Hi, and thank you already for thinking about helping. I need it! This is a sculpture by Antoine Pevsner, that I've been trying to recreate. <http://forum.openscad.org/file/n20461/IMG_3113.jpg> A little inspiration (mostly perspiration) got me [x,y,z] coordinates for the end points of each of the straight lines. So I have an array with all the coordinates of the endpoints and here's what I've done: Place spheres at the ends of a line. Hull() them to make that line. Place spheres at the ends of the next line. Hull() them to make that next line. Put n spheres at regular intervals along each line. Hull() three at a time to make thick triangular faces to fill in the space between the skew lines. Repeat with the second line and the third line. And so on. So admittedly it's a ton of lines and hull() ing to do, and I'm not surprised that it takes a while given my slow computer, but I'm hoping someone can say something like, "Erik worked on this three years ago, ask him," or, "try switching this with that or looping this other way." I'm improving the code kind of steadily, but when I have to wait three hours for the lowest of the lowest quality renderings, I lose a little steam. When it's done rendering, I get some steam back because the thing just looks so cool. <http://forum.openscad.org/file/n20461/pevsner2.jpg> The only other idea I had was to individually crop and individually rotate individually twisted linearly extruded rectangles, but that math was scary to me compared to the nice loop I've got I've got below. I set up the code below to handle two lines and do it with fairly good looks. If you have a minute to render it and think about how *you'd* do it that might be faster or more efficient, I'd truly appreciate any feedback. It takes about 45 seconds to render on my laptop (Lenovo Thinkpad X201T, dual i7). It's no speed demon and doesn't have anything really special. Thanks if you feel like helping! Drew //beginning of abridged code module web(p1,p2,p3,p4,slabs){ $fn=8; hull(){ translate(p1) //places spheres at line sphere(.2); //ends to be hulled translate(p2) sphere(.2);} hull(){ translate(p3) //places spheres at line sphere(.2); //ends to be hulled translate(p4) sphere(.2);} /* This next loop places smaller spheres at even intervals along each line. It hulls three spheres (two from one side and one from the other) to create a triangular face, and then it hulls two from the other side and one from this side, etc, and works its way up the gap.*/ for (n=[1:1:slabs]){ hull(){ translate([p1[0]+(n-1)*(p2[0]-p1[0])/slabs,p1[1]+(n-1)*(p2[1]-p1[1])/slabs,p1[2]+(n-1)*(p2[2]-p1[2])/slabs]) sphere(.1); translate([p3[0]+(n-1)*(p4[0]-p3[0])/slabs,p3[1]+(n-1)*(p4[1]-p3[1])/slabs,p3[2]+(n-1)*(p4[2]-p3[2])/slabs]) sphere(.1); translate([p3[0]+n*(p4[0]-p3[0])/slabs,p3[1]+n*(p4[1]-p3[1])/slabs,p3[2]+n*(p4[2]-p3[2])/slabs]) sphere(.1);} hull(){ translate([p1[0]+(n-1)*(p2[0]-p1[0])/slabs,p1[1]+(n-1)*(p2[1]-p1[1])/slabs,p1[2]+(n-1)*(p2[2]-p1[2])/slabs]) sphere(.1); translate([p1[0]+n*(p2[0]-p1[0])/slabs,p1[1]+n*(p2[1]-p1[1])/slabs,p1[2]+n*(p2[2]-p1[2])/slabs]) sphere(.1); translate([p3[0]+n*(p4[0]-p3[0])/slabs,p3[1]+n*(p4[1]-p3[1])/slabs,p3[2]+n*(p4[2]-p3[2])/slabs]) sphere(.1);}}} web(p1=[0,0,0],p2=[-2,3,10],p3=[3,3,-5],p4=[12,0,12],slabs=32); -- View this message in context: http://forum.openscad.org/alternative-to-hull-tp20461.html Sent from the OpenSCAD mailing list archive at Nabble.com.

