next chapter will teach you how to correctly and flexibly configure the system for yourself in order to achieve maximum performance and the desired design effect. Only then will we move on to developing full-fledged projects in the ArCon environment.

Currently, many private consumers, when renovating an apartment, are wondering about creating a preliminary design for a bathroom, living room, bedroom and kitchen using 3D modeling solutions. Some will say that creating a three-dimensional project of an apartment before renovation is difficult and problematic, but, in reality, there are no fundamental difficulties here and cannot be. Let us note right away, so as not to seem unfounded, that in order to develop a project on a computer, you can use the simplest Arkon program, having first downloaded it for free in the distribution kit and carried out a simple installation, which takes, at most, a couple of minutes of precious time.

The free Arkon program I presented with a brief announcement above guarantees ease of creating a three-dimensional project of an apartment, office or any other space, immediately after installation and pre-downloading of the installer. Absolutely everyone likes this product among users who want to create a three-dimensional project on their own without the need to use any special software. In the Arkon program, which you can download for free from the website portal, you can perform the most complex tasks with achieving a result that completely meets your personal interests and expectations.

Download the Arkon program for free at maximum speed

Ease and convenience in working with Arkon, after free download it is guaranteed to be intuitive user interface and the presence of keys on the control panel for quickly and efficiently achieving goals. Today, this product is used everywhere in the creation of design solutions for apartments, as well as cottage houses, in accordance with the established lists of requirements for completely reputable and qualified designers. Believe me, there is nothing complicated in working with the Arkon program, which was previously downloaded and installed on your computer for free, and as usual there cannot be. The main thing is to know the basics of three-dimensional modeling, about them separately.

Accordingly, if you have basic skills and knowledge in the field of architectural modeling, you will appreciate the benefits of the Arkon program using the link to free download further and perform a simple installation procedure on your Personal Computer, running under the latest, eighth version of the operating system.

In the final lines of my little review about the popular and frequently used application for 3D modeling today, I want to say that, given the colossal number of functions and options, it is a very serious competitor to 3D Max, although this is a completely different topic for conversation.

Key Features

• large catalogs with objects and textures;
• arrangement of objects (with the possibility of their arbitrary movement, rotation, cancellation of previous actions);
• putting inscriptions and dimensions on the plan;
• design of multi-storey structures and structures;
• lighting development;
• design and engineering of roofs, windows, stairs, doors, walls;
• editing structural elements;
• setting heights and slopes of the terrain;
• viewing in 2 and 3D;
• import/export of projects, etc.

Advantages and disadvantages

Advantages:

• free;
• intuitive graphical interface in Russian;
• varying colors, lighting, material structures;
• high-quality 3D visualization;
• the opportunity to see the final result at the design stage with the help of virtual walks through the created premises;
• constantly updated library of objects and structures;
• use of additional modules.

Flaws:

• not detected.

Alternatives

Sweet Home 3D. Free program, which makes it possible to create an interior design and evaluate it in three-dimensional image. Contains an expanded catalog with various models. Helps create a house plan, edit parameters, and print the created project.

Sculptris. Free app for 3D modeling. Allows you to fashion various models using the sculpting method, use structures, and a special mask system.

Work principles

To start creating a project, use the corresponding button on the horizontal toolbar. In the window that appears, you can set the parameters of the first floor of your building.

First floor parameters

The horizontal panel contains buttons that control general settings. All commands for creating objects can be found on the vertical panel:

Objects panel

Pop-up tips will help you understand the symbols of the buttons. First, the interior and exterior walls should be built. For each of the commands you can use different construction modes:

• continuous input:

Drawing walls

• installation of a separate wall;
• walls at an angle;
• rounding two walls, etc.

Previous actions can be canceled using the button on the horizontal panel:

Control Panel

The next button is for installing beams.

The “Doors” button group allows you to install doors of various types:

Door installation

The same goes for buttons for building a roof, stairs, windows, setting terrain, etc.

