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."

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.


Saturday, August 27, 2011

Firefly/Grasshopper/Arduino workshop in NYC


ModeLab has announced the next event in their coLab workshop series: Hybrid Prototypes.

Hybrid Prototypes is a two-day intensive design and prototyping workshop to be held in New York City the weekend of September 24-25, 2011.

The fast-paced workshop will focus on hardware and software prototyping techniques. Using remote sensors, microcontrollers (Arduino), and actuators, we will build virtual and physical prototypes that can communicate with humans and the world around them. Through a series of focused exercises and design tasks, each attendee will make prototypes that are configurable, sensate, and active. As part of a larger online infrastructure, modeLab, this workshop provides participants with continued support and knowledge to draw upon for future learning.


Participants should be familiar with the basic concepts of parametric design and interface of Grasshopper and Arduino.


Friday, August 26, 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.

Thursday, August 25, 2011

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.

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.

Tuesday, August 23, 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 Medellín, 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.

Friday, August 19, 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.

Thursday, August 18, 2011

Parametric Design workshop this weekend

There are still a few seats available in modeLab's Parametric Design Workshop this weekend.

Dates: August 20-21
Location: New York City


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.

Friday, August 12, 2011

Grasshopper training, updated

Several Grasshopper training opportunities have been announced recently. Take a look...



Tuesday, August 9, 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.

Friday, August 5, 2011

EvoluteTools workshop - Design Modelling Symposium Berlin


Workshop III at the Design Modelling Symposium Berlin 2011:
"A top-down approach for designing panelisations and patterns on architectural freeform surfaces"

Traditional CAD tools limit the designers to using a bottom-up approach for paneling freeform surfaces by building up panel upon panel with certain restrictive rules to reach an approximation of the original design intent. Such an approach has limited applicability for complex geometries, which have gained increasing interest in contemporary architecture. New computational tools are needed to accommodate new design trends and to enable true construction-aware freeform design. In this workshop we will present a top-down approach for paneling freeform surfaces, where the designer has true creative freedom for modeling organic shapes and is still able to break down these forms into aesthetical, buildable, and cost-effective components.

Seats are limited, register early.

Thursday, August 4, 2011

RoboFold Workshop: Robotic Facade Fabrication - London


RoboFold Workshop: Robotic Facade Fabrication
September 12-16, 2011
RoboFold, London

The first facade design and fabrication workshop at the new RoboFold fabrication studio in London.

Four days of folding, simulation, and robotic fabricationplus an optional extra day of 1:1 facade build.

We will be using Kangaroo and Lobster with Grasshopper for simulation, and our CNC router and robots to cut and fold aluminum panels.

Tutors: Gregory Epps and Daniel Piker with Jeg Dudley as assistant tutor.

Go the Workshop page on the RoboFold web site for an overview of the schedule. See the Events page for booking details.


Symposium Digital Fabrication - a State of Art - Lisbon


Symposium Digital Fabrication - a State of Art
ISCTE-IUL in Lisbon, Portugal
Sep 9-10, 2011

This symposium brings together in Portugal, ISCTEIUL, a set of internationally renowned investigators in the field of Digital Fabrication and Architecture.

Keynote speakers:

- Kevin Klinger (Ball State University)
- Vicent Guallart (IaaC)
- Bob Sheil (Bartlett UCL)
- Gabriela Celani (UNICAMP)
- Tobias Bonwetsch (ETH Zurich)


The workshop - by José Pedro Sousa (FAUP/DARQ/OpoLab) - will provide to a broad audience (students, professionals, and non professionals) the opportunity to experiment and try new methods of approaching the issues outlined in the conference cycle. The workshop will take 7.5 hours and it is composed of two modules. In the first module parametric modeling techniques (Grasshopper) with the use of CAD-CAM systems will be exposed. In the second module rapid-prototyping techniques will be experimented and applied to real construction materials. The aim of the workshop is to apply digital manufacturing techniques through the production by laser cutting or milling machine to prepare a 3D solid model.

Complete information and registration at http://digitalfabricationiscte.wordpress.com/

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

Master • Computational Design and Construction


New post-graduate master program at Detmolder Schule für Architektur und Innenarchitektur, Institute of higher education in Germany

Digital technologies have altered the field of architecture and the architect´s profile effectively -- from the design to the fabrication process.

The Master Computational Design and Construction provides scientific and practical foundations of digital design and construction methods and an extensive overview of the latest developments and technologies. Through its associated institute Werkstatt Emilie, the Detmolder Schule für Architektur und Innenarchitektur in Germany starts the master program in October 2011. It  requires post-graduate work experience and incorporates the professional aspects of higher architectural education and the functional aspects of information technology. An independent occupational profile between the design and realization process is set up. On one hand it works on the integration of data relevant for the design in a consistent 3D-model. On the other hand it works on the transfer of a digital model into a realistic building via machine-aided methods of manufacturing.

To convey further knowledge of these technologies is the main goal of the Master´s curriculum.

The study is based on the following principles:
  • Computer-aided methods as cross-linking of design, construction and fabrication process (Python, Grasshopper)
  • Inter- and transdisciplinary exchange
  • Full-time study related to practice
  • Synergy and additional benefit out of the connection between university, companies, and external professionals
  • Integration of compact workshops and symposium
The Master Computational Design and Construction addresses graduates of architecture, interior and product design, civil and mechanical engineering, as well as information technology and related studies. Cooperation projects and master theses serve as starting point for collaborations with the building industry and the design offices.

Contact:

Hochschule Ostwestfalen-Lippe
Dipl.-Ing. Anke Tiggemann
Emilienstr.45
D-32756 Detmold
info@m-cdc.de
T +49 (5231) 769 -711


Past projects:

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.

    Tuesday, August 2, 2011

    Rhino training for design managers, NYC

    Authorized Rhino Trainer, Dominic Ventura at Rule of Three Design, has created a two-day course designed to teach design and product development managers the skills necessary to manage Rhino files and associated data.

    Location: Rule of Three Design, New York, NY
    Dates: August 23 & 30 or September 20 & 27
    Cost: US$995.00 (inquire about corporate pricing)
    Contact: Rule of Three Design at (917) 923-6151 to register.

    About the course...
    Using the concept of data management, the main focus is learning to leverage digital information and its direct application to design and manufacturing. The objective is to give participants knowledge of opening and working with Rhino files to navigate 3D space, print layout sheets and images, red line and markup files, measuring and dimensioning, and rapid prototyping for product review.

    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.