Naked Connie: 3d modelling customized motorcycle bodywork

I've re-3d-scanned the stripped down ZG1000 Kawasaki Concours in order to better work out what the rear lights will look like.  You can wheel in and out and manipulate that model below with a mouse.  The scanner did a bunch of software updates which led to a much higher resolution 3d image.

Meshmixed ZG1k Fury
by timking17
on Sketchfab

I modelled it with the stock seat on with an eye to taking the pillion seat off and building a very minimal back end.  With some careful cutting I'll be able to use the seat dimensions to figure out how best to render the rear light assembly.  I've been doing 2-d drawings but they don't deal with the 3d complexities of the real thing.  I'm hoping this solves that.

Using the 3d scanner with cardboard body panel templates gives you a pretty good idea of how it will look when it's done.

As far as electronic parts go, I think it's time to get the lights sorted out.  At the moment I'm looking at some integrated LED head and tail lights to minimize stalks sticking out of the bodywork.

A single brake and indicator unit from Amazon.

Integrated LED headlamp from Amazon.

on the Verge of the Future

Sunday morning with a 3d
printer - I get a kick out of
making things work.

One of the best parts of my job is that I get to lay my hands on leading edge technology in order to figure it out so I can teach it.  I've always been an early adopter, if no no else has it I'm interested - more so if everyone else is afraid of it.  When most people didn't know that TVs had alternate inputs I had a home computer with a printer.  When everyone was crying about how fuel injection meant no one could customize their vehicles any more I was hacking the on-board computer and using it for diagnostics and more horsepower.

Nowadays it's all about how digital tools are making micro/bespoke manufacturing more possible.  Where once you needed an engineer, some machinists and a couple of hundred thousand dollars to build complex components, now you need twenty grand and a willingness to pick up some very easy to manage software.  The entry into machining your own, custom components has become much easier.

Not only are digital tools handing back basic production to individuals, they are also allowing companies to explore levels of precision in manufacturing that seem almost science fictional:

We've had 3d printers in the classroom now for a couple of years, and we find them invaluable for prototyping and even developing 3d thinking (not something students take to naturally).

I suspect the wedding-cake style melting-plastic-through-an-extruder 3d printer is an evolutionary dead end (there is only so much you can do to speed up a printing process that works around cooling plastic).  Fortunately, the next step has already happened:

... I'd love to get my hands on one of those.

Another building tool I'd like to try is a digital laser cutter.  Like other manufacturing tools, digital laser cutters have been tumbling in price.  Coming out this year is a desktop laser cutter called the Glowforge that'll introduce laser cutting, etching and fabrication to many more people.  At only about $4000, this undercuts previous industrial units by tens of thousands of dollars.

With this kind of technology available to many more people, I get the sense that the garage of the future will allow us to build things that only get churned out by factories at the moment.  When I'm at the point that I can custom manufacture and laser etch bespoke motorcycle hard parts and print my own fairings, I'll feel like my garage can keep up with my imagination.

A good guess might be the garage scene from Big Hero 6:

We're on the verge of escaping from the mass-production Twentieth Century.  One day you'll be telling your grand kids that we had to buy shoes that weren't custom printed specifically for your feet, and they won't believe you.

Recent advances in processing power and
optics mean VR is finally (after decades of
promise) arriving at a consumer level.

Last week I discovered that I'm going to be able to set up an HTC Vive in the lab.  We're doing it so we can better craft the 3d models we're building in Unity and Blender, but immersive simulation could offer a lot of opportunities in the classroom beyond 3d modelling.  The emotional impact on a student walking across Vimy Ridge the day after, or walking through Cambodia's killing fields, or standing on the Moon and looking back at the Earth, get me revved up about making VR work in the classroom.

From a motorcycling perspective, an immersive simulation of the MotoGP circuit on Valentino's bike would offer fans a new level of appreciation for the sport.  Preparing for an overseas ride by tasting the trip virtually first offer opportunities for safety preparation that simply don't exist right now, especially if you're trying to wrap you head around new signs and riding on the wrong side of the road.

