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Windows PDF User S Guide
Windows PDF User S Guide
For Windows
User's Guide
RobertMcNeel&Associates,6/19/2015.
Table of Contents
SectionI:Workingin3-D
Introduction
TheRhinointerface
Rhinocommands
Startfromthemenu
Startfromatoolbaricon
Startfromthecommandline
10
Undoamistake
13
Thecommandwindow
14
Commandoptions
14
Repeatthelastcommand
14
Gethelpanytime
15
RhinoObjects
17
WhyNURBSmodeling
17
Points
17
Curves
18
Surfaces
18
Closedandopensurfaces
19
Trimmedanduntrimmedsurfaces
19
Surfaceisoparametricandedgecurves
21
Polysurfaces
22
Solids
22
Light-weightextrusionobjects
23
Polygonmeshobjects
23
SelectingObjects
25
Selectobjectswithwindows
26
Otherwaysofselecting
27
Sub-objectselection
29
NavigatingViewports
31
Viewportprojection
31
Viewportnavigation
31
Mousenavigation
32
Viewportdisplaymodes
32
Wireframe
33
Shaded
33
Othershadedmodes
34
Viewporttitle
Toactivatetheviewporttitlemenu
AccurateModeling
35
35
37
TheRhinocursor
37
Snaptotheconstructionplanegrid
37
Constraintheangleofmovement
37
iii
Table of contents
Snaptoexistingobjects
38
Persistentobjectsnaps
38
Specialcaseobjectsnaps
39
Cursorconstraints
39
Distanceconstraint
39
Angleconstraint
39
Distanceandangletogether
40
Elevatormode
40
SmartTrack
40
Coordinatesystems
41
Cartesiancoordinates
41
Right-handrule
41
Worldcoordinates
41
Constructionplanecoordinates
41
Relativecoordinates
42
CreateSurfacesfromCurves
45
Edgecurves
45
Extrudecurves
46
Loftcurves
48
Revolvecurves
49
Revolvecurveswitharail
52
Sweepalongonerailcurve
56
Sweepalongtworailcurves
58
EditCurvesandSurfaces
61
Join
61
Explode
61
TrimandSplit
61
Control-pointediting
61
Controlpointvisibility
61
Changecontrolpointlocations
62
Add,delete,orredistributecontrolpoints
62
Curveandsurfacedegree
Transforms-Move,Copy,Rotate,Scale
Move
62
65
65
Moveobjectsusingdistancevalues
65
Moveobjectsbydragging
66
Elevatormode
67
Copy
69
Rotate
73
Scale
77
Mirror
80
Array
83
Orient
83
CurveandSurfaceAnalysis
Measuredistance,angle,andradius
85
85
iv
Table of contents
Curveandsurfacedirection
85
Curvature
86
Visualsurfaceanalysis
86
Environmentmap
86
Curvatureanalysis
87
Draftangleanalysis
87
Edgeevaluation
88
Diagnostics
88
OrganizationandAnnotation
89
Layers
89
Groups
90
Blocks
90
Worksessions
90
Dimensions
90
Text
91
Leaders
91
Dots
92
Hiddenlineremoval
92
Notes
92
Render
93
Lights
93
Materials
94
Environment
95
GroundPlane
95
Render
96
SectionII:Tutorials
97
PullToy-SolidsandTransforms
99
Entercoordinates
99
Drawthepulltoybody
99
Drawtheaxlesandwheelhubs
102
Drawthelugnuts
104
Arraythelugnuts
105
Drawthetires
106
Mirrorthewheels
107
Drawtheeyes
109
Makethepullcord
114
Flashlight-RevolveCurves
125
Setupthemodel
125
Drawacenterline
127
Drawthebodyprofilecurve
128
Drawthelensprofilecurve
129
Buildtheflashlightbody
130
Createthelens
133
Headphone-Sweep,Loft,andExtrude
Createthespeakershell
135
136
Table of contents
Createthepaddingandcover
140
Createthemountingbracket
142
Createtheheadband
146
Roundtheheadbandends
151
Createthespeakerwire
157
Mirrortheheadphoneparts
161
Learnmore
163
Penguin-PointEditingandBlending
165
Thebody
165
Theeyes
173
Thebeak
179
Thefeet
186
Thetail
196
Thewings
199
Finishingtouches
204
Render
206
BoatHull-LoftandSweep
207
Layoutthehullcurves
208
Checkthecurvesforfairness
209
Fixthecurvature
209
Createthe3-Dcurves
210
Revisethecurves
212
Loftthehullsurfaces
215
Trimthebowandbottom
217
Buildthetransom
219
Addthedeck
226
Dragonfly-TraceImages
233
Drawthebody
233
Drawthehead
239
Blendtheheadandbody
247
Drawtheeyes
249
Shapethetail
250
Tracethewings
251
Drawthelegs
253
Finishingtouches
254
WrapText-Flowalongsurface
255
Makeasurface
255
Createtheobjectstowrap
256
Controltheobjectplacement
256
MechanicalPart-Blocks
261
Createsolidshapes
261
Drilltheholes
265
Copytheholes
267
Makea2-Ddrawing
270
Dimensionthe2-Ddrawing
270
vi
Table of contents
MechanicalPart-Layouts
273
Layoutviewports
274
Insertatitleblock
275
vii
Introduction
Modelingin3-Distheprocessofcreatingamathematicalrepresentationofanobject'ssurfaces.Theresulting
modelisdisplayedonyourscreenasatwo-dimensionalimage.Rhinoprovidestoolsforcreating,displaying,
andmanipulatingthesesurfaces.
Menu (1)
ThemenusgroupRhinocommandsbyfunction.
History window (2)
Thecommandhistorywindowdisplaysthepreviouscommandsandprompts.
Command prompt (3)
Thecommandpromptdisplayspromptsforthecurrentcommandactions,optionsforthecommandthat
youcanclick,andallowstypingcommandnamesandoptions.
Toolbars (4)
Toolbarscontaingraphicaliconsforinitiatingcommands.Manytoolbariconshaveasecondcommandthat
youcanaccessbyright-clickingtheicon.Thetooltipthatappearswhenyouhoverovertheicontellsyou
whattheleftandrightmousebuttondo.
To access the command on the first line
4
Introduction
Viewports (5)
ViewportsdisplaytheRhinoworkingenvironment.
Panels (6)
Tabbedpanelscontainslayers,properties,andothersettings.
Rhino commands
Rhinoisacommand drivenprogram.Inotherwords,allactionsareactivatedbynamedcommandssuchas
Line,Box,orCurvatureAnalysis.
Tip:Toreadmoreaboutacommand,clickthered,underlinedcommandnamelink.
Commandsareaccessedthroughthemenus,orthetoolbars,orbytypingthecommandname.Inthenext
sections,youwillexploreusingthesemethods.Youmayfindonemethodeasierthananother.Thechoiceis
yours,andthereisnopreferenceforonemethodoveranother.
Intheexercises,youwilluseRhinoscommands,navigationtools,shadedmodes,render,andusesomebasic
objectmanipulation.
Tip:Tocancelacommandanytime,presstheEsckey.
In this session you will
4
Startacommandbychoosingfromthemenu.
Startacommandbychoosingfromatoolbaricon.
Startacommandbytyping.
To start your first Rhino model
1. StartRhino.
2. OntheFilemenu,clickNew.
3. IntheOpen Template Filedialogbox,selectSmallObjects - centimeters.3dmandclickOpen.
OntheSolidmenu,clickCone.
Introduction
2. AttheRadiusprompt,intheTopviewport,dragthemouseandclicktodrawtheconesbase.
Introduction
3. AttheEnd of coneprompt,intheFrontviewport,dragthemouseandclicktodrawthecones
point.
4. WatchwhathappensinthePerspectiveviewport.
Thecommandnamesthatareactivatedwiththeleftandrightmouseclicksdisplay.
Introduction
Introduction
Introduction
1. AttheStart of curveprompt,intheTopviewport,clickthemousetostartthecurve.
2. AttheNext point...prompts,clickafewmorepointsintheTopviewport.
3. AttheNext point...prompts,movethemouseintotheFrontviewportandclickafewmorepoints.
4. AttheNext point...prompts,movethemouseintotheRightviewportandclickafewmorepoints.
5. Right-click,pressEnterorpressthespacebartocompletethecurve.
Introduction
6. CheckoutthePerspectiveviewport.
DragwiththerightmousebuttontorotatethePerspectiveview.
Clickatthecommandprompt,andtypeSphere.
10
Introduction
11
Introduction
1. AttheCenter of sphereprompt,inthePerspectiveviewport,clickthemousetopickthecenter
pointforthesphere.
2. AttheRadiusprompt,inthePerspectiveviewport,movethemouseawayfromthecenterpoint,
andclickthemousetodrawthesphereandclick.
3. InthePerspectiveviewport,clickthedown-arrowontheviewport title,andonthemenu,click
Shaded.
12
Introduction
Undo a mistake
Ifyoudidsomethingyoudidnotwanttodo,youcanundoyouractions.
Undo a command
4
OntheEditmenu,clickUndo,orpresstheCtrlandZkeys.
Redo commands
13
Introduction
Command options
Commandoptionschangehowacommandacts.Forexample,whenyoudrawacircle,thecircleisnormally
drawnontheactiveconstructionplane.TheCirclecommandhasseveraloptionsincludingVerticaland
AroundCurve.Commandoptionsappearinparenthesesattheprompt.
Touseacommandoption,clicktheoptionname,ortypetheunderlinedletteroftheoptionorthewholeoption
name.
Choose a command option
1. Atthecommandprompt,typeCircle.
2. TheoptionsfortheCirclecommandappear:
Center of circle(DeformableVertical2Point3PointTangentAroundCurveFitPoints)
3. Todrawacircleverticaltotheactiveconstructionplane,usetheVerticaloption.
ClickVertical,ortypeV.
PresstheEnterkeywhennocommandisactive.
InadditiontopressingtheEnterkeyonyourkeyboard,youcanpresstheSpacebarorclickthe
right mouse buttoninaviewport.Theseallperformthesamefunction.
Note:
Somecommands,suchasUndoandDeletedonotrepeat.Instead,thecommand
priortothesecommandsisrepeated.Thispreventsyoufromaccidentallyundoing
toomanycommandsordeletingobjectsaccidentally.
