003 – Creating A Basic Box Geometry

Everything is set up - now what?

In our previous blog posts we talked about how you can get started with Grasshopper and all the basic terminology that you need to know. Now, presuming everything went to plan, you’ve got everything setup and you’re ready to start modeling.

Maybe you’ve already started playing around with everything or you’ve been devouring some of our useful tips and tricks over on our YouTube channel. Whether you’re just starting or already have a little bit of an idea how to work space functions, we’re about to show you how to create some basic geometry.

Creating a basic box geometry.

So by the end of this article, you should be able to generate a 3D box that is visible in the Rhino workspace.

Firstly, make sure your screen is set up in a way that allows you to work easily. We recommend that you have a view that allows you to see Rhino on the left side of your screen and Grasshopper on the right side. This way any steps that you make in Grasshopper will be visible to you in Rhino.

Step 1: There are many ways to create a box in Grasshopper. In this tutorial, we want to create a box between two points. Double click on the Grasshopper canvas and write "Box" as a keyword. In the list of options that shows up, and then select "Box 2pt" to place it on the canvas.

Step 2: We do not yet see anything in Rhino, and the "Box 2pt" component is orange. The problem is that we have not yet defined the two points to use to create this box. We can add the points by searching for them like we did for the box, but we can also use the ribbon on the top of your Grasshopper window. Under the tab params, expand the geometry components, and click on X symbol (Point). You can now click on your Grasshopper canvas to place this component.

Step 3: This component is also orange: it can contain a point, but does not create one. We can either use another Grasshopper component to construct a new point, or set a point in Rhino. In your Rhino window, place a point and then select it. In the Grasshopper canvas, right click your point component and click on "Set one Point". Your point component now turns gray, since it now receives data.

Step 4: On the Grasshopper canvas, drag a wire from the right node of the point component to the left A input of your box component.

Step 5: Add a second point in Rhino (at a different location) and a second point component in Grasshopper. Again use "Set one Point" to connect the two.

Step 6: Drag a wire from this second point component to the B input of your box component. A box is now created between your two points! Move one of your points in Rhino, and see that the size of your box is also updated.

Basic Geometry Tip

If you would like to level up your knowledge even further then we have a video on basic geometry in our Grasshopper Explained playlist.

Would you like to know more? #jointhepack

Packhunt was developed with Grasshopper and other parametric applications in mind and it can provide you with control over your Grasshopper models. If you’d like to continue expanding your Grasshopper knowledge, get in touch with us via this contact form. We’d be happy to answer any questions you may have.