COMPUTER AIDED ARCHITECTURAL DESIGN
Workshop 6 Notes, Week of October 4, 2010

SURFACE EDITING, PERSPECTIVE CONTROL AND CLIPPING PLANES

1. Surface Editing

Surface Modeling Toolset
- Planar Surface by Points - with UV 10 and 10 (A 10)

- Grab handles with selection tool (arrow tool), elevate points to make wavy surface

- change color -> Draw Polygon shape on top of the surface
- change color -> Draw Circle on top of the surface
- change color -> Draw bSpline curve on top of the surface

- grab all three and Move them in the front construction plane (F CP) to hover above the surface.
- Grab whole set - make a Copy to the side

- Optionally, use plan view for ease of orientation
- Zoom to first surface
- Trim Surfaces by Curves tool (S2)
- Make sure Keep Profile is checked.
- Option Trim Surfaces / Orthogonal
- Select Surface, select polygon.

- Do again with circle

- Do again with bSpline
- note which side you grab matters to which one you keep

- Same Tool (Ctrl -Z to undo previous cut)
- Change settings to Split Surface - do again

- Change to Project Curve - do again (see green bspline projected onto surface below).

- Go to copied polygon, circle and bsplne, copy surface and use untrim-surface tool (S3) with "Remove All" option.

- Surface trimmed holes are removed

-Select the Mesh From Element toos (Z1) and apply it to the restore surface.

- Go back to Trim Surfaces tool, with Trim Surface method - perform the same operations the meshed surface.Same result .

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(Rotate/Copy mesh surface and bSpline up to a standing wall, use Trim Tool)
- We're doing these on top-down surfaces, but they work just as well standing up.

Make a Copy of one of the original surfaces
- Untrim Surface tool (S3)
- Select Reverse as method and see what happens.

- Undo and Select Remove All as method, to remove all cuts and get back to original uncut surface.

- Rotate surface upon itself using Front Constuction Plane and Active Angle method at 90 degrees, Making a Copy
now we have two intersecting surfaces.

- Use Trim Surfaces (S1) tool. Select both Trim 1st and Trim 2nd Surface options. Select the pieces of each surface you want to keep.

Planar Slice Tool (F4) - extract sections and profiles of geometry
- Copy and Untrim the surface again (or just undo a few times)
- Go to the Side View orientation
- Draw a line over and bypassing the surface.
- Copy the line several times to make a bunch of them at equal intervals. (use number of copies option on copy tool)
- Now using the selection tool, grab all of the lines

- Use the Planar Slice tool (F4) with the First option icon (Slice by Element), and confirm.
- Rotate around to see the sliced section lines. You might need to delete the surface or change layers to see it clearer.

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This can also be done with planar, non-planar and non-linear elements
- draw a polyline at various right angles across the surface. Extrude in both directions to get an upright plane.
- use the Planar Slice tool to generate the section along that edge.

- Do the same with a series of bSpline curve extrusions.

2. Viewing Control, Perspective

- In Solids Modeling tools, create a still-life of Platonic objects
- Create a large solid box as a simple room. Put other objects - pyramids, ellipsoids, spheres, polyhedra, etc. into it.
- Use the Shell Solid Tool (T5), with option to Shell Outward, choosing the top face to remove.
- Place a new Slab Solid on the top, snapping to corner points to make a roof again.

- Go to the front view
- Stretch into a perspective (quick) - you already know how to do this.

- Now change the camera lens. Normal - Telephoto - Extra Wide - Dynamic

- Return to Normal Camera
- Visualization Tools (left hand side)
- Define Camera Tool (E2)
- Make sure Display View Cone and Continuous View Updates are checked
- Choose Pan Left and Right (Second Tool in options) - click in the window and move the mouse to pan
- Choose Pan Up and Down - click and move mouse to pan
- Choose Dolly Forward and Back (6th option tool) - click and move mouse to move in and out

- Choose Lens View Angle (8th option tool) - click and move the mouse to zoom the camera's lens.
- Click More button. Expand Camera Position. Set Eye Pt and Target Pt Z elevation to 5 (feet). Quick way to establish proper elevation

- Unmaximize your window - get back to 4 views.
- Fit view in each of the four views
- Notice the View Cone and the white dots indicating viewing angle, eye point, and target point.
- Manipulate these points. Watch the perspective view change as a result.

3. Clipping Plane and Saved Views

- Go to View Attributes drop down (top left of perspective window)
- Check Clip Front and Clip Back
- Look in perspective view now and you will see part of the model cropped away.
- Look in the viwe cone - there is a new line and control dot representing the section plane. Move it and watch the section cut move in the perspective window.
- Set it to a location that you like
- Find the Saved Views drop down from the top tool bar (mountain in a camera lens).
- Choose the Two-Hands icon to capture your view.
- Give it a name in the settings dialog that appears, then click in the perspective window to save it. A balloon will pop up indicating it is saved.
- Rotate and zoom to a different view.
- Go back to the Saved Views drop down and double click the named view you just saved. Your view will return to this state.