Ameba lightweight structures algorithm released

Like its namesake, the single-cell ameba or amoeba, the software app Ameba can change its shape in different environments.

Per your design requirements, apply different loading and boundary conditions to the initial design domain. During the computational process, the design domain will evolve into various shapes, and eventually reach an organic form that is structurally efficient.

Ameba is based on the BESO method, which provides topology optimization for 2D and 3D geometrical models.

You can learn more about Ameba in the YouTube video.

Download a free trial from food4Rhino!

Grasshopper tutorial: Weave Pattern

In this 10-minute Grasshopper tutorial, Parametric House shows you how to use Mesh+ and Weaverbird to model a weaving pattern on a NURBS surface.

First, you model a Surface in Rhino using Sweep1 and then use Mesh+ to model the pattern. Finally, the tutorial shows how to use Weaverbird to smooth the results and make the weaving pattern.

This is just one of a series of courses by Parametric House that you can enroll in.

Weave Pattern tutorial by Parametric House...

Rob|Arch 2020 at Beijing: Call for Workshops

September 2020

Beijing, China

In September 2020, the Rob|Arch 2020 Conference on Robotic Fabrication in Architecture, Art, and Design takes place in Beijing, China, and you are invited to present a workshop.

Rob|Arch 2020 is cohosted by Tsinghua University, in cooperation with the Beijing Design Week.

Rob|Arch is looking for high-end, hands-on workshops that appeal to both experienced robot users as well as interested beginners from a variety of backgrounds. The workshop should lead the participants along the entire fabrication workflow, from design to production.

 

Workshops can involve any kind of robots, from robotic arms to drones, autonomous vehicles, and completely new machines.

The three-day workshops are selected by a committee of the local hosts and the Association for Robots in Architecture.

Submission deadline: September 15, 2019

More information and to propose a workshop...

MAGIX-LOCK, the magic closure system

MAGIX-LOCK PROTOTYPES from imagodesign on Vimeo.

The MAGIX-LOCK closure system is a patented innovation taking advantage of the power of magnets. Instead of the normal attraction of magnets, the magnets are reversed and repel each other forcing the object to lock in place. Once the female and the male parts of the closure system are joined and locked, they can be released by applying force on the male part to unlock the system.

The preliminary design concept served as the first step in the production process of the prototypes. The analog sketches were transferred to the digital space and constructed precisely in 3D by using Rhinoceros. The first generation of prototypes in different variations was 3D printed based on the Fused Filament Fabrication (FFF) and manually assembled with efficient Neodymium magnets. Based on the result of the first generation prototypes, the 3D models were further optimized in material thickness and fabrication tolerances in Rhinoceros. 

The second generation of the improved prototypes was cast using the Lost-wax technique, which better reflected the precise feel of the final materials and appearance. 

The current third generation of the prototypes has been completely re-engineered, improved in functionality, and constructed to be produced entirely with CNC milling, which is focusing on mass production. Rhinoceros has been an integral part of the design and construction process which served as a direct output for the final fabrication process (sketch-construction-production).

This simplicity of the MAGIX-LOCK functional design opens up a whole new line of closure systems, ranging from watches, jewelry, bags, helmets, and many more.

MAGIX-LOCK official website...

Designing orthotic footwear with Insole Designer and RhinoCAM

Headquartered in Italy, Duna Srl is a global company that produces off-the-shelf footwear products as well as custom orthotic footwear for clients with mobility handicaps. 

Duna has developed the Rhino plug-in Insole Designer. This CAD program expedites the process of insole design using knowledge bases, templates, and specialized Rhino utilities. The result is a complete and accurate 3D NURBS polysurface model of the insoles ready to be housed inside the final shoe.

For CAM software, Duna uses RhinoCAM from MecSoft Corporation.

Insole Designer uses integrated insole databases and templates coupled with an assortment of specialized tools and utilities to create the prescribed insoles.

Insole Designer develops the complete contoured insole top and bottom, unlike other insole programs. The top fits the patient foot scan. The bottom and outer profiles fit Duna’s orthopedic shoe production. The result is a complete and custom fit while using minimal added insole material. 

You can read and see details in RhinoCAM does Custom Orthotics in Italy! 

