Power SubD-NURBS plugin exports to Rhino

Luxology^® LLC announces the immediate availability of Power SubD-NURBS for modo^®, a plugin for designers to automatically convert Subdivision surface meshes into NURBS-based CAD formats that can be exported directly to standard CAD systems.

Power SubD-NURBS bridges the worlds of highly flexible Subdivision surface modeling and CAD-accurate NURBS representations. With this new plugin for modo 601, industrial designers in the early stages of the design process can quickly create concept models that can be exported and refined within the users’ CAD systems. The plugin exports IGES, SAT, STEP, and Rhino file formats for compatibility with leading CAD packages. Additionally, modo materials assigned by the designer can be used to derive surface boundaries in the resulting file for maximum control.

Purchase SubD-NURBS for modo...

Traditional Boat Geometry: Instructional video

This detailed instructional video explains traditional boat geometry using Rhino and a screen capture program.  Together these two programs produce high quality illustrations which are essential for explaining and demonstrating two dimensional geometry.

In Traditional Boat Geometry, you will learn about the construction geometry for setting up to build a carvel planked wooden boat.  You will be able to see and understand the geometry for:

● The curved raked transom.
● The three station method.
● The building stations.
● The clamp & shelf.
● The rabbet notch.

All of this is explained and demonstrated in detail.  Also, you will learn how to pick up points from a boat and develop a lines drawing.  There are 28 files, they open and play one at a time.  The duration of all 28 files is 8 hours and 21 minutes. 

Videos, images, purchase, and more...

VisualARQ 1.5 webinar, April 25

Join Francesc Salla, VisualARQ Product Manager, for a fast-paced and exciting demonstration of VisualARQ 1.5.

Introduction to VisualARQ 1.5 webinar
Wednesday, April 25, 2012
8:00am-10:00am (PDT)

Sign up today!

Attendance is free; registration is required.

Features of VisualARQ 1.5:

• Design architecture in an intuitive, easy and efficient way.
• Save time by generating project documentation automatically from the 3D model.
• All floor plans, sections, elevations, surfaces, dimensions, and object information are linked to and created from the 3D model. All drawings are updated automatically after any change.
• Create, customize and edit walls, stairs, beams, doors, windows, and other architectural objects anytime. Their parametric properties allow them to be easily edited and generate data automatically.

Digital Fabrication MasterClass in Brisbane

Digital Fabrication MasterClass
Examine the integration of digital tools with fabrication methods as a design process.

This course is a week-long masterclass in rapid prototyping using 3D modeling and fabrication methods such as: sectioning, tessellation, folding, contouring and forming.  It is open to architects, landscape architects, interior designers, designers, artists and students. Participants must be over the age of 18.

Location: Queensland University of Technology (QUT), Gardens Point Campus, Brisbane, Australia

Dates: July 2-6, 2012*

Cost:  $1,534.50 - Standard Registration Fee
          $1,381.05 - Early Bird Registration Fee
          (Early bird discount is available until 5pm on Monday, June 4, 2012)

Register: Online or contact the CPE office.

Details...

*This course will be offered again in January 2013.

Advances in Architectural Geometry 2012 - Paris

Advances in Architectural Geometry 2012
Paris, France
September 27-30

Geometry lies at the core of the architectural design process. It is omnipresent, from the initial form-finding stages to the final construction. Modern geometric computing provides a variety of tools for the efficient design, analysis, and manufacturing of complex shapes. On the one hand this opens up new horizons for architecture. On the other hand, the architectural context also poses new problems to geometry. Around these problems architectural geometry research is emerging. It is situated at the border of applied geometry and architecture.

Advances in Architectural Geometry / AAG is a symposium presenting theoretical works and practices linked to new geometrical development in architecture. This symposium aims to gather the diverse components of the contemporary architectural tendencies which push the building envelope towards free form and respond to the multiple current design challenges with a renewed mathematical rigor. It involves architects, engineers, software designers, and contractors. AAG has become a reference in the professional field and is supported by the direct participation of the most renowned architectural design and engineering offices along with academic laboratories.

