Octet-truss lattice

Grasshopper
1

Dear all,

I am new to Rhino and Grasshopper, and I am currently trying to generate an octet-truss lattice structure. Specifically, I only need a single unit cell, but I would like to follow the same steps as described in the following excerpt:

“Several octet-truss structures with different fillet sizes are designed in this study. This design phase is particularly complex as 12 struts have to meet at each node. The Rhino3D software Grasshopper module is used to generate the structures. In this tool, three inputs are used to generate the structures with fillets. The first input, ‘curves,’ corresponds to the lines or curves between which fillets are generated. The second entry, ‘node size,’ corresponds to the strut radius. The last one, ‘EndOffset,’ allows control over different fillet sizes.”

Could you please guide me on how to implement this in Rhino/Grasshopper? Any suggestions, example files, or references would be greatly appreciated.

Best regards,
Mirhan

2

Hi Mirhan,

From the description of the inputs in your quoted text, it looks like they are using the MultiPipe tool.
Here’s an example file MultiPipeGH_examples.gh and some brief notes on the inputs: MultiPipeNotes.pdf

For a single unit cell, the easiest way to generate the input curves is probably to draw them directly in Rhino.

A quick way to create a regular tetrahedron is to add draw the diagonals on a cube. This can then be rotated and arrayed to give you the full lattice.

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Note also that the bottom example in the GH file above generates a piped oct-tet truss lattice across a curved surface.

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3

Dear Daniel,

Thanks a lot for your help!

I will try to implement it as you suggested.

Best regards.