ICERM workshop: Illustrating Dynamics and Probability

A stable matching in the plane
Image credit: Alexander E. Holroyd
Picture based on research by Christopher Hoffman, Alexander Holroyd, and Yuval Peres

Illustrating Dynamics and Probability

ICERM (The Institute for Computational and Experimental Research in Mathematics)

November 11-15

Brown University

Providence, Rhode Island

This workshop will focus on the theoretical insights developed via illustration, visualization, and computational experimentation in dynamical systems and probability theory. 

Topics from complex dynamics: 

• Dynamical moduli spaces and their dynamically-defined subvarieties
• Degenerations of dynamical systems as one moves toward the boundary of moduli space
• The structure of algebraic data coming from a family of dynamical systems

Topics from classical dynamical systems: 

• Flows on hyperbolic spaces and Lorentz attractors
• Simple physical systems like billiards in two and three-dimensional domains
• Flows on moduli spaces

In probability theory, the workshop features random walks and continuous-time random processes like Brownian motion, SLE, and scaling limits of discrete systems.

See details, speaker lineup, more events...

Parametric Modeling and Digital Fabrication with Grasshopper in Brazil

The Lab for Architectural Singularity is hosting a Parametric Modeling and Digital Fabrication Workshop with Grasshopper!

Date: July 15-20, 2019

Time: 7 PM-10 PM (Monday-Friday)
10 AM-1 PM (Saturday)
Price: R$1.000,00

Location: Rua João Moura 2152

São Paulo, SP 05412004

Brazil

This workshop is an introductory course on the development, control, and feasibility of complex geometries through design parameters using Grasshopper, the most advanced generative modeling software for architecture and design.

At the end of the workshop, the students have the opportunity to develop and fabricate their own model.

This workshop is for architects, designers, engineers, and anyone interested in parametric modeling tools.

Register here!

For more information please contact Renata Portelada.

What is a RhinoFabStudio? A RhinoFabStudio™ (fabrication studio) is a small-scale digital workshop, certified by McNeel, with an array of Rhino and Rhino compatible software and computer-controlled tools and training. These tools cover the various leading-edge industrial methods and materials needed to design, analyze, and fabricate almost anything.

Shape changing Pufferfish V2.5 with 280 components

This plug-in set of 280 components focuses on Tweens, Blends, Morphs, Averages, Transformations, and Interpolations—shape changing. Pufferfish mainly uses parameters and factors for inputs for more custom control over operations like tweens and grids, as opposed to Grasshopper's usual division count inputs.

Download the free Pufferifish from food4rhino...

 

Grasshopper tutorial: Voronoi Pattern

In this 15-minute Grasshopper Voronoi Pattern tutorial, you will learn to produce a Voronoi Pattern based on sunflower seed distribution.

The technique uses the Maelstrom component to twist a series of straight lines to produce the Voronoi cells. It's not the actual Fibonacci sequence but it's a quick trick you can use to produce a pattern similar to it.

This is just one of a series of courses by Parametric House that you can enroll in.

Voronoi Pattern tutorial by Parametric House...

Formlabs Roadshow 2019 (London)

Formlabs is traveling to industry hubs across the world to celebrate the capabilities of 3D printing in digital manufacturing. This time they're bringing together local innovators to discuss how leveraging 3D printing is creating new business opportunities.

The Formlabs Roadshow is hitting London on Wednesday, July 17th and Simply Rhino is pleased to announce that the will be hosting two events at the Goldsmith's Centre.

Morning Session | Jewellery Focus | 09:30-12:00
This session is suitable for jewellers using all 3D CAD software options, including 3Design, Matrix, Rhino, and ZBrush.

Afternoon Session | Engineering & Design Focus | 13:00-16:00
This session is suitable for engineering and design studios using SOLIDWORKS, Creo, Fusion 360, Onshape, NX, CATIA, Rhino, ZBrush, or other CAD tools.

More information and registration here...

Exploring the Grasshopper/ARCHICAD connection

Watch a Graphisoft demo of the updated Rhino/Grasshopper/ARCHICAD connection in this presentation from the recent Reimagine 2019 conference.

Using sunlight analysis, Grasshopper and ARCHICAD are used to create a shading pattern. It's an excellent example of an automated, easy-to-use workflow for designing detailed repeating patterns and geometric shapes. 

