Final model

STEP 1

First things first. Make sure you got your Snap option turned on in the status bar, and your OSnap enabled with some of the most commonly used options like End, Near, Point, Mid and Int.

We’ll start creating this little shovel from top viewport, like we would start tracing an image of some existing shovel imported in Rhinoceros.

With Curve command, create a curve in Top viewport which has its control points exactly like on the image below. This is why Snap (to grid) is handy tool to use here.

Image 1

Then we need another copy of this curve, and for that we will use Mirror command and mirror it across x axis.After that, use Join command to join two curves.

Then we can either use Line command to close these two curves into one closed polyline/polycurve, or use Close command which will do the same thing with less clicks.

Image 2

Now, using Rectangle command we will create a rectangle like on the image below: do not worry about the dimensions, just count the grid boxes and you’ll be fine. I’ve got some dimensions for you in case you get lost

Image 3

With Trim command, we will trim the parts of the two closed polylines which will help us join all curves into one closed:

Image 4

Next thing would be to make the corners smoother. They aren’t normally that sharp, are they? So, using Fillet command we need to fillet the upper and lower corners with 1 unit, and the inner ones with 2 units, and the tip of the shovel with 0.4 units:

Image 5

Now, before we go any further, it is good to check if all these lines and curves are joined all together. Just click anywhere on the line, and if everything is ok then it will be yellow as selected. One more thing to check is if this IS really closed curve with SelClosedCrv command which will select all closed curves.

Next thing we need is a basic shape of our shovel. Since it is curved in two sides, the best basic shape would be an ellipsoid. Using Ellipsoid command create one positioned just like on the image below:

Image 6

Ok, now we will Cut the Ellipsoid with the closed curve we created. From Top viewport, we need to select both Ellipsoid and closed curve, and run Project command. It is important to do this in Front viewport because the viewport is controlling the direction of the projection.

Image 7

Now we got two projected curves. One on the top and one on the bottom of ellipsoid. We don’t need the upper one, and we can delete it by selecting it and hitting Delete key on keyboard.

Using Split command, we will first select the object we want to cut which is in this case ellipsoid, and then the curve which is the object we wish to split with:

Image 8

Now we have finally created something that is actually resembling our shovel. This is one thin surface, and we need some thickness. Using OffsetSrf command we will first offset the surface and create one on top with distance of 0.3 units: (when you start the command, it will display white arrows on your surface, those are normals, and are used to see in which direction the offset will occur. Chances are your arrows point towards bottom, click on the surface and the arrows will change direction)

Image 9

We now have two flat surfaces and we need to connect them somehow. We’ll do that with BlendSrf command which will basically create nice blend surface between two surfaces: (Use AutoConnect option in command line)

Image 10

With Join command join the blend surface with two flat surfaces. You will notice on the part where would handle start there is some weird hole. Never mind that, that part will soon disappear.

Again, we need to create another Ellipsoid. Using Ellipsoid command create one like on the image below. Again, the positioning and size is crucial here.

Image 11

Hint: When you start Ellipsoid command, just follow these steps. Input “10, -3.75″ (that will set the center in the right position), press enter while active Front viewport (click anywhere in the viewport), “6, -3.75″ (that will set one dimension of the ellipsoid – length), press enter while still in Front viewport, “10, -2.25″, press enter while in Front viewport, “10,-1.5″ press enter Top viewport is active. Do not input apostrophe signs.

Using ExtractIsoCurve command, create a extract isocurve from the middle of ellipsoid. You need to hit the Quad point to make sure the circle is in ellipsoid’s center.

Image 12

Using ExtrudeCrv command we will create a cylinder out of this circle. So, start the command, select the circle, make sure the Cap option is set to Yes, and input 15 units in command line as extrusion distance.

Image 13

With BooleanUnion command connect ellipsoid with cylinder:

Image 14

Again, with BooleanUnion command we need to connect the plate and handle part:

Image 15

If you are getting something like on the image below….

Image 16

… then you need to use Dir command on the plate before you use BooleanUnion. Because the normals are pointing towards the inside, while they should point towards outside.

This next part will be a bit tricky, so pay attention. We need to create a variable fillet on the edges that connect the handle part and the shovel plate. The biggest radius will be 1 unit, while all others will be 0.8 units.

So, start FilletEdge command, and set 0.08 as default radius. Select the edges:

Image 17

… press enter, and click on AddHandle option in command line. Add 7 more handles like on the image below:

Image 18

The two big ones show be set to 1 unit, and you do that by clicking on the outer dot (center of an arc) and inputing the values.

