The last release of this app was a huge step over the first, but this one is by far the best yet. As I get more advanced with Processing and Arduino (mostly the former), this thing’s gonna rock the house!

New in version 007:

• bezier curve replaced with more accurate box-plot
• dynamic target speed allows for sprint-interval training
• “honorSystem” mode allows user to choose whether or not to reset timer when current speed falls below target
• average speed for entire workout is now displayed above current speed
• new, easier-on-the-eyes visuals

Download the code:

• Processing Source
• Arduino Source

I’ve got lots more ideas up my sleeve, but the wife is telling me that I have to actually do something productive with the rest of my day :( Laaaaaame.

Cheers!

Adam

So you’ve decided you want to create digital 3D models.

You might be an aspiring movie special effects guru, industrial designer, architect, or mechanical engineer. Maybe you’re wanting to create photo-realistic images of product design ideas, or maybe you want to use 3D Computer Aided Design (CAD) to control a Computer Numeric Controlled (CNC) milling machine to bring your ideas into physical reality. You might be hoping to play with rapid prototyping, mechanical simulation, or 3D animation for art, illustration, or demonstration.

Knowing the right 3D software package(s) will not make you a good designer, a competent engineer, or a film effects creative genius. It will simply be a tool in your belt, there when you need it, making it possible for you to communicate three-dimensional ideas quickly and accurately for virtually any purpose you can imagine.

But when you look for a specific program into which you’ll invest lots of time and money, the number of options can be daunting. How do you decide which 3D program is right for you?

There is no magic bullet in the 3D software world; every piece of software that exists on the market has a niche for a specific type of user with a specific combination of needs. In this set of posts, I’ll try to make the pros and cons of all sorts of common 3D applications easily understandable for the newbie, and hopefully even clear up a few things for the seasoned professional.

In this, the first post in our series, we’ll be looking at the broader landscape of 3D applications, and discussing the basic categories of 3D applications.

Decision factor #1: Why 3D?

The way I see it, there are four basic types of 3D tools:

1. Modeling (defining geometry)
2. Analysis & Simulation (processing geometry)
3. Animation & Visualization (viewing geometry on screen)
4. Machining & Rapid Prototyping (physical implementation of geometry)

Engineers and research scientists find themselves needing analysis & simulation, where as designers, artists, and marketing professionals benefit more from animation & visualization. Anyone involved in the creation of real-world deliverables–such as sculpture, product designs, furniture, machinery, or architecture–will need machining and/or rapid prototyping technology in order to bring the digital 3D geometry into physical 3D space.

The one thing all of these disciplines have in common is that they need a way of defining 3D geometry in space.

A computer program that allows a user to define 3D geometry is known as a “modeling package”.

Since everyone who uses 3D needs a modeling package, this series of articles will focus first and foremost on modeling. Once you’ve chosen the right modeling package, everything else will fall into place.

Note: The 3D representations of geometry created in these packages are known as “models”, or “databases”. The two terms are interchangeable. In industry slang, you will often hear people say things like “send over your database, and I’ll take a look.” This may seem cryptic, but it makes perfect sense: the files generated by 3D applications are really just databases full of numbers and definitions. Different programs define 3D objects in different ways, but ultimately every 3D file is just a big list, or “database”.

In industry parlance, there are three basic types of modeling packages (*in reality there are only two, but for now we’ll stick with the conventional paradigms). Within each type of modeler, there are sub-categories as well.

1. Polygonal Surface Modeling (“poly modeler”)
   • dense poly mesh
   • subdivision surface modeling (aka “Sub-D”)
2. NURBS Surface Modeling (“NURBS”)
   • direct
   • historical
   • parametric
3. Solid Modeling
   • direct
   • historical
   • parametric

Each of these three types of modeling packages does essentially the same thing–defining surfaces in 3D space–but each goes about it in a completely different way. The package that’s right for you depends entirely on what you plan to do with the resulting data. Here’s a basic overview:

2D Deliverables: Design for Screen or Print

Common Applications (alphabetical): 3D Studio Max, Blender, Cinema 4D, Lightwave, Maya, Modo, XSI/SoftImage

Polygonal modeling is ideal for any application in which 3D geometry is a means to get to a 2D result such as: 3D animated film special effects; 3D animated feature films; on-screen graphics for video games or interactive virtual applications; or photo-realistic still images or illustrations to be viewed on the web or in print.

