3D modeling is based on technology and technique. The technology is CAD software, and the technique is the modelers' skill set. Technologies are implemented in software although techniques are acquired by humans.
I guess that enterprises prefer technologies to techniques because they don't want to rely on employee's individual skills. Technologies can stabilize the quality of their products. So, they are enthusiastic to automate their work flows with technologies. I was requested several times to automate manufacturers' work concerning 3D CAD.
On the other hand, usual people prefer techniques to automation technologies, I think. Let's say 3D modeling becomes popular among consumers or personal creators. I want to consider what kind of software will be accepted by such people.
I think they will use 3D tools for their personal experiences. They won't be interested in efficiency. Instead, they will enjoy 3D modeling. They will exchange their work among their community. And they will desire to improve their 3D modeling techniques.
They will try to make their own unique and individual work although enterprises value stable and uniform work. Techniques emphasize individual characteristics although technologies standardize organization's output.
Existing 3D CAD applications are based on high technologies, which won't attract such creators. Instead, simple and intuitive usability will attract them. And the software must be flexible enough to give people freedom to express their individuality.
Of course, I know that technologies and techniques are not exclusive. But I feel existing 3D CAD applications have too much of the technological aspect for usual (non professional) people. Maybe simple and intuitive software will stimulate people's ambition to design 3D objects.
2010年2月20日土曜日
Molding the future of manufacturers
The other day, the project team I belong to visited a mold manufacturer to study the mold industry. The manufacturer mainly manufactures molds for die-casting of aluminum alloy. The president showed us their factory and talked to us about their industry.
Looking around the factory was really exciting! Do you know a mold is much larger than the product which the mold produces? A mold for an engine block was as big as a small car! I was surprised by the size of molds.
And, the molds were really complicated. I think many people tend to imagine such molds are simple. But actually, they need complicated gimmicks to rearrange their parts to demold aluminum products from molds. A mold consists of several parts and each part can slide back and forth to demold. Furthermore, they contain many water pipes inside to cool down hot aluminum alloy. It was amazing that many water tubes were connected to a mold.
I felt the company had high capabilities. But the president said China or other Asian countries were taking away their work although the quality of their molds and dies were much higher than the Chinese.
Japanese car manufacturers began to decide that they will order molds and dies for cars for the Chinese from the Chinese. It will make a serious impact on Japanese suppliers. The Japanese car industry yields 10 million automobiles a year and half of them are exported. If they decide to stop exporting and build factories and supply chains in China or other Asian countries, Japanese molds/dies suppliers' market will shrink to below 50%.
Chinese consumers aren't so particular about the quality of automobiles. Their main concern is the price. This is why the car manufacturers are shifting to order parts from local suppliers although the quality of Japanese products is much higher than local products.
But it seemed that the president had some strategies to survive. He was still aggressive to find new markets. I wish a good future for them.
Looking around the factory was really exciting! Do you know a mold is much larger than the product which the mold produces? A mold for an engine block was as big as a small car! I was surprised by the size of molds.
And, the molds were really complicated. I think many people tend to imagine such molds are simple. But actually, they need complicated gimmicks to rearrange their parts to demold aluminum products from molds. A mold consists of several parts and each part can slide back and forth to demold. Furthermore, they contain many water pipes inside to cool down hot aluminum alloy. It was amazing that many water tubes were connected to a mold.
I felt the company had high capabilities. But the president said China or other Asian countries were taking away their work although the quality of their molds and dies were much higher than the Chinese.
Japanese car manufacturers began to decide that they will order molds and dies for cars for the Chinese from the Chinese. It will make a serious impact on Japanese suppliers. The Japanese car industry yields 10 million automobiles a year and half of them are exported. If they decide to stop exporting and build factories and supply chains in China or other Asian countries, Japanese molds/dies suppliers' market will shrink to below 50%.
Chinese consumers aren't so particular about the quality of automobiles. Their main concern is the price. This is why the car manufacturers are shifting to order parts from local suppliers although the quality of Japanese products is much higher than local products.
But it seemed that the president had some strategies to survive. He was still aggressive to find new markets. I wish a good future for them.
2010年1月25日月曜日
Implicit Surface
Today, I want to introduce "implicit surface", which is one of the surface expressions.
First, I'm going to explain the concept of implicit expression in a 2 dimensional world. Let's express a circle in mathematical terms. There are 2 ways to express a circle as follows.
With the explicit expression, we can get coordinate values of points on the circle explicitly. If you substitute 0 for t, you can get explicit coordinate values (cos(0), sin(0)) = (1, 0). But, with the implicit expression, we cannot get such coordinate values explicitly. This is a disadvantage of implicit expressions.