Image 19

Final scene

Since it that time in the year again, some of you might find it useful to learn how to create few Christmas decorations for your tree visualisations

Introduction

Well, basically what we will do here is use solids for basic shapes and cut them how we like it.Simple, eh?

Step 1

In this step we will be creating the simplest decoration.

First Decoration

Go ahead, and create a sphere using Sphere command. Center it in the origin (0,0) and use 10 units as radius. To make this even simpler, you can set your Grid options like I have them. Just run Grid command, and where it says Extents click on it and input 10. That way you will have 10 units in your grid in every direction in the viewport which was active when you run the command. To apply this setting to all viewports, just use ApplyTo setting in Grid command. Click on it so it toggles from ActiveViewport to AllViewports. Now, simply using Snap option in your status bar we will start creating this Sphere.

Image 1

Once you got your Sphere, create another one, using 7 units as radius and position its center on 8,0. That is, 8 on the x axis, and 0 on the y axis.

Image 2

Now, using BooleanDifference make a hole in the bigger Sphere.

Image 3

We need to fillet the edges of this sphere. Using FilletEdge command fillet the edge with 0.2 as radius.

Image 4

Create a Circle from Top viewport with 5.5 as radius.

Image 5

We will Project this Circle onto the Sphere. We need to do this from Top viewport. So make sure it is active, and run the Project command to do the projection of the Circle on the Sphere. You will get 3 projected curves, and we only need the top one, so you can delete other two:

Image 6

Using Split or Trim command, we need to trim the upper part of the Sphere, with projected circle.

Image 7

Next thing we need is another Circle. This time create a Circle with 1.5 units as radius. Create it from top viewport in the origin (0,0). Then you will need to move it up (from either front or right viewport) with Move command by 17 units.

Image 8

Now, using ExtrudeCrv extrude this circle up by 1 unit. Make sure you don’t have Cap set to Yes, or BothSides set to Yes. Those two options need to be set to No.

Image 9

Ok, once you’ve done this, you need to make a surface with smooth transition from the sphere to the extruded circle. You will use BlendSrf command to do just that. As for the BlendSrf options, just leave it at default settings. Meaning AutoChain set to No, and for the Blend Bulge leave it as well at default settings, which are 1,1 and all other options unchecked.

Image 10

Next we will create a cap and a little wire to hang our decoration somewhere. So, using OffsetSrf offset the little cylinder surface outwards by 0.1 units.

Image 11

Now, using ExtendSrf command we will extend the upper edge of the offset surface up by 0.1

Image 12

Using Cap command we will close this surface into solid.

Image 13

Create another Circle, from Top viewport and use 0.5 units as radius. You should get your circle like on the image below:

Image 14

Now, using ExtrudeCrv command set the Cap setting to Yes, and extrude it up by 20 units, just so it goes through the cap:

Image 15

Using BooleanDifference command make a hole with this cylinder in the cap:

Image 16

Using FilletEdge fillet the edges of the tip with 0.1 as radius:

Image 17

Create another Circle with 2 units as radius, and position it like on the image below. Just make sure you create your circle from Front viewport. You can start Circle command, input in the command line when it asks you for the center 0,20 for the center, and then just 2 for the radius. You should get exactly the curve like on the image:

Image 18

We need a Curve starting from the circle. Using InterpCrv command we will create such curve from Front viewport: (you can start using OSnap if you haven’t already – Near would come in handy here)

Image 19

Using Mirror command we need to mirror this curve to the other side.

Image 20

Using Trim command we need to trim the Circle:

Image 21

I have almost perfectly hit the curve direction and smoothness and actually the curve is visually tangent to the circle. In reality that isn’t the case, so we need to fix it. We will match our curve onto the circle with Match command:

Image 22

Here you can see the black curve on the left, this is how the curve will be adjusted to match the tangency. So, now you see I didn’t actually hit the tangency manually. Do this same step for the right curve as well, and join all three into one:

Image 23

If necessary, using PointsOn you can change your curve a bit. But you will see if this is necessary after you make a surface. Using Pipe command we need to create a pipe surface. Use 0.2 as radius:

Image 24

Here you see this needs some adjustments. So, first, try moving it up a bit to see if this can fix it. If not, using PointsOn you will need to adjust the curve itself.

Image 25

For the purposes of this course, just moving this wire will do.

INTRODUCTION

I really liked modeling this model, it turned out really good, and I must say that it was pretty easy to model it too. However, there is fairly enough playing with Osnap, but then again, when do we not use Osnap frequently? Anyway, to get you started, you first need to download some kind of blueprints I made for you out of this model. You just gotta love that Make2D command!!!