The current edition, the third, will be held in Paris from the 27 to 30th of September 2012. Its attraction is reinforced by the support of the  Centre Pompidou.

In an effort to link theory to practice, the symposium provides many workshops where participants, teachers, students, and professionals can learn and experiment with new technologies and practices reflected in the themes tackled during the symposium.

The organization invites members of the Rhino and Grasshopper communities to contribute a paper or a workshop, or simply to visit. For details about paper and workshop submission please visit the conference web page at http://aag12.architecturalgeometry.at.

Rhino Job: Transportation Design in Barcelona

4-iD, a Barcelona based Transportation Design studio, is seeking a Junior designer/modeler with high Rhino skills:

• Experience in vehicle design (cars and motorbikes)
• Advanced Rhino user
• Based in Barcelona (Spain)
• English or Spanish
• Full time for a 2-3 months period on a free-lance basis
• Immediate incorporation

Update 03-05-12: this job position is already covered

RhinoGold training in NYC

Learn RhinoGold and take advantage of this 3D technology specifically designed for jewelry.  CadBlu has organized a four-day class being held later this month.

Class dates, location and registration information are following:

• April 23-26, 2012
• CadBlu, Inc, 37 W 28th St, 9th Floor, New York, NY, 10001
• Call (212) 481-8700 or email

Sign up today!

Rhino and V-Ray open house - Hamburg (Germany)

Rhino and V-Ray open house
picturetools, Hamburg (Germany)
25 April 2012

picturetools invites you to an open house in Hamburg, where Jens Bingenheimer (Formherr Industriedesign) and Gerrit Corsmeyer (Chaos Software Distribution Deutschland) will show the latest news about Rhino and V-Ray 1.5, as well as a tips & tricks session.

Info and registration (in German)...

Generative Design for Jewellers Training in London

Generative Design for Jewellers Training
SimplyRhino UK, London
May 21-24

This 4-day workshop delivered by McNeel Miami will provide students and professionals with a functional understanding of Rhino and Grasshopper concepts necessary to obtain effective algorithmic and computational knowledge to model parametric 3D shapes.

For this particular class, the participants will be using jewelry and industrial design models as their main 3D geometry. This class is suitable for all users of Rhino, RhinoGold, Rhinojewel, Matrix3D or any other Rhino based solution for jewelry design.

Details and registration...

Report 8th RhinoDay Italy

The 8th RhinoDay held in Padova (Italy) on March 23-24 was a a great success, with more than 200 people from many different industries attending it.

Read here a nice report with photos (in Italian)...

Worm-e, Electric Vehicle concept by Jorge Biosca

Congratulations to our friend and long-time Rhino user Jorge Biosca (Valencia, Spain), winner of the European "ELVA Design Contest" for an Electric Vehicle concept with his Worm-e project.

DIVA 2.0 for Rhino new features

DIVA for Rhino carries out environmental performance evaluations of individual buildings and urban landscapes including Radiation Maps, Photorealistic Renderings, Climate-Based Daylighting Metrics, Annual and Individual Time Step Glare Analysis, LEED and CHPS Daylighting Compliance, and Single Thermal Zone Energy and Load Calculations.

DIVA 2.0 new features:

Annual glare maps
This feature uses the gen_dgp_profile program written by Jan Wienold that comes with Daysim. It generates an annual glare map that predicts for all view points in a scene the hours in the year when glare is disturbing or intolerable. The results are displayed as an html report with embedded images. Note, if annual dgp profiles have been calculated, they are used in the climate based metric calculations if a dynamic shading system has been specified.

Dynamic Shading Module
The module allows users to specify up to two independently controlled dynamic shading systems. A shading system may be mechanical (venetian blinds) or switchable (electrochromics). Various manual or automated control options are available. When a dynamic shading system has been specified, it is considered during an annual climate based metric calculation and the status of the shading system over the year is displayed in an html report with embedded images.

