136 lines
6.9 KiB
Markdown
136 lines
6.9 KiB
Markdown
# HYDRO BUILDER — THE 10-POINT BUILDER-FIRST PLAN
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*Scratch the game stuff. This is a precision building tool. Every point below makes
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designing a real system faster, more accurate, or more buildable in real life.*
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---
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## 1. Pipe-Run Tool (Draw the Path, Get the Plumbing)
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Stop placing pipes one at a time. Click a start port, click waypoints through space,
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double-click the end port — the app generates the entire run: correct pipe lengths,
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elbows auto-inserted at every turn, everything mated and snapped. Edit any waypoint
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later and the run regenerates.
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## 2. Auto-Route
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Even faster: click pump outlet, click tower inlet, and the app routes the pipe for you —
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around obstacles, minimal bends, respecting clearances. Offer 2-3 route options
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(shortest / fewest fittings / cleanest lines) and let you pick.
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## 3. Assemblies & Prefabs
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Select any group of parts → "Save as Assembly." Your dialed-in tower-with-drain-and-valve
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becomes one stampable unit. Build one perfect row, then stamp four more. Ships with
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starter prefabs: NFT channel rack, Dutch bucket line, ebb-and-flow table, ZipTower wall.
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## 4. Array & Distribute Tools
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"Repeat this tower 6× along X at 18-inch spacing." Linear arrays, grid arrays, radial
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arrays around a reservoir. Auto-manifold option: the app tees the supply line into every
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copy. Change the count later and the manifold re-plumbs.
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## 5. Precision Everything
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- Type exact dimensions while dragging (drag a pipe, type `3.5`, it's 3.5 ft)
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- Always-on dimension labels between nearby parts (toggleable)
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- Alignment guides that appear when parts line up (like Figma/CAD)
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- Angle snapping (15°/45°/90°) on rotations and bends
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- Work planes: lock building to a wall plane or table height
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## 6. Real-World Catalog
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Parts match what the hardware store sells: nominal PVC sizes (½", ¾", 1", 1½", 2"),
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schedule 40 wall thickness, real fitting geometry, standard tote/barrel reservoir sizes,
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actual pump models with real GPH/head curves. Design in the app = buildable at Home Depot.
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## 7. Bill of Materials + Cut List
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One click: every fitting counted, every pipe length summed into a **cut list**
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("buy 3× 10-ft sticks of 1-inch PVC, cut at: 46.5", 24", 18"..."), pump spec, estimated
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cost. Export CSV/print. The design *is* the shopping list.
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## 8. Design Check (One-Click Validation)
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A "Check Build" button that audits everything at once: drain slopes sufficient? pump head
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margin >20%? dead legs? unsupported pipe spans too long? siphon risk? mismatched diameters?
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Each issue links to the part, with a suggested fix ("upsize drain to 1.5 inch").
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## 9. Organization for Big Builds
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Named groups and layers (Supply / Return / Structure / Lighting), isolate and hide,
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color-by-layer mode, a searchable outliner panel listing every part, and per-zone
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flow stats (Row A gets 40 GPH, Row B gets 38 GPH).
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## 10. Iterations & Compare
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Snapshot versions of your design ("v3 — bigger drain"). Diff two versions side by side
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with their flow numbers. Annotate parts with notes ("replace with ball valve").
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Roll back anytime. Design is iteration — the tool should treat it that way.
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---
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### Order of attack
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**Now:** 5 (precision) → 1 (pipe-run tool) → 7 (BOM/cut list)
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**Next:** 3 (assemblies) → 4 (arrays) → 8 (design check)
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**Then:** 6 (real catalog) → 9 (organization) → 2 (auto-route) → 10 (iterations)
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*All additive. The sim graph, snapping system, and JSON format already support every one of these.*
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---
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---
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# 10 MORE — SPEED & REALITY
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*Builder only. Everything real, everything measurable, everything fast.*
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## 11. Clone-Drag (Alt+Drag to Copy)
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The fastest copy that exists in CAD: hold Alt and drag any part or selection — you're
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now dragging a live copy, original stays put. Drop it, Alt+drag again, chain a whole
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row in seconds. Works with multi-select and whole assemblies. Pairs with Ctrl+C/V
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for cross-area copying.
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## 12. Stretch Handles (Grab a Pipe End, Pull)
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Grab the end of any pipe and pull — the pipe lengthens in real inches with a live
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readout, and everything connected to that end *moves with it*, staying mated.
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No inspector, no typing, no detach-reattach. The #1 speed-building move.
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## 13. The Tool Belt (1–9 Hotbar)
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Number keys hold your parts: 1 = 1" pipe, 2 = elbow, 3 = tee... fully remappable by
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dragging from the library onto a slot. Press the key, you're holding the part, click to
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stamp, click again to stamp another. `Q` re-arms whatever you placed last. Build a
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manifold without touching the sidebar once.
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## 14. "What Fits This?" (Context Part Picker)
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Click any open port and a compact radial/popup shows ONLY parts that genuinely mate
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with it — right diameter, right connection style. One click attaches it (oriented
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correctly). No scrolling a library for the wrong-size elbow. This is drag-and-drop
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speed with hardware-store correctness.
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## 15. Real Connection Types
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Slip vs threaded (NPT) vs barb — ports carry a real connection style, and mismatches
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need a real adapter (which the app suggests and one-click inserts). Your design can't
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contain a joint that doesn't exist at the store. The BOM picks up the cement, teflon
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tape, and clamps automatically.
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## 16. Fit, Footprint & Weight (Will It Actually Work In My Room?)
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Define your real space (closet, tent, basement corner) with exact dimensions — the app
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shows total footprint, height clearance, and door-fit. Plus the number everyone forgets:
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**filled weight** — every reservoir/tray/pipe full of water, summed in lbs ("this rack
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weighs 410 lbs wet — check your shelf rating").
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## 17. Slope & Level Tools
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Drain lines need fall. Set any run's slope by percent or inches-per-foot, with a
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spirit-level readout on every selected pipe (dead-level, 1%, 2%...). The design check
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flags flat or backward drain runs. Gravity is real; the builder should treat it that way.
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## 18. Water Budget (Real Gallons)
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Live total system volume: every pipe's internal volume, every vessel at its fill level —
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"this system holds 31.4 gal; fill with 26 gal to run safely." Reservoir sizing
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recommendations against your pump's flow, plus weekly top-off estimate from surface
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area. Numbers you use the day you build it.
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## 19. Blueprint Sheets (Dimensioned Drawings Out)
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One click: top/front/side orthographic drawings with real dimension lines, each part
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labeled and keyed to the BOM, exported as printable PDF sheets. Take the printout to
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the garage and build from it like a real plan set.
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## 20. Assembly Steps Generator
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The app already knows the connection graph — so it can output the build ORDER:
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"1) Cut stick A at 46.5in. 2) Dry-fit elbow to riser. 3) Cement tee at manifold...
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8) Fill reservoir 26 gal. 9) Prime pump." A checklist you follow with glue in hand,
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generated from the exact design on screen.
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### Order of attack (speed first)
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**Instant speed:** 11 (clone-drag) → 12 (stretch handles) → 13 (tool belt)
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**Correctness:** 14 (what-fits) → 15 (connection types) → 17 (slope)
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**Real-world:** 16 (fit & weight) → 18 (water budget) → 19 (blueprints) → 20 (assembly steps)
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