AEC Symposium + Hackathon registration now open

Register now for CORE studio and Thornton Tomesetti's AEC Technology Symposium + Hackathon!

On hand will be noted speakers to discuss topics such as data-driven city planning, accelerated building design, the benefits of custom digital applications, and state-of-the-art research and development initiatives at leading AEC firms.

Following the symposium will be a Hackathon at Thornton Tomesetti Offices. This is an opportunity for the AEC community to learn new skills, and generate new ideas and processes through data-driven and customized applications.

Thursday, December 8th, the day before the symposium, more workshops will be at Thornton Tomasetti's offices. Learn about advanced parametric tools, including Grasshopper and Dynamo.

The workshops are hosted by CORE studio, Mostapha Roudsari, and others.

Location:
New York

Schedule:
December 8 - Workshops
December 9 - Symposium + Hackathon
December 10 - Hackathon

More information and to register.....

New project by Aleksandar Dimitrov: a climbing boulder for kids

Aleksandar Dimitrov, product designer and 3D modeler, has been kind enough to share with us his recently finished design project done with Rhino and Grasshopper.


The project, a climbing boulder for kids in the shape of a boat, consists of a series of flat plywood panels entirely generated with Grasshopper and Kangaroo.

More info...

Maxwell | Rhino for Mac now available

Next Limit Technologies recently released Maxwell 4. Among other new features, it now offers Rhino for Mac Support.

Maxwell | Rhino for Mac offers a brand new integration for Rhino for Mac, allowing you to work within the Rhino interface via a Maxwell toolbar. Also included with this integration is Maxwell Studio – Next Limit sophisticated standalone scene editor. This provides an additional workflow based on the Asset Reference feature, which allows live-linking to assets (.obj, etc) created in Rhino from within Maxwell Studio.

Bundled together in one easy installation package, the plugin + Studio workflow includes the entire suite of Maxwell tools. For integrated features see the Feature Table.

More info about Maxwell 4...

Maxwell for Rhino for Mac video...

How movies are made -- Terminator: Genisys

In October 2015, the NewSchool of Architecture & Design presented a Symposium on Computational Processes in Architecture and Design in San Diego. The presentations were later posted on YouTube. We are just discovering a few of them.

One of the many interesting presentations was by the film designer, Andrew Reeder. He gave us some insight to his part in the design of the Cyberdyne R&D Labs in the movie Terminator: Genisys. Andrew is architecturally trained and works with both digital and traditional tools.

In his presentation, Computational Design and Fabrication in Feature Film, he discusses the film and crew organization, the design stages, how the design was realized, and the lighting and material studies. Both Rhino and the PanelingTools plugin were used, important for the accuracy in the construction tolerance for the fabrication.

To learn more, see Computational Design and Fabrication in Feature Film....

RhinoCFD Beta - Computational fluid dynamics in Rhino

RhinoCFD is a new plugin for Rhino by CHAM that adds the power of computational fluid dynamics to the CAD environment. Rhino users can undertake interactive CFD investigation of their CAD models operating under a multitude of flow conditions, all without leaving the Rhinoceros environment.

Until December, it is free to download and use as a beta release.

Features:

• Easy to create CFD meshes without worrying about fitting to your complex geometry
• A convergence wizard which greatly reduces the complexity of obtaining converged solutions
• Model conjugate heat transfer and other heat-related scenarios, including radiation modeling
• Large library or gas, liquid, and solid properties
• Full visualization of flow patterns within Rhino
• Steady-state and time-dependent transient flows
• Selection of various turbulence models

Contact RhinoCFD@cham.co.uk with any questions or thoughts on the software!

RhinoCFD Quickstart Guide...

RhinoCFD Tutorials...

More info...

GCD 3 Symposium at TU Wien - November 18, Vienna (Austria)

GCD 3
Symposium on Geometry and Computational Design
Friday November 18, 2016
TU Wien Kuppelsaal
Karlsplatz 13
Vienna (Austria)

The members of the Center for Geometry and Computational Design invite interested faculty, students, company representatives, and the public to their third Symposium on Geometry and Computational Design.

