IntraLattice, Chimpanzee, Treesloth and Droid added to ShapeDiver!

ShapeDiver, an online platform for hosting, publishing, and sharing Grasshopper files on the web, recently added support for four new Grasshopper plugins: IntraLattice, Chimpanzee, Treeslot, and Droid. This brings the total number of supported third-party plugins to 33, including popular names such as Pufferfish, Karamba3D, Kangaroo 2, OpenNest, Weaverbird, and MeshTools.

Learn more about how you can use them...

Getting to know... WOOD-SKIN: Bespoke Wooden Panels!

WOOD-SKIN® is an Italian company that offers two completely customizable products mesh sheets and fold panels. Founded in 2013, it bridges the gap between the idea of a 3D complex surface and its realization. 

In this interview, they talk about how they are using parametric design and digital fabrication to offer uniquely designed wooden panels to clients worldwide. Learn more about their team, their products, the challenging aspects of designing and building them, and how they use ShapeDiver to provide a custom solution.

Read the complete interview...

Datakit announces a new update of their Import/Export plugins

Datakit, a specialist in 3D interoperability, announces the new version (2022.1) of its technical data conversion SDK. 

Since 1994 Datakit has facilitated the exchange of 2D and 3D data for users and developers of CAD, CAD/CAM, 3D visualization, simulation, metrology, and modeling applications. The latest version of CrossManager (Datakit software for file-to-file conversion of most 3D and 2D formats) and CrossCad/Ware (reading and writing libs for 2D and 3D software editors) improve once the interoperability between different standard and native formats.

 

Datakit conversion libraries V2022.1 bring new reading functionalities for Inventor, OBJ, Revit. They also add CATIA V5 writing functionalities. 

Software editors integrating release 2022.1 of Datakit SDK will now be able to:

• Read the predefined views, as well as the FDT (PMI) from the Inventor assembly files 
• Read the alpha channel of colors (transparency) from OBJ 3D and Rhino. 
• Write in CATIA V5 the Views named by the users.

Datakit is constantly upgrading its SDK to remain compatible with the latest versions from publishers, as well as with their previous versions. 

Datakit V2022.1 adds new versions and now makes it possible to: 

• Read JT files up to version 10.7 
• Read older Revit versions (2011,2012,2013 and 2014) in complement with Revit 2015 to 2022 versions.
• Extract data from SolidEdge 2022, the latest version of SolidEdge. 
• Read the 2022 SP0 version of SOLIDWORKS, and ancestors from 2006 to 2008. 
• Read NX 1992, 1996, and 2000, the last versions of NX.

How to test Datakit file-to-file software

End-users of 2D and 3D applications can download the software and obtain a demo license on the official pages of CrossManager and CrossCad/Plg.

Details and download...

Hull Shape Assistant plugin in open beta

Hull Shape Assistant (HSA) is a new Rhino plugin providing shape modeling assistance tools focused on design, fairing, and reverse engineering.

HSA’s geometry is composed of parts that may be surfaces or a set of curves prepared for lofting a surface. HSA also accepts as an input already existing polysurfaces in one part, with no specific option to modify it.

Functionality:

• Automatic joining and trimming of parts, according to defined limiting top, transom, or skeg shape
• Automatic generation of flat side and flat bottom
• Real-time information regarding distance from reference geometry, which can be points clouds, curves, meshes, surfaces or polysurfaces
• Real-time generation of sections, buttocks and waterlines
• Simplified control over surface curvature and zebra analysis
• Real-time information regarding ship hydrostatic parameters – HSA will try to fill small gaps in imperfect shape if the input is non-watertight
• Simple clipping over length
• Simple compact panel for control of plugin functionality

Currently, HSA supports only symmetric hull shapes.

Request a beta key on food4Rhino...

Research projects at School of Mechanical Engineering - Istanbul Technical University

Erkan Gunpinar (Associate Professor at School of Mechanical Engineering - Istanbul Technical University) has been kind enough to share the following research projects with the Rhino/Grasshopper community:

• Helical5AM: Five-axis parametrized helical additive manufacturing
• 4 and 5-Axis additive manufacturing of parts represented using free-form 3D curves
• Curvature and Feature-Aware Print-Paths from Hexahedral Meshes for Additive Manufacturing
• SplineLearner: Generative learning system of design constraints for models represented using B-spline surfaces

Download the excerpts with links to the full papers...

