Tuesday, August 30, 2011

German electric motorcycle takes first prize for thesis

Zlatko Kraljevic designed an electric motorcycle for his thesis from Fachhochschule Muenster University of Applied Science. He was awarded first prize among the 59 interesting and diverse works. With adjustments in the seat and handlebars, the innovative motorcycle can be either a cruiser or a sport tourer.

Using Rhino in combination with SOLIDWORKS , Zlatko was able to develop the complex free-form shapes. "With the intuitive way of use of Rhino I was able to finish my project in little time."

Monday, August 29, 2011

T-Splines webinar series

During the month of September, T-Splines will be hosting a series of three free webinars, showing how T-Splines for Rhino can be used to model and design a car body.


  • Part 1: Sept 1 - Roughing out the shape of the body, building the A and C pillars.

  • Part 2: Sept 8 - Adding wheel wells and bumpers, getting an accurate model.

  • Part 3: Sept 13 - Final details, spoilers, mirrors, vents, preparing the model for data transfer.


MecSoft launches Chinese web site



Along with their Rhino reseller partner, Cogito Software, MecSoft Corporation announces the launch of a new web site localized for the Chinese language.

In addition to the language translation, the web site’s design and content have been carefully scripted to be in compliance with the Chinese government’s Golden Shield Project. This provides visitors in the People’s Republic of China full access through the Great Firewall, a colloquial term used to describe the country-wide firewall.


Thursday, August 25, 2011

New Grasshopper book, Strip Morphologies

zubin2

Zubin M Khabazi has added a book to his Grasshopper Generative Algorithms series, Strip Morphologies.

Subjects cover both design and fabrication definitions in Grasshopper. Zubin also explores a few membrane structure case studies through the design, prototyping and fabrication process.

GlassBuild America - Glass, Window and Door Expo

GlassBuild America is the gathering place for the glass, window, and door industries in North America.

Exhibitors will showcase glass processing equipment, window and door manufacturing equipment, and the latest technologies for all types of glass and fenestration products.

Rhino partner, Prodim USA, will have their Proliner 2D, 3D measurement device and Rhino in their booth #41.

Wednesday, August 24, 2011

Python for Practitioners workshop




Join instructors Skylar Tibbits and German Aparicio for Design & Automation: Python for Practitioners. The weekend workshop will be an introduction to Iron Python and Python for Rhino 5 with an emphasis on automation and integration with design tools for architectural practice. Topics include automation, parametrics and digital fabrication.

Dates: Friday-Sunday, September 23-25
Price: $399/$199 professionals/students before Sept 16; $450/$250 after Sept 16
Location: Santa Monica, CA


Scan&Solve webinar on September 8

Join Vadim Shapiro and Michael Freytag of Intact Solutions as they showcase Scan&Solve. The Scan&Solve plugin allows for fully automated structural analysis, visualization, and exploration in Rhino. Their webinar presentation will explain the key concepts and ideas behind Scan&Solve, explain its uses, applications, and benefits, demonstrate its functionality, and discuss future plans for this breakthrough technology.

Date: Thursday, September 8
Time: 9:00 AM-10:30 AM (PDT)


This presentation is for all Rhino users interested in the strength and structural properties of their Rhino models. No prior experience with analysis or Scan&Solve is assumed.

Monday, August 22, 2011

Opening Reception for Density Frames

University of Southern California (USC) invites you to an opening reception today from 6 to 8 pm at their University Religious Center in Los Angeles.  The event celebrates Gail Peter Borden's newest installation, Density Frames, which was designed with Rhino. Gail, a principal of the as Borden Partnership LLP,  is the Assistant Professor of Architecture and newly appointed Director of the Graduate Program.

Located on the north end of the campus in the courtyard of an iconic modernist building, the installation is a variably triangulated structure supporting a multistory pneumatic structure.

Refreshments will be served and a DJ will be there to help celebrate.

The installation is open 24 hours a day and will remain up until December 15th.

Saturday, August 20, 2011

SCAD scholarship awarded to Rhino user

Manuela Palacio, a student at Columbus School in MedellĂ­n, Columbia, has won a $3000 scholarship to attend Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD) in Georgia. This worldwide challenge was to create a residence hall room for college. Manuela used Rhino to create and illustrate her ideas, including the furniture and decor. Manuela has been using Rhino for about two years.

