RhinoAir 5.0 released by SiTex Graphics

SiTex Graphics has released version 5.0 of the RhinoAir plugin for Rhino as a companion to Air release 12.  New features in the latest releases include:

• 64-bit rendering (with Rhino 32-bit or Rhino 64-bit)
• Ray tracing for primary object visibility
• Faster and smoother GI with environments
• New radiosity cache for faster indirect illumination
• Interactive environment changes
• New ocean shaders

More about RhinoAir 5...

Download demo...

Purchase...

PanelingTools development for Rhino 5

PanelingTools will continue to be developed and supported as a Rhino 5 Lab plug-in.  There will be no further development or support allocated to PanelingTools for Rhino 4.0.

Users of PanelingTools for Rhino 5 can take advantage of the many new features and enhancements of the plug-in and also be able to develop parametric paneling using PanelingTools add-on for Grasshopper.

• PanelingTools for Rhino 5 extends Grasshopper for parametric and generative paneling design.
• Using Rhino 5, users can access PanelingTools SDK through GH scripting components and Rhino Python Scripting.
• The new PanelingTools for Rhino 5 Primer is now available with detailed documentation of paneling strategies and commands.
• View the latest video tutorials including webinars and short clips.
• Join the PanelingTools communities: PanelingTools for Rhino 5 and PanelingTools for Grasshopper.

Rhino 5 announced

The world's most versatile 3D modeler now handles bigger projects, faster, with more than 2,000 enhancements.

Rhino 5 is released and available at local dealers worldwide.

Check out the new Rhino web site...

Symvol for Rhino Intro webinar

Turlif Vilbrandt from Uformia will demo their new plugin Symvol for Rhino. The general aspects of true volume modeling and some of the unique features which Symvol for Rhino offers will be presented. The concepts include the creation of constructive relationships, dynamic modification of any aspect or feature of a model, automatic blending, always watertight Boolean operations and modeling, creation of arbitrary micro or cellular structures, shelling of any model, repairing, importing, and converting meshes to watertight volumes, defining parameters/bookmarks, and swapping datasets or references on the fly. The presentation will be broken up into two sections:   1) An introduction to Uformia, followed by a theory and overview of Symvol for Rhino. 2) A practical tutorial on using Symvol for Rhino to dynamically model a cell phone case. Symvol for Rhino requires Rhino 4 or Rhino 5 32-bit. (Rhino 5 64-bit and OS X WIP currently not supported.) Duration: 1.5 hr. presentation with 30 minutes of questions and wrap-up. Title: Introduction to Symvol for Rhino Date: Wednesday, December 5, 2012 Time: 9:00 AM-11:00 AM PST Register now for Introduction to Symvol for Rhino webinar...

EvoluteTools Primers just released

EvoluteTools Primers just released!

To help and support users in getting the most out of EvoluteTools, two Primer manuals are now available for download. The EvoluteTools Primer, written by Kris Hammerberg, is intended to be the ultimate starting point for new users of EvoluteTools, as well as a reference for more experienced users, while the EvoluteTools Scripting Primer, written by Marko Tomicic, aims to introduce the new possibilities within the EvoluteTools RhinoScript interface, and to showcase how to take advantage of them with the many example scripts included.

The Primers, along with all example files, are available for free on the Food4Rhino and Evolute web sites.

MadCAM 5 Beta for Rhino 5

MadCAM 5 beta for Rhino 5 announced!

What's new:

• Works with Rhino 5 (64-bit) and (32-bit) for Windows. 
• New level with 16 new functions for simultaneous 5-axis milling. 
• New interface with dynamic visualization of the cutter and tool holder when picking curves. 
• New adaptable machine setup and save to file option. 
• Machines can contain tool library, post processor, external dll for kinematics and simulation, etc. 
• Predefined machines can be selected with one click from a drop down list. 
• Commands with settings can be executed from the Rhino command line. 
• For both high-end users and beginners.

Details, videos, and download...

FaberArium Workshop in Greece

FaberArium workshop
Thessaloniki, Greece
November 2012

In this second workshop the participants will have the opportunity to sharpen their digital and prototyping skills, to experiment with a range of digital production tools, and to design and fabricate a unique set of components that negotiate a range of material gradients across a field condition. Through iteration, participants will generate and fabricate components (parts) to form a larger network (whole). The goal of this workshop is to combine technological precision and pedagogical creativity. Participants will understand in early stage concepts, design strategies, and material constraints, in order to transform complex 3D geometries and structures into fabrication elements, using parametric and programmable computing tools and to obtain a sense of  fabrication time and material costs depending on complexity.