Blueprints reference

STEP 1

First things first, we need to setup our blueprints. Not only import them into Rhino, but also position and scale to fit the dimensions marked on them. First, go to Front viewport. You can expand it by double clicking it. Next, using PictureFrame command browse for blueprints you previously saved to your computer. Now, you don’t need to worry about how to position or how big you should make it. We will fix that in a bit, but just make sure your blueprints are not tilted. For that you can use Snap, or even better Ortho.

PictureFrame

Move from blade tip

Scaled blueprints to fit the line length

Another line

pic

Introduction

Right, in this tutorial I will not go into depth of either VRay render options or materials. But I will go through creating your own materials rather than downloading them from internet. So, lets say this one is for real ultimate beginners.:P

Final Render

So for this tutorial, naturally, you will need a model of a bulb. So, you should first read and complete Modeling light bulb tutorial and create yourself a model. Oh, you’ve done it already? No you actually just took the finished model from the tutorial? Ah well, it is up to you actually.

If you haven’t already, download light bulb model here:

Final model

Ok, next step would be to set up your texture files. There is going to be some text written on the body of this bulb. So since I don’t have this kind of bulb at home, and I don’t know what is actually written on this one, I did some google searching and gathered some images. From Fresh2 website you can download some nice material like vector logo in .eps format and some images. And using some images from google I managed to recreate somewhat real looking textures. To save you some work, I will attach my finished textures here. You need one real texture that you will wrap around your model, and another called mask. It is basically black and white version of an original texture which tells our VRay where it will be transparent and where not. So, white color is marking the transparency, and black non transparency.

Texture image

Mask image

STEP 1

Ok, now that we have all our material, we can actually start. You can delete all layers except “default”. Now using SelCrv select all curves and delete them. We don’t need them anymore.

Rotate the bulb 90 degrees counter clock-wise in front viewport and using Line (or PolyLine) command make one line:

image 1

Again, using Rotate command rotate bulb from one line end to another as first reference point, and then using Ortho rotate so that line gets in a horizontal position. Then using Snap position it so the line is on the x axis like on the image 2:

image 2

Now, from the top viewport using SrfPt command create one surface. If you use Ortho and STrack it can help you create equal sizes surface.

image 3

Using Rotate (click on the Copy option in command line so it copies when rotating) create a copy of that new surface. Copy in right viewport:

image 4

Using FilletSrf fillet the two surfaces with around 100-200 units as radius. It depends how big surface you created. Ok, now we have created some simple scene for our model.

Next, we will start creating materials, but before that we need to set up couple of vray settings. Like output dimensions, you can set to 640×480 or 800×600 for testing purposes. In the Global Switches uncheck Batch render so you can work inside Rhino while rendering. Otherwise Rhino is “blocked”. You can hit the Render just to see the test. It is always a smart thing to do, to hit the render just to see the changes you’ve made to either materials or vray options.

image 5

Ok, now, instead of GI we will use HDRI for our scene illumination. To do so, go to Environment rollout and click on the small m next to GI (Skylight). A window will open, and there under Common, set the Type to Bitmap, and then on the right where it says Bitmap, File, browse for a HDRI map you have on your computer. If you don’t have one, use this one.

image 6

If the scene is too bright or too dark you can adjust it using multiplier just under the Bitmap drop down menu where you put the HDRI map.

Introduction

So like I said, in this tutorial you will learn how to model a light bulb in Rhino. The first “glass” part will be just a bit tricky because we need to control the curves little bit more than usual. After that we will make bulb screw threads, where the method is similar if not the same as the one explained on Rhino tips website. If only I known for it when I made this tutorial heh. Anyway, this one is pretty easy, but needs some special attention in some parts.

If you like, you can download source 3dm files step by step just to keep on the track.

source 3dm files step by step

This is what you will have in the end:

final model

STEP 1

First we will start from top to bottom. So we’re making the lighting spiral. Start with creating Circle from top view of radius 5cm. And create two small circles of radius 1cm. You can use Snap to make them really easy:

image 1

Next, we need a Spiral. Using Spiral command make one starting from origin. Once you start the Spiral command just input 0 (zero) and press enter, now from Front viewport make it high 5cm. And for the radius use your already made circle that is 5cm in radius. Move that spiral 3cm up from front viewport and you should get something like on the image 2 and image 3.