Thursday, August 18, 2011

Rhino 5 OS X - New WIP release

A new Work In Progress (WIP) build of Rhino 5 for OS X is now available. This Mac build is up to date with the Windows build.  There is a new Windows WIP release every week or so and an updated Rhino for Mac WIP will be released shortly after each Windows release. 


The Rhino 5 for Mac version supports 64 and 32-bit Intel architectures. This Mac version will automatically run in 64-bit mode on Core 2 Duo Intel processors or later, so running out of memory should no longer be a problem. It requires OS X 10.6 (Snow Leopard) or later.

Note: OS X 10.5 (Leopard) and PowerPC are no longer supported.

Recent enhancements include:
  • The latest 5.0 Windows Beta changes, including:
    • better stability
    • many command enhancements
    • faster drawing speeds
    • display enhancements
    • new commands
    • new editing tools (gumball and subobject editing)
  • Support for OS X 10.7 (Lion)
  • Bug fixes

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 until next year. Don't worry if the build you are using is about to expire. New versions will be available every week or so. There will be a newer one available before the expiration date.


Notes:
  • Python developers need to download the latest Python plug-in (32-bit only) from here.
  • The Apple 10.7 OpenGL driver for ATI graphics chips is buggy and crashes often if antialiasing is not set to None. This affects most newer Apple laptops. The antialiasing setting is currently ignored on these Apple computers and antialiasing is always disabled.

Online Rhino training in September

Are you looking for online Rhino training? If you answered "yes", then consider attending our Online Level 1 Rhino course next month. Our September class will be half-day sessions held on Mondays, Tuesdays, and Thursdays over a two week period. There will be an orientation day on Wednesday the week prior to class. Details are below...

Dates: September 7-22
Orientation: Wednesday, September 7, 9:00 am-10:30 am (PDT*)
Training: Mon/Tues/Thur, Sept 12, 13, 15, 19, 20 and 22, 9:00 am-12:30 pm (PDT)

Price: US$200 - Seats are limited; sign up today!



*Calculate your time zone.

Wednesday, August 17, 2011

Stressed chair

Dauphin Human Design Group take pride in the chairs they design. They put a lot of effort in testing and development. Each design is put through stringent performance tests. If the chair fails, the chair is redesigned.

Now Dauphin uses Scan&Solve (SnS), a plug-in for Rhino, almost daily to do stress tests on Rhino models and solve any design problems with the chair components. Manufacturing discusses the design options with Engineering, eliminating the step of shipping samples between offices and waiting weeks for a fail/nofail report.

The Eddy chair started as a fragile frame, breaking in a "tip back failure'. Welding, back bars, clips, and steel specifications were all analysed before the prototype was built. With careful redesign, the chair ended up with a battle tank frame, but with the original aesthetics.

Ian Boyd, of Dauphin Human Design Group, raves about the changes,  "Since we started using SnS, not a single component analysed has been returned with structural failure. Not one. If ever I came across an application that earns its keep, this is it."


Saturday, August 13, 2011

Rhino projects highlighted in AECCafe

09FDIP in Lordelo, Portugal by Spaceworkers

More interesting Rhino and Grasshopper projects are being showcased by AECCafe, the online magazine.

Monday, August 8, 2011

NBBJ Job Opening: Design Computation

NBBJ Los Angeles is seeking an expert in Design Computation who will be placed in a co-leadership position with a collaborative team of experts.

The Designer they are seeking must have a proven track-record for pushing the boundaries of design by drawing upon a deep interest in science, mathematics and computing. This individual should possess experience in applying technology driven methodologies in the context of real-world design problems. Read more...

Saturday, August 6, 2011

Advanced Rhino webinar, August 31

Novedge continues their webinar series with Advanced Rhino on Wednesday, August 31, at 11:00 AM (PDT). The webinar will present some of the advanced features of Rhino. Brian James will show how to effectively and successfully integrate Rhino in design and manufacturing processes, as well as how to exchange data with other CAD and CAM systems without compromising the geometry.

