ORI-REVO

[GrossMichael]

I downloaded ORI-REVO, another program from Jun Mitani, but couldn't figure out how to use it. It says that it is ideal to design cylindrical objects like vases. Can somebody explain it to me?

[FlareglooM]

I don't know your understandig of mathematical principles so I make an introduction about what it does and why it works here. First of all check this page about Surfaces of revolution.

The most important part are the pictures below formula (8). I'll explain the cylinder and try to relate this to the program. What you see in the picture is a rectangle of Height "H" and Width "R" (which actually stands for Radius when you make the cylinder). Take the left side of the rectangle and draw a line over it, this is the rotation axis. Now rotate the rectangle around this axis (so in the front view the rectangle goes to you or away from you with the left side being stuck, basically like opening a door but 360 degrees). In the end you wil have a cylinder. When you check the program you see a black line, this is your rotation axis.

So lets start making a cylinder in the program. The first thing you might want to do is activate the grid, so make a tick mark in the box so you see it. With every click you add a vertex, so if you want to draw the rectangle which is going to generate your cylinder you just have to add 4 vertices. You should add two on the axis (the black line) and two to the right or left of the axis. (basically forming the rectangle with the left or right side stuck at the black line). If you have done this you should have a 3D Model which looks a little bit like a cylinder. The reason it is probably not correct yet is because the "Division Number" is set too low, for me it was set at 6. This means you are rotating every 60 degrees (a full circle divided by 6, so 360 degrees divided by 6), so if you make this number bigger you get a better approximation of the circle because the amount of steps is higher. Try 32 and you should see a nice cylinder, albeit an approxmation.

This is how you make a cylinder. But of course you can draw shapes away from the axis, for example a cylinder with a hole in the middle. This means you have to offset the rectangle away from the axis, i.e creating a distance between the rectangle and the axis. (I don't know about the foldability of it, but I encourage you to try)

I can't tell you about the types: Blades-Cylinder, Blades-Disc, Gussets-Cylinder, Gussets-Disc (I just downloaded the program...) Maybe there is some more on Jun Mitani's site, there is a youtube video with some info and I wouldn't be surprised if there is a documentation somewhere.

Hope this gets you on the way,

Good luck!

[GrossMichael]

Thanks a lot for the explanation! Here's my first design made in ori-revo:

Top Hat (Michael Gross) by Groß Michael, on Flickr