Generating a panelized cover for a boat and cover support frame

[martinsiegrist]

@dos

Kangaroo

The fabric might need some tension along certain lines and it will sag in between supports or attachment points.

Finding the right goals in Kangaroo which then hopefully result in a good aproximation will be the challenge.

Have you used Kangaroo before?

[dos (Daryl)]

I’m hoping that for the first viable fabric template that I can make up for (not huge amounts of) lack of tension by tightening where it ties to the bottom of the boat. As long as there aren’t pockets/cupping to hold snow or water it’ll be OK and can be later refined tension wise. The tarp worked out fine this winter… just a lot of folding and tucking the front and back.

I haven’t used Kangaroo before. This Grasshopper project and another to do nesting with OpenNest is all of my exposure.

[old_taz]

This plug-in could work for wrangling point clouds, not sure if the trial is fully functional.

RhinoResurf v5.20 for Rhino 7/8 and RhinoResurf v4.565 for Rhino 6 /7 | Food4Rhino

[Tommy804]

Hi Daryl, while i might not be able to help you in your work with grasshopper. I do make large boat covers and could offer help in other areas.

[S_L (Sean L)]

Hi Daryl - I’ve done some automation work for a custom boat cover company. Their typical approach (as mentioned by Brad): explicitly model the desired seam lines and build out NURBS surfaces from there.

In my view a mesh-to-panel approach would be more satisfying to implement but will likely take longer for a one-off project than modelling it directly in Rhino. Ivy is another plugin to check out in addition to Kangaroo - I know it has mesh segmentation tools, though I haven’t used them.

[kiteboardshaper]

@dos

Hi all. I’ve been reading topics here on and off for the last 15 months since I started using Rhino (aside from a few weeks of playing with v1.1 25 years ago). In that time I’ve used Rhino to design and build an 8’ x 20’ laser cutter, including modelling parts for 3D printing, and to draw and build a frame to support a winter snow cover for a 26’ boat. I’ve also used OpenNest in Grasshopper to nest frame components on 4’ x 8’ sheets of plywood.

@dos

What software are you using to drive your laser cutter?

I’m the developer of KaroroCAM: KaroroCAM CNC / Gcode / CAM plugin for Rhino 8 | Food4Rhino

I’ve recently started adding support for Plasma and Laser cutters, I’d be happy to give you a trial license in exchange for some testing/feedback.

Cheers

DK

[dos (Daryl)]

Thanks @old_taz for the reminder about those RhinoResurf plugins. I remember seeing them before but hadn’t (perhaps still haven’t) figured enough out to know whether they’d be useful.

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Hi @Tommy804. I’d be interested to hear about how you’re patterning… I know a few people that make canopies for similar sized boats that do it all in tape and paper-space.

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@S_L

In my view a mesh-to-panel approach would be more satisfying to implement but will likely take longer for a one-off project than modelling it directly in Rhino. Ivy is another plugin to check out in addition to Kangaroo

Thanks, I’ll check out Ivy if Kangaroo doesn’t pan out for some reason. I would imagine that Kangaroo would be the way to go if it works… it seems that there are more people familiar with Kangaroo to help if I get stuck with something. I am looking for more than a one-off process.

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@kiteboardshaper

What software are you using to drive your laser cutter?

I use LightBurn combined with a custom proxy to insert gcode to enable combined laser and pen-plotter support.

[Tommy804]

Creating patterns by using photogrammetry through Polycam on an iPhone, and then drawing in my seams on the mesh, along with any other curves to shape the cover.

Or using a proliner to get points and curves from the boat. If you can get a scan, it’s much easier to design your cover later as opposed to taking points with a proliner or other comparable device.

[S_L (Sean L)]

@dos

Thanks, I’ll check out Ivy if Kangaroo doesn’t pan out for some reason. I would imagine that Kangaroo would be the way to go if it works… it seems that there are more people familiar with Kangaroo to help if I get stuck with something. I am looking for more than a one-off process.

I agree, Kangaroo is a good first approach. When I worked with that client I prototyped out a method that used kangroo + a bit of custom scripting and got decent results. Would be curious to see where you get with it - keep us posted!