Every surface generated in a polygonal model is comprised of hundreds of individual single-sided “polygons” floating in space, glued together at the seems. Building polygonal surface models is like stretching an imaginary rubber sheet over the desired form. It is extremely well-adapted to defining free-flowing organic objects, but difficult to control with numerical accuracy.

Note: It is theoretically possible to do CNC machining and/or rapid prototyping from polygonal model data, but it is exceptionally rare in actual practice. The reason for this is less because polygonal modeling itself is in any way badly suited to it, but more because the tools and techniques employed by most poly modeling packages are not intended for the level of accuracy typically desired when creating prototypes.

3D Deliverables: Design and Sculpture

Common Applications (alphabetical): Alias Design, Rhinoceros 3D (“Rhino”)

NURBS modeling is a highly accurate means of defining curvilinear surfaces in space, and provides a degree of control and mathematical accuracy that is difficult to achieve with polygonal modeling. As a result, NURBS-based surface modeling is frequently used by industrial designers, automotive and aerospace design and engineering, and artistic sculpture.

When working with surface-modeling, every piece of geometry is a “surface” floating in space. Surface modeling can be compared to building a model out of sheets of paper: every piece of geometry is comprised of a number of  ”trimmed” sheets of paper, glued together at the seems. This is a very direct approach to geometry creation which can result in a very high degree of accuracy and precision.

Note: Because of the level of manual control afforded by direct surface-modeling, it is often the tool of choice for full-time professional “class-a” surfacing engineers. In automotive design parlance, a class-a surface is any aesthetically important surface on the exterior of a car (i.e. any surface that the user can see or touch). Because cars are comprised of large, reflective surfaces, it is very important that the CAD geometry be absolutely flawless, and specialized CAD professionals called class-a surfacers know how to define this kind of flawless geometry. It may be important to note that designers do not typically create this kind of geometry themselves.

Polygonal Vs. NURBS, a practical explanation: Polygonal models are similar to pixel-based 2D images in that they are resolution-dependent. With a 2D image, the more pixels you have, the more accurate your image. If you print a low-resolution 2D image at a large scale, the individual pixels become obviously visible. Similarly, with a polygonal model, the more polygons you have, the more accurate your model. If you print a rapid prototype of a low-resolution polygon model, the individual polygons become obviously visible.

NURBS models are similar to vector-based 2D images in that they are resolution-independent. With a 2D vector-based image, no matter how big you print an image, the shapes will always remain perfectly crisp. Similarly, with a NURBS-based surface model, no matter how big you print a rapid prototype, it will always be perfectly smooth.

NURBS has other advantages over polygonal surface modeling that are more difficult to explain here, but NURBS modeling is fundamentally better than polygonal modeling for any type of geometry that requires numerical accuracy. For example, if I want to put a 16mm hole in a surface with a 3mm fillet on its edge, NURBS is the only way to go. Polygonal models can theoretically describe numerically accurate models, but are in practice much more difficult to control with numerical precision.

3D Deliverables: Structural, Mechanical, and Accurate

Common Applications (alphabetical): AutoCAD, CATIA, Inventor, ProEngineer, SolidEdge, SolidWorks, SpaceClaim, UnigraphicsNX

So-called “solid” modeling packages are ideally suited for the creation of geometry intended for manufacture or engineering analysis. In a surface modeling package, a “cube” is thought of as six individual planes intersecting with each other. By contrast, in a solid modeling package a cube can be thought of as a cube, or as a “thick” rectangle. Solid modeling packages work fundamentally the same way that surface modeling packages do, except that they use different types of tools and techniques to define geometry.

Because solid modelers use the same mathematical means of describing 3D geometry used in NURBS surface modeling packages, the two are often used interchangeably, or even in concert with one-another. Often a design team will work with a surface-modeling package, then pass his surface geometry to an engineer who will then use the geometry to create geometry in her solid-modeling package.

Note: Most solid modeling packages include many surface-modeling tools, so increasing numbers of designers and class-a surfacers are switching to solid modeling applications. I am one such designer: I do almost all of my surface-modeling from within so-called solid-modeling applications. Confusing, huh?

Recap & Conclusion

In the end, here’s what you need to know: if you want to make art, movies, video games, or illustration for screen or print, you’ll want to look into polygonal modeling packages. If you’re an aspiring automotive or consumer product designer, consider learning a NURBS-based surface modeling package. If you’re needing to create functioning mechanical prototypes and/or engineer products that really work, you’ll want to look at a solid modeling package.

