“With T-Splines, I can experiment with form design by pulling and pushing on the surface way faster than with NURBS. With this much speed and flexibility, I have more options to present when my designs are evaluated.”
- Jaime Barajas, Product Designer, Traxxas
The challenge
As a product designer for Traxxas, one of Jaime’s responsibilities is to develop styling concepts and designs for his projects throughout the year. Each project for a new radio controlled car or boat has to be completed under tight deadlines. As part of the creative process, Jaime presents different designs, either pencil sketches or 3d models, to allow the team to review the strengths and weaknesses of each one. The challenge is to present several choices in the least amount of time so that a clear direction can be taken for the project.
After a design is chosen, each car or boat is modeled in CAD and then manufactured in polycarbonate plastic. The design has to be aesthetically pleasing to appeal to a wide customer range and also meet stringent engineering and manufacturability requirements. The surface shapes created in CAD have to be smooth and seamless.
The solution
Jaime has been using T-Splines since version 1.0, although at the beginning, incorporating T-Splines in his design process was challenging. Most of the designs he saw on the T-Splines web site were very organic, while he required sharp lines and corners in his designs.
Two things significantly increased his use of T-Splines… [Read more]