V Assignments

Due Tuesday May 15
Design, model, and make an object that can be formed with Rhino’s “unroll” tool. This object should make effective use of the unique capabilities this tool represents while maintaining an awareness of the limitations it presents. The kind of object you work on is up to you – it can be a new object of your own design, or a model of an existing of object; it can represent a functional typology or it can be sculptural or abstract, it can be a model or “the real thing”. Whatever you choose to do, it should be a complex, volumetric object that challenges your abilities as a Rhino modeler. The deliverables for this project are:

• Rhino model
• Rendering of Rhino model
• presentation quality physical model, cut and formed in paper or similar sheet material
• flat pattern used to create the model, printed in the same scale as your model
• size and scale of the model are up to you, but it should be large enough to facilitate group discussion

Keep in mind that the unroll tool can not work with compound curvature. As a result, your object may need to be simplified or modified to be suitable for this process. Think creatively about how to best do this. Also keep in mind the limitations of the various printers and papers you might use for this project, but don’t be limited by what can fit on an 8.5×11 or 11×17 sheet of paper. There are numerous nearby places to print large format and you may also use laser cutting for this project. Remember that paper comes in more colors than white, and you can print graphics, colors and text in addition to cut lines.

f cspecce

Link

f jalbano

Link

f jalbano

Download this file as a reference, which includes a mesh and basic construction curves model depicted below, then rebuild the geometry indicated in the mesh with surfaces.

f cspecce

Here is a reminder of the expectations for the next assignment, as we discussed in class.

Design a three piece family of cutlery or serving utensils. Your design must satisfy the following requirements:

• the three designs in your family must share a consistent form language. wherever possible, reuse or modify geometry from one piece to the next (the handle, for example)
• at least one of the pieces in your family must be a spoon
• carefully consider the contextual and utilitarian aspects of your typology, as well as your intended user. How do these factors affect your aesthetic decisions?

For Tuesday (April 9), you should begin working on concepts for your design so that in class we can discuss your intentions and you can begin working. This work can be in any form (sketches, drawings, models, preliminary CAD models), but should be at a high enough resolutions to facilitate productive discussion and should provide clear, actionable direction for your next steps (not tiny doodles). The next phase of this project will be to model and render your family of objects. We will also realize at least one of them in full scale, with rapid prototyping (we will discuss this technology further).

f cspecce

As we discussed in class, the focus of this week is modeling your panels in preparation for machining on the CNC router. We will review how to set up your part in MasterCAM, but here is a review of the project requirements:

Design Requirements

• your panel is to be cut on the CNC router in expanded polystyrene foam (the pink or blue stuff)
• Each panel must have a finished dimension of 12″ wide x 12″ long
• The panel can have a maximum thickness of 2″
• Panels should have a minimum thickness of .25″
• Although it is discouraged, you can perforate through your panel
• The panels must be straight and square along the length and width
• Machined panels can be finish sanded or left with tool marks
• Do not paint the panel
• Routed panel must cut from a single 14″ x 14″ x 2″ piece of foam. Use these dimensions for your “stock” in MasterCAM.

Machining Requirements

• No Roughing – only finish toolpaths
• Use only Parallel Finish Toolpath(s) – any step over, any angle.
• Cut your panel out from the stock with a 2D contour toolpath – be sure to include tabs.
• only the following .25″ (straight and ball end) and .5″ (straight and ball) tools may be used.
• Maximum machining time: 35 minutes

f cspecce

Part 1: Toy Boat Exercise
Finish the “Toy Boat” modeling exercise that was started in class. Once you finish this exercise, go back and embellish the  model with modeling and rendering techniques. Make a rendering of the model and post it to the website in a post marked with the category “Assignment 3”

Part 2: Eames LCW
Watch this tutorial and build the model demonstrated in the video.

Modeling a bent plywood chair from Rhino Tutorials on Vimeo.

You will need the two images below to complete the tutorial

Part 3: Mustard Bottle
Complete this tutorial, demonstrating how to build a Mustard Bottle.

Part 4: Repeating Wall Panel
Propose a design for a repeating, tile-able* wall panel for a specific place on the RISD campus.

• The place for the panels must be specified by the designer. It is the expectation that the panels would fill all, or at least a significant portion of the wall(s)
• Location can be interior or exterior wall(s)
• work in groups or individually. If working in groups, one panel design must be created by each group member
• panel geometry must be producable via 3 axis CNC machining
• panel dimensions are set at 12″ x 12″ with a depth variable of 2″

*Repeating and tile-able are used here to mean that when multiple instances of the same panel (or group of panels) are placed adjacent to one another, the resulting pattern has an aesthetic integrity equal to the consideration given to the individual panels.

Due March 13

• Photographic documentation of the location on campus for proposal
• Studies showing exploration of tiling/repeating concepts
• Studies showing exploration of concept in context (drawing, model, collage, etc)
• In-Progress CAD model.

Due March 20

• CNC ready CAD file

Due April 2

• CNC Machined tile model
• Rendered/composited view of repeating panels in context
• Rendered view of panels repeating

f cspecce

Due March 5

Build a model of the three “Thonet” chairs that we began working from in the computer lab. Use the pipe tool to build solids around the 3D curves you draw. The primary goal of this assignment is to master drawing 3D curves, including manipulating points in 3D space. Although you should be as accurate as possible, this project is not intended to produce exact copies of these chairs. The three chairs are available for inspection in the computer lab during open hours.

• Build all chairs in a single Rhino file
• Place each chair on its own set of layers
• Use nesting layers to place each part of the chair on a separate layer
• Build each chair to have a consistent relationship with the origin (if one is centered over the origin, make all of them centered, for example)
• Keep all important curves on layers to facilitate organization and management
• Create a single rendering  of all three chairs composed and arranged to create a “compelling” image.
• Create a new post with your rendering and your rhino file, mark this post with “Assignment 2” as the category.
• Name your Rhino file with the following naming convention: LastnameFirstname_Thonet

f cspecce

Due February 28

Part 1: Purchase and install Rhino

Part 2: Tutorials
Complete the “Introduction” and “Build a model with solids” tutorials from the “Getting Started” part of Rhino’s “Help.”  They can be found from the drop down menu: Help>Learn Rhino>Getting Started. Also available online here (mac version takes you here): http://www.rhino3d.com/5/help/. Don’t do the rubber duck tutorial.

Part 3: Design and model a family of drinking glasses
Design and model a cohesive family of 3 drinking glasses that can accommodate standard liquid quantities (pint glass, juice glass, highball, wine glass, tumbler, etc). Each glass must be a solid (completely enclosed volume) made only from a single revolve.

Look online to find standard quantities and use Google to convert from your desired liquid quantity unit (pint, fluid ounces, liters, etc) to your volume unit in Rhino (cubic inches, cubic mm).
Crate and Barrel has lots of glasses with volumes indicated
Examples of Google conversion via search using the queries: “1 pint in cubic inches”, “14 fluid ounces in cubic mm”, “1 liter in cubic inches”

Place each glass on its own layer, with a layer name that indicates the volume and type of glass (pint glass, 10 oz. Highball, for example). Make separate layers for curves and construction geometry, as needed for each glass and name the layers accordingly. Save your file with the naming convention: FirstnameLastname_Glasses. Create a rendering that shows your three glasses and save it as a jpg.

Create a new post with your rendering displayed and your .3dm file linked. Be sure to mark this post with the category “Assignment 1”.

Part 4: Account set up
Set up your account for the class website. Add an image for your profile picture with Gravatar.

f cspecce