Rapidform Success

Latest Version Number of Rapiform Software

Som Valliyappan — Mon, 22 Jun 2009 01:00:09 +0000

You can find the version number of Rapidform Software by following these steps

1. Start the software
2. Goto Help->About
3. The version number will be displayed on the pop up splash screen as shown below the title Version Information

The Latest Version Number of Rapidform XOR is XOR2 SP1 Hotfix7

The Latest Version Number of Rapidform XOS is XOS2 SP1 Hotfix6

The Latest Version Number of Rapidform XOV is XOV2 Hotfix1

To download the latest version click here

ICF publishing tips (Creating a web page with an embedded 3D model)

Tom Charron — Mon, 01 Jun 2009 14:07:21 +0000

Rapidform XOS, XOR and XOV can create web pages with your 3D scan, CAD model or inspection result embedded as rotatable 3D models. They do this by creating an ICF (INUS Compression Format) file and an associated html file, which you can then place on a web server for people inside and outside your organization to access. The web page makes use of a plugin, the ICF Viewer, to view the 3D models inside Internet Explorer (it’s an ActiveX plugin, so it works in Internet Explorer but not Firefox, Safari, Chrome etc.)

To publish the ICF and html files, go to File>Publish>ICF. You’ll have several options (like image size, compression amount, etc.) that you can set before publishing the file to a specific location on your PC hard drive. For even more control over how your 3D web model is presented, you can edit the html file and add any of the parameters listed below.

After you publish an ICF file from Rapidform, go to the folder where the html file was created and open it with something like notepad. You’ll see html code like this:

CODEBASE=”http://www.rapidform.com/icfviewerxo2#VERSION=1,0,0,5″

CLASSID=clsid:E2B55A3D-1A41-4F58-A675-FFD34F45CBA0

HEIGHT=600 WIDTH=800>

To edit or add any additional parameters, simply add new lines with the parameter name and value in the same format as above. If you do not specify a parameter, the default will be used by the ICF Viewer plugin.

Here are the parameter list you can use in the html code.

PARAM NAME	VALUE	Default value
IcfPath	Location of ICF file
BackgroundColor	Three real values between 0 and 1, for example “0.5 1.0 0.5″
ShowGrid	“true”, “false”	“true”
ShowWorldAxis	“true”, “false”	“true”
EnableGradientBackgroud	“true”, “false”	“true”
EnableGradientBackground	“true”, “false”	“true”
EnableDynamicDraw	“true”, “false”	“true”
DynamicDisplayRatio	“100″, “50″, “25″, “10″, “5″, “1″, “0.5″, “0.1″	“100″
StaticDisplayRatio	“100″, “50″, “25″, “10″, “5″, “1″, “0.5″, “0.1″	“25″
EnableAntialiasing	“true”, “false”	“false”
NumOfSamples	In case EnableAntialiasing is true, number of antialiasing sampling	“4″
ShadingMode	“point shading”, “smooth shading”, “smooth shading with point”, “smooth shading with point”, “flat shading”, “flat shading with edge “, “flat shading with edge”	“smooth shading”
Light	“light1″, “light2″, “light3″, “light4″ or “lightall”	“light1″
ProjectionMode	“perspective”, “parallel”	“perspective”
ViewOrientation	“front”, “back”, “left”, “rignt”, “top”, “bottom”, “isometric”	“front”
EnableViewportLock	“true”, “false”	“false”
EnableTransparency	“true”, “false”	“false”
DrawBackface	“true”, “false”	“false”
BackfaceMode	“complement color”, “as is”	“complement color”
AnnotAlignMode	“free” , “snap”, “automatic”	“free”
PointSize	Size of vertex point, it should be integer value and bigger than 0	“2”
ShowModelTree	“true”, “false”	“false”
AutoShowHideModelTree	“true”, “false”	“true”

Tool entity extension in XOR’s Split Face command

Tom Charron — Tue, 26 May 2009 15:25:15 +0000

On to the third installment of our tech tips on the Split Face command. Did you know that XOR will automatically extend a surface if it’s too short to split another face? If you’re splitting a face by intersecting another surface, it will extend that surface with tangency like this:

This means that, if you’re using more than one surface or solid to split a face, the order in which you pick your tool entities matters.

In the example below, picking the curvey surface first and the flat surface second results in the image on the left, while picking in the other order results in the image on the right.

Splitting faces by projecting curves

Tom Charron — Mon, 18 May 2009 15:02:37 +0000

In our second installment on the Split Face command, I’d like to point out a difference between projecting 2D sketches and 3D sketches in XOR.

