VIKTOR Grasshopper Sunlight Analysis App

With VIKTOR, transforming your Grasshopper model into a real-time web application is a breeze.

Feel free to explore the Twisting Tower & Ladybug Sun Hours Analysis public app.

For more insights, check out the blog post on Easily Turn Grasshopper Models into Sharable Web Apps with VIKTOR.

Artist-in-Residency program at EPFL (Lausanne, Switzerland)

EPFL again invites artists, designers, and makers to join it for a 3-month residency in the spring of 2024! 

"We welcome project proposals that leverage our research to explore new geometric and material expressions, aiming to create a sculptural artwork, kinetic installation, or functional application prototype. You will have access to GCM’s latest research technology and computational design tools, as well as a fully equipped fab lab including machines for laser cutting, CNC milling, and 3D printing, standard hand tools, and various custom-built machines. In collaborating with GCM’s team, you will receive hands-on support on in-house design software and digital fabrication technology."

Complete details...

Notilus marine plugins are expanding

 

Notilus plugins are tailored to meet the needs of the maritime industry. Trusted by industry leaders, these tools empower you to expedite your design processes, reduce errors, and bring your projects to life faster.

Notilus Steeler - 3D Modeling for Yacht and Ship Construction

- Automatic part detection, posing, and marking.

- Creation of 2D cutting files with ease.

- Automated stiffener generation and easy cutout management.

- Collaborative working within the same project.

- Instant bill of materials list with weight and Cog values.

Notilus Piping - Rapid 3D Piping

- Quick pipe and fitting addition.

- Customizable pipe and equipment libraries.

- Fast measurement and COG calculations.

- 3D pipe dimensioning and positioning.

- Live bill of materials and fluid weight calculation

- Automatic penetration addition

- HVAC design

- Spool Generation

Notilus Drafting - Workshop Drawings

- Automatic dimensioning and labeling.

- Automatic generation of 2D drawings.

- Easy layout creation and scene management.

- Revision management and label editing.

Notilus Clipper - Advanced Clipping Planes

- Swift clipping plane location determination.

- Enable/disable clipping planes effortlessly.

- Project-based clipping plane saving and restoring.

Notilus PID - Process Flow and P&ID Diagrams

- Customizable symbol library.

- Auto-count and labeling of items.

- Instant bill of materials.

- Automatic pipe and symbol legends.

- Easy rescaling of drawings.

- Check pipe dimensions and instruments.

All the details...

Rhino User Webinar: Design-Driven Engineering

Rhino User Webinar

Collaborative Strategies for Architectural & Engineering Excellence through Computational Design

September 27, 2023, at 4:00 PM CEST

How can we, as structural and bridge engineers, work to enhance architectural designs while simultaneously achieving sound and efficient structures?

This upcoming webinar will provide insights into the innovative culture at Tyréns, a multidisciplinary consulting firm that embraces innovation and prioritizes design-driven engineering.

Through a series of examples, we'll demonstrate the diverse ways we collaborate with architects—spanning from distinctive projects to the intricacies of daily tasks within building structures and bridge engineering. Through these examples, we will showcase effectively using Rhino, Grasshopper, and other linked applications to drive, collaborate, and automate designs.

About the speakers:

• Daniel Lauri is a Structural Engineer and Computational Design Lead at Tyréns in Stockholm. He is mainly involved in early-stage design, research projects, as well as leading the company's digital transformation strategy in his role as Digitalization Lead. Daniel is also a mentor and Computational Design Lead in Tyréns Structural Design Network.

• Guayente Minchot is a Structural Engineer with a strong focus on early design stages and the seamless integration of structural engineering into the architectural vision. She works daily with visual programming tools like Grasshopper and Rhino and its various integrations with other 3D modeling and Finite Element (FE) software. Guayente is also an ambassador for Tyréns Structural Design Network.

