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Lamina Design > Reference > Entire site on one page
Lamina Design
Perhaps one day our home will be reduced to just Latest news...6 Aug 2007: Support for Rhino version 4 filesYes, Rhino file support is 33.3333% better! Lamina can now read new Rhino version 4 .3dm files. If you purchased a copy, please feel free to download the latest version. 9 Sept 2006: Talk presented at 4OSME I gave a talk "Building Free-Form Structures From Sheet Material" at The Fourth International Conference on Origami in Science, Mathematics, and Education (4OSME) at the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, California, USA. 22 May 2006: Transmaterial available in print A newly published book called Transmaterial is now available. It catalogs innovative architectural materials and methods. The authors were kind enough to include a page on Lamina Design software. 3 Feb 2006: New Lamina user guide The new Lamina user guide provides a sequential task oriented guide to using Lamina 1.0. 14 Jan 2005: Support for Rhino .3dm files added The latest version of Lamina supports reading polygon meshes from Rhino .3dm files. 1 Dec 2004: Lamina appears in The Architectural Record The Architectural Record includes a review of Lamina 1.0 in the December 2004 issue. About Lamina softwareLamina 1.0 makes it easy to fabricate large scale free-form structures from planar (sheet) materials like plastic, metal, or plywood. This fabrication technology can be applied to interior design, building architecture, lighting, signage, clothing, and sculpture.
Lamina 1.0 uses computer methods to build precise physical structures
in the real world.
Your 3D model is approximated by a number of 2D
parts that are numerically cut and attached to fabricate the
final structure.
Laser cutting, abrasive waterjet cutting and plasma
cutting services are widely available and make creating parts
inexpensive and fast.
An exampleA sculpture fabricated from waterjet cut stainless steel welded and sanded.  
Thickness correctionThis software takes into account the physical behavior of planar materials, and uses the material thickness to inset the edges of cutting paths to make parts that fit together with precision. Where parts join at right angles, the inset for an "Edge to edge" join is half the material thickness.
Angle correctionIn addition to correcting for thickness, the angle between parts is taken into consideration when generating cutting path insets. The join angle and the appropriate inset may vary along edges.
Attachment geometryVarious kinds of attachment geometry are generated along the edges of parts. Some examples are shown in the sequence below.     
Lamina 1.0 product available nowThe product version of Lamina 1.0 is here. Please give it a try!NoteSome of the technology in Lamina 1.0 is covered by U.S. Patent No. 6,819,966
Lamina Design > Projects
opus 10.02" thick plastic sheet and copper, one piece 68" x 44" x 19"                  opus 20.02" thick plastic sheet and copper, three pieces 8" x 6" x 3"                  
opus 30.005" thick plastic sheet and brass, one piece 8" x 5" x 6"    
opus 40.02" thick plastic sheet and copper, three pieces 18" x 15" x 8"               
opus 524 gauge stainless steel welded, one piece 6' 3" x 4' 1" x 2' 11", 38 lbs. The process used to build this sculpture is shown here.           
Lamina Design > Process examples
A structure made out of hand cut paper held together with scotch tape.
Lamina Design > Process examples > Paper
The input geometric modelWe start with a geometric model of a 3D object. This is typically a triangle mesh exported from a 3D modeling program.
Generating the partsNow we use automatic and interactive methods to subdivide the object into sections. Each section is approximated by a 2D part. Lamina software writes out cutting paths and a PDF file with assembly instructions.                  
Construction documentThe PDF file documents how to assemble the structure from the parts.               
Building the structureThe parts are plotted and cut out. Then they are attached to each other to build the final object. Various kinds of attachment elements can be generated to make the parts fit together accurately and easily. This paper model was assembled using scotch tape.                    
Lamina Design > Process examples > Stainless steel
The input geometric modelThis shape was modeled using trimmed nurbs in Rhino3D. The Rhino3D model bone.3dm was saved as polygonal mesh bone.obj. Lamina can read input files in .stl, Wavefront .obj or 3D Sudio Max .3ds formats. It can also read polygon meshes in Rhino .3dm files.
