New PV*Sol 2018 is excellent, some small problems.

[jamesbm]

The ability to import buildings from other software is brilliant. It will make complex building shapes much easier to model. I have 2 issue I would love some help with -

 

1. My imported builidngs seem to have a 1 meter restricted area around them. This has stopped me from putting buildings next to each other (see attached image). I can't find a way to change this, can you suggest how to resolve this? would it be possible to add a "deactivate collisions" option like with the standard buildings?

 

2. I have built my first big system with the new features. I have configured all modules and saved but it crashed when I tried to exit the 3D model. On re-opening the file it crashes when I try to enter the 3D model. Is there any way to recover the file? Ideally I don't want to go back to an old backup and re-configure inverters, especially if it is likely to crash again. Any tips?

 

Many thanks

 

James

[developer_ah]

Hello James,

first of all, we are very happy that they like this feature.

Answer 1) Of course you are absolutely right! Since the Boundingboxes of imported 3D-models are rather rough, it can be difficult to push the models together. I have already added the feature for Release 2.

Answer 2) Could you please send the project file to hotline@valentin-software.com, then I can have a look at it.

Many greetings

[jamesbm]

Many thanks for the quick response. I have sent my files on an email as requested.

Great to hear my first issue is due to be resolved in the next release. I have found the same issue in the past with other non standard buildings. It would be great if it was possible to deactivate collisions on all objects.

Hope you can help with my other issue. If there is something I can do differently with the designs to make them more stable let me know. For your reference I have designed the buildings in Sketchup and imported as .dae files including textures.

 

Thanks

 

James

[Kamil Jeznach]

Good point James. I've also tried Sketchup with .dae but unfortunately PVSol crashed every second attempt. I guess there are still some problems with complex building and large objects from Sketchup. PVSol has tendency to missing some parts of the objects (i.e. part of the roof or edge). I hope R2 will improve 3D import. For now I'll try to check another data formats, maybe .dea is the one with problems.

[jamesbm]

Are there any other formats in the free version of Sketchup that will import?

I had the same issue with missing walls. I gave each surface a texture and it seemed to solve the problem. I hope the issues get resolved, importing will be so useful. 

[Augustin Rohr]

Hi James,

you can add a Plugin to SketchUp from the Extension Warehouse, which is called "SketchUp STL". With this plugin I was able to export a file to .stl and import this into PV Sol. Except for the area around the model (which should be fixed now) everything worked fine!

Greetings

Augustin

[jamesbm]

Thanks Augustin that is really useful. I will do a quick test to see if that solves my corrupted file problem.

Still no response from the PVSol team. Hoping to hear soon. 

[developer_mh]

Hi all!

We have compiled a short information sheet for importing 3d models in PV*SOL:

https://www.valentin-software.com/sites/default/files/downloads/sonstiges/en/3d-recherche-rev-01-en.pdf

For Sketchup the following applies:

Quote

SketchUp is a software for creating three-dimensional models and is available in the versions Make and Pro. The free SketchUp Make offers the possibility to export 3D models in * .dae format. Go to File ->
Export -> 3D Model and select COLLADA (* .dae). Before exporting the file, open the options menu and select the following export options:

• Triangulate All Faces
• Export Texture Maps
• Export Edges
• Export Two-Sided Faces

We found out that the import and the shading calculation in PV*SOL works best when the objects in Sketchup are defined as volume objects (this is the case when you see a volume in the object properties in Sketchup).

Hope that helps, if you encounter any problems, please let us know!

Kind regards,

Martin

[Martin]

I cannot for the love of god get this feature to work. I have tried now with 3DS and DAE Collada, which gives me error (see sceenshot).
When I try STL, it also fails, but I don't get any error msg at all. It just loads the file, then gives me a blank dialogue with a question mark in it?

Can you assist?

I have tried another model .DAE which works, but then I get the error "No available surfaces for mounting". So the 3D model shows, but I cannot activate it.

In PVsyst both models work without any problems...

[developer_mh]

Hi Martin,

you can send your models to our technical support (hotline@valentin-software.com) together with your customer number and they will have a look at it.

Kind regards,

Martin

[jamesbm]

After following the steps above it seems to be working for me. Many thanks for your help.

The model does seem to be less stable with even a simple imported building, I have had a lot of crashes.

The last attempt went well, a useful tool I found is the SketchUp extension SolidInspector2. I had been trying in vain for a long time to fix my buiding to have volume. I installed the extension, hit the button and it fixed it instantly.

Thanks for your efforts on the great new feature. Keep up the good work.

[developer_mh]

Hi James,

very nice, thanks for sharing!

Martin

[Pablo]

This new PVSol feature is awesome.

I have the test version and I'm having difficulties to export both standard generated Pix4D model and Drone Deploy maps.

The software freezes always when try to import the 3D model.

Please help!

Pablo

[developer_mh]

Hi Pablo,

thanks a lot for your kind words. Let me recommend our youtube video on Pix4D models to you, perhaps you will find some settings there that will help you out. I think especially the Processing Options of Pix4D are of importance.

 

We also offer technical support for all of our customers, so if you decide to become our customer (which would make us really happy), you can send in your model and have it checked. No guarantee that we can fix it though, as there are a lot things that can get complicated in the world of 3D models.

Kind regards,

Martin