What methods/programs do you use to simulate/build your final product?

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What methods/programs do you use to simulate/build your final product? I am interested in learning others people’s methods for sketching out light sculptures with hopes of finding a better process for simulating the final product.

My process looks a little like this:

  1. paper sketch, highlighting LED placement and overall structure
    (1.5 optional) Processing sketch to further refine placement and LED count. Using variables to determine placement and spacing saves a lot of time over Illustrator, especially when working with a group.
  2. I make a CAD drawing in Illustrator. I know its not the best, but it works well for me and I can send the files directly to a laser cutter or open into Rhino if I am making an STL for 3D printing or CNC routing.

As you can see, I don’t really have a good idea of how these sculptures are going to behave based on my process. Its fun for me, but risky for clients. I am excited to hear that Grasshopper is coming to OS X, hopefully that will allow an easier way to visualize some of the light patterns and diffusion materials.

If anyone has programs they use to simulate light diffusion and scattering for visualizing there light sculpture concepts please share. Would love to see.

Cheers,
Matt

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I do pretty much what you do, but what I’d LIKE to do is be able to place lights on a 3D model and then simulate their activity in response to code. I think Processing might be able to do this, or some sort of Blender plugin, or some modification of a game engine.

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I generally over-think the whole process for weeks or months – obsessing over every detail and possible mistake – and then finally get started and fake it as I go along. I’ve found the most important thing is to not tell anyone ahead of time what it’s SUPPOSED to look like… because however it ends up, people love the blinky!

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@allanGEE that’s funny. Absolutely agree. Think it all through, take a break, repeat till you have lost your mind. Then, code. Even though everyone else thinks your final product looks great, you will not sleep well till its what you intended. For projects that take more than 60 minutes to produce, I recommend drinking heavily between iterations. It helps clear out all those garbage ideas you thought were going to work.