3ds Max - Snapping and Moving with Dimensions

3dsmax snapping

Software : Autodesk 3ds Max Design 2009
Description : This is a response to a question on the forum.  The question is 1. How does one snap in 3ds Max and 2. how can one move things dimensionally.  This 3ds Max video tutorials explains both.as well as angle snaps and axis constraints.

Topics Covered
-Snapping
-Angle Snaps
-Axis Constraints
-Absolute World vs. Offset world
-Translations (moving objects) with dimensions

Read more »

3ds Max - Sketch Modeling the Beijing Olympic Stadium by Herzog & de Meuron

Disclaimer: Just to be clear I am in no way trying to reduce the complexity and elegance of this project.  This project has far more thought than just random slices /patterning in a form. What I am putting forward is a technique with which one could quickly go about modeling a similar pattern in 3ds Max.

herzog de meuron Stadium

herzog de meuron Stadium Sketch model

Software : Autodesk 3ds Max
Description : I’m going to start this post by saying this is not something I will do regularly but i was compelled in this case to give it a shot .  A user on the forum (This was the first post on the new forum) asked how they might model the new Beijing Stadium by Herzog de Meuron in 3ds Max. The technique shown is meant to be a design modeling technique.  I also have to say it was not completely successful, but i wanted to post an attempt.  A form that resembles the stadium was modeled then sliced randomly to get edges in an editable poly.  Those edges are then chamfered and extracted to then be shelled.  In this video the slice plane is used within the element sub-object level. Thinking about it a bit more the quick slice option might have been more suitable for the exercise. If anyone has a suggestion on how they might go about it (any software) please feel free to post it up. Follow the Forum thread here.


Read more »

Rhino - Getting Started

Software : McNeel Rhino 3d
Level : Beginner

rhino3d basics

Description : This Rhino 3d Video tutorial is a very basic introduction to the software.  This is not meant to be modeling 101 or anything of the sort.  This video is really meant for anyone that has never used the application and is curious as to how it hows.  I tried to keep it short for those that are just wondering how Rhino works.

Topics Covered
-Interface explained
-Creating Geometry (lines and simple surface)
-Using the command line
-Navigation and orbiting the viewport.
Read more »

3ds Max - Sub Objects Part 03 (Editable Mesh - Vertex Level)

Software : Autodesk 3ds Max
Description : This is the third part of a series in which I will try and go through all the operations that can be done at the sub-object level of the various geometry types in 3ds Max. This 3ds Max Video Tutorial goes over the majority of the procedures that can be done at the vertex level of an editable Mesh. All of the example are simplified to show the fundamentals of each command.

3ds Max Editable Mesh Sub Objects

Read more »

Revit - Student Project - Angled Stone

Disclaimer: This video is from an open help session with student to work through some of the problems they are encountering making advanced Revit Families. I stumble a bit with some of these models but it was meant to be a trial and error session. The intention was for students to get a sense of how we can trouble shoot some of the issues Revit throws back at us.

Revit Angled Stone Project
Proposed project

Angle Stone screen capture
Start of the Revit family.

Software : Revit Architecture
Level : Intermediate / Advanced
Description : This group is building a wall system that builds up from these angled stones. Ideally as they change the angle and height of each stone the wall system would get taller.

Read more »

3ds Max Modifiers - Displace

Modifier : Displace
Works on: Shapes, Meshes, Polys, Patches, NURBS
3ds Max Description :The Displace modifier acts as a force field to push and reshape an object’s geometry. You can apply its variable force directly from the modifier gizmo, or from a bitmapped image.
Also See :3ds Max - Modeling with images

Displace Modifier

Read more »

Shox Matrix for Tronic

This is the fist personal project I post on this site. I’ve been really weary of doing this since this site really is not about personal promotion. But i figure if I’m showing all these techniques folks shoudl be able to see how they are applied. So i think my strategy for posting work on Design ReForm is going to be based on “How To” not so much about the project but how i did them. If anyone wants to know more about the project I’ll link back to my personal blog where i post my past works (not many these days since I’m out of school and work at SHoP - lots of NDAs)

So, I modeled this Shoe about 3 or 4 years ago for Tronic Studio (Motion graphics firm run by Columbia grad, they do amazing work, and they are good people) for a web commercial they were working on . The entire shoe was poly modeled in 3D Studio Max. It took me about a 8 weeks of off and on modeling. As much as i enjoyed this project this is something i don’t think i would like to do again. That might be partly because i had to learn Brazil to render it. I didn’t know it so i was at a bit of a lose. I had been focusing my rendering efforts on Vray and Mental Ray.

Read more »

Revit - Nested Families

Software : Revit Architecture
Category : 3d Modeling, Curtain Panels, Nesting Familes
Description : We nest a generic family in a curtain panel and use the length and width of a single panel to drive the the amount of extrusion of each panel.

Revit Curtain Panels

Read more »

Revit - Line Based Parametric Array

Software : Revit Architecture
Category : 3d Modeling, Line Based Families
Description : Although a little jumpy, this tutorial covers using a line based family to make a parametric awning. As the line is drawn longer you get more awning members. It covers using formulas in families as well as nesting one family in another. I’ll probably make this again but for now it should work.

Line based family
Read more »

Ship Constructor

This is the first post of many where i will be finding softwares that other industries use for design, fabrication and management. The first software I am writing about is shipconstructor. Being in the AEC industry it’s amazing how far behind we are, or at least that we are not further. This programs seems to do all things BIM is promising, and it’s all in one package. Im not sure when they say “AutoCAD-based 3D product” if it is built on top of Autocad (like a plugin) or if it behaves like autocad in that it is drafting based. For this write up i did not get a chance to Demo the software but in the further i will be writing about either program i use or i will request demo versions.

Ship Constructor

Software :ShipConstructor
URL:www.shipconstructor.com
Industry : Ship building
Primary use : 3d modeling for fabrication and assembly
Product Description: ShipConstructor is the dominant AutoCAD-based 3D product modeling and production planning software for the marine industry. ShipConstructor 2006 marries AutoCAD’s ease-of-drafting with the logical powers of a sleek SQL Server database design. This will bring you unprecedented savings, and opportunities to improve your design process. It also gives you the tools to streamline your entire production process.

Here are a few images from the website:
Read more »

Next Page »