Wednesday, December 23, 2009

Advances in Architectural Geometry - Vienna 2010



The second Advances in Architectural Geometry conference takes place in Vienna, Austria, from September 18 to 21, 2010.

It is intended to be the premier venue for disseminating new research ideas and cutting-edge results at the interface of geometry processing and architectural design. Scientific chairs of the conference are Cristiano Ceccato, Lars Hesselgren, and Mark Pauly. Keynote speakers are:

Patrik Schumacher (Zaha Hadid Architects)
Rene Ziegler (Waagner Biro Stahlbau)
Gershon Elber (Technion)
David Rutten (Robert McNeel & Associates)

The organization invites you to contribute a paper or a workshop, or simply to visit. More details concerning submission can be found on the conference web page at http://www.architecturalgeometry.at/aag10.

Digitales Entwerfen book



New book 
Digitales Entwerfen (in German only at the moment).

This new book by Marco Hemmerling and Anke Tiggemann from the Detmolder Schule für Architektur und Innenarchitektur describes the basics of CAD for architects and interior designers. 3D modeling is one of the major topics of the publication, including Rhino and Grasshopper.


Announcing Rhino FabLab community


The RhinoFabLab community is a place share, learn and teach different methods of fabrication for industrial designers, architects, and engineers when Rhinoceros is involved in any phase of the design and manufacturing/construction process. It is also a great place to share information about digital fabrication hardware, digital models and Grasshopper definitions.

RhinoFabLab is open to everyone and encourages discussions about any Rhino compatible software and hardware that helps you realize your ideas.

RhinoFabLab urges all Rhino ARTs and ARTCs to post your events, workshops and classes which pertain to fabrication methods and/or processes.

Andres Gonzalez, in the McNeel Miami office, is your host.


Rhino OS X - New Build

There is a new build available, Wenatchee 2009-12-21, with many new features, enhancements, and bug fixes. Also included are:

Additions:

  • The Modeling Aids application preference panel has been implemented.
  • There is a new setting for the middle mouse button in the Mouse application preferences panel. You can now set the middle mouse button to "Pan and rotate view". When this is set, the right mouse button always activates the context menu.
  • Option-clicking an osnap setting in the Osnaps panel turns off all other osnap settings.
Changes:
  • The Paneling Tools plug-in has been updated to the latest version.
  • The crash reporter has been revised so it can send crash reports in more situations.
Everyone is invited to download and use the OS X version of Rhino while it is in development.

Most of the core functionality has been ported from Windows and is very stable. There is still much to do to port the rest of the functionality and refine the interface.

We don't expect the first commercial release to be ready for at least a year. Don't worry if the build you are using is going to expire. New versions will be available every few weeks. There will be a newer one available before the expiration date.

n|Edg: proto architecture installation in Lyon


"nEdg", an installation by THEVERYMANY, was recently on display at the gallery Roger Tator in Lyon, France.

The proto architecture, an assembly of 2,796 unique parts, is the result of a series of RhinoScript investigations about custom relaxation of surfaces and surface tessellation with parts going from 3 to n edges.

Read more and see photos of the installation.

Tuesday, December 22, 2009

New release of PanelingTools for Rhino 4 SR7



The new release of PanelingTools plugin for Rhino 4 SR7 is now available. Download....

New features:
  • Added the new ptPanelGridCustomVariable command with history support. This command allows input pattern to scale, rotate, move or morph based on curvature, attractors or randomly.
  • Added new command ptMeanCurves to find intermediate curves between start and end curves. It does not do curve seam matching. You need to use CrvSeam to align the two shapes seam before running the command.
  • Added new ptSwapGridUV command to swap UV direction of a paneling grid.
  • Added new ptWeaveGrids command to merge two paneling grids.
  • Added new ptConvertToDiagonalGrid command to change the standard rectangular paneling grid to a diagonal one.
  • Added new ptConvertToDiamondGrid command to change the standard rectangular paneling grid to a diamond one.
  • Added four new commands to save and load 2D and 3D patterns to and from a text file format. Those are the patterns created with the 2D/3D pattern manager.
  • Added the new command ptExtractCenterGrid. It generates a new grid based on the center points of some input grid.
  • Added eight new scripting functions.
  • Added "undo" option to ptManage2DPatterns and ptManage3DPatterns commands.
  • Added ProjectionDirection option to ptPanelSurface and ptPanelCurve command when PanelShape=Projected.
  • Added AttractorCurves option to commands: ptOffsetBorder, ptOffestPoints, ptExtrudeEdge, ptOffsetEdge and ptFinEdges.
  • Added history support to ptOffsetPoints command.
  • Added new output format options to ptPanel3D command. It is now possible to choose to output edges, faces, solids and/or meshes.
  • Updated all ptPanel3D built-in patterns to output selected format. Patterns WireBox and Box are merged into one.