However, the implicit expression has a significant advantage. You can tell if an arbitrary point is inside the circle or not very easily with the implicit expression. If the point (x, y) is inside, the value of the implicit function f(x, y) is negative. Otherwise, the value is positive. That is, the inside domain of the circle can be expressed with the following inequality.
The two operand circles are expressed as follows.
This concept can be extended to 3 dimensional worlds. We can express spheres or other 3 dimensional shapes with implicit expressions. Of course, we can execute Boolean operations in a 3 dimensional world very easily. We call 3 dimensional surfaces expressed with implicit expressions "implicit surfaces".
The above figure shows an example of a subtraction between a sphere and a cylinder in a 3 dimensional world.
On the other hand, using explicit expressions is mainstream for surface expressions of 3D CAD, and Boolean operations are really difficult and complicated procedures in such CAD. I believe implicit surfaces can be useful for some applications. I'm wondering what kind of applications can take advantage of implicit surfaces.
First, I'm going to explain the concept of implicit expression in a 2 dimensional world. Let's express a circle in mathematical terms. There are 2 ways to express a circle as follows.
- (x, y) = (cos(t), sin(t)) ... (a)
- f(x, y) = x^2 + y^2 - 1 = 0 ... (b)
However, the implicit expression has a significant advantage. You can tell if an arbitrary point is inside the circle or not very easily with the implicit expression. If the point (x, y) is inside, the value of the implicit function f(x, y) is negative. Otherwise, the value is positive. That is, the inside domain of the circle can be expressed with the following inequality.
- f(x, y) = x^2 + y^2 - 1 <= 0
The two operand circles are expressed as follows.
- f1(x, y) = x^2 + y^2 - 1 <= 0
- f2(x, y) = (x-1)^2 + y^2 - 1 <= 0
- f3(x, y) = min{ f1(x, y), f2(x, y) } <= 0
This concept can be extended to 3 dimensional worlds. We can express spheres or other 3 dimensional shapes with implicit expressions. Of course, we can execute Boolean operations in a 3 dimensional world very easily. We call 3 dimensional surfaces expressed with implicit expressions "implicit surfaces".
The above figure shows an example of a subtraction between a sphere and a cylinder in a 3 dimensional world.
On the other hand, using explicit expressions is mainstream for surface expressions of 3D CAD, and Boolean operations are really difficult and complicated procedures in such CAD. I believe implicit surfaces can be useful for some applications. I'm wondering what kind of applications can take advantage of implicit surfaces.
2010年1月12日火曜日
Happy New Year
Today, I want to write about this New Year's holiday.
I spent this holiday with my mother in my home town, which is in Iwata city, Shizuoka prefecture. Many people living in Tokyo (or other big cities) go back to their family home during New Year's holiday. My brothers and I gathered at our mother's home and we threw a nabe party on New Year's Eve.
That party was extravagant. My uncle sent us a king crab ("taraba-gani" in Japanese). One of my brothers, who had lived in California last year, brought a bottle of California wine. My mother prepared kimchi-nabe (Japanese nabe with Korean pickles), and a bottle of Shimeharizuru-daiginjo, which is one of the best grades of Japanese sake.
I was happy, because my mother seemed happy. My father passed away more than 8 years ago and she had lived alone since then. So, she had been looking forward to the party with her sons.
The party wasn't the only thing that made her happy. She became a grandmother last year because my wife gave birth to a baby girl last October. Every time she saw my baby, she smiled and said she wanted to show my baby to her husband in heaven.
On January 2nd, I went to a doll shop with my mother, my wife, and my wife's mother. It's a custom in Japan that people who have daughters put up hina dolls in their house on March 3rd every year. My wife's mother bought us the dolls below as a present. I'm really grateful for it!
It was a good holiday. And I wish this year will be a good year.
I spent this holiday with my mother in my home town, which is in Iwata city, Shizuoka prefecture. Many people living in Tokyo (or other big cities) go back to their family home during New Year's holiday. My brothers and I gathered at our mother's home and we threw a nabe party on New Year's Eve.
That party was extravagant. My uncle sent us a king crab ("taraba-gani" in Japanese). One of my brothers, who had lived in California last year, brought a bottle of California wine. My mother prepared kimchi-nabe (Japanese nabe with Korean pickles), and a bottle of Shimeharizuru-daiginjo, which is one of the best grades of Japanese sake.
I was happy, because my mother seemed happy. My father passed away more than 8 years ago and she had lived alone since then. So, she had been looking forward to the party with her sons.
