New Orca3D WIP 1.2.1

Available now - the release of a new Work-in-Progress (WIP) version of Orca3D. This new version (1.2.1) contains several new features, improvements, and bug fixes. Some highlights include:

• OrcaStraightenPoints: Added a new command to place control points (or point objects) in a straight line in 3D, or in the 2D projection of a line.
• Lines Drawing: Sections in the lines drawing are put on layers that mimic the Orca3D section layers in the model.
• Lines Drawing Fixes: Addressed issue with diagonals being offset when the full hull was sectioned, addressed issue with scaling when the full hull was sectioned, all lines are now drawn on the same plane.
• Stability Criteria Fixes: Calculation of Hybrid Ratio corrected, calculation of areas under curves corrected, corrected calculation of heavy lifting and icing heeling arms.
• Resistance Prediction Fixes: Added total propulsive power output (PpTotal) to CSV export of planing hull and displacement hull analyses.
• Lightweight Extrusion Objects: Fixed a bug in copying weight/cost data when copying lightweight extrusion objects in Rhino 5. 


This WIP will expire on January 31st. Either the final version of Orca3D 1.2 will be released before then, or a new WIP will released.

Purchase Orca3D...

Learn more and download Orca3D WIP 1.2.1...

Rhino to Alias Plugin Release Final Version



Digital Sculptors introduces the only direct translator for Alias to import Rhino files.  Rhino To Alias Plugin will import 3DM files to Alias.  After three months of preview releases, the Rhino to Alias Release Final Version is available.

Details, download, and purchase Rhino to Alias Plugin...

Digital Sculptors home page...

Grasshopper VB workshop materials

WooJae Sung recently taught a Grasshopper VB Scripting workshop at Harvard GSD. He has been kind enough to share his course work and has made it available for download on his site.

Available in English and Korean.

Details and download...

Shape To Fabrication photos and videos

With 200 participants from all over Europe (and some from US and Canada), the Shape To Fabrication 4 conference was a big success (some photos here).

Preceded by four days of intense workshops (here are some flicker photos and here are some nice videos featuring the Evolute workshop), London's premier architects, engineers, fabricators and contractors showcased amazing projects done in Rhino, including speakers from Populous, Aedas, Luca Biselli, Simmonds Studio, AKT, Arup, Buro Happold, Zaha Hadid Architects, Yolles, Amanda Levete Architects.

Software manufacturers: 

• Chaos group presented the upcoming V-Ray for Rhino 1.5 (expected to be released Q1 2012), a new version that matches the functionality found at V-Ray 2.0 for 3D Max, including real time rendering. 
• Giulio Piacentino introduced RhinoPython to the community. 
• RhinoTerrain announced two new future modules for Rhino 5: RhinoCity and RhinoRoad. 
• Evolute did a great demo on its Rhino plug-ins for geometry optimization and the new version 1.2. 
• The SMART Form and SMART Move VIZ tools by Buro Happold on real-time analysis. Simulation tools for rapid design optimizations were also a hit. 
• KUKA|prc (parametric robot control), a plug-in for Grasshopper that for the first time enables robot control from within architectural software, was presented by Sigrid & Johannes (Robots in Architecture Association). 
• Francesc Salla from Asuni showed VisualARQ's new version. 
• Symvol for Rhino, a new tool for volume based 3D design and modeling by Uformia, was simply a revolution. 
• David Rutten explained the second solver available from within Galapagos which implements the Simulated Annealing algorithm (presentation here).
• And Daniel Piker made a great presentation about Kangaroo live physics engine with projects by students and commercial users.

HP explained how they see 3D printing in architecture through a very nice video at Span Architects.

At the closing session, the conference organizers announced a new Master program to be held at the South Bank University London.

Keep your eyes open for STF5 in 2012!

EuroMold Frankfurt

November 29-December 2 - 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 plug-ins and hardware, visit our resellers and partners listed here.

