FreeCAD is a parametric 3D modeler made primarily to design real-life objects of any size. Parametric modeling allows you to easily modify your design by going back into your model history and changing its parameters. FreeCAD is open-source and highly customizable, scriptable and extensible.
- Rhino is not the best place to learn stream-lined parametric design. Grasshopper works for repetition and progression, but there are other programs that are more intuitive and less cumbersome for pushing and pulling less free form parts.
- Best parametric window? Hi, is there a parametric window that anyone knows of, which allows you to change to the desired opening and create mullions and transoms wherever needed? Ideally to look great in plan at 1:100 and 1:50, elevation and 3D.
Definition of Parametric Design
Scholars have been working on a definition of Parametric Design for a number of decades and there is no common agreement about what it actually is. Parametric Design can be visualised in 3D with attributes supplying all the dimensions, tolerances and dedicated materials.
According to Andrew Sears, Professor and Dean of the College of Information Sciences and Technology (IST) at The Pennsylvania State University, Parametric Design is:
- 'a process based on algorithmic thinking that enables the expression of parametrics and rules that together, define, enlist and clarify the relationship between design intent and design responses' (Sears 2007).
The Chilean-based team of Chido Studio states that Parametric Design is:
How to change icloud password on macbook. 'An abstraction of an idea or concept related to geometric and mathematical processes which permit us to manipulate with greater liberty the precision of our designs to arrive at the most optimal result.' (de la Para and Camiro, 2011)
Not such a new idea
When we think of Antonio Gaudì, we immediately associate his name with his iconic architectural wonders la Pedrera or la Sagrada Família. However, there is a lesser-known architectural masterpiece in the town of Santa Coloma de Cervelló, namely la Cripta de La Colònia Güell(title image).
Commissioned in 1898 as the Church of the company town of industrialist and long-time friend of Gaudì's, the 1st Count de Güell, it was the first ever form produced by using Parametric Design.
Analogue Parametric Design
For the design of la Cripta, for instance, Gaudì created a large-scale model (with a ratio 1:10) of 4 m (13.12 ft) high (below). The assembly of bags and strings demonstrated the main axes and key points of the building sustained by its shape and not by the strength of its foundations. Layering the model with the floor on a wooden board, he constructed the floor; moving towards the columns and the naves and then towards the ceiling. Gaudì took photos of each step to document progress (Crippa, 2003).
The inverted model allowed Gaudì to verify a complex interdependencies obtained from geometry by trial and error. Once the loads were distributed and an equilibrium was found, the geometric shape could be divided on the horizontal plane from which the whole model hangs.
A repulica model of the one used by Gaudí to design la Cripta de la Colonia Güell in Sagrada Família, Barcelona, SpainModern Parametric Design
French-mathematician Alexander Guothendieck derived the models for Parametric Design long after Gaudì, but Parametric Design as we know it was born in the 1960's by Dr Ivan Sutherland. In his 1963 thesis at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Sutherland developed Sketchpad: the grandfather of computer-aided design (CAD) and human-computer interaction (HCI) with it's revolutionary graphical user interface (GUI) (Sutherland, 1963).
In recent years, marrying Building Information Modelling (BIM) and Parametric Design has become more and more prevalent. The synergy in using the two enables 'quick, interactive and real-time design changes' (Wei, 2014). The advanced formulae and algorithmic parametrics grounded in research and design thinking of Parametric Design, coupled with BIM – which introduces user-specific parameters – creates a tool for Superstar Designers!
Olympic Sports Center, Hangzhou, China was designed by the international renowned architectural firm NBBJ in cooperation with CCDI on Rhinoceros and Grasshopper with the results visualised into BIM on Autodesk's Revit (Wei 2014) .
Autodesk's 3DS Max, Maya and Revit, Dynamo;Rhinoceros 3D and third-party plugins such as Grasshopper can all run on Cloudalize's platform.
Parametric Design on the Cloud
Itek Corporation's Electronic Drafting Machine was one of the first CAD systems available at an equivalent cost of USD 4.2 million (EUR 3.7 million) per seat in 2019 (Peddie, 2013). Fortunately, to advance your digital transformation efforts, it doesn't cost even 1/1000th of that with Cloudalize.
Cloudalize's virtual and secure GPU-powered Cloud desktops provide all the processing power and more to run your parametric design tools smoothly and efficiently.
What's more your projects are always safe and secure on Cloudalize's Level-3 secured data centres. With Cloudalize, you have 24/7 access to them when and from wherever you, your team or your contractors need it.
Be your own Gaudì!
Book your Cloudalize demo now
References
Images
Pestaña, F. 2007 Gaudí – Cripta Güell 00, photograph, viewed 18 August 2019,
Enkling, L. 2010 Hanging model for Colonia Guell, photograph, viewed 18 August 2019, .
Texts
de la Para, L. and Camiro, D. (2011). DISEÑO PARAMÉTRICO implementación y aplicaciones. 1st ed. [ebook] Santiago, Chile: Chido Studio. Available at: https://issuu.com/chidostudiodiseno/docs/ch_dp [Accessed 15 Aug. 2019]
Parametric Design Definition
Crippa, M. A. (2003). Antoni Gaud, 1852-1926: From Nature to Architecture. (1st ed.). Cologne, Germany: Taschen.