To save the project, go to the “File” menu, select “Save”.

For more information on how to create your own projects in the program, watch the video:

ArCon is a simple application that will allow you to create a detailed design plan for a house, apartment, or cottage.

Arcon - the most simple program for mastering by a person who has never done 3D modeling in his life and has no experience in other design and visualization programs. At the same time, Arcon allows you to get pretty good results. You can study it using .

Of course, the program is simple and inferior to many well-known, more expensive analogues in terms of the number of functions. For example, in Arkona it will be difficult to prepare normal drawing documentation in accordance with all the rules and GOSTs. But in terms of pleasure from the work process, Arkon comes first (of course, if the task is not for projects with strict requirements and complex architecture).

The Arkon program is intended for design, design and three-dimensional visualization. The program allows you to first create a detailed floor plan, and then see the created room in a three-dimensional image. This allows you to more clearly discuss architectural ideas with your colleagues and loved ones, as well as communicate more effectively with clients.

Unlike other CAD systems, Arkon was developed specifically for architects to solve issues related to the creation of various buildings and structures.

In design mode you can quickly create 2D plans. Create and place Walls, Doors, Windows and other elements. The program will allow you to design and place roofs and stairs of various configurations in the project.

For the Arcon program, in addition to being part of huge catalogs of objects and constantly releasing new libraries of objects and textures, the manufacturers and sellers of furniture, decorative items and plumbing fixtures make 3D models of their products freely available on the Internet. Here is an example of some of them:

Before buying furniture, you can virtually arrange it. See how the room will look, whether the selected furniture is suitable in size, style, color, etc.

Features of the program "Arkon - visual architecture"

Design:

country house design

creation of multi-storey buildings and structures

roof editor

roof window editor

staircase editor

window and door editor

lighting

curved walls

virtual walls (invisible)

top/bottom beams

columns/supports
Landscape:

setting different heights and terrain slopes

View:
2D/3D
free movement in 3D

Import Export:
HPGL, DXF and DWG
creating video in AVI format
support for o2c objects
saving photorealistic images with ray tracing
export o2c objects

In the Arcon program, you can create a design for a designed room, work with individual elements and apply inscriptions and dimensions on the plan. The designed room can be viewed in a high-quality 3D image and a virtual walk through the created project can be taken.

You can use textures and interior items from libraries in your project. It is possible to view the created interiors and exteriors with photorealistic quality.

Visual architecture ArCon+ 2005.02 Rus (Russian) + update to 2005.03 + macros + Russian help + textbook.
Download for free.

I suggest you download a free design and visual architecture development program.
The ArCon+ 2005.02 (0.3) program is intended for professional and not only design, design and three-dimensional 3D viewing of your projects. This product makes it possible not only to simulate a project, but also to then view the creation in a photorealistic 3D graphic image.

operating system: Windows
Archive size: 395 MB
After unzipping the archive you will get 676 MB
Free disk space must be 700 MB
Archived textbook

For successful work it is better to use ArCon+ 2005- this version of the program has all the necessary tools. Regarding the versions of ArCon Eleco+ 2006 Pro and further up to the version of ArCon Eleco+ 2009 Pro. These packages are designed for the professional designer or architect.
In general, the ArCon program line is as follows, i.e. versions: 3; 3.5; 4; 5; 6; 6.5; 2003; +2004; +2005, not taking into account intermediate developments. And the prefix Eleco indicates that distribution rights belong to Eleco (more recently, part of the rights belongs to this corporation).
Nowadays people mostly work with 2003 versions; +2004; +2005. Programs with "+" are professional, and without - stripped down.

ArCon - modern, dynamically developing software in the field of architectural design, modeling, design, intended for architects, designers, manufacturers of finished houses and furniture, builders, realtors, in a word, for everyone involved in design, modeling, design and construction. ArCon+ 2005 is the latest truly workable version for which there is at least some kind of crack - for later versions there is no crack at all.

