excerpt from the book: The Virtual Model After finishing view and perspective drawings you have to make the exact plan of your car in 1 :5 ratio. Often four or five versions of a car are made. Afterwards a clay model is created in 1 :5 ratio. It happens that there are several versions of that, too. Anyone who worked with representational geometry or tried to create a model out of view drawings knows that the more complicated the object is, the more difficult the reconstruction of it. It might happen that two different persons would make entirely different models out of the same view drawings. The process of modelling is complicated further by the fact that usually the virtual model is made by someone else than the drawer of view pictures. The larger a company is, the more people are working on a same project. Four views are simply not informative enough for a perfect virtual model. However, during the scanning of the clay model the computer could digitalize the given shape with tenth millimeter precisity. And the machine, unlike human beings, will not make mistakes. Thats why most designing processes include the clay model nowadays, too. So I have a fear to tell that we now omit the construction of the clay model for several reasons. My excuse might be that I was the one who made the view drawings and thus I know what I wish to see in the virtual model. It is now possible to make a 3D print of a car in 1 :5 ratio so these two phases might be exchanged. First design the virtual model of the car on the computer, then print it. In the near future you might print whole parts of the bodywork and create diversely shaped cars on the same basis. Now create the three-dimensional virtual model of the car out of the view drawings. Basically there are two ways to create a virtual sportscar. The first is to draw the view drawings with a pencil (freehand) or with a computer and then create a model out of them. (I must note, however, that if someone cannot draw freehand, it gives her/him a low rate of chance to produce nice and harmonic cars by the computer either. The computer would not create in your stead; it could only follow your instructions.) The other way is to directly plan in 3D and create a model with the help of a 3D design program. In the latter case there should be a very clear idea of the cars image in your head! We must touch upon the topic of computer design, but not in length as it could fill several volumes. The point of digitalizing is the creation of a threedimensional model out of two dimensional projections.
Posted on: Fri, 25 Oct 2013 11:16:09 +0000