Using Split Face (found under Insert>Modeling Feature>Split Face), you can project a curve onto a face (surface or solid) and then trim or split that face. But the projection method is different depending on whether you use 2D sketches or 3D sketches as your too entity to do the cutting. A 2D sketch will be projected normal to the plane that the sketch lies on, whereas a 3D sketch will be projected normal to the direction of the target face.

As you can see, using one or the other type of sketch will let you get the desired result depending on what you’re trying to do.

Creating parting lines on CAD solids or NURBS surface models

Tom Charron — Tue, 12 May 2009 00:55:14 +0000

Rapidform XOR has a pretty cool command called Split Face. It can be used for several different purposes, and one of them is to generate parting lines after you’ve created a CAD model from scan data.

Using Split Face to create parting lines

1) Go to Insert>Modeling Feature>Split Face in XOR

2) Select the Silhouette radio button

3) Define the pull direction (this is the direction the mold will be pulled when separating). In the example below, we’re going to use the axis of one of the cylinder features of this part, but you can use other reference geometries or features.

4) Pick the target entities that you want to split apart. Since this is the split faces command, you’ll need to pick one or more faces here.

5) Click the check mark to run the command, and you’re done.

Generating offset surfaces from a complicated surface body

Som Valliyappan — Mon, 13 Apr 2009 01:00:20 +0000

Generally, when you model a sheet metal body with finite thickness, you create one side and using offset command you can create the other side.

This modeling method is used to create a sheet metal body with thickness even when you have only its upper side surface. Then you can check the interference between inner side of the surface body and another part. However, if you have a surface body with some complex shape, it is not easy to create it using above mentioned method.

XOR helps you to easily convert a surface data to mesh in order to complete the inner shape from the converted mesh using offset operation. You can quickly create a surface body on the mesh using Auto Surfacing command and complete the whole shape connecting the inner and the outer surface body on the boundary of model.

Through this document, you will understand how to create a complex inner side of body from the existing design data using the Convert Body, Auto Surfacing commands.

Method

First of all, you need to prepare a mesh from the existing design data in order to apply the offset operation.
1. Go to Mesh mode and select Tools > Mesh Tools > Convert body in the menu. Click the Ok button.

The design data is converted to a mesh and the copied mesh data will be registered in the Model Tree as shown in the image below.

Now extract a curve along the boundary of upper body using Convert Entities command. Then extract a curve along the boundary of the converted mesh using Boundary command as well.

1. Go to the Mesh mode, select Tools > Mesh Tools > Offset in the menu

2. Select the Surface Method as offset method and input a thickness value in the Distance box

3. Choose offset direction using Flip button so that it is offset to the inside of the part

Note
You can choose offset direction by just clicking the (Flip) button. If you want to turn over the current direction to the opposite direction, click the Flip button and the copied mesh will be offset along the selected direction. Also if you click this button again, the offset direction will be reversed again.

4. Go to the 3D Mesh Sketch mode, or select Tools > 3D Sketch Entities > Boundary in the menu

5. Select the option Interactively-Split Curve Segments From Single Boundary and select an edge as Boundary. Then pick nodes to create partial boundary curves as shown in the image below

6. Go to the 3D Sketch mode, or select Tools > 3D Sketch Tools > Convert Entities in the menu

7. Extract a curve along the boundary of upper body using Convert Entities command as shown in the image below

8. Try to merge between the split splines using Merge command

Finally, connect the curves that are extracted from the upper side of body and the inner side of mesh using the Surface Loft command. You can also easily and quickly create an inner side of body from the mesh using Auto Surfacing command.

1. Try to execute the Surface Loft command. Click the Surface Loft button in the main toolbar

2. Select two sketch chains as Profiles and click the OK button

3. You can also create other lofting surfaces by the same way as shown in the image below

4. Try to apply Auto Surfacing command to the offset mesh. Click the Auto Surfacing button in the main toolbar

5. Select the mesh and set the value for No. Of Surfaces as shown in the image below

A surface body will be created on the offset mesh as shown in the image below

6. Try to execute the Sew command. Click the Sew button in the main toolbar

7. Select all surface bodies and click the next button

8. Click the OK button. The split boundaries of the surface bodies are sewed. Then you will get a solid model which has thickness as shown in the image below.