Watch the presentation from ARCHICAD's Reimagine 2019...

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Parametric Design Workshops in August (Berlin)

LAVA Laboratory for Visionary Architecture (Berlin)

Beginner course August 17-18, 24-25, 2019

Intermediate April 24-25, 2019

Are you interested in gaining parametric competency to push your design skills to the next level?

Are you ready to learn a very exciting and powerful tool that will take your ideas and concepts to a whole new realm?

These Parametric Design Workshops (Beginners and Advanced) by Wassef Dabboussi will provide you with the necessary knowledge and ability to use Grasshopper, a free visual programming plug-in in Rhinoceros. The workshop will also include a hands-on parametric project.

• Option 1: General Workshop for Beginners - 16 hours: Starts August 17, 2019
• Option 2: Intensive Workshop for Intermediates - 8 hours: Starts August 24, 2019

More information and registration...

Grasshopper UK UGM London - July 23, 2019

Grasshopper UK UGM

Heatherwick Studio, London

July 23, 2019

Join SimplyRhino UK and McNeel at Heatherwick Studio for this special Grasshopper User Group meeting with updates from the team at McNeel, including details on Rhino Inside, Sub-D, Rhino 7 WIP, and more. 

Heatherwick will kick off proceedings with a presentation before we move on to McNeel and then Q&A with you and the development team.

Complete details and free registration...

Grasshopper tutorial: Para! Stairs

This Rhino Grasshopper stair tutorial uses a simple loft surface to model a series of parametric stairs. 

First, you model the base curves in Rhino and use the loft command in Grasshopper to make the surface. Then you will use the Contour command to make the stairs curves and use an offset component combined with extrusion to finish the model. 

This is just one of a series of courses by Parametric House that you can enroll in.

Rhino Grasshopper stairs tutorial by Parametric House...

WAR Workshop | Summer Workshop in Murcia, Spain

Arquitecturas que Respiran: Visual Programming Applied to Projects 

July 22-25, 2019

Cámara de Comercio de Cartagena

Murcia, Spain

Grasshopper summer workshop in Spanish for architects and architecture students.
Sponsored by the UIMP Menéndez Pelayo International University.

Learn how to design algorithms, plan and explain processes, translate processes into programming languages, incorporate external data into your design, explore the limits of coding and much more.

Complete details and registration...

Making robots accessible to the creative industry

KUKA|prc's goal is to make industrial robots accessible to the creative industry.

As such, members of the Association for Robots in Architecture can use KUKA|prc for free for research and teaching.

KUKA|prc builds upon the accessible visual programming system Grasshopper, which is a part of the CAD software Rhino.

It provides the robotic building blocks to directly integrate a KUKA robot into a parametric environment. Instead of writing code, simple function-blocks are connected with each other directly and the results immediately visualized.

More information here...

Architecture for a rhythmic gymnastics center

Architecture in the spirit of rhythmic gymnastics: Rhino with Grasshopper and ARCHICAD were used in this design for Irina Viner-Usmanova Rhythmic Gymnastics Center (RGC), near Moscow, Russia.

The RGC's roof was designed in Rhino/Grasshopper, from concept through to the production of construction drawings.

Ennoble Enhanced: New Swarovski Zirconia Gemstone Library, plus Prong & Cutter Builders for Rhino 5 & 6

Ennoble is a set of proprietary plug-ins for Adobe® Illustrator® and Rhino3D®. The software includes the Swarovski digital component catalogs and is ideal for digital jewelry/fashion/luxury designers and engineers.

With the latest release, Ennoble now provides access to over 1200 cut and size combinations from the Swarovski Crystal and Gemstone catalogs (hottest new addition: Swarovski Zirconia), as well as a new feature set for the creation of component prongs and cutter builders, primarily addressing common challenges of gemstone applications.