During the symposium, leading researchers will present recent developments in geometry, computer graphics, computational design, and architectural engineering. Selected and ongoing research projects within the center will be presented through short talks, posters and an exhibition. A virtual reality demonstration showing the exploration of virtual spaces by using a VR backpack will be also offered.

GCD 3 symposium is free for all attendees. Register via email at gcd-registration@geometrie.tuwien.ac.at until November 8.

More info...
GCD Flyer...

Rhino for Windows Video Tutorials by Simply Rhino UK: new video released (1 of 3)

Simply Rhino UK has just published the first video in a new video series.

This video series looks at creating production-quality surfaces and solids from 2D design intent and focuses on a ceramic coffee pot. In many design disciplines, including the ceramics industry, often much of the 2D design work is done before progressing to 3D. This tutorial follows that method.

The starting point is an existing 2D CAD drawing presented in Adobe Illustrator. Simply Rhino senior instructor Phil Cook will look at bringing the Illustrator artwork directly into Rhino and explaining the key differences between Illustrator’s cubic Bezier curves and Rhino NURBS before moving on to reconstruct some of the major construction curves in Rhino.

Then, the emphasis is on creating high quality surfaces relatively quickly from the minimum of curve input before assembling a watertight solid model suitable for production.

This first video looks specifically at:

• Importing 2D Illustrator data into Rhino
• Differences between Illustrator cubic Bezier curves and Rhino NURBS curves
• Recreating main construction curves in Rhino
• Building high-quality surfaces from minimal curve input
• Main body surface and handle creation

The second video in the series will follow in November. Stay tuned!

Video... 

More tutorials by Simply Rhino UK...

New book: Advancing Wood Architecture - A Computational Approach

Advancing Wood Architecture
A Computational Approach
Achim Menges, Tobias Schwinn, Oliver David Krieg

In light of the environmental challenges architecture is facing, wood is no longer regarded as outmoded, nostalgic, and rooted in the past, but is increasingly recognized as one of the most promising building materials for the future. Recent years have seen unprecedented innovation of new technologies for advancing wood architecture.

Advancing Wood Architecture offers a comprehensive overview of the new architectural possibilities enabled by cutting-edge computational technologies in wood construction. It provides both an overarching architectural understanding and in-depth technological information through built projects and the works of four leading design research groups in Europe. The projects presented include large scale, permanent buildings such as the ETH Arch-Tec-Lab Building in Zurich, the Landesgartenschau Exhibition Hall near Stuttgart and the Boiler House in Hooke Park, UK, as well as built research prototypes investigating additive robotic fabrication and folded plate structures. Almost all of the projects' authors have used Rhino and Grasshopper throughout the whole process.

Illustrated in full color, the book showcases the latest technological developments in design computation, simulation, and digital fabrication together with an architectural, engineering, and manufacturing perspective. It offers an outlook toward novel spatial and constructional opportunities of a material with unrivaled ecological virtues.

Routledge is happy to provide a web discount on the paperback edition for Rhino blog readers. The discount code is AWA230 (valid until 31-May-2017) and entitles you to order the book with a 20% discount (£27.99 instead of £34.99).

Order here...

Level 2 Rhino Online Training, November

Image credit: Kyle Houchens, The Outside

Our next Level 2 Rhino 5 for Windows online course begins next month. Kyle Houchens will be the instructor for this course. Kyle is a very talented industrial designer, skilled instructor, an Authorized Rhino Trainer, the owner of The Outside Digital Design, and a McNeel support technician.

Sign up today!

Dates/Times:
Monday-Thursday, November 7-10, 9:00am - 12:30pm and
Tuesday-Thursday, November 15-17, 9:00am - 12:30pm

Note: All times listed are Pacific Daylight Savings time. Calculate your time zone.


This course consists of seven, live sessions. All sessions are instructor-led and will be recorded for later viewing. Videos will be posted to a private, classroom album. If you cannot make a session, watch the video and catch up before the class meets again.


For a sample of Kyle's online Level 2 training, watch this video.
Password: Test

Register here...

