Models - Enigma Machine

The Enigma Machine is essentially a box and so this is what the model was based upon. The model incorporated various boxes to form the wooden case in which the machine itself is kept. To form the lid the Extrude and Inset tools where used to form a rim and then push in the underside face. The surrounding edges were simple boxes, measured and them put into place.

 The internal mechanism of the machine itself was a cylinder which was then ringed with tubes to form the cog mountings. The cogs themselves were formed from flattened cylinders with every other edge bevelled and extruded to form the spokes. in order for these spokes to be suitably sharp faces were deleted and the gaps bridged.

The dials and buttons where mostly just cylinders with some detailing incorporated using the Extrude tool and Vertex modifier give texture to the standard shapes. For some of the oval shaped dials, a sphere was used, flattened and then stretched into the correct shape.

The keybourd was perhaps the most time consuming aspect of this model. The black bases were simple cylinders coloured black and duplicated for the 26 letters. The letters themselves were simple text that was placed upon each of the keys so that they were in the centre. Each key was then grouped (base and letter) so that when the keys were positioned everything could be moved easily. The positioning was made easier by placing the key stalks first. Once the first was placed it was then duplicated at regular intervals to ensure the proper spacing. Once this was done the keys themselves were then placed on top and centred.

Next came the texture. For the casing a worn wood texture was taken from the Internet and Bump added to it, providing a realistic texture. This material was then placed onto the box exterior. Unfortunately the incorporated worn edge did not fall upon the side that it was meant to. To correct this, the UVW Mapping modifier was used that made it possible for the texture to be fitted to the shape and moved into the correct place through manipulation of the U, V and W channels.
Wood was not the only texture within this model design, plastic and metal were also incorporated as part of the machine's casing and inner working as well as some of the controls. 3D Studio Max incorporates certain pre-set textures that provide a great base to work with with regards to these materials. They are accessed through assigning the renderer to be Mental Ray and then entering the Material Editor. Within this menu the various material templates can be accessed and then refined for based upon the user's needs.
For this model a brown platic was needed for the inner casing of the machine. A plastic pre-set was selected then tweeked with regards to colour, glossiness and distortion until the resultant material was suitable for application to the model. A similar technique was used for the metal textures used within this model.

Finally a little more detail was added to the model with addition of screws that were simply fattened spheres with two lines of polygons removed from one side and then the subsequent hole filled. They were simple to make but their addition lends that much more realism to the model.
Additionally, the wires at the front were added by creating a compound object from a spline and a cylinder, this allowed for the wires to all curve differently but also have substance and texture applied.

And there you have it, one Enigma Machine.