Noah's Loaf - Curtain Panel Goodness

This step took some tenacity...But tenacity starts with "T" which stands for Trouble!

First step is to do this with a curtain panel by pattern:

If you don't know what it is, shame on you!  Go read here:

Au Bon Panel

Thank you Bob-Man and Shaggy

So with that panel pattern in my back pocket, i could go ahead and start screwing around with my base model from last time:

For what became my first attempt (thought this would be easy), I started by picking the edges between each rib and hitting the CREATE FORM button.

I did this several times to fill the whole boat

And then divided the surface and applied the appropriate Curtain Panel Pattern:

It looked okay at first blush, but upon closer inspection, the shell edges weren't squaring up right.  Actually, they looked downright sloppy:

I'd rather be accused of fastidiousness than having too much time on my hands...Semantic argument for sure....nonetheless i tried again.

This time I took the "Tedious Brute Strength" approach.  First off, i hosted a bunch of reference points along the shell profile:

And repeated this process for all 3 profiles and it worked exactly as i wanted:

Then I hosted a parameter driven rectangle  on each reference point.  CREATE FORM again and voila!

It worked as expected,

but 2 problems remained:

1) All my lengths were now curved and i wanted straight segments, broken at each joint for scheduling and measurement

2) It was a damn lot of work and i got bored

Okay...Trial #3!

Because I set up the original Curtain Panel Pattern using the correct point orientation, I realized i could do the whole shell in one shot.  The trick was going to be to use DIVIDE BY INTERSECTION in order to control the break points:

My segments divide out properly.  If i did some work with reporting parameters, I could get some cool data out of this.  Implanting MODEL LINES in the curtain panel would give me a structural stick model too!

The joints go straight through which i am not overly keen on, but i suppose if i wanted it perfect, i could take it into Rhino or ACAD and perform some additional boolean operations...

yikes....what a day....

It's my Birthday

No Really.

Today is my birthday....and i really hate it.

With consideration and gratitude on a horrible anniversary.

TBT

Slicing Noah's Loaf

Previously, I went through an explanation of how to develop this form.  In this post, i will look at the process of slicing it up.

First things first, i laid out a series of reference lines along the length of loaf.  I then went ahead programmed some parameters to control the spacing of these lines which are intended to locate the center between ribs.

These are the parameters involved:

Then I pick each line individually and hit the CREATE FORM button.  It extrudes a nice 2D surface upwards.

This is where it gets interesting.  Then i pick the edge lines of each surface, you may have to hit the TAB key once or twice to cycle through the options.  Having selected the edges of the surface, i hit CREATE FORM again and a box is extruded.

I link the positive and negative offsets of the box to the VOID_Thickness Half parameters.

And the boxes all line out to exactly how i want:

And I can start slicing using the CUT command....

Oh how happy I am!

Until i try to flex the form, which was the point of the whole exercise anyways, and then:

AAARARRARAGGGGGHHH!!!!!  I made the fatal error of using model lines to define the ends of my form.  I go back and start from scratch, generating the profiles as REFERENCE LINES!!!!  9 out of 10 times, when forms don't do what i want, its because i used model lines rather than reference lines.  I am a forgetful troublemaker sometimes....grrrr....

But NOW, I am kickin' it with a big smile.....

Star Wars - Lego Porn

A long time ago, I gave up the right to think that anybody has too much time on their hands....

I love this kind of crap...Its probably old news but when a guy who calls himself 'Marshall Banana' makes a 3 foot long Sandcrawler out of Legos, I don't think there could be enough recognition and applause.

Marshall's Flickr Gallery

Work in Progress Images

Good on you buddy!

Noah's Loaf - Resorts World Sentosa

I am a strong proponent of learning to use the Conceptual Massing Editor in Revit by modeling the buildings we see everyday.  Well, this one, The Maritime Museum at Resorts World Sentosa, had been bothering me for a while.

I am not aiming to accuratley recreate the form.  I am more interested in generating a family that could get me there!  So in this post i'll tackle the general, boat-like shape and in another week I'll go for the ribs and other stuff.  So join me as we look at how i did this...

and this...

and this...

and this...

Its a long way to the top....



This is the list of parameters if anyone is interested, notice that none of them are reporting parameters, this is all straight-forward behavior.

Here is a link to the family:

Noahs Ark.RFA

Authentic Vietnamese Pho

Its been a while since posting.  I have been traveling....and I went to Ho Chi Minh City.  This isn't a food blog, I know, but this place is worth mentioning because it was awesome.

I got a tip on this place from a random HCMC food guide.  The review is at the bottom of the page, they said:

Ut Nhung: 109/7 Nguyen Thien Thuat Street, Dist.3.

Jon Dillingham from the What's On Guide to Ho Chi Minh City claims this is one of the best phở shacks in the city: "This tiny phở shack doesn't have a menu," he writes. "The little hole-in-the-wall doesn't even have tra da, drinks are supplied by neighboring vendors. All Ut Nhung does is make one kind of pho: phở bo tai nam (pho with rare beef and well-done beef flank). They serve one of the best versions of this dish in town for VND11,000. In a hem off Guitar Street where Districts 1, 3, 5 and 10 meet, Ut Nhung has no sign. Just look for the tiny house with a huge cauldron of broth tended to by a bald lady surrounded by hungry pho eaters.
"The broth here is extra fatty and marrow is served in your soup. The raw meat is healthy and red before thrown into your bowl. The taste of the rare beef is likely to be some of the freshest you'll ever have in a city.
"Pho in Vietnam is a lot like burgers and fries in America or fish and chips in the UK: hundreds of places do it well, but special places like Ut Nhung make it nearly perfect."


With a recommendation like that, I had to give it a shot!

We found it pretty easily and though there was a language barrier, these people were so happy we'd come, they bent over backwards to help us out.  We asked for cold water but the shop didn't have anything, so they grabbed a guy with a motorbike from the house next door and sent him off to 7-11 for us...It was awesome.

Google Map to the general area:


View Nguyen Thien Thuat - Guitar Street in a larger map

Found the street:

Found a guitar shop

Found the Alley

This is the guitar shop at the alley entrance

This is the place....Both the smell and the fact that it was the only PHO shop in eyesight gave it away.

"Mr.Only-Guy-In-The-Neighborhood-Who-Speaks-English" and "Mrs. Brisket-Chopper"

The Menu.  Direct, to the point.... In the morning, they serve the clear broth Pho that most foreigners know and love.  In the afternoons, its the hearty, marrow-laden stew that i can no longer imagine living without!

The Broth...I'd like to make a request for the AUGI Beer-Bust next year!

Chopping the Brisket

Into the broth....this is how heaven on earth is created....

Some Noodles

Some garnish...

And Voila!

If you are in the area, I highly recommend it....

Regularly scheduled REVIT Non-Sense will return shortly...