The party wasn't the only thing that made her happy. She became a grandmother last year because my wife gave birth to a baby girl last October. Every time she saw my baby, she smiled and said she wanted to show my baby to her husband in heaven.
On January 2nd, I went to a doll shop with my mother, my wife, and my wife's mother. It's a custom in Japan that people who have daughters put up hina dolls in their house on March 3rd every year. My wife's mother bought us the dolls below as a present. I'm really grateful for it!
It was a good holiday. And I wish this year will be a good year.
2009年12月28日月曜日
I saw a new market at a crazy party in Akihabara
The other day, I went to a year-end party in Akihabara. It was really exciting and crazy.
The party was thrown by 3D-GAN (3D-Geometry Application Network), which is an NPO and was established 2 years ago in Akihabara. 3D-GAN's purpose is to share and promote 3D shape data/technology more. Various people were there from various industries.
Look at the above picture. The guy wearing the strange mask is me. The mask is about a character named Mona, which is popular among Internet users in Japan.
I borrowed the mask from a fellow geek attending the party, who had made the mask. It was really surprising that the mask had a tiny CCD camera on the face and had a LCD(liquid crystal display) inside, so I wouldn't be blind while wearing it.
Akihabara is the only city where we can meet such interesting geeks. Yes, you know, Akihabara is a city for various kinds of geeks, nerds, maniacs, and Otaku.
The people in the party were diverse. They were of various ages, from various industries, and had various interests. The only common interest among them was 3D technology.
They would never have met if it weren't for 3D data.
They would never have met if it weren't for 3D-GAN.
But they met. The encounter was exciting. I believe the encounter will drive a change. The change is about the spread of 3D data and technology.
I remember Mr. Soma, a founder of 3D-GAN, told me that establishing 3D-GAN in Akihabara was significant. He said that there were no cities in the world more unique than Akihabara, and he believed an innovation would occur from a unique city like Akihabara. He chose Akihabara strategically.
By the way, I found a Hisui user at the party(Hisui is a CAD framework I developed). He told me that he was using Hisui to convert obj format file to STL format file. It made me happy to talk to a user of my own product.
He told me that he couldn't find any software which can convert obj format to STL format except Hisui. I was surprised because to develop the function converting obj to STL was really easy. But I know that obj format is used by CG modelers and STL format is used by manufacturers, and there is a deep gulf between them. It seems that they don't exchange any information with each other. So, I guess no vendors have found the need of the conversion. But I could see it in Akihabara.
So, let's meet in Akihabara.
The party was thrown by 3D-GAN (3D-Geometry Application Network), which is an NPO and was established 2 years ago in Akihabara. 3D-GAN's purpose is to share and promote 3D shape data/technology more. Various people were there from various industries.
Look at the above picture. The guy wearing the strange mask is me. The mask is about a character named Mona, which is popular among Internet users in Japan.
∧＿∧ ／￣￣￣￣￣ （ ´Д｀）＜ オマエモナー （ ） ＼＿＿＿＿＿ │ │ │ （＿_）＿）
I borrowed the mask from a fellow geek attending the party, who had made the mask. It was really surprising that the mask had a tiny CCD camera on the face and had a LCD(liquid crystal display) inside, so I wouldn't be blind while wearing it.
Akihabara is the only city where we can meet such interesting geeks. Yes, you know, Akihabara is a city for various kinds of geeks, nerds, maniacs, and Otaku.
The people in the party were diverse. They were of various ages, from various industries, and had various interests. The only common interest among them was 3D technology.
They would never have met if it weren't for 3D data.
They would never have met if it weren't for 3D-GAN.
But they met. The encounter was exciting. I believe the encounter will drive a change. The change is about the spread of 3D data and technology.
I remember Mr. Soma, a founder of 3D-GAN, told me that establishing 3D-GAN in Akihabara was significant. He said that there were no cities in the world more unique than Akihabara, and he believed an innovation would occur from a unique city like Akihabara. He chose Akihabara strategically.
By the way, I found a Hisui user at the party(Hisui is a CAD framework I developed). He told me that he was using Hisui to convert obj format file to STL format file. It made me happy to talk to a user of my own product.
He told me that he couldn't find any software which can convert obj format to STL format except Hisui. I was surprised because to develop the function converting obj to STL was really easy. But I know that obj format is used by CG modelers and STL format is used by manufacturers, and there is a deep gulf between them. It seems that they don't exchange any information with each other. So, I guess no vendors have found the need of the conversion. But I could see it in Akihabara.
So, let's meet in Akihabara.
