Jan's Watch Towers
Check out Jan Jindra on the FreeCAD Facebook group . He's has been on his travels around Czechia where he has been photographing, modelling and 3D printing these amazing watch towers.
The Czech Republic has the most lookout towers than any country in the world. Boasting an amazing 300 plus (and counting). These magnificent buildings serve as one of the main local tourist attractions, and best still, majority are even free to visit by the public! As the construction of these towers run through history, from the late 19th century and through both World Wars they hold a large historical importance; a window into this beautiful countries past. But visiting them all doesn't mean you can tick this treat off your bucket list, the numbers are still growing as in recent years modern constructions have been erected.
The Czech Republic has the most lookout towers than any country in the world. Boasting an amazing 300 plus (and counting). These magnificent buildings serve as one of the main local tourist attractions, and best still, majority are even free to visit by the public! As the construction of these towers run through history, from the late 19th century and through both World Wars they hold a large historical importance; a window into this beautiful countries past. But visiting them all doesn't mean you can tick this treat off your bucket list, the numbers are still growing as in recent years modern constructions have been erected.
After capture Jan uses standard tools in FreeCAD to model the structures. He later 3D prints these capturing there spectacular form in a miniature.
Here are some examples of Jan's work:
Decinsky Sneznik tourist lookout. This model showcases Jan's first use of his random stone macro.
Dalimilova tourist lighthouse, an earlier model that took some computation time to complete the linear and polar calculations.
A frequent contributor to the FreeCAD Facebook group, Jan has numerous posts that showcases his skills in building these amazing structures. Starting as a Christmas project he has gone on to complete close to a dozen structures at time of writing and is still growing his collection.
Earlier post from the designer reveal the secret behind some of the models. With standard tools and workbenches in FreeCAD Jan uses what he describes as a 'mother structure', a central vertical pole with two staggered bricks radiating out. The use of polar and linear array tools complete the brick work effect.
In later models Jan flexes his programming skills taking the generation of the detail of his towers to another level. By coding a python macro to generate random stone work he can generate models with higher realism allowing him to tackle older structures in much more detail. Looking at the code of the macro the basic shape is created as a skeleton such as a truncated cone. The top and bottom radius, height etc are all configure before generation. After the macro is run each brick is generated as a separate shape which can be fused into the main structure. Other macros include linear brickwork, roofing tiles for both slanted and circular roofs, clad work etc.
Here are some examples of Jan's work:
Decinsky Sneznik tourist lookout. This model showcases Jan's first use of his random stone macro.
Dalimilova tourist lighthouse, an earlier model that took some computation time to complete the linear and polar calculations.
A frequent contributor to the FreeCAD Facebook group, Jan has numerous posts that showcases his skills in building these amazing structures. Starting as a Christmas project he has gone on to complete close to a dozen structures at time of writing and is still growing his collection.
Earlier post from the designer reveal the secret behind some of the models. With standard tools and workbenches in FreeCAD Jan uses what he describes as a 'mother structure', a central vertical pole with two staggered bricks radiating out. The use of polar and linear array tools complete the brick work effect.
In later models Jan flexes his programming skills taking the generation of the detail of his towers to another level. By coding a python macro to generate random stone work he can generate models with higher realism allowing him to tackle older structures in much more detail. Looking at the code of the macro the basic shape is created as a skeleton such as a truncated cone. The top and bottom radius, height etc are all configure before generation. After the macro is run each brick is generated as a separate shape which can be fused into the main structure. Other macros include linear brickwork, roofing tiles for both slanted and circular roofs, clad work etc.
He has kindly made this available to the public and the macro can be found on the Facebook group.
I for one will be keeping an eye on this contributor who is pushing the boundaries and using Freecad in a unique way. I may even give the macros and techniques a go myself as where I live there is a large history of mining. All over the county there are mine stacks that have been standing for century's and the techniques can be easily transferred to these structures.
All screenshots originate from the FreeCAD group on Facebook. Why not join in the fun.
Update: The creator has now made the models available via printables.
https://www.printables.com/cs/social/390197-jjvcela/models
I for one will be keeping an eye on this contributor who is pushing the boundaries and using Freecad in a unique way. I may even give the macros and techniques a go myself as where I live there is a large history of mining. All over the county there are mine stacks that have been standing for century's and the techniques can be easily transferred to these structures.
All screenshots originate from the FreeCAD group on Facebook. Why not join in the fun.
Update: The creator has now made the models available via printables.
https://www.printables.com/cs/social/390197-jjvcela/models
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