Webinar: Grasshopper Pro Series

Grasshopper Pro Series - Data Management & Collaboration

Thursday, November 3, 2016

9:30am-11:30am Pacific / 12:30pm-2:30pm Eastern

Andrew Heumann recently delivered workshops on a suite of tools he developed for Grasshopper. He returns with a five-topic Pro Series that teaches how to use Grasshopper within the workplace for big projects and big teams generating big data. He has led these efforts for two large multinational firms, NBBJ and Woods Bagot. This webinar workshop is free to attend.

Register today!

About the presenter... 
As a Design Technology Specialist at Woods Bagot, Andrew Heumann develops custom tools and workflows for design teams across the firm. He has written more than 15 plugins for Grasshopper and created many custom tools for design teams and practices, aiding in the management of project metrics, environmental and urban analysis, and façade design. 

If you're unable to attend the live webinar, a recording will be available for rent here. 

EvoluteToolsPRO Tutorial Series: One tutorial for each PRO feature

For several years, EvoluteTools LITE has been one of the most downloaded plugins among the Rhino community. Thousands of users have tried LITE and experienced its fast and robust mesh optimization engine. However, you might want to take it to the next level—the PRO level.

EvoluteTools PRO is packed with optimization features, resulting from years of continual improvement of the software. Evolute GmbH is now releasing a series of tutorials introducing each EvoluteTools PRO feature one by one.

They have just launched the series with an in-depth look at the planarity optimization feature. Upcoming episodes will focus on edge length optimization, coplanarity, closeness optimization to curves, creating meshes from curves, and more. Stay tuned!

EvoluteToolsPRO Tutorial Series...
Request a free trial...

Greek patterns in tiles

Cyprus, Greece, has a long history of decorative patterns of noteworthy geometric complexity and students from the University of Nicosia are keeping up the tradition.

In a course for Advanced Computer Aided Design, the second year students were assigned to first create a 2D geometric shape. They then used the shape to create a 3D pattern in Rhino and Paneling Tools. The students designed 18 tessellated tiles. 

Each tile took an average of nine hours to print on ZMorph 3D printers with a 1.75 plastic extruder and white ABS. 

More information....

Rhino Exams Now Available

Whether you are considering hiring a Rhino professional or you want to see how well you or your existing designers know Rhino, we have exams available for you. 

Exams can be important tools to identify what type of training you is needed to be more efficient and comfortable when working in Rhino.

Rhino Certification Level 1 and Level 2 Exams are available for:

• Professionals
• Educators
• Students

Details are here. We have a Sample Test available here.

If you have any questions, please contact Mary Ann Fugier.

ACADIA 2016 Conference & Workshops

ACADIA 2016
University of Michigan Taubman College

Ann Arbor, Michigan

Pre-conference Workshops: October 24-26, 2016

Conference: October 27-29, 2016

The ACADIA 2016 Conference will foster design work and research from practice and academia that lie at the intersection between procedural design, designed environments, and autonomous machines. More specifically, the conference will explore recent work within the current trend in computational design to develop and apply quasi-cognitive machines. It covers the integration of software, information, fabrication and sensing to generate mechanisms for interfacing with the physical realm.

Workshops include: 

• Adaptive Spatially Extruded Structures
• Floating Megalith
• Robotic Softness: Behavioral Fabrication Process of Woven Structures
• Interactive Textiles
• Design Space Construction
• Computational BIM in Practice

Details and registration...

Call for papers: Say something about construction robotics

The Association for Robots in Architecture is launching a new journal focused on construction robotics. And now they are calling for submissions for their first edition.

The journal will link the robotics research community with researchers from architecture and civil engineering. It will cover robotic automation of all stages, from prefabrication of customized large scale parts, to refurbishment and demolition.

Much of the momentum and innovation in industrial robots over the last few years has come from architects adopting industrial robots as a universal machine for fabrication. Yet industrial robots are ill-suited for many of the on-site tasks encountered in construction and demolition. This Construction Robotics special edition aims to gather together those dedicated robot systems that go beyond the capabilities of industrial robots.