Inaddition,youoftenwanttorepeatthecommandyouwereusingbeforeundoing
amistake.Youcandefinethelistofcommandsthatdonotrepeattosuityourown
wayofworking.
14
Introduction
TogetHelpforacommand,pressF1whilethecommandisrunning.
OntheHelpmenu,clickCommand Help.
TheRhinoHelpwilldisplayinadockablewindow.
ClickAuto-UpdatetodisplaytheHelptopicforthecurrentcommand.
TheHelpwindowappearswiththespecificcommandtopicvisible.
GotoRhino Helpforthemostup-to-dateHelpinformation.
Findtheanswerstofrequentlyaskedquestionsat:Rhino Support.
Tip:Formoreinformationaboutthemathematicalprinciplesinvolvedin3-Dmodeling,
see:www.mathopenref.com.
15
Rhino Objects
ThefundamentalgeometricobjectsinRhinoarepoints,curves,surfaces,polysurfaces,extrusionobjects,and
polygonmeshobjects.
Points
Pointobjectsmarkasinglepointin3-Dspace.TheyarethesimplestobjectsinRhino.Pointscanbeplaced
anywhereinspace.Pointsaremostoftenusedasplaceholders.
17
Rhino Objects
Curves
ARhinocurveissimilartoapieceofwire.Itcanbestraightorwiggled,andcanbeopenorclosed.
Apolycurveisseveralcurvesegmentsjoinedtogetherendtoend.
Rhinoprovidesmanytoolsfordrawingcurves.Youcandrawstraightlines,polylinesthatconsistofconnected
linesegments,arcs,circles,polygons,ellipses,helices,andspirals.
Youcanalsodrawcurvesusingcurvecontrol pointsanddrawcurvesthatpassthroughselectedpoints.
CurvesinRhinoincludelines,arcs,circles,free-formcurves,andcombinationsofthese.Curvescanbeopenor
closed,planarornon-planar.
Surfaces
Asurfaceislikearectangularstretchyrubbersheet.TheNURBSformcanrepresentsimpleshapes,suchas
planesandcylinders,aswellasfree-form,sculpturedsurfaces.
AllsurfacecreationcommandsinRhinoresultinthesameobject:aNURBSsurface.Rhinohasmanytoolsfor
constructingsurfacesdirectlyorfromexistingcurves.
AllNURBSsurfaceshaveaninherentlyrectangularorganization.
18
Rhino Objects
Evenaclosedsurfacesuchasacylinderislikearectangularpieceofpaperthathasbeenrolledupsotwo
oppositeedgesaretouching.Theplacewheretheedgescometogetheriscalledtheseam.Ifasurfacedoesnot
havearectangularshape,eitherithasbeentrimmedorthecontrolpointsontheedgeshavebeenmoved.
19
Rhino Objects
Theshapeofasurfaceisstilldefinedbyasetofcontrolpointsarrangedinarectangularpattern.
Sinceitcanbeimportantforyoutoknowifasurfaceistrimmed,thePropertiescommandliststhetrimmed
oruntrimmedstateofthesurface.SomeRhinocommandsworkonlywithuntrimmedsurfacesandsome
softwaredoesnotimporttrimmedNURBSsurfaces.
Trimmingcurveslieontheunderlyingsurface.Thissurfacemaybelargerthanthetrimcurves,butyouwill
notseetheunderlyingsurfacebecauseRhinodoesnotdrawthepartofthesurfacethatisoutsidethetrim
curves.Everytrimmedsurfaceretainsinformationaboutitsunderlyingsurfacegeometry.Youcanremovethe
trimmingcurveboundariestomakethesurfaceuntrimmedwiththeUntrimcommand.
Ifyouhaveatrimcurvethatrunsacrossasurface,thetrimcurveitselfdoesnothaveanyrealrelationshipto
thecontrolpointstructureofthesurface.Youcanseethisifyouselectsuchatrimmedsurfaceandturnits
controlpointson.Youwillseethecontrolpointsforthewholeunderlyingsurface.
20
Rhino Objects
Ifyoucreateasurfacefromaplanarcurve,itcanbeatrimmedsurface.Theillustratedsurfacewascreated
fromacircle.Thecontrolpointsdisplayshowstherectangularstructureofthesurface.
TheUntrimcommandremovesthetrimmingcurvefromthesurfacetogetbacktotheunderlyinguntrimmed
rectangularsurface.
21
Rhino Objects
Polysurfaces
Apolysurfaceconsistsoftwoormoresurfacesthatarejoinedtogether.Apolysurfacethatenclosesavolumeof
spacedefinesasolid.
Solids
Asolidisasurfaceorpolysurfacethatenclosesavolume.Solidsarecreatedanytimeasurfaceorpolysurfaceis
completelyclosed.Rhinocreatessingle-surfacesolids,polysurfacesolids,andextrusionsolids.
Asinglesurfacecanwraparoundandjoinitself.ExamplecommandsincludeSphere,Torus,andEllipsoid.
Controlpointscanbedisplayedonsingle-surfacesolidsandmovedtochangethesurface.
SomeRhinocommandscreatepolysurfacesolids.Pyramid,Cone,andTConeareexamplesofcommands
thatcreatepolysurfacesolids.
TheSolidPtOncommandturnsongrippointsforpolysurfaces,whichactlikecontrolpoints.
22
Rhino Objects
Note:
ThereisnoeasywaytoconvertameshmodelintoaNURBSmodel.Theinformation
thatdefinestheobjectsiscompletelydifferent.
However,Rhinohasafewcommandsfordrawingcurvesonmeshesandextracting
vertexpointsandotherinformationfrommeshobjectstoassistinusingmesh
informationtocreateNURBSmodels.
23
Selecting Objects
MostoperationsyouwilldoinRhinorequireyoutoselectoneormoreobjects.Objectscanbeselectedby
clickinganywhereontheobject.Clickawayfromtheobjecttodeselectit.Thismethodletsyouselectone
objectatatime.
To select additional objects
4
HoldtheShiftkeywhileclickingtheobjects.
To remove objects from the selection
HoldtheCtrlkeyandclicktheobjectsagain.
To cancel the selection
ClickawayfromtheobjectsorpresstheEsckey.
Practice selecting objects
1. OpenthetutorialmodelSelect Objects.3dm.
Downloadthetutorialmodels.
2. InthePerspectiveviewport,clicktoselectthesphere.
25
Selecting Objects
3. HoldtheShiftkeyandselectthecylinder.
Thecylinderisaddedtotheselection.
4. HoldtheCtrlkeyandclickthesphereagain.
5. Clickawayfromtheobjects,orpresstheEsckey.
Theselectioniscanceled.
26
Selecting Objects
2. InthePerspectiveviewport,holdtheShiftkeythenclickanddragawindowaroundtheboxand
thecylinder.
Thecylinderandboxareaddedtotheselection.
3. InthePerspectiveviewport,holdtheCtrlkeythenclickanddragacrossingovertheboxand
cylinder.
27
Selecting Objects
28
Selecting Objects
3. TypeSelSrf.
Thisselectsallsurfaces.Inthiscase,onlythesphereisasurface.
4. TypeSelPolysurface.
Thisaddsallpolysurfacestotheselection.Inthiscase,thecylinderandboxarepolysurfaces.
5. PresstheEsckey.
Thisalsoclearstheselection.
Sub-object selection
Youcanselectsub-partsofobjectsforuseincommands,forexample,selectasurfaceedgetouseasinputfora
LoftorExtrudeCrvoperation.Theavailablepartsincludepolysurfacefaces;surfaceandpolysurfaceedge
curves;controlpoints;meshvertices,faces,boundaries,andedges;andobjectswithinagroup.Reviewthe
helptopicforSub-object selection.
To select parts of objects for use with other commands
4
PressandholdboththeCtrlandShiftkeysatthesametimeandclickanobjectpart.
29
Selecting Objects
Thefaceoftheboxisseparatedfromtheboxsolidanddeleted.
30
Navigating Viewports
Theviewporttitlehassomespecialfunctionsformanipulatingtheviewport.
4 Clickthetitletomaketheviewportactivewithoutdisturbingtheview.
4
Dragtheviewporttitletomovetheviewport.
Double-clicktheviewporttitletomaximizetheviewport.Double-clickagaintorestorethesizetonormal.
Viewport projection
Viewportscanhaveoneofthreeprojections:parallel,perspectiveortwo-pointperspective.
Rightmousenavigationworksdifferentlyinthetwoviewportstyles.Inparallelviews,rightmousedragging
panstheview.Inperspectiveviews,right-mousedraggingrotatestheview.Intheusualfour-viewportlayout,
therearethreeparallelviewportsandoneperspectiveviewport.
Parallel
Parallelviewsarealsocalledorthogonalviewsinsomesystems.Inaparallelview,allthegridlinesare
paralleltoeachother,andidenticalobjectslookthesamesize,regardlessofwheretheyareinspace.
Perspective
Inaperspectiveview,gridlinesconvergetoavanishingpoint.Thisprovidestheillusionofdepthinthe
viewport.Perspectiveprojectionmakesobjectsfartherawaylooksmaller.
Viewport navigation
Rhinoseasynavigationhelpsyoutovisualizeyourmodel.
Thesimplestwaytochangetheviewistodragthemousewithrightbuttonhelddown.Thispanstheviewin
parallelviewsandrotatestheviewinperspectiveviews.
Youcanchangeyourviewinthemiddleofacommandtoseepreciselywhereyouwanttoselectanobjector
chooseapoint.
To zoom in and out
4
HolddowntheCtrlkeyanddragupanddownwiththerightmousebuttonhelddown.
Tip:Ifyouhaveamousewithawheel,usethewheeltozoominandout.
31
Navigating Viewports
Command
Pan
Inparallelviewports(forexample:Top,Front,andRight),holdtheCtrlandShiftkeys,and
dragwiththerightmousebutton.
RotateView
Zoom
Inperspectiveviewports,dragwiththerightmousebutton.
HoldtheCtrlkey,anddragupanddownwiththerightmousebutton,orrotatethemouse
wheel.