Bug fixes:
  • Fixed a ptDirection bug. When rows length is not equal, reversing the direction did not realign end points to be in one column.
  • Fixed a history bug in ptPanelGridCustom command.
  • Made faces directions consistent when using built-in patterns in ptPanelGrid command.
  • Fix ptGridCurve bug. the command used to fail if it cannot calculate a preview grid when no projection is found. the command now allows the user to get to the next step to reset projection and extrusion directions to get desired grid.

Fun stuff:
  • PanelingTools for Rhino 5 WIP 32- and 64-bits is coming soon.
  • Glenn Wilcox posted three new tutorials in his generative design computing. See details....
  • Added two short clips to show how the new ptPanelgridCustomVariable command works with history. See details...
  • There is an upcoming PanelingTools workshop organized by Tex-Fab at the University of Texas at Arlington. See details...

Monday, December 21, 2009

Rhino Assembly at University of Michigan Taubman College



Ann Arbor, MI, USA, and Novosibirsk, Russia, December 17, 2009 – The University of Michigan’s Taubman College of Architecture and Urban Planning and LEDAS Ltd., an independent provider of variational design tools, component technologies, and software development services for CAD/CAM/CAE/PLM market, today announced that LGS 3D geometric constraint solver will be used for scientific research in the field of robotics.

Wesley McGee, a Researcher/Lecturer in Architectural CAD/CAM technologies at the University of Michigan Taubmann College of Architecture and Urban Planning explains: "My current work, along with Dave Pigram of Pratt Institute includes developing robotic scripting applications using Rhinoceros 3D software. We are very interested in LEDAS Rhino Assembly plug-in and the geometric constraint engine it based on. One area we are investigating is the development of kinematic simulation of our robotic workcell in Rhino. We currently use several competing products to handle this, but to have a system completely based in Rhino would provide a lot of freedom. While our scripts are currently very successful at generating robotic code, we still simulate using an offline simulation package. We believe using the LGS 3D engine we may be able to build an offline simulation plug-in for Rhino."

ParaCloud GEM 2010 for Rhino available


ParaCloud is happy to announce the distribution of ParaCloud GEM 2010.
ParaClod GEM supports Rhino 4.0 and Rhino for Mac.

The new version includes many new features and updates to improve the software usability and performance. The new release includes a morphing animation system and layer separation output for material rendering and 3D Printing. (Read More)

Friday, December 18, 2009

Rhino 4 Service Release 7 Now Available

Rhino 4 Service Release 7 is now available to download. Owners of Rhino 4 are encouraged to download and install SR7 today. SR7 contains dozens of stability and crash fixes, as well as enhancements to many commands, including new features:

  • Save: Option to save backup file has been added to the Files tab of Options.
Bug Fixes:
  • Dim: A rounding error has been fixed.
  • Display/Bongo: Bongo preview mode did not display at the correct position when they tranformed. This is fixed.
  • Drag & Drop dialog incorrectly did not come to the top. This is fixed.
  • Fillet: A failure bug when filleting between arcs and lines has been fixed.
  • Installer: SketchUp import did not work properly. This is fixed.
  • Open:SolidWorks: A failure bug has been fixed.
  • Open:DWG/DXF: A problem where some objects were missing in the file has been fixed.
  • Open:DWG/DXF: Importing a revolved solid did not work properly. This is fixed.
  • Open:SolidWorks: A problem opening read-only files (such as those downloaded from email or CD) has been fixed.
  • PointDeviation did not properly update when control points were nudged. This is fixed.
  • Safe mode: CommandHelp is now turned off when running Rhino in safe mode.
  • Section: A failure with planar object bounding boxes has been fixed.
  • SetView did not properly update the viewport projection when setting to perspective. This is fixed.
  • Split: When splitting a surface, the resulting bits did not have the same u-and v-directions as the original surface. This is fixed.