Also, don't miss the presentation by Virtual Shape Research showing its modeling and analysis plug-ins for Rhino:

• "Fast, precise and affordable surface modeling for the design process" by Virtual Shape Research - Thursday December 1 at 2:30pm at the Design and Engineering Forum. 

Engaging generative BIM workflows

"Generative tools such as Grasshopper are being utilized to explore architectural projects and influence design decisions with increasing popularity. Rapidly produced multitudes of options will not be utilized to full potential if entire design team assessments take days or weeks to fulfill. Maintaining and coordinating external documentation models is redundant and consuming work. To maximize the potential of these tools, teams must efficiently assess multiple objectives and criteria, to seek optimal solutions. Utilizing the generative information model as input to analysis and simulation tools (including structure, services, environmental, construction programming, and cost assessments) can facilitate superior design decisions."

Jon Mirtschin (GeometryGym) recently presented at IABSE-IASS London,   LSAA Australasia, and Algode Tokio. 

Read his technical paper on Engaging Generative BIM Workflows.

Bongo 2.0 Beta 7 Now Available

You are invited to try the Bongo 2.0 animation plug-in for Rhino 4.0. This is the seventh Beta version of Bongo 2.0 for Rhino 4.0 and 5.0.

The beta is open for all Rhino users!

Download Bongo 2.0 Beta 7 from here.

MadCAM 4.3 released!

MadCAM 4.3 is a free service release for existing madCAM 4.x users.

A partial list of new functions in madCAM 4.3:

• Contour remachining: (Expert-level)
  Automatic rest material contour machining calculated from previous cutter. This function works for 3-axis, 4-axis, and simultaneous 5-axis.
• Axis of revolution: (4-axis and Expert-level)
  New option for calculating towards or away from the axis of revolution. This makes it possible to cut the inside of a shape with 4-axis or 5-Axis tool paths.
• Profiling: (4-axis and Expert-level)
  New option for keeping the cutter perpendicular to curve when using 2D-profiling in 4-axis.
• V-carving: (4-axis and Expert-level) New V-carving option when using From boundary Curves.

• madCAM License: Two new certificates for Entry + Remachining and 4-axis + remachining. You can buy each bundle or upgrade from the Entry level or 4-axis version.

Details, videos, and download...

See madCAM at EuroMold Frankfurt!
 

SIGraDi presentation by Pablo C. Herrera

"Technology moves much faster than pedagogy can possibly adapt. Students must often teach themselves in order to keep up with new programs and techniques."

But that is not the whole story on how Rhino, RhinoScript, and Grasshopper came to be so widely embedded in Latin American architecture design education. For the rest of the story, see Professor Pablo C. Herrera's presentation to his colleagues at SIGraDi.

Details...

T-Splines 3.3 new reverse engineering tools

T-Splines 3.3 for Rhino (to be released in late November) will contain new tools for reverse engineering. You can fit T-Splines surfaces to scanned data to get an editable, unified, watertight surface.

See a sneak peek of the new tools here and register for a webinar of the new tools (November 29, 2011, 12 PM EST) here.

Opening night and exhibition at UHGBC

 

Parametric Systems - Theory + Practice is a new exhibition that opens this evening at Gerald D. Hines College of Architecture at the University of Houston.

UHGBC Exhibition Opening Night–November 17, 2011
5:00 pm-8:00 pm

Exhibition dates: November 17, 2011-February 12, 2012

Hosted by: Materials Research Collaborative (MRC) / UHGBC
Location: Gerald D Hines College of Architecture - University of Houston

Details...

New RhinoGold+ page on Google+

Now use RhinoGold+ to keep in touch with the RhinoGold Team. Get the latest news, see videos, publish your work, help other users out, check RG events, find training, suggest ideas, and make recommendations.

RhinoGold+ also lets you actively participate with the Rhino Gold Team on RhinoGold's daily improvements.

SYNTHESIS is hiring in LA

SYNTHESIS Design + Architecture is seeking talented, motivated, and personable designers to join their Los Angeles team.

