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...

Introducing: The new ShapeDiver platform

After spending most of 2021 in development and in beta testing for the last few months, ShapeDiver is happy to announce that the new ShapeDiver platform is finally ready!

All ShapeDiver users will now get access to these previously announced features and the following ones:

• Per-model analytics section
• Sharing models with other ShapeDiver users
• Link sharing private models with anyone
• New augmented reality settings
• Search models by ticket

All details are here and if you have any suggestions,

 feel free to post a new support forum topic.

Nemo, Grasshopper plugin for ship design, is sailing again!

Nemo provides multiple tools to generate lines plan, compute hydrostatics, perform resistance prediction, extract structural data, produce 2D drawings, and exchange data with other external software. 

Nemo also includes free tools to create parametric shapes, such as Naca profiles, hydrofoils, keels, rudders, blade propellers, and sail plans.

From 2021, Nemo is now available for purchase with commercial or educational licenses and is regularly updated.

This 1.3 release brings especially a USB floating license system, new FineMarine Export components (cylinder and box domains), and an integrated ALMET profile library.

Full details, updates and features on Nemo's food4Rhino page...

Record setting 3D printed installation—bECOme by Arturo Tedeschi

On December 2, 2021, Adidas opened the doors of its most sustainable flagship store to date under the motto Renew Berlin. The three-story, 1400m² store stands for regionality, sustainability, and the brand’s deep roots in sports. 

The store features the project bECOme, a 3D printed installation created by designer Arturo Tedeschi (@arturotedeschi) using more than 300 kg of recycled plastic. The suspended 17-meters long sculpture symbolizes the urgent commitment to turn waste into resources, passing through different transformation processes. It also expresses an attitude that considers plastic-waste-ending a mission through communication, education, and daily actions. The sculpture itself is a sustainability statement as it was made using recycled plastic turned into PLA filaments implemented in the printing process.

Rhino and Grasshopper have been used to create the original 3D model used for further development and 3D printing.

Credits:

• Project title: bECOme
• Where: Adidas Flagship Store Berlin
• Design: Arturo Tedeschi
• Fabrication: F.G. Meier GmbH
• Finishing: Sebastian Eberlein
• Photos: Hannes Jahreis

Read more about the project...

Bridging Data Science and Architectural Practice (by KPF and IAAC)

Bentall Centre’s Computational Design model in KPF’s Scout web platform

David Andres Leon (Head of Computational Design IAAC) and Brandon Pachuca (Urban Data Scientist + Web Developer at KPF) have been kind enough to share their latest article Bridging Data Science and Architectural Practice - Emergent applications of cloud computing in practice and academia.

A great intro to RhinoCommon, Grasshopper, Rhino.Inside, Rhino Compute and Hops:

"Architecture and computer science are becoming increasingly intertwined. The data science industry found a promising niche to leverage big data, machine learning, and web development to create viable products to automate workflows and bring new insights to market. Architecture can benefit from these trends, adapting product and web development to support advanced simulation and visualization practices."

Read the entire article...

ArchEatable: The Ephemeral Art of Gastronomy through Architecture and Digital Fabrication

ArchEatable is a university course that explores food and gourmet pastry art as a vehicle for teaching digital design and fabrication lessons in architecture.  

Since 2018, Jose Carrillo, Architect, Authorized Rhino Trainer, and Associate Professor of Architecture at the American University in Dubai, has been the founder, director, and course instructor.

What is unique about this teaching project is that students design and manufacture a consumable product from beginning to end. The materialization of these pieces and edible works of art is supported in  Rhinoceros, Grasshopper, and related plugins. The course incorporates novel 3D-printed  prototyping, silicone molds, and laser cutters into the process to create stunningly unique geometric cakes.

Learn more about each project...

Modeling a Ski Cabin

Get started using Rhinoceros 7 for Windows for architectural modeling with our most recent project-based tutorial on modeling a Ski Cabin. 

• Introduction and Basics: start to 57 minutes
• Modeling the Cabin: 57 minutes to end.
• Download the Rhino 7 3DM files used in this tutorial. 
• See the Rhino 7 for Mac version of this tutorial here.

See additional tutorials for Rhino in Architecture here.

Questions? Please email Mary Ann Fugier, McNeel Tech Support and Training.

Lands Design 5.6 released! 8000 plant species and IFC support

Lands Design 5.6 version is now available to download! This new release includes two major features: 

• A fully upgraded and extensive Plant Database: It now contains more than 8000 species with botanical information and various displays. There are many improvements and modifications in the database core structure. 
• IFC Support: This new feature enhances your BIM workflow by exporting landscape models to IFC. Therefore, it enables you to open your Lands Design model and recognize its parameters in other BIM programs. More details.

