This animation was inspired by a ScriFri video called The Never-Ending Bloom Which shows an introduction to John Edmark's sculptures which inspired me to try and write a script that is able to generate these patterns. I will be coming back to these to do more exploration on this subject in the future.
Coachbuilders often use wooden body bucks to serve as a scaffolding for shaping the metal bodywork parts. This is a craft that has been part of metalshaping since the early days and combining it with new technology is a win-win.
From the modeled surface we can generate complete CNC or LASER ready parts that are to be assembled into body buck waffle structures. The necessary inputs are the surface, intersection curves and optional auxiliary curves. Finetune the parameters to the materials, production method, cutting tools and desired clearances after which exporting to CAD/CAM files is just a push of a button.
This work used to take up a lot of time and is now largely automated. Life is made of time, don't waste it.
Body Buck Generator
In collaboration with Corine van Voorbergen, Makerstow CNC & Het Rijksmuseum we produced the ECHO Installation by Corine van Voorbergen. Procedural design played a vital role generating heightmaps from Image brightness analysis data which then was converted to a 3D mesh. Before production started I produced renders of the subsurface scattering epoxy color compositions. This enabled us to fine tune and visualize the exact composition before production of the heightmap surfaces was started.
ECHO Installation
Below are a couple of time lapses that show the entire visual programming progress which for most individuals look like code spaghettis. It might look intimidating to the 3D modeler but if you take the time and patience to adopt this technique it will give you a lot of extra time and possibilities in return. Youtube is a great source for tutorials and I want to thank Gediminas Kirdeikis for his great youtube tutorials and his huge addition to the knowledge base of working with Rhino Grasshopper.
Programming speedruns
Summary:
Procedural design in Rhino Grasshopper
Date:
June 2018
Description:
In order to achieve more complex 3D designs, automate repetitive design work and push the boundaries of defining form in 3D software I've taken the time to incorporate visual programming into my workflow. Once the switch from intuitive classical draftsmanship to programming was made a huge set of design possibilities opened up for me.
From automating time consuming design processes like converting 3D surfaces into CNC waffle structures for bodywork shaping, adding randomness and natural patterns to a design, making designs flexible in order to reiterate or generate a large amount of customizable products from one script. Even animation becomes a possibility.
Procedural design a.k.a. parametric design is an extremely powerful toolset to master. Visual programming in Rhino Grasshopper is the most efficient way to make use of procedural design in hard surface modeling applications.
VISUAL PROGRAMMING
Fibonacci bloom
One of the more popular designs in parametric design are organically shaped baffles that form a smooth and flowing structure when stacked. This project was a mile marker for me in order to apply visual programming to a design I really wanted to turn into a reality. Being able to program this object and get it ready for CNC milling was incredibly significant to me for it was a tangible result of the progress I made learning visual programming.
The Parametric Shelf
