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Arch-E Kit for MODO

Image by Jeff Coppard, JC3D

Improve your arch-viz and related workflows with a set of 21 custom-built tools.

Works with

  • modo 10 -to- modo 16

Compatibile with

  • Windows 10 and 11
  • Linux
  • macOS: Sierra -to- Big Sur only. 12+ NOT supported.

This kit is no longer available.

Sweep Profile

A valuable tool that has many uses outside of arch-viz work, Sweep extrudes individual or groups of profiles (polygon islands and open-beziers) along a path of selected points, creating UVs (segmented or peeled) and part-names for easy selection and texturing.

Useful for a wide variety of tasks,

  • Window and door trim or moulding;
  • Fascia, rafters, soffits, drip edges and some types of guttering;
  • Baseboards (skirting boards) and other mouldings around the inside of a room;
  • Door liners and door stops;
  • Window and picture frames;
  • Shiplap cladding;
  • Curved walls;
  • Architectural window shades;
  • Plus much, much more...

Sweep away mundane tasks »

Sweep tool for modo

Profile: Rebuild and Centre

Two plugins that help you to prepare polygon profiles for use with Sweep.

You can use them to,

  • Visualize and set UV seam position;
  • Remove excess points;
  • Add inset points ready for SubD smoothing;
  • Centre and flatten profiles.

Plastic surgery for your profiles »

Profile Rebuild tool for modo

Stairs Tool

Effortlessly create one or two flights of stairs using the twelve pre-made styles and eight staircase layouts. This tool provides you with more than 25 tweak-able attributes, as well as, UV and part-name generation.

You can use it to create,

  • Wooden staircases with tread and riser boards;
  • Concrete precast and slab staircases;
  • Entrance and garden steps.

Step-up your game »

Stairs tool for modo

Light From Polygons

Quickly place lights at the location of selected polygons

You can use it for,

  • Creating modo lights aligned to surfaces; e.g. downlights, lamps, etc..
  • Concept art; e.g. placing point lights to simulate distant light sources.

Lighting: The Way »

Lighting tools for modo

Poly To Window

Creates fixed-light windows in the shape of selected polygons and auto-magically aligns them; upto 30 at once. Ideal for many projects, from contemporary arch-viz to sci-fi.

You can use it for,

  • Contemporary, asymmetric, fixed-light windows;
  • Arched, round, triangular and rounded-corner windows;
  • Sci-fi windows.

From the Polygon, the Window Came Forth »

Poly-to-Window tool for modo

Multi-Window

A highly tweak-able plugin that reproduces a wide range of window designs. Ideal for arch-viz, interior visualisations and set extensions.

You can use it for,

  • Outward opening casements;
  • European-style inward opening casements;
  • French-style casements;
  • Fixed Lights (individual and banks/grids);
  • Medium-sized, straight curtain walls;

More windows than most. How to use multi-window »

Multi-Window tool for modo

Shelf Maker

Generates floating-style shelf arrangements, with UVs, using aesthetically pleasing mathematical scales.

You can use it for,

  • Shelves for holding books and other small objects.
  • Making visually interesting shelf arrangements; e.g. with box shelves.

No assembly required »

Shelf Tool for modo

Picture Frame Maker

Generates picture frames, with or without glass, in various shapes, along with UVs and polygon-part names.

You can use it for,

  • Pictures, paintings or mirrors to enchance interior visuals;
  • A glass-fronted box to hold plants or curios;
  • A starting point for creating more complex picture frame designs.

Be the fairest (and laziest) of them all »

Picture Frame tool for modo

Vector Scale

A super handy tool that enables you to interactively scale geometry, in one or mesh item layers, based on a single known length or by a multiplication factor or by bounds. In addition, choose to centre the geometry around the world origin and/or rest it on the ZX ground plane.

You can use it for,

  • Scaling geometry (e.g. polylines from imported architectural drawings) to a precise size based on a single known length;
  • Scaling any geometry in one or more mesh layers to a given size, along one or more dimensions;
  • Resting one or more mesh layers on the ground plane, either individually or grouped;
  • Centering one or more mesh layers around the world origin, either individually or grouped.
Vector Scale for modo.

Mesh Align A-to-B

Moves all the geometry within a mesh item (at the component level; no item transforms) from a source point to a target point or the world origin. Allows per-axis alignment using novel tool handles and supports modo's 'select through' workflow.

You can use it for,

  • Alignment of polyline drawings (e.g. plans, elevations) to one another;
  • Aligning one mesh to another along one or more of the major axes.
Mesh align tool for modo.

Select by Height

Selects all geometry that matches the height of a pre-selected vertex, edge or polygon. In addition, this command enables the selection of geometry within a range of heights, as well as, selecting all geometry above or below the height of a selected vertex, edge or polygon.

You can use it for,

  • Easy selection of geometry based on height or level above the ground; e.g. selection prior to using move or extrude on walls, floors and window openings;
  • Checking elements of your model to ensure they are positioned at the same height; e.g. walls, floors and window reveals.
Select by height command, for modo.

