PDA

View Full Version : ASPIRE Relief Modeling Software



mtylerfl
09-20-2011, 10:17 PM
Hello,

I have an exclusive arrangement with the owner of over 2,000 original Victorian plaster molds that were used for creating the architectural ornamentation for most of the "fancy" older buildings and "rich folk's" homes in Detroit, Michigan and surrounding areas. One famous building some of these molds were used for is the Masonic Temple in Detroit, which I have been told, is the largest one in the world.

The items were originally hand-carved by trained artisans who immigrated here in the mid to late 19th century. The carvings were then pressed into hardwood blocks that had a cavity filled with a warmed black pitch substance. Once the pitch cooled, the carving was removed to yield an accurate impression of the carving and used as a plaster or gesso mold. This was how they "mass produced" wood carvings back then. Now, after creating computer models of these originals, we can just start up our CarveWright CNC (or brand-x) machine and carve as many as we want.

I have been using the Vectric Aspire software for reproducing these antique molds to bring them "back to life" for the 21st century (i.e., CNC wood carving). Prior to contacting me, the owner was selling the molds individually as antique "oddities" to collectors. He sold about 1,000 of them, but thank goodness, has stopped and still has 2,000+ for me to convert! This is a work in progress and will keep me busy in my spare time <smile>. We estimate it will take approximately 2 to 3 years to make computer relief models of all of the original molds. Most are beautifully detailed and can be challenging to faithfully capture all the contours, shapes and nuances that came naturally to the artistic eye and hands of the original woodcarving artisans.

SteveEJ
09-21-2011, 05:21 AM
That must be true labor of love. Do you cast each one then start modeling in the software? Is a scanner helpful, or even the cw probe? Export in STL for other machines?

You have my mind going...

Thanks for sharing.

mtylerfl
09-21-2011, 06:34 AM
That must be true labor of love. Do you cast each one then start modeling in the software? Is a scanner helpful, or even the cw probe? Export in STL for other machines?

You have my mind going...

Thanks for sharing.

Hi Steve,

Yes, I do love modeling these! It is quite satisfying to "resurrect" items that would normally have gone by the wayside on someone's display shelf, never to be used again.

Originally, my intention was to make hard castings from the molds, then scan them with the CW probe. I did a few tests and they came out alright. However, many of the molds are damaged/cracked and scans from those castings require so much "clean-up" it was better to simply model them from scratch. Besides, when done this way, they are more "perfect" as far as the model surface to be carved (smooth), and I can make slight modifications here and there that make them more suitable for CNC machining in the commercial market (furniture and cabinet manufacturers). I do plan to make these available in formats for CarveWright as well formats suitable for all other CNC machines...including STL files.

My process at the moment is...

1) Make a "cheap" disposable casting using Crayola Model Magic white "foam" clay - this will have all the defects of the mold, but also reveals all the desirable details too.

2) This casting is used only as a reference I can measure, handle, look at, study and photograph - no scanning is done with a probe. I have discovered it is impossible to re-create these models faithfully without viewing a casting itself. The negative of the mold does does not reveal details of what it actually looks like. I was astonished at that. I really thought I could skip the casting step, but only a casting shows me the subtle twists, contours, etc. of the original wood carving it was made from.

3) The photograph of the casting is imported into the Aspire software and used as a visual guide while modeling (also, I make sure the photo is scaled to the exact size of the original mold).

4) I draw vectors (lines, shapes, cross-sections, sweeps) over the photo and use Aspire's modeling and sculpting tools to create the finished model.

Alan Malmstrom
09-21-2011, 09:58 AM
I see in your vector lines over the photo are overlapping. One shape being formed and then another shape being formed in front of it to get all the curvature and roundness to come out. That is the same way I approach making organic flowing shapes in ilustrator and photoshop. You have a lot of work ahead of you. Using the computer is probably a little faster than carving with a chisel though.

Alan

mtylerfl
09-21-2011, 10:28 AM
I see in your vector lines over the photo are overlapping. One shape being formed and then another shape being formed in front of it to get all the curvature and roundness to come out. That is the same way I approach making organic flowing shapes in ilustrator and photoshop. You have a lot of work ahead of you. Using the computer is probably a little faster than carving with a chisel though.

Alan

Hi Alan,

The cross-section vectors position is not important - it's the rail sweeps that must be positioned and "split" accurately. The actual shape and dimension and orientation of the cross sections IS important (just not their actual location on the workspace). The other overlapped vectors are both sweeps, and what I call, "cookie cutter" shapes. This allows a component to be trimmed in size, if necessary. Aspire has tilt and fade features to help with getting shapes to combine/blend with each other and to angle up/down in the desired orientation. For components of differing heights, I often overlap them a bit, then play with the tilt and/or fade to get it "just right".

I just sort of revealed my "messy" workspace practices in that particular screenshot! In reality, though, I have various vector sections on their own respective layers, so I can turn on/off visibility while I work (I turned them all on for the screenshot). You're right about having my work cut out for me - drawing the 'correct' vectors takes the most time - not unusual to spend 3 or 4 hours getting those right, depending on the model itself, of course.

Kenm810
09-21-2011, 06:30 PM
Hi Michael, -- Neat Project

Quote: -- ""back to life" for the 21st century"

I've been kind of doing the same thing for several years, the problem is,
I never seem to get to work on a piece small enough to fit into my carver. :cool:

b.sumner47
09-21-2011, 07:15 PM
Nice work , Guys. Capt Barry

liquidguitars
09-21-2011, 08:10 PM
Wow very cool MT. Ken you should own a large 3D laser just to archive all the cool things you do..

JMRoberson
10-14-2011, 09:32 PM
This is sooooooo cool. Being an art minor in college the possiblities are so exciting!!! Right now we're too busy getting this thing up and running but I can totally see myself messing with this stuff when things settle down. :o)

b.sumner47
10-15-2011, 03:16 PM
Any work to show yet. Capt Barry