MyRhinoGold social network



MyRhinoGold.com allows members to solve any doubts (Forum Section, FAQ), download Training Materials (Training Guide), see Tutorial Videos (Training Videos as well as short videos answering Forum’s doubts) and see the latest news of RhinoGold. Also, members can publish their designs and be able to see/add events related to RhinoGold such as Trade-Shows, Workshops, presentations and meetings.

VisualARQ 1.0 Service Release 1



VisualARQ 1.0 Service Release 1 is now available, with many enhancements, bug fixes, and new features.

Until December 31st there's an introductory offer of VisualARQ 1.0. See the details here.

Thursday, December 17, 2009

T-Splines představuje vítězné modely aut























Obrázek: Audi A6, vymodeloval Tommi Laiho

Naše gratulace patří vítězům soutěže T-Splines Vehicular Modeling, kterými jsou Tommi Laiho, Jamie Barajas a Fabio Rios. O soutěži a vítězných modelech čtěte zde.

ESRI Import for Rhino, new plugin

Sycode's new plugin, ESRI Import for Rhino, gives Rhino the ability to import geometric data from ESRI shapefiles. ESRI Import for Rhino reads points, polylines and polygons from ESRI shapefiles and creates corresponding points, polylines and polygons in the active Rhino model drawing.

CNC PROTOCOL Workshop: Design to Fabrication Communication

LaN invites professionals and students to attend their four-day CNC PROTOCOL workshop. CNC PROTOCOL will instruct on the use of Rhino as it pertains to digital fabrication (rationalizing complex surfaces, preparing 3D surfaces for various 2D fabrication methods, creating solid models in Rhino for use with 3D printing technology, etc). Valuable plug-ins, including RhinoCAM, RhinoNest, RhinoTerrain and Grasshopper will also be introduced and explored.

Dates: January 6-9, 2010
Location: Microsoft New England Research & Development Center, Cambridge, MA
Cost: $495 professionals; $395 students
Register online.

Wednesday, December 9, 2009

4th Conference CNC Milling Technology in Architecture, Art and Design - Viena (Austria)

4th Conference CNC Milling Technology in Architecture, Art and Design - TU Viena (Austria) - 18 Dec 2009

Sustainability in Computer Aided Manufacturing?

Since 2006 this annual conference at TU Vienna has brought together researchers, practicing experts and business representatives in the field of CNC manufacturing. The major aim is to exchange research results, teaching approaches and ideas of state-of-the-art CAM-technologies with future opportunities to implement in architecture, art, and design. This year’s conference will discuss the question of sustainability related to Computer Aided Manufacturing.

Time: Friday, 18 Dec 2009, 9.30 - 16.30 Uhr
Location: TU Vienna, 1040 Vienna / Karlsplatz 13 / staircase 1 / 4th floor / Kuppelsaal
Free admission
Conference languages: German and English
Program and additional details here

Organization: 
Sigrid Brell-Cokcan brell-cokcan@iemar.tuwien.ac.at
0043-(0)1-58801-27212
Institute of Architectural Sciences/IEMAR: Digital Architecture and Planning
http://www.iemar.tuwien.ac.at
Anita Aigner: aigner@email.archlab.tuwien.ac.at, 0043-(0)1-58801-26426
Institute of Art and Design/Three-Dimensional Design and Modelmaking: http://www.ddg.tuwien.ac.at

Rhino and RhinoAssembly at Russian magazine isicad



The latest issue of the Russian magazine isicad includes a nice article about Rhino and RhinoAssembly.

Vladimir Malyukh of Ledas also reports on EuroMold 2009 trade show.

(Tip: use BabelFish to translate the text into English)

Tuesday, December 8, 2009

Dutch Marine Industry user meeting












Representatives from the leading companies in the Dutch marine industry recently gathered to network and learn from each other how they're using Rhino in their current processes. Through the presentations and discussions that followed, participants learned how they can minimize hours with better integration of Rhino into their workflow of designing and manufacturing yachts and merchant ships.

