Computer simulation plays an important role in the design of the sculptures. It allows the visualization of each piece prior to construction to insure that the piece has the desired form and balance when viewed from any direction.

When I first started making ribbon sculptures in 2005, I quickly realized the need for a way to visualize new shapes. Commercial CAD programs were not easy to adapt to this task. Because of my engineering background, the option of writing my own software was not intimidating.

The first version of the software was written in the "C" programming language, and was built on the foundation of a 3D rendering demo from Apple's Software Developer web site. I added code for mathematically describing each section of a ribbon, and menus to piece together a number of sections. The 3D rendering allowed me to rotate the sculpture and view it from any direction.

New shapes are made by simply playing with different size and shape pieces on the computer screen (I always liked playing with Tinkertoys when I was younger). As you work with these ribbon shapes, you find that it's possible to replace one sequence of sections with a slightly different sequence of sections to create a new and interesting shape.

Often, one can visualize a shape in one's mind, but getting the math right to make a closed loop is an entirely different matter. The math equations often are too complex to solve using trigonometry. For many shapes, I find the need for a "trial-and-error" approach where one can vary certain angles and see the result on the sculpture.

Thus, I wrote a new version of the software from scratch using the "Java" language in 2007. With the new software, I can assign certain parameters to slider bars and watch the shape change on the screen as the slider bar is moved (changing the parameter).

The ability to modify a parameter and see the result in real-time enabled the solution to the Circle of Fifths sculpture.

The sculpture required a total of 42 segments (21 in each of two staved bowls). Cutting the bowls into 5/21 and 16/21 sections resulted in a shape that didn't close. By varying the angle and diameter of each bowl, I was able to determine values that would give me a closed shape.

At present, I have no plans to market the software. I find that for each new challenge, I modify the software to help solve the problem. Thus, the program is continually changing to meet the needs of new shapes and designs.