T-Splines live training in France

T-Splines reseller and authorized trainer CADLINK is offering one-day T-Splines training courses in Paris on

3 May 2010
28 Jun 2010

The cost is 300 € . You can register on their site.

Live training in Miami, Orange County

A new T-Splines for Rhino training event was recently announced:

7 May 2010: Orange County, CA

Registration is now open.

Rhino Resurf

Guest post by Weiguo Li, founder of Rhino Resurf

Rhino Resurf is a plugin for Rhino that can be used to fit untrimmed NUBRS surfaces to scanned data.

Rhino Resurf was recently used for a project by 3Dtotal, a laser scanning service company in Portugal. In this architecture digitalizing project, they used RhinoResurf to post-process the scanned data. They created NURBS surfaces from the scanned point cloud with the precision of maximum tolerance = 0.01cm by using the RsPoints2Surf command in RhinoResurf. After texture mapping, they got a real 3D wall.

1. Photograph of the wall


2. Scanned data of the wall


3. NURBS surfaces created from the scanned point data (_RsPoint2Surf)


4. The textured wall based on the NURBS surfaces


You can download a trial of Rhino Resurf.

Webinar with Bathsheba Sculpture March 30

Join us for a free webinar on March 30
"Bathsheba Sculpture: using T-Splines to create products and sculptures"

Space is limited.

Reserve your Webinar seat now

Bathsheba Grossman's designs have appeared in the New York Times, the London Times, Der Spiegel, and in TIME Magazine's 100 most influential designs of 2007.

A long-time Rhino user, Bathsheba added T-Splines to her toolset in 2009 to more easily create freeform designs.

Tune into this webinar to learn how Bathsheba uses T-Splines and Rhino to create her intricate designs at 1 PM EST (GMT-05:00) on March 30, 2010.

Machined T-Spline part

I always love it when users share images of what they've been able to do with T-Splines. Phil Lambe machined this T-Spline propeller on a Fanuc Robodrill machine with dataserver and high precision contour control. The finish machining program took approx 3hrs.

The model was actually taken from a 19-pack of T-Splines models that we made available over the holidays.

Rhino hair

While I was at the ASGvis user group meeting last week, I saw Damien Alomar give a presentation about his Rhino Hair plugin. Neat stuff! He said the "hair" word above was modeled with T-Splines before the hair was applied.

Choosing the right tool for the job

Guest post by Kyle Houchens
Owner and principal designer
The Outside Digital Art and Design LLC
www.theoutside.biz

I remember being around 6 years old, rooting around in my father’s shop at the back of our garage. My father had an exquisitely organized workspace and despite most of it being off limits, the “wood scrap bin” and “junk drawer” were mine… all mine. The junk drawer was a particularly fascinating collection of screws, bolts, washers, springs, and various other detritus from the modern industrial age.

I used to love finding interesting scraps of wood and screwing, nailing, gluing, tying or taping them together to make “stuff”. (Like the 1/839th scale version of Luke Skywalker’s tie fighter I made with a scrap of 2x4, a sharpie marker, speaker wire and duct tape…it…was…glorious.) This free form exploration is most likely what attracted me to computer modeling in the first place. Digital modeling provides unlimited potential and amazing shiny tools, to make, well….”stuff”.

One important lesson I learned… you have to hit a screw with a hammer REALLY hard to drive it into in a piece of wood, but it can be done. (My scrawny bird arms couldn’t turn a 3 inch long #10 wood screw for some odd reason, but boy could I hammer!!) Hammering a screw takes a lot of effort and a considerable amount of time, and yields a less than secure result. I can only imagine how much better my models would have been if I could have gotten my hands on a power screwdriver in 1976.

Today, in my current job, I face similar challenges. As owner and principal propeller-head of a small design consultancy, I am constantly called upon to make “stuff”. It turns out it’s a job I have been practicing for most of my life, and, unlike when I was a child, no tools are "off limits" to me now.

I am extremely fortunate as of late to work with Matt Sederberg and the interplanetary-genius-collective at T-Splines, Inc. If you haven’t heard, they created and marketed a subdivision surfacing plug-in for Rhino and Maya. The best thing about this tool is its simplicity and power. (Two qualities of any great tool.) The issue with having this type of power as a user is knowing where to apply it, and more importantly where NOT to apply it.