RhinoCentre organized the event along with the help of TU-Delft University of Marine Technology. Organizers invited McNeel staff to listen in and join the discussion.

Firms represented include:

Thursday, December 3, 2009

Armadillo - new Rhino plug-in

Armadillo is a RhinoScripted plug-in based on generative arrays of items along path curves. It can create wide range of solutions: from the simple array along one curve to complex ribs and paneling systems, with extensive set of transformation features and interactive preview. More...

T-Splines Vehicular Modeling Challenge: deadline extended to Dec 8


Model something vehicular (dashboard, rims, mirrors, etc) with T-Splines and enter it in the T-Splines vehicular modeling challenge. The entry deadline has been extended to December 8th.


Model shown above done in T-Splines by Jamie B.

Tuesday, December 1, 2009

LinceoVR 3.2 for Rhino announced




LinceoVR 3.2 for Rhino has been recently announced. This is a free update for existing users.

New features include:

  • Real Time Raytracing. GPU Raytracing is here to bring the realism of LinceoVR real time rendering beyond more and more.
  • Texture Tracking. Texture Tracking is now available in LinceoVR camera matching mode! User can choose their own generic picture as the target to be tracked in their live videos and photos.
  • 3D Models Import Upgrade. Rhino 3DM file importing has been greatly fixed and improved.

Monday, November 30, 2009

VSR Realtime Renderer for Rhino Beta




VSR Realtime Renderer is a new plugin for Rhino, developed by Virtual Shape Research, for modeling in a new photorealistic environment.

A partial list of features:

  • Rendering environments (cube, cylinder, sphere)
  • HDRI support (environment and reflection)
  • IBL (Image-Based Lighting)
  • Environmental shadows (Rhino light source)
  • Support for Rhino materials
  • Saving of sessions
  • High-resolution hard copy
  • Self- and ground shadows

Friday, November 27, 2009

Rhino Rapid Hull Modeling Methodology



Gerard Petersen has posted several videos, example files and a PDF tutorial about his Rapid Hull Modeling Methodology on his blog Rhinoceros Report. This is a must for naval architects and marine designers.

Thursday, November 26, 2009

Advanced Grasshopper Training in London with ecoLogicStudio at Simply Rhino UK


Simply Rhino UK has just announced a new series of advanced Grasshopper workshops by ecoLogicStudio.

There are 4 workshops, each run as a separate class:

  • WS1 workshop1 - Urban Pavilions - 3-Day Class: Jan 13-15, 2010
  • WS2 workshop2 - Responsive Skins - 4-Day Class: Mar 18-19, 25-26, 2010
  • WS3 workshop3 - Algorithmic Landscapes - 3-Day Class: Jun 9-11,  2010
  • WS4 workshop4 - The Tree House Prototype - 4-Day Class: Sept 16-17, 23-24, 2010
Each event will involve 3-4 days of intensive design workshop with staff from experimental design and consultancy practice ecoLogicStudio, and a final panel-discussion with expert guests from the field of architecture, landscape and urban design. Choose the workshop most appropriate for you or attend all four.

The outline for the first in the series is now available here, with 3 others to follow shortly.

Dates for all 4 workshops plus Introductory Grashopper Classes with David Rutten through 2010 are all listed here.

For prices & availability please contact Simply Rhino UK:
E fionuala@simplyrhino.co.uk T 0208 498 9900.
Concessions for students & academic staff are available on all classes.

madCAM 4.2 shipping



madCAM 4.2 shipping

This is a free service release for existing madCAM 4.1 users.

Partial list of new functions in madCAM 4.2:

  • New technology for simultaneous 4-axis toolpath generation.
  • New Simultaneous 4+1 axis toolpath generator.
  • Simultaneous 4-axis machining from user defined stock models.
  • Multi threading for more calculation speed.

Details, videos and download...

Architect, Rhino Job in Seoul


Wie and Partners in Seoul, Korea, is looking for an architect skilled with Rhino (entry level to less than 5 years experience).

Send resume and portfolio in a PDF format to Jinbok WIE.

