Parametric splines
Spline Mask
1
Arc2
Circle3
Helix4
N-side5
Square6
Star7
Test8
vectorizer9
4-Side10
Cissoid11
Cogwheel12
Cycloid13
Formula14
Flower15
I-Profile Why re-invent the wheel? Instead of drawing splines by hand,you can use parametric spline to create all kinds of shapes, and of course animate them in the progress.
Parametric splines can be converted into freehand splines by mak-ing them editable.
The basic “primitive” splines of-fer you a wise range of shapes. Every single one of them has it’s own unique use and will find their place in one of your scenes.
Besides ‘the parametric spline, Cinema 4D also offers a Spline Mask object that works like a boole for splines (1). You can find the Spline Mask in Modeling Objects Menu.
In contrast with the Boole object, Spline Mask works flawless, also with more com-plex objects (2). 1 5 9 1 13 2 6 10 2 14 3 7 11 15 4 8 12
Essentials
Lesson 10: Splines and NURBS surfaces
Diameter tolerance
When printing using any type of FDM printer, it’s important to understand that the software control-ling the printer calculates the extrusion volume based on the filament diameter, the diameter of your extruder nozzle and the extrusion speed (commonly referred to as flow rate – in mm/s). In essence, your printer controls the volume of plastic that is pushed out of the nozzle by turning the extruder wheel and pushing a certain length of filament down the hot end (A). If you have an irregular diameter, the volume of extruded plastic varies and the software can’t and won’t adjust the extrusion length to compensate for the variation. Instead, it will keep on printing expecting a certain ‘theoreti-cal’ amount of plastic to come out. This is what we refer to as ‘inconsistent extrusion’.
Ideally, your filament would maintain an absolutely constant diameter across the entire spool. However, in real life, due to the manufacturing process, there is always a tolerance within which the diameter will be maintained. The tolerance of a filament describes the variation in diameter that is present in the filament you use. For example, at Boots Industries our 1.75 mm filament features a diameter tolerance of ± 0.03 mm (B).
Serious issues can arise from inconsistent filament diameter. A typical example is extruder failure, a condition where the extruder fails and no plastic makes it to the hot end. This can occur if your filament suddenly becomes too thin for the tensioning mechanism and there is insufficient pressure gripping the filament. Another effect of a decrease in filament diameter is that back flow could occur in the hot end (hindering plastic delivery to the head).
The other extreme is when your filament’s diameter is suddenly too wide and the extruder motor is not strong enough to push it through or it does not fit into the hot end opening. Another effect of an increase in diameter is that the extruder gear could shred the surface of the plastic leaving nothing to grip and stalling your extruder.
In all cases, extruder problems of this nature can be mitigated by a tensioning mechanism that applies and maintains the tension dynamically on the filament regardless of its diameter by using a spring. However, not all tensioners have this feature and will not guard you against gross diameter deviations. You may want to check our article on the POTs Calibration, it covers a common problem on the adjustment of your plastic extruder motor, correct adjustment is crucial for a good 3D print. Typically, when looking at filament tolerance, the gold standard across the industry is < 0.05 mm. Working closely with our manufacturer we found that it’s very hard to go lower than that and main-tain consistency across the full length of a spool. When you purchase a new spool you can use a mi-crometer to measure the diameter at several places and insure that it meets the advertised tolerance.
Filament Roundness
When making contact with the extruder wheel, the filament will always suffer some compression due to the extruder wheel gripping the plastic. This will, in fact, reduce the roundness of the filament but is consistent across the entire spool so will not really affect print quality.
That being said, the consistency of filament roundness across the entire length of the spool is still important. This is because filament that suddenly loses its perfect round shape and becomes oval can lead to extruder failure in the same way that increasing or decreasing filament diameter does.
Spool Diameter
If you are buying filament it’s because you intend to use it all. We’ve tried a lot of different suppliers and came across different types of spools. We found that some spool designs can compromise the usability of the material. When using spools where the inner diameter is relatively small (<100 mm) we found that the tightly wound plastic is harder to unspool. This can be affected by the temperature of the plastic when it is spooled by the manufacturer. Some will go through the extra step of letting the plastic cool a bit before coiling.
Nonetheless, it’s important to remember that most extruder designs require the extruder to pull the filament off the spool. As such, when you reach the end of a tightly coiled spool, the filament becomes harder to unspool and the extruder gear can start to slip and strip off your filament. This situation is usually fixed by increasing the extruder tension, but with too much tension the roundness of the filament can start to become compromised (too much pressure is applied on the filament and it becomes somewhat oval).
To maintain a constant setup and minimize extruder strain, we recommend a spool with an inner diameter greater than 100 mm. Of course, you don’t want to have a spool with an inner diameter that is too large as it is more expensive to ship and store. Each supplier has their own policy, we simply wished to discuss spool diameter as a parameter of interest when considering plastic filament for 3D printing.