Mouse navigation
Workingin3-Donacomputerrequiresvisualizingthree-dimensionalobjectsdrawnonatwo-dimensional
mediumthecomputerscreen.Rhinoprovidestoolstohelpdothis.
Dragwiththerightmousebuttontoeasilymanipulatetheviewstolookmodelfromvariousangles.Usethe
rightmousebuttonviewmanipulationsinbothwireframeandshadedviews.
To pan in a viewport
4
IntheTopviewport,dragthemousewiththerightmousebuttonhelddowntopantheview.
Restore a view
Ifyougetlost,thereareseveralwaystogetyourselfreoriented:
4 PresstheHomekeytostepbackthroughyourviewchanges.
4
PresstheEndkeytostepforwardthroughyourviewchanges.
Tosetyourviewsoyouarelookingstraightdownontheconstructionplane,usethePlancommand.
Tobringallyourobjectsintoview,usetheZoomcommandExtentsoption.
32
Navigating Viewports
Wireframe
InWireframemode,surfaceslooklikeasetofcrossingcurves.Thesecurvesarecalledisoparametric curves
orisocurves.
Isocurvesdonotdefinethesurfacethewaythepolygonsdoinapolygonmesh.Theyaremerelyavisualaid.
To set wireframe mode
1. ClickamousebuttoninthePerspectiveviewporttomakeitactive.
Anactiveviewportistheviewportwhereallyourcommandsandactionstakeplace.
2. Ontheviewporttitlemenu,clickWireframe.
Shaded
TheShadedmodes,(forexample,Shaded,Rendered,Artistic,andPen)displaysurfacesandsolidswiththe
surfacesshadedusingtheirlayer,object,orcustomcolor.Youcanworkinanyoftheshadedmodes.The
surfacesareopaqueortransparent.
33
Navigating Viewports
Rotateyourviewbyholdingdowntherightmousebuttonanddraggingfromthebottomoftheview
towardthetop.
Youarenowundertheobjectslookingup.
Theconstructionplanegridhelpsyoustayoriented.Iftheobjectsarebehindthegrid,youarelooking
atthebottomoftheconstructionplane.
2. PresstheHomekeytoundoyourviewchanges.
Rendered
Renderedmodeshowstheobjectswithlightingandrendermaterialsapplied.
34
Navigating Viewports
Viewport title
Theviewporttitlehassomespecialfunctionsforviewportcontrol.
4 Clickthetitletomaketheviewportactivewithoutdisturbingtheview.
4
Dragtheviewporttitletomovetheviewport.
Double-clicktheviewporttitletomaximizetheviewport.
Double-clickagaintorestorethesizetonormal.
35
Accurate Modeling
Thecursorcanalwaysmovefreelyinspace,butchancesare,youwillwanttorelateyourmodelingelementsto
theconstructionplanegrid,existingobjects,orcoordinatesinspace.Youcanrestrictthecursorsmovementto
thegrid,enterspecificdistancesandanglesfromapoint,snaptospecificlocationsonexistingobjects,and
enterCartesiancoordinatestolocatepointsin2-Dor3-Dspace.
37
Accurate Modeling
Orthoisactiveafterthefirstpointforacommand.Forexample,afterpickingthefirstpointforaline,the
secondpointisconstrainedtotheorthoangle.
IftheOsnapcontrolisnotopen,clicktheOsnappaneinthestatusbar.
Clickacheckboxtoturnonanobjectsnap.
Rightclickacheckboxtoturnanobjectsnaponandturnoffallotherobjectsnaps.
Whenanobjectsnapisactive,movingthecursornearaneligiblepointonanobjectcausesthe
markertojumptothatpointandatooltiptoappear.
ThecheckboxesintheOsnapcontrolallowsingle-useoverridesforthepersistentobjectsnaps.
IntheOsnapcontrol,clicktheDisablebutton.
IntheOsnapcontrol,clickDisablewiththerightmousebutton.
38
Accurate Modeling
To turn on one object snap and turn all others off with one click
4
IntheOsnapcontrol,right-clicktheobjectsnapyouwanttoturnon.
HoldtheCtrlkeyandhoverovertheOsnapcontrol.
Analternatesetofcontrolsappears.
Cursor constraints
Whenenteringpoints,youcanconstrainthemarkertoadistanceoranglefromthepreviouspoint.Onceyou
havesetthedistance,dragthelinearoundtoanyangle.Youcanalsousefurthersnapstopointthelineina
specificdirection.
Distance constraint
Duringanycommandthatrequirestwopoints,suchastheLinecommand,placethefirstpoint.Thenatthe
nextprompt,typeadistanceandpressEnter.
Themarkerwillbeconstrainedtothespecifieddistancefromthepreviouspoint.Dragthecursoraroundthe
firstpointandthenpickapoint.
Angle constraint
Angleconstraintissimilartoortho,butyoucansetanyangleanditisaone-timesetting.
The<symbolisusedbecauseitissimilartothesymbolusedingeometrytoindicateanangle.
Themarkerwillbeconstrainedtolinesradiatingfromthepreviouspointseparatedbythespecifiedangle,
wherethefirstlineisthespecifiednumberofdegreescounterclockwisefromthex-axis.Ifyouenteranegative
number,theanglewillbeclockwisefromthex-axis.
39
Accurate Modeling
Elevator mode
Pickasecondpointtospecifythez-coordinateofthedesiredpoint.Itiseasiesttoseethisinadifferent
viewportorusethePerspectiveviewport.Dragthemousecursoraroundtoseethemarkermovevertically
fromthebasepointalongthetrackingline.
Pickthepointwiththemouseortypetheheightabovetheconstructionplane.Positivenumbersareabovethe
constructionplane;negativenumbersarebelowit.Youcanusefurtherconstraintslikecoordinates,object
snapsorgridsnapforthefirstpoint,andyoucanuseobjectsnapsfortheheight.
Tomovethemarkerintheconstructionplanez-direction,holdtheCtrlkeyandclickapointonthe
constructionplane,andthendragverticallyfromtheconstructionplaneandclicktopickapoint.
Thisconstraintiscalledelevatormode.Usingelevatormodetomoveyourpickpointverticallyfromthe
constructionplaneletsyouworkmoreinthePerspectiveviewport.
SmartTrack
SmartTrackisasystemoftemporaryreferencelinesandpointsthatisdrawnintheRhinoviewportusing
implicitrelationshipsamongvarious3-Dpoints,othergeometryinspace,andthecoordinateaxesdirections.
Temporaryinfinitelines(trackinglines)andpoints(smartpoints)areavailabletoobjectsnapsverymuchlike
reallinesandpoints.
40
Accurate Modeling
Youcansnaptointersectionsofthetrackinglines,perpendiculars,anddirectlytosmartpointsaswellas
intersectionsoftrackinglinesandrealcurves.Thetrackinglinesandsmartpointsaredisplayedforthe
durationofacommand.
Coordinate systems
Rhinousestwocoordinatesystems:constructionplanecoordinatesandworldcoordinates.Worldcoordinates
arefixedinspace.Constructionplanecoordinatesaredefinedforeachviewport.
Cartesian coordinates
WhenRhinopromptsyouforapoint,ifyoutypexandyCartesiancoordinates,thepointwilllieonthe
constructionplaneofthecurrentviewport.Formoreinformationaboutcoordinatesystemsandnumeric
constraints,seewww.mathopenref.com/coordinates.
Right-hand rule
Rhinofollowswhatiscalledtheright-hand rule.Theright-handrulecanhelpyoudeterminethedirectionof
thez-axis.Formarightanglewiththethumbandforefingerofyourrighthand.Whenyourthumbpointsin
thepositivex-direction,yourforefingerpointsinthepositivey-direction,andthepalmofyourhandfacesin
thepositivez-direction.
World coordinates
Rhinocontainsoneworldcoordinatesystem.Theworldcoordinatesystemcannotbechanged.WhenRhino
promptsyouforapoint,youcantypecoordinatesintheworldcoordinatesystem.
Thearrowiconinthelowerleftcornerofeachviewportdisplaysthedirectionoftheworldx-,y-,andz-axes.
Thearrowsmovetoshowtheorientationoftheworldaxeswhenyourotateaview.
41
Accurate Modeling
Theconstructionplanerepresentsthelocalcoordinatesystemfortheviewportandcanbedifferentfromthe
worldcoordinatesystem.
Rhinosstandardviewportscomewithconstructionplanesthatcorrespondtotheviewport.Thedefault
Perspectiveviewport,however,usestheworldTopconstructionplane,whichisthesameconstructionplane
thatisusedintheTopviewport.
Thegridliesontheconstructionplane.Thedarkredlinerepresentstheconstructionplanex-axis.Thedark
greenlinerepresentstheconstructionplaney-axis.Theredandgreenlinesmeetattheconstructionplane
origin.
Tochangethedirectionandoriginofaconstructionplane,usetheCPlanecommand.Presetconstruction
planes(WorldTop,Right,andFront)giveyouquickaccesstocommonconstructionplanes.Inaddition,you
cansaveandrestorenamedconstructionplanesandimportnamedconstructionplanesfromanotherRhino
file.
2-D construction plane coordinates
4
Atacommandprompt,typethecoordinatesintheformatx,ywherexisthex-coordinateandyis
they-coordinateofthepoint.
Atacommandprompt,typethecoordinatesintheformatx,y,zwherexisthex-coordinate,yisthe
y-coordinate,andzisthez-coordinateofthepoint.
Toplaceapoint3unitsinthex-direction,4unitsinthey-direction,and10unitsinthez-direction
fromtheconstructionplaneorigin,type3,4,10attheprompt.
Tip:Ifyouenteronlyx-andy-coordinates,thepointwilllieontheconstruction
plane.
Relative coordinates
Rhinoremembersthelastpointused,soyoucanenterthenextpointrelativetoit.Relativecoordinatesare
usefulforenteringalistofpointswheretherelativelocationsinsteadofabsolutelocationsofthepointsare
known.Userelativecoordinatestolocatepointsaccordingtotheirrelationshiptothepreviousactivepoint.
To use relative coordinates
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Atacommandprompt,typethecoordinatesintheformatrx,ywherersignifiesthatthecoordinate
isrelativetothepreviouspoint.