Tuesday, November 24, 2009

EuroMold 2009




Dec 2-5 - EuroMold, Frankfurt am Main, Germany

EuroMold is the World Fair for Moldmaking and Tooling, Design and Application Development.

To see what's new in Rhino and a variety of new plugins and hardware, visit our resellers and partners listed here.

SR3 for RhinoGold 2.0 available now



Service Release 3 for RhinoGold 2.0 is now available.

i.materialise 3D printing service


i.materialise is a brand new 3D printing service for everyone who loves design and 3D modeling.

The i.materialise Rhino plug-in will allow Rhino users to upload their model safely from their Rhino interface to i.materialise web site and order a 3D print in a matter of several clicks.

i.materialise also offers a “Create your own” functionality that allows designers to design functional models, like table lamps. Currently in Beta, all new orders automatically include discount, so go ahead and check out the new service at http://i.materialise.com/.

To get more news and information directly from i.materialise join their Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/i.materialise) or Twitter (http://twitter.com/imaterialise), or check the official blog (http://i.materialise.com/blog).

Saturday, November 21, 2009

Architectural Association visiting Chile

The Architectural Association, along with the School of Architecture of the Pontifical Catholic University of Chile, will begin with their Visitor’s School in Santiago, Chile. They will host an intensive 10-day workshop that will be open to architecture students, architects and designers worldwide.



Dates: January 6-15, 2010
Location: Santiago, Chile



Rhino OS X - New Build

There is a new build available, Wenatchee 2009-11-20, with many new features, enhancements, and bug fixes. Also included are:

Additions:

  • You can now attach bitmap or procedure textures to many of the Toucan material settings.
  • The Heightfield command is implemented.
  • Pasted text will now be executed as Rhino commands.
  • Some viewport commands, such as SetActiveViewport, have been implemented.

Changes:

  • The trackpad preference panel now presents only the features available on the current hardware.
Everyone is invited to download and use the OS X version of Rhino while it is in development.

Most of the core functionality has been ported from Windows and is very stable. There is still much to do to port the rest of the functionality and refine the interface.

We don't expect the first commercial release to be ready for at least a year. Don't worry if the build you are using is going to expire. New versions will be available every few weeks. There will be a newer one available before the expiration date.


Dutch Architects Debate



A small group of the world's most prestigious design firms got together in Amsterdam early this week to brainstorm and debate the use of computational tools in building design. Since most of the attendees are heavy Rhino users (along with many other products), we were there to listen and learn how we can be more helpful.

Firms represented include:

The meeting was hosted by Jeroen Coenders at Arup Amsterdam and organized by Pim van Wylick for RhinoCentre. Pim is also the founder of The Form Foundation.

Italian Rhino Book


Rhino Job Postings

New Rhino jobs in:

  • Dubai, UAE
  • Flowery Branch, GA
  • Kiev, Ukraine
  • Lexington, MA
  • Malibu, CA

More details...

Advanced Grasshopper training in Pasadena, December 6th

Forward Design Office in Pasadena, California is offering a one-day Advanced Grasshopper workshop.

This course is geared to users who have an intermediate knowledge of Rhino modeling and a basic understanding of Grasshopper. This one-day advanced Grasshopper workshop will focus on developing strategies for dealing with complex data structures and list management through a series of well defined tutorials that deal with constraint based and associative modeling techniques.

Date: Sunday, December 6
Hours: 9:30am-5:30pm
Location: Forward Design Office
Cost: US$299

This workshop is open to professionals and students. Laptops are required.

Details and registration, please contact Jeffrey Kim.

3D PDF from Rhino



SimLab Soft, released a new 3D PDF export plug-in for Rhino. The plug-in allows the designer to share his/her creation with clients without risking his original 3D design.


PanelingTools Tutorials



Glenn Wilcox, Assistant Professor in Architecture at the University of Michigan, has posted three PanelingTools Tutorials on their Generative Design Computing blog.

Friday, November 20, 2009

Magics Bijoux for Rhino released!

Magics Bijoux incorporates many of the powerful functions from Materialise’s leading rapid prototyping software ‘Magics RP’, to provide an indispensible tool for the 3D printing of jewelry models. This easy-to-use software contains all of the essential and automated tools required, including a file fixing wizard, triangle reduction, surface smoothing, Boolean and platform optimization and analysis.