Download Lands Design 5.6 here. 

Find out more details about this new version...

Seanaptic - ANSYS Interface now available

Seanaptic is a plugin for Rhino that allows naval architects to model parametric ship structures with extreme efficiency.

The release of Seanaptic 7, now compatible with Rhino 7, has achieved a significant milestone by implementating the interfacing with ANSYS Mechanical and SpaceClaim. Full geometries of naval structures can now be directly exported to ANSYS for finite element analysis. Seanaptic pre-processes the geometry to ensure connected meshes of incredible quality while complete structural parameters of plates and beams are transferred directly to the FEA model, obtaining efficiencies never seen before.

What usually took weeks or even months can now be achieved in days or even hours. This golden bundle of Rhino, Seanaptic, and ANSYS will render traditional FEA pre-processing obsolete!

Request a trial on food4Rhino...

Exceeding clients expectations with digital tools - Australian Institute of Architects 2021 Report

The Australia Institute of Architects BIM and Beyond 2021 annual report highlights a shift from BIM as Objects to automating workflows that deliver better outcomes for clients. There is a lot of good information in this report, including the Design: From Object to Process article on page 24 by Daniel Guiffre, Tristan Morgan, and Andrei Smolik. New digital methods are tested on real-world projects using Rhino and Grasshopper to explore more efficient project delivery.

Getting to know... Indimise: 3D Printed Phone Cases!

3D printing has made it possible for anyone to design and create customized products with great ease and efficiency. And with the flexibility of Grasshopper and cloud applications like ShapeDiver, businesses of all sizes can now offer the possibility for non-technical users to get creative and design their own 3D printed products.

A great example is Indimise, a German company that allows anyone worldwide to 3D print their own smartphone case without the need for any technical experience, special CAD design software, or their 3D printer. 

In this interview, Sebastian Flügel, CEO and founder of Indimise, talks to ShapeDiver and gives us a glimpse into his company and story.

Read the complete interview and try their configurator...

Skopelab launches audio-reactive Christmas trees

Skopelab, specialists in Audio-Reactive Computational Design, is growing Christmas trees that move to the sound of seasonal greetings. Developed within Rhino and Grasshopper, the home-grown algorithm allows fine control of tree movement, bauble size, color, and color gradient effects.

At www.dancingwishes.com, clients can upload video, text and logos through a simple process, which are then integrated into the tree design. A unique webpage is then created for each client, accessed by link or by scanning the QR code at the tree base.

Designed for both individuals to share their wishes with friends and family or for businesses to send their seasonal greetings to clients in an innovative way.

Enjoy!

Rhino to Twinmotion Video tutorial – An Introduction to Twinmotion Materials, Characters and Vegetation

SimplyRhino UK has been kind enough to share a new video tutorial on how to transfer your Rhino models and scenes to Twinmotion and apply materials, characters and vegetation.

Watch the full video tutorial here...

Enscape 3.2 offers dynamic real-time visualization and streamlined workflow with Rhino

Enscape, a leading provider of real-time visualization, 3D rendering, and virtual reality technology for the global AEC (architecture, engineering, and construction) industry, recently released version 3.2. This latest update includes many new features that help architects and designers worldwide to transform Rhino models into immersive real-time 3D experiences, creating more vivid real-time visualizations and streamlining workflow.

Enscape 3.2 New Features

• Dynamic asset placement
  
  Users can select, place, and edit assets from the Asset Libraries into their designs via the Enscape rendering window. The Rhino model instantly reflects everything added to the rendering, offering a two-way asset placement. Users can rotate, scale, and delete an asset, and all changes will sync back to the project. Multi-asset placement is also now available to quickly populate scenes with assets such as trees, cars, and people, directly inside Enscape.
  
  
• Green building assets and materials
  
  Over 250 new assets, including 150 green building assets like wind turbines and solar panels, have been added, in addition to new materials such as organic bricks, recycled plastic, hay plastic, solar modules, solar roof tiles, and more.
  
  
• New materials and people assets
  
  
• Batch rendering of panoramas
  
  
• Panorama tours
  
  
• Upload management overhaul
  
  
• Ray-traced sun shadows in the real-time view
  
  
• Windows 11 support

Read more about Enscape 3.2...

Request a free student and educator license...

Try Enscape for free...

