Wow, this is funny. I came across this old post of mine, while doing a Google search. This was at the beginning of my journey to find a method to model organic shapes and characters in CAD. From this point of the original post, I ended up using T-Splines to create the attached mold cavities. Now, even that isn't good enough. Instead of relativity simple objects like these with either profiles or symmetrical shapes, I'm researching methods to take it up a notch or two. Star Wars, the Avengers and other similar projects are in the works. It looks like I've come full circle, only to start my way around it once again.

Mike,
These alone are pretty impressive - it would take me forever to try and do them.
What new packages are you considering?? (If you wish to say...)
Ron

Oh crap!!! It's the 'new' Seminole logo. :-/

I've been looking into all of the subD and sculpting software. Many of them could provide much more detail than what I can get out of the relatively simple subD like tools of T-Splines. The issue is getting them out of those programs and spanning the great divide into CAD. Plug-ins for Modo make it fairly easy to convert to NURBS, but that doesn't really have the tools I'd like to see to handle drafts and other components of making a mold. We also need to be able to work with supplied mesh animation files and convert those to CAD data/molds. Right now, we are seriously looking at Geomagic Freeform Plus. It's really expensive, but seems to be the only thing out there that is capable of bridging the gap between the visual 3D world and the CAD world and can create complex organic shapes/characters that can easily manufactured.

Mike-

Find this at the team store or other Florida retail outlets:

Neat! I know a certain child of mine that likes Jello and FSU. :-)

Hey mac,

I see a fluid choice on all of those. A unique approach for each. So questions need answered for each throughout the process.

So for something like the red screaming face, model it with all hard edges, and a 3d toolpath with a ball mill can "smooth it"...
Limitations are ALL smoothing is same rad. Also, looks like vacuum moulds. Would work for that, but, not for 2 part moulds. Some of the others are different methods, but, maintaining something precise to a sample kindof falls out the window...

Why the need to remain cad?

"You're going geomagic"? Start the tutes NOW!!!! Lol

Anything trying to convert mesh to nurbs is either heavy, sacrifice, or problematic in the mould side... (unless you go geomagic and do the learning curve....

2 cents

Actually, I was no longer asking the question as to how to do those types of shapes. The images are cavities that I did create (and they are fairly lightweight CAD, I might add). I now need to go beyond what was done with these, and was doing my due diligence in research when I stumbled upon this old post. I've been working with an individual that does training when companies bring FreeForm in-house, and his experience is that FreeForm has a fairly short learning curve for someone coming from either sculpting or CAD backgrounds. I guess we'll see if we go that route.