Magics Bijoux is also equipped with the ability to directly import from Rhino via a plug-in and to directly export slices to Solidscape, ensuring a smooth and efficient jewelry modeling process from start to finish.

Thursday, November 19, 2009

formTOobject Generative Design Workshop - Singapore

Join us at the formTOobject Generative Design workshop that will be held in conjunction with the Singapore Design Festival.

formTOobject is a four-day workshop in a studio setting. Its focus is generative design methods and fabrication of speculative objects and forms, and how those are used in product design, architecture, furniture, sculpture and interactive installations.

Workshop dates: November 23-26, 2009
Fee: $600 Paid entry
Location: The City Hall, Level 4, Courtroom 20

To register, contact Jeffrey Hong.

modeLab primers released

Studio Mode has released a series of conceptual primers related to core data and geometry types as well as data manipulation on their newly redesigned web site, modeLab. Each primer contains a concise concept and description within an example Grasshopper definition. More primers and related material are to be added. Check out their site and stay tuned.

Friday, November 13, 2009

“The Twist” bridge in Vlaardingen (The Netherlands)



“The Twist” bridge in Vlaardingen (The Netherlands)

The new crucial connection in the urban and recreational bicycle network calls for a strong identity in the area. By virtue of its location in a natural green setting on the edge of the city, the bridge is both tempting and surprising to its users. An expressive though subtle sculpture establishes the moment of ‘crossing’ and captures the qualities of the immediate landscape.

Andrew Tang
, Project Architect at West 8, says: "After years of technical studies and design refinement, the bridge is finally realized and opened in May 2009. Using the original Rhino model as a basis, the contractors were able to translate the design into final working drawings for the various components of the bridge. While I’ve used Rhino working on other prestigious projects such as the new Rotterdam Central Station, I sincerely feel that Bridge Vlaardingen really showcase the power and possibilities of Rhino."


Art exhibition by Rinus Roelofs in Spain



If you happen to be in Tudela (Navarra, Spain), don't miss the "Metamorfosis" exhibition by Rinus Roelofs.

Thursday, November 12, 2009

Corian® 3D Math Series



Corian® 3D Math Series is made of six different panels, each inspired by a mathematic principle or the mathematician who gave his name to the principle.

Alessio Erioli, Andrea Graziano, and Corrado Tibaldi used Grasshopper to design these panels.

Monday, November 9, 2009

SmartGeometry Open Platform - TU Delft



Nov 27-29 -
SmartGeometry Open Platform - TU Delft (Holland)

This event will complement SmartGeometry's annual workshop and conference event, bringing many of SmartGeometry's experienced tutors to guide participants in exploring computational design through a variety of technologies. Click here to view the event poster.

The event will run in two parallel streams: one stream will feature training in Generative Components (GC) and Grasshopper, while the second will be a workshop where participants have the opportunity to propose and work on individual design projects using a variety of software platforms. Both streams will offer participants close interaction with tutors from practices and universities known for their accomplishments in computational design and analysis, and complex geometry.

Additionally, the stream featuring GC and Grasshopper will feature tutors from the companies behind each platform, Bentley and McNeel. Those working on individual projects will need to be proficient in their chosen platform but can draw on tutor's skills in various technologies -- for instance Processing, C++/OpenGL, RhinoScript -- as well as tutors' expertise in complex problems of geometry, structure, algorithms, and analysis. Participants will be able to change streams as it suits the development of their work.

In the evenings, participants can attend presentations demonstrating the latest projects and research in computational architecture and engineering.

Rhino and Orca3D at METS Amsterdam



Nov 17-19 - METS - Amsterdam (Holland)

METS is the biggest and best attended meeting place for leisure marine trade professionals in the world.

Come visit the Design Systems & Technologies - NDAR Stand (04.408 French Pavillion) to learn more about Rhino, Orca3D, Hydrocomp and the latest technologies in the fields of yacht, workboat, ship design, production, operation and management. Don't miss the opportunity to meet the representatives from these companies and from McNeel.