I would follow a very different path: polyhedron. However, it is very hard to sew all faces of a polyhedron. So I would use something like Parkinbot's sweep (see http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:900137). You will have to compute points but the render will be very quick. Em 16 de fev de 2017 01:35, "dkesler" <dkesler@newarka.edu> escreveu: > Hi, and thank you already for thinking about helping. I need it! > > This is a sculpture by Antoine Pevsner, that I've been trying to recreate. > > <http://forum.openscad.org/file/n20461/IMG_3113.jpg> > > A little inspiration (mostly perspiration) got me [x,y,z] coordinates for > the end points of each of the straight lines. So I have an array with all > the coordinates of the endpoints and here's what I've done: > > Place spheres at the ends of a line. > Hull() them to make that line. > Place spheres at the ends of the next line. > Hull() them to make that next line. > Put n spheres at regular intervals along each line. > Hull() three at a time to make thick triangular faces to fill in the space > between the skew lines. > Repeat with the second line and the third line. > And so on. > > So admittedly it's a ton of lines and hull() ing to do, and I'm not > surprised that it takes a while given my slow computer, but I'm hoping > someone can say something like, "Erik worked on this three years ago, ask > him," or, "try switching this with that or looping this other way." I'm > improving the code kind of steadily, but when I have to wait three hours > for > the lowest of the lowest quality renderings, I lose a little steam. When > it's done rendering, I get some steam back because the thing just looks so > cool. > > <http://forum.openscad.org/file/n20461/pevsner2.jpg> > > The only other idea I had was to individually crop and individually rotate > individually twisted linearly extruded rectangles, but that math was scary > to me compared to the nice loop I've got I've got below. > > I set up the code below to handle two lines and do it with fairly good > looks. If you have a minute to render it and think about how *you'd* do it > that might be faster or more efficient, I'd truly appreciate any feedback. > It takes about 45 seconds to render on my laptop (Lenovo Thinkpad X201T, > dual i7). It's no speed demon and doesn't have anything really special. > > Thanks if you feel like helping! Drew > > > //beginning of abridged code > > module web(p1,p2,p3,p4,slabs){ > $fn=8; > hull(){ > translate(p1) //places spheres at line > sphere(.2); //ends to be hulled > translate(p2) > sphere(.2);} > hull(){ > translate(p3) //places spheres at line > sphere(.2); //ends to be hulled > translate(p4) > sphere(.2);} > > /* This next loop places smaller spheres at even intervals along each line. > It hulls three spheres (two from one side and one from the other) to create > a triangular face, and then it hulls two from the other side and one from > this side, etc, and works its way up the gap.*/ > > for (n=[1:1:slabs]){ > hull(){ > > translate([p1[0]+(n-1)*(p2[0]-p1[0])/slabs,p1[1]+(n-1)*(p2[ > 1]-p1[1])/slabs,p1[2]+(n-1)*(p2[2]-p1[2])/slabs]) > sphere(.1); > > translate([p3[0]+(n-1)*(p4[0]-p3[0])/slabs,p3[1]+(n-1)*(p4[ > 1]-p3[1])/slabs,p3[2]+(n-1)*(p4[2]-p3[2])/slabs]) > sphere(.1); > > translate([p3[0]+n*(p4[0]-p3[0])/slabs,p3[1]+n*(p4[1]-p3[1] > )/slabs,p3[2]+n*(p4[2]-p3[2])/slabs]) > sphere(.1);} > hull(){ > > translate([p1[0]+(n-1)*(p2[0]-p1[0])/slabs,p1[1]+(n-1)*(p2[ > 1]-p1[1])/slabs,p1[2]+(n-1)*(p2[2]-p1[2])/slabs]) > sphere(.1); > > translate([p1[0]+n*(p2[0]-p1[0])/slabs,p1[1]+n*(p2[1]-p1[1] > )/slabs,p1[2]+n*(p2[2]-p1[2])/slabs]) > sphere(.1); > > translate([p3[0]+n*(p4[0]-p3[0])/slabs,p3[1]+n*(p4[1]-p3[1] > )/slabs,p3[2]+n*(p4[2]-p3[2])/slabs]) > sphere(.1);}}} > > web(p1=[0,0,0],p2=[-2,3,10],p3=[3,3,-5],p4=[12,0,12],slabs=32); > > > > -- > View this message in context: http://forum.openscad.org/ > alternative-to-hull-tp20461.html > Sent from the OpenSCAD mailing list archive at Nabble.com. > > _______________________________________________ > OpenSCAD mailing list > Discuss@lists.openscad.org > http://lists.openscad.org/mailman/listinfo/discuss_lists.openscad.org >