Requirements:

• B. Arch or M. Arch degree
• Excellent design sensibility, communication skills and personal initiative are desired.
• Expertise in Rhino, AutoCAD, and Illustrator are required.
• Proficiency in Grasshopper, Kangaroo, Hoopsnake, RhinoScript, VB or Python is a bonus.
• Experience with construction drawings and technical competency are valued.
• A perfect fit – They are looking to build a team – not fill holes.  They want to know why your architectural and design interests and aspirations align with theirs and how.
• Must be a US Citizen or hold US working visa.
• Must be a Los Angeles resident.

Please send a CV, portfolio, and a cover letter which addresses the requirements listed above to studio@synthesis-dna.com

Thinking about CAD Standards for Rhino 5?

Phil Barrett from Hugh Dutton Associés (HDA) has been thinking about CAD standards since they started using Rhino 5 for more and more production drawing.

Beyond setting standards for Rhino 5, their other aim was to increase the compatibility between AutoCAD and Rhino. While CAD standards are normally only focused on AutoCAD, the new HDA CAD standards have been designed to work with Rhino 5 as much as possible.

Since HDA works with a broad range of clients and consultants around the world, they feel that it is in everyone's best interest to share CAD standards. To that end, they have made the latest version of their CAD standards available to everyone.

They would be delighted to get your feedback.

Details and download...

Symposium and workshops - Melbourne, Nov 21-25

RMIT University is hosting the Designing the Dynamic symposium and workshops in Melbourne, Australia, November 21-25.

"Dynamic feedback is the computational design challenge of the hour – how to feed back the performance impact of real time design changes in designer’s dynamic digital and physical models –  in real time."

The symposium (25 Nov) speakers include: Hugh Whitehead, Simon Watkins, Mike Xie/Jiwu Tang/Peter Felicetti, Tim Daddo, Kristoffer Josefsson, Andrew Maher, Mark Burry, Tom Kvan, Ben Doherty, Tim Black, and John Frazer.

The workshops (Nov 21-24) will cover a wide variety of related topics and software including Rhino, Grasshopper, Karamba, Kangaroo, Weaverbird, Digital Project, Matlab, SOLIDWORKS, Ansys, Flex PDE, and Comsol multi-physics.

There are only a few spaces available. Register now...

How did they make that?

One of the best kept secrets in the Rhino world is the RhinoFabLab community. Without any fanfare or promotion it has grown to nearly 2,000 members worldwide.

The RhinoFabLab community is a great place to learn, teach, and share different methods of digital fabrication. Discussions cover both hardware and software at all phases of the design, fabrication, and building process.

RhinoFabLab is open to everyone and encourages discussing all the tools that can help you realize your Rhino designs.

Learn how this Munich tram station and many other projects were built.

'Grasshopper Geekery', a video

Who needs to to advertise when you have customers like Nikolas Weinstein Studios?

Nikolas Weinstein Studios is a glass sculpture studio in San Francisco with worldwide installations and a penchant for combining art and technology into site-specific glass installations.

We had heard rumors that they used Rhino and Grasshopper, so we asked them for more information. They came back with an entertaining video on how they use Grasshopper.

See the blog post and video ....  

Online Grasshopper course in December

We're pleased to announce that we are now offering an Introduction to Grasshopper online course.

Join Andres Gonzalez from our McNeel Miami office as he takes you through some introductory tutorials.  This course is for design professionals who are looking to efficiently learn concepts and features of Grasshopper at an accelerated pace in an instructor-led online environment.

The online course will meet for a total of four sessions.  We will have a short orientation to cover the GoToTraining module.  The Grasshopper training sessions will be split into three half-day sessions.  Details are following:

• Orientation: Thursday, December 1 (9:00am-10:30am PST)
• Training:  Monday-Wednesday, December 5, 6, 7 (9:00am-12:30pm PST)
• Cost: US$150.00 - Seats are limited; sign up early.

Register...