Source: http://bootsindustries.com/portfolio-item/importance-of-good-filament/
A
Max. Diameter decrease (0,03 mm.)
B
Ideal filament diameter (1,75 mm.)
C
Max. diameter increase (0,03 mm.)
A thin filament could lose contact with
the extruder wheel
Thick filament could ruin your 3D print
by clogging up the nozzle, or
shred-ding the filament.
Lesson 12: Filament diameter tolerance
B A C B ∅ 1,75 mm ∅ 1,72 mm ∅ 1,78 mm A ∅ 1,75 mm
The extruder wheel moves a certain distance to push the
required volume to the hot end
∅ 0,35 mm
C
C
Refraction can be explained as follows. A light ray in a vacuum has a certain speed. When the light ray hits a more solid material then air, the speed of the ray decreases. The light ray will bend. This will cause the effect that a object behind the transparent surface will shift from it’s original position (1).
If a refraction index is to high, the lightray will bounce back from the surface and the refraction will turn into a reflection.
The degree of bending is determined by the density and purity of the material hit by the light rays. A list of common material refrac-tions can be found in the Help files or the table below.
A higher refraction Index will increase your render times significantly
The Blurriness parameter decreases the sharpness of the materials reflection. The effect comes with a heavy price-tag. Render times can easily tripled.
If you still want to use the blurriness effect, you might want to change to the Physical Render instead of the standard render.
The physical render is created to deal with samples, and this effect is right down it’s ally.
So, this were all the theory blends with the practice in a witches cauldron. Direct Illumination, Indirect illumination, diffuse reflection, ray traced reflection, specular reflection and anisotrophic reflection. What does these mean, and how tho they work for you?
It comes down to one question; why on earth do we see things? The answer is pretty much out of this world, isn’t it Amat-erasu?
Refraction
xº bend by
Refraction Index
Vacuum
Glass
Vacuum
Acrylic Glass 1,491 Agate 1.544 - 1.533 Air 1.000 Amber 1.550 Amethyst 1.544 - 1.533 Benzene 1.501 Common salt 1.544 Crown glass 1.510 Diamond 2.417 - 2.419 Emerald 1.567 - 1.582 Flint glass 1.613 Glass 1.440 - 1.900 Ice (H2O) 1.310 Jade 1.660 - 1.680 Jasper 1.540 Obsidian 1.480 - 1.510 Onyx 1.486 - 1.658 Quartz 1.550 Ruby 1.760 - 1.770 Sapphire 1.760 Sugar 1.560 Topaz 1.620 - 1.627 Vacuum 1.000 Water 1.333
Blurriness (dispersion)
Reflectance
1) No bluriness (0:45) 2) 20% blur. - acc. 50% (09:18) 3) 50% blur. - acc. 50% (11:54)
1
Essentials
Lesson 13: Material channels
3-point light setup (lightrig)
Key-light + backlight
Lighting variations
1) Hard key 45° 2) Colored key and fill 3) Key light pitch angle 4) Cookie / Gobo 1) Key light 2) Fill light 3) Rim light / back light 4) Four light composition
1) Subject
2) Key-light (catch-light)
A) Hard-key
B) Soft-key
C) Key in front of camera
3) Fill-light
4) Backlight / Ambient light
1 2 3 4 5 2A 2B 2C 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4
Essentials
Lesson 22: Light and lightrigs
Image layers (2/2)
Material layers
❏ AtmosphereVolumetric effects like fog, visible light and hair.
❏ Atmosphere Multiplied
This layer is used to mask the scene if volumetric affects appear in front of other objects.
❏ Post Effects
Post Effects like Glow and Lens Flares. Also Sketch and Toon can be rendered as a post effect .
The Material Layers are not as often used as the image layers. They Material Layers provide extended control over the ma-terial channels of all mama-terials used in the scene. The material Layers have no real relevance in
Cinema 4D. ❏ Material Color ❏ Material Diffusion ❏ Material Luminance
❏ Material Transparency ❏ Material Reflection ❏ Material Environment ❏ Material Specular (Color)
❏ Material UVW
Material UVW shows the surface direc-tion of the mesh in RGB color informadirec-tion. When applied on only flat surfaces, this information can be used to “map” footage on the surface in post-production. I personally prefer the use of Null’s and Solids, since this information is easily saved and does not require re-rendering when something is amiss with the 3D position-ing.
❏ Material Normal
The Material Normal can be used to create a Normal Map of an entire scene.
A Normal Map (9A) is a image that uses RGB values to simulate depth and direction in materials without actually deforming the mesh. The principle is about the same as a bump map but more accurate when it comes to lighting. Normal Maps can be used in the Normal Channel (9B) of a Cinema 4D Material.
Since version 14, you can also use the Normal Map in Displacement Channel (9C).
7 8 9 2 6 3 7 1 5 4 9A 9B 9C 8