image 2

image 3

Now we need a little help line. You can make one starting from center of the right smaller circle. It should be straight vertical line, so you can finish it either from front or right viewport:

image 4

Now, using BlendCrv blend the lower end of spiral to the little help line with G1 continuity on both sides:

image 5

Using Copy command, copy the spiral and blended curve. While in the Copy command in the command line click on InPlace option. Or simply use Copy & Paste commands (ctrl+c, ctrl+v). While having selected two copied curves, Rotate them from top viewport by 180 degrees. Check if you have something like on the image 6:

image 6

Now, with create a Point from right viewport (or front would work fine too) exactly 9cm from origin:

image 7

Now, start Extend command, and press enter for dynamic extend. Enable OSnap and check Point option, and click on each upper end of spiral and extend it to the point.

image 8

Now the endings of two spirals are not tangent. So with Match command we will match those two curves. Make sure both ends are set to Tangency and Average Curves is checked:

image 9

Now select all 4 parts of 2 spirals and join them together. Now, using Pipe command we will make a surface out of this curve. For the starting and ending radius you can use two small circles as reference. Near OSnap option is a good way for this. Ofcourse, you could use sweep1 or even sweep2 commands.

image 10

Now the big circle will be used to create the body of our bulb. Select it and run ExtrudeCrv command. Make sure the Cap is set to Yes and BothSides to No. We will extrude it down by 8cm, so you can either use snap and count for yourself, or simply input in the command line -8 and press enter.

image 11

Using FilletEdge command fillet the upper edge of the cilinder by 0.5cm.

image 12

Using one of two smaller circles offset one by 0.3cm. And move it up vertically by 0.6cm.

image 13

Using Rib command and the body of the bulb create a surface like on the image 14. Rib distance is 0.2:

image 14 - mirrored curve for rib

Now for the ribs, we can make them look even prettier by filleting edges. So with FilletEdge command fillet those three edges for each rib with 0.05cm as radius:

image 15 - filleting

Now lets get back to the lower part of the bulb body. Like we filleted upper edge, we will chamfer the lower one with ChamferEdge command using 2cm as CurrentChamferDistance option.

image 16 - chamferedge

Now, we will FilletEdge the middle edge with 0.5cm as fillet radius.

image 17 - filletedge radius 0.5cm

Using ExtractSrf command we will extract the bottom cap surface:

image 18 - omg, we're using ExtractSrf for the first time

When you extract this surface, you can delete it. And using the edge where this surface was extrude it by 1cm down. So just input in command line when extruding -0.5. Make sure the Cap option is set to No.

image 19

Now, you can create PlanarSrf to “cap” it on one side: (you could also join all the upper surfaces of this bulb body and simply use Cap command to close it)

image 20

Lets do some details on the body. From front viewport create one line and offset it down by 0.3cm… Like on the image 21

image 21

With Trim command trim the body surface between two lines:

image 22

Using Offset command, offset the two edges inwards by 0.2cm. The easiest way is to first have everything deselected and run the command offset, then click on one edge from perspective view, and then from top viewport simply move your mouse pointer inside the cilinder and in command line type in 0.2 and press enter. Do the same for the other edge and you are set to go.

Then, using Loft command click on the lower edge first, then two offset circles inside, and then the upper edge, and with style set to Straight sections create loft:

image 23

Now, join those surface, and make it prettier with FilletEdge using 0.05cm as radius.

image 24 - smooth edges with FilletEdge

Introduction

Before we even start modeling we need Autocad plans of a house. I’ve taken dwg files and saved it as 3dm (native Rhino file format).  You can download it here:

plans

If you like, or if you get stuck with some step, you can download each step individually here:

step 1

step 2

step 3

step 4

step 5

step 6

final

STEP 1

Ok, in this first step we will be setting up our plans in 3D space. Actually we will align each view plan to our viewport in Rhino. But first, we need to group all the lines from each view and put them in a separate layer. Just so we don’t get big pile of curves in one layer, that way we wouldn’t be able to control anything. Organizing in layers is always a great idea because we can easily hide whole layer or lock it.

Ok, so lets start. First create a new layer named Plans and move all other layouts (except Default) inside Plans layers.

