Computer Aided Design

Computer Aided Design posts...

• Bioelectrochemical testing pod  |  2017 Apr 25 |  1 minute read

I would like to begin prototyping grow modules for Pure Imagination. The first challenge is setting up a plant microbial fuel cell system for generating electricity with moss. This work will heavily rely on the scientific research from Paolo Bombelli, et al. I thought I could cast this pot... ...and thinking how to do that with ooloo is tough. I think slip casting or vacuum forming would be the easiest route. I have experience vacuum forming and more, and would have some concern with the finishing that would need to be done after pulling a form for this object. If...

• Unravel : Mysteries, preparing a design to test 2-D milling  |  2017 Mar 14 |  3 minute read

I wanted to make a work that appeared to be a single surface looped around and around like a coil or a spring. I like to make things that use machines natural ease in replication as a starting point and then find ways to create variation or intrigue. It could be imagined that this one thing can be unwound into a long straight line or that this coiled state is the natural tendancy of the material. One important note: in this first prototype I plan to use machine kerf to make the plywood flexible in specific zones. In future iterations...

• Three dimensional scanning wildCardboard  |  2017 Mar 01 |  3 minute read

I tried to scan one of my previous projects, wildCardboard with the Microsoft Kinnect using the Skanect application. How about starting with an image of the outcome? Plug the Kinnect into your computer's USB port then launch the Skanect application. The interface is straightforward. The first tab are variables for the type and size of the 3D scan. This model fits within an 300mmx300mmx300mm virtual bounding box. I will touch on this more later, I found it to work a little better to give plenty of extra space so in subsequent scans I added padding to the size of the...

• Grasshopper Parametric Modeling  |  2017 Feb 15 |  8 minute read

I decided to try learning the Rhinoceros parametric GUI plugin Grasshopper for the cutting prototype. The Grasshopper project's aim is to make programming easier to understand through an intuitive visualization. The GUI looks similar to Antimony with a model window and a graph window. Scripting nodes in Python, C#.net and VB.net is also possible. Grasshopper is available with Rhinoceros on MacOS and Windows. Launch Rhinoceros. Enter "grasshopper" in the command line. The Grasshopper interface will launch. Across the top are several tabs which contain links to "objects" which are scripts of varying complexity. The primary section of the screen is...

• Fusion 360, introduction  |  2017 Feb 11 |  1 minute read

Fusion 360 seems like a powerful cloud based 3D modeler compatible with OSX, Windows and several mobile OSs. The advantage of the cloud based file structure is always having access to your files (assuming you have internet access, if not... ya screwed) and a built-in collaborative platform. Autodesk is hosting built-in cloud based fabrication and rendering tools as well. Many file types can be imported or exported, in fact, Fusion directly connects to McMaster-Carr's database and quickly pulls in any number of parts. The modeling mostly involves interfacing with a visual modeling window and is capable of setting reactionary relationships...

• Rhinoceros (for 2D things)  |  2017 Feb 08 |  4 minute read

Rhinoceros is a NURBS based modeler capable of freeform surfaces of fair complexity. The interface includes menus / buttons, a modeling window and command prompt. While rooting around the menus and buttons can offer new users introduction to the application's tools, I think the easiest and fastest interface is the command prompt: start typing in a command and the prompt will feed back optional tools. Many tools have dialogue boxes which appear when activated and drawing happens via a mouse or xyz coordinate input from a keyboard. Model elements are organized in groups, layers and blocks. The application supports an...

• Antimony, introduction  |  2017 Feb 07 |  7 minute read

Antimony is an open-source, relying on graph composition where nodes represent primatives, 2d shapes, and loads of customizable operations and functions. The graph has an GUI akin to Grasshopper, the infamous Rhinoceros plugin. Antimony's interface includes a 3d viewport which has limited modeling capabilities that automatically log into the graph and a script editor. The script editor enables customization of all the graph nodes and is going to require more time for me to grasp. The advantage here is the algorithmic nature of the modeling. Changes can easily be applied throughout the entire history of the graph and propagate throughout...