We're on the verge of the future, and I get another taste next week, I can't wait!


3D printing

motorcycle 3d printing: http://3dprintingindustry.com/2015/08/03/motorcycle-3d-printing-picking-speed/

https://3dprint.com/65937/3d-printed-motorcycle/

http://www.stratasys.com/resources/case-studies/automotive/klock-werks

https://all3dp.com/3d-printed-motorcycles-know/

https://grabcad.com/library/128705


Virtual Reality

https://youtu.be/-Sd3wXNjLtk

http://motorbikewriter.com/victory-motorcycle-virtual-reality/

http://www.lifebuzz.com/virtual-motorcycle/

http://mashable.com/2015/03/13/oculus-victory-motorcycles-sturgis/

http://www.cnet.com/roadshow/news/skully-opens-pre-orders-for-high-tech-helmet/

Motorcycle 3d Modelling

I'm teaching a class on 3d modelling in Blender next semester, so what better way to practice than on my partially taken apart for maintenance ZG1000?

Naked ZG1000 by timking17 on Sketchfab

The model was made with the Occipital Structure Sensor 3d Scanner.  I'm trying different editing programs.  I used the 3d Builder integrated into Windows 10 to edit out the extra bits captured by the scanner.  It's quite easy to use and has some pretty good editing tools.  If you're trying 3d modelling for the first time it's not a bad place to start (and it's included in Windows 10!).

The file is shared on Sketchfab, which I find to be an easy way to do presentation editing and sharing of a 3d model.  We're using Blender in class, so I'll be cranking out some Blender motorcycle models in the next couple of weeks.  The trick is going to be to get them looking life like rather than digitally modelled.  I wonder how you model patina...

Sense of Satisfaction and some more Concours 3d models

It was a tough week with an empty garage, but the Connie passed safety and it's now licensed and ready to put on some miles, I just have to wait for the snow to stop.  The ride back from shop was -8°C (minus thirteen with the windchill, minus a million when you're riding in it).  With any luck we can get some above zero temperatures soon and I can finally take the big 'un for a long ride.

It was gratifying to have a pro look over the bike and judge it well put together.  Considering all the work I've done on it, it feels like a real validation.

Since I'm with-bike again, I took another run at 3d modelling it...

Kawasaki Concours by timking17 on Sketchfab

Mostly Ironhead 3d Harley Davidson Models

I was back at Mostly Ironheads this afternoon to drop off some paperwork and took a few 3d models.  I didn't have a chance to set pieces up in the middle of some open space, so these are a bit spotty, but they give an idea of what kind of detail you could get with a more careful modelling.

Newer Twin Model by tking on Sketchfab

Bike Model by tking on Sketchfab

1934 Flat Head twin Model by tking on Sketchfab

Shop Room Model by tking on Sketchfab

Mostly Ironheads Website

Mostly Ironheads on Facebook

3d modelling madness

I got a Structure 3d scanner this week at work. We're using it there for all sorts of educational activities, but I find myself painting the various Kawasaki products in my garage.

This thing costs about $350 bucks and straps on to an ipad.  You walk around your target 'painting' it on the ipad screen (it looks like you're covering it in clay) and then you're done.  Any of these motorcycle models took about a minute of walking around the bike...

It didn't take me long to get some remarkably detailed images of the Concours...

Because it's so easy to paint an object and create a 3d model out of it, you tend to try all sorts of angles.

The scanner will also take a swing at rooms, though I'm not so good with them yet.  This is an image of the garage.  The Ninja is on the left, the Concours is further in on the right.

The file generated is basically a list of vertices connected by lines.  The sensor measures distances and constructs a 3d mesh out of them.  The result is a three dimensional image.

How could something like this be used?

You could scan a fairing or other part, get accurate geometry out of it and then modify it digitally before printing out a replacement.

Connie Fairing Model by timking17 on Sketchfab

Seat Model by timking17 on Sketchfab

I think I'm about five years away from being able to 3d print my own digitally modelled custom fairings for any bike.  The hold up right now is a 3d printer big enough to manage large prints.