UTS Central: A case study in digital fabrication

You can read a case study for UTS Central, a design project for the University of Technology Sydney.

Discussed for this 17-story glass-encased building are:

• Early contractor involvement.
• Prototyping.
• Shifting away from conventional BIM software to more manufacture-based software. Delivery of the BIM information.
• Geometrically deriving the sun shading system in Grasshopper. Fabrication of these louver and cladding panels from folded aluminum components. 
• Individual fixture design.
• The Grasshopper script.
• Material feedback.
• Scan data to determine the as-built structural steel geometry.
• 2D documentation.
• On-site installation.

UTS Central: A case study in digital fabrication by Parametric Monkey...

PARAMATERIA Advanced Course in Parametric Design, Digital Manufacturing and Product Development - Berlin

PARAMATERIA

Advanced Course in Parametric Design, Digital Manufacturing and Product Development

October 4 - December 10, 2019

Berlin and Eberswalde, Germany

To help qualify you for the growing parametric design job market, PARAMATERIA is offering a two-month full-time course in the fascinating fields of digital manufacturing, robotics, and product development.

Enroll now!

Enrollment is now open for the first edition of the PARAMATERIA course in this fall in Berlin and Eberswalde, Germany.

The course is for tech-driven students and young professionals keen on pursuing exciting careers in leading-edge industries like robotic fabrication, product design, fashion, architecture, automotive, and more.

• Create innovative, customized, and sustainable products from start to finish.
• Solve real-world manufacturing challenges.
• Excursions to leading manufacturers in Germany.
• Case study project: design, fabrication, and assembly of a full-size origami pavilion.
• Operate within the highly equipped industrial facilities of the woodworking company LIGAS in Berlin.
• Enjoy a productive campus atmosphere at the Eberswalde University for Sustainable Development.

Details and registration...

Resilient Skin Code - AA Visiting School Milano - October 7-18, 2019

Resilient Skin Code

AA Visiting School Milano

October 7-18, 2019

Resilient Skin Code, a collaboration between the Architectural Association and Politecnico di Milano, will take place in Milano October 7-18, 2019, in conjunction with the Fall Milan design week.

The school will study new relationships between architecture, fashion design, and resilience, exploring advanced computational skills and digital fabrication techniques combined with craftsmanship techniques.

Students will create a wearable structure that is also a form of shelter, incorporating a small-scale structure. The aim is to meaningfully contribute to the ongoing discussion about the way we address design and sustainability in the fashion and architectural industries.

The design process will include geometrical explorations, assembly methods, and modular systems emerging from both fields.

Students will be introduced to Rhinoceros and Grasshopper, focusing on modeling and parametric design, as well as digital fabrication technologies, specifically 3D printing, and robotics. Diverse handcraft techniques such as folding, weaving, printing, and wrapping, combined with high-resolution digital products, will be presented.

Students will be introduced to the latest theoretical thinking to complement the research, guided by professionals and academics from the architectural and fashion worlds.

Complete details and registration...

Follow AA Visiting School Milano on Facebook and Instagram!

Parametric Design workshop by Jeroen Coenders (White Lioness) in Delft (Netherlands)

Parametric Design workshop

by Jeroen Coenders (White Lioness)

Delft (Netherlands)

November 27-December 12, 2019

Adjust architectural and structural designs easily with a mouse click? Designs that adapt to environmental data? Automated calculations? Realize design optimization? The possibilities of parametric design are tremendous and an increasing number of companies in the construction industry are using it. 

Do you want to learn how parametric design can help your company? Register for the 4-day Dutch course Parametric Design with Jeroen Coenders of White Lioness technologies. The course starts on November 27 in Delft (The Netherlands).

Complete details and registration (in Dutch)...

UPB's 7th Edition - Minor in Digital Fabrication Commencement Ceremony

Universidad Pontificia Bolivariana's (UPB's) RhinoFabStudio invites you to join the 7th Edition of their Commencement Ceremony, honoring 37 students who have successfully completed the Minor in International Digital Fabrication.

A certificate will be awarded to students who have successfully completed the required courses for the Minor including Rhino and four electives. 

To learn more about UPB's RhinoFabStudio watch this video!

Date: Tuesday, August 27, 2019
Time: 10 AM
Location: Ignacio Vieira Auditorium Universidad Pontificia Bolivariana - Medellín, Colombia

For more information please contact Ovidio Cardona Osorio.
ovidio@mcnnel.com

What is 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.

To become a Certified RhinoFabStudio please visit this link!

Rhino DOF Training @ McNeel Miami

Register for the Rhino DOF - Rhino Design Optimization & Fabrication training by McNeel Miami, home of the RhinoFabStudio.

Course Description:

In this class, you'll learn to create and edit accurate free-form 3D NURBS models. This fast-moving class covers most of Rhino's functionality, including the most advanced surfacing commands. Also, you'll learn the concepts and features of Grasshopper at an accelerated pace in an instructor-led hands-on environment. The advantages of using Grasshopper in preliminary design and concept development come to life since the students may be able to create their models on a 3D printer and a laser machine if time allows.

D+O+F Training:

USD $799

Date: September 16-19, 2019

Time: 8:30 AM–4:30 PM (EST)*

If you are not able to attend the 4-day Rhino D+O+F workshop, choose between these two options:

1) Rhino Training Level 1: Day 1 & 2

USD $495

Date: September 16-17, 2019

Time: 8:30 AM–4:30 PM (EST)*

2) Grasshopper: Day 3 & 4

USD $495

Date: September 18-19, 2019

Time: 8:30 AM–4:30 PM (EST)*

*Note: All times listed are Eastern (Miami) time zone

Location for all courses: 
McNeel Miami
1538 NW 89th Court
Miami, FL 33172

Space is limited. Register here!