• Martin Krepper is a bridge engineer who works on projects in both early-stage design and production stages. He works daily with Rhino/Grasshopper against BIM and FEA software such as Tekla Structures and SOFiSTiK. Martin is also an ambassador for Tyréns Structural Design Network.

Complete details and registration...

New version of Lark Spectral Lighting Grasshopper plugin

 

ZGF Architects and the University of Washington Applied Research Consortium (ARC) have released version 3.0 of Lark Spectral Lighting on food4Rhino and GitHub. The Lark project is a global, peer-reviewed, open-source software to expand the toolkit for researchers and designers predicting non-visual light for human health.

Lark v3.0 allows for custom spectral power distributions for the sky, sun, electric lights, glazing, and finish materials. The workflow can be used by architects, lighting designers, manufacturers, researchers, and public health officials to test any configuration of daylight and electric lighting for any building type. 

Applying measured spectral data for light sources has been a driver for Lark, first with skies (v1.0), then electric lights (v2.0), and now the sun (v3.0). Their research shows the color of the sun transitions from warmer spectrums at sunrise (e.g., violet, orange, red) and sunset to cooler spectrums (e.g.,  blue) at its zenith, which can largely impact non-visual light stimulus. This cycle can be simulated with full-spectrum lighting for improved health and well-being in any indoor environment.

Details and download...

New Plugin for Wind Tunnel Simulations Released: Tdyn Wind Tunnel

Rhino Tdyn Wind Tunnel plugin

This plugin combines the 3D design capabilities of Rhinoceros with the smooth user experience and computational power of Tdyn Wind Tunnel.

The plugin allows you to perform CFD simulations in three simple steps:

1. Automatic export of geometry created and prepared in Rhino to Tdyn Wind Tunnel.
2. Definition of wind speed and symmetries.
3. Launch the simulation and view the results!

This plugin is perfect for anyone who can benefit from aerodynamic analyses, regardless of their expertise in CFD simulations or fluid dynamics knowledge, for example:

• Structural engineers seek accurate values of the wind loads.
• Architects and urban designers who are willing to assess wind behavior around urban areas/buildings or enhance comfort inside spaces.
• Designers (cars, motorbikes, etc.) looking for improved estimations of aerodynamic coefficient.
• Fluid mechanics teachers whose purpose is to provide more intuitive and specific educational tools and content.

Furthermore, CFD experts will also find in Tdyn Wind Tunnel an extraordinary ally that will drastically reduce the preprocessing, meshing, and post-processing times while minimizing the associated errors.

Working with Rhino Tdyn WindTunnel:

The first execution of the plugin will check if Tdyn WindTunnel is installed on the PC and will automatically download and install it from the CompassIS Website. In subsequent executions, the user will be required to introduce the passwords needed for the execution of the Tdyn Wind tunnel.

The Rhino plugin is free, and Tdyn WindTunnel currently offers the possibility of evaluating it for free with temporal passwords, which can be obtained from our password generator.

Get more information and download...

Future of Construction 2023 Symposium (TU München, September 13-15)

The Future of Construction 2023 Symposium provides a platform to discuss novel human-machine collaborations in design and construction. Together, we will raise questions about how complementary skills—the accuracy and speed of machines and their ability to crunch large amounts of data, jointly with our capacity as humans to solve problems creatively, flexibly, and collaboratively—can affect the ecologically, economically, and socially sustainable development of the built environment.

A great set of presentations and workshops, including Digital tools for co-designing with living systems. This workshop will foster a new discourse on the future of integrating an ecosystemic approach in digital design. It builds on recent insights of the research project ECOLOPES (McNeel Europe R&D, one of the leading partners) and TreeML and PrunML. 

Intact.Simulation for Rhino/Grasshopper

Experience the New Standard in Native Model Simulation with the Power of Intact.Simulation for Rhino/Grasshopper!

Finally, high-end, robust mechanical simulation comes to the Grasshopper ecosystem.

Industrial-Strength Simulations: Say goodbye to geometry preprocessing and meshing headaches. Our cutting-edge solution delivers robust mechanical simulations without the hassle. Leave the small features on!