ExactFlat for Rhino - Free Mini Course

Improve your pattern-making in Rhino with the ExactFlat for Rhino 3D plugin.
Make digital patterns the easy way. ExactFlat will show you how.
The ExactFlat for Rhino Mini Course is free.

ExactFlat for Rhino 3D features include:

1. Design in Rhino or import from laser scans or other 3D CAD packages.
2. Accurately flatten complex 3D surfaces into production-ready 2D flat patterns.
3. Add precision alignment notches, darts, seams, and grain lines in seconds.
4. Export in standard DXF formats to create output for cutters or 2D fabric CAD packages.
   More features.

Questions? Email Mark Jewell.

Environmental simulation in Rhino with Pollination from Ladybug Tools

We're so excited to share that Rhino and Ladybug Tools users now have access to a new, user-friendly plugin for environmental simulation called Pollination. Created by the developers of Ladybug Tools, the Pollination ecosystem extends Rhino's superior modeling capabilities by giving users the ability to assign environmental simulation data to geometry. You can quickly build, visualize, and validate geometrically complex models before running energy, daylight, thermal comfort, or other environmental simulations in parallel with your design model for real-time insight. 

Use the plugin as a stand-alone desktop application or combine it with Pollination's cloud-computing capabilities, verified simulation recipes, and collaboration features for an unparalleled environmental analysis experience. Ladybug Tools users will find a seamless integration between the Ladybug Tools Grasshopper plugin and the Pollination Rhino plugin. Fully-detailed energy and Radiance models created in Rhino can be sent to Grasshopper as Honeybee models for custom simulation, parametric analysis, and data visualization.

Join the upcoming Pollination User Meetup on May 26, 2022, at 11 am EST to learn about leveraging Pollination to make your existing Ladybug Tools and Rhino workflows more effortless and collaborative.

Register for Pollination User Meeting...

SURPIK3D - nNw stitching tool for Rhino

SURPIK3D is a new plugin for Rhino and Grasshopper for digital designers in CMF, textile and leather industries (footwear, leather goods, apparel, interior design, furniture, automotive, aircraft, and more) who need to quickly generate stitching and splitting on soft parts of a 3D model for technical or rendering purposes.

You can configure different types of stitching and splitting thanks to the parameters in the user interface and get these as real geometries.

Download SURPIK3D from food4Rhino...

VisualARQ Inside.Revit video

The Rhino.Inside.Revit technology allows you to run Rhino and VisualARQ inside Revit. Using Grasshopper as a bridge, the Rhino geometry and VisualARQ objects can travel back and forth from Rhino to Revit.

The VisualARQ.Inside Revit workflow offers a simple way to make this conversion by providing the Grasshopper definitions needed to transfer all the geometry and information with just one single click.

With this workflow you will be able to:

• Transfer all the VisualARQ objects from VisualARQ to Revit
• Transfer Rhino geometry from VisualARQ to Revit
• Use the IFC VisualARQ features to tag Rhino geometry with an IFC type so that it will be transferred to Revit as if you had exported to IFC
• For some objects (walls, slabs, doors, and windows), their styles will be automatically transferred as Revit types so that they will be Revit native objects
• Transfer all the VisualARQ parameters associated to objects with their values
• Update all this information anytime

Download the definition and watch the video...

New Rhino 7 and V-Ray 5 videos by SimplyRhino UK

SimplyRhino UK has been kind enough to share new videos about Rhino 7 and V-Ray 5:

Watch the videos now...

Bella 22.3 for Rhino released

Diffuse Logic is pleased to announce the public release of Bella 22.3, which introduces its new Saturn solver. 

The Saturn solver is built on a novel new architecture, which enables fast, fully spectral rendering, as well as the ability to stop at a given perceptual noise level and use the same solver for preview and production rendering. With CPU performance on par with some GPU renderers, Saturn, which features native support for Apple Silicon, also serves as the basis for the ongoing development of hybrid CPU/GPU support in Bella.