For more information please contact Jackie Nasser or call 305-513-4445.

What is 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.

Photogrammetry file transfer for Rhino

Background image in Rhino with overlaid CAD data, showing the difference between the original and adjusted photos.

You might consider using photogrammetry instead of laser scanning.

Photogrammetry generates the 3D coordinates of selected points, usually applied targets. Export the points to Rhino and then work with the points in Rhino.

To do this, you apply targets, take your photos from varied locations, process the images on the computer, and export the results to Rhino.
You can integrate photogrammetry into your Rhino workflow using PhotoModeler. Import solved camera positions, rotations, and undistorted image backgrounds directly in the Rhino's native .3DM format. 

A few things PhotoModeler can do:

• Comprehensive Rhino 3DM export with geometry (2D and 3D points, lines, surfaces, textures, and NURBS, layers & materials), camera position and orientation data, and two styles of image background.
• Transfer complete 3D models with NURBS, surfaces, textures, etc.
• Work with the same layers and materials in both programs.
• Transfer accurate scale and coordinate systems for accurate dimensioning.
• Transfer project notes to Rhino notes.
• Set up orthographic image backgrounds in Rhino.
• Work with 2D patterns and templates for camera-based digitization.
• Transfer an accurate camera view for each original project photo.

PhotoModeler Technologies wrote a blog post with tips for using photogrammetry and PhotoModler with Rhino.

Optimus - new metaheuristic optimization plugin for Grasshopper

Optimus is a new metaheuristic optimization plugin for Grasshopper. The first version implements the Self-Adaptive Differential Evolution with Ensemble of Mutation Strategies (jEDE). While the self-adaptive approach updates crossover and mutation rates, the ensemble of mutation strategies uses three operators to find the optimal result. The main purpose is to support the Performative Computational Architecture framework during the design decisions in the conceptual phase.

The plugin experimented with using standard test problems, some of the test problems proposed in IEEE CEC 2005, and one design optimization problem. (All these are below). The results show that Optimus (jEDE) outperformed some of the single-objective optimization algorithms available in food4Rhino by finding much better solutions for 20 out of 21 problems. The target audience of the tool is frequent users of parametric design modeling, e.g., architects, engineers, and designers.

The algorithm background and the results are here.

ShapeDiver now supports Pufferfish plugin

The Pufferfish plugin is a set of 280 components which focuses on Tweens, Blends, Morphs, Averages, Transformations, & Interpolations - essentially shape-changing.

That said, it provides tweening tools for almost all geometry primitives in Grasshopper, and its real power is when those operations are executed on more complex primitives such as meshes and surfaces.

On top of the traditional categories of geometry, Pufferfish offers extended support for twisted boxes. Like any other primitive, they can be used for tweening operations. The good news is that all components are now supported without restrictions by ShapeDiver.

See the example model uploaded to ShapeDiver, which uses the "Twisted Box Loft" component to create the array of boxes and the "Morph to Twisted Box" component to morph different types of tileable elements to array on the following article.

Rhino and Grasshopper training in Russia

Limited Liability Company VOPLOSHENIE, Authorized Rhino Trainer and Reseller, has organized a series of online training classes in Russian during the next months.

Details and registration here (in Russian)...

Interested in a case study of a Thai airport?

Paul Wintour of Parametric Monkey published a case study for the new Suvarnabhumi International Airport Midfield Satellite Concourse in Bangkok.

Read about the software and processes used in the design studies. And read about what worked and what didn't.

Case study of Suvarnabhumi International Airport...

Rhino3DMedical - Creating CAD models straight from medical images with Rhino

Mirrakoi announces its new product, Rhino3DMedical, enabling users to create manufacturable and 3D-printable designs directly from medical images. 

“We provide powerful medical image analysis tools within a high-end CAD environment in an all-in-one workspace. You no longer need to import and export between different tools or switch software for the different steps in the workflow,” says Daniel Schmitter, CEO of Mirrakoi.

The software is still under development and is currently available for testing purposes.

Complete info, download, and manual...

Steam bent theater seating

Photographer: Greg Mooney

Rhino contributed to the renovation of Atlanta's Alliance Theatre, a project combining steam bending with laser technology.

To achieve the sinuous design and installation, Trahan Architects borrowed the form-making ideas of celebrated furniture and design artist Matthias Pliessnig.

How do you scale an artist’s handcrafted quality to outfit a 650-seat theater? Pliessnig and Trahan’s team used steam to soften hundreds of reclaimed white oak slats, and then bend them into place around the theater to create a serpentine surface along the theater's balcony railing and side terraces. The custom-shaped and -positioned slats provide outstanding acoustics inside the theater. And steam bending the wood was more efficient than milling it on a lathe.

Working with the Plaistow, N.H.–based wood fabricator CW Keller Associates, in Rhino, the team devised a model that called for approximately 100,000 linear feet of wood slats placed around the theater. In locations where the acoustics needed a reflective surface, the slats were spaced close together. Where absorption was needed, the slats were set further apart.

The curvy, undulating aesthetic required laser scanning and projection. The laser projection allowed the assembly team to take the fabricated oak panels and place them without relying on measuring tape and plumb lines. The projector projects placement points on the theatre wall. 

Watch the process in the Faro video Alliance Theater, Atlanta, Georgia.

More photos and details are also in Architect Magazine's article.

Archicad + Grasshopper Intensive Summer Course Paz Academy, Zurich

AC+GH SUM2

August 12-16, 2019

PAZ Academy (Parametric Academy Zurich)

Zurich, Switzerland

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

Learn Rhino and 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…