You should have your layers setup like this

Now we need separate layers for our views. We need 4 side views and one top. So go on and create new layers (top, front, left, right, back).You should have something like on the image 2.

image 2

Next thing to do is to group each view and put the lines in its layers accordingly.

image 3

image 4

We need to orient our blueprints so they fit in every viewport in Rhino, right now they are all oriented the same way visible in Top view. We will be using RemapCPlane command to do this, so we don’t have to rotate, Rhino can do that for us. So, lets start with Front view. To do so, click on the Front group of curves (or layer) from Top viewport and run RemapCPlane and click anywhere inside front viewport. You should get the same situation like on image 5 below.

image 5

Using Move tool and with help of Osnap (End option would be enough, but just to be sure you can check Intersection too. Near could be a little confusing) we will position our front layer in right place according to our top layer (check image 6).

image 6

We will do this same step for all other views, so we get a “house” made of plans. Sort of. Note: when using RemapCPlane for other views (groups of curves) make sure you use the right viewport and cplane. For example, if you want to remap back layer you will have to select it, run the RemapCPlane and click anywhere on Back viewport. Since Back (or left) viewport is not active by default, you can click on any of 4 viewport names with right mouse button, then Set View, and there you can choose which viewport to use. Just remember, For back group of curves you need back viewport, for right group of curves you need right viewport, and the same applies for left, front and even top.

I don’t think this should be very hard to setup, and once you do, you will have something like on the image 7 below.

And note the orientation of the letters above groups. That should give you pretty good idea of how well you did to recreate this.

image 7

RESOURCES

STEP 1

We will start from the bottom up. So, first we will model the bottom plate. Create two circles from the top viewport, one 11.9cm in diameter (if you see a diameter option in Circle command, click it so it turns into Radius – that means the diameter is on) and other 11.5cm.

Then we will need three more circles (you can make them anywhere, just make them concentric). Make them 0.3cm, 0.6cm and 0.8cm in diameter.

Now, using Mid, Quad and Cen options in Osnap, position these three little circles on the End (or Quad) point on the outer bigger circle. And move those three from right to left by 0.85cm.

Now we need three more groups of those 3 circles. So, we will use Arraypolar, and array them 4 times around the center of bigger circles (in my case that is 0,0 as I usually have my models in the origin).

Now, select the inner circle of two big, and outer circles of each three-group circles and move those circles up by 0.25cm (from front viewport):

Now, select and copy the inner circle of two bigger, and move it up by 0.55cm

Now, copy the outer circle, and move it up by 0.8cm:

Now, back to those 3-group smaller circles. Select the inner one (4 of them) and move up by 0.75cm. Then, copy those moved circles, and move the copied ones up by 0.2cm.

Now, pick one group of circles, and we’ll start making the boss. Create a surface between two smallest circles. I used extrude, but you can use Loft as well.

Now, the bottom one, I’ve extruded it to the bottom small circle (here, if you want to use loft, you need one more circle that is in the same construction plane as the bottom smaller circle).

And then, extrude the biggest circle to the upper small circle:

Now, we need to create the surfaces between inner and outer circles. We’ll do that with PlanarSrf.

Join those surfaces, and ArrayPolar like we did for the circles.

Now, we’ll make the bottom surface, so select outer circle, and 4 little ones and using PlanarSrf make a surface with 4 holes (just run PlanarSrf command and hit enter):

Repeat the same step for upper 5 circles:

Now, using the Loft command, make a surface out of outer circles (Use the straight sections in style option) :

Join those surfaces, and we’re done with the plate.Theres just one thing to do, that is fillet the edge. So, using FilletEdge and 0.1cm as radius, fillet the shown edge:

You can download this tutorial in PDF format here.

Organic Modeling for Jewelry Design with T-Splines and Rhino® 4

Designing a Ring

Juan Santocono

Industrial Design

Universidad de Buenos Aires, Argentine

Matt Sederberg

T-Splines, Inc.

© Copyright 2008 T-Splines, Inc.

Designing freeform objects can be difficult when working with traditional CAD software. T-Splines and Rhino 4 offer an easy way to create smooth, gap-free organic models for jewelry design.

The best way to read this tutorial about how to model a ring using T-Splines is by looking at the 3D model at the same time. You can follow the model’s progress by selecting the differ­ents layers in the file. The model can be downloaded at www.tsplines.com.

In this tutorial, anything in Blue is a Rhino command, while anything in Red is a T-Splines command. Type these commands in the command line of Rhino to run them.

STEP 1 – WIREFRAME

Ring Profile
First, draw the main profile of the ring using Curve. For me, the best way to get the right pro­file is by designing it undeveloped.

This particular design consists of two hearts connected by the body of the ring. The idea is to have a smooth transition between the body and the hearts, with no sharp edges.

STEP 2 – WIREFRAME

Control Polygon
Use ExtractControlPolygon to extract the control polygons of the curves.

In step 5, we will use this control poly­gon to generate a T-Splines surface with the same profile of the native curves.

STEP 3 – WIREFRAME

Inner Lines
Once we have the control polygon profile, we need to connect the points.Remember that the ideal thing is to have rectangular regions (keep that rule of thumb in mind when you draw the curves.)

