Interlocking Structure (No Boolean)

It has been a tough problem for me, for the last two days. A parametric model of an interlocking structure (sometimes also called egg-crate, waffle, or contouring structure) can be created easily in Grasshopper using a Contour component. In addition, you need a couple of list management operations and a boolean (or region) difference event. However, Rhino and Grasshopper are very slow at calculating boolean differences on both solids and surfaces. Fabrication models of such structures don’t have to be solid models. We can create them in two-dimensional rib sections with proper interlocking details. So, I tried a line-based interlocking structure (no boolean) approach.

As the number of ribs (the number of interlocking events) increases, it becomes harder to maintain the CPU efficiently. So, I tried to create a fabrication model that only “draws” the CNC curves (closed polylines) with interlocking details. After a couple of dead ends, it finally finished as I intended. There may be interesting further research on this. Because we achieved the design of the interlocking details much faster and easier to modify now. Also aligning and nesting the sections onto a flat plane should be studied for digital fabrication.

I studied this topic later here and here. This one is a little old.