In this 6 minute tutorial, we start at the very beginning with an introduction to the NodeGraph Editor window and the basic creation and manipulation of parametric objects.
Basic Layout – Canvas and Sidebar Menus
Node Creation
Node Linking
Parameter Editing
In this tutorial, we introduce the basics of combining Shapes from the 2D Library to easily create complex forms.After completing this tutorial, you will have learned:
Shaping Up
Simple Relation for stacking: the Cylinder is always atop the Box.
Artful parametric modeling is all about managing relationships. Not the personal kind, but the algorithmic kind.
By defining meaningful relationships among your parameters, you can encode a new and powerful morphological genus – creating a new species DNA, as it were, that can be used to generate hundreds of variations of models.
There are two kinds of parametric relations in Archimatix: 1. inter-nodal connections, and 2. parameter expressions. In this tutorial, we will demonstrate inter-nodal connections.
When you connect parameters from different noes to each other, you are authoring behaviors for your parametric model. When you modify one parameter, all sorts of changes may ripple through the model according to the logic you encoded via Relation connections and mathematical expressions within the Relation. Furthermore, these Relations may be bi-directional, meaning that you can change a parameter anywhere in the graph and changes will ripple out from that parameter. The default mathematical expression set when you fist specify a Relation is equivalency, or simply “=”..
A common case for an equals Relation is when you want one object to always sit atop another, regardless of how tall the bottom object is. In the example to the right, the behavior illustrated is that the blue Cylinder is always atop the red Box.
To set up this parametric behavior:
A simple “equals” expression.
Transformations of the Cylinder.
You will notice that the relation is bi-directional. Modifying either parameter will alter the related parameter. This is a departure from other parametric modelers which feature uni-directional relations. The benefit of bi-directional is that, when playing with a parametric model in the SceneView, you can click just about anywhere you like and start modifying, rather than searching for the “master” parameter.
However, this freedom is not free: the bi-directionality requires inverse expressions to be input. In the case of our simple example, we did not edit the expression found in th relation, relying on the default equals expression. Let’s take a look at how we might make a slightly more complex relation expression.
When would like to have more interesting Relations, you can use the ExpressionEditorWindow that pops up when you click on the green button at the center of the Relation connector cable. In the ExpressionEditorWindow are two text fields allowing you to edit the bi-directional relationship between the two parameters.
Simple piston with sinusoidal relation to shaft rotation.
Lets say that we would like to simulate the movement of a piston relative to the rotation of a crankshaft in a car engine. The piston rises and falls sinusoidally as the shaft turns. The expression is Piston.Trans_Y=Sin(Crankshaft.Rot_X). Lets go ahead and set this up:
The Edit Relation window lets you define the bi-directional mathematical expression.
In the ExpressionEditor, in the field filled in with Crankshaft.Rot_X, change the expression to: Sin(Crankshaft.Rot_X) and then click on the Save button just below.
We will save more elaboration on this with the addition of a piston rod, etc. please see the tutorial The Parametric Engine.
A simple parametric behavior: the red Box and blue Cylinder are always translated to the end of the gold Box.
If you find yourself connecting the Trans_X for one node and the Trans_X of another node to the same source, it is probably better to group the two nodes together with a Grouper and then relate the Grouper’s Trans_X to the source. This is analogous to parenting two GameObjects to an “Empty” GameObject in the Unity hierarchy window. While Archimatix can handle lots of relations, by using relation connections where a grouping would do, you will add more visual complexity to the NodeGraphWindow.
For example, the animation to the right depicts a parametric behavior whereby the red Box and the blue Cylinder are always positioned at the end of the gold Box. There are two ways we could encode this behavior:
Setting translations for each node will lead to many redundant Relations.
Method 1: This method is not preferable, but happens commonly while building up a graph. The Trans_X of the Cylinder has been related to the width parameter of the rectangular plan of the gold Box with an expression of Cylinder.Trans_X=Rectangle.width/2. When the red Box was added to the graph, a similar relation was added between the gold Box and the red Box, as shown in the figure to the right. Now when we drag the Handle for the Rectangle width, the blue Cylinder and the red Box translate accordingly.
The down side of this is that we have two connections and we have to enter the same mathematical expression twice (for the Cylinder and for the red Box). If we want to change that relationship, we have to change it in two places. Also, the graph will quickly get cluttered if such translations are maintained with Relation connections all the time.
Grouping nodes allows fewer Relations.
Method 2: Alternatively, we can feed the Cylinder and Box into a Grouper and then relate the Trans_X of the Grouper to the width of the Rectangle.
The behavior of our parametric model will be exactly the same, but now, if we wish to edit the expression in the relations, we are editing in only one place. Also, the graph will have fewer parametric relations, which tends to make the graph more legible.
Architecture often involves a lot of repetition. In the vertical direction, the repetition gets awfully exciting, if not downright vertiginous. Stacking floors into a multi-story structure not only adds breath-taking height, but also adds spaces which are fun to explore as the structure gets taller, as long as you keep a safe distance from the edge!
In this five minute tutorial we will use the Archimatix Floor Repeater to create a building in Unity. We follow the inspiration of a famous concept design from the early days of modern architecture, Le Corbusier’s Maison Dom-ino. With its minimal use of basic architectural elements, floor, column and stair, it provides the perfect demonstration of floor repetition Continue reading
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