The Arkon+ program is home design, interior design, design of stairs, windows, doors, roofs, landscape design, bathroom design, office design, kitchen design. ArCon+ 2005 allows you to more clearly discuss architectural ideas with your customers or clients.

Features of the ArCon+ 2005.02 (.03) program:

• Entering general plans
  Inserting templates for free geometry projects using raster and auxiliary lines.
• 
  Staircase design
  Automatic design of L-shaped, U-shaped, straight, spiral, semi-circular staircases, spiral staircases with a central post, including handrails. All stairs can be considered as monolithic or as wooden structures. For each staircase, you can define the bottom and top level; By entering an angle, you can create a trapezoidal lower or upper step. It is possible to install ramps.
• Roof structure
  Free design of single-pitch, multi-pitch, hip and half-hip roofs, as well as combinations of these roof shapes, including roof covering, rafter structures and eaves parts.
• Dormer windows
  Three supported various types dormer windows (including roof truss design). The front wall of the dormer can be located on the ceiling (non-built-on window) or extend to the surface of the roof (built-on dormer window).
• Planning and construction of an arbitrary number of floors, including basement and attic floors. Floors can be turned on/off. The walls are created as a 3D model, the intersection of the walls is built automatically. It is now possible to create semicircular/circular walls. Windows and doors are selected from the proposed list; it is possible to design windows. Overlappings are installed automatically. Ability to select a group of elements in design mode for removal.
• Complex interior in 2D and 3D mode, including furniture, wallpaper, floor coverings, which are selected from a catalog containing more than 3,000 objects and textures.
• 2D editor for working with two-dimensional objects in design mode.
• Repeated copying of elements and objects
  Selected elements are copied indicating the following parameters: quantity, distance, direction. In design mode, windows, doors, columns, chimneys, auxiliary lines, and texts are copied in this way; in design mode - interior items, elements.
• Objects and textures
  The supported texture file formats are Windows BMP, JPEG, TIF, PCX, and PGN files.
• Rotating objects
  Arbitrary rotation of objects in space is possible.
• 3D visualization
  Walk indoors and outdoors in real time, day and night; use of scaling and arbitrary rotation functions. Control of conflicts during traversal, selection of the mode of passage through walls and furniture.
• Material Editor allows you to process materials available in the catalog and create new ones based on them.
• Terrain modeling
  The landscape of the area is described, for this purpose altitude points are specified. You can specify excavations on the terrain (for example, for swimming pools). It is possible to select areas on the territory that are assigned different textures.
• Taking into account the position of the sun and moon
  Using a special dialog, the geographic width and longitude are set. Time determines the exact position of the sun or moon, which may be visible in the background. Depending on the time of year and day, the intensity of daylight is determined. On plans and in 3D, the orientation of the object to the cardinal points is specified.
• Photorealistic image using ray tracing method. The speed of the tracing process increases significantly on a computer that has multiple processors (up to four processors).
• Labels, sizing and output
  You can use individual sizes or dimensional chains, move size numbers, change the font type and size. The output is carried out for each floor in accordance with the scale, including frames and inscriptions. Project data can be transmitted via Internet, eMail.
• Foreground bitmap
  In design mode, a Bitmap can be displayed anywhere in the foreground, which also appears on the created pictures and videos.
from the finite element system MicroFe&STARK ES, including from the Internet.

For this product to work, it needs to be Russified and registered, and if possible, then updated to 2005.03.

Download | Download the ArCon+ 2005.02 program for design, design and three-dimensional 3D viewing of your projects:

• http://www.turbobit.net/... (how to download

Russifier, update to 2005.03 and key to the program
ArCon+ 2005.02 with auto-installation.

After installing the above program, you need to install the update, crack and registration.

Download | Download crack, medicine (key, keygen, serial, crack, activation, serial), update for ArCon+ 2005.02 with automatic installation on your computer

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