Additional features introduced in this release include an optical vignetting element that simulates cat-eye bokeh, simulation of sensor noise and film grain, the ability to override transmittance color when using measured complex IOR data which can be especially useful when rendering gemstones, as well as various enhancements to the Bella GUI application. 

As always, Bella 22.3 is freely available to demo with no time limit.

Complete details...

Download the eval on food4Rhino...

Lands Design inside Revit, a BIM landscape design solution for Revit

 

Asuni is glad to announce that Lands Design's powerful terrain modeling tools and Grasshopper components now work inside Revit. Thanks to the Rhino.Inside Revit integration, Lands Design objects can be recognized as BIM objects in Revit. 

The above video explains step by step how to integrate your Rhino landscape project in Revit.  

Find here the Grasshopper definitions to transfer Lands Design objects to Revit...

New release for BobCAM for Rhino

 

Version 2 of BobCAM for Rhino is now available to download. With the release of V2, their new 5-axis premium module is now available for all BobCAD-CAM’s product families.  

New toolpath technology and workflow reduces programming time and simplifies processes while expanding machining capabilities—the ultimate toolpath bundle for job shop manufacturers programming 3, 4, or 5-axis CNC machines.

“I am so excited for users to their hands-on BobCAD-CAM’s new products. Every customer will find enhancements and new features to get their NC programs to the machine faster and easier! There was a lot of focus on the usability, all the way up to new cutting strategies for shops who are pushing machines to their limits.” Greg Myers, Director, R&D, BobCAD-CAM, Inc., developer of BobCAM for Rhino.

New efficiency and improvements:

• Deburring. Automatically create toolpath to trim complex edges or apply chamfers/fillets to part feature edges when posting in 3, 4, or 5-axis.
• Probing. Simplify and automate the process of programming, simulating, and posting CNC probing cycles.
• Auto 3+2 Roughing. Index roughing for 5-axis using automatic, semi-automatic, or manual direction of approach.
• 3-5 Axis Conversion. Apply automatic 5-axis tilting for 3-axis tool paths.
• Turn Mill. Faster material removal for Mills and Mill-Turn Machines where both the stock and tool spin to increasing surface speed. Machine part profiles result in less chip consideration and faster cycle times.
• Multiaxis Machining. New finishing strategies added to what was previously called Multiaxis Roughing.  Now users can choose from roughing and finishing options with specific tool paths for wall and floor finishing.
• Multiblade. New advanced optimized operations for 5-axis machining of impellers and blisks.   Specific operations to rough and finish blades, hubs, and fillets.
• Port Machining. New advanced optimized operations specific for CNC port machining require minimal user input.

BobCAM for Rhino works on Rhino 6 or greater. It is localized in eight language packs: English, Spanish, French, German, Japanese, Czech, Italian, and Portuguese. 

More information about the latest enhancements to BobCAM For Rhino...

Or call 877-262-2231

Announced: Winner of VisualARQ BIM Design Student Contest 2022

Asuni is pleased to announce the winner of the second edition of the VisualARQ BIM Design Student Contest 2022.

The winner of this year’s edition is Zhen Zixu, a fourth-year student at Xi’an University of Architecture and Technology, who presented a museum of traditional Chinese medicine, a project inspired by traditional Chinese medicine, history, and culture.

Zhen Zixu appreciates how VisualARQ helped build a complete workflow and emphasizes the connection with Grasshopper.

Check out the entire project...

Getting to know... Toggle: Reimagining rebar fabrication

Toggle is an American firm that is reimaging rebar fabrication with the help of robots and computational design tools such as Grasshopper and ShapeDiver.

In this interview, Daniel Blank and Andreas Thoma talk about how they got inspired to start this company after witnessing how wind turbines are built, how they got $100K in funding and basically hacked their way until they found Product-Market Fit, plus how COVID forced them to have a "work from anywhere" mentality. Finally, they have a word of advice to all new founders on navigating the intricate world of startups and funding rounds.

Read the complete interview...

New Rhino book: "Modelação Clássica e por Subdivisão em Rhinoceros 7"

João Monteiro has published a new book (in Portuguese): Modelação Clássica e por Subdivisão em Rhinoceros 7.

809 pages with the basics, classic NURBS modeling, and a second part dedicated to the new SubD tools.

