Manufacturing | Suspended Ceilings - Automating Suspended Ceiling Systems using Rhino.Inside

From 2D Blocks to Domain Objects

The tool elevates raw AutoCAD geometry into intelligent domain objects. Users define ceiling extents via standard 2D blocks, which the system automatically converts into its own ceiling instances.

• Smart Configuration: Users assign specifications — material, perforation, finish, acoustic fleece — select panel shapes (rectangular, triangular, plank), and define grid layouts as standard modules or fully custom grids sketched as lines directly in AutoCAD, which the solver validates against system design rules before generating the panel and suspension layout.
• Interactive Design: We implemented a 'minimize-to-capture' UX pattern. Users can click a button to minimize the UI, snap to a grid origin point in AutoCAD, and watch the app instantly regenerate the ceiling grid to that intersection.

Live 3D Visualization

The tool features a Material Design WPF interface with an embedded Rhino viewport that updates in real time.

• Event-Driven Feedback: Every user action - changing the pitch, rotating the grid, or swapping a trim profile - triggers an immediate regeneration of the 3D ceiling schematic in the viewport.
• Visual Correlation: Break points added by mouse-click in AutoCAD partition each perimeter or opening into discrete segments. Each segment receives an indexed ID rendered in the 3D viewport that maps to its corresponding row in the UI, so users always know exactly which edge they are assigning a trim to.

Algorithmic Solver Pipeline

The core engine uses a Strategy Pattern to dynamically select the correct generation logic based on the client's product system.

• Design Rule Enforcement: The solver automatically validates inputs against manufacturing constraints - preventing invalid trim assignments on curved edges or enforcing mandatory tee offsets around diffusers.
• State Persistence: We utilized the Memento Pattern to capture the entire configuration state into JSON. This allows users to close the tool and resume their session exactly where they left off, without data loss.

The solve itself runs as a multi-phase pipeline: edge-loop resolution (perimeter, voids, openings), datum grid generation, panel grid construction, suspension grid assembly — with main tees positioned by linear packing and cross and slotted tees sequenced to the grid — and finally trim, clip, and accessory placement. Each phase feeds a layered cache architecture, so a single input change invalidates and recomputes only what it affects.

Selective Regeneration

To prevent drawing corruption, we engineered an object-tagging system. Every entity created by the solver is tagged with a persistent ID. When a user regenerates a ceiling, the solver queries these tags to erase only its own entities before writing the replacement geometry, leaving user-created entities untouched.