Generating the partsLamina 1.0 software automatically subdivides the polygon mesh into sections and each section is approximated by a 2D part. Lamina generates cutting paths in DXF format bone.dxf and a PDF file with assembly instructions.                   
Building the sculptureA nearby metal fabrication house, Latitude Corporation built the sculpture. The DXF file was used to cut stainless steel parts on a abrasive waterjet cutter. A group of welders built the sculpture in 3 hours.               
The finished sculptureAfter grinding and sanding the welds, this is the final result.
Lamina Design > Applications
Sculpture fabricationIf geometric models are available, sculptures can be fabricated from plastic, metal or wood.Interior designFree form walls or other parts of an interior space can be fabricated by cutting wire mesh that is then assembled and covered with plaster or cement. Site specific duct work for heating and air-conditioning can be built.Building architectureLarge scale structures built out of plastic or plywood. Rebar mesh sprayed with concrete. Lamina can produce precise plywood forms for concrete. Light-weight portable structures. Rapid fabrication of architectural models.LightingLighted translucent plastic shells for interiors. These can be very large scale lighted structures that are integrated into the architecture.AircraftParts of the outer form of aircraft can be fabricated from metal parts. Model airplane kits of planar parts that are assembled.FurniturePlywood, stainless steel, or plastic furniture.Marine architectureHulls, and other boat components can be fabricated. Oddly shaped storage tanks for liquid or gas. Lamina can be used to create stitch and glue hulls.Clothing designShoes, leather jackets, clothing.Inflatable structuresToys, lighting, hot air balloons, light-weight shelters.SignsExtruded letters with free form deformations. Graphic displays.Micro and nano structuresExtremely small precise structures.
Lamina Design > Download
Demo version of Lamina 1.0Here's how to download the Demo version of Lamina 1.0.Please note that writing DXF cutting paths is disabled. Writing project PDF output is also disabled. Other than that it works like the real thing. Lamina 1.0 Demo runs on windows XP, and NT and I hope it runs on other versions of windows as well! It also runs fine on Macs with VirtualPC. Please let me know if you have problems or suggestions. Download laminst.exe (current version 1.05). This is a 2.0 MB download. Run laminst, installing the Lamina executable and sample files in the application directory "C:\Program Files\Lamina" (the default location). This uses 5.2 MB of free disk space. There is a directory of sample .3dm, .obj and .lam files in the Lamina application directory called "Sample Objects". You might want to make a shortcut to this directory and put it on your desktop. To run Lamina, drag and drop one or more input files onto the Lamina icon. Please see the Lamina 1.0 user guide for some information on using Lamina 1.0. Buy Lamina 1.0 nowLamina 1.0 sells for USD $1.71 + 5.5% tax = $1.71 + $0.09 = USD $1.80 for commercial users.You get free updates for a year from the date of purchase. When I get payment, I'll immediately send you download instructions. To pay by credit card or PaypalTo pay by checkPlease Contact me if you'd like to pay by check, if you have special circumstances or if you want a quote for multiple copies. Significant discounts are available for schools and universities.
Lamina Design > Reference
Lamina Design > Reference > Lamina 1.0 user guide
Table of contents
Overall processThe typical workflow for using Lamina is as follows:
Step 1: Export your model from your modeling programShapes Lamina can handleLamina can help you fabricate a wide variety of geometric shapes, including open, sheet-like surfaces and closed surfaces that surround arbitraryHowever, there are a few rules which you must follow. In general,
If you would like a detailed, technical description of Lamina's exact requirements on the input file geometry, please consult this document.
Supported file formatsLamina can read input files in these formats:
A note about units: the modeling file formats above store numerical measurements (e.g., positions and distances) but in general they do not specify the real-world units of those measurements (e.g., inches or centimeters). When you open your modeling file in Lamina, you will have the opportunity to tell Lamina to interpret the numbers in the file as either inches, feet, millimeters, centimeters, or meters. Keep that in mind as you design your model.
