6. Virtual Reconstruction of the Pump
Previous | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | Next 6. Virtual Reconstruction of the Pump 6.1. Modelling and Animation This section is divided into two parts. The first is modelling and the second is animation. 6.1.2. Modelling Modelling the pump was done in four steps: - Creating objects and setting them into positions
- Modifying some objects to match those in the real pump
- Assigning materials to objects to make them look realistic
- Creating lights and cameras and setting them into proper positions to give a real look to the model.
6.1.3. Creating Objects Most of the objects were created using the same functions on 3D Max; the only differences are the parameters and the position. 1. Box was created by clicking on Create command panel then on Shapes and then on Box. This command was used to create the cylinder block, pivots bar, the walls to support the camshaft and the pivots bar. 2. Cylinder was created by clicking on Cylinder. This command was used to create, delivery pipes, collective pipe, cams, camshaft extensions, connecting and piston rods, holes, piston, pivot and weight holder. 3. Tube was created by clicking on Tube. This command was used to create the pipes (delivery, collective and suction) and piston cylinder. 4. Sphere was created by clicking on Sphere. This command was used to create the lead weights. 5. Array: This command was used to copy the pipes. 6. Loft object: This command is similar to the extrude command in AutoCAD. It basically extrudes a 2-D shape according to any path. This command was used to create the camshaft. 7. Boolean 2: This command was used to create a compound object. It was used to combine the holes with the cylinder block. 6.1.4. Modifying Objects Bend: This is the only modifier used in this modelling project. It was used to bend the delivery pipes and the holes. 6.1.5. Assigning Materials Assigning materials is very important for modelling. It gives the model a real look. 6.1.6. Creating Lights and Cameras Lights and cameras were the final objects created. Lights provide shadows and reflections which make the model look real. Cameras are used with animation to provide different angles of shooting. 6.2. Animation Animation is simply done by clicking on the animate button and then moving the objects or modifying them. The animation bar shows the frame number. By moving it the frame changes to the selected one. 6.3. Computer Softwares 6.3.1. MathCAD MathCAD is one of the powerful mathematics software that is used in calculations. It was used for its speed and flexibility. Suppose some of the dimensions were changed for some reason. All the calculations have to be done again. But when using MathCAD this point is neglected. Although it needed more work, but it was a good decision to use it. 6.3.2. 3D Studio MAX Modelling and animating was done using the 3D Studio MAX R2.5 package. 3D Studio MAX is a very powerful graphics software used for modelling, animating, image processing and texture mapping for both 2-D and 3-D objects. It is used in Hollywood by many movie studios as their main production tool for modelling and animating their characters and building realistic three-dimensional environments for their games (see figures 17-18) [15].  |  | Large image | Large image | Figure 18a: Poster of Chaos Island (1993) produced by DreamWorks Interactive through 3DStudio MAX. | Figure 18b: A screenshot from the Jurassic Park game produced by DreamWorks. |
Because the amount of work carried out was so huge for someone that never worked on the software before, it was impossible to describe the whole work in full details in the space available. Besides, the explanation of the procedures followed step by step and the characteristics of each function used and how does it work, is not the main issue. So the procedures were described taking into consideration that the basics of using 3D Studio are known. Another thing to be taken into account is that the procedures described certain methods to create objects. Of course, there are numerous of ways to create the same objects; it depends on the user and the methods he prefered. 6.4. The 3D Model  |  | Large image | Large image | Figure 19: View of the 3D reconstruction of the pump. | Figure 20: View from another angle of the 3D reconstruction of the pump. |
As said above, there was created a model of the pump using 3D Studio MAX. The animation can be viewed by clicking on the link below :  |  | Click here to view animation. | Click here to view animation. |
6.5. By Way of Conclusion This work investigated the mechanical workings of Taqī al-Dīn's six cylinder pump described 500 years ago. A historical review is presented and a mathematical analysis was used to verify the mechanical adequacy of the components used. By using computer graphics it was possible to visualise the assembly of the machine and help to design and select the components where there were requirements or absence of information from the manuscript. The conclusion of the investigation is that the six cylinder pump must have worked in an efficient manner. 6.6. Acknowledgments The authors would like to acknowledge the extensive assistance rendered by Professor Abattouy in overhauling the original draft and in particular in adding the historical sections. Thanks are also due to computing officers, especially Dr Ali Shahadi, in UMIST who assisted in the computer graphics. End Notes [15] See Angie Jones et al., Inside 3d Studio MAX 2, vol. III: Animation. Indianapolis, IN: New Riders Publishing, 1998 (Paper/ CD-ROM edition). Previous | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | Next
by: FSTC, Mon 21 July, 2008
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