Potential topics include, but are not limited to:

• Mobile platforms suited for construction sites
• Kinematics for large workspaces and loads
• Robotic conversion of existing construction equipment
• Climbing and flying robots for construction and demolition 
• Robotic machinery for infrastructure projects
• Historical as well as state-of-the-art reviews

Submission deadline for full papers is November 15, 2016.

Questions? Email the managing editor.

More details and information on the Construction Robotics web page ....

Reminder: Grasshopper training begins on Monday

Intro to Grasshopper - Online Course

October 24-27, 2016

Register here.

Join Grasshopper master, Andres Gonzalez, for this accelerated online course. He will get you started with generative modeling in Rhino 5 using the Grasshopper add-on. The advantages of using Grasshopper in preliminary design and concept development come to life in real-life examples.

This course is for design professionals who are looking to efficiently learn concepts and features of Grasshopper at a fast pace in an instructor-led online environment.

• Monday-Thursday, October 24-27
• 9:00am-12:00pm (Pacific) each day
    Calculate your time zone.
• US$195.00 per person

All live training sessions will be recorded and the videos will be posted to a private student album available for streaming up to 90 days following the course.

Sign up now!

Tekniikka 2016 - November 1-3, Jyväskylä (Finland)

Tekniikka 2016
Automation, Production Technology, Industrial Internet
November 1-3, 2016
Jyväskylä (Finland)

Tekniikka 2016 targets decision makers, professionals, and engineers responsible for automation and production technology of various industries as well as the users of these technologies. Systems and services for measuring, analyzing, controlling, and adjusting the production processes are at the core of the exhibition. The display also includes machines, equipment, and services suitable to several branches of industry.

Visit the AN-Cadsolutions booth (B530) to learn more about Rhino, RhinoCAM, Rhino3DPRINT, 3D printers, and the DAVID 3D scanner.

More info...

Arduino Conference with Daniel Artamendi Ortiz de Zarate in UPB Medellin

Join UPB's RhinoFabStudio for a conference in Arduino with Daniel Artamendi Ortiz de Zarate. The conference will trace the journey from the origins of Arduino to the current situation. 

Arduino is an open hardware platform that facilitates the use of electronics in multidisciplinary projects, allowing you to create devices that relate to the physical world. Inspired by visual programming language, it applies the same principles of simplicity and development speed of this language in electronics. It consists of a programming environment and an integrated circuit, both under open-source licenses, designed for conducting electronic projects, making it ideal for rapid prototyping environment and education.

Date: 20 October 2016

Place: Universidad Pontificia Bolivariana (UPB), Medellín – Colombia Aula 414 Bloque 10 4th floor

Fee: Free access to the conference

For more information please contact Andres Franco.

What is a RhinoFabStudio? A RhinoFabStudio™ (fabrication studio) is a small-scale digital workshop, certified by McNeel, with an array of Rhino and Rhino compatible software and computer controlled tools and training. These tools cover the various leading-edge industrial methods and materials needed to design, analyze, and fabricate almost anything.

"I built this." Wenatchee High School teams up with K2 | Line

Are you ready for ski season? Wenatchee High School students are.

For project based learning, students from Doug Merrill's engineering class worked with K2 | Line skis to design and build their personal downhill skis.

Rhino was used during the development of the wood cores.

The project on YouTube: Designing the Edge ...

Regolo Studio - New Certified RhinoFabStudio

We'd like to welcome Regolo Studio as a new Certified RhinoFabStudio. 

Join Regolo Studio, on October 20th, at the inauguration of their new technology center in Macherio - Monza (30 minutes from Milan).


It is a space created to develop prototypes in a short time and to provide services dedicated to product development and analysis for companies and professionals.

There will be live sessions and conferences dedicated to metrology, insights on reverse engineering technology, rapid prototyping and rapid manufacturing. You'll see live, the new technologies applied to industrial production and technical arrangements and you'll have experts to answer your questions.

Location: Via Parini 32, Macherio (MB) Italy 
Date of Inauguration: October 20 - 22, 2016

For more information, please contact Silvia Salami. 

What is a RhinoFabStudio? A RhinoFabStudio™ (fabrication studio) is a small-scale digital workshop, certified by McNeel, with an array of Rhino and Rhino compatible software and computer controlled tools and training. These tools cover the various leading-edge industrial methods and materials needed to design, analyze, and fabricate almost anything.