Rhino3DIf you are using Rhino3D, you will need to convert your NURBS surfaces to polygon meshes and save the file in Rhino .3dm format. First, join all the surfaces of your NURBS object together and join any naked edges. Next, select this polysurface and use the menu "Tools...Polygon Mesh...From NURBS Object" to create a polygon mesh. Finally, save the entire file as a Rhino .3dm file. Lamina will read the polygon meshes from the file and ignore the NURBS surfaces and any other geometry. Dividing lines between NURBS patches will appear in Lamina.
Keeping divisions between NURBS patches in .3dm filesIf you want keep the dividing lines between your NURBS patches and have these all available in Lamina, you need to use this sequence to save a .3dm file from Rhino3D.1. Join all the surfaces of your NURBS object together and join any naked edges. 2. Select the object and use the menu "Tools > Polygon Mesh > From NURBS Object". Make sure "jagged seams" is NOT checked. 3. Move the NURBS object away and select the Polygon Mesh. 4. Click "Explode" to separate the meshes. 5. Save the file in .3dm format.
NURBS modellerIf you are using another NURBS modelling program, join all the surfaces of your NURBS object together before converting the model to a polygon mesh and save the model in Wavefront .obj format.
Other modeling programsFor other modeling programs, export your model in .3dm, .obj, .3ds or .stl format. Rhino .3dm, Wavefront .obj or 3D Studio Max .3ds are preferred, but Sterolithography .stl files will also work.
Step 2: Design and refine cut paths in LaminaIn this step, you use Lamina to design and refine a set of
Start LaminaThe best way to start Lamina is to drag and drop one or more icons representing input models on to the Lamina icon on the Desktop. For example, in the Lamina program directory, you can find a Sample Objects directory. Select all of the icons in that directory and drag and drop them onto Lamina's icon on the desktop.Lamina uses eight modes. The mode can be changed by clicking on one of the tabs on the top of the window. Lamina opens up in "Browse" mode:
"Browse" mode shows you each model that you dragged onto the Lamina icon when you launched the program. You can click on any given model to work on it. You can also launch Lamina (specifically, lamina.exe from the Lamina program directory) from the command line or a batch file. Provide the names of one or more input files on the command line. These objects then appear in Lamina's Browse tab.
You can also launch Lamina without drag-and-drop (e.g. from the Start
Menu or Desktop icon) and then use the traditional
Set unitsNext, tell Lamina how to interpret the measurement units of your input file, and what measurement units you would like to use during the design and output steps, by clicking on the "Edit" menu and selecting either "Inches", "Feet", "Millimeters", "Centimeters," or "Meters."
View your original modelNow switch to "View" mode. You can do this by single-clicking on an object while in "Browse" mode, or by opening a new object with "File...Open." Or, if an object is already open, you can simply click on the "View" tab.
You will see your object in three dimensions. You can examine your object using these buttons:
Notice how Lamina has automatically divided your object into
sections along any line where there is a sharp edge.
The sections are separated by colored cut lines.
Each section will become one piece of flat Cut lines can have one of these colors:
At the bottom of the window, Lamina tells you the overall size of the object in terms of the size of the smallest (axis-aligned) box that can contain the object:
You can modify the size of your object by small increments by clicking
the up and down buttons. This is different from the zoom function
above in that it actually does modify the object and so will reduce or
enlarge the
Flip surface if necessaryIf your object looks pitch-black from most angles as you are spinning it around in "View" mode, chances are you need to flip the surface. Here is an example:
To fix this problem, select "Edit...Flip Surface." What is going on here? Some modeling programs may produce models whose normals point the opposite direction that Lamina expects. This operation flips surface normals to the expected (right-hand-rule, counter-clockwise vertex order) direction. If only some of the surfaces of your model look pitch-black, and "Edit...Flip Surface" simply exchanges the set of surfaces that look good with those that look bad, then you have a bigger problem: your original model has incorrect normals on only some of its surfaces. You will need to return to your modeling program to correct the problem.
