These 3D models are made for use as graphical interface objects in the Cycling'74 software Max/MSP. For anyone who's interested, Max/MSP (and Jitter) is a software environment for creating computer programs; mainly to do with music.
MAX
Max, MSP and Jitter are really three separate software libraries - with Max being the umbrella program. Max is primarily for MIDI control, MSP is for audio, and Jitter for video and matrix processing.
Max allows you to create 'patches' that send, receive, and otherwise process MIDI information, for controlling synthesizers, drum machines, and other software sequencers 'n' stuff. Max can also be controlled by MIDI interfaces, such as MIDI keyboards, drum-pads, and other cool HID devices such as Wii remotes, and a host of sensors
MSP
MSP 'objects' can be used in the Max environment, and allow for realtime processing of audio data. All sorts of oscillators, filters, delay lines, and wavetables can be hooked up to design and build your own soft-synths, effects prcessors and even plugins for use in sequencers such as Cubase and Ableton-Live. (Apparrently they are making a special Ableton/Max collaboration edition in which Max/MSP patches can be loaded directly into Ableton!!! How cooool!) ...(I also heard [from a reliable source] that Ableton-Live was actually designed in Max/MSP!!)
JITTER
Jitter 'objects' can also be used in the Max environment, and allow for realtime processing of multi-dimentional matrix data - which is ideal for 2D video processing, and for 3D geometry. Together with Max and MSP, some really cool audio-visual projects can be created - such as The Adder-Pad, a syneasthetic software instrument I created for my 3rd year Sound and Music Production degree. Jitter also allows for the integration of digital cameras and webcams into the control of your patches.
CREATING A DIAL FOR MAX/MSP
Blender is ideal for creating original graphics to extend the user-interfaces of Max, as the software is SO good ..SO FREE!! ...and also 'cos it's so easy to animate the buttons and dials to create a smooth and realistic movement over as many frames as you like.
DIALS
To create a dial for use in Max, you have to make a comp'ed image, by lining up all your frames end to end, so that Max can access the correct part of the image depending on the value the dial is showing. This can be done by making a model of the dial, and animating it's full rotation over as many frames as you require (the amount of frames depends on the size of your dial, as the images have to be in pict format, which will corrupt if it's too long). Most of my dials range from 16 to 50 images.
BUTTONS and TOGGLES
Buttons and Toggles can also be made, which obviously need far less frames. Buttons can have just two images; 'Standard' and 'Clicked'; but you can also add 'Disabled' versions of each. Toggles require 4 images; 'On', 'Off', On-Clicked', and 'Off-Clicked'; these too can have 'Disabled' versions.
RENDERING
In these examples, I've tried to make the dials appear 3-dimentional, using some basic lighting and shadows, though some are rendered using an orthographic view-point. Lighting can also be used to depict an On/Off state, as I've done by modelling LEDs.
I've also tried to add a bit of realism in using a slight reflectivity on some of the materials, using a photo of a sky-line, or an interior to reflect. This can be done by using Blender's 'Ray Mirror' settings, for ray-traced rendering effects, either by setting the photo as the 'Sky' image, or by creating a 2D plane to put behind the camera, using the photo as its texture.