Marine trade shows in the Netherlands

NDAR, Rhino Authorized Reseller, will be exhibiting at the following marine trade shows.

Come visit NDAR's booth to see the latest developments of ShipConstructor, GHS, MAESTRO, ShipWeight, Rhino, Orca3D, RhinoParametrics, Rhinophoto and T-Splines.

• Nov 10-12 - EUROPORT - Rotterdam (Netherlands) - ShipConstructor stand #5109
• Nov 16-18 - METS - Amsterdam (Netherlands) - ShipConstructor stand # 10.501A (SuperYacht Pavilion)

Digital Crafting Symposium 2 in Copenhagen

Digital Crafting Symposium 2 - Consequences
Date: 25. Nov 2011 - 10.30h - 17.30h
Venue: Royal Academy of Fine Arts, School of Architecture, Design and Conservation
Copenhagen - Denmark

Today digital technologies inform all levels of building practice. As a link between representation, design, analysis and production, digital technologies are both practical tools to optimize existing practice as well as speculative media to explore its future. By facilitating exchange and feedback between the different knowledge fields of design, engineering and crafts, digital technology holds the potential to effect new answers to the complex challenges of contemporary building practice.

The second Digital Crafting symposium will discuss the future perspectives for a new integrated digital practice. Inviting practitioners from the fields of architecture, engineering and theory to share their experiences and present recent work, the symposium aims to unfold new visions for thinking the links between design, analysis and fabrication. With a focus on interdisciplinary collaboration, bottom up thinking and complex modeling we ask how the shared digital platform can create new material strategies for design.

Digital Crafting is hosted by CITA Centre for IT and Architecture, Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts, School of Architecture, Design and Conservation.

Details and complete program...

49 Design Jobs - Rhino skills needed.

Check out the design jobs posting on Core 77. There are 49 openings for designers with Rhino skills.

Composites and Architecture

Kreysler & Associates has a new blog to further innovation and inspiration in the world of digital fabrication and composite technology through the dispersal of information they find intriguing.

Enjoy...

New book: Form Follows Digitalism - Digitale Formfindung

This book (in German) by Patrick Vogel is about digital formfinding with Rhino and Grasshopper, explains the software very quickly and shows many of his experimental work results.

Details, book preview and order (in German)...

Bongo 2.0 Beta 6 now available

You are invited to try the Bongo 2.0 animation plug-in for Rhino 4.0. This is the sixth Beta version of Bongo 2.0 for Rhino 4.0 and 5.

The beta is open for all Rhino users!

Download Bongo 2.0 Beta 6 from here.

Symvol For Rhino - Download today!

Symvol™ for Rhino - Maker Version is a lightweight 3D design and modeling tool offering the ability to model complex volume objects including organic and mechanical and everything in between. It is implemented as a plugin to the Rhino modeling system and is targeted for 3D printing.

This is a free entry-level version for noncommercial use and suitable for the 3D printing DIY/maker community.

Download today!

Symvol™ for Rhino - Community Version is a lightweight 3D design and modeling tool offering the ability to model complex volume objects including organic and mechanical and everything in between. It is implemented as a plugin to the Rhino modeling system and is targeted for 3D printing.

Now available to preorder at a discounted price!

Symvol™ for Rhino - Pro Version is a 3D design and modeling tool to model complex volume objects including organic and mechanical and everything in between. It is implemented as a plugin to the Rhino modeling system and is targeted for 3D printing.

This is a fully-featured version suitable for professionals.

Coming soon!

Symvol technical details...



Karamba parametric structural modeling

Karamba is integrated in Grasshopper and fully parametrizable.
Karamba provides accurate analysis of spatial trusses and frames.
Karamba comes with its own finite element analysis module.

Karamba is being developed by Clemens Preisinger in cooperation with the Structural Design Institute at the University of Applied Arts, Vienna, and Bollinger-Grohmann-Schneider ZTGmbH Vienna.

Learn more and download, Karamba Grasshopper page... 

Comparison of bracing systems for high-rise buildings: