I would like to ask for some help with my model. I’ve been working with gridshells in rhino/grasshopper and finally got the desired model. However I would like to do the structural analysis in Autodesk Robot.
The problem is:
-Exporting the model as a DWG file using just the centerlines, and then assigning cross section in Robot is an option; however, the bars don’t follow the inherent surface. After some discussion in Robot forum we concluded that is not the best option, because I’ll not have accurate results.
-I can’t find a way to export my model from rhino to robot without affecting the bars position.
I’ve attached some pictures to help you guys understanding which is the problem.
Does Robot accept meshes if so why not export as mesh?
An overall advice I would like to give you:
Get an official version of Rhino it’s not fair to expect advice on the official forum when you run a cracked version of the software. If you are a student, find out about the educational license it’s cheap in comparison to other software.
David, once the geometry is in Robot you need to modify the gamma angles (disclaimer: I just googled that link…). This is obviously a pain to do manually so in the past I scripted an STR exporter. I’d suggest you try the same! A snippet below to get you started…
Rhino.IndexPair se = M.TopologyEdges.GetTopologyVertices(i);
// ------------------------------------------------------------------------------
// GAMMA
Vector3d[] normals = new Vector3d[]{
M.Normals[M.TopologyVertices.MeshVertexIndices(se.I)[0]],
M.Normals[M.TopologyVertices.MeshVertexIndices(se.J)[0]]};
Vector3d avg = normals[0] + normals[1];
Plane vertical = new Plane(M.TopologyVertices[se.I], M.TopologyVertices[se.J],
M.TopologyVertices[se.J] + Vector3f.ZAxis);
Plane bar = new Plane(M.TopologyVertices[se.I], M.TopologyVertices[se.J],
new Point3d(M.TopologyVertices[se.J]) + avg);
gamma[i] = (180 * (Vector3d.VectorAngle(vertical.Normal, bar.Normal))) / Math.PI;
gamma[i] *= Vector3d.CrossProduct(vertical.Normal, bar.Normal).IsParallelTo(M.TopologyVertices[se.J] - M.TopologyVertices[se.I]);