1.5M Year Old Footprints Examined Using Rapidform

Tom Charron — Thu, 12 Mar 2009 00:44:33 +0000

Rapidform is used for scientific research every day, but rarely does it help with such an important discovery as this: ancient human footprints found in Kenya reveal that our ancestors had similar height, weight and walking patterns to us. Matthew Bennett of Bournemouth University in the UK used a 3D scanner to capture these fossilized footprints and studied them with Rapidform. You can read the news about this fascinating case or examine the paper published in Science, replete with various Rapidform-generated images.

Professor Bennett performed a variety of measurements of the footprints using Rapidform, and generated beautiful color maps showing the depth of each footprint in the prehistoric mud. The cover of the Feb 27, 2009 issue of Science featured one of these color maps made in Rapidform. This important research made worldwide headlines because the findings represent the oldest evidence of modern-human foot anatomy.

This is another great example of how 3D scanning is being applied to all sorts of important work, from anthropology and medicine to manufacturing and new product development.

Source: Science Magazine [login required to read full article]

Difference between exporting a model as IGES/STEP (vs) liveTransfer

Som Valliyappan — Mon, 02 Mar 2009 01:00:42 +0000

Exporting a model as IGES (STEP) vs. liveTransfer

Generally models made from scan data that are intended to be edited in a CAD program are transferred into the receiving CAD program using IGES or STEP file format. Even after a successful import of these formats into the CAD modeler there may be some gaps or bad topology condition in surface body.

This technical tip will introduce “Live Transfer” an effective way to use XOR so that you can transfer a design data to the receiving CAD modeler without these problems.

How to transfer data to the other CAD modeler without any problems?

As you might have experienced, the data which is modeled in XOR and exported to the other CAD modeler could have some gaps from bad topology condition of the surface body if you transferred the data using neutral file format such as IGES, STEP as shown in the image below.

Error in the body in IGES file format

It might have happened because each application has its own specific tolerance and healing option. If that’s the case then what is effective way of transferring data to another CAD Modeler? XOR has a transferring system called as live transfer which would solve the problem.

Live transfer has several options. If you use “Start from first feature” option, the application makes a body in the other CAD modeler in the same order of the modeling process as you did in XOR. You will get a modeled body as well as modeling history which is exactly the same as you did in XOR.

If you use “Only Selected Entities” option, the application transfers only the selected body to the other CAD modeler. In this case they use “parasolid” file format which is of higher data compatibility. So you will get better results than what you get when you transfer a modeled data using IGES, STEP file format.

If you have been using XOR and already installed other CAD modeler in your machine, use live transfer to transfer model to the other CAD modeler. You will get better a result as shown in the image below.

Comparison between Accuracy Analyzer (XOR) and Whole Deviation (XOV) results

Som Valliyappan — Mon, 02 Mar 2009 01:00:05 +0000

If you have been using XOR for reverse engineering and XOV for inspection, sometimes you may be confused why the results of deviation by the Accuracy Analyzer of XOR and Whole Deviation of XOV are different. As you know, XOR is the software for reverse engineering and XOV is the software for inspection. Even though you try to calculate deviation using the same Design data and Scan data, the results would be different because of the difference in calculation method as shown in the image below.

Through this technical tip, you will understand how these two applications calculate deviation and why the results of deviation are different.

Difference in calculation method

Whole Deviation of XOV is focused for checking how much the scanned points are close to the nominal data. So the application measures the gap that the scanned points have among the nominal data. In other words, the application tries to project the scanned points onto the nominal data and calculates its gap as shown in the image below.

But the Accuracy analyzer of XOR is focused on checking how much the modeled data, which is designed by several reverse engineering tools, is close to the real scanned object. So the application measures gap that the modeled data have among the real scanned object. In other words, the application tries to tessellate modeled data so that it can project it onto the scanned data and then it calculates the gap as shown in the image below.

Since our interest of deviation calculation is different in both applications, the results of deviation are calculated in a different manner based on the respective interest.

Note

You can see the difference in the results of deviation in XOR by setting the modeled data as reference in Mesh Deviation (Measure > Mesh Deviation).

Rapidform Success 2009 Training Conference

Rob Liebert — Mon, 19 Jan 2009 21:30:45 +0000

We are having our Rapidform Success Training Conference this April (14-17) at the Hilton in Las Vegas! Come join our team of experts and our growing network of hardcore users, as we all take part in a wonderful opportunity to:

Gain expert training from the most well-versed Rapidform trainers and users,
Become a Certified Rapidform Professional and earn instant industry credentials,
Network with the most experienced professionals in the world of 3D scanning,
… and much more!

Click Here for More Information
Click Here to Register Online

We hope to see you there,

Rapidform Inc.