As an industrial designer, I have found that it is very (very) helpful for any junior-level designer to be familiar with the different types of modeling and their relative advantages and disadvantages, and to be proficient with at least one NURBS surface modeling package, and at least one solid modeling package.  As for which of each to choose, we’ll have to save that for a future post.

In the next post I’ll be looking into the various pros and cons of many different 3D software packages, categorized by industry and usage.

This is the second part in a series building up a Morris Minor in modo. To start at the beginning, start here.

In this series, we’ll be building a sub-d model of an old British car called the Morris Minor 1000, and eventually turning it into a California surf-mobile. I’ll be working fast and loose, completely un-rehearsed, so you’ll see me making it up as I go along! This should be fun.

Setting up backdrop images.

Blocking in the basic wheel meshes and mesh instances, making sure that the object center and pivot are at the center of the wheel geometry.

I like to put a floor object into the scene while I’m working, just so I can always go to the render tab and see a nice image of my current geometry.

On a related note, I’ll also be going through and adding tags to most of the posts as well. Hopefully this will also help to make the content easier to find.

These changes were made based on feedback from users like you! If you have any suggestions, do tell!

Keep in touch,
Adam

My First Survey:

The final exam for the Rhino Basics class will consist of a written short-answer test, a tools quiz (e.g. “show me how to hide an object”), and an in-class modeling challenge based on a Dieter Rams classic design. The following material will be covered in the test. Important vocabulary words are emphasized.

A full study guide follows:

Rhino is CAD:

• Rhino is a NURBS based surface modeling package.
• Rhino is best-suited for design and conceptualization. It is not ideal for engineering, but it can be used for light engineering in certain situations.
• Rhino is NOT a parametric design application.
• Rhino and Autodesk StudioTools (aka “Alias“) are the most common NURBS based surface modeling packages in the consumer product design industry.
• SolidWorks and Pro Engineer (aka “ProE“) are the most common parametric solid modeling applications in the consumer product design industry. It is a good idea for an aspiring consumer product designer to learn one of these two in addition to Rhino.
• Subdivision (aka “Sub-D“) surface modeling packages like Maya are primarily intended for visualization, and are NOT ideal for modeling with great precision as required for industrial design, prototyping, and engineering.
• It is very common to model geometry in a CAD application like Rhino, and then export the resulting geometry to a visualization package like Maya, Modo, Cinema 4D, Lightwave, or 3DStudioMax for rendering and/or animation.
• V-Ray is a rendering engine with a plug-in for Rhino. This means that it is not a part of the Rhino application, but is sold separately by a different software company.
• It is not true that CAD companies “want” for students to pirate their software. Student pricing is made available to make the software affordable for those who would like to learn it. Piracy is illegal and unethical, even for students.

Why Rhino?

• We teach Rhino because it is simple, manual, versatile, and inexpensive.
• Knowing Rhino makes it easier to learn more specialized CAD packages.
• Rhino is very useful to have around, even if it is not your primary modeling tool, because it can work with a wide variety of file formats–more than almost any other application. For this reason, most design studios have at least one license of Rhino.

NURBS:

• Generally speaking, consumer product designers will work with degree 3 NURBS curves and surfaces.
• If a curve or surface is not degree 3, we can change its degree using the ‘rebuild‘ command.
• Every curve and surface in Rhino, no matter how simple or complex, is NURBS.
• When NURBS curves or surfaces get too heavy (i.e. too many control points), there are three main disadvantages:
  • file size goes up, and application performance goes down
  • curve or surface quality degrades
  • it is difficult to control curves and surfaces with too many points
• To simplify a curve or surface that is too heavy, use the ‘rebuild’ command.
• All NURBS surfaces are rectangular. All.
• As coordinates in space are measured in “X” and “Y”, coordinates along a surface are measured in “U” and “V“. For example, U may refer to a measurement along a surface’s length, while V may refer to its width, or vise-verse.
• All NURBS surfaces are one-sided. Every surface has a front face and a back face, and can be flipped using the ‘flip‘ command.