2009年12月18日金曜日
Euler's Formula in Topology
CAD is based on mathematics. The formula I was impressed by the most when I joined the CAD industry was Euler's formula.
v - e + f = 2(1 - g)
Where 'v' is the number of vertices, 'e' is the number of edges, and 'f' is the number of faces. 'g' means 'genus', which I will explain later.
I was surprised by the fact that every polyhedral object satisfies this formula. In this entry, we will verify this formula with some concrete examples. Let's begin with a simple cube.
First, you should keep in mind that the genus of a cube is zero. You will know why later. Then, we can simplify the formula as below.
v - e + f = 2
What we should do is to count vertices, edges, and faces in a cube. It's really easy work. The 'v'(the number of vertices in a cube) is 8. The 'e'(the number of edges in a cube) is 12, and the 'f'(the number of faces in a cube) is 6. Substitute these numbers in the formula.
v - e + f = 8 - 12 + 6 = 2
Bingo! This simple cube satisfies Euler's formula indeed.
Next, you might wonder what will happen if each quadrangle face of the cube is split into 2 triangles. Let's verify this case.
In this case, e becomes 18(= 12 + 6) and f becomes 12(= 2 * 6) because each face is split into two triangles with one diagonal edge. v remains 8, of course. Substitute these numbers in the formula.
v - e + f = 8 - 18 + 12 = 2
Bingo! This is amazing, isn't it?
Next example is a little complex. Can you count v, e, and f in this object?
v is 16, e is 32, and f is 16. Let's substitute these numbers.
v - e + f = 16 - 32 + 16 = 0
Oops! What is wrong?
Now, you need to know what the 'genus' is. The genus means the number of holes in an object. Because there is one hole in the above object like a doughnut, the genus 'g' is 1. Now you can understand why the genus of a cube is zero. So, In this case, Euler's formula must be written as below.
v - e + f = 0
So, the doughnut satisfies Euler's formula indeed.
This theory is categorized as topology. Note that geometrical shapes don't matter in topology. Only linkages between vertices, edges, and faces matter. Topology interested me because it's really different from geometry I learned at high school.
Every solid kernel, which is a calculation engine of 3D CAD, is equipped with 2 kinds of operations. The one is a kind of geometrical operations, and the other is a kind of topological operations, which is called Euler operations. I feel it's amazing that such abstract mathematics is alive in CAD software. Don't you think so?
v - e + f = 2(1 - g)
Where 'v' is the number of vertices, 'e' is the number of edges, and 'f' is the number of faces. 'g' means 'genus', which I will explain later.
I was surprised by the fact that every polyhedral object satisfies this formula. In this entry, we will verify this formula with some concrete examples. Let's begin with a simple cube.
First, you should keep in mind that the genus of a cube is zero. You will know why later. Then, we can simplify the formula as below.
v - e + f = 2
What we should do is to count vertices, edges, and faces in a cube. It's really easy work. The 'v'(the number of vertices in a cube) is 8. The 'e'(the number of edges in a cube) is 12, and the 'f'(the number of faces in a cube) is 6. Substitute these numbers in the formula.
v - e + f = 8 - 12 + 6 = 2
Bingo! This simple cube satisfies Euler's formula indeed.
Next, you might wonder what will happen if each quadrangle face of the cube is split into 2 triangles. Let's verify this case.
In this case, e becomes 18(= 12 + 6) and f becomes 12(= 2 * 6) because each face is split into two triangles with one diagonal edge. v remains 8, of course. Substitute these numbers in the formula.
v - e + f = 8 - 18 + 12 = 2
Bingo! This is amazing, isn't it?
Next example is a little complex. Can you count v, e, and f in this object?
v is 16, e is 32, and f is 16. Let's substitute these numbers.
v - e + f = 16 - 32 + 16 = 0
Oops! What is wrong?
Now, you need to know what the 'genus' is. The genus means the number of holes in an object. Because there is one hole in the above object like a doughnut, the genus 'g' is 1. Now you can understand why the genus of a cube is zero. So, In this case, Euler's formula must be written as below.
v - e + f = 0
So, the doughnut satisfies Euler's formula indeed.
This theory is categorized as topology. Note that geometrical shapes don't matter in topology. Only linkages between vertices, edges, and faces matter. Topology interested me because it's really different from geometry I learned at high school.
Every solid kernel, which is a calculation engine of 3D CAD, is equipped with 2 kinds of operations. The one is a kind of geometrical operations, and the other is a kind of topological operations, which is called Euler operations. I feel it's amazing that such abstract mathematics is alive in CAD software. Don't you think so?
2009年11月26日木曜日
Can CAD design professional scissors?
