Rhinoceros 3D


Rhinoceros is a commercial 3D computer graphics and computer-aided design application software developed by Robert McNeel & Associates, an American, privately held, employee-owned company founded in 1980. Rhinoceros geometry is based on the NURBS mathematical model, which focuses on producing mathematically precise representation of curves and freeform surfaces in computer graphics.
Rhinoceros is used in processes of computer-aided design, computer-aided manufacturing, rapid prototyping, 3D printing and reverse engineering in industries including architecture, industrial design, product design as well as for multimedia and graphic design.
Rhinoceros is developed for the Microsoft Windows operating system and OS X. A visual scripting language add-on for Rhino, Grasshopper, is developed by Robert McNeel & Associates.

Overview

Characteristics

Rhinoceros is primarily a free form surface modeler that utilizes the NURBS mathematical model. Rhinoceros' application architecture and open SDK makes it modular and enables the user to customize the interface and create custom commands and menus. There are dozens of plug-ins available from both McNeel and other software companies that complement and expand Rhinoceros' capabilities in specific fields like rendering and animation, architecture, marine, jewelry, engineering, prototyping, and others.

File format

The Rhinoceros file format is useful for the exchange of NURBS geometry. The Rhino developers started the to provide computer graphics software developers the tools to accurately transfer 3-D geometry between applications. An open-source toolkit, openNURBS includes the 3DM file format specification, , C++ source code libraries and.NET 2.0 assemblies to read and write the file format, on supported platforms – Windows, Windows x64, Mac, and Linux.

Compatibility

Rhinoceros offers compatibility with other software as it supports over 30 CAD file formats for importing and exporting.
The following CAD and image file formats are natively supported :
The following CAD file formats are supported with use of external plug-ins:
When opening CAD file formats not in its native.3dm file format, Rhinoceros will convert the geometry into its native format; when importing a CAD file the geometry is added to the current file.
When AutoDesk AutoCAD's file format changes, the Open Design Alliance reverse engineers the file format to allow these files to be loaded by other vendors' software. Rhinoceros' import and export modules are actually plug-ins so they can be easily updated via a service release. Rhinoceros service releases are frequent and freely downloadable. Rhinoceros 5 SR10 can import and export DWG/DXF file formats up to version 2014.
Rhinoceros is also compatible with a number of graphic design-based programs. Among them is Adobe Illustrator. This method is best when working with a vector base file. Start by saving the file and when prompted save as Adobe Illustrator from there you are able to control the vectors created in Rhinoceros and can be further enhanced in Adobe Illustrator.

3D printing

Rhinoceros 3D relies on a few plug-ins that facilitate 3D printing and allows the export of the.STL and.OBJ file formats, both of which are supported by numerous 3D printers and 3D printing services.

Scripting and programming

Rhinoceros supports two scripting languages, Rhinoscript and Python. It also has an SDK, and a complete plug-in system. One McNeel plug-in, a parametric modeling/visual programming tool called Grasshopper, has attracted many architects to Rhinoceros due to its ease of use and ability to create complex algorithmic structures.

Plug-ins and add-ons

Commercial third-party plug-ins for Rhinoceros include:

Import & export

For an extended overview of additional plug-ins see