Each line intersection will determine where the control points will be on the surface.

STEP 4 – WIREFRAME

Extrude Lines
Now we need to extrude these lines with tsScriptExtrudeControlPolygon (Thanks JB and T-Splines for this amazing tool!) in order to get a 3D control polygon.

Remember to delete all the internal lines after extruding. These inner lines are not necessary for the tsControlPolygonToSrf command (next step).

STEP5 – T-SPLINES SURFACE

Transform to T-Splines Surface
Before generating the T-Splines sur­face, we need to be sure that we only have the lines we need; for this, I usu­ally use: first, ungroup all, then split selected curves against each other (tsSplitCurves), select duplicate curves (SelDup) and Delete them.

Now the curves are ready to be trans­formed to a T-Splines surface.

Select all lines and enter the tsControl­PolygonToSrf command.

Check the preview option to ensure the surface is correct. Now we have a T-Splines surface.

STEP 6 – T-SPLINES MODIFICATION

Body Profile
To get the desired body profile, we need to make some changes by moving control points of the T-Spline surface using tsManip.

First, scale -X (in the negative “X” direction) the twelve selected points shown on the screen­shot. Scaling points is a way of moving them symmetrically.

Second, move these same points -Z in order to get a smoother curvature on the outside part of the ring body.

STEP 7 – T-SPLINES MODIFICATION

Face Extrude
For the ring design we need a flat face on the inner part of the ring body that will touch the finger.

One way to do it is by extruding faces. With tsExtrude, select the faces to be extruded, in this case all the ones that comprise the inner body. Do not select faces that touch a star point, this will result in the addition of control points that we don’t want right now.

The extrusion must be very small to get a small radius transition to a flat surface. In this case, 0.3 mm.

After we extrude these faces and exit the command, points associated with the extruded faces will remain selected. Scale these points to get the flat surface closer to the ends of the hearts in a smoother transition.

It’s important to pay a lot of attention to how the T-Splines surface react to these control points movements in order to understand it and use it on future projects.

STEP 8 – T-SPLINES MODIFICATION

Heart Modification
The idea of the design is that the two hearts are thinner on the interior tip and thicker on the body. To achieve this we just need to select the control points on the parts of the hearts shown and scale them -Z. (Scale the points of both hearts at once to ensure a symmetrical scaling).

Next, unselect the outermost loop of con­trol points and repeat the -Z scale. Do this with every loop of points (shown below).

Now we have the final shape of the un­folded ring.

STEP 9 – ADJUSTMENTS

Curvature Analysis
One way to know if our surface has the correct curvature and smoothness is with the CurvatureAnalysis tool.

For example, here I used the Gaussian Style to see clearly which surfaces have a negative (blue) and positive (red) radius.

I detected a surface area where the curva­ture changes from negative to positive in an unintended location, which breaks the smoothness.

I selected the control points that affect that area and scaled them (-X) to smooth the surface.

Notice that you can manipulate the surface while keeping the analysis on, this gives immediate feedback.

Once the curvature is fixed, the T-Splines surface is done

STEP 10 – SURFACE CONVERSION

Set Smoothness
Once we are satisfied with our design, we transform our T-Splines surface to NURBS surfaces. We need to do this because for the next steps we will use some Rhino tools that only work on NURBS, not T-Splines.

Before converting to NURBS, use the tsSetStarSmoothness command to smooth the surface at star points. I used a smoothing value of 5.

Transform
Next, use the tsConvertToRhinosurf command to turn the T-Spline into a NURBS surface.

STEP 11 – BODY INSCRIPTION

Preparing Surfaces
You can add some inscriptions on the ob­ject in many different ways (e.g. Boolean operations). In this case I prefer to do it by managing surfaces instead of “solids.” This way I have more control at each part of the procces, and also have less geometry to manage, which results in faster opera­tions.

First, Explode the NURBS surface and Hide all the surfaces except the one we need (see the screenshot).

Follow this process:

1-Create a solid TextObject.

2-Fillet the text.

3-Scale the text to fit it on the surface (tsManip).

4-Trim the letters’ surfaces and then Join them all together.

5-Fillet the text with the ring.

6-Ones we have all the letters filleted, Unhide and Join all the surfaces together to yield a closed polysurface, like we had before the inscriptions.

STEP 12 – FINAL TRANSFORMATION

Flow Along Surface
Finally, we need to deform the undeveloped ring surface to get a circular ring. For this, we will use the UDT Rhino tool FlowAlongSurface.

First, draw an arc that represents the side ring profile, extrude it using ExtrudeCrv (the distance will be the width of the ring) and finally unroll it (UnrollSrf) to get the base surface needed for the UDT operation.