Rapid Iteration, Unrivaled Accuracy: Validate and iterate designs swiftly, all while maintaining precision. Automate and iterate on your designs without sacrificing results.

Unmatched Flexibility: Enjoy the most versatile mechanical simulation solution available. It's quick to set up, handles any geometry including implicit VDB files for lattices, meta-materials, unmeshable solids, STL, polygons, and BREP, and tackles simulation challenges effortlessly.

Comprehensive Capabilities: Explore structural, thermal, and vibration physics with access to a vast material database.

Elevate your design game with Intact.Simulation—simplifying complexity and propelling your projects to new heights in Rhino. Try it today!

Rhinozine September Issue

Please take a moment to look through our latest release.

Elevating Surfing to New Heights

Lift Foils blends 3D modeling with a passion for adventure, ushering in a fresh era of aquatic thrills.

Grupo MSH's Innovative Facade

Blends environment and aesthetics in perfect harmony.

Improve Your Rhino Skills

Discover a collection of game-changing video clips that provide tips and tricks on how to use Rhino effectively.

Advanced 3D Printing with Grasshopper®: Clay and FDM

The book showcases the versatility of its techniques by ingeniously extending them from clay 3D printing to thermo-filament 3D printing.

Explore our previous issues of Rhinozine here!

Available now: Public Beta of sphereneRHINO Plugin - A revolution in design and manufacturing

spherene, a specialized company in Adaptive Density Minimal Surface Technology (ADMS), launched its public beta release of its sphereneRHINO plugin. Now accessible directly through Rhino's package manager, the plugin offers a range of features beneficial for professionals in computational design, footwear, orthopedics, automotive, aerospace, and other sectors. The sphereneRHINO plugin improves both material efficiency and structural integrity in various design and manufacturing applications.

The plugin extends the capabilities of Rhino by integrating spherene’s patented features, including:

• Efficient material use for additive manufacturing
• Exceptional rigidity with minimal material
• Adaptive surface integration
• Parametric control
• Open-pored or closed-construction options

Getting started couldn't be simpler. Just go to Rhino's package manager and download the sphereneRHINO plugin. For step-by-step installation instructions, check out spereneRHINO's comprehensive documentation.

The Public Beta is available for free for a limited period! Make sure you explore the revolutionary features of sphereneRHINO at zero cost. This will become a paid service in the future.

A trailblazer in Adaptive Density Minimal Surface Technology, spherene is dedicated to revolutionizing design and manufacturing. 

Grasshopper Meets Lacquer: Innovating Art with Ekkehard Altenburger

The artist Ekkehard Altenburger showcased his latest work, which merges Grasshopper definitions with the traditional technique of Vietnamese lacquer art painting.

As a well-respected Professor of Sculpture at the Academy of Visual Arts in Hong Kong, Altenburger collaborated closely with a master lacquer artist in a Hanoi studio to master the ancient Vietnamese lacquer art technique. With his expertise in programming robotic systems and the extended use of Grasshopper code in his research, Altenburger took inspiration from the convergence of ancient traditions and modern technology.

Altenburger's fascination with the shift from high-end digital environments to the humble surroundings of a Hanoi studio is evident in his exhibition. Working in intense humidity, crucial for the drying and curing of Vietnamese lacquer derived from tree resin, Altenburger's art exudes a unique blend of ancient artistry and contemporary innovation.

The exhibition, held at Galerie Lunette in the heart of historic Hanoi, allowed Altenburger to showcase his works alongside established artists such as Claudia Van and Dinh Ngoc Canh.

Looking forward to further exploration in this field, Altenburger is drawn to the immersive experience of working in Hanoi studios. He anticipates many more productive days in the sweltering heat as he continues to explore how digital technology opens new aesthetic avenues in this ancient technique.

For more about this exhibition, look at this local TV interview.

Contact Ekkehard Altenburger at

Web: /altenburger.co.uk

Instagram: /altenburger_artist