MSU and RhinoCAM illustrating Pompeii and Oplontis

The Montana State University School of Architecture (MSU) Fabrication Shop created a site model for the reenactment of the destruction of Pompeii by Mount Vesuvius in AD 79. And RhinoCAM helped.

The site model is part of the exhibit, The Villas of Oplontis Near Pompeii, at the Museum of the Rockies that chronicles the eruption that destroyed Oplontis and Pompeii.

Using their CNC, MSU Instructor Bill Clinton and his students milled a topology map of the Bay of Naples out of high-density polyurethane foam. Their dynamic video animation of lava flow, volcanic ash, and pumice projects on to the topology map. Both architecture and geology students from MSU worked on this exhibit.

This Museum of the Rockies exhibit in Bozeman, MT, is the largest of the three venues in the United States.

This is the first, and probably only, time these artifacts will be displayed outside of Italy. The exhibit will be at the Museum of the Rockies through December 31, 2016.

More information on MSU's links to the exhibit ...

Site model of Mount Vesuvius and the Bay of Naples at the Museum of the Rockies. An overhead projection shows the lava and volcanic ash flow.

RhinoCAM showing the cut material simulation of the topology site model. 

Stone PolySphere installation

Stone PolySphere installation, designed by Maurizio Barberio and Giuseppe Fallacara (New Fundamentals Research Group), investigates the potential of digital fabrication applied to the stone industry. Stone PolySphere is a lithic sphere with a diameter of 1.4 meters, composed by a massive hemisphere below and a stereotomic hemisphere above.

The CNC machine Tc 1100, produced by Thibaut SA, allows the complex machining of all the parts. The massive hemisphere is obtained by sawing and milling a stone piece made of Pierre Bleue de Savoie (1.4 meters wide and 0.8 meters high). The stereotomic part consists of 120 perforated blocks, fabricated by milling four blocks of stone, containing 30 blocks each, in the average size of 1.60 m and 10 cm thick. The blocks are two glued layers of stone, which create a two-color effect variation depending on the morphology of the block itself. The stones used are Pierre Bleue de Savoie for the darker part, and Blanc d’Angola for the clearer part.

The sphere was modeled parametrically using Grasshopper.

Stone PolySphere was recently shown at Marmomacc Verona, the leading international event for the natural stone industry.

Cool running with the Vazee Breathe sole

How do you make running in hot weather a better experience? Brian Best designs a shoe to stay cool. With innovative materials and intelligent geometry, he designed a sole that uses a unique heat shield foil material to block heat from underneath. (Think pavements and sidewalks.)

Read how Brian was inspired by cactus at the San Diego Zoo to design this sole for the New Balance Vazee Breathe. See how he used Grasshopper to generate variations for the midsole and outsole to refine the design—a process faster than building in 3D with traditional methods.

Brian discusses the concepts in designing the Vazee Breathe sole ...

Performance Network Workshop Series

The team at Performance Network has been busy. They've posted their new fall schedule of workshops.  No need to travel. All workshops are being offered online. Sign up today!

October:
Honeybee THERM + Window Workshop
Honeybee THERM + Windows Part 2
Making Your Own Python Components
AEC Software Development 101 (including add-ons for Grasshopper)

November:
Grasshopper Pro Series - Data Management & Collaboration
Grasshopper Pro Series - Data Trees Master Class

December:
Grasshopper Pro Series - Smart Interfacing with Rhino | Intro to Human
Grasshopper Pro Series - Intro to Grasshopper with C#
Grasshopper Pro Series - Automated Diagramming

Details and registration...

About Performance Network...
Performance Network was created to make performance training affordable and accessible for everyone.

Rhino+Grasshopper D+O+F Training

Register for the Rhino DOF - Rhino Design Optimization & Fabrication training by McNeel Miami, home of the RhinoFabStudio.

