THERM 2.0
8.2. Start THERM
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From the Windows 95 or Windows NT Start button, Programs choice, click on THERM to
activate the program.
Figure 8-1. Start THERM from the Start button on the Windows 95 or Windows NT Taskbar.
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THERM will open with a blank drawing area and no files loaded. By default, the program will
assign a name of Untitled-1 to the first drawing. When you save the cross section, you can
change the name of the file.
Figure 8-2. THERM starts with a blank drawing area and no files loaded. 8. TUTORIAL
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8.3. Draw the Frame Cross-Section Geometry
You can use three methods to input a cross-section geometry. Section 8.3.1 shows how to input a cross
section using the THERM underlay autoconvert feature, which automatically converts polygons from a DXF
file. Section 8.3.2 shows how the same DXF underlay file can be used to trace the polygons. Section 8.3.3
shows how the same profile can be input from a dimensioned drawing.
8.3.1. Import Underlay with Autoconvert On
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From the File menu, select the Underlay menu choice.
Figure 8-3. To import an underlay, use the File menu, Underlay choice.
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You will see the Underlay dialog box.
Figure 8-4. The Underlay dialog box is used to import a file to use as an underlay for a THERM cross section.
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Click on the Browse button.
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You will see a standard Windows Open dialog box, showing all files in your current working
directory with either a BMP or DXF file extension; you can change working directories and drives if
desired. You should see at least the following sample file that was installed with THERM:
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SAMPLE.DXF
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Highlight SAMPLE.DXF by placing your cursor over it and clicking the left mouse button. 8. TUTORIAL
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Figure 8-5. Select SAMPLE.DXF as the underlay file.
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Click on the OK button, and you will return to the Underlay dialog box.
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In the Underlay dialog box, click on the Autoconvert check box so it has a check mark, and click on
the OK button.
Click on AutoConvert, so a check
mark appears. This will cause
THERM to automatically convert the
polygons in the DXF file.
Figure 8-6. Click the Autoconvert check box when importing the underlay file.
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If the DXF file is complex and takes a few seconds to import, a small DXF Import dialog box may
appear, showing a counter as THERM reads the DXF file.
Figure 8-7. The DXF Import dialog box may display the underlay import status,
depending on the complexity of the DXF file and the speed of your computer.
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When THERM has finished autoconverting the underlay file, the cross section is displayed with
polygons defined for all the elements it could interpret. See Section 5.2, "Importing a DXF or
Bitmap File as an Underlay" for details about defining the DXF file so that THERM can
autoconvert the polygons properly. 8. TUTORIAL
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The DXF file will have been brought into the drawing area including all the white space in the
original drawing. THERM attempts to fill the drawing area with the autoconverted cross section
while still making the viewing scale as big as possible. In the figure below, you can see both the
THERM origin (corresponding to the origin of the DXF file) and the cross section.
Next draw the frame that the glazing sits in using the same method above, and after that,
draw the inside stop, as shown in Figure 8-20.Next draw the frame that the glazing sits in
using the same method above, and after that, draw the inside stop, as shown in Figure 8-20.
Exterior Stop
Interior Stop
Frame
DXF file origin and
THERM origin
(crosshair)
Locator (circle)
Figure 8-8. The components of the cross section
8.3.1.1. Save the File
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Save your work using the Save File toolbar button
or the File/Save menu choice. Type a name
that is not already being used, such as Tutorial (a file named Sample.thm is included in the
installation, so pick a different name to avoid overwriting the sample file), and click on the OK
button. THERM will automatically add the THM extension, so the file name will appear as
TUTORIAL.THM.
8.3.1.2. Edit Cross Section
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If you want to zoom in, place the mouse cursor in the area of the underlay that you want to be in the
center of the zoomed view and click the right mouse button. You only need to see the frame area of
the cross section, not the glazing area. If you zoom in too far, hold the Shift key down and click the
right mouse button to zoom back out. If you want to return to the original, centered view, hold down
the Ctrl key and click the right mouse button.
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Because of the way this DXF file was defined, only the frame components of the underlay are
converted but not the glazing system. The glazing system will be imported from WINDOW in a
separate step later in the tutorial.