For example
1. StarttheLinecommand.
2. AttheStart of lineprompt,clicktoplacethefirstendoftheline.
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Accurate Modeling
3. AttheEnd of lineprompt,typer2,3,andpressEnter.
Thelineisdrawntoapoint2unitsinthex-directionand3unitsinthey-directionfromthelastpoint.
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Edge curves
Youcancreateasurfacefromthreeorfourcurvesthatformthesidesofthesurface.
Create a surface from edge curves
1. OpenthetutorialmodelEdgeSrf.3dm.
Downloadthetutorialmodels.
2. OntheSurfacemenu,clickEdge Curves.
Tip:OpentheHelppaneltoreviewthehelptopicfortheEdgeSrfcommand.
3. Selectthefourcurves.
Objectschangetoyellowwhenyouselectthem.
Asurfaceiscreatedfromthecurvesthatformitsedges.
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Extrude curves
Extrudingcreatessurfacesbytracingthepathofacurveinastraightline.
Create an extruded surface
1. OpenthetutorialmodelExtrude.3dm.
Downloadthetutorialmodels.
2. OntheSurfacemenu,clickExtrude Curve,andthenclickStraight.
Tip:OpentheHelppaneltoreviewthehelptopicfortheExtrudeCrvcommand.
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3. Selectthecurve(1).
4. AttheExtrusion distanceprompt,dragadistancewithyourmouseandclick.
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Loft curves
Loftingcreatesasmoothsurfacethatblendsbetweenselectedshapecurves.Thissurfacelookssimilartothe
Sweepacurvewithtworailsexample,butiscreatedwithoutrailcurves.Instead,theedgesofthesurfaceare
createdbyfittingsmoothcurvesthroughtheshapecurves.
Create a lofted surface
1. OpenthetutorialmodelLoft.3dm.
Downloadthetutorialmodels.
2. OntheSurfacemenu,clickLoft.
Tip:OpentheHelppaneltoreviewthehelptopicfortheLoftcommand.
3. Selectthethreecurves(1),(2),and(3),andpressEnter.
4. IntheLoft Optionsdialogbox,clickOK.
5. TrysomeoftheStyleoptionsandthenclickPreviewtoseethevariousloftstyles.
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Revolve curves
Revolvingacurvecreatesasurfacebyrevolvingaprofilecurveaboutanaxis.Thisissometimescalledlathing.
Create a revolved surface
1. OpenthetutorialmodelRevolve.3dm.
Downloadthetutorialmodels.
2. Inthestatus bar,clickOsnap.
3. IntheOsnapcontrol,clickEnd.
4. OntheSurfacemenu,clickRevolve.
Tip:OpentheHelppaneltoreviewthehelptopicfortheRevolvecommand.
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5. Selecttheprofile curve(1)andpressEnter.
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8. AttheStart angle...prompt,selecttheFullCircleoption.
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3. Selecttheprofilecurve(1).
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3. Selecttherailcurve(1).
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Join
TheJoincommandconnectscurvesorsurfacestogetherintooneobject.Forexample,apolycurvecanconsist
ofstraight-linesegments,arcs,polylines,andfree-formcurves.TheJoincommandalsoconnectsadjacent
surfacesintoapolysurface.
Explode
TheExplodecommandremovestheconnectionbetweenjoinedcurvesorsurfaces.Forpolysurfaces,thisis
usefulifyouwanttoediteachindividualsurfacewithcontrolpoints.
Trim and
Split
TheTrimandSplitcommandsaresimilar.Thedifferenceiswhenyoutrimanobject,youselectthepartsto
removeandtheyaredeleted.Whenyousplitanobject,allpartsareleft.
TheSplitcommandwillsplitasurfacewithacurve,surface,polysurface,oritsownisoparametriccurves.
TheUntrimcommandremovesasurfacestrimmingcurve,withanoptiontokeepthecurvesoyoucanreuseit.
Control-point editing
Youcanmakesubtlechangesintheshapeofacurveorsurfacebymovingthelocationofitscontrolpoints.
Rhinooffersmanytoolsforeditingcontrolpoints.SomecommandssuchasRebuild,Fair,andSmoothoffer
someautomatedsolutionsforredistributingcontrolpointsoveracurveorsurface.Othercommands,suchas
controlpointdraggingandnudging,MoveUVN,andHBarletyoumanuallycontrolthelocationofindividualor
groupsofcontrolpoints.
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Controlpointsofpolysurfacescannotbeturnedonforediting.Editingthecontrolpointsofpolysurfacescould
separatetheedgesofthejoinedsurfacescreatingleaksinthepolysurface.
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Adegree-2curvemusthaveatleastthreecontrolpoints.
Aparabola,hyperbola,arc,andcircle(conicsectioncurves)havedegreelessthan2.Theyhaveonebend.
Adegree-3curvemusthaveatleastfourcontrolpoints.
AcubicBzierhasdegreelessthan3Ifyouarrangeitscontrolpointsinazig-zagshape,youcangettwobends.
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Note:Forallofthefollowingexercises,theimageswerecapturedusingShadedmodedisplay.
Move
UsetheMovecommandwhenyouwanttomoveanobjectacertaindistanceorifyouwanttouseobject
snapstoplaceanobjectaccurately.
3. Selectthesphere.
4. StarttheMovecommand.
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Tip:Simplytyping0isashortcutforthecoordinates0,0,0.
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3. InthePerspectiveviewport,clicktheconeatthebottomedgeandpauseuntiltheCenterobject
snaptooltipdisplays.
4. Dragtheconeuntilthecenterofthecone'sbaselinesupwiththetopsurfaceofthecylinderandthe
Centerobjectsnapforthecylinder'stopfacedisplays.
5. Releasethemousebuttontoplacethecone.
6. IntheFrontviewport,dragtheconetothetopofthecylinder.
WatchwhathappensinthePerspectiveviewport.
Therearemanytimeswhenyouhavetowatchwhatishappeninginotherviewportstoaccurately
placeyourobjects.
Elevator mode
YoucanpresstheCtrlkeytomoveobjectsinthez-direction.Thisiscalledelevator mode.
Elevator modeislikeOrtho,exceptthemovementisverticaltotheactiveconstructionplane.
TopracticeusingtheCtrlkeytomovevertically,youaregoingtomovetheboxtoalocation5unitsabovethe
centerofthesphere.
UsingelevatormodetomoveobjectsverticallyletsyouworkmoreinthePerspectiveviewport.
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Copy
TheCopycommandmakescopiesofobjects.
SometransformcommandslikeRotate,Rotate3D,andScalehaveaCopyoption.Thisletsyoucreateacopy
oftheobjectasyourotateorscaleit.
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1. OntheTransformmenu,click Copy.
2. InthePerspectiveviewport,useacrossingwindowtoSelecttheconeandthecylinder.
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Rotate
TheRotatecommandrotatesanobjectinrelationtotheconstructionplanearoundacenterpoint.
Rotate an object
1. OpenthetutorialmodelRotate-Scale.3dm.
Downloadthetutorialmodels.
2. OntheTransformmenu,clickRotate.
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3. IntheTopviewport,selectthegreenhalf-cylinderasshownintheillustrationbelow.
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4. AttheCenter of rotation...prompt,withtheEndobjectsnapon,clickthelowerleftcornerofthe
box.
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7. Dragthecursoruptorotatetheboxasshownintheillustrationbelow,andclick.
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Scale
TheScalecommandsgiveyoucontroloverthedirectionofthescale.Youcanre-sizeobjectsuniformlyinone,
two,orthreedirections,orscaleanobjectwithadifferentscalefactorineachdirection.
2. OntheTransformmenu,clickScale,andthenclickScale 3-D.
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3. AttheOrigin point...prompt,clickthecorneroftheprismasshownintheillustrationbelow.
Theoriginpointisthebasepointfromwhichtheobjectwillbescaled.Itislikeananchorpoint.The
objectwillgroworshrinkaroundthispoint.
Toscaleanobject,youmustfirstshowanoriginalsize,andthenshowanewsize.Dragthecursor
andclickanotherpointontheobjecttoshowtheoriginalsize,andthendragthecursorandclick
againtoshowthenewsize.
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Tomaketheobjecttwiceitsoriginalsize,atthecommandprompt,type2.
Tomaketheobjecthalfitsoriginalsize,atthecommandprompt,type.5.
Tomaketheprisminthisexample2.35unitsalongtheoriginalside,attheSecond reference
pointprompt,atthecommandprompt,type2.35.
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Mirror
Inthisexercise,youaregoingtopracticeanotherbasiceditingcommand:Mirror.TheMirrorcommand
makesareverse-imagecopyoftheobject.Objectsaremirroredacrossalinethatyoudrawinaviewport.
Mirror an object
1. OpenthetutorialmodelMirror Objects.3dm.
Downloadthetutorialmodels.
2. OntheTransformmenu,clickMirror.
3. Onthestatusbar,turnOrtho on.
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4. Selecttheobject.
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Array
TheArraycommandscopyobjectsintoevenlyspacedrowsandcolumnsoraroundacircle.
Orient
TheOrientcommandscombinemoveorcopy,scale,androtateoperationstohelpyoupositionandsize
objectsinonecommand.
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Distancedisplaysthedistancebetweentwopoints.
Angledisplaystheanglebetweentwolines.
Radiusdisplaystheradiusofacurveatanypointalongit.
Lengthdisplaysthelengthofacurve.
TheDircommandalsodisplayssurfaceu-,v-,andnormaldirection.Surfacenormalsarerepresentedby
arrowsperpendiculartothesurface,andtheu-andv-directionsareindicatedbyarrowspointingalongthe
surface.Closedsurfacesalwayshavethesurfacenormalspointingtotheexterior.
TheDircommandcanchangetheu-,v-,andnormal-directionsofasurface.Thisdirectioncanbeimportantif
youareapplyingtexturestothesurface.
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Curvature
Curveanalysistoolsletyouturnonagraphshowingthedirectionperpendiculartothecurveatapointandthe
amountofcurvature,displayacurvaturecircle,testthecontinuitybetweentwocurvesandtheintervalsof
overlapbetweenthetwocurves.
TheCurvatureGraphcommanddisplaysacurvaturegraphoncurvesandsurfaces.Thelinesonthegraph
representadirectionperpendiculartothecurveatthatpoint.Thelengthofthelineindicatesthecurvature.
