CS 285 - "SOLID MODELING"

Procedural Design, Solid Modeling, and Rapid Prototyping.

(Things that Can be Procedurally Generated)


-- a good first graduate course in computer graphics and design

Home Page and Index, Fall 2011

  1. --> CURRENT LECTURE
  2. --> Catalog Entry; Course Description
  3. --> Course Topics; Tentative Syllabus
  4. --> Project Ideas; Former Projects
  5. --> Sample FDM Parts built
  6. --> Related Bibliography
  7. --> Course Offering: Spring 2006
  8. --> Course Offering: Spring 2002
  9. --> Course Offering: Spring 2000
  10. --> Cool rotating icon, rendered by Nick Mee {Virlmage@cs.com}

Catalog Entry

Course Description for Fall 2011

This course is complementary to the graduate graphics course CS 283 and to the CAGD course CS 284, which focuses in depth on splines and smooth surfaces. These 3 graduate courses can be taken in any order.  CS 285 can also be taken as a sequel to the solid modeling course ME 290D, taught by Prof. Sara McMains. CS 285 is offered about once every three years. Having some elementary background in Computer Graphics is desirable, but this semester the class can be taken concurrently with CS 184.

In Fall 2011, CS285 will emphasize procedural modeling, as is appropriate for objects of high complexity. We will consider the whole design process for such objects, from a conceptual vision to a concrete computer-based description that is suitable for use in virtual worlds or for physical prototyping and manufacturing. The course will cover various modeling techniques, including volume representations, boundary representations, instantiation and Boolean combinations of shapes, as well as procedural generation, ranging from simple sweeps to L-systems. We will also discuss effective data structures for representing various types of objects, as well as the process of making models from acquired data, e.g., via 3D scanners. In the end, we will use our Fused Deposition Modeling machine to actually fabricate some objects designed in this class.

There will be no text book; rather we will rely on selected publications. About half the papers will be classical papers that have been read in almost every offering of this course; the other half will be newer papers that appear particularly interesting to the actual course participants.

Assignments and Projects

For the first several weeks, short weekly assignments will be given to read, study, design, or program something.
The last 5 weeks are devoted to a projects of your own choosing that can be done individually or in small groups.

Projects from a previous CS 285 offering

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