The T-Splines toolset is specifically intended and built for modeling and easily editing smooth, watertight, free-flowing forms. The type of forms that would be impossible or at least very difficult to model directly in NURBS. Think flowing hood scoops and air intakes, organic grips for tools, figurative pieces and characters, motorcycle fairings, swoopy Oakley sunglasses and ski goggles, as well as other insanely sculptural items. All the types of shiny “stuff” us designer geeks live for. Modeling these types of objects in T-splines is like being handed an 18 volt power screwdriver after you have been pounding in screws with a hammer. It's the best tool for the job.

The trap with amazing tools is that the rush we get from using them is so great; we want to use them for everything…even for things that don’t make sense. For instance, I would not model an entire Bang and Olufsen Beosound 9000 cd player with T-Splines. That model would be best built using traditional Rhino NURBS tools. However, building the grips for a pair of iconic orange-handled Fiskars scissors is where Tsplines flat out crushes traditional modeling tools. The fact that you are always only a single button click from converting a T-Splines object into a watertight NURBS object makes it even better.

That is the best thing about T-Splines; it’s like the nitrous button in an already awesome hotrod. You wouldn’t use it for every day driving, but when needed, it’s the best way to make some twerp disappear in your rearview mirror…

I often run into situations when modeling in Rhino where a piece of a model is highly organic, but the whole of the model is fairly straightforward. It’s these times I hit “the nitrous button” and let T-Splines do its thing. (See this car hood demo.) Conversely, there are times where the whole of the model is organic and flowing, but the details are crisp and defined. (See iron model demo.)

Insanely complex g2 forms blending into and out of each other? T-Splines. Hard edged weapon for the new version of Halo? Rhino. A little of both? Lucky for you, the tools for that are seamlessly integrated at your fingertips. Just pick the right tool for the job and enjoy truly unlimited power to make the most “glorious stuff.”

T-Splines class in NYC March 17

Come for a day of basic T-Splines training in New York City on March 17.

Taught by T-Splines founder Matt Sederberg.

Introductory pricing has been extended through March 11! Register now to save $150.

Spatial Industry Partner Program

T-Splines, Inc. is a charter member of the Spatial Industry Partner program announced today.

Traxxas speeds up designs with T-Splines

“With T-Splines, I can experiment with form design by pulling and pushing on the surface way faster than with NURBS. With this much speed and flexibility, I have more options to present when my designs are evaluated.”
- Jaime Barajas, Product Designer, Traxxas

The challenge

As a product designer for Traxxas, one of Jaime’s responsibilities is to develop styling concepts and designs for his projects throughout the year. Each project for a new radio controlled car or boat has to be completed under tight deadlines. As part of the creative process, Jaime presents different designs, either pencil sketches or 3d models, to allow the team to review the strengths and weaknesses of each one. The challenge is to present several choices in the least amount of time so that a clear direction can be taken for the project.

After a design is chosen, each car or boat is modeled in CAD and then manufactured in polycarbonate plastic. The design has to be aesthetically pleasing to appeal to a wide customer range and also meet stringent engineering and manufacturability requirements. The surface shapes created in CAD have to be smooth and seamless.

The solution

Jaime has been using T-Splines since version 1.0, although at the beginning, incorporating T-Splines in his design process was challenging. Most of the designs he saw on the T-Splines web site were very organic, while he required sharp lines and corners in his designs.

Two things significantly increased his use of T-Splines... [Read more]

V-Ray / T-Splines / Rhino User Event in Baltimore

Come to a free V-Ray / T-Splines / Rhino User Event in Baltimore on March 18, 2010 from 5:30-7:30pm

Discuss 3D modeling, visualization and technology with industry professionals in the fields of product design, jewelry design, architecture and many more.

• Network with leading companies who use & develop 3D technology
• Learn about new products
• Share experiences & knowledge

RSVP to reserve your place.

I (Matt Sederberg) will be there representing T-Splines--I'll look forward to meeting you!