While the book focuses on 3D modeling of objects, it also includes an introduction on obtaining photorealistic images from them using the available tools in Rhinoceros, as well as importing and modifying models created in other CAD programs. Most of the proposed exercises are based on reference images, on which the models are built, being available to download through a link presented in the text. The book was written based on the Windows version of Rhinoceros, but Mac users can also use it.

Buy now the online version on Amazon...

Building the Liberty ACE Sportscar 2022

Pete Larsen had a vision of building a modern-day interpretation of the 1940 and 50’s streamlined mid-engine sportscar. The result is a fun exciting vehicle with a unique driving experience. Find out what it took to complete the project...

Grasshopper Knowledge | Packhunt.io

Are you interested in expanding your Grasshopper knowledge?

Packhunt.io has created a video series called Grasshopper Explained with snackable tips and tricks that will help you save time and keep your models clean!

Join its community by subscribing to the video channel today!

Rendering and visualization with Rhino and Weviz Studio

Weviz Studio is a new generation of visualization software. Thanks to real-time technology, rendering is now instantaneous! 

Reviewing your designs, validating them, creating smashing 3D presentations and videos is now as easy as a game! Discover the easiest-to-use and most realistic real-time software, especially for design and manufacturing industries.

Easy import from Rhino: Weviz supports 3DM format and many others natively! Drag and drop your 3D projects on Weviz Studio.

Details and download...

Timber gridshell classrooms with Grasshopper: Design, optimization and construction

The students from UPC School MPDA Master's in Parametric Design Architecture 1, which is taught online and at the ETSAV architecture school, have accomplished during the Studio 2 course the design and construction of two timber structures for hosting open-air classrooms in two different schools.

The students followed a program of continuous reviews by international experts on structural design, timber construction, computational geometry, and membrane design. The international group of students solved all the design, structural analysis, numerical fabrication, and construction processes within the Rhinoceros/Grasshopper framework, and finally built it during the face-to-face phase in Barcelona.

Amid several toolsets, the students profusely used Kangaroo 2 for the form finding, and then Kiwi!3D, Karamba3D, and Beaver for the structural analysis.

The Master Parametric Design in Architecture provides a computational design framework for the creation and optimization of lightweight structures with a low ecological footprint. The construction of the classrooms is part of the subject of development of innovation projects in which it is sought to integrate computational geometry, technological efficiency, sustainability and economic viability in real projects that can have a positive impact.

The built classrooms are designed with digital tools aiming to reduce the energy and weight of structures by means of an intensive use of geometry, and are manufactured using numerically controlled machines that allow for fast, efficient and prefabricated production.

The Zollinger open classroom, built at the CanCuní, is a lightweight gridshell of short pieces of birch plywood. The system is loosely based on the traditional Zollinger system which consists of the reciprocal transfer of loads in a short beam system. The challenge is to design and calibrate the required stiffness of a simply manufactured joint to avoid the cost and time of a bracing system.

The 3way open classroom, built at the ETSAV, is an ultra-thin gridshell of long and wide birch plywood 12mm planks. The system is based on the coupling of three families of pseudo-geodesic curves on a common surface that can be built from completely straight and planar planks without any waste. The simple 1D manufacturing technology relies solely on the exact positioning of the holes.

Students: Jorge Adrian Martorell ,Christian Merhej, Rudy Riachy , Alberto Sadun , Marc Serra , Alex Solà, Aitor Vadillo , Luis Ángel Garcia, Khalifa Alkhazriji , Ángel Barrón, Dalia Ezzeddine, Danny Vallejo , Ehsan Naguib, Weston Porter.

International experts: Julian Lienhard , Bending-active, STR.ucture / Universität Kassel, Dragos Naicu, timber gridshells, Anna Bauer, Structural analysis, Kiwi!3D / TUM, Ángel Antequera, Load cases and Wind, CODA /Modularem, Alberto Pugnale, Timber construction, University Melbourne, Almudena Majano, Timber engineering, ETSAM, Antonio Lara, Timber Engineering, ETSAM, Ton Miserachs, Membrane patterning, TP Arquitectura i construcció textil

Academic direction: Gerard Bertomeu, Pep Tornabell, Ramon Sastre, Enrique Soriano (partners at CODA and teachers at Barcelonatech and UPC School)

Acknowledgments: Special thanks to Can Cuní and to ETSAV UPC Architecture school for their support and workshops, Somnis a mida, Camping el Llac, Serge Ferrari for sponsoring the material, Gabarró Hermanos (timber logistics using UPM plywood), Manxa Bricolatge (Hardware), and always thankful to Daniel Piker for the use of Kangaroo.