Methodology and strategies:

The workshop will operate through a framework of computational, parametric, and fabrication strategies and includes daily instructional, design, and fabrication sessions. The theoretical classes and a set of exercises, will establish the tools that would be directly applied to the projects, and will be used as a platform for testing ideas, develop and prototype individual or group projects. Participants will gain experience by using simulation software Rhino and Grasshopper to generate geometries that after will build with a CNC machine or laser cutter. The agenda includes a series of international online lectures to estimate critical trends on the globalized architectural+fabrication scene.

Details and registration...

RhinoGold in Dubai

If you happen to be in Dubai, don't miss the International Jewellery Week and visit one of RhinoGold's resellers.

• Nov 21-24 - Dubai International Jewellery Week

RhinoCAM 2012 for Rhino 5 released

MecSoft Corporation, the developer of computer aided manufacturing (CAM) software solutions, has announced a new version of RhinoCAM 2012 that runs completely inside Rhino 5.

"RhinoCAM 2012 for Rhino 5 leverages the numerous enhancements in Rhino 5 which makes the product combination an even more powerful design and manufacturing software suite for our customers," stated Anita Anand, VP of Sales and Operations at MecSoft. "This is the reason we are committed to supporting the latest versions of Rhino, as well as releasing yearly upgrades to RhinoCAM."

RhinoCAM 2012 for Rhino 5 is a free download for current RhinoCAM 2012 customers and can be downloaded immediately from the RhinoCAM web site. Both 64-bit and 32-bit versions of RhinoCAM 2012 for Rhino 5 are available.

Download RhinoCAM 2012 for Rhino 5...

Press release...

VSR at EuroMold Frankfurt

November 27-30, 2012, Virtual Shape Research (VSR) will again be exhibiting at the Euromold trade fair in Frankfurt/Main (Germany) and cordially invites you to its Booth B149 in Hall 11.

Live in action – new versions of VSR Shape Modeling 2.0 and VSR Realtime Renderer 4.0 were already released and are compatible with the new Rhino 5.

Expressive product design is vital to your economic success. Modeling of aesthetic freeform surfaces in Class-A quality and presentation of these surfaces – safe and reliable: This is our ambition and our promise. We want to assist you in meeting your challenges.  Take the opportunity of a personal visit to learn the possibilities provided by our most recent plug-in versions – compatible, of course, with Rhino 5 – and let yourself be amazed by affordable 3D modeling tools, also in 64-bit quality.

In addition, VSR will be presenting for the first time its VSR iView App, which allows your 3D data models, previously created in Rhino + VSR product suite, to be presented anywhere and anytime on your iPhone or iPad.

ROB|ARCH 2012 Rotterdam workshop

The ROB|ARCH 2012 Rotterdam takes place at Hyperbody’s robotics lab at the RDM Innovation dock in Rotterdam. Jelle Feringa [1] and Wes Mcgee [2] co-taught the workshop, which will run simultaneously with other ROB|ARCH workshops from December 14th to 16th. This effort is part of the International Conference on Architectural Robotics, an initiative of the Association for Robots in Architecture.

The workshop
The workshop explores material processes that support an architecture of volume. It focuses specifically on modes of production that scale to architectural proportion and investigates processes that aren’t constrained by the limitations of sheet-based materials.

By Robotic Hot Wire Cutting, a vaulting structure, will be erected by casting concrete from EPS molds. A third robotic cell is cutting stone using a hydraulic-powered diamond wire saw, exploring the potential of robotic masonry. 

The workshop will provide participants with a unique chance to explore large scale robotic fabrication and will provide useful insights on the production process of robotic fabrication.

Robotics in Architecture       
While non-standard design has traditionally been associated with costly manufacturing methods, robotic hotwire cutting (RHWC) breaks with this trend, given that complex formwork can be delivered for the approximate cost of normative formwork. As such, RHWC is both an enabler, technically, in terms of forms that can be produced, and economically since this can be achieved at little or no additional expense. With the many ongoing predicaments in the construction industry and the modest cost of delving into robotics, this is an important aspect open to further exploration. 
        
