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D_Formers

##Requirements: Users of this product require no special hardware to run or utilize it, simply a computer that is capable of running either Inkscape or Adobe Illustrator. The software requirements for this product are to have either the freeware program Inkscape(ver.0.91) or Adobe Illustrator installed on the computer. If neither of these programs is installed, a user can go to https://inkscape.org/en/download/ to download Inkscape for free or https://creative.adobe.com/products/download/illustrator to sign up for Adobe ID and start a free trial and download Illustrator. Note that Inkscape is free and requires no sign up, while Illustrator requires registration and has only a free one month trial before payment is needed. Once either Inkscape or Illustrator has been installed and the files for the chosen program are downloaded, installation of this product can begin.

##How to install: The installation procedures of this product for Inkscape and Illustrator are very similar, but different, primarily due to how the two programs organize their internal files. To install in Inkscape, first locate and copy all files that end in the extension .inx and .py, these files contain all of the Inkscape version of this product. Open the computers Program Files, then step through the files following these steps: Program Files>Inkscape>share>extensions. Once in the extensions folder, paste the copied files into it, the product has now been installed. To install in Illustrator, the files with the extension .jsx need to be copied, as these contain the Illustrator version of the product. Open the computers Program Files, then step through the following steps: Program Files>Adobe>Adobe Illustrator>Presets>en_US>Scripts. Once the Scripts folder has been accessed, paste the copied files into it, the product has now been installed. It may be that administrator permissions are necessary to actually install the program.

##Inkscape: To use the program in Inkscape, look for the Extensions choice on the menu bar. Once in the Extensions menu, choose the D-Formers sub-menu, which contains all of the various functions available to the program. Note that if the D-Formers sub-menu is not in Extensions then the program is not properly installed. Inside the D-Formers sub-menu will be the functions “Modify Perimeter”, “Tooth Fabricator”, “Stitch Fabricator”, and “Leaf Fabricator”. Selecting one of these choices will pull up a window that will have options to change the effects of the function. Please note that the Inkscape version of this program requires all shapes to be path objects, which can be guaranteed by going into the Path menu and choosing “Object to Path”, which has a shortcut that can be called with Shift+Control+C.

Modify Perimeter is a function that will make the perimeters of two shapes equal, it has only option to choose for, “Big to Small” or “Small to Big”. The first option will alter the Bigger shape to match the Smaller shape, while the second will match the Smaller to the Size of the Bigger one. There is also a Live Preview check box that will allow a user to see the affects of the function before finalizing it. It requires two shapes to be selected in order to work properly.

The Tooth Fabricator function will add tooth constructors to the selected shapes, these teeth are straight extrusions that interlock to make the D-Form easier to construct. The Tooth Fabricator has three variables that can be adjusted, “Angle”, “Number of Connectors”, “Offset”, and “Sliding”. Angle will tilt the edges of the tooth by the given angle, broadening the tooth and making them interlock more securely. The angles range from 0 degrees of change to 45 degrees. Number of Connectors controls how many teeth there are around the shapes’ perimeter, which also affects how wide the teeth are. The maximum number of teeth is 100, and must be greater than zero. The Offset affects the height of the teeth, how far from the original shape they will protrude. Offset must be a positive number. The Sliding controls where the teeth are located along the shapes edge, shifting them around the path to customize the tooth alignment. Sliding will be a decimal between one and zero. There is also a “Live Preview” check box that will allow a user to see the affects of the function before finalizing it. Teeth Fabricator requires two complete paths to be selected to run properly, and users should be careful to check for intersecting lines. When designing a free form path, a shape that is drawn counter clockwise will be regarded as being inside out.

The Stitch Fabricator function will create holes that are used for the Stitching method of D-Form fabrication, which involves binding the shapes together via needle and thread through the holes. There are three adjustable variables in the Stitch fabricator, “Diameter”, “Number of Connectors”, “Offset”, and “Sliding”. Diameter controls the sizes of the holes created by the function. The Diameter must be positive, but it is recommended that the user keep the holes small. Number of Connectors controls the number of holes generated by the function, which affects the distribution of the holes and how tightly the D-Form will be bound together. The maximum number of stitching holes is 100, and must be greater than zero. The Offset affects the depth of the holes, relative to the edge. Offset must be a positive number. The Sliding controls how where the holes are located following the shapes’ edge, shifting them around the path to customize the alignment of the holes. Sliding will be a decimal between one and zero. There is also a Live Preview check box that will allow a user to see the affects of the function before finalizing it. Stitch Fabricator requires two complete paths to be selected to run properly, and users should be careful to check for overlapping holes. The Stitching method sometimes has difficulties with corners, so rounded shapes are recommended. When designing a free form path, a shape that is drawn counter clockwise will be regarded as being inside out.