Electric Lighting Module
The module allows uses to specify up to ten electric lighting zones in a scene. Any lighting zone may be manually or automatically controlled. The electric lighting calculation is fully integrated with the shading calculation and resulting hourly load profiles for electric lighting can be linked to EnergyPlus or other thermal simulation programs.

Thermal Load Calculation
The thermal load calculation sets up a single thermal zone in Rhino and specifies some basic thermal construction properties and usage patterns. The occupancy, lighting and shading schedules are taken from the daylighting module. Simulation results are displayed in an html report with embedded images.


Grasshopper Improvements
The daylighting analysis component has been overhauled to give users parametric control over project location and simulation type and settings. This means you don't need to 'prime' the components with a toolbar run every time you want to initiate or change your analysis. The thermal components have also been updated with several bug fixes since the last release.

Download a free trial...

Purchase DIVA 2.0 for Rhino...

THE SWARM, a sculptural pavilion at the TU Munich

THE SWARM is a parametrical designed (Rhino, Grasshopper), free-standing, sculptural pavilion. It develops its form from the theme of a flying flock of birds. By joining 211 individual, CNC-milled modules the result is a play of density, light and shadow. The focus is on the characteristic features of a swarm of birds. The curve gives the pavilion the dynamic of a passing flock of birds which streaks the ground only for a glimpse and moves upwards to the sky in its next movement. At a second glance a complex system reveals itself, which is the base for the connection of the individual parts and the entire shape.

The vernissage took place on 29 March 2012 at the TU Munich.

See more info, photos and videos about this pavilion here...

New book: Design with Rhinoceros V4 & V5

A new book "Design with Rhinoceros V4 & V5" is now available as e-Book.

"This book is addressed to those, who are already experienced in the three-dimensional modeling and the Rhinoceros interface and are willing to refine their skills in using it. The tools available in the software are illustrated by practical examples to be followed step by step. Topics covered: Complete modelling of objects, Modelling of complex surfaces with curvature continuity, Modelling for deformation of solids, Rendering with V-Ray for Rhino and Technical drawing, Data exchange and repairing of imported IGES files and more!" 

Buy it at Amazon...

New VisualARQ price for students

VisualARQ allows you to work within Rhino’s interface, providing specific tools to create/edit architectural plans, and to work with parametric 3D Objects—such as walls, doors, windows, columns, slabs, roofs, stairs and railings—making the architectural design process and its documentation much easier to handle.

Due to many students' requests, the price of VisualARQ Educational License (Download version) has changed from €195 to only €95.

Details...

Snaporaz landed in Oerlikon

Zurich based artist Marco Ganz is known for creating sculptures with smooth and glossy surfaces from composite materials. But with a height of almost ten meters this piece, called Snaporaz and designed for the central courtyard of a newly built housing development in Zurich Oerlikon, went beyond the scope of manual fabrication. Due to the special conditions it had to be assembled from massive, digitally fabricated timber elements, before the sculpture could be sanded and varnished.

designtoproduction translated the analog design into a digital 3D-model (Rhino, Grasshopper) to define the precise shape of the sculpture in close cooperation with the artist. In a second step, detailed fabrication data for the timber manufacturer was directly derived from this parametric CAD model.

More details...

3D printed earrings and free 3D models

This pair of 3D printed earrings with 13 unique cutouts, made of strong and flexible material (SLS and also in acrylic-based photopolymer), digitally designed with Rhino and Grasshopper by Aleksandar Dimitrov, is now available to purchase online at Shapeways.

See also 50 free 3D models by Aleksandar Dimitrov on his web site vihrogone.

Parametric Design workshop, April 28-29

ModeLab invites you to attend their second Parametric Design workshop.  The first session filled so quickly that they created this overflow session to accommodate everyone.  There are still a few seats left.

