Attempting to render cross-laminated bamboo plywood

[WalterDill]

I design and make objects using cross-laminated bamboo plywood. Examples can be seen on this page - [cookbook stands](http://www.walterdill.com/cookbook-stands.html - photos attached) and elsewhere on this site. Bamboo plywood, in contrast to normal plywood, looks very nice on the edge so lends itself to curved shapes without the need of edge-banding.

I am attempting to create a way of rendering designs like these by making a master panel from which parts can be “punched” (boolean difference). The 5/8" thick plywood is made of three layers. The two faces are 1/8" x 3/4" strips glued edge to edge. The middle layer, positioned 90 degrees from the faces, is made of 1/8" x 3/8" strips glued face to face.

Strategy: create a 34" square master sheet of the plywood in Rhino 6 by making each strip as a separate polysurface. Each little polysurface had its texture map adjusted to make it look different from surrounding parts. The panel therefore has over 300 polysurfaces! Also, each polysurface has its edge softened .01 in order to differentiate adjoining parts when rendered - a sneaky way to create the illusion of individual pieces.

I do all CAD drawings on a Lenovo T530 laptop [Intel(R) Core™ i5-3320M CPU @ 2.60GHz 2.60 GHZ, 16.0 GB (15.7 GB usable)]. So far, working with this file tends to slow or stop the computer when attempting to punch large parts.

The goal is to have the punched edge look correct. The ends of the strips (see attached frame grabs) look approximately correct but kinda goofy. I am seeking perfection!!! : )

Is this the best approach for making these kinds of parts for rendering? Any ideas?

[DiegoKrause]

maybe this helps

[WalterDill]

Thanks Diego. I have seen and enjoyed this tutorial. It is how I learned to adjust the textures on the positioning of the individual strips of bamboo that make up the overall sheet. What I am attempting is to do is create a master sheet with hundreds of small polysurfaces that can be “punched” to create many shapes - and not have to clean up every little surface, especially at the ends. Does this make sense?

[alphadog278 (June Lee)]

From what I know, most renderers(texture mapping) don’t and can’t work in the way you described. Box mapped box would still be box mapped polysrf after punch. What you want to do seems like voxel. Painstakingly mapping would be what most would suggest I believe.
What I would rather try is slice/contour the model into actual geometry. It is heavier than mapping but works quickly.

[WalterDill]

Thanks June. I will explore your suggestions. I am also running up against a older slow computer.