Now that we have got all the sur­faces needed, just use the FlowAlong Surface tool using the unrolled sur­face as the Base surface and the arc extrude as the Target surface.

The result is a perfectly smooth, high detail 3D model of a ring ready to be manufactured.

Good luck in your modeling!

Any questions, write to my e-mail below.

Juan Santocono,

Industrial Design

jsantocono@fibertel.com.ar

A free trial of T-Splines for Rhino may be downloaded at www.tsplines.com.

]]> http://www.rhino3dhelp.com/tutorials/designing-a-ring-with-t-splines/feed/ 1 http://www.rhino3dhelp.com/tutorials/modeling-rowenta-hair-dryer/ http://www.rhino3dhelp.com/tutorials/modeling-rowenta-hair-dryer/#comments Tue, 15 Apr 2008 23:59:39 +0000 Ivan http://www.rhino3dhelp.com/tutorials/modeling-rowenta-hair-dryer/ Here is one organic tutorial, helping you with some standard shapes and objects. Check this one!

Ok, first, sorry for delay, I’ve been meaning to write this one down for 4 days now.

I must say that I’m pretty happy with this one, it turned out very accurate and great. I really like it! And it is pretty easy to model it. So check it out:

RESOURCES

1042008419.jpg

STEP 1

Ok, first things first, so lets start with tubular part. The part where the motor and heater is. I’ve measured 120mm the length and make a line with Polyline or Line command (the length of our reference image is 190mm). We will make three circles two on the start and end of line, and one 30 or 40mm from the left circle. You need to offset them by 2mm, or simply make another circle. I made another circle, so in the end I ended up with 6 circles. Far two right circles are in radius 26 and 28mm. The far left two are 34 and 36mm, and the inner two are 35 and 37mm.

Using InterpCrv command make a line connecting three outer circles. (use Quad option in Osnap for easier snapping). Next, do the same step for 3 inner circles.

Using Sweep2 for first and second rail select outer two circles, and for cross section curve select Curve we made earlier.

Make an ellipse and position it like on the image below:

Next, from Front viewport use Project command to project that ellipse onto our tubular surface. You will get two curves on the surface, and we need only the front one. Using it, we will trim the surface and make a hole:

Now, we’ll move onto handle. I like jumping from one part to another, I guess you already found that out

From top viewport using reference image, outline outer edges with InterpCrv. Just to make sure, I made a straight horizontal line in Top viewport (using Ortho) and trimmed off the two curves. Now, we are sure those two curves has endings in the same cplane.

Create another ellipse, this time one radius 15mm and other 13mm. Using End and Quad options in Osnap, position the ellipse between two curves, first move it to the end of one curve, and using PointsOn command, stretch the ellipse to fit the other curve’s end.

Copy that ellipse, and position it like on the image below. You also need to stretch it with moving control points so it touches both curves. I have also made this ellipse 4 points higher. So, select upper three control points and move them 4 units up, and then move lower three control points and move them by 4 units (mm) down.

Next, using that second bigger ellipsoid and two handle curves, we will make a sweep2.

Using DupBorder we will duplicate border of newly created surface. We will get two closed curves, and we need the little one only, as we already have the bigger one. So, now, delete the surface, and again create sweep2 rail between two rail curves, and using now three closed curves:

And now, we have a handle! Next, we will blend the two surfaces, so use BlendSrf command. Note that we need to check the Same height shapes option:

Hopefully you got something like on the image below:

I have corrected the wrong name, instead Slide Rule, this is actually called Vernier Caliper. So, thanks to Chuck Hoffmann for pointing that out

Resource files

Images

Blueprints (pdf)

Video tutorial

http://www.rhino3dhelp.com/video/modeling-slide-rule-video/

Introduction

I’ve decided to make a slide rule as my first tutorial because it will be the most used tool to measure object I will model. That way I can provide you very accurate blueprints and models for you to use and download.

Step 1

First, we will set up our scene with some background image that we will use as reference for modeling. Please note that I will not follow the curves in background image all the time. It is solely for reference, and my modeling is strictly based on my taken measures. Before we start, you need to open the centimeters template in Rhino. As we will have grid laid out as centimeters.

First we will measure the length of our slide rule. I don’t have another slide rule, so I’ll use regular ruler. If your Osnap is not enabled, please enable it now as it is the tool you will use the most! You just can’t live without it, and sometimes with it. Something like having a girlfriend.

I have measured 22.4 centimeters, so lets make a nice polyline long 22.4cm starting from origin of coordinate system (0,0). You can click on Snap so your cursor snaps on intersection of grid lines. That line is mostly for orienting the background image we will insert next.