Photo Credit: Andres Flajszer 

RhinoCAM 2022 announced

MecSoft, the developer of CAM software solutions, has released RhinoCAM 2022. RhinoCAM 2022 is the latest version of MecSoft’s fully integrated Computer-Aided Manufacturing (CAM) plugin for Rhino 6 and 7. 

Release highlights include:

• New saw machining operation
• Enhanced adaptive roughing module
• Upgraded and improved 4-axis machining methods
• Milling tool holder definition for display and collision checks
• Integration of post and G-code in the operation tree in the part file
• Programmable post-processors employing the Python programming language
• Expanded RhinoCAM SDK for automating machining
• Other productivity and user interface enhancements
• Additional enhancements to the G-Code editor and profile nesting modules

For more details, see What’s New in RhinoCAM 2022. Also, you can request your free demo software download of RhinoCAM 2022.

Rhino 7 GPU / Graphics Card Tests (by SimplyRhino UK)

SimplyRhino UK has completed its latest GPU test report, looking at performance not only with Rhino 7 (and Rhino Raytrace rendering engine) and popular companion products such as KeyShot, Twinmotion, V-Ray for Rhino and Chaos Vantage.

"Choosing a GPU / Graphics Card isn’t a straightforward task, especially when you have a mix of software tools that you switch between, as many CAD users do. It is a challenge to find a good balance between GPU price and performance, so we set out with this report to fill in some of the gaps to help you choose the right card for your applications."

Complete test details...

Getting to know... MERZ MÖBEL: Furniture (Custom) Made In Germany!

MERZ MÖBEL, a German furniture company, recently released a brand new web site featuring several highly customizable pieces of furniture. It allows customers to design sideboards according to their preferences and needs with the help of additive manufacturing, traditional carpentry, Grasshopper, and ShapeDiver.

In this interview, Ulrich Merz, product designer and founder of Merz Möbel, talks to ShapeDiver and gives us a glimpse into his company and story.

Read the complete interview here...

Rhino-CVC - New object library for HVAC

 

Rhino-CVC is a 3D object library associated with Grasshopper definitions, distributed in a Rhino toolbar, allowing to create piping, VMC and heating elements, automatically and fully configurable with ergonomics.

Parametric elements include:

• 3D and 5D curves to be welded
• Concentric and eccentric reducers
• Dished ends to be welded,
• Equal and reduced tees to be welded
• Radiators (fully configurable)
• Straight tubes (steel, copper, stainless steel, multilayer, and PVC)
• Bendable tubes (steel, copper, multilayer)
• Piping layers

The tubes have built-in yardage (length, weight, and capacity). The layers are preconfigured (choice in the tools).

Bills of materials—very clean with the possibility of formatting—are automatically generated individually: piping, fitting to be welded, equipment, and VMC.

This plugin receives updates to increase its rich capabilities further and also to improve them constantly because we are more than anything, eager to offer the best tool possible to have as much fun using it as we had to create it!

Download and details....

New version of Conveyor Rhino and Revit

Conveyor can transform workflow between Rhino® and Revit® with easy-to-use repeatable standards. Conveyor enables you to convert geometry and data between Rhino and Revit without the need for complicated workflow or computational interfaces. 

Conveyor V3 has just been released:

• Integration with Rhino.Inside.Revit technology
• Convert geometry and data to Rhino
• Edit Revit properties from Rhino
• Send directshapes with material information to Revit.

Download a free trial of Conveyor...

Rhino.Inside cadwork

Cadwork is the market leader in software solutions and CAD/CAM 3D for wood construction, framing, and carpentry.

Now, thanks to the Rhino.Inside technology, you can take advantage of cadwork and Grasshopper together!

Complete details and download...