Thanks Ronaldo, I've been working on using polyhedron, but it's taking me a while since two polyhedra can't share an edge! So I'm using all kinds of cross products to push the edges apart. I looked at sweep. I'll try that if I'm not good enough with the polyhedra math. Rendering sure is fast, though, so thanks a lot! -Drew > On Feb 15, 2017, at 11:47 PM, Ronaldo [via OpenSCAD] <ml-node+s1091067n20462h78@n5.nabble.com> wrote: > > I would follow a very different path: polyhedron. However, it is very hard to sew all faces of a polyhedron. So I would use something like Parkinbot's sweep (see http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:900137). You will have to compute points but the render will be very quick. > > Em 16 de fev de 2017 01:35, "dkesler" <[hidden email]> escreveu: >> Hi, and thank you already for thinking about helping. I need it! >> >> This is a sculpture by Antoine Pevsner, that I've been trying to recreate. >> >> <http://forum.openscad.org/file/n20461/IMG_3113.jpg> >> >> A little inspiration (mostly perspiration) got me [x,y,z] coordinates for >> the end points of each of the straight lines. So I have an array with all >> the coordinates of the endpoints and here's what I've done: >> >> Place spheres at the ends of a line. >> Hull() them to make that line. >> Place spheres at the ends of the next line. >> Hull() them to make that next line. >> Put n spheres at regular intervals along each line. >> Hull() three at a time to make thick triangular faces to fill in the space >> between the skew lines. >> Repeat with the second line and the third line. >> And so on. >> >> So admittedly it's a ton of lines and hull() ing to do, and I'm not >> surprised that it takes a while given my slow computer, but I'm hoping >> someone can say something like, "Erik worked on this three years ago, ask >> him," or, "try switching this with that or looping this other way." I'm >> improving the code kind of steadily, but when I have to wait three hours for >> the lowest of the lowest quality renderings, I lose a little steam. When >> it's done rendering, I get some steam back because the thing just looks so >> cool. >> >> <http://forum.openscad.org/file/n20461/pevsner2.jpg> >> >> The only other idea I had was to individually crop and individually rotate >> individually twisted linearly extruded rectangles, but that math was scary >> to me compared to the nice loop I've got I've got below. >> >> I set up the code below to handle two lines and do it with fairly good >> looks. If you have a minute to render it and think about how *you'd* do it >> that might be faster or more efficient, I'd truly appreciate any feedback. >> It takes about 45 seconds to render on my laptop (Lenovo Thinkpad X201T, >> dual i7). It's no speed demon and doesn't have anything really special. >> >> Thanks if you feel like helping! Drew >> >> >> //beginning of abridged code >> >> module web(p1,p2,p3,p4,slabs){ >> $fn=8; >> hull(){ >> translate(p1) //places spheres at line >> sphere(.2); //ends to be hulled >> translate(p2) >> sphere(.2);} >> hull(){ >> translate(p3) //places spheres at line >> sphere(.2); //ends to be hulled >> translate(p4) >> sphere(.2);} >> >> /* This next loop places smaller spheres at even intervals along each line. >> It hulls three spheres (two from one side and one from the other) to create >> a triangular face, and then it hulls two from the other side and one from >> this side, etc, and works its way up the gap.*/ >> >> for (n=[1:1:slabs]){ >> hull(){ >> >> translate([p1[0]+(n-1)*(p2[0]-p1[0])/slabs,p1[1]+(n-1)*(p2[1]-p1[1])/slabs,p1[2]+(n-1)*(p2[2]-p1[2])/slabs]) >> sphere(.1); >> >> translate([p3[0]+(n-1)*(p4[0]-p3[0])/slabs,p3[1]+(n-1)*(p4[1]-p3[1])/slabs,p3[2]+(n-1)*(p4[2]-p3[2])/slabs]) >> sphere(.1); >> >> translate([p3[0]+n*(p4[0]-p3[0])/slabs,p3[1]+n*(p4[1]-p3[1])/slabs,p3[2]+n*(p4[2]-p3[2])/slabs]) >> sphere(.1);} >> hull(){ >> >> translate([p1[0]+(n-1)*(p2[0]-p1[0])/slabs,p1[1]+(n-1)*(p2[1]-p1[1])/slabs,p1[2]+(n-1)*(p2[2]-p1[2])/slabs]) >> sphere(.1); >> >> translate([p1[0]+n*(p2[0]-p1[0])/slabs,p1[1]+n*(p2[1]-p1[1])/slabs,p1[2]+n*(p2[2]-p1[2])/slabs]) >> sphere(.1); >> >> translate([p3[0]+n*(p4[0]-p3[0])/slabs,p3[1]+n*(p4[1]-p3[1])/slabs,p3[2]+n*(p4[2]-p3[2])/slabs]) >> sphere(.1);}}} >> >> web(p1=[0,0,0],p2=[-2,3,10],p3=[3,3,-5],p4=[12,0,12],slabs=32); >> >> >> >> -- >> View this message in context: http://forum.openscad.org/alternative-to-hull-tp20461.html >> Sent from the OpenSCAD mailing list archive at Nabble.com. >> >> _______________________________________________ >> OpenSCAD mailing list >> [hidden email] >> http://lists.openscad.org/mailman/listinfo/discuss_lists.openscad.org > > _______________________________________________ > OpenSCAD mailing list > [hidden email] > http://lists.openscad.org/mailman/listinfo/discuss_lists.openscad.org > > > If you reply to this email, your message will be added to the discussion below: > http://forum.openscad.org/alternative-to-hull-tp20461p20462.html > To unsubscribe from alternative to hull?, click here. > NAML -- View this message in context: http://forum.openscad.org/alternative-to-hull-tp20461p20470.html Sent from the OpenSCAD mailing list archive at Nabble.com.