Select by Normal

Selects all polygons whose normal matches that of a previously selected polygon, and permits refinement of the selection based on a variety of filters; e.g. you can limit selection to polygons in the same plane as the target polygon.

You can use it for,

  • Easy selection of walls or other polygon surfaces based on matching normals;
  • Creating a polygon selection prior to applying materials, projecting UVs and more.
Select by Normal command, for modo.

Point Align A-to-B

Align a selection of points to the last selected point, along one or more axes, with a given amount of offset. This tool supports multiple mesh item/layer selections and is designed for use with modo's fast 'Select Through' workflow; Hence, you can change your point selection on the fly and align different pieces of geometry whilst this tool remains active.

You can use it for,

  • Moving the end of a wall to a target position;
  • Moving the end of a piece of steelwork or trim to a target position.
Align points tool, for modo.

Arch Profiles

Generates 2D arch and half-arch shapes (polylines or polygons) that can be extruded or swept (path or radial) to create 3D geometry, or used as a cookie cutter.

You can use it for,

  • Arch shape path for sweeping geometry to create 3D arches; e.g. using Arch-E’s Poly Sweep tool;
  • Template to drive boolean tools for cutting arch shapes into existing geometry (cookie cutter);
  • As a polyline profile for use with modo’s built-in Radial Sweep tool to create 3D arch-derived shapes.
Arch Profiles tool, for modo.

Part Names To Masks

Generates material masks (group and material) for each of the polygon part-names within your scene, whilst avoiding duplication of pre-existing part-type masks.

You can use it for,

  • Automagically creating part-type material masks in a single click.
  • Create materials for all the parts produced by the Door Template tool, for example, in a single click.
Part Names To Masks command, for modo

Door Templates

An experimental tool that takes the hard work out of dividing up polygons when forming a panel-door. This interactive tool creates a contiguous 2D mesh of polygons ready for extrusion and bevelling in modo..

You can use it for,

  • Creating a panel-door layout ready for extrusion and bevelling.
  • Can be used as a starting point for many door layouts; e.g. you can simply merge various groups of polygons prior to extrusion.
Door templates tool, for modo.

Box Sash (Double Hung) Window

A highly adjustable tool for creating double-hung window designs for use with your buildings and interior scenes. Ideal for arch-viz, interior visualisations and set extensions.

You can use it for,

  • Contemporary double-hung windows (Alu/uPVC-style);
  • Historical box sash designs.
Box sash window maker, for modo

Horizontal Sliders

A specialist tool for creating horizontal sliding windows and doors with a ton of tweak-able attributes.

You can use it for,

  • Traditional, wooden-style sliding windows;
  • Contemporary (Alu) sliding windows and doors.
Horizontal slider window and door tool, for modo

Add Material Groups

Generates material masks specifcailly for each of the polygon part names created by the window maker plugins. This spares you from having to creating the masks and materials by hand. Furthermore, once these have been created, modo will apply use these materials whilst the window generator tools are active.

You can use it for,

  • Automatically generating material groups/masks for each part (polygon part name) of the window;
  • Enables modo to show materials whilst MultiWindow, Box Sash and Horizontal Sliders tools are active.
Add Material groups command, forAdd locator to corner command, for modomodo

Add Locator To Corner

This command will add, orientate and position a new locator at the point where the two selected edges meet. It is highly specialised towards this single task and will only correctly orientate the locator when the correct edges are chosen.

You can use it for,

  • Creating locators at the corner of a window or door reveal;
  • Aligning windows to window openings.
Add locator to corner command, for modo

Window Furniture Models

A set of window furniture mesh presets for use with modo; These are sub-d (designed for sub-division smoothing) models.

You can use them for,

  • Adding extra layer of detail and realism to windows;
  • Use as base to create your own handle or vent variations.
Window furniture mesh presets, for modo.

User Guide and Videos

Requirements

  • This plugin requires MODO (not indie), see top of page for compatible versions.
  • An internet connection is required to access the User Manual.

Supported operating systems: 64-bit only,

  • Windows 10
  • Linux 1
  • macOS: Sierra -to- Mojave
  • macOS: Catalina and Big Sur only 2 . Read how-to »

1 The Linux version is tested on Ubuntu 20.04 (LTS) and Arch (Rolling). Linux is my primary development platform.

2 macOS from Monterey onwards (12+) is NOT supported.

License

Price shown is for a single-user license ("single seat") of the Arch-E Kit. Prices shown may vary due to exchange rate fluctuations and exclude VAT (e.g. Europe). Read all Terms and Conditions.

Limitations

  • The tools are primary designed for use with modo’s (default) Y-up world axis, however, many support all up-axis orientations; Those that don't will create geometry aligned along the X and Y axes.
  • Generated UVs are stacked and proportional, but they are neither packed nor normalized to fit in the 0-to-1 space. Hence, pack and paint (if required) is left to the artist.
  • Materials are not created, but polygon part names are generated (same across all tools) to enable easy selection and material/group assignment. And the kit contains two plugins for creating materials from part names in your scene.