Robotic fabrication presents a development platform for such considerations, given the trade-off of precision, ease of integration and programming, robustness, and market availability. As the technology has begun to gain acceptance in the building fabrication industry (admittedly, it remains a very small fraction), these methods have started challenging what type of construction can be delivered within a given budget.

For more info or to sign up, please visit the ROB|ARCH 2012 web site.

For a video impression of an earlier workshop held at Hyperbody’s robot lab, please see this link.

[1] Coordinator robotic fabrication lab Hyperbody, PhD researcher TU Delft, co-founder Odico, co-founder EZCT Architecture & Design Research
[2] Co-founder Matter Design, director FABLab, Lecturer University of Michigan

New Rhino/GH video DVD training

flexiCAD.com is pleased to announce a complete Rhino and Grasshopper video DVD training (in German): 28 hours of video, 15 chapters, 129 lessons for beginners and advanced users of Rhino and Grasshopper.

Details (in German) and samples...



Evolute delivers geometry for KREOD

KREOD is a ground-breaking sustainable sculpture and London’s newest architectural landmark. The brainchild of Chun Qing Li, Managing Director of Pavilion Architecture, KREOD is an innovative architectural sculpture, organic in form, environmentally-friendly and inspired by nature. Resembling three seeds, these pods combine through a series of interlocking hexagons to create an enclosed structure that is not only magni­ficently intricate but secure and weatherproof. KREOD functions beautifully both as an architectural landmark and an imaginative exhibition space – its three pods can be combined in a variety of con­figurations or installed as free-standing forms.

As part of the design team, Evolute was responsible for rationalizing KREOD’s complex input surface, designing the panel layout, the parametric detailing of the wooden members and outputting the production geometry for fabrication.

Read here the complete story...

RhinoParametrics V3

RhinoParametrics V3 has been announced with many new features such as a new kernel, new interface, compatibility with other plug-ins, mathematical formulas, and so on.

What's new in V3 videos...
RhinoParametrics Evaluation...

Support MeshUp on kickstarter!

In case you missed the previous post:

MeshUp: Mashup for meshes by Uformia
 
Super simple, always watertight, 3D modeling mashup tool for meshes, designed for painless and direct 3D printing.

More details on kickstarter...

McNeel Hackfest in Delft - Nov 14

Want to join Steve Baer (RhinoCommon, RhinoPython) and David Rutten (Grasshopper, Galapagos) hacking away on some code (Rhino, Grasshopper, Python, C++, github, appengine,  whatever...)?

The TU Delft/Hyperbody group has been very kind making its lab available for this informal meeting on November 14.

• When: November 14, from 10:30am to 5pm
• Where:  protoSPACE lab (BG.W.200) | Architecture Faculty | Delft University of Technology | Julianalaan 134 | 2628 BL Delft | The Netherlands
• What: just bring your laptop with your preferred software
• Registration: this is a free event but registration is needed due to limited space. Send an e-mail to Carlos Pérez with the subject "Hackfest in Delft" asap. Fully booked!

Symvol and MeshUp by Uformia

Uformia: Fabricating nature

Uformia AS recently announced its public launch of the Symvol geometric platform at the 3D Printshow in London. The Symvol platform is the world's first real volume modeling platform, reducing every object to mathematical functions. This new approach to 3D modeling reimagines design and manufacturing towards more natural and additive processes, allowing for the modeling of everything from the surface geometry to cellular structures to objects internal properties such as material distribution. To introduce real volumetric modeling to the market, Uformia has created an add-on for Rhino, called Symvol for Rhino. Some of the advantages include:

• Designed for additive manufacturing and 3D printing (direct slice output and more)
• Direct conversion of meshes to mesh volumes —reuse, remix and even improve existing mesh models
• Non-destructive/constructive modeling —change anything in a model at anytime
• Shelling of any model no matter the complexity
• Rapid and dynamic modification and customization of objects to quickly produce variants
• Very small file sizes, yet still able to describe much more complex models—good for collaboration
• Infinite level of detail (Symvol is not a voxel system)—output can match the resolution of any 3D printer to reproduce the finest details possible
• Hierarchical structures at different levels of scale, as in real-world objects
• Organic blending of soft and sharp objects
• Object surfaces remain valid, watertight and ready for 3D printing, irrespective of any actions by the user

Videos of the Symvol platform in action can be seen here.

To start modeling with real volumes a free limited version of Symvol for Rhino can be download from http://www.uformia.com/download

The Symvol add-on is just the start of Uformia's vision for 3D design and fabrication software.