Delete partial lines if necessaryDepending on your model and your modeling program, it is possible that when you examine your model in "View" mode, there may be a few extra red cut lines which are connected only at one end. For example:
These partial lines sometimes appear in areas of your original source model which contain some geometric inconsistency, such as a crease or other sudden discontinuity in the surface normals.
In most cases, these lines will reduce the quality of your
Set material and join propertiesNow, tell lamina about the
Cut loops and floating holesBefore you can generate your first prospective
Generate your first design!Now, you are ready to generate your first design!
When you enter "Shape" mode, Lamina computes a complete design for
your model, using the sections, material, and flexibility you
specified, and it shows you the final The shape that you see in "Shape" or "Map" mode might differ somewhat from the original model that you see in "View" or "Draw" mode. In a later section we will explain this important difference, and what you can do to refine your model so that the resulting shape more accurately reflects the original. But right now, let's satisfy our desire for instant gratification by looking at the complete design that Lamina has made for us!
You will see the complete set of flat
Here you can get detailed information about each part. To see a different part, click on it in the row of parts along the bottom of the window. Lamina provides the size of that part along with a list of numbers indicating what other parts connect to the current part. If there is some problem with the part, a red dot will appear underneath that part in the row along the bottom of the window. There are several possible errors:
As you rotate the This is useful when you are trying to track down problems with parts which you found in "Parts" mode, and it's also useful to help you build the model in the real world! Finally, Lamina generates a variety of useful general information about the design and the current program settings in the "Info" tab:
Lamina provides the dimensions, area, weight, solid weight, and volume of the structure. Lamina provides the total cut length and join length to help estimate cutting and welding costs.
Add cut lines to increase accuracyRemember that when you are in "View" or "Draw" mode, Lamina shows you your original
These two might not be the same: Lamina computes the best possible
approximation of your original model, using only the sections that you
have defined (that is, the regions outlined by the colored cut lines).
Each of these sections becomes exactly one flat So, your goal now is to determine if the approximation is good enough, and if not, add additional cut lines in appropriate areas so that Lamina can do a better job of matching the original model. Lamina has several tools and tricks to help you determine where the model is accurate and where it is not:
In general, the areas of your original model with the highest
absolute Gaussian curvature will generate the most
deviation in Lamina's design, and require the most additional cut
lines. In layman's terms, these are the areas where you would have to
"squish" or "stretch" a flat You can even ask Lamina to show you the areas of high absolute Gaussian curvature. In "View" and "Draw" modes, you can check "Edit...Show Curvature" to see a graphical depiction of the Gaussian curvature at various points of your original model. When checked, "Edit...Show curvature" annotates the original model with colored squares in areas of high absolute Gaussian curvature. You will see blue squares for saddles, green squares for concave areas ("innies"), and red squares for convex areas ("outies"). The higher the absolute Gaussian curvature, the larger the square. This may be of use for some users, although for most users the "Show deviation" feature is much more directly useful because it tells you about the current quality of the generated approximation instead of a fixed property of your original model. In "Shape" and "Map" modes, you can check the box labeled "Show polygons" at the top of the window to get a sense of where and how much you will need to bend the material to assemble the design. In places where the edges of polygons are closely spaced, there is usually a smaller radius of curvature and you will have to bend the material more. The edges of the polygons (the light grey lines) also show you the line along which you will have to bend your material. Keep in mind the flexibility setting which we described above. This setting allows you to control the tradeoff between the accuracy of Lamina's approximation and the ease of constructing your design. If you find that Lamina specifies excessive bending, try making a stiffer setting. On the other hand, if you find that your material can easily be bent more than the Lamina design specifies, try a more flexible setting in Lamina to see if you can get better accuracy.