Course description:
In this class you'll learn to create and edit accurate free-form 3D NURBS models. This fast-moving class covers most of Rhino's functionality, including the most advanced surfacing commands. Also taught will be a functional understanding of Grasshopper and parametric design, so students can build on this for more advanced projects of their own. The class covers fabrication techniques with RP or laser machines and optimization and fabrication using RhinoCAM for CNC machines.

Details...

USD $995

Date: November 7-11, 2016

Time: 8:00 am - 5:00 pm (EST)*

*Note: All times listed are Eastern (Miami) time zone

If you are not able to take the entire D+O+F course week, choose between theses three options:

Day 1 & 2 (Nov 7 - 8): Rhino Level 1
USD $495

Day 3 & 4 (Nov 9-10): Grasshopper Level 1
USD $495

Day 5 (Nov 11): RhinoCAM
USD $295

Location: 
McNeel Miami
1538 NW 89th Court
Miami, FL 33172
United States

Space is limited!!! Register here!

For more information please contact Jackie Nasser or call 305 513-4445.

What is a RhinoFabStudio? A RhinoFabStudio™ (fabrication studio) is a small-scale digital workshop, certified by McNeel, with an array of Rhino and Rhino compatible software and computer controlled tools and training. These tools cover the various leading-edge industrial methods and materials needed to design, analyze, and fabricate almost anything.

BlockRanger mesh generator Version 1.2

BlockRanger now has Version 1.2 of its easy-to-use interactive volume mesh generation plugin for engineers.

BlockRanger converts Rhino 5 solids into blocks of high-quality hexahedral (brick) elements. Use with most engineering analysis packages that require hexahedral meshing and a strict control of element quality, spatial distribution, and orientation.

Features 

• Construct and mesh complex models using the advanced tools available in Rhino. Then use the BlockRanger plugin for Rhino to volume mesh FLAC3D zones or 3DEC blocks.
• Interactively use BlockRanger to partition your model into an assembly of 4-, 5-, or 6-sided solids.
• BlockRanger's meshing applications range from fluids and structures to biomedicine and geosciences.
• BlockRanger is easy to learn and to use. If you know Rhino, you already know how to use BlockRanger!

More information ....

Intro to Grasshopper Online Course - October

Intro to Grasshopper - Online Course

October 24-27, 2016

Register here.

Join Grasshopper master, Andres Gonzalez, for this accelerated online course. He will get you started with generative modeling in Rhino 5 using the Grasshopper add-on. The advantages of using Grasshopper in preliminary design and concept development come to life in numerous real-life examples.

This course is for design professionals who are looking to efficiently learn concepts and features of Grasshopper at a fast pace in an instructor-led online environment.

• Monday-Thursday, October 24-27
• 9:00am-12:00pm (Pacific) each day
    Calculate your time zone.
• US$195.00 per person

All live training sessions will be recorded and the videos will be posted to a private student album available for streaming up to 90 days following the course.

Space is limited... Sign up today!

Level 1 Rhino 5 for Windows Online Course - October

Level 1 Rhino 5 for Windows - Online Course
October 10-20, 2016
US$200 - Register here.


In this online class you'll learn to create and edit accurate free-form 3D NURBS models. This fast-moving class covers most of Rhino's functionality, including the most advanced surfacing commands. Our detailed class outline is available here.


Dates: 

• Monday, October 10 - 9:00am-11:00am (Orientation)
• Tuesday-Thursday, October 11-13 - 9:00am-1:00pm and
• Tuesday-Thursday, October 18-20 - 9:00am-1:00pm
  All times listed are Pacific Daylight. Calculate your time zone. 

Sign up today! 

Ask questions and interact with the class and instructor in our live training session. All sessions will be recorded and posted for your study and review. If you cannot make a session, you will be able to catch up at your convenience.

The class will be in English using the GoToTraining software.


Notes: 

• You need Rhino 5 for Windows software installed.
• Rhino for Mac is not acceptable software for this class. 
• You need a stable and fast Internet connection. 
• You need a headset/microphone combo. 
• You need a hard copy of the Rhino Level 1 Training Manual, which you may download here.

Trello for project management

Trying to organize and prioritize your projects? Preview Trello for Rhino on YouTube. This plugin integrates with Trello boards and cards.