Fun with Autodesk 123D Catch

Playing around with Autodesk 123D Catch – Here is a model which I made recently from 37 photos of a “Tattoo tin” As you can see it is not perfect. The mesh settings are set to low quality for a quicker export. Around the bottom of the tin is where I cut the background away, the jagged edges are caused due to the large mesh cutting in to the ‘wanted geometry’. This could be resolved by using a higher quality mesh, and a larger model. 

I decided to try and model this tin due to the amount of details and small images which I thought would be a challenge for the program to stitch together. Quite impressive that it looks almost exactly the same as in real life! You can also see the ‘3D capture model’ here on the Autodesk 123D community gallery along with many others!

 

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123D Catch tips and tutorials

123D Catch is an application from Autodesk which I mentioned in an earlier post about rapid energy modelling. Autdesk 123D Catch is an application designed to create a 3D model out of a collection of photos of the same object. 

Take for instance Autodesk CEO Carl Bass who designed a 3D model of his sons head with the help of 123D Catch along with 3D laser printers proving how simple and effective the methods he used are. 

Some of the other fun uses I have seen for the application are creating models such as a 15″ F86 fighter jet, Dinosaurs, animals, UFO’s and even a project to capture and model the giant sphynx model in Cairo, Egypt! A good blog to follow interestingand fun 3D projects and laser scanning / printing is the 123Dapp.com blog which is frequently updated.

Aside from these novelty uses, photo capture software that has the ability to generate a 3D model, such as Autodesk’s 123D Catch is clearly a big step forward in 3D modelling and could be an extremely important part of the future of modelling buildings. 

I have been trying for the past week among other things to create a succesful model of a VW camper van. I have been having problems so far but I can already start to see the way it works after a few trys. I will post some photos on the blog once I have created something which resembles a camper! If you are interested in trying the application yourself, there are many helpful tutorial videos on the 123D Catch website.

A good start to learn how to use the software succesfully is to follow the 123D Catch YouTube channel where they have posted a “getting started” series which contains all the information you need to create your own 3D model out of photos, they also have an “advanced features” and “cool stuff” playlist which are full of tutorial videos provided by Autodesk.

If you are having trouble setting up your own project, their are also two sample projects listed on the site, where you can either model a country house or a Mariner bust model. Make sure to check out the the 123D Catch YouTube channel where you fill find all the tutorials you need to get started.

To download the latest 123D Catch & 123D Make software and applications, visit the official 123D Catch website here, or click on the following links: 123D Catch on iPad – 123D Catch web app – 123D Make for PC & Mac – 123D Make Intro for iOS

 

Rapid Energy Modeling

I found this series of interesting tutorials on YouTube posted by Simon Gillis from Autodesk on the Sustainable Toolbox YouTube channel. The videos focus on using 123D Catch to capture an existing building and create a mass out of the scan. Following on from this, it will then be possible to peform energy analysis on the mass to provide a good estimate of current energy conditions of the building. As well as the possibility to simulate future changes.

See how Autodesk tools such as 123D Catch and Revit/Vasari can be used to rapidly capture, model and analyse existing buildings in a process known as Rapid Energy Modelling:

The video has been split up in 12 parts, I have made a playlist of the videos to make it easier for you guys to view. Just head over to my YouTube channel or follow this link for direct access to the REM playlist. Many thanks to Autodesk and Sustainable Toolbox for explaining this process in great detail. Hope all my followers have a great weekend!