Enjoy the following generative design and engineering tools for Swarovski components in Rhino, now available for both Rhino 5 and 6:

• Drag & Drop Placement of over 1200 geometries (cut and size variations) from the Swarovski digital component catalogs, for NURBS (curves, polysurfaces, solids), subdivision surfaces and polygon meshes
• Real-time Updates, both in terms of the software (rolling updates for active subscribers) and new Swarovski collections (e.g., seasonal launches)
• Prongs, both aesthetic as well as functional
• Pavé for curves and surfaces/mesh geometries, such as spray-on brushes as well as color and texture based circle packing modifiers
• Cavity Creation and geometry optimizations for product visualization, rapid prototyping, and metal production
• Cutter Builder primarily for gemstone settings, e.g., fine jewelry applications
• Cup Mesh structural creation to transform designs into production-ready, self-sustaining geometric structures with accurate cavity settings, inspired by and ideal for 3D printing
• Bill of Materials of utilized Swarovski components automatically compiled for export

Release notes now online. New FAQ as well. Download the beta today. Or join the mailing list to receive follow-ups from the recent Total Chaos Master Class in Sofia and Rhino UGM in London, as well as general Ennoble news and release updates.

Ennoble is brought to you by D. Swarovski Distribution GmbH.

Pompano Beach High School’s SeaPerch club ROVs

Pompano Beach High School’s SeaPerch club is an award-winning underwater robotics club. This club was first introduced to the school by Club President Maria Ilonta in 2016. They started out building ROVs (remotely operated vehicles) mostly with 1-inch PVC pipe and pool noodles. As they progressed in their knowledge of Rhino, which was offered in a class at the school, they realized they could design faster, hydrodynamic, lightweight, buoyant models using the software. 

The team started using Rhino to design new models. They’ve built countess parts pieces and even whole models for these underwater ROVs. They customized their models and eventually, 3D printed them. They started placing top in every local competition and qualified to send teams with 3D printed ROVs to nationals in Atlanta, Georgia (2017), internationals in Dartmouth, Massachusetts (2018), and internationals in Washington, D.C. (2019). 

Follow them on Instagram!

For more information, please contact Ronald Holley.

What is a RhinoFabStudio? A RhinoFabStudio™ (fabrication studio) is a small-scale digital workshop, certified by McNeel, with an array of Rhino and Rhino compatible software and computer controlled tools and training. These tools cover the various leading-edge industrial methods and materials needed to design, analyze, and fabricate almost anything.

Camillo De Gaspari (Camdesign) on yacht design workflow

Camillo De Gaspari (Camdesign), Yacht Designer, has been kind enough to share his 3D design workflow with the Rhino community:

"Most of these concepts have been sketched on paper and then made as 3D models, and then redefined, in this case, inspiration came from various sources like a trend in the design world or the shape of an animal. When working starts from some specification or requirements from a customer, we speak of a conventional design spiral.

Rhino and its suite of plug-ins have been a very effective environment for creating these concepts. It can easily import and read most of the file formats used for the engineering of boats and larger, more complex projects, that require more participants and complementary software. 

YD requires a multi-disciplinary approach and the following is my usual workflow. When 3D modeling with Rhino that is the main part, Naval architecture is already consistent thanks to the use of Orca3D marine plug-in. Sometimes after modeling, a mockup of the boat might be sent to a 3D printer. 

Delta-eco (ABS plastic, 2011)

2D drawings can be generated and printed with very little effort from inside Rhino. Then I proceed adding textures for the rendering engine (Flamingo, V-Ray or Maxwell to name a few) and then I follow two different pipelines if working for an animation or for a still rendering. In the first case, I have utilized both the Bongo plug-in for Rhino or external programs like 3ds Max to add the kinematics. Then after rendering, the sequence of frames assembled in a video. Still images (or single frames) instead, allow for more post-production effects like multi-lighting or photo editing with a dedicated and well-known software like Photoshop, but there are also a good number of alternatives to this software especially on Mac. 

I tend to add a good amount of details to 3D models of small crafts and yachts, not only because they look more realistic but because there will be less modifications to be made during the executive phase and the construction of the project."

How to Generate a Thousand Master Plans (by KPF)

How to Generate a Thousand Master Plans:
A Framework for Computational Urban Design
SIMAUD 2019 (Georgia Tech)

The current process for the design of an urban master plan typically involves a team of architects and urban planners that conceive a handful of schemes based on zoning requirements with the help of CAD software. They may intend for the plan to achieve a set of performance goals (economic, environmental, etc.), but quantitative analysis is rarely conducted early and consistently through the design process. This makes it difficult to understand the full range of approaches that are possible on a site, and the relative performance of each scheme. 