Tools:

Students should be familiar with the following tools:

Curves

• Polyline
• Control Point Curve
• Circle: Center-Radius
• Circle: Diameter
• Ellipse: From Center
• Arc: Start, End, Point on Arc
• Arc: Start, End, Direction at Start
• Rectangle: Corner to Corner
• Rectangle: From Center
• Polygon: Center, by Radius

Curve Tools

• Fillet Curves (pronounced “fil-let”, rhymes with “skillet”)
• Chamfer Curves
• Adjustable Curve Blend
• Offset Curve
• Rebuild
• Insert/Remove a Control Point
• Curve Boolean

Surfaces

• Plane: Corner to Corner
• Extrude Straight
• Loft
• Sweep 1 & 2 Rails
• Revolve

Surface Tools

• Fillet Surface
• Chamfer Surface
• Blend Surface
• Offset Surface
• Rebuild Surface
• Insert/Remove a Control Point (srf)

Solids

• Box: Corner, Corner, Height
• Sphere: Center, Radius
• Ellipsoid: From Center
• Tube
• Extrude Closed Planar Curve
• Text Object

Solid Tools

• Boolean Union, Difference, Intersection, Split
• Cap Planar Holes
• Wire Cut
• Move Face
• Rotate Face
• Variable Radius Fillet
• Variable Radius Chamfer

Tools

• Project [curves] to Surface
• Intersection
• Duplicate Edge
• Join
• Explode/Extract
• Trim/Untrim
• Split
• Group/Ungroup
• Control Points on/off

Transforms

• Move/Copy
• Rotate 2D
• Scale 1D, 2D, 3D
• Mirror
• Rectangular/Radial Array

Analysis

• Curvature Graph On/Off
• Show [naked] Edges
• Analyze Direction
• Distance / DimAligned
• Angle
• Radius

Navigation

• Rotate/Pan/Zoom with mouse and keyboard
• Zoom Fit
• Zoom Selected
• Shaded/Wireframe Viewport
• Maximize/Restore Viewport
• Hide/Show Objects

Snaps & Precision

• Snap [grid]
• Osnap
  • End
  • Near
  • Point
  • Midpoint
  • Center
  • Intersection
  • Knot
  • Project
  • Disable
• Set CPlane World Top, Bottom,Right, Left, Front, Back
• Set CPlane to Object
• Set CPlane by 3 Points

Layers & Properties

• Edit Layers
  • New Layer
  • Hide/Show Layer
  • Lock/Unlock Layer
  • Set Layer Color
  • Move Objects to Layer
  • Copy Objects to Layer
  • Rename Layer
  • Delete Layer
• Object Properties
  • Object Color
  • Assign V-Ray Materials
• V-Ray
  • Import Studio Scene
  • Import Materials
  • Edit Materials
  • Assign Materials
  • Render 1920×1080, save as PNG

Modeling Challenge: Dieter Rams

Dieter Rams is one of the great founding fathers of modern industrial design, primarily through his extensive work with Braun. His design philosophy is held up as a model for many of the world’s most important design teams, not least of which being Apple, who has taken much of its entire design strategy from the teachings of Mr. Rams.

After completing the written portion of the exam, each student will model a Dieter Rams classic design from loose dimensions and images provided at the beginning of class. The models will not be expected to be dimensionally perfect, but proportionally and formally correct. The more detail the student is able to incorporate, the better. At the end of class, each student will be given 20 minutes during which to import their model into the V-Ray photo studio, assign simple materials, and generate a final render.

Grading will be based on the following criteria:

• proportional correctness
• visual cohesion
• attention to detail
• proper use of modeling tools and techniques

But there’s another detail I’d like to throw out there as well: if you’re using the demo version of Rhino, please be warned that after 12 hours of continuous running, the demo version of Rhino shuts down. If you have un-saved work, it will ask if you want to use one of your 25 saves to save it. If you click no, YOUR WORK IS LOST.

The moral of the story is this: just use your 25 saves like normal saves. Don’t try to pinch and squeeze every last save out of the Rhino evaluation copy: if you like the program, just buy it. Then you won’t have any saving restrictions, and the world will be a happier place.

One of the most popular tutorials I’ve ever done on this site was a look at 2D shoe design renderings in Adobe Illustrator (here). I’m finally updating it, and this time it’s in video form.

There are many ways to skin this cat, but I prefer a hybrid solution using Illustrator smart objects within Photoshop. This tutorial will focus on doing line and graphic work in Illustrator, and shading/texturing in Photoshop.

