Panel Simulation with Custom Joints

Here’s a quick test of simulating the joints between rigid panels.

Instructions:

• Hold right MB and drag to rotate the view
• Zoom with mousewheel
• Left Ctrl + Left MB on a panel or joint and it will become a moveable handle (object will turn yellow). Repeat to disable.
• Left Shift + Left MB on a panel or joint and it will become a positional restraint (object will turn red). Repeat to disable.
• Add a uniform force upwards using the buttons on the top left of the screen
• Adjust the force necessary to break the joints with the scrollbar

Pressure Particles

Although by no means the bleeding edge of SPH simulations, it does implement a tweaked Kd-Tree search for n nearest neighbours, the standard SPH functions (kernels, viscosity, and pressure), and runs at interactive rates.

Click on the image to try it out:

Mesh!

I’m pretty excited about my new project: 

Getting everything together for the launch has been a bit crazy, but we’re off!

The idea is this:

Mesh is a technical consulting firm that offers a spectrum of services that stimulate conceptual development, rationalize complex design, and effectively implement high level research in the digital design industry.

Our four core services groups are: Geometry Consulting, Custom Algorithm Design, Research and Development, and Simulation.

These services have been specifically geared to architects, engineers, manufacturers, artists, and game developers looking to develop new or existing technologies that will add value to their services and products.

Amsterdam Bridge Competition

We had a lot of fun working on this bridge concept:

Unfortunately, we didn’t win the competition. However, I still think the idea is pretty cool. Here’s some text:

ZwerverBrug, or literally, Wanderer Bridge, is both a means and an end. Inspired by traditional two arch stone bridges, the Zwerver uses primary steel tubes and secondary webbing clad in pre-finished steel panels to support a stone clad deck. The structure and form work together, creating two unique experiences. First, an elevated direct route across the river providing the necessary height to allow the majority of river traffic to pass underneath. Secondly, a stepped and lowered boulevard housing a cafe and affording conversations, seating, lounging, and strolling. In order ensure accessibility, the steps in the deck are flattened when the slope of the underlying surface is safely transversible by wheelchair, stroller, walker, and of course bicycle.

So, Wanderer, which way are you going?

One of the interesting challenges was creating a GH definition for the squashed steps. The idea is that given a a surface contoured by height intervals (a process that has been nicely componentized…), the definition grabs the surface normal at a bunch of points along each contour curve. If the surface normal varies from the z-axis by more than a preset amount, the curve pops up, creating a step.

Crazy as it looks, this thing might actually work:

1. Gap between glass gaurd and stone wearing surface for drainage
2. Cast-in anchor for glass guard connections
3. Cross slope to exterior for drainage
4. Precast concrete deck panels
5. Stone wearing surface
6. Setting bed
7. Continuous stainless steel pipe
8. Laminated glass guard
9. Intermittent patch fittings
10. Primary curved pipe
11. Pre-finished metal panel cladding
12. Web openings for distribution of services
13. Intermittent transverse members rigidly coupling primary pipes

Cortical Chair

More photos here.

The Cortical Chair is a collaboration between Fishtnk and the Studio for Progressive Modelling at Yolles.

IDS2012 Toronto

Over the past few months, I’ve been collaborating with Mani Mani of Fishtnk on a chair for the Interior Design Show (IDS) in Toronto. The show is next week, and the chair is finished – come check it out!

Ghosts On Top Of My Head

A small but fun project I was recently involved with. Designed by Brian Jungen:

 

SPM VC: Small But Important Update

We’ve just uploaded a small but important update to the component set. Basically, the major reworking of the components in the last update messed with the actual integration functions – this has been fixed. More specifically, we’ve settled on a leapfrog integrator for a force based simulation and the RK4 integrator, with a fast option, for regular integration.

In general, we are shifting our focus away from adding new functionality (check out the dynamics source code – you can write your own!) towards optimizing performance. This release is a first step in that direction. Also, some updated example files have been added – more to come.

Check out the new Distance Binning component. At only %30 speed increase, it’s still a WIP.

SPM Vector Components: New Release!

This release features a major reworking of the component set. Yes, we managed to break all functionality during the refactoring; No, we couldn’t figure out how to fix it for a quite while…..In the end, it all came together, though. The biggest change is that we combined the Static and Dynamic Integrators into one. This means you can toggle between the two modes on the fly. Beware, though, if you leave the timer enabled and switch to the static integration, you’ll rebuild the solution at every time step (i.e. crash)!

We have also decided to release our code for the dynamics. This means that if you adhere to structure, you can build your own dynamics.

Other developments:

• Acceleration component has been removed. By default, the simulation assumes all vectors are forces. This can be toggled in the settings if you simply want to integrate.
• The settings component has been broken out into three components and a few menu options.
• Inter-particle forces have been added. This is meant more as a prototype for future developments (flocking has been done many times before…more on this later). These dynamics are SLOW!
• Dynamic Emitters! These are really fun…

New Dynamics:

 

 

 

 

 

Surface Attraction: Turns any list of surfaces into gravity attractors or repellers.

 

 

 

 

Surface Flow: When particles are close, they flow along any list of surfaces.

 

 

 

 

Separation: Assign a distance to be maintained between particles within a given radius.

 

 

 

 

Cohesion: Particles will tend towards the average of their neighbours.

 

 

 

 

Alignment: Particles will tend towards travelling in the same direction as their neighbours.

 

 

 

 

Dynamic Keyframe: Give collections of dynamics time intervals to be activated.

New SPM Vector Components release coming up and a New Project…

Yes, look for a new SPM Vector components upload on Monday (maybe Tuesday…). We’ve implemented a Collision dynamic that works with any collection of surfaces, and a much needed scale and velocity fall-off dynamic customizing the granularity of the simulation. We’ve also broken out Acceleration as its own component, which cleans things up visually, and created subcategories in the Dynamics for 3d and 2d (any surface) forces…

AND, we’ve started up work on the Dragonfly project. I posted some screenshots of this component (isovist, intentionality, geometry simulation thing…) on the Grasshopper forum a couple of months ago, but I was never totally convinced that Grasshopper was the right platform for it. So, after much thought and discussion, we will be implementing it as a Rhino and possibly Revit plugin that calls up a standalone simulation environment. I’ll post some progress shots as soon as possible, but our release date is mid October.

Dragonfly will be presented at ACADIA 2011 in Banff, Canada.

Very excited!