Rhinoceros 3D
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Rhinoceros 3D® | |
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| Developer: | Robert McNeel & Associates |
|---|---|
| Latest release: | 4.0 / March 2007 |
| OS: | Windows (98/NT/ME/2000/ XP) |
| Use: | 3D computer graphics |
| License: | Proprietary |
| Website: | http://www.rhino3d.com/ |
Rhinoceros 3D is a stand-alone, commercial NURBS-based modeling tool, originally developed by Robert McNeel & Associates as a plug-in for Autodesk's AutoCAD. The software is commonly used for Industrial design, architecture, Marine design, Jewelry design, Automotive design, CAD / CAM, rapid prototyping, reverse engineering as well as the multimedia and graphic design industries.[1][2]
Rhino 3D specializes mainly in free-form NURBS modeling. There are several major add-ons available for the program, also developed by Robert McNeel & Associates, including Flamingo (a raytracing rendering plugin), Penguin (non-photorealistic rendering), and Bongo (animation) . Penguin is also available for AutoCAD. There are also hundreds of third-party plugins available.[3] Like many similar modeling applications, Rhino 3D features a scripting language called RhinoScript, based on the Visual Basic language.
One of the interesting aspects of the program, and reasons for widespread use among many industries, is the vast import and export options within the program. The many different formats available allow for Rhino to act as a 'converter' tool, bridging a gap between programs in a design workflow.
Rhino 3D is becoming increasingly popular amongst many different industries because of its diversity, multi-disciplinary functions, and relatively low cost.
The Rhino 3D program was originally distributed as an open Beta available for free. The software developed a broad community of users whose usage debugged and added features to the program. One of the primary attractive features of the software is its user interface. It is quite intuitive, especially when compared to AutoCAD. It makes great use of the mouse. Right clicking brings up alternates to most of the functions. The mouse wheel will interactively zoom and clicking it will pop other subwindows with additional feature sets. Free trial versions are still available for download. The development is on-going; version 4.0 is current.[4] The 5.0 is in development.[5]
[edit] File Format Specification 3dm published as openNURBS
The main file format of Rhino3D is called 3dm. It is very useful especially for the exchange of NURBS geometry because it is released as an Open Source Toolkit called openNURBS which is provided by the developers of Rhino3D. As stated on the homepage of the openNURBS Initiative in 2006 about 4500 different software packages are using this standard for the exchange of NURBS data. For the Licencse which applies to the use of the toolkit the homepage states:
- Commercial use is encouraged.
- The tools, support, and membership are free.
- There are no restrictions. Neither copyright nor copyleft restrictions apply.
- No contribution of effort or technology is required from the members, although it is encouraged.
