topic Re: How to make COMPLEX SHAPES (ORGANIC FORMS)? in Modeling

How to make COMPLEX SHAPES (ORGANIC FORMS)?

Anonymous — Wed, 07 Feb 2007 21:44:31 GMT

can anyone tell me where can I find some(any!!!) information about making complex shapes (any kind of organic forms) in archicad?
is it possible at all?!?
or one has to combine MaxonForm with ArchiCad? can I do it without MaxonForm???

thanx in advance!!!

Re: How to make COMPLEX SHAPES (ORGANIC FORMS)?

Anonymous — Wed, 07 Feb 2007 22:01:30 GMT

I have had some success using the mesh tool
What sort of organic forms are you wanting
to make ?
Peter Devlin

Re: How to make COMPLEX SHAPES (ORGANIC FORMS)?

Anonymous — Wed, 07 Feb 2007 22:20:04 GMT

I am trying to make something like a saddle, if it is a good word, a kind of a curved surface, maybe a "HP surface" if I translated it correctly...
a kind of shape that you can make if you translate a B-spline through the space...

: )

Re: How to make COMPLEX SHAPES (ORGANIC FORMS)?

Anonymous — Wed, 07 Feb 2007 22:52:25 GMT

I think the mesh tool could be used for this purpose.
Do a search using the key words "roof mesh" and "hyperbolic paraboloid".
I think you will find some discussions about
forms like what you describe.
Peter Devlin

Re: How to make COMPLEX SHAPES (ORGANIC FORMS)?

Anonymous — Wed, 07 Feb 2007 23:01:28 GMT

Please see these two links

http://archicad-talk.graphisoft.com/viewtopic.php?p=62004&highlight=mesh+roof#62004

http://archicad-talk.graphisoft.com/viewtopic.php?p=43194&highlight=mesh+roof#43194

Peter Devlin

Re: How to make COMPLEX SHAPES (ORGANIC FORMS)?

Anonymous — Thu, 08 Feb 2007 11:57:32 GMT

you can achieve some organic forms with archiforma...you still need to pay for it but it's much cheaper and lighter than MaxonF. I have both and I find MF not precise.
Archiforma has 3d lines which you can then loft and create curved surfaces. I'm not an expert user but I've been having some probs in creating curved surfaces with thickness...there must be a way though..

Re: How to make COMPLEX SHAPES (ORGANIC FORMS)?

Anonymous — Thu, 08 Feb 2007 15:31:07 GMT

If you are just in need of a hyperbolic paraboloid (saddle shape), there may be one in the standard library (I know I've seen one somewhere), probably in the "Special Construction" folder (depending on your localization). It's hardly an "organic" shape though.

Re: How to make COMPLEX SHAPES (ORGANIC FORMS)?

Anonymous — Thu, 08 Feb 2007 20:11:59 GMT

Instead of using Maxonform, I model difficult shapes in SketchUP (Sandbox tool) and import in AC as an object. No parametric objects at all, but one get nice results within minutes...

Re: How to make COMPLEX SHAPES (ORGANIC FORMS)?

Karl Ottenstein — Thu, 08 Feb 2007 22:54:27 GMT

Joeri wrote:
Instead of using Maxonform, I model difficult shapes in SketchUP (Sandbox tool) and import in AC as an object. No parametric objects at all, but one get nice results within minutes...

For furnishings / entourage, this can be a useful method. But, for something that is to be actually built - the shell of a building for example - I don't think that the SU Sandbox tools are sufficient. Happy to be proven wrong though!

Sandbox tools are basically a Ruby script that let you manipulate a triangulated mesh. Re-forming that shape later on in response to engineering speicifics is beyond sandbox, I think? With MaxonForm, the swoopy form is deformed from control points/lines..which can correspond to your structural supports (e.g., steel framework) - and so the swoopy shape redefines itself as you reposition those elements.

(Naturally, in either SketchUp or MaxonFom...as with most object-making...you want to keep the original elements in that program for subsequent editing. Too easy in MaxonForm to forget to save in c4d format before sending the result back to ArchiCAD...)

Cheers,
Karl

Re: How to make COMPLEX SHAPES (ORGANIC FORMS)?

stefan — Fri, 09 Feb 2007 11:06:18 GMT

Karl wrote:
Joeri wrote:
Instead of using Maxonform, I model difficult shapes in SketchUP (Sandbox tool) and import in AC as an object. No parametric objects at all, but one get nice results within minutes...
For furnishings / entourage, this can be a useful method. But, for something that is to be actually built - the shell of a building for example - I don't think that the SU Sandbox tools are sufficient. Happy to be proven wrong though!

Sandbox tools are basically a Ruby script that let you manipulate a triangulated mesh. Re-forming that shape later on in response to engineering speicifics is beyond sandbox, I think? With MaxonForm, the swoopy form is deformed from control points/lines..which can correspond to your structural supports (e.g., steel framework) - and so the swoopy shape redefines itself as you reposition those elements.

(Naturally, in either SketchUp or MaxonFom...as with most object-making...you want to keep the original elements in that program for subsequent editing. Too easy in MaxonForm to forget to save in c4d format before sending the result back to ArchiCAD...)

Cheers,
Karl

You can reopen the GDL object created by MaxonForm again inside MaxonForm and the parametric objects are restored.