Evolving Hybride Male sculptures

Catharina van de Ven, a sculptor from the Netherlands, likes to explore different production methods for her work.  In her current work, she wanted to achieve symmetry and smoothness "like a car" for her Hybride Male series.

Catharina first made a clay sculpture. Through the Internet, she contacted Dot San in Scotland, who built a Rhino model from the clay sculpture.

Next, a small white 18 cm model was printed at Shapeways in Holland. The design was modified and the small black 8 cm model was printed. This design was approved and the big model was printed and sprayed metallic black. A silicon mold was made from the big model and a limited edition bronze model was cast and finished in Belgium. The bronze model is now being shown at exhibitions.

Thursday, August 4, 2011

Sens[e-Res]ponsive Architecture Workshop - Greece


The Sens[e-Res]ponsive Architecture Workshop will take place during 22-29.08.2011 at the Department of Architecture at the Technical University of Crete in Chania, Greece.

The overall discourse of the workshop revolves around the contextual and material frameworks of mediums, tools and techniques to create sensponsive environments that extend from useful to collaborative, developing a "sense" of their own. This year’s theme involves the design of an intriguing space for children with responsive partitions, utilizing Rhino, Grasshopper with Firefly and Arduino.

Maxwell Fire interactive technology in Rhino


The new Maxwell Fire interactive technology is now included in Maxwell Render 2.5 for Rhino.


Bunkspeed Move with 3DM import







Bunkspeed Move 2012 Release Candidate is available now with Rhino 3DM support.

What it isn’t ...


Move is not like any of the typical animation and rendering software. It doesn’t have thousands of tweakable sliders, an infinite array of settings to get your task done. See for yourself.
Move doesn’t take months to learn or years to master. Within a couple of hours, you’ll be amazed at the results that can be achieved, with short video tutorials.


Wednesday, August 3, 2011

RhinoPiping 0.8.31 available


RhinoPiping is a new plugin, developed by NAVINN Software, to create piping networks in a 3D environment and to forward information to people working in engineering offices, purchasing, subcontracting, manufacturing, assembly, and testing.

Partial list of features:
  • Import a model into your 3D environment.
  • Describe the standards and rules of conception.
  • Model, modify, analyze, inform, show 3D piping networks.
  • Edit your coordination drawings, your isometrics views, as well as your manufacturing drawings and your detailed part lists.
  • Exchange your files with other PLM, CAD/CAM and CAE software packages
  • Innovations in the GUI innovations: meta-functions, decision support, automatic capitalization of acquired information.
  • Unlimited editing: Modifications are unlimited to provide you with greater adaptability and a faster reaction to changes.
  • Customization: RhinoPiping adapts itself to your way of working and to your needs.
  • Small investment: No specific hardware requirements. Affordable price. Easy to use.

beSIEged, an exhibit of conceptual art by Jan Kokol


beSIEged
an exhibit of conceptual art by Jan Kokol, MIT 2010, Harvard GSD 2011
www.jankokol.com
July 1-October 1, 2011

Jan Kokol is a long time Rhino user doing Architecture, Painting and Conceptual Art and Design Robotics. Don't miss his exhibit if you are in MA.

Watch also these videos:

    Going to Vancouver, BC?



    You just have to stop and see the VanDusen Botanical Garden's new Visitor Centre designed by Busby Perkins + Will and fabricated by StructureCraft Builders Inc. It will be open this September.

    Parametric Design Workshop in NYC, Aug 20-21


    ModeLab is conducting one last Parametric Design Workshop for the summer.

    Dates: August 20-21
    Location: New York City


    About the workshop...
    This workshop will include a newly redeveloped curriculum and a series of supporting lectures as a means to engage both the conceptual, as well as technical domains of applied parametric design. Emphasis will be placed on workflows that utilize constraint-based design, associative modeling techniques, and environmental influencers to discover novel and inventive design solutions through the use of Grasshopper.

    Monday, August 1, 2011

    Ring Builder for Rhino V3


    Cadwax just announced Ring Builder for Rhino V3.

    This new version adds a Materials toolbar, Scene lighting, and Rhino rendering.