The Leaf Fabricator is used to create leaf constructors to the selected shapes, the leaves are rounded extrusions that are meant to be physically interlocked so that they will physically hold the D-Form together. The Leaf Fabricator has four variables that are used to adjust the results of the function, “Number of Connectors”, “Offset”, and “Sliding”. Number of Connectors adjusts the number of leaves that appear around the shapes’ edges, affecting how wide the leaves are. The maximum number of leaves is 100, and must be greater than zero. The Offset affects the height of the leaves, how far from the original shape they will protrude. Offset must be a positive number. The Sliding controls where the leaves are located along the shapes’ edge, shifting them around the path to customize the leaf alignment. Sliding will be a decimal between one and zero. There is also a Live Preview check box that will allow a user to see the affects of the function before finalizing it. Leaf Fabricator requires two complete paths to be selected to run properly, and users should be careful to check for intersecting lines.When designing a free form path, a shape that is drawn counter clockwise will be regarded as being inside out.

##Illustrator: Using the program in Illustrator requires opening the File menu. Inside the File menu, locate the Scripts sub-menu. The Scripts sub-menu will contain “Normalize Perimeter”, “AddNotches”, “AddStitches”, and “AddLeaves”. Selecting one of these choices will pull up a window that will have options to change the effects of the function.

The Normalize Perimeter script is the Illustrator equivalent to Modify Perimeter, it also involves setting the perimeter of one shape equal to another. The options available in Normalize Perimeter are “Smallest path length” or “Largest path length”. The Smallest path length choice will match all selected paths to the smallest selected path. The Largest path length option instead matches all selected shapes to the largest perimeter that has been selected. This script will run so long as a shape is selected, and will affect all selected shapes.

The AddNotches script is very similar to Tooth Fabricator, creating notches, also called teeth, around a path. The variable that are available in AddNotches are “Number of Notches”, “Length of Notches”, “Angle on Notches”, and “Slide along Path”. Number of Notches controls how many of notches appear around the path. Number of Notches must be greater than zero. Length of Notches controls how tall the notches are. Length of Notches must be positive. Slide along Path controls where the notches are located along the shapes edge, shifting them around the path to customize the notch alignment. Slide along Path will be a decimal between one and zero. There is also an “Invert” check box, which will flip the notches from inside to out or outside to in. AddNotches will run as long as there is a selected shape, and will open a window for each individual selected shape. When designing a free form path, a shape that is drawn counter clockwise will be regarded as being inside out.

The AddStitches script is used to create stitching holes, similar to Stitch Fabricator. AddStitches has four variables, “Number of Holes”, “Diameters of Holes”, “Distance from Path”, and “Slide along Path”. Number of Holes controls how many holes are generated inside the the shape. Number of Holes must be greater than zero. Diameter of Holes is the variable that affects the size of the holes that are generated. Diameter of Holes must be positive. Distance from Path manipulates how deep into the shape the holes are. Distance from Path must be positive. Slide along Path controls how where the holes are located following the shapes’ edge, shifting them around the path to customize the alignment of the holes. Slide along Path will be a decimal between one and zero. There is also an “Invert” check box, which will flip the holes from inside to out or outside to in. AddStitches will run as long as there is a selected shape, and will open a window for each individual selected shape. The Stitching method sometimes has difficulties with corners, so rounded shapes are recommended.

The AddLeaves script is similar to Leaf Fabricator, creating leaves around the selected paths. Variables for AddLeaves are “Number of leaves”, “Length of each leaf”, and “Slide along Path”. Number of leaves affect how many any how wide the leaves are. Number of leaves must be greater than zero. Length of each leaf controls how tall the generated leaves are. Length of each leaf must be positive. Slide along Path controls where the leaves are located along the shapes edge, shifting them around the path to customize the leaf alignment. Slide along Path will be a decimal between one and zero. There is also an “Invert” check box, which will flip the leaves from inside to out or outside to in. AddLeaves will run as long as there is a selected shape, and will open a window for each individual selected shape. When designing a free form path, a shape that is drawn counter clockwise will be regarded as being inside out.

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