So, lets put the background image. Go to View->Background Bitmap->Place and browse for your reference image (you can download it from this page). Again, if your snap is not on, click on it so it gets bold (that means it is on). You can either write in the command line 0,0 or you can click on origin. That is the first corner, and next you need second corner. Just move your mouse and stretch the box so it is a little wider than your 22.4 line. After that you are still in the command, and you can choose some of cool options, like grayscale image. It is default to yes, so you can click on no. I like it that way.

Now, we will adjust the background so it fits our reference line 22.4. First we need to move it a little to the left. Go to View->Background Bitmap->Move and move it. I believe the image is self explanatory. Next we need to scale the background image down, go to View->Background Bitmap->Scale.

This is what you need:

Step 2

In this step, we will be making the base top view for our model. You need to have the documentation preferably printed out on A4 format for better comparison and readout of dimensions.

Ok, we’ll start from the upper right corner of our slide rule, and we’ll use polyline to create the base closed curve. Lets create first 5 segments of this part. Select polyline (or type in command line _Polyline) and click on that far upper right corner, and type in the command line 1.5 and press enter. Next input (you are still in the command) 21, then 1, then 0.1 and in the end 5th segment is 2.8 in length. You have something like in the picture.

(please note that in technical world point “.” is used for decimal point, and comma “,” is used for separating the coordinates. i.e. 5,4 is a coordinate with 5 units as x or abscissa and 4 as y or ordinate, while 5.4 is length – if you are interested you can refer to wikipedia’s Cartesian coordinate system)

We’ll continue with the segments, this time on the left upper side. We can start with putting the point in the start of our first reference line we created in step 1.

That point we need to move along the reference line for 2.2cm right. So use the move tool, click on the point, and input 2.2 in command line and make surein the osnap settings you have Near checked. Or, you can click on Ortho and move the point. Next, we will again use polyline and this time we will start from the moved point. Again, make sure you have Point checked in osnap settings. Input 0.3 in polyline command, and go up, then click, input 2.2 go left and click (it is a lot easier if you have Ortho on the whole time you make this) and then input 1.8 and go down and click. End the command by hitting enter, or clicking right mouse button. Now, you need to disable Ortho and make that angle line. You can use polyline again for that. Now you can position the line according to reference background bitmap. Start from the end of last line, and end where the part is starting to curve according to background bitmap.

Next, you will create another line, starting from the end of right line, and make it parallel to x axis and length random. Use Ortho. Then, using blend command, create blend between that parallel line you just created and that angled line. You should get something like on the image below:

Using Trim command you can trim that reference line and that Point we created earlier. Join all lines and curves, and you should have closed curve which you will use as a base curve for creating the model.

Step 3

Lets create the little holes for screws. Using Circle command we will create two circles according to position like on the image. You can either create two circles one by one, or you can create one and mirror it so you are sure the proportions are ok, and that both circles are exactly the same distance from the base closed curve. I have used the second method. Activate the Circle command, and point in the center of upper screw. For the radius input 0.15. Now, make sure in osnap settings you have cheched Mid, and select the Mirror command. We will mirror that circle according to the Middle point on the right line, and now again we will use Ortho.

Finally we are moving from 2D to 3D. So, select (Hold Shift + Click = Adding to selection || Hold Ctrl + Click = Removing from selection) the closed curve, and both circles. Type in the command line Extrude and 0.3 for extrusion height.

Next we are moving on the opposite side again, and we’ll make little cuts on the curved part. The cut itself is 1cm wide, so again, you can use the same method with Point to start the line. So create the point in the far bottom point, where curved line ends, and move it up by 1cm. Make sure the point is on the top plane of your model. Start the polyline from that point and move left and down according to image.

The shorter line needs to be adjusted a little. You can select the L polyline, and using PointsOn command turn the control points on. After that, control point that is on the edge of the object needs to be lowered down by 0.14cm. Be careful, as there resides the Point you created earlier, so when you click, you will be prompted which one to select, and select Curve Point. Using move tool, and Ortho, from Front View you can move it down. After you’ve done that, using PointsOff command turn off the control points, and using Explode command explode the L line, into two lines. Next using Sweep1 sweep the shorter line along the longer or vice versa. extrude the shorter line up (use the direction [d] for specifying the direction of extrusion if it is not as we need it).

Now, join those two surfaces. You can mirror that joined surface, even though I didn’t do it that way in video. Using trim command trim your base object with those two flat surfaces (actually it is one, as we joined it).