Contour Processing

GEOMETRY · DIGITAL FABRICATION

From raw topographic data to CNC-ready geometry

A computational geometry workflow for turning large sets of CAD contour curves into stepped terrain models for digital fabrication. The method cleans and organizes contour data by elevation, builds adjacency relationships between surfaces, and recursively identifies the regions that belong to the terrain. It was implemented in IronPython for Grasshopper and tested on datasets with more than 1,000 contour curves.

Stepped terrain model generated from contour curves, shown above the original contour diagram