SketchyGrid » SketchyGrid

Hoopsnake Experiments:Mesh Splitting

morrow.liam — Thu, 22 Dec 2011 18:27:34 +0000

For those who don’t know, hoopsnake is a component for grasshopper that allows the user to perform recursive operations. This has been consistently on the wishlist for features within grasshopper. This is the first time I’ve been able to experiment with the new component. You can download the new component along with a large amount of tutorial files to help you get off the ground at http://www.volatileprototypes.com/projects/hoopsnake/.

My exploration focuses on the base features. It takes a starting value adds to it consistently until it reaches a limit threshold set in my initial variables. These values are used as seeds to generate a varying topology that is then confined and split from a box. The result is a continuous list of varied objects. The benefit being that now I can filter down the list to desirable solutions.

Download Mesh Form Generator

Note:Version of Grasshopper Used-(Grasshopper 0.8.0063)

Version of HoopSnake Used-(HoopSnake 0.6.1)

Interconnected Loops: Part 2

morrow.liam — Mon, 31 May 2010 13:02:44 +0000

This is the final product of our interconnected wall experiment, minus the interconnecting bit. Due to time and access to the router this was the most that could be completed. The process after it was cut on the router involved many layers and was very time-consuming. The piece was cut twice, the front and back, these portions were glued together to achieve a two-sided form. It was necessary to cut out the holes by hand and then sand smooth, for a clean finish. Any notches or uneven edges were spackled, sanded, and then a final coat of paint was applied. It was framed with pine 1×4 and trim, the whole frame was stained and a final coat of polyurethane was applied.

Optimize Connections

morrow.liam — Sun, 30 May 2010 16:22:33 +0000

This definition is very simple, but incredibly useful. It sorts a series of points based on distance and then creates connections based on that list. The only slider in the definition is used to control the number of connections that are allowed. The purpose of the definition being that it optimizes the placement of connections.

Connecting Points Grasshopper File

Note:Version of Grasshopper Used-(Grasshopper 0.6.0059)

Interconnected Loops: Part 1

morrow.liam — Sat, 29 May 2010 03:50:15 +0000

The interconnected wall stems from work originally proposed by Erwin Hauer, this example has been reworked in grasshopper and tested physically on a cnc milling machine. The definition is used to design panels which do not collide with each other. It uses curves taken from rhino space to sweep2 a surface. This surface is extruded; which creates a closed brep that is suitable for a difference component. A cylinder is subtracted, then the piece is rotated 180 degrees to face the previous piece. In this stage it is important to make sure that no edges are colliding, this can be done by adjusting either the curves or the radius of the cylinder. My dimensions responded to the fact that I was cutting the object out of 2″ insulation foam, but all of the dimension can be controlled in the definition.

Interconnected Loop Tile Grasshopper File

Note:Version of Grasshopper Used-(Grasshopper 0.6.0059)

The aggregation of the module starts with a standardized grid; this grid is then distorted to create variation within the wall. It could easily be linked to some kind of attractor point (as was intended). The actual grasshopper definition of aggregation was borrowed from PinupSpace’s component population page. The definition is very simple; all it requires is a subdivided mesh, preferably with some kind of color information embedded. However, if you haven’t worked that out you can always just attach a Mesh Color component to your mesh, this will pattern your mesh with a color. PinupSpace’s script basically just breaks your mesh up into its color coded parts and then applies the selected module using a simple box-morph. I’ve included their video at the bottom of the page.

Part of what made this project such a learning experience was the fabrication portion of it. Our material choice for the project was 2″ insulation foam. This was mainly due to the contours that the router would need to cut. Having never used the machine before, I had no idea what to expect in terms of accuracy. I started with the preconception that the router would perfectly sculpt my 3d model. This preconception was flawed in two respects, the first being that the router dropped every pass a slight amount in the z axis. This meant you never really had a cut that was true to its digital counter part. The second oversight was in the ability of the material to retain its rigidity after having half of it sculpted away. A 2′x8′ sheet of foam does not stay flat after that much of it is stripped away.

-Liam Morrow

-Component Population On Mesh from Ted Ngai on Vimeo.

Tutorial:Circle Panels

morrow.liam — Sun, 20 Dec 2009 04:34:07 +0000

This Grasshopper definition uses a grid of points to generate a series of curves that respond to an attractor point. This definition is a great example of using really simple and basic concepts of parametrics to accomplish a more complicated goal. Essentially, all this definition is composed of is an attractor point that adjusts the curvature of a plane and an attractor point that adjusts the radius of circles that are projected onto that surface. The small bit of vbscript at the end is used to split the circles from the surface.

Note:Version of Grasshopper Needed-(Grasshopper 0.6.0019)

VBscript:

a = rhutil.RhinoSplitBrepFace(y, 0, x.ToArray, doc.AbsoluteTolerance)

As a bit of code, its actually not very necessary. Does it really matter if you split the circles in grasshopper or rhino space? In this case, not really, however its useful to know and more importantly it brings up the question of how integrated grasshopper can become with rhino. As a tool, grasshopper can be great a modeling things really quickly and when you start to make relationships its really great at doing calculations for you. These panels are a good example, they illustrate both a much easier way of modeling and an easier way of calculating the relationships between points. Grasshopper presents a much clearer way for the designer to understand what the relationships are within a given project. Given this diagrammatic way of seeing the logic behind an object, designers should begin to spend more time articulating these relationships and less time articulating the form.

The set of images at the top of the article represent an ethereal form of an object. They show a logic, but in order for them to mean anything they need to be put within context. The context would then generate a meaningful form. Whether you design in grasshopper or rhino space is irrelevant as long as there is some context attached to the object. An example with respect to this tutorial could be assigning the attractor points some sort of value, such as amount of light, pre-existing site constraints, or even something as simple as compositional logic.

-Liam Morrow

Tutorial Update:Grasshopper Louvers

morrow.liam — Thu, 26 Nov 2009 06:36:36 +0000

I've just uploaded a new tutorial based around the grasshopper plug-in for rhino, Louver Tutorial.  For those who don't know about grasshopper, visit this link (Grasshopper).  In short, grasshopper is a plug-in for rhino that is used to generate parametric objects.  Its more or less a playground for creating relationships between geometries.  In the tutorial, I explain by example how to decompose a surface in order to map points along it.  These points become the start of a louver system, in which all kinds of relationships could be created to organize their generation.

Note:Version of Grasshopper Needed-(Grasshopper 0.6.0019)

Flocking:Birds and the Like Part 2

morrow.liam — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 03:10:35 +0000

These are the iterations of the previously discussed grasshopper definition. The system on the left has its ratios(see first article) set to change at each iteration starting at .3 moving towards .8 and then returning to .3 at even intervals. The system on the right is used as a control it is permanently set to .5. All of these itterations stem from an understanding of flocking, researched from Craig Reynold’s original algorithm. For a better understanding I would recommend that people start there, Craig has very simple rules that explain the processes that are occurring.