What should cut lines look like?So, you have determined that you need to add a cut line to your model. As we explained above, you can either add cut lines in your original modeling program or you can add them in Lamina's "Draw" mode.But what should the cut lines look like? Surprisingly, it turns out that almost any shape of cut line which touches other cut lines at both ends is helpful! You can draw a straight line across the desired area, or an arbitrary meandering line that wanders back and forth before reaching the other side of the desired area:
In general, the meandering line will give you a more accurate result than the straight line. That is, if you draw a meandering line, Lamina can generally make you a design that matches your original 3-D model better. But the meandering and straight lines will both help to increase the accuracy of your result. Depending on your particular material and machinery, you may choose the straight line because it is easier to cut or attach, or you may choose the meandering line because it's just as easy either way and you'd like additional accuracy. Sometimes, it is even useful to make a partial cut line—a cut line which touches another cut line only at one end. Yes, these are the same lines that we were so careful to delete from the original model above! Say there is a large area of your model that is currently represented by one section, and thus one part. Say that area is concave (an "innie") or convex (an "outie") and it is an area where you need more accuracy. By making one or more partial cut lines in this area, you can greatly increase the accuracy of the model in this area without adding more parts. Here is an example:
 You can get just as much additional accuracy by making one or more cuts all the way across this area instead of partial cuts. But these full cuts will cause Lamina to generate additional parts:
 If it is important to you to keep the part count down, then choose the partial cuts instead. Never use a partial cut line on a flat area or in a saddle-shaped area, as this will generate parts with unnecessary cuts, "self-intersecting" errors, or other more serious problems. Also never use a partial cut line when you are also using the "Interlock" (interlock4 type in settings.txt), "Ties" (ties3), or "Hole Tabs" (holetab5) join methods, because the extended tabs of these connection methods will generate self-intersecting parts. Dangling cut lines, which are not connected to other cut lines at either end, have no effect, and are ignored.
Printing your current Lamina designYou can select "File...Print" and Lamina will create and launch a detailed PDF file showing multiple 3-D views of your object, pictures of each part, and the complete cut paths arranged on material sheets.You can select "File...Print Simple" and Lamina will create and launch a PDF file containing only the cut paths.
Saving your Lamina project as a .lam fileAny time when you are editing a model, you can select "File...Save Project" to save all of your model geometry, your cut lines, you material properties, and other Lamina settings into a single, standalone .lam file. Once you have a .lam file, you no longer need the original model file. Later, you can drop that .lam file onto Lamina to resume working right where you left off.
Other lamina featuresOn the "Edit" menu there are a few other features we have not yet described."Edit...Show corners" toggles the display of small points at the endpoints of all cut lines. "Edit...Show balance" toggles the display of marks that show how the object will balance on a planar surface. Corners that the object can be made to balance on are shown in red. Edges that the object will balance on are shown in blue. Stable orientations where three points of support are available are shown in green.
There are a few other settings you can make by using Notepad to modify
the settings.txt file in the Lamina program
directory. For example, you can affect the size of the digits in the
tear-off number tags, the snapping behavior of the pencil tool,
or a flatness factor used to simplify the model and the
Step 3: Output final designWhen you are satisfied with the your design, it's time to output that design for fabrication. Select "File...Write Output" and specify the name of a directory. Lamina will create that directory and populate it with the following files:
Lamina also places a copy of your original model file in the output directory.
Lamina Reference GuideHere we provide links to explanations of all of Lamina's modes, menu options, and buttons.
Lamina Design > Reference > Input to Lamina 1.0
Lamina reads input geometry in 3D Studio Max .3ds, Wavefront .obj or Stereolithography .stl formats.
Lamina can also read polygon meshes found in Rhino .3dm files.
These files describe a shape as a list of triangles. In these file formats, the order of
the triangles in the file is not significant. The surface is defined by the geometric
connection of the triangles when adjacent triangles share an edge.