This was several months ago. I was talking to a hairdresser when I was having my hair cut.
He said hairdressers buy their own scissors all by themselves. Barber shops don't contribute any money for their scissors. I was very surprised when he said their professional scissors cost as much as 100 thousand yen(= one thousand dollars).
"Wow! That's amazing! I've never seen such expensive scissors. How are they different from cheap ones?" I asked.
"Well, feeling of the scissors in my hands matters, I think." he answered.
"Can you tell the difference?"
"Sure! They're absolutely different. I can tell by just gripping them."
I'm always impressed by craftsmen's stories like this. I imagined they had developed sharp sense of touch in their hands, and they wanted to use special scissors which can be maneuvered precisely. And of course, there were other craftsmen making special scissors for hairdressers.
"I'm curious. What is the concrete difference?"
"Cheap scissors seem to have a bad distribution of weight. And ... good ones' shape is designed in great detail and sophisticated."
Then he showed me his scissors. The shape of the handle had smooth and subtle curves, which wouldn't be noticed without his explanation.
"This subtle dent fits my finger when I use it in this position."
He explained this by pretending to cut hair. The hairdresser talking about his own tool looked really happy.
He said their scissors were semi-custom made. They chose each part and assembled their own scissors. I had believed that scissors were manufactured under mass production, but their professional scissors were not. I guessed the industry of these professional scissors was completely different from the industry of cheap stationery scissors in terms of culture, logistics, and the process of design.
I'm interested in these designs of artifacts because I develop CAD software. I can't help wondering whether the shape can be designed with CAD.
It's easy to answer whether the shape can be represented with CAD. The answer is "Yes".
But it's difficult to answer whether the scissors can be designed with CAD. We can't say yes easily although the shape can be represented with CAD, because it's difficult for computers to transfer feel of scissors' weight and texture.
However, I want to try such CAD.
I wonder what the scissors designers are concerned about while they are designing. I think they aren't concerned about the scissors but about the hands gripping the scissors. In my opinion, to design scissors is to design the hands gripping the scissors. They must be concerned to navigate hairdressers' hands via the scissors.
This is what design is. To design a bottle of water is to design a shape of water in the bottle. To design a shoe is to design a foot in the shoe. To design something is to design the relation between the target and its surroundings.
Can CAD design professional scissors? I want to be able to say "Yes" someday.
He said hairdressers buy their own scissors all by themselves. Barber shops don't contribute any money for their scissors. I was very surprised when he said their professional scissors cost as much as 100 thousand yen(= one thousand dollars).
"Wow! That's amazing! I've never seen such expensive scissors. How are they different from cheap ones?" I asked.
"Well, feeling of the scissors in my hands matters, I think." he answered.
"Can you tell the difference?"
"Sure! They're absolutely different. I can tell by just gripping them."
I'm always impressed by craftsmen's stories like this. I imagined they had developed sharp sense of touch in their hands, and they wanted to use special scissors which can be maneuvered precisely. And of course, there were other craftsmen making special scissors for hairdressers.
"I'm curious. What is the concrete difference?"
"Cheap scissors seem to have a bad distribution of weight. And ... good ones' shape is designed in great detail and sophisticated."
Then he showed me his scissors. The shape of the handle had smooth and subtle curves, which wouldn't be noticed without his explanation.
"This subtle dent fits my finger when I use it in this position."
He explained this by pretending to cut hair. The hairdresser talking about his own tool looked really happy.
He said their scissors were semi-custom made. They chose each part and assembled their own scissors. I had believed that scissors were manufactured under mass production, but their professional scissors were not. I guessed the industry of these professional scissors was completely different from the industry of cheap stationery scissors in terms of culture, logistics, and the process of design.
I'm interested in these designs of artifacts because I develop CAD software. I can't help wondering whether the shape can be designed with CAD.
It's easy to answer whether the shape can be represented with CAD. The answer is "Yes".
But it's difficult to answer whether the scissors can be designed with CAD. We can't say yes easily although the shape can be represented with CAD, because it's difficult for computers to transfer feel of scissors' weight and texture.
However, I want to try such CAD.
I wonder what the scissors designers are concerned about while they are designing. I think they aren't concerned about the scissors but about the hands gripping the scissors. In my opinion, to design scissors is to design the hands gripping the scissors. They must be concerned to navigate hairdressers' hands via the scissors.
This is what design is. To design a bottle of water is to design a shape of water in the bottle. To design a shoe is to design a foot in the shoe. To design something is to design the relation between the target and its surroundings.
Can CAD design professional scissors? I want to be able to say "Yes" someday.
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