Rhino at Elmia Subcontractor exhibition

Nov 10-13 - Elmia Subcontractor - Jönköping (Sweden)

Visit Marinesoft (Booth B04-82) to learn more about Rhino, RhinoCAM, Rhinophoto, T-Splines, reverse engineering tools, Datakit converters, and visualization.

For your your invitation card please pre-register at http://www.elmia.se/sv/subcontractor/For-massbesokare/Forregistrering/?code=F265891

RhinoScript workshop in Dubai, Dec 29-31


Dec 29-31 - RhinoScript workshop - Dubai, UAE

This workshop organized by Maher El-Khaldi (Shape Architecture Practice + Research) aims to highlight two of the main reasons why architects may choose to explore design solutions via scripting. These are automation and embedding of logic. Automation being the ability to delegate tasks to the computer (thus build a computerized product) and embedding of rules being the ability to express design intentions via a set of conditional statements. The above will be explored through RhinoScript.

Rhino Assembly 1.0 released!



Rhino Assembly is the first product from Driving Dimensions line for Rhinoceros. It is a powerful tool for bottom-up assembly design and kinematics simulation using geometric constraints and driving dimensions compatible with the capabilities of mainstream MCAD software packages.
With Rhino Assembly you can easily position your rigid 3D parts with respect to each other by specifying assembly constraints (fixation, concentricity, coincidence, parallelism, perpendicularity, tangency, rigid sets) and driving dimensions (distance and angle) between their faces and edges. The Driving Dimensions plug-in automatically satisfies all constraints and dimensions making a consistent assembly from existing parts. An assembled mechanism can then be animated by varying a parameter of one or more of of its driving dimensions. Assembly Manager tool allows easy navigation over all assembly constraints and driving dimensions imposed on geometric elements of a designed model.

Grasshopper primer, Spanish edition



Francisco Calvo – Katherine Cáceres from Tectónicas Digitales have translated the Grasshopper primer by Andrew Payne (Lift Architects) to Spanish.

Friday, October 30, 2009

Parametric Design Workshop with Grasshopper - New York City



Studio Mode's modeLab is pleased to announce it will offer a Parametric Design Workshop using Grasshopper. This workshop will be a two-day design workshop to be held in New York City, December 5 and 6.
Details and registration information are available on the modeLab site.

Mr. Terrible



"Mr. Terrible" - image by Neil Rabinowitz


Delta Marine, long-time Rhino users, was recently written up in Composites Technology magazine for their innovative use of composites in the design and construction of Mr. Terrible. Read the article online:

Lakewood Guitars



Lakewood Guitars was founded in 1986 by Martin Seeliger with one purpose in mind – to build very special instruments for their customers.

Thursday, October 29, 2009

Rhino OS X - New Build

There is a new build available, Wenatchee 2009-10-24, with many new features, enhancements, and bug fixes. Also included are:

Additions:

  • Viewport properties are implemented.
  • Setting Wallpaper in a viewport is implemented.
  • The Rhino Help menu now has a "Mac Rhino Support Forum..." item to provide easy access to the Mac Rhino support forum.
  • Printing from a render image window is much improved.
  • Rhino notifies the user when it is in the background and a long-running command completes (like a render or Make2D). Rhino uses Growl if it is available, otherwise it uses a Dock notification.

Changes:

  • The main drawing window was revised to more efficiently use screen space.
  • The command options dialog is now smaller and uses less screen space.
Everyone is invited to download and use the OS X version of Rhino while it is in development.

Most of the core functionality has been ported from Windows and is very stable. There is still much to do to port the rest of the functionality and refine the interface.

We don't expect the first commercial release to be ready for at least a year. Don't worry if the build you are using is going to expire. New versions will be available every few weeks. There will be a newer one available before the expiration date.

T-Splines for Rhino Training


T-Splines has posted the new training schedule for this fall.

One-day classes:

  • Nov 10: Seattle, Washington
  • Nov 17: London, United Kingdom
  • Dec 3: Provo, Utah

VisualARQ 1.0 is shipping!



VisualARQ 1.0 is shipping!

Designed for architects, planners, and interior designers, VisualARQ (developed by Asuni CAD) is a Rhino plugin for creating and editing architectural models. It adds parametric 3D objects like walls, columns, doors, windows, and stairs that are suitable for 3D modeling and 2D documentation.