New landscape design plugin: Land Kit

LANDAU Design + Technology recently launched Land Kit,  a new Grasshopper plugin. It is beneficial for landscape design, but many applications exist for architects, ecologists, pattern makers, and more. 

Land Kit's customs tools make landscape design more efficient and intuitive while solving some of the trickier problems presented when using computational tools to design landscapes in 3D. 

Not only can it save time with a particular design, drafting, or modeling process, but it provides a platform to build your specific workflows. 

Land Kit is composed of three component libraries:

• Plant Kit is a powerful platform to make planting design more manageable and site-specific. Use analysis, data, and placement rules to guide the placement of individual plants while you focus on the big picture of the planting design and layout. By defining environments, areas, plants, and rules, Plant Kit help keep track of the complexity, helping to layout and visualize your planting design for output to CAD, Revit, or rendering in Rhino, Lumion, or Enscape.
• Use Topo Kit to create and change topographic features in the landscape. You can avoid the sticky problem of relying on elevated contours to generate and revise models. Design directly in 3D with the features that drive topography: walls, curbs, stairs, paths, spots, and maybe a contour or two. Analyze slope, elevation, or cut contours during the design process.
• Use the Paving Kit toolset to define simple paving zones with shapes. Add standard or custom patterns with paver dimensions and let Paving Kit draft repeat patterns, seams, coloration, and edge trimming. 

Download and begin using all of Land Kit's free core features. And check out the online learning resource CAMPUS.

Land Kit (Windows only): Now on food4Rhino...

New Grasshopper Component in Tekla with Rhino.Inside technology

The new Grasshopper Component in Tekla Structures uses the Rhino.Inside technology. This brings Tekla users the benefit of visual scripting in Grasshopper without each Tekla user needing to be exposed to the visual script itself. Furthermore, this provides developers a powerful new way of creating logic for custom components in Tekla using visual scripting.

Tekla's custom component is an intelligent object type in Tekla Structures that can be used for connections, reinforcement and other details as well as for larger parametric objects like sandwich walls or staircases.

Until now, new custom component types have been created by anyone using the Tekla Open API or using the custom component editor within Tekla. Now, new custom components can also be created with Grasshopper. The logic is provided by any Grasshopper definition that then creates objects in Tekla Structures.

The benefit for the Tekla user is that using the new Grasshopper Component they do not need to know visual scripting to use a Grasshopper definition. For the custom component developer, creating component logic with Grasshopper can be more straightforward especially when it comes to geometry.

Complete details...

Download the Grasshopper Component for Tekla Structures...

TOMKOD publishes a whole range of Rhino plugins

Developed with the user experience and simplicity in mind, TomKod released a range of tools to address the engineers' expressed needs. At a few dozen euros, the investment is cost-effective starting from the first use.

Following is the list of TomKod plugins currently available:

 

   Attribute Analysis - Get a 3D model's attribute analysis and stats

Draw UserTexts - Draw attribute values as text, with consistent positioning

Rhino Beam Tools - Export data to beam calculation software (Finite Element Method) BV STEEL® and RDM7®

Marine Weight Schedule - Compute a project's Bill Of Masses and Bill Of Materials

Selection Tools - Object selection tools

Tables - Create/Edit tables and import from Excel Spreadsheets

New features are still released regularly via updates or new products based on expressed needs.

The plugins are also downloadable from Rhino’s package manager.

Details...

 YouTube channel.... 

Re-Emerge Pavilion, a collaboration between AA [EmTech] and Hassell

Photography: Studio NAARO

Architectural Association (AA) Emergent Technologies & Design (EmTech) Post-Graduate Programme and Hassell in London have collaborated to create a new pavilion in Bedford Square.

EmTech Post-Graduate Programme at the Architectural Association has a long history in designing and creating structures and pavilions. This year’s pavilion is titled Re-Emerge and is the first time since the pandemic that the students could closely work together, fabricate and assemble a full-scale structure.

For this collaboration, Hassell gave the students the challenge to keep the project's carbon footprint to an absolute minimum and therefore only use reclaimed timber.

Xavier De Kestelier, Head of Design at Hassell, said, “The students really took on the challenge with both hands and decided early on to build the pavilion out of timber from reclaimed wooden pallets.”

The Re-Emerge pavilion explores new design and construction technologies that repurpose materials that have completed their first life cycle towards innovative structural formations. The project addresses themes of generative design, material computation, large-scale fabrication and assembly technologies, emphasizing the pavilion's ecological impact from the early phases of the design process onwards.

