Using curves to remove an area of a surface, such as windows in a facade

Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Adam Chałupski on July 8, 2012 at 11:38pm

Hi Jason, in order to control curved surface elevation with multiple objects on it, it's gonna be easier to use reference flat surface rather then work directly on curved surface. I would unroll the surface using some adds-on component from GH or just unroll it in Rhino and then try to use Map On Surface component. Since You have curves mapped on your 3d surface you can use them to Trim Surface. This way you will get trimmed elevation and a lot of trimmed surfaces. If You want to push these windows back then just use Offset Srf. This is one of the solutions.
best

Permalink Reply by Jason Wheeler on July 9, 2012 at 12:06am

Ah.. yea unroll would be a good way... do you know of which add ons have an unroll component?

Permalink Reply by Adam Chałupski on July 9, 2012 at 12:22am

I was using Geometry Gym unroll component but since i got evaluation version for 1 month the pleasure is over now... But you could do it by creating recangle which approximates outlines dimensions of your surface. With a surface curved in 2 directions it might be more complicated but check Andrew definitions here:
http://www.grasshopper3d.com/forum/topics/unrolling-ruled-surfaces

and here:

http://www.grasshopper3d.com/forum/topics/unroll-surface-fabrication

good luck mate !

A

Permalink Reply by Robin Dripps on July 9, 2012 at 8:45am

You could try this approach

Attachments:

• subtracting curves from surface.gh, 9 KB

Permalink Reply by Adam Chałupski on July 10, 2012 at 12:17am

Very nice solution !

Permalink Reply by Jason Wheeler on July 10, 2012 at 9:54pm

Wow, don't I feel like a dummy all the time I was trying to figure this out and I didn't see the "Surface Split" component.. Thanks!!! 

I do have a few questions though... it's interesting to me that the rectangles are not even directly on the surface and the split still happens... I have been using "project curves to surface" to maintain that the curves will be right on the surface so they are able to split it..... So, do you know, does the "Surface Split" figure in the projection on it's own?

Also, I was wondering how you set up the GH file without any Rhino geometry.  You start with just the normal "Curve" component and extrude that to get your surface without imputing any Rhino geometry into it.

Permalink Reply by Jason Wheeler on July 11, 2012 at 3:24am

Robin another question.... not sure if you can answer this or not but I have been trying you method out and it has been working very nicely :) ... except for when the surface is curved like an "s"... your example used a surface with a curved shaped like a "c" and I can can get that to work in my deff too, but when I try to use an "s" shaped surface I can't get mine or yours to work correctly...

They bake somewhat ok.. but they still seem like they are twisted up.. any idea why this happens??

Permalink Reply by Robin Dripps on July 11, 2012 at 10:35am

Jason,

I tried the definition on an S curve and all seemed fine.  I am not sure why you are getting those anomalies.  As for referencing Rhino geometry, when you right click on many of the components you will have the option to internalize the referenced Rhino geometry.  The Rhino geometry is now permanently attached to the GH component.

Robin

Permalink Reply by Jason Wheeler on July 11, 2012 at 8:37pm

Thanks Robin, could you possibly post your GH file with the S curve so I can look at it?

Permalink Reply by Jissi Choi on July 10, 2012 at 2:42am

Used Solid Difference..

Attachments:

• FacadeDifference.gh, 31 KB

Permalink Reply by Jason Wheeler on July 10, 2012 at 10:26pm

Jissi, thanks so much for taking the time and working with the files I provided!! i hope that they weren't too messy.... This solution works very well

A few questions... do you think the more geometry(the difference rectangles) that is created and used the longer it takes the GH file to process? To be truthful I don't know... Does the creating geometry to do this bog it down more than another way of just using data such as UV params and a then a final extrusion...... I'm just wondering in the case of using something like this on a high rise building and having a hundred or so extra 3D rectangles made to do the removing of the windows from the surface......

On that note do you know of any ways to extrude a curved surface like this? I tried and it works in one vector direction, but I think I need to use every normal vector from every "surface frame" I use for the windows. Maybe this is not possible at all, just wondering.

Thank you very much for putting the time into looking at the files I was using and working with them... Maybe you have some advice on writing my GH file better... 

Jason

Permalink Reply by Jissi Choi on July 11, 2012 at 10:24pm

If you obtain the solid difference with thousands of rectangles.. it will take so much time..

In that case.. (on a high rise building) you need to divide orginal surface so that the process of solid difference works with only a few solids..

 

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And your way with offset and loft is what you want.. surface offset uses every normal vector automatically.. and the rectangles uses their own normal vectors to be extruded as boxes..