Open Sky/Oasiz (by ARCHIOLOGICS)

Adolfo Nadal from ARCHIOLOGICS has been kind enough to share his recent project Open Sky/Oasiz, modeled with the help of Rhino and Grasshopper:

At ARCHIOLOGICS, we conceive each project as a process thought and designed to meet the expectations, tastes and needs of each profile. We combine design and construction with the highest levels of precision through a workflow based on virtual models, true digital twins for construction. We are able to combine the most advanced industrialization and design systems with the customization of each design and work thanks to our Rhino-based, tailor-made solutions. Whether you are looking for a pure geometric or textured design, specific sizes or proposals, or a bright and striking aesthetic, our team of professionals will develop the best version for your needs.

From design to construction

Our façade solutions highlight the value of material and geometry through fully customized computational processes. We optimize investment and minimize costs thanks to early analysis and rationalization of the geometry, improving its constructive and aesthetic potential. All this can be achieved by harvesting the native power of Rhinoceros' NURBS geometry core and the extended functionality we add by means of Grasshopper and the software's API. In this particular case, we were able to develop more than 22000sqm of unique panels seamlessly integrating design and construction procedures, such as surface rationalization, structure optimization, and drawing automation, including a wide variety of planar, curved, and double curved geometries.

At Oasiz, we provide value to this raw material to the extent that it becomes a truly unmatched design. Unique products are combined with geometric cladding and vitreous finishes, adopting the essence of industrial and minimalist environments for a project that seeks to stand out by itself.

Complete details...

Introducing: The New ShapeDiver Plugin (v1.9)!

After introducing their brand new platform a week ago, it’s now time to unveil the new version of ShapeDiver's Grasshopper plugin. This time they've tackled some of your most requested features such as new import and export file formats, a new attribute system, a plethora of new components, downloading and updating via Rhino’s Package Manager, and much more!

Read the complete article and learn more about these features...

2Shapes for Rhino 3.0 Released

2Shapes for Rhino, the jewelry design plugin for Rhino, just got to version 3.0. 

Here are the top 10 new features:

• Micro Settings: Creating micro settings has never been so easy, intuitive, and dynamic.
• Quick Array on Curve: Array on Curve generates multiple copies of objects and arranges them dynamically along a curve.
• Recover the gems from your old Matrix and RhinoGold models.
• Quick Orient: All diamonds and gemstones are updated to 2Shapes and are entirely usable and editable in one click.
• Recess: Easily create depressions on your design to help set gems, 3D textures, and more!
• Weight: Get the weight of your model with a single click, including metal and gems!
• Quick Polar Array: Polar Array has an easy-to-use interface and many additional options to create what you are looking for.
• Technical Report: Significant improvements in reporting include logo customization and additional information such as weight, gems map, and much more.
• Rendering UI: Significant improvements in reporting include logo customization and additional information such as weight, gems map, and much more.
• New Rendering Materials: This new version includes more than 20 new materials, including such incredible materials as Diamond Cognac.

Complete details...

xNURBS Rhino plugin V5.2 released

90% of the surfaces in the final car rendering were created using xNURBS

Announcing the availability of xNURBS Version 5.2. And V4/V5 customers can get a free upgrade to V5.2. V5.2 includes a number of enhancements, e.g., automatically trimming the boundary curves and further reducing the G1 deviation, etc. The following is a short answer to why xNURBS.

Key Features of xNURBS:

xNURBS is one super powerful NURBS tool that fixes virtually all surfacing issues for existing CAD software.

• Unlimited capacities for solving NURBS: Its optimization algorithm can solve virtually any NURBS surface in a matter of milliseconds (regardless of how complex the constraints are).
• High-quality surfaces: For a given set of constraints, xNURBS’ optimization algorithm uses an energy-minimization method to generate the smoothest NURBS surface among all possible solutions. The generated surface quality is outstanding.
• Easy-to-use: It uses one simple UI for all kinds of NURBS modeling.
• Super robust: xNURBS is rock solid and works flawlessly.
• Native CAD surfaces: xNURBS is based on NURBS, i.e., the native CAD surfaces, which can be directly used for any CAD modeling operations without any geometry translation.

Details and trial download...