MeshUp

Uformia has launched the Kickstarter project, MeshUp, for a new standalone modeling tool:

MeshUp is set to overcome the many limitations of existing polygonal and surface-based modelers, particularly within the realms of 3D printing and fabrication. MeshUp is a volume modeling tool to fix and mix meshes together, add microstructures and generate a watertight output for 3D printing. MeshUp will be a standalone cross-platform modeling tool for Linux, Mac, and Windows.

"CG artists and designers know very well the limitations and tediousness of modeling with polygons," explains Turlif Vilbrandt, CTO and joint founder of Uformia. "Mesh models tend to have all kinds of problems such as cracks, holes and self-intersections. This is due to a disconnect between the real world being represented and the modeling software's attempts to represent real, complex and “messy” objects by only surfaces."

MeshUp offers several features that are of interest to the 3D printing and broader modeling communities. Users can load and nondestructively combine and even blend meshes together without having to worry about vertices and polygons. Meshes can be converted to a shell and microstructures can be added quickly and easily. MeshUp will also offer STL and mesh repair techniques, including a rounded repair method that attempts to take into account any missing volume in an object. Then, when it's time for physical fabrication, MeshUp will export clean watertight STL files or direct slice data for 3D printing.

Symvol for Rhino is available as a free and feature limited Maker version while the Community version is available for €190 or approximately $246. Both work on Windows and require Rhinoceros® version 4.0 SR8+ and 5 32-bit (64-bit will be supported soon).

MeshUp is now a live project on Kickstarter and while the incentive lasts, a $100 donation will give you a copy of the software on shipping. This is a great way to show support for innovation in 3D software tools and receive MeshUp for less than half the price as the final retail price will be over $200. MeshUp will be available for Linux, MacOS, and Windows.

For a limited time during the Kickstarter project, Symvol for Rhino. Community version can also be purchased for a donation to the MeshUp project of $180 instead of the normal $246.

About Uformia AS

Uformia is an international north Norwegian company who aims to develop a new kind of 3D software that will solve many of the problems of today's software, especially in the field of digital fabrication.

Kaulquappe meets Grasshopper

Grasshopper is very often seen as a tool to intuitively create complex geometries. Nevertheless its potential is just as powerful when it comes to systematized complex geometries to make them producible.

For the developed planning of the Volkswagen stand in the automobile fair in Paris 2012, Grasshopper helped in achieving the challenges of a highly complex geometry combined with a competitive deadline. An intuitive, straight forward user interface with ready-made geometrical operations in combination with the possibility to include self-written code from a c# and Python library brings together two powerful tools.

The overall surface geometry of 780 sqm of the Volkswagen stand had to be subdivided into 220 frames, being themselves subdivided into 6 x 6 ribs – a system often talked about as “waffles”.

• From the outer surface and its inner offset a pure Grasshopper definition extracted four curves by intersection with a set of two planes.

• Making use of Grasshoppers programming components, a c# script systemized and put together the extracted lines to form solids, which would fulfill the requirements in precision for the following stages. A c# script is preferable if enhanced granularity is required.

• In a third step, each of the ribs was subtracted from its 6 perpendicular neighbors to create the interlocking connections. While being totally different in geometry all the connections share one important aspect: Due to a 90° angle, they all can be produced by 3-axis milling.

• Grasshopper geometry containers and operations were combined with a VB script component to apply various preprocessing tasks on all 2’700 individual ribs and frame edges. The resulting production data was converted and optimized for an efficient KUKA^© 4 axis milling process.

The Volkswagen Messe Paris 2012 project was done by Kaulquappe GmbH, Zurich on a commission by Metsa Wood Merk. Design by Cebra. Trade fair construction by Ambrosius.

Kaulquappe GmbH is an innovative young company based in Zurich that offers advanced skills in 3D Engineering for complex projects. We mainly work with an efficient mixture of Rhinoceros CAD and programming in VB Script, C#, Python and Grasshopper™.

For further information about this project, please visit our webpage www.kaulquappe.net.

From humble cardboard to magical forest

Architect Wil Natzel explored architectural ornamentation for his part of the Northern Spark festival in Minneapolis last June. With the help of Rhino, he created and installed Night Blooms, a temporary cardboard forest. From his designs, he created trees by using Rhino to unfold the 3D objects into flat patterns.

More information on the process in Wired Magazine . . .