To best accommodate rapid urbanization while making cities more sustainable, livable, and equitable, designers must use quantitative tools to make informed decisions about their designs. 

Computational design techniques have been successfully used at the building scale to test numerous designs and quantify their performance. But they are challenging to apply at the urban scale due to increased computational expense, difficulty in limiting inputs, and many more stakeholders involved in the process.

Read more and download KPF's paper here...

Sagrada Familia Nativity facade - 3D modeling from point clouds

Works carried out by Modelical for the Junta Constructora del Templo de Sagrada Familia.

You have probably heard of the basilica of the Sagrada Familia in Barcelona, a project by Antoni Gaudí. Surely you are aware that it is a building begun in 1882 and that it is still being designed and built, with the latest technologies available. What you may not know is that until 2018 the Nativity façade, which is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, had no reliable documentation describing it, either in two or three dimensions.

On the occasion of the restoration and cleaning works, a topography team was commissioned to survey the entire façade with point clouds and photogrammetry. From this work, Modelical's commission was to 3D model the whole set, both with NURBS surfaces and meshes, and extract 2D documentation of plan layouts and sections describing the facade.

Read the entire article on Modelical's blog...

NXT BLD conference London - recorded talks

NXT BLD (Next Build) is a future looking conference and exhibition which explores emerging technology for the built environment beyond BIM. Topics include digital fabrication, artificial intelligence, robots, generative design, VR, reality modeling, and lots more. 

NXT BLD 2019 took place in London on June 11, with a great set of speakers. Many of them Rhino/Grasshopper users.

If you missed the event, register now here (scroll the page down) to watch all recorded sessions.

ShapeDiver now supports Kangaroo 2 plug-in

One of the most exciting additions to Grasshopper 1.0 is the inclusion of the Kangaroo plug-in as a set of native Grasshopper components. Now, by popular demand, ShapeDiver supports Kangaroo 2.

Be aware that some Kangaroo features are not compatible with ShapeDiver due to its nature, and that was the main reason why they have been cautious to start supporting the plug-in.

If you want to know more about the precautions to take when using Kangaroo with ShapeDiver, please read their complete article here.

FABRICATE 2020 conference in London - Last day to submit your work

FABRICATE is an international peer-reviewed conference with a supporting publication on the theme of digital fabrication. Discussing the progressive integration of digital design with manufacturing processes, and its impact on design and making in the 21st century, FABRICATE brings together pioneers in design and making within architecture, construction, engineering, manufacturing, materials technology, and computation.
Discussion on key themes includes: 

• How digital fabrication technologies are enabling new creative and construction opportunities from component to building scales
• The difficult gap that exists between digital modeling and its realization
• Material performance and manipulation
• Off-site and on-site construction
• Interdisciplinary education
• Economic and sustainable contexts

FABRICATE 2020 will be co-chaired and co-organised by the Swinburne University of Technology, College of Architecture, Art, and Planning at Cornell University and The Bartlett School of Architecture, UCL.

For 2020, FABRICATE is returning to its birthplace, the Bartlett School of Architecture, UCL where substantial transformation in size, scope, and outlook has occurred in recent years including completion of the deep retrofit of its main building at 22 Gordon Street. The project, designed by Hawkins\Brown, doubled the available space. The building now provides over 1,200 students and 400 staff with cutting-edge facilities, including open plan studios, exhibition spaces and the workshop known as Bmade (The Bartlett Manufacturing and Design Exchange).

FABRICATE 2020 Call for Work...

ArchiCAD + Grasshopper Intensive Summer Course PAZ Academy, Zurich

AC+GH SUM1 

July 8-12, 2019

PAZ Academy (Parametric Academy Zurich)

Zurich, Switzerland

Join the ArchiCAD-Grasshopper Summer Camp and learn how to connect an early stage design with the Building Information Modeling.

Learn Grasshopper through simple exercises and all the technical steps to make these two software work together.

At the end of the course, you'll be able to understand, edit, and develop your first usable definitions. Optimize your daily work in a fun summer environment!

Complete details and registration...

