Over the past few days I've been exploring a new website called Modelab. It was such a good resource I thought it'd be a good idea to share it. Modelab is tilted towards those into CAD and Architecture/Design, with highly detailed webinars, software/hardware/tools resource pages and workshops.
The big player in parametric and generative CAD is Grasshopper, a node-based program that is a part of Rhino. There's a huge set of great tutorials to teach yourself on your own time, covering everything from the basics to the complex. For those GrabCADr really interested in 3D Printing and Product Design, having some chops in Grasshopper is key. As a reference material there's a great PDF made by Rajaa Issa called Essential Mathematics for Computational Design, covering all the basics from Vectors to Matrices to NURBS. Really useful to have if you don't feel like playing the same 15 second clip to learn one thing.
CAD modelling has given Architects the tools to create some incredible work, partly because they can now accurately model the forces of more exotic shapes and forms that the standard 90°, Bauhaus-style work. The catenary arch is the newest and most widely leverage building block, partly because it's more effect at distributing compression through out the arch than any other form. However, it's not particularly easy to model. Lucky for us - there's RhinoVAULT. It's a superb tool for creating 'funicular forms', derived from the catenary arch. Gaudí would be proud.
If you have the CPU power to spare, there is a great plugin that is part of Grasshopper called Galapagos. It is an "Evolutionary Solver", designed to help you generate possible forms that suit the parameters you give. Although it's described as a 'Program for Programmers", don't let that dissuade you from exploring. There's also an awesome read about the general ideas behind evolutionary CAD, explaining a lot of the terms and common misconceptions. Highly recommended.
