Turorial 3 - Emergent Form

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from the project brief.......

//Intent//
The intent of tutorial 3 is to introduce the Product Workbench. You will begin to see how the part and product might be used interactively to shape a structure or assembly. The Assembly Model offers the possibility in which the parts might define the overall form, a bottom-up method of working.

//Tasks//
Again use an existing project that might reuse a set of parts to defi ne an overall form. A masonry arch might be the simplest example of this way of thinking. Develop at least 3 different parts and begin aggregating.

You can use the video capture tool in DP or you can link a series of screen captures together. Upload a video or series of stills to your blog. Again, the representation will be instrumental in describing the method. Consider an animation and methods for showing what is moving and what is static.

to begin this project, i explored a number of options for creating a base element that could be adaptable, including subtracting from a mass, booleaning multiple masses to creat one form, and ultimately creating a twisting brick using the 'multi-section solid' command, running along a spine.

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brick 1:

process: i created this brick with a number of parameters present, including linking the width to the length, as well as controlling the twist, both vertically and horizontally by creating angular parameters and incorporating the functions into the sketches. by creating a spine, on an angle, the plane for the top of the brick is allowed to be created on a new axis system plane, adapting as the angle parameter is modified. an interesting note was the inherent issue of the multi-section solid extrusion shifting the matching corners from the base profile to the top, resulting in a severe twist in the solid. i was able to fix this by using the 'coupling' command in the dialogue box, matching each corner on the base to the appropriate corner at the top. i chose to keep the initial twsted form as a second option to contrast the coupled result (see brick 2 below).

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brick 1 moebius:

process: the twisting form of the brick allowed for a moebius-like configuration, which was enhanced and blurred by changing the set parameters that i gave to the brick, those of width and lenght, and angular rotation.

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brick 2 moebius:

process: brick 2 creates a severe twist, as the initial form offsets the alignment of corners (as mentioned above) producing an extremely exaggerated twist that produces much more severe turns with the same parameter changes as in brick 1.

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brick 1 + brick 2 hybrid moebius:

process: the final form is a hybrid of brick 1 + brick 2, as they alternate one another throughout the form.

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moebius edit:

process: this video shows the linking and configuration of the brick 1 moebius, and how the overall from, size and configuration can be changed by adjusting the radius of the spline controlling the twist in the brick.