8.3.1.3. Assign Materials to Polygons
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Select the polygon representing the frame by placing the mouse cursor inside the polygon and
clicking the left mouse button once. The vertices of the selected polygon will be displayed as squares.
Select Wood (Pine, Spruce, Fir) from the Materials pull-down list on the right-hand side of the
toolbar if the polygon is not already assigned that material. (See Section 5.10, "Assigning Materials
After Drawing Polygons" for more information about selecting materials). 8. TUTORIAL
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Figure 8-9. Select the polygon representing the frame and assign it the Wood (Pine, Spruce, Fir) material.
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Select the polygons representing the interior and exterior stop (you can select both of them by
holding the Shift key down and clicking the left mouse button on each polygon), and select
Wood (Cedar or Redwood)
from the Materials list, as shown in Figure 8-10.
Figure 8-10. Select multiple polygons by holding the Shift key down while clicking on multiple polygons.
8.3.1.4. Save Your Work
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Save your work using the File/Save menu choice or the Save toolbar button
. Remember to
save your files often, because there is no autosave feature in THERM. 8. TUTORIAL
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8.3.2. Tracing a DXF Underlay
If you dont want to use the DXF autoconvert feature, you can create the cross section polygons by tracing the
underlay. This may be necessary for some DXF files that have not been created in a way that autoconvert can
define the polygons properly.
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From the File menu, select the Underlay menu choice.
Figure 8-11. To trace the DXF file, select the Underlay choice from the File menu.
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You will see the Underlay dialog box.
Figure 8-12. The Underlay dialog box is used to select the DXF file to trace.
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Click on the Browse button.
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You will see a standard Windows Open dialog box, showing all files in your current working
directory with either a BMP or DXF file extension; you can change working directories and drives if
desired. You should see at least the following sample file that was installed with THERM:
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SAMPLE.DXF 8. TUTORIAL
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Figure 8-13. The Open dialog box shows all files with a DXF or BMP extension.
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Highlight SAMPLE.DXF by placing your mouse cursor over it and clicking the left mouse button.
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Click on the OK button, and you will return to the Underlay dialog box.
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Do not change any of the default values in the Underlay box; click on the OK button.
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You may see a small DXF Import dialog box, showing a counter as THERM reads the DXF file.
Figure 8-14. A DXF Import file may appear if the file is complex and takes a few seconds to import.
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When THERM has finished reading the DXF file, it will display the underlay cross section in
gray, indicating that the lines are not true polygons but can be traced. 8. TUTORIAL
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Figure 8-15. The DXF file has been imported as an underlay, which can now be traced to make the individual polygons.
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THERM attempts to fit the DXF cross section in the drawing area while still making the scale as big as
possible. In Figure 8-15, you can see both the THERM origin (cross hairs corresponding to the origin
of the DXF file) and the cross section.
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Before you start tracing the underlay, you may need to zoom in on the cross section in order for the
cursor to snap to the correct underlay vertices. To zoom in, place your mouse cursor over the area of
the cross section that you want centered in the new zoomed view and click the right mouse button.
Each click of the right mouse button doubles the zoom percentage.
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You can use the horizontal and vertical scroll bars on the drawing area to move the underlay to the
desired location in the drawing area. You only need to see the frame area of the cross section, not the
glazing system.
8.3.2.1. Draw the Cross-Section Components
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Click on the Draw Polygon toolbar button
or use the Draw/Polygon menu choice to begin
drawing.
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Click on the Repeat Mode toolbar button
or use the Draw/Repeat Mode menu choice, so you
dont have to press the Draw Polygon button each time you finish one polygon and start to draw the
next.
Draw Polygon
Repeat Mode
Figure 8-16. Push the Draw Polygon and Repeat Mode toolbar buttons. 8. TUTORIAL
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Start with the exterior stop on the outside of the glazing system. Because you are in Draw Polygon
mode, the Materials pull-down list on the right side of the toolbar is active, and you can select the
Wood (Cedar or Redwood)
material for the exterior stop. (Alternatively, you could access the
Libraries
menu, select the Material Library or use the Shift-F4 keyboard shortcut, and pick Wood