How to create a model like JBL CLIP+ SPEAKER

Hi! Could anybody help me with how to do such a geometry in this speaker? I mean the part which is with circles pattern. Can’t understand how to do it in SU.

I made the perforated pattern and draped it onto the bevelled face using the sand box tools ( it could be a square as the rest will trim off… Another option would be flowify with the thickness of the sheet metal already in place.

The thickness of the grill could be done with fredos joint push pull. I had difficulty making that work though.

speaker1

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Ok. I just tried to do the same and saw an interesting thing. If I make a lot of circles like in this screenshot then the sandbox tool will not copy these cirles on my curved bottom surface it’s simply ignoring. But if circles will be big enough then the tool will apply it. What’s the matter do you guess? And the flowify plugin just doesn’t let me to “impose grid”.


And here is my .skp file ZIPpedgrill.zip (1.1 MB)

I would recommend scaling it up by 100 and trying again. Search the forum for Dave Method!

your smaller “grid” circles have 24 edges ( which adds up to a lot), unless it will be seen super close up I’m not sure they need to e as detailed as it is creating more of a texture? I made mine 12 and the surface to which they were projected on was made with a larger edge count. My grid may not have been as dense as yours? but it took the sandbox drape tool at least 5 minutes !! or more to calculate the drape. So at first it seems like nothing is happening but you may need to leave it longer…a lot longer. To run your pattern it took 10 minutes to calculate. Also it is scaled up to avoid issues with tiny geometry.

With the steepness of your underlying shape the drape may not work as well because of the distortion of the drape on the sides making the holes eliptical…

The pattern in the picture has offset circles.

Maybe flowify would be best? if you can get it to work?

I have shown this JBL speaker just for an example. I’d like to use “flowify” but exactly in this case it doesn’t work. Think I do everything like in tutorials but it doesn’t impose a grid. Please, look my .skp file.
flowify test.skp (809.8 KB)
Here are two shapes: 1st is like JBL above and the 2nd is like perforated cube. So is it possible with flowify to perforate such shapes if yes could you show how?


I’ve watched such tutorials like on this screenshot.

And I tried to do the same and it works fine. But I just can’t imagine how I do such shapes as in my examples above with this flowify plugin.

I don’t think flowify would work? ( not as you are showing it) or another way perhaps? the the mapping plane and projection plane have to be the same size and have the 2 lines going to the corners.

Have you considered a texture as a solution. Its a lot easier in SU otherwise it might be easier to create the geometry in blender. (attached version with textured grill)

flowify setup

No, the variant as a transp. texture is not preferable( Could you please share .skp file with your flowify setup?

I’m sharing the file, but as mentioned, the flowify does not work on that geometry. It will work on the adjacent setup…

flow.skp (3.6 MB)

Aha, I see. So finally if I’m about to create a real geometry exactly on such surfaces I’d better to use a sandbox tools (drape) or just use a transperency texture. Am I right?

AS far as I know ( and there may be another way I am unaware of) that would be the best option. There would in the real world be some distortion as that speaker screen would be formed from a perforated sheet that is a flat sheet and so some distortion would occur.

The only other way (maybe) would be to create an array of “cutting holes” for the edges/sides and subtract that from the main shape - or intersect the geometry. I have made lines as components that can be made as a “pipe/cylinder”.

Why is that? How do you intend to use the model you create?

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I think you have to accept that you’ll get distortion from one direction or the other. Here the holes are ‘round’ from above but slightly oval from the side.
Mesh

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As I said it’s just an example. Probably as in this case like perforating small geometry in JBL speaker it’s better to use a transparency lattice texture. I try to explore how to do such similar geometry. For example look at this pictures.



I’d like to create real holes in geometry, here is the radius of each hole at about 1,5mm and the whole square is 120x120 mm and the top surface is a little bit extruded. So and again I suppose there is no any method to do it in SU accurate and fast.

Screenshot_s
Here is that my mesh in SU project and I’d like it to be perfectly perforated like in photoes above.

To what end? Why are the real holes in the geometry important to you?

The real holes in the real mesh get distorted in the process of forming the sheet so the holes in your geometry should be distorted, too.

Yes, I understand about distortion. So how did you do this mesh?

Yes, I see it.

so I just don’t want to make for all my perforated objects UV mapping in orded to simulate real perforating. Thought it’s better and easier when you create real geometry considering that here is not so small shape to do it by transparency texture. But probably I am wrong.

Its not necessarily wrong to make the mesh with “real” holes instead of using a texture image. It’s a cost-benefit thing. Is it worth the time and effort and the “cost” in file size bloat to create the geometry instead of using a simple texture image? It depends on how the model will be used once it’s finished. If you’re just going to make images from the model, no one will be able to tell if those holes were made with geometry or if it’s an image. And those holes are such a small part of the overall model, it seems a shame to invest so much time on them. If this was a job for an employer or a client, you’ve probably already lost money on the job.

Don’t get me wrong. There are loads of stuff you can learn about working in SketchUp from using this as an exercise but you should also consider the return on your investment.