More videos after the break:

- Illustrator brush tool basics

- Illustrator clipping masks vs. live paint

- Illustrator: working in isolation mode
- gradient mesh drop-shadow trick

- Illustrator: brushes for stitching
- Illustrator: appearance palette for stitch offsets

- Illustrator: Graphic Styles
- Photoshop: “Place” to import smart objects

- Photoshop: making selections with magic wand

- Photoshop: adding real-world textures

3DWorld Magazine issue #127 is now available in stores, and the modeling of the Bugatti Veyron is written and recorded by yours truly. Over six hours of video!

*NOTE: The large rendering of the Veyron on the cover is not my model. The model I built is the smaller red car at the bottom left of the cover.

In Modo, there are two ways of “mapping” an image onto a piece of geometry: UV mapping, and projection. Think of UV mapping as putting a bunch of pins into a piece of stretchy cloth on the surface of your object, so that no matter how the object moves or changes, the cloth goes along for the ride.

Think of projection as a film projector, throwing your image onto the object from across the room. The film projection analogy is incomplete, because there are actually several kinds of projection (solid, planar, cubic, spherical, cylindrical, etc), but the point is that you’ve got a ‘projector’–called a ‘locator’ in modo–that throws your image onto the object.

Here we’ll look at a few of the basics of these two mapping solutions. Second video after the jump:

This is the sixth week in a series on the fundamentals of Rhino, as taught at Otis College of Art & Design in the spring semester of 2010. To follow the tutorial from the beginning, start here. There is a parallel series covering the basics of SolidWorks here. Enjoy!

This week we’ll begin work on our clocks, and as such we will begin the process of modeling the internal components that will be used in the clock. Each group will be expected to model their own internal components, and keep in mind that the quality and thoroughness of these models will influence your final grade!

Here are a couple of template files to get you started. Keep in mind that you must RE-BUILD everything here YOURSELF:

**********************
ArduinoDiecimilia.STEP.zip

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ROB-08420_StepperMotor.STEP.zip

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More vids after the jump:

The Corpus Clock from Corpus Chronophage on Vimeo.

This is the fifth week in a series on the fundamentals of Rhino, as taught at Otis College of Art & Design in the spring semester of 2010. To follow the tutorial from the beginning, start here. There is a parallel series covering the basics of SolidWorks here. Enjoy!

This week will focus on rendering in V-Ray. Since I don’t use V-Ray in my studio, there will be no accompanying video content for this week. Instead, we’ll work on our new group project:

PROJECT 1: “THIS IS NOT A CLOCK.”

This week I will introduce a group assignment to be completed in class and for homework for the next four weeks, to be completed and presented to the class on week 09.

Opportunity statement: Design a “clock” that does not tell time, using simple electronic components including an Arduino Diecimilia, and any other necessary components (e.g. LEDs, numeric displays, servo or stepper motors, etc.). The clock should chronicle the passing of time in a new and interesting way, though it must by no means be practical–or even useful. “Easter eggs” (i.e. surprises about which only the programmers are aware) are encouraged.

Grading:

Each individual group member will be given a grade for the project, 50% of which is based on the overall group project, and the other 50% of which will be based on said individual’s contribution to the group project. Each member of each group will be expected to contribute equally to the overall success of the end product.

Group grading criteria (50% of individual grade):
- originality of concept
- design thinking and execution strategy
- technical feasibility
- CAD difficulty level
- quality and thoroughness of CAD data

Individual grading criteria (50% of individual grade):
- work ethic
- execution of team strategy
- unique contribution to team
- anonymous team member feedback

If a design is compelling and technically feasible, we may consider actually building a functional prototype!

Best of luck!

In the previous two installments (part 1, part 2) of this series, we modeled an iPhone 3GS with precision in Rhino. At the end of part 2, we exported that data to modo for rendering. In this, the final installment of the iPhone series, we’ll set up a basic rendering in modo.

Five more vids after the jump:

I’m working with a dead-simple bicycle computer mod and Arduino to send pulses to a Processing application. The result is a powerful and flexible bicycle speedometer. Eventually I’m hoping to turn it into a video game of sorts; something to vary my workouts and make them more entertaining. Longer term it could be cool to port it for iTouch… but lets not get ahead of ourselves ;)

What can YOU do with it? Just install the Arduino code on your Arduino board (duh), plug your reed switch into pins 0 and GND (doesn’t matter which is which, just plug ‘em in), and run the processing application. Let me know how it goes!

ReedTachometerV001_Arduino.zip
ReedTachometerV005_Processing.zip