Environment map
TheEMapcommanddisplaysabitmapontheobjectsoitlookslikeasceneisbeingreflectedbyahighly
polishedmetal.Thistoolhelpsyoufindsurfacedefectsandvalidateyourdesignintent.
Thefluorescenttubeenvironmentmapsimulatestubelightsshiningonareflectivemetalsurface.
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Curvature analysis
TheCurvatureAnalysiscommandanalyzessurfacecurvatureusingfalse-colormapping.Itanalyzes
Gaussiancurvature,meancurvature,minimumradiusofcurvature,andmaximumradiusofcurvature.
TheZebracommanddisplayssurfaceswithreflectedstripes.Thisisawaytovisuallycheckforsurface
defectsandfortangencyandcurvaturecontinuityconditionsbetweensurfaces.
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Edge evaluation
GeometryproblemssuchasBooleanorjoinfailurescanbecausedbyedgesonsurfacesthathavebecome
brokenoredgesbetweensurfacesthathavebeenmovedthroughpointeditingsotheycreateholes.Anedgeis
aseparateobjectthatispartofthesurfacesboundaryrepresentation.
TheShowEdgescommandhighlightsalltheedgesofthesurface.
Apolysurfacemaylookclosed,butthePropertiescommandmaytellyouthatitisopen.Someoperationsand
exportfeaturesrequireclosedpolysurfaces,andamodelusingclosedpolysurfacesisgenerallyhigherquality
thanonewithsmallcracksandslivers.
Rhinoprovidesatoolforfindingtheunjoinedornakededges.Whenasurfaceisnotjoinedtoanother
surface,ithasnakededges.UsePropertiescommandtoexaminetheobjectdetails.Apolysurfacethathas
nakededgeslistsasanopenpolysurface.UsetheShowEdgescommandtodisplaytheunjoinededges.
Otheredgetoolsletyousplitanedge,mergeedgesthatmeetend-to-end,orforcesurfaceswithnakededges
tojoin.Youcanrebuildedgesbasedoninternaltolerances.Otheredgetoolsinclude:
SplitEdgesplitsanedgeatapoint.
MergeEdgemergesedgesthatmeetendtoend.
JoinEdgeforcesunjoined(naked)edgestojoinnearbysurfaces.
RebuildEdgesredistributesedgecontrolpointsbasedoninternaltolerances.
Diagnostics
Diagnostictoolsreportonanobjectsinternaldatastructureandselectobjectsthatmayneedrepair.The
outputfromtheList,Check,SelBadObjects,andAudit3dmFilecommandsisnormallymostusefultoa
Rhinoprogrammertodiagnoseproblemswithsurfacesthatarecausingerrors.
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Layers
Groups
Blocks
Worksessions
Eachmethodoffersadifferentapproachtomodelorganization.Usinglayersletsyouassignalayerdesignation
toobjects.Groupsassociateobjectssotheycanbeselectedasone.Blocksletyoustoreandupdatean
associationofobjects.Worksessionsletyouworkonapartofaprojectwhileusingothermodelsintheproject
asreferences.
Rhinoalsoprovidestheabilitytoaddnotationtoyourmodel.Theseappearasobjectsinthemodel.
Dimensions
Leaders
Textblocks
Adifferentformofnotationalwaysdisplaysfacingtowardstheviewplane.
Annotationdots
Arrowheads
Inaddition,youcanaddNotestothemodel.Notesdonotappearinthemodel,butdisplayinaseparate
window.
Layers
Layersareawayofgroupingobjectsandapplyingcertaincharacteristicstoallobjectsthathavethatlayer
assignment.Therearetwomentalmodelsyoucanusewhenyouthinkoflayerstheycanbethoughtof
eitherasastoragelocationfortheobjectsorasawaytoassignasetofcharacteristicsorpropertiesto
objects.
Layerstatesincludealayername,thecolorusedtodisplaytheobjects,andtheon/offandlocked/unlocked
statusofalltheobjectsonalayer.Objectsonlayersthatareoffarenotvisibleinthemodel.Objectsonlocked
layerscannotbeselectedbutcanbesnappedto.Objectsarealwayscreatedonthecurrentlayer.Thislayer
assignmentcanbechangedlater.
Toaccomplishthemostcommontasksrelatedtolayers,clicktheLayerpaneinthestatusbartodisplaythe
popuplayerlist.Youcansetthecurrentlayer;changetheon/off,locked/unlockedstate;andthelayercolor.In
addition,right-clickthelayernametocreateanewlayer,renamealayer,deletetheselectedlayer,select
objectsontheselectedlayer,changeobjectstotheselectedlayer,andcopyobjectstotheselectedlayer.
AccomplishmoredetailedlayermanagementwiththeLayerspanel.Right-clicktheLayer panetoopenthe
Layerspanel.TheLayerspanelsetsthecurrentlayer,locksandunlockslayers,turnslayersonandoff,
changesthelayercolorandsetsthelayerrendermaterial.Youcancreatenewlayers,deletelayers,move
layersupordowninthelayerlist,filterthelayerlist,setthecurrentlayertomatchanobjectinthemodel,
changeobjectstoaselectedlayer,selectalllayers,andinverttheselection.
TheSelLayercommandselectsallobjectsonalayer.
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Groups
Agroupisacollectionofobjectsthatselectasoneformoving,copying,rotating,orothertransformsand
applyingpropertiessuchasobjectcolor.Groupingobjectsassignsagroupnametoeachobjectthatisdisplayed
asapartofitsproperties.Objectswiththesamegroupnamebelongtothesamegroup.
Groupgroupsobjectsforselection.Agroupcancontainoneormoresub-groups.
Ungroupdestroysthegroup.
SetGroupNamechangesthenameassignedbydefault.Namingdifferentgroupstothesamename
combinesthosegroupsintoone.
AddToGroupandRemoveFromGroupaddandremoveobjectsfromgroups.
SelGroupselectsgroupsbyname.
Blocks
Ablockisanotherwayofassociatingobjectstogethertoformasingleobject.TheBlockcommandcreatesa
blockdefinitioninthecurrentmodel.TheInsertcommandplacesinstancesofthisblockdefinitioninyour
model.Youcanscale,copy,rotate,array,andotherwisetransformblockinstancesinthemodel.Ifyoueditthe
blockdefinition,allinstancesoftheblockarechangedtothisnewdefinition.Blockscanstreamlinemodeling,
reducemodelsize,andpromotestandardizationofpartsanddetails.
Multipleinstancesofablockcanbelocated,scaled,androtatedintoamodelwiththeInsertcommand.Block
definitionsarecreatedwiththeBlockorInsertcommand.Materialsandotherobjectpropertiesonblock
instancesaredeterminedbythecomponentobjects.
Explodingablockinstanceplacestheblockgeometryusingtheinstancelocation,scale,androtation.To
redefineablock,usetheBlockEditcommand,toeditthegeometry.
TheBlockManagercommanddisplaysadialogboxthatlistsalltheblockdefinitionsinthemodel.Usethe
Block Managerdialogboxtoviewblockproperties,exportablockdefinitiontoafile,deleteablockdefinition
andallitsinstances,updateablockdefinitionfromafile,findoutwhatblocksarenestedinotherblocks,and
countthenumberofblockinstancesinthemodel.
Worksessions
TheWorksessioncommandletsmanyusersworkonalargeprojectbymanagingmanyfiles.Eachusercan
editadifferentfileintheprojectandatthesametimeseetherelatedportionsoftheproject.Byrefreshingas
needed,eachusercanseethecurrentversionoftherelatedfilesintheprojects.Onlyoneusercanhaveafile
openforediting,butmanyuserscanseeit.
Rhinoworksessionsletyouattachexternalfilestoyourcurrentworkenvironment.Attachedgeometrycannot
beedited(Move,Scale),butitcanbeusedforinputtocreationcommands(Copy,ExtrudeCrv).
Dimensions
Youcandimensionobjectsinyourmodel,withyourchoiceoffont,unitsdisplay,decimalprecision,textand
arrowsize,andtextalignment.Afterdimensionsareplaced,youcanselectalldimensions,editdimensiontext,
turncontrolpointsontomovedimensionelements,anddeletedimensions.Youcanplacehorizontal,vertical,
aligned,rotated,radial,diameter,andangledimensions,textblocks,leaders,andcreatea2-Dhiddenline
drawing.
Dimensionsarenotassociative.Changingyourgeometrywillnotupdatethedimensionunlessthedimension
wasdrawnwithhistoryenabled.Changingthedimensionwillnotupdateyourgeometry.
TheDimcommandplaceshorizontalandverticaldimensionsdependingonthedirectionyoupickthepoints.
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Dimensionsarecreatedusingthecurrentdimensionstyle.Createnewdimensionstylestocontroltextsize
andfont,andotherdimensionproperties.UsethesettingsintheDocument Propertieswindowtocreate
newstylesandsetthepropertiesofexistingstyles.
Text
TheTextcommandplacesannotationtextinyourmodel.
Leaders
TheLeadercommanddrawsanarrowleader.
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Dots
TheDotcommandplacesatextdot.
Dotsarealwaysparalleltotheview.Dotsaredisplayedinthelayercolor.Dotsizeisconstantonthescreen.As
youzoominandout,thedotdisplaysthesamesize.
Notes
TheNotescommandprovidesameansofstoringtextinformationinyourmodelfile.Youcantypeinformation
directlyintotheNotestextbox.IfyouleavetheNotes boxdisplayedwhenyouclosethemodelfile,itwill
displaythenexttimethefileisopened.
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Render
Inadditiontoshadedpreviews,Rhinoprovidesfull-colorrenderingwithlights,transparency,shadows,
textures,andbumpmapping.
Objectswillrenderwhiteuntilyouaddrendercolor,highlight,texture,transparency,andbumps.These
attributesarecontrolledthroughthePropertiespanel,Materialpage.
Theprocessneededtorenderscenesconsistsoffourbasicsteps:
Addlighting
Assignmaterials
Setuptheenvironmentandgroundplane
Render
Althoughthestepsdonothavetobedoneinthisorder,usingthismethodseemstomakesettingupascene
moreefficient.Toimprovequality,repeatthesestepsuntiltheimagelooksrighttoyou.