Peddie, J., 2013. The History of Visual Magic in Computers: How Beautiful Images are Made in CAD, 3D, VR and AR. 1st ed. Berlin, Germany: Springer Science & Business Media
Sears, A & Jacko, J (2007). The Human-Computer Interaction Handbook: Fundamentals, Evolving Technologies and Emerging Applications, Second Edition. (2nd ed.). Boca Raton, Florida, United States: CRC Press. Clicker for macbook air.
Best Parametric Design Software For Beginners
Sutherland, I. (1963). SketchPad: A man-machine graphical communication
system. Available at: https://dspace.mit.edu/handle/1721.1/14979 [Accessed 18 August 2019]
Tarragó, S. (1958). Salvador Tarragó : miscel·lània. [Online]. Barcelona, Spain: Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya. Available at: https://books.google.be/books?id=Qd3OBAAAQBAJ&printsec=frontcover#v=onepage&q&f=false [Accessed 15 August 2019]
Wei, Y. (2014) 'Parametric BIM SIM: Integrating Parametric Modeling, BIM, and Simulation for Architectural Design' in Kensek, K. and Noble, D., 2014. Building Information Modeling: BIM in Current and Future Practice. Macbook apps 2019. 1st ed. Hoboken, New Jersey, United States: John Wiley & Sons.
Translations
When required from Spanish into English: M. Mc Cormack
Engineers have long debated the virtues of parametric versus direct modeling. Some like the freedom and flexibility of direct modeling, while others prefer the feature definition and dimension control capabilities associated with parametric systems.
What Is Parametric Modeling?
Parametric modeling is an approach to 3D CAD in which you capture design intent using features and constraints, and this allows users to automate repetitive changes, such as those found in families of product parts.
What Is Direct Modeling?
Direct modeling empowers you to define and capture geometry quickly, without spending time worrying about features, constraints, and original design intent. It is often compared to working with modeling clay. Simply push and pull the geometry until you arrive at just the shape you want.
The Best Approach
So which is better, direct or parametric? The answer is 'all of the above.' While each has its benefits, the best CAD software uses both approaches to modeling. Manufacturers that integrate direct modeling into their parametric environment report greater speed, quality, and focus on innovation that helps them stay ahead of the competition.
But before we talk about that, let's weigh some of the pros and cons of direct and parametric modeling.
Parametric Modeling: Pros and Cons
Parametric Modeling technologies are a great fit for design tasks that involve exacting requirements and manufacturing criteria. For example, organizations often turn to parametric when making families of products that include slight variations on a core design, because the designer will need to create design intent between dimensions, parts and assemblies. This supports designs that will need to be modified or iterated on a regular basis. It also creates models with individual features that can be modified or changed — such as holes and chamfers — that are captured in a ‘model tree.'
Champions of parametric modeling enjoy benefits that include:
- Automatic updates to the model if changes are made to the design.
- The ability to easily capture design intent, which makes it easier to define how the model should behave when something is changed.
- Easy definition and automatic creation of families of parts.
- Excellent integration with manufacturing processes, resulting in a decrease in production time.
But parametric technology is not without its drawbacks. Some of the cons associated with parametric modeling include the following:
- During concept design, parametric 3D CAD may be overkill for designers trying to investigate as many 3D concepts of an idea as quickly as possible.
- Parametric models take more time to update when unexpected design changes are needed.
Direct Modeling: Pros and Cons
Direct modeling creates geometry rather than features so it supports that conceptual effort where the designer doesn't want to be tied down with features and their inter-dependencies and the impact that making a change might have.Ask the Expert: Monica Schnitger Weighs In
'Each approach, parametric or direct, has its uses and perhaps the perfect CAD strategy incorporates both,' CAD software industry analyst Monica Schnitger, president and founder of The Schnitger Corporation, has said.Schnitger cites these examples:
'It might make sense to use direct modeling during conceptual thinking, when you need to quickly manipulate the design and don't want to be slowed down by working within pre-defined rules,' Schnitger added. 'During detailed design, when most of the free thinking and exploring is finished, it might be reasonable to use parametric design to ensure that future iterations don't violate the original concept.'
Conclusion: The Best Systems Use Both Parametric and Direct
The bottom line is that you need both approaches to deal with the complexity of today's product designs. We've seen examples of companies iPhone case makers, to digital imaging companies and printed circuit board manufacturers in using both approaches. Each uses Creo, a full-featured modeling tool, including parametric and direct modeling capabilities in one environment, working on one model. You can read more about the benefits of each approach in part 2 of this series: Best Approach to 3D Modeling: Parametric, Direct, or All of the Above.
Find Out More About Creo
Creo makes the switch from parametric to direct modeling (and back again) easy. But that's just one reason to try Creo, the industry's leading 3D CAD software. To find out more, download our free eBook, Top 7 Reasons to Design with Creo.