Re-emerge revives the tradition of building on Bedford Square as a collaboration between an academic programme at the AA and partners from the world of practice to test ideas at scale and imagine new possibilities.

Dr. Elif Erdine, Director of the EmTech Program, said, "This collaboration with Hassell demonstrates a successful illustration of how academia and practice can come together to discover novel solutions to complex spatial and material problems. With the support of our other sponsors, BuroHappold Engineering and One Click LCA, EmTech and Hassell explored new design and construction technologies for repurposing timber."

She added, "As designers, architects, and engineers, we share the responsibility to maintain a mindful approach towards our environment while designing and building. Our mutual insight into how construction waste can be a useful resource has originated this research into repurposing timber for an outdoor structure that is lightweight, emphasizing the project’s ecological impact from the early phases of the design process."

Complete details about the Re-Emerge Pavilion...

The EMTECH (Emergent Technologies and Design Programme) is a post-professional graduate degree at the Architectural Association open to graduates in architecture and engineering who wish to develop skills and pursue knowledge in architectural design science located in new production paradigms. EMTECH investigates new synergies of architecture and ecology through the critical intersection of computational design and fabrication. 

EMTECH Graduate programme 2022-23 registration now open...

Introduction to V-Ray for Rhino 7 Online Course

Rhino3D.Education offers online courses in Rhino, Grasshopper, Computational Design, GhPython, PanelingTools, RhinoCAM, V-Ray, and more!

We invite you to register for our new Introduction to Rendering with V-Ray for Rhino 7 course in Spanish by Valeria Palacio and also for the Work In Process (WIP) English version, which will be available by the end of the year, but you can get an early start now!

V-Ray is a tool that lets you create high-quality renderings with the option of creating and editing materials, lights, and geometries. This course is for designers who want to see their ideas come to life. In this introductory course, the user will learn the V-Ray interface and approach complex renderings, exploring this tool's various possibilities in product and space rendering.

Register now and give your models a realistic appearance!

Plus: Upon completion, you will receive a certificate of attendance.

Get started today!

Check out Rhino3D.Education for the latest courses on Rhino, Grasshopper, and more!

Another use for Rhino: Book illustrations

John Miano used Rhino to do his illustrations in his new book, A Visual Tour of Battleship USS New Jersey. Most are 2D, but there are a few 3D models.

More book details on Amazon.com...

2Shapes for Rhino 2.0 Released

2Shapes for Rhino, the jewelry design plugin for Rhino, just got to version 2.0. Here are the top 10 new features:

• Pave and Prongs to set gems anywhere on your design while optimally giving your unique style.
• One-Click to STL & Integrations with 3D printers to point what needs changing for your design and fix it.
• Open from Cloud, bring any design from the 2Shapes Suite into Rhino, all your team's designs in one centralized place.
• Smart Profiles to create organic and smooth designs with ease, no matter the shape, size, or complexity.
• Report, Gems Map and Gems List. Automatically generate documents of your design, its gem distribution, and a full list.
• Assets Selector and Assets Editor to modify profiles and see how the changes dynamically affect your design.
• Improved outliner, get an overview of your design's elements, and edit them in an agile and intuitive way.
• With Cutters, select what gems need to be drilled, set the drill measurement, and run the boolean difference.
• Let your design sparkle with Gems by Network, draw the bounds and let 2Shapes automatically fill it with gems.
• Dedicated Render Studio for amazing images and animations. Easy to use rendering tools for jewelry designers.

Complete details about the new version...

Download 2Shapes for Rhino on food4Rhino...

RhinoCenter launches a new Academy Platform for Turkish users!

After working on this new project for many months, RhinoCenter (Authorized Rhino Reseller and Training Center in Turkey) is happy to announce the launch of their Academy platform. Their website now offers basic courses for Rhino, specific training on SubD, Grasshopper, and all in Turkish!

These initial courses are similar to intense on-site training but with lifetime access to follow at your own pace. Each course has its own final test which takes around 45 minutes and has a passing score of 70/100. Upon passing the test, students will receive a completion certificate.

At the end of the year, all certified students will have the chance to win a Rhino Level 1 Exam Certificate. A great opportunity to test knowledge and competency in Rhino software, 3D visualization and become a Certified Rhino Specialist.

Last but not least, all courses are listed with a 75% special discount until the end of the year and stay tuned because they will soon release the following new courses: Python, RhinoCAM, and V-Ray for Rhino.

For more information, visit academy.rhinocenter.net