Does Rhino have these sweep controls?

Rhino Rhino for Windows
1

I currently only have experience using Modo. Can i achieve the following with Rhino in regard to sweeping a profile along a curve?

  1. Transition from one profile to another e.g. circle to square like this:

  2. Control the rotation (twist) between profiles with a function/control curve, like in the image below
    (Spline Extruder Cinema 4D plugin):

  3. Control the transition from one profile to another with a function curve (Above
    image) - non-linear falloff along the curve

  4. Ready for 3d print – cleanest possible model

  5. A way to create a good render (ideally just convert to poly and export to Modo).

Would i need a plugin(s) to achieve all of these?

Any help would be great!!

Thanks,
Mike

2

try loft with history kept on.

3

You can do this with Sweep1 and History, but there is no numeric control as in your image.

http://screencast.com/t/VjWGHWPj7UKr

-Pascal

4

Thank you very much for the demo. So the twist and transition would always be linear along the length of the curve? In other words, there is no way to have the twist start out slow and increase toward an end?

5

Hi MIke - you could add profile curves I suppose, though that might get to be hard to control pretty quickly.

-Pascal

6

You can have a total control over sweep if you want.

You can do it in two stages:

  1. Do a regular _Sweep1.
  2. Project some additional profiles:

  1. Delete the old sweep, and do one more with history enabled. On this one you can do whatever you want (see example):

(twisted the seam)

(the result)

With history you can scale, move, twist profiles, and the shape will follow.

But for more parametric things you may need to use Grasshopper.

1 Like
7

Pascal, I think in most cases this might get me what i want. I noticed when researching that autocad has a banking option which keeps the rotation along the curve. Is this the default option in Rhino or is this possible as well?

8

Onetech - great, this was a plan B scenario - i think it will work in most cases for me. Forgive me for my current ignorance - i am at the stage of learning which program will achieve what i want, before i actually learn the program:) … I have a couple followup questions:

  • How are these additional profiles added and can i ensure they are perpendicular to the sweep profile?
  • Why is it necessary to delete the original sweep?
  • When deleting the original sweep, is the original profile curve deleted too?
  • Would grasshopper be able to do this with a falloff along the length of the curve?

Thank you soooo much for the help!

9

Hi!

  1. In orthogonal view you can draw a line with Near snap, and pick the BothSides and Perpendicular on command line.
  2. Because it doesn’t have history attached to it, and is not directed by profiles you add later.
  3. No, deleting surfaces doesn’t delete any curves.
  4. I believe it is possible with either Sweep1 or Loft, but not the way it is done in Cinema 4D. This will give you an idea of possibilities: http://www.arch.mcgill.ca/prof/mingallon/arch678/fall2010/ftp/Arch%20678/2011-2012/Final%20Project/Portfolio%20Submissions/Group%203/Group03_Portfolio.pdf. For exact details you should ask in Grasshopper forum. But I believe it is an overkill for such a simple task. You can achieve the same effect by simply scaling a middle profile with history enabled.

BTW, the projecting curves technique I mentioned just for illustration purposes. In your case three profiles, and Sweep1 or Loft with history will suffice.

10

Thank you Onetech!

  1. great
  2. Ok, I understand now
  3. OK.
  4. Thanks for the link. I only used the initial diagram for illustration as well. The path/curve that i will be sweeping is much more complex and turns back on itself. I will likely have to use your two stage method. I suspect banking or “natural rotation” (as it is supposedly called in AutoCad) would suite my needs - not sure if this is the default for Rhino or optional.

Thanks again!

11

When I do a rail sweep with multiple cross-sections I get the wobbly effect. I played with all the options but i cannot get a smooth transition between profiles. Any ideas?

12

Hi. For starters you should rebuild/lighten your input curves to get cleaner surfaces. Second: post the 3DM file here if possible, someone will take a look.