Sign up today!

Parametric Design is a two-day intensive workshop that will be held in Brooklyn on April 28-29. In a fast-paced and hands-on learning environment, this workshop will engage both the conceptual as well as technical domains of applied parametric design. Using Rhino and Grasshopper, attendees will explore parametric and computational design with unprecedented fluidity.

The workshop will consist of a series of instructional lectures, open work sessions, and guided exercises, beginning with an introduction to Algorithmic Processes and Computational Geometry.

Details...

Jewelerscad for Rhino 5, special pricing

Jewelerscad for Rhino 5 gives you the ability to move objects, groups of objects, grip points, points, or cage edit points in the perspective view. You can use the mouse to move objects on any of six axes, while simultaneously being able to right-mouse click and drag the viewing angle. Enter a numerical value or simply click the mouse to set new position. Your speed will dramatically increase and you will be able to produce difficult jewelry designs with ease.

Demo videos, product details, special pricing...

USC Design Faculty Search

The School of Architecture at the University of Southern California (USC) is seeking both tenured and tenure-track faculty candidates in the area of architectural design. The tenure candidate will be expected to assume a leadership position in architectural design, education and exploration.  A candidate's design excellence must be manifested through creativity in architectural design and/or practice, and through criticality in architectural research. Read more...

Requirements:
The requirements for the position(s) include an M.Arch degree or a B.Arch degree with another relevant masters degree. Candidates with demonstrated excellence in publishing, design, practice, and/or funded research, as well as teaching, are encouraged to apply.

Apply online!

RhinoScripting workshop in Brooklyn

PointCrowd : Evenings in June
June 4-21 | Brooklyn, NY

PointCrowd is a RhinoScripting workshop using the Python programming language that is available in the upcoming release of Rhino 5. In this three week mini-course, participants will start with the basics of programming and move into the mathematics of space and Rhino's representation of geometry.


Workshop topics include:

• Automation: Increase your efficiency by programming Rhino to complete tedious drawing and modeling tasks.
• Optimization: Create a better design product by testing and improving your models against physical conditions like light and circulation.
• Generative Design: Work through complex geometric ideas using simple Python scripts.

Classes will be held on Monday and Thursday evenings from 6:30-10:00pm in DUMBO, Brooklyn.

Details and registration...

Scan&Solve helps solve real world problems

Ian Boyd has a veneer cutting guillotine that is down. Not only are both arms (holding the blade assembly) broken (and ineffectively repaired) but also the joint/coupling that swings the blade. Repeated attempts at welded repairs have failed and the RHS arm is practically crumbling. New ones will have to be fabricated but it would be silly to repeat the same mistakes.

Scan&Solve to the rescue.

Follow Ian's redesign of the broken parts with Scan&Solve for Rhino, and the rebuilding of his guillotine here.

Download evaluation Scan&Solve...

Purchase Scan&Solve...

Marine User Meeting and Training in South Africa

SimplyRhino South Africa is pleased to announce the following events:

• April 11 - Marine User Meeting - Westlake (Cape Town), South Africa
  
  This is a free two-hour networking and information-gathering event aimed at those in the boat building industry who either want to learn more about Rhino or are users of Rhino.
  
  Presentations will be done by Icarus Marine and Wayne Robertson Yachts on the uses of Rhino in boat design.
   
• April 16-17 - Rhino Level 1 training - Westlake (Cape Town), South Africa
   
  A Rhino Level One two-day course aimed at the boat building industry facilitated by a marine industry expert.

Complete info and registration details...

Rhino jobs at Bollinger & Grohmann (Frankfurt, Germany)

Bollinger + Grohmann Ingenieure is a Frankfurt based engineering consultancy with more than 30 years experience and expertise.

Check here the job vacancies at its performativeBuildingGroup (Frankfurt, Germany) for architects with skills in Rhino and Grasshopper.