New SkinDesigner update posted.

Hi All,

I’m happy to announce that a new update to SkinDesigner has been posted in the Food4Rhino site.

Just a few words about this new version:

You'll notice that the components look very similar or identical to the previous version but there is a major addition at the geometry engine level of the tool that should come very handy for many of you as it was one of the most requested features from our user base.

The new feature: Now SkinDesigner has a new option that allows the creation of free-form enclosures, to do so users can provide quadrilateral and/or triangular surfaces as surface inputs and SkinDesigner, given the right settings, will generate a solution with systems panels matching those shapes. These systems panels can include any of the properties already available such as window, sunshades, mullions, etc. So not much has to change on the design and configuration of the panels themselves (see example snapshots below).

There are some considerations though to take into account in regards to what can and what cannot be adapted to certain shapes. For instance certain window shapes may not translate properly to triangular panels. I will address this in more detail at some point in a future post.

Also, a general explanation of the new process is in order, a  tutorial is in my to-do list and will be posted as soon as I carve some time, stay tuned!

In the meantime, feel free to download the new update and try experimenting with the tool. I also added here a grasshopper file showing the new feature and how to set it up with the skin generator parameters, you are welcomed to download and try the script before installing the tool and take a quick look at this new feature in action.

As usual, I look forward to your comments and questions, also please report any bugs you may find, that’s critical for the tool’s evolution.

Enjoy!

Santiago