Lights
IneveryRhinorenderingtherearelightsourcesthatRhinousestocalculatehowtheobjectsaretobe
illuminated.Ifyoudonotaddanylightsourcestoyourscene,thedefaultlightisused.Thedefaultlightisa
directionallightwithparallelraysthatactsasthoughyouhavealampshiningoveryourleftshoulder.
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Render
sun
OrturnontheSun.
Materials
Materialsspecifythecolor,finish,transparency,texture,andbumpforusebytherenderer.
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Render
Environment
Environmentsdescribethespacearoundthemodel.Thisspaceisreflectedinobjectsandcanprovideoverall
lighting.
Ground Plane
Thegroundplaneprovidesaninfinitehorizontalplatformfortheimagethatstretchestothehorizoninall
directionspositionedatadefinedelevation.Agroundplanerendersmuchfasterthanusingasurfaceasa
background.Anymaterialcanbeassignedtothegroundplane.
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Render
Render
Renderandsaveanimage.
Render and save the image
1. OntheRendermenu,clickRender.
2. IntheRender Window,ontheFilemenu,clickSave As.
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Entercoordinatestoplacepointsexactly.
Drawafree-formcurveandpolygon.
Createapipealongacurve.
Useapolararraytocopyobjectsinacircularpattern.
Extrudeacurvetocreateasurface.
Useplanarmode.
Enter coordinates
Whenyoupickapointwiththemouse,thepointliesontheconstruction planeoftheactiveviewportunless
youuseamodelingaidsuchasobjectsnaporelevator mode.WhenRhinopromptsforapoint,youcanenter
x-,y-,andz-coordinatesinsteadofpickingapoint.Eachviewporthasitsownconstructionplaneonwhichitsx-
andy-coordinateslie.Thez-coordinatefortheactiveviewportisperpendiculartothex-yplane.
Thegridisavisualrepresentationoftheconstructionplane.Theintersectionofthedarkredandgreenlines
showsthelocationoftheoriginpoint(x=0,y=0,z=0)ofthecoordinatesystem.
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7. Movethecursoruptoshowthedirectionandclick.
Thissetsthewidthoftheellipsoid.
9. Rotatetheperspectiveviewportsoyouarelookingalongthex-axisasillustrated.
TurnonShadeddisplaymodeinthePerspectiveviewport.
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3. AttheRadiusprompt,type.5,andpressEnter.
4. AttheEnd of cylinderprompt,type-20,andpressEnter.
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3. AttheRadiusprompt,type4,andpressEnter.
4. AttheEnd of cylinderprompt,type2,andpressEnter.
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4. AttheExtrusion Distanceprompt,type-.5(Noticethenegativenumber.Ifyoutypeapositive
numberatthispoint,thenutswillbeburiedinthewheelhub.Youwantthemtostickout.),and
pressEnter.
4. AttheNumber of elementsprompt,type5,andpressEnter.
5. AttheAngle to fill <360>prompt,pressEnter.
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3. AttheRadiusprompt,type5,andpressEnter.
Thismakestheradiusofthetorustubeoneunitbiggerthanthewheelhub.
4. AttheSecond radiusprompt,type1.5,andpressEnter.
Thismakestheinnerdimensionofthetorustube.5unitssmallerthanthewheelhub.
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3. AttheRadiusprompt,type3andpressEnter.
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3. AttheRadiusprompt,type2andpressEnter.
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2. AttheStart of curveprompt,intheTopviewport,holdtheCtrlkeytoactivateelevatormode
andclicknearthefrontendofthebodyellipsoid.
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3. MovethecursortotheFrontviewport,dragthemarkerneartheendoftheellipsoid,andclick.
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4. AttheNext pointprompt,clicktotheleftoftheellipsoidintheTopviewport.
Planarmodekeepssuccessivepointsatthesameconstructionplaneelevation.Planarmodecanbe
overriddenwithelevatormodeorobjectsnaps.WatchthecurveintheTopandFrontviewports.
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5. AttheNext pointprompt,useelevatormodetoaddanotherpointintheTopviewport.
6. AttheNext pointprompts,turnoffPlanarmodeandclickseveralmorepointsintheTop
viewporttocreateacurvedline.
NoticethatthepointsareprojectedtotheTopconstructionplane.
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4. Dragthedirectionsoitlinesupwiththecordcurveandclicktosetthedirection.
Thisdoesnothavetobeveryaccurate.
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Youwilllearnhowto:
Drawfree-formcurvesbasedonanexistingobject.
Editcontrolpoints.
Revolvesurfacesaroundanaxis.
Revolvingcurvesisagoodmethodforcreatingtubularshapeslikevases,wineglasses,andchairlegs.
Youaregoingtouseabasicflashlightasaguidefordrawingthecurvesyouwillneedforthenewmodel.Using
thebasicflashlightgivesyouaframeofreferencefordecidingaboutthesizeandshapeoftheobject.
To get started
4
OpenthetutorialmodelfileFlashlight.3dm.
Downloadthetutorialmodels.
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Draw a centerline
Drawaconstructioncenterlinethroughthecenteroftheoldflashlight.
Draw the construction centerline
1. OntheCurvemenuclickLine > Single Line.
2. AttheStart of lineprompt,usetheCenterobjectsnaptoplacethestartofthelineatthecenter
oftheflashlightbase.
3. AttheEnd of lineprompt,turnOrthoon,anddrawthelinethroughtheexactcenteroftheold
flashlight.
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UsetheEndobjectsnaptostartthecurveattheendoftheconstructioncenterline.
UsetheNearobjectsnaptoendthecurveontheconstructioncenterline.
Startingandendingthecurveexactlyonthelineisimportantsothatlaterwhenyourevolvethe
curvetocreateasolid,therewillbenogapsoroverlappingparts.
Whendrawingthecurve,useOrthotocontrolthefirsttwo(1and2)pointsandthelasttwopoints
(3and4)onthecurve.Ifthefirsttwopointsandthelasttwopointsareplacedinastraightline,the
curvewillstartandendtangenttothatline.
4. Whenyouhaveplacedthelastcontrolpoint,pressEntertofinishdrawingthecurve.
Toplacethelasttwopointsinastraightlinewitheachother,useGrid Snap,Ortho,or
Perpendicularobjectsnap.
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1. OntheSurfacemenu,clickRevolve.
2. AttheSelect curve to revolveprompt,selectthebodyprofilecurve.
3. AttheStart of revolve axisprompt,usetheEndsnaptosnaptooneendoftheprofilecurve.
5. IntheStart angle...prompt,clicktheFullCircleoption.
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5. IntheStart angle...prompt,clicktheFullCircleoption.
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Usesub-objectselectiontopre-selectobjectsforacommand.
Createasurfacefromaplanarcurve.
Loft,revolve,sweep,andextrudesurfaces.
Capplanarholestocreateasolid.
Drawahelixaroundacurve.
Matchcurveends.
Createsolidpipes.
Mirrorobjects.
Uselayers.
Useobjectsnaps.
OpenthetutorialmodelfileHeadphone.3dm.
Downloadthetutorialmodels.
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3. OntheSurfacemenu,clickLoft.
4. AttheDrag seam point to adjustprompt,notethedisplayofthecurvedirectionarrowsatthe
seampoints,andpressEnter.
Inthismodel,theyarenicelylinedupforyou,soyoudonotneedtoadjustthem.
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5. IntheLoft Optionsdialogbox,clickOKtocreatetheloft.
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1. HoldtheCtrland Shiftkeys,andclicktoselectthebottomface.
2. OntheSolidmenu,clickExtract Surface.
4. PresstheDeletekey.
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3. OntheSurfacemenu,clickSweep 1 Rail.
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Useaplanarcurvetocreateasolidshape.
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1. Selecttheclosedcurve.
2. OntheSolidmenu,clickExtrude Planar Curve > Straight.
3. AttheExtrusion distanceprompt,type-1andpressEnter.
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4. PressEntertoclosethatedgeselection.
7. PressEntertofinishtheedgeselection.
8. AttheSelect fillet handle to editprompt,pressEnter.
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3. AttheStarting radiusprompt,type.2,andpressEnter.
4. AttheEnd radiusprompt,pressEnter.
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1. TurnOrthoon.
2. OntheCurvemenu,clickEllipse > From Center.
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3. AttheEllipse centerprompt,clickAroundCurve.
4. AttheEllipse centerprompt,snaptoanendpointoftheheadbandcurve.
UsetheEndobjectsnap.
5. AttheEnd of first axisprompt,type0.5,andpressEnter.
6. AttheEnd of first axisprompt,dragthecursorinthex-directionandclick.
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5. UnderOrientation,clickFreeform,andclickOK.
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5. AttheScale directionprompt,dragthecursorinthey-directionandclick.
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2. OntheSurfacemenu,clickRevolve.
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5. AttheStart angle...prompt,type0,pressEnter.
6. AttheRevolution angle...prompt,type180,pressEnter.
Aroundedsurfaceiscreatedattheendoftheheadband.
7. Repeatthesestepsfortheothersideoftheheadband.
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2. OntheTransformmenu,clickMirror.
3. AttheStart of the mirror planeprompt,type0.
4. AttheEnd of the mirror planeprompt,dragthemirrorlineinthey-directionasillustrated.
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1. OntheCurvemenu,clickHelix.
2. AttheStart of axisprompt,clickAroundCurve.
3. AttheSelect curveprompt,selectthelongfree-formcurve.
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5. Repeatsteps3through6fortheotherendofthehelix.
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4. AttheEnd radiusprompt,pressEnter.
5. AtthePoint for next radiusprompt,pressEnter.
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2. OntheTransformmenu,clickMirror.
TheMirrorcommanddependsonwhichviewportisactive.Itusestheconstructionplaneinthe
activeviewporttodefinethemirrorplane.Themirrorplaneisperpendiculartotheconstruction
plane.Twopointsdefinethelineinthisplaneaboutwhichtheselectedobjectsaremirrored.
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Learn more
ForavideotutorialshowingamoresophisticatedmodelingmethodforaheadphonesetusingRhino'sGumball
feature,see:Modeling stereo headphones.
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Rebuildsurfacestoaddadditionalcontrolpoints.
Insertknotsinasurfacetoaddcontrolpointsinaspecificlocation.