As a fully integrated plugin for Rhino, VisualARQ offers a set of architectural tools that make the design and documentation process faster and easier and a feature-based editor that lets you easily create and edit custom architectural objects.

VisualARQ integrates intuitively in the architectural design workflow with the shortest learning curve and at a very affordable price.

VisualARQ 1.0 features include:

  • A set of architectural tools to streamline the design process, including a powerful feature-based editor to easily create and edit parametric architectural objects.
  • User-friendly wizards, dialogs, and toolbars.
  • Customization options for VisualARQ objects.
  • Tools to create 2D documentation, including sections, opening elevations, schedule tables, and area calculation.
  • A Floor Manager and other useful tools to work with multistory models.
  • A library of standard architectural objects and structural profiles.
  • Savanna3D: A library of over 1000 detailed Rhino blocks with various collections of commonly used objects.
  • Support for any render engine that works with Rhino 4.
  • VisualARQ 1.0 is available in six languages (English, Spanish, German, French, Italian, and Czech).

Pricing:
  • Commercial license: US$/€495.
  • Introductory offer (until January 1, 2010): US$/€395.
  • Educational license (for students and teachers): US$/€195.
  • Lab license (for schools): US$/€675.

Availability:
  • VisualARQ 1.0 is available worldwide and delivered as a physical product.
  • To purchase VisualARQ 1.0 or download an evaluation version, visit http://www.visualarq.com/.

Wednesday, October 28, 2009

Vehicular modeling webinar featuring Kyle Houchens


T-Splines is hosting a free 45-minute webinar to learn how to unlock the power of T-Splines for Rhino on Wednesday, November 4, at 12:00 PM EST.

Authorized T-Splines trainer, Kyle Houchens, owner of The Outside Digital Art and Design, will show how to use T-Splines for free-form car designs, and Matt Sederberg, T-Splines co-founder, will introduce powerful time-saving tools and tips from newly released T-Splines 2.2.

Tuesday, October 27, 2009

New book "Digital Architecture: Passages Through Hinterlands"


Following the Conference and Digital Hinterlands Exhibition held at Arup's Phase 2 Gallery, Ruairi Glynn is pleased to announce the publication of Digital Architecture: Passages Through Hinterlands.

The book covers a spectrum of London’s leading graduates and young practices, featuring projects from the Architectural Association, Bartlett School of Architecture (UCL), University of Westminster and Royal College of Art, and case studies and interviews with architects including Amanda Levete Architects, Plasma Studio, JDS Architects, sixteen* (makers), Horhizon, marcosandmarjan, Mette Ramsgard Thomsen, Philip Beesley, David Greene, Samantha Hardingham, Usman Haque and Neil Spiller.

RhinoDay Italia - 14th Nov 2009 - Università degli Studi di Padova

14 Novembre 2009 - RhinoDay: 6º incontro utilizzatori di Rhino

The 6th edition of the Italian User Meeting takes place this year on the 14th Nov at the Università degli Studi di Padova.

Don't miss the users' presentations and the opportunity to meet staff from McNeel and T-Splines.

Saturday, October 24, 2009

Rhino User - Scott Schneider, New Deal Studios

Scott Schneider is a digital set designer and lead artist at New Deal Studios. A few of the films he has worked on include: The Aviator, Night at the Museum 2, The Dark Knight, Whiteout, Watchmen, The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor, Iron Man, I Am Legend, Live Free or Die Hard, X-Men: The Last Stand, The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines, Reign of Fire, The Scorpion King, The One, The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers, The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, Blade, The X Files, Alien: Resurrection, Men in Black, A Dangerous Woman, Jurassic Park, Edward Scissorhands and many more.

Monday, October 19, 2009

Bongo 2.0 WIP 6 Now Available



You are invited to try the Bongo 2.0 animation plug-in for Rhino 4.0. The sixth work-in-progress version is now available. New features include:
  • Added BongoAddKeyframe command.
  • Mode added to collapse timeline keyframes.
  • Animatable named views.
  • Animatable RDK content (Bongo video texture).


Download Bongo 2.0 WIP 6 from here.