DR_SoM Design Research Series on Method

Design Research Series on Method
October 24–26 2019
Graz University of Technology, Austria

The seventh session of Design Research Series on Method (DR_SoM) will take place at Graz University of Technology. This event is also the 5th Annual Conference of the Architectural Research in Europe Network Association (ARENA). For the third time DR_SoM focuses on architectural research in practice, but for the first time with an emphasis on the digital. In particular, DR_SoM wants to hear about projects and practices that see digital technology as a new way to think and conceive of design. For more information on the theme, please go to the online announcement.

If you would like to take part in the session, please send a concise description of the work you want to present. It must be less than 200 words (and any additional graphics material, if required). Send to hirschberg@tugraz.at by June 24, 2019, for consideration by the panel.

Note that full papers are not required as we recognize work in progress. However, participants are invited to write an illustrated paper afterward, for publication in a booklet dedicated to this DR_SoM session.

More information...

Form-finding through minimisation

News from the Master's Degree in Parametric Design in Architecture (MPDA): Daniel Piker will lecture and take part in the jury of Studio2 next Thursday, June the 20th, at 14.00h in ETSAV's Assembly Hall in Sant Cugat del Valles, Barcelona.

The course will focus on construction-aware design and conclude with the fabrication of 1:1 models based on novel and experimental building systems. This year students are designing and fabricating hybrid bending-active spherical GFRP elastic gridshells, with a high emphasis in the fabrication feasibility, and extensively relying on both physical and digital models made with Kangaroo and analyzed with K2e. The course has included several seminars and masterclasses with the participation of international field experts including Christoph Gengnagel, Riccardo La Magna and Cecilie Brandt.

Daniel Piker
Form-finding through minimisation

Daniel is involved in the design and realization of complex forms in architecture through both research and practice. Formerly working at Arup's Advanced Geometry Unit, and currently, in the Specialist Modelling Group at Foster+Partners, he is also the developer of the form-finding tool Kangaroo which enables a wide range of interactive physical simulation and optimization within the Rhino 3D CAD software.

Grasshopper - ARCHICAD 23 webinar (in Spanish) - June 26, 2019

ARCHICAD 23 has been announced recently, and the connection with Rhino and Grasshopper is now even stronger.

Come join SIMBIM Solutions webinar on Algorithmic Design (Grasshopper) in ARCHICAD.

Complete info and registration (in Spanish)...

Workshop: SortalGI shape grammar interpreter

Rhino / GH Shape Grammars

Taught by Rudi Stouffs, Andrew Li, and Dan Hou

June 22-25

at the CAAD Futures event 'Hello, Culture'

Daejeon, Korea 

Learn how to use the SortalGI shape grammar interpreter in this four-day workshop.

You will explore the development and application of shape rules within the Rhino/Grasshopper environment supported by the SortalGI shape grammar interpreter. This shape grammar interpreter supports both shape rules and description rules, including points, line segments, plane segments, circles, ellipses, circular arcs, and quadratic Bezier curves, in two and three dimensions, both parametric and nonparametric rules, and shape emergence, in both Rhino and Grasshopper.

The workshop will start in Grasshopper, using the SortalGI plug-in. The second half of the workshop will switch to Rhino, exploring a graphically interactive interface as well as a scripting interface to the shape grammar interpreter.

Tentative structure for the workshop:

• Day 1: Nonparametric shape grammars in Grasshopper, shape and description rules, curves—Rudi Stouffs
• Day 2: Parametric shape grammars in Grasshopper, predicates and directives—Rudi Stouffs and Dan Hou
• Day 3: Interactive shape grammars interface in Rhino—Andrew Li
• Day 4: Shape grammars in Rhino, shape attributes, basic scripting—Dan Hou

Each day will include one or more brief presentations on aspects relating to shape grammars and the SortalGI interpreter, more extensive hands-on tutorials to explore shape rules and grammars within Rhino/Grasshopper, and time and support to explore your own shape rules/grammar development and application.

Requirements:

• Bring your own laptop with Rhino 5 or 6 installed. 
• Some prior familiarity with Rhino is useful. 
• Prior knowledge of Grasshopper is not required. 
• Prior knowledge of shape grammars is not required.

More information and registration for the event and workshop...