Input constraintsThere are some constraints on the input triangle meshes that Lamina can handle.One requirement is sometimes called the "vertex to vertex" rule. Any adjacent triangles must share two verticies so they connect in a water tight way. It is not acceptable for one triangle to have a vertex that is at some point along the edge of another triangle. The order of the verticies in each triangle should be in a counter clockwise order when viewed from the outside of the object. If the right hand rule is applied to the three verticies, the resulting orientation points away from the solid object. The triangle mesh should not intersect itself. And no edge can be shared by more than 2 triangles; a cube defined by 12 triangles is ok, but adding a diagonal baffle inside the cube is not ok. Other than this the input mesh can be an arbitrarily complex shell that might have any number of handles and may also have any number of holes in the surface. 3DM, OBJ, 3DS or STL format?The major difference between these formats is that Rhino .3dm, 3D Studio Max .3ds and Wavefront .obj files include per vertex normals, so source objects don't appear faceted, and Lamina can better recognize where to create divisions in the source object. If your file is in another format, use Rhino3D or some other modeling software to save the object in .3dm, .obj, .3ds or .stl format. If you are using Rhino3D for modelling, it's best to convert your NURBS surfaces to polygon meshes and save the file in Rhino .3dm format.Stereolithography STL formatThere are two types of STL files, ascii and binary. Ascii format STL files are easy to create with a text editor, and are human readable. Binary STL files are more compact and load faster. These files will have an extension .stl (either ascii or binary), or .stla (ascii) or .stlb (binary).Here is an example of an ascii STL file that describes a cube 12"x12"x12" centered on the origin. One normal is provided for each triangle, along with the coordinates of the triangle verticies.
Wavefront OBJ formatAn excellent description of the Wavefront .obj file format is given here. Here is an example of an ascii Wavefront .obj file that describes a cube 12"x12"x12" centered on the origin. First a set of positions are defined with the "v" commands. Then a set of vertex normals are defined with the "vn" commands. Finally, a set of triangles are defined with the "f" commands which each describe the three corners of a triangle. The first number a specification like "2//1" selects the second vertex position, the last number selects the first normal. The vertex positions and normals are indexed starting with 1.# # This can be a comment # g object_1 v -6.000000 -6.000000 -6.000000 v 6.000000 6.000000 -6.000000 v 6.000000 -6.000000 -6.000000 v -6.000000 6.000000 -6.000000 v -6.000000 -6.000000 6.000000 v 6.000000 -6.000000 6.000000 v 6.000000 6.000000 6.000000 v -6.000000 6.000000 6.000000 vn 0.000000 0.000000 -1.000000 vn 0.000000 0.000000 1.000000 vn 0.000000 -1.000000 0.000000 vn 0.000000 1.000000 0.000000 vn -1.000000 0.000000 0.000000 vn 1.000000 0.000000 0.000000 f 1//1 2//1 3//1 f 1//1 4//1 2//1 f 5//2 6//2 7//2 f 5//2 7//2 8//2 f 1//3 6//3 5//3 f 1//3 3//3 6//3 f 4//4 8//4 7//4 f 4//4 7//4 2//4 f 1//5 8//5 4//5 f 1//5 5//5 8//5 f 3//6 2//6 7//6 f 3//6 7//6 6//6
Lamina Design > Reference > A new project
This will be fabricated from 18 gauge cold rolled steel.
It will be 7'1" x 6'10" x 5'1". It will weigh 123 lbs.
Lamina Design > Reference > Inspiration
Related softwareExpanderNew Wave Systems Pepakura Designer Surf Master TouchCAD Related linksLamina at Architectural RecordLamina at TRANSMATERIAL Lamina from MathWorld ACADIA - CAD in Architecture Contour Crafting eMachineShop Fab Lab at MIT Ferro Cement Foldschool - Cardboard furniture Freeform Concrete Links Make Material Systems Pleated Structures Rhino 3D Modeler Rick Smith Richard Sweeney's Photos Stitch and Glue boat building Yamaha Paper Crafts Blog MentionsBecause We CanBig Blue Saw Delicious Future Feeder Jun Mitani Makezine Open GL Japan Rhino Wiki Suggest someone or something..
Lamina Design > Reference > Explorations of form and material
Lamina Design > Reference > A definition
Lamina Design > Reference > Site map
Lamina Design
Lamina Design > Contact
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