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Engineering Swept Volumes
6" x 6" x 20"
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Artist Statement: Swept volume solids are 3D models that represent the space that
objects occupy or sweep out while moving. We've been working with
complex swept volumes at Boeing for several years and often come
across ones with unique shapes. This display is a collection of
some of those intersting models.
The concept is to display physical 3D models of engineering related swept
volumes in a visually interesting way, allowing viewers to examine
the models from all sides. The geometry for each model was created by
the voxel-based software we've developed for use in our design analysis
processes, which is based on the methods discussed in the haptics
interaction paper we presented at SIGGRAPH99.
The display will consist of three vertically stacked, clear Plexiglas
cubes each containing a physical 3D model (stereolithography). The
stack will be approximately 18 inches high and 6 inches at the base.
Next to the model stack will be a description of 3D models describing
how they were created and used by designers at Boeing.
Below is a brief description of three different methods we've used to
create the underlying motion of these types of models.
The first model is a representation of a human figure reach analysis
motion for a new aircraft seating design project. The motion was
created by keyframing positions of a human model performing several
tasks, including reaching under the seat. The tessellated model was
generated by the swept volume module of the Voxmap PointShell (VPS)
software toolkit. The physical model was printed on a Z Corp model
406 color 3D printer.
The second model is of the extend/retract motion of the main landing
gear of a large commercial aircraft. It is shown here without wheels
for better visibility of internal linkages. The motion was created in
CATIA and exported to our FlyThru (R) visualization software for the
swept volume model creation using VPS.
The motion paths for the third model were created by manipulating
objects in a haptics enabled, physically based, virtual environment.
The collection of swept volumes shows the extraction of some hydraulic
system components through an access port. The like the other two models,
the tessellated solids were created by the swept volume generation
functions of the VPS toolkit.
(Note: The 3D prints of the second and third models are not available at
this time, but will also be created on the Z Corp printer.)
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