Editsurfacecontrolpointstodefineashape.
Scalecontrolpointstochangetheobjectshape.
Useobjectsnapsprojectedtotheconstructionplane.
Orientanobjectonasurface.
Createsmoothblendsbetweensurfaces.
The body
Ifyoulike,opentheexamplemodel,Penguin.3dm,andtrytomatchtheshapesasyouarebuildingthe
model.Experimentwithyourownshapes,too.
Downloadthetutorialmodels.
Thebodyandheadarecreatedfromonesphere.Theshapeisformedbymovingthecontrolpointsinthe
spheretocreatethehead.
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Draw a sphere
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IntheTopviewport,usetheSpherecommandtodrawaspherewitharadiusof10units.
UsetheRebuildcommandtoaddmorecontrolpointstothesphere.
IntheRebuild Surfacedialogbox,setthePoint countintheUandVdirectionsto8andthe
DegreeintheUandVdirectionsto3.
CheckDelete input.
ClickOK.
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UsethePointsOn (F10)commandtoturnonthespherescontrolpoints.Lookinalltheviewports
atthestructureofthecontrolpoints.
Thenextstepwillchangethisstructuresotheinfluenceofmovingthecontrolpointsdoesnotextend
overthewholesphere.
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Insert knots
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UsetheInsertKnotcommandtoinserttwoknotsinthesphereintheareawhereyouwantthe
neck.
Inserttheknotsintheu-directiononlyasillustrated.
Examinethecontrolpointstructureafterinsertingtheknot.
Repositioncontrolpointstocreatetheindentationfortheneckandtoreformthebodyshape.
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UsetheSetPtcommandtomatchthemtothebottompolepointintheworldz-directiononly.
2. IntheSet Pointsdialogbox,checkSet Z,cleartheSet XandSet Ycheckboxes,andclickWorld.
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3. Dragtheselectedcontrolpointsup.
Thiswillalignalloftheselectedcontrolpointstothesamez-value(upinFrontviewport),flattening
thesurface.
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Drag points
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SelectrowsofcontrolpointswithawindowanddragthemupordownintheFrontviewportto
shapethebody.
UseWireFramedisplaymodeifyoufinditeasiertoselectcontrolpointsinwireframeviews.
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Scale points
1. SelectrowsofcontrolpointswithawindowintheFrontviewport.
2. IntheTopviewport,usetheScale2Dcommandtomovethemcloserorfartherawayfromthe
centralpoint.
TopickthebasepointfortheScale2DcommandusethePointobjectsnapwithProjectturnedon.
Thiswillscalethepointsparalleltotheconstructionplane.WatchtheFrontviewporttoseethe
changesinthebodyshapeasyoumovethecontrolpointsclosertoandfartherfromthecenter.
ExperimentwiththeProjectsettingintheOsnapcontroltoseehowitworks.
Youwillbeabletoseethetrackinglineprojectedtotheconstructionplaneintheviewports.
Matchtheexamplemodeloruseyourownshape.
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3. Dragindividualgroupsofcontrolpointstomakethebodyslightlyflatterinthefrontneartheneckas
illustrated.
The eyes
Theeyeisanellipsoidshapethatisorientedontothesurface.
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1. IntheTopviewport,starttheEllipsoidcommand.
Placethecenterpointanywhere.
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3. AttheBase point...prompt,intheTopviewport,pickthecenteroftheellipsoid.
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UsetheMirrorcommandintheFrontviewporttocreatethesecondeye.
The beak
Thebeakisanotherellipsoidthatyoucanedittochangetheshape.
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1. IntheTopviewport,starttheEllipsoidcommand.
Placethecenterpointanywhere.
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3. AttheEnd of secondaxisprompt,type2toconstrainthedistance.
Usingtheseconstraintscreatesacircularellipsoidwhenseenfromthetop.
DragthecursorupordownintheTopviewportandpick.
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1. Turnonthebeak'scontrolpoints(F10).
IntheFrontviewport,selectthelowerrowofpointsanddragthemup.
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2. Selecttherowofpointsinthetopcenteranddragthemdowntoshapethebeak.
TryusingtheNudgekeys(Alt+Arrowdirectionkeys)tonudgetheselectedpoints.
Movethebeakintoposition.
The feet
Thefeetarecreatedusinganotherellipsoid.Knotsareaddedtohelpcreatethewebbedtoes.
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1. IntheFrontviewport,starttheEllipsoidcommand.
Placethecenterpointanywhere.
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3. AttheEnd of secondaxisprompt,type3toconstrainthedistance.
IntheTopviewport,dragthecursorupandpick.
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UsetheRebuildcommandtoaddmorecontrolpointstotheellipsoid.
IntheRebuild Surfacedialogbox,setthePoint countintheUandVdirectionsto8andthe
DegreeintheUandVdirectionsto3.
CheckDelete input.
Insert knots to create the webbed feet
UsetheInsertKnotcommandtoinsertfourknotsintheellipsoidasillustrated.
SettheSymmetrical=On.
InserttheknotsintheV-direction.
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1. Selectcontrolpointsasillustrated.
Usewindowandcrossingselectionstoselectthecontrolpointsonboththetopandbottomofthe
ellipsoid.
2. UsetheScale2Dcommandtoscalethecontrolpointsoutfromthecenterofthefoot.
UsethePointobjectsnaptosetthebasepointofthescaletothecenterpointoftheellipsoid.
Dragthepointstomakethewholefootabouttwicethesizeoftheoriginalellipsoid.
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UsetheMovecommandtomovethefootunderthepenguinbody.
Rotate the foot out
UsetheRotatecommandtorotatethefootoutslightly.
UsetheMirrorcommandtocreatethesecondfoot.
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TheCutPlanecommandmakesaplanethatpassesthroughtheselectedsurfacesalongthelineyou
draw.
Trim and
1. Trimthebottomsofthefeetoffwiththeplaneasthecuttingobject.
2. Trimtheexcessplanefromoutsidethefeet.
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3. Jointheplanepartsandthefeet.
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The tail
Thetailisanotherellipsoid.Itisjoinedtothebodywithasmoothblendsurface.
Create the tail shape
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DrawanEllipsoidthatis4unitslong,3unitswide(Topviewport),and1.5unitstall(Front
viewport).
MoveandRotatethetailinposition.
UsetheBooleanUnioncommandtotrimandjointhetailandthebodyshapes.
Thetransitionbetweenthetailandbodyisratherabrupt;soreplacethiswithasmoothblend
surface.
Todothis,youmustfirstcreateagapbetweenthetwopartsfortheblendsurfacetofill.
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UsethePipecommandtocreateacircularsurfacearoundtheedgebetweenthebodyandtail.
AttheSelect curve to create pipe aroundprompt,selecttheedgebetweenthetailandthebody.
AttheRadius for closed pipeprompt,type.4.
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Tip:
WiththeSetObjectDisplayModecommand,setthepipetoawireframeor
ghosteddisplaymodesoyoucanseetheedgebetweenthebodyandthetail.
Ifyouselectthewrongpart,undowithintheTrimcommandandtryagain.
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UsetheBlendSrfcommandtocreateasmoothsurfacebetweenthetailandthebody.
Jointheblendandtailtothebody
The wings
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DrawanEllipsoidthatis2unitslong,2unitswide(Topviewport),and6.5unitstall(Front
viewport).
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2. Dragcontrolpointstocreatetheshape.
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2. Iffurtherpositioningisneeded,usetheRotateandMovecommandstoplacethewing.
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UsetheMirrorcommandtocreatetheoppositewing.
Totrimthewingholesandthewing,selectbothwingsandthebodyandusetheBooleanUnion
command.
Pipe the intersection
UsethePipecommandtocreateacircularsurfacearoundtheedgebetweenthebodyandeach
wing.
AttheSelect curve to create pipe aroundprompt,selecttheedgeoftheholeinthebodyorthe
edgeofthewingsurface.
AttheRadius for closed pipeprompt,usearadiusofabout.6.
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UsetheBlendSrfcommandtocreateasmoothsurfacebetweeneachwingandthebody.
Jointheblendsandwingstothebody
Finishing touches
Tofinishthepenguin,splitthefrontpartofthebodysoadifferentmaterialcanbeappliedtoit.
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IntheRightviewport,drawaCurvefromthebeakdowntothebottomasillustrated.
UsetheSplitcommandtosplitthebodysurfacewiththecurve.
Thisallowsadifferentcolorforthefrontofthebody.
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UsetheJoincommandtojointhebody(exceptthefront),thetail,andthewings.
Render
Renderingcreatesarealisticpictureofyourmodelwithcolorsyouassign.Theserendercolorsaredifferent
fromthelayercolorsyoumightbeusing,whichcontrolthedisplayinwireframeandshadedmodes.
Set up the view
4
UsetheRendereddisplaymodetosettheviewportrenderedmode.
Assign materials
1. Selectthebody.
2. StartthePropertiescommand.
3. InthePropertieswindow,clicktheMaterialicon.
4. SetAssign material by,toObject.
5. UnderBasic Settings,clicktheColorswatch.
6. IntheSelect Colordialogbox,selectacolorforthebody.
7. SettheGloss finishtoabout40.
8. Selecttheotherpartsandapplymaterialsinthesameway.
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Create3-Dcurvesfroma2-Dlinesdrawing.
Rebuildandsimplifythecurves.
Useanalyticaltechniquestoensurefairness.
Loftsurfacesfromthecurves.
Rhinoisusedbymarinedesignersinmanysegmentsoftheindustry.Formoretutorialsandinformationabout
marinedesign,seetheRhinowebsiteatwww.rhino3d.com.
Note:
Theimagesinthistutorialuseadisplaysettingtochangethecolorofthebackofthe
surfaces.
Front face (1) , backface (2). Yellow arrows indicate surface normal direction, and
green color indicates surface backface.
Thisletsyouseewhichwaythenormaldirectionoftheobjectfaces.SearchtheRhino
HelpforBackface settings.
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Usethefewestpossiblecontrolpointstogetthecurveshape.
Usethefewestpossiblecurvestogetthesurfaceshape.
Thedesignerslinesareillustrated.Thesheerandchinehavebeenextendedattheforwardandaftendsto
accommodatetheloftingprocess.
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OpenthetutorialmodelfileVictory.3dm.
Downloadthetutorialmodels.
ThelinesarelaidoutonthePlanlayerandtheProfilelayer.
Thecurvaturegraphshouldbecontinuousandexhibitthecharacteristicsdesiredforthecurve.Whenthe
curveisconcavedownward,thegraphwillbeabovethecurve.Conversely,concaveupwardcurveswillhave
theirgraphsbelowthem.Thepointofinflection(wherethecurveisneitherconcaveupwardnordownward)is
indicatedwherethegraphcrossesthecurve.
Fix the curvature
Beforedoinganypointeditingtomakethecurvesfair,rebuildthecurvestoremoveexcesscontrolpoints.
SelecteachcurveandusetheRebuildcommandtoreducethenumberofpointsandsetthedegree.Donot
usemorepointsthanyouabsolutelyneed.
UsetheCurvatureGraphcommandtocheckthecurvesagainforfairness.Ifthecurvaturegraphisstillnot
satisfactory,movethecontrolpointsuntilyouhaveasmoothgraph.Proceedwiththerestofthecurvesinthe
modeltobecertaintheyarefairbeforebeginningtosurfacethemodel.
Rebuild the curves
1. Selectthesheercurve.
2. StarttheRebuildcommand.
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3. StarttheCrv2Viewcommand.
Thethree-dimensionalrepresentationofthatcurvewillbecreated.
4. Whenyouaresatisfiedthatthepropercurvewascreated,deleteorHidethetwo-dimensional
representations.
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5. RepeattheCrv2Viewcommandforthechinecurve.
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3. AttheStart of curveprompt,usingtheEndobjectsnap,clicktheaftendofthecenterline.
4. AttheEnd of curve...prompt,usingtheMidpointobjectsnap,clickthemiddleofthecurve.
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3. Drawthecurvesoitalignsnicelywiththechineandsheercurvesintheplanviewasillustrated.
Thiscreatesanewbottomcurvetouseforthesurfaceloft.
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4. Turnonthecontrolpoints(F10)tocheckthecurve.
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2. IntheTopviewport,offsettheline1/2inchtowardthehullsurfaces.
Thiscreatesacurvethatwillbeusedinthenextstep.Wewantasmallgapdownthecenterofthe
boatbetweenthetwohalvesforakeel.
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Usingtheoffset curve,Trimthebottom(1)andside(2)asillustrated.
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4. AttheEnd of extensionprompt,selectapointabovethecurrenttopofthetransomcenterline.
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Trim and
1. Selectthetransomcenterline.
2. StarttheTrimcommand.
3. SetUseApparentIntersections=Yes.
4. IntheFrontviewport,attheSelect object to trimprompt,selectthehullsideandbottom
surfacesaftofthetransomcenterline.
5. Jointhehullbottomandside.
Mirror the hull surfaces
IntheRightorTopviewport,Mirrorthetwohullsurfacesaboutthecenterline.UsetheEdgeSrf
commandtocreatesurfacesbetweenthetwohullhalves.
1. Selectthetwohullsurfaces.
2. StarttheMirrorcommand.
3. IntheTopviewport,attheStart of mirror planeprompt,type0,pressEnter.
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3. RepeattheEdgeSrfcommand.
4. AttheSelect 2, 3, or 4 curvesprompt,selectthetwoinneredgesofthehullsidesalongthekeel
atthebow.
Tip:Theorderyouselectthesurfaceedgesdetermineswhatdirectionthekeelsurfacefaces.
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1. IntheFrontviewport,selecttheextendedtransomcenterline.
2. StarttheExtrudeCrvcommand.
3. AttheExtrusion distanceprompt,setthecommand-lineoptionBothSides=Yes.
4. InthePerspective,Top,orRightviewport,dragtheextensionbeyondthehullsurface.
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1. Drawalinebetweenthetwoafthulltopedges.
2. StarttheTrimcommand.
Thetransomisnowcomplete.
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UsetheProjectcommandtoprojecttheverticallinetothesideofthehull.Thislinewillactasamarkerforthe
endofthecurve.IntheFrontviewport,drawacurvefromtheendofthedeckcenterlinecurvetotheendof
theprojectedcurveononesideofthehull.UsePlanarmodetokeepthecurveplanar.Placethefirstthree
controlpointsusingOrthotokeepthemlinedupatthecenter.
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UsetheEndobjectsnaptoplacethelastpointatthetopoftheprojectedcurveonthehull.
3. UsetheCurvatureGraphcommandtocheckthecurve.
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UsetheEdgeSrfcommandtocreatethesmalltriangularsurfaceatthetipofthebow.
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SelectallofthesurfacesandusetheJoincommandtocreateasinglepolysurface.
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Traceanimagetocreateprofilecurves.
Createcross-sectioncurvesforloftingtheprofiles.
Editcontrolpointstochangeasurfaceshape.
Starting images.
Finished model.
Note:Thetopandsideviewsareactuallyofdifferentspecimensofthisdragonfly.Inthesideview,thewingsarefolded
up.Wewillbeusingthesideviewimageonlytodrawtheside
viewcurvesofthebody.
Draw the body
Sincethedragonflyissymmetricalinthetopview,andthemodelisnotgoingtobeascientificreproduction,
traceonesideofthedragonflyandmirrorthecurvetotheotherside.Forthesideview,drawtwocurvessince
theprofileisnotsymmetrical.Thenwewillloftcrosssectioncurvestomakethebody.Theheadwillbemade
separately.
Thetailandbodywillallbemadeinonepiece.Thetailisactuallyseveralsegmentsthatflex.Ifyouwere
makingananimationorascientificmodel,youprobablywouldwanttodividethedragonflyintosmaller
surfaces.
Start the model
1. BeginaNewmodel.
2. IntheTemplate Filedialogbox,selectSmall Objects - Millimeters.3dm,andclickOpen.
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IntheTopviewport,usetheLinecommandtodrawareferenceline50 millimeterslongstarting
at0,0,0.
Place the top view image
1. StartPictureFramecommand.
2. FindtheimagefileDragonFly Top.jpg,andplacetheimageintheTopviewport.
Downloadthetutorialmodels.
Usethereferencelinetosetthelengthofthepictureframeimage.
UseobjectsnapstoMovetheimagefromthemidpointoftheleftside(Mid)totheconstruction
planeoriginat0,0,0.
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Hidethesideviewpictureframe.
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IntheTopviewport,usetheCurvecommandtodrawanoutlineofthetophalfofthedragonfly
body.
Useasmanycontrolpointsasyouthinkarenecessaryforthedetail.
Drawonlyuptotheneck.Youwillbecreatingtheheadanotherway.
IntheTopviewport,usetheMirrorcommandtocopythecurvearoundthereferenceline.
Thephotographshowsthatthedragonflyisnotsymmetricalaboutitscenterline.However,since
yourdragonflywillbestylized,itdoesnotmatterinthiscase.Youcanchoosethelevelofaccuracy
youneed.
UsetheShowcommandtoshowtheside-viewpictureframeobject.
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IntheFrontviewport,usetheBendcommandtobendthecurvesdownatthetailtomatchthe
bendinthebodycurveinthatview.
IntheFrontviewport,usetheCurvecommandtotracethebodyoutlineusingtwocurves,one
abovethereferencelineandonebelowthereferenceline.
Maximizetheviewportandzoomin.Pickasmanypointsasyouneedtocreatethecurves.Usemore
pointswhenroundingacornerandfewerpointsforastraightsection.
Hidethepictureframeobjectsandthereferenceline.
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UsetheCSeccommandtocreatecross-sectionprofilecurvesthroughthetop,bottom,andside
curves.
Drawasmanycross-sectioncurvesasyouneedtomaintainthedetail.Youwillbeabletosee
whetheryouhaveenoughcurveswhenyouloftthesurfaceinthenextstep.Ifyoudonothave
enoughcurvestomaintaintheshapeinanarea,addmoreandretrythesurfaceloft.
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1. UsetheEllipsoidcommandwiththeDiameteroptiontostarttheellipsoidintheFrontviewport.
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2. UseElevator Modetopositionthefirstpoint.
AttheStart of first axisprompt,pressandholdtheCtrlkeyandintheTopviewportclicknearthe
sideofthehead.
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3. IntheFrontviewport,movethecursoruptothecenteroftheheadinthesideviewandclick.
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Note:Drawingtheellipsoidinthisorderandusingtheseviewportsis
importanttogetthepolesoftheellipsoidintherightplaceforthenextstep.
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UsetheRebuildcommandtoaddmorecontrolpointstotheellipsoid.
Setthepointcountto16intheu-directionand10inthev-direction.
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2. IntheTopviewport,selectanddragpointsonbothsidesoftheellipsoidtowardthebacktodeform
thehead.
3. IntheRightviewport,dragthemiddletworowsofpointsdown.
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IntheFrontviewport,drawlinesasillustrated,andusetheTrimcommandtotrimtheheadand
bodyshapeswiththelines.
UsetheBlendSrfcommandtomakeablendsurfacebetweentheheadandbody.
Besuretheseamsarealignedandthedirectionarrowspointthesameway.
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UsetheEllipsoidcommandtodrawtheeye.
Basethesizeandpositionontheimages.
UsetheOrientcommandortheMoveandRotatecommandstoadjustthepositionoftheeye.
UsetheMirrorcommandtocopytheeyetotheotherside.
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UsetheCylindercommandtodrawasolidcylindersoitcutsthroughthetailasillustrated.
UsetheBooleanDifferencecommandtocuttheendoutofthetail.
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IntheTopviewport,usetheCurvecommandtotracethewingsononesideofthedragonfly.
MakethecurvesintothinsolidswiththeExtrudeCrvcommand.
Setthecommand-lineoptionSolid=YestoYes.
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PositionthewingsonthebackwiththeMovecommand.
Consultthesideviewimageofthedragonfly.Thefrontwingisslightlyhigherthanthebackwing.
UsetheMirrorcommandtocopythewingstotheotherside.
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UsethePipecommandtodrawthelegsaroundthepolylines.
Refertothebackgroundpicturetodeterminethestartingandendingdiameterofthepipe.
Mirror the legs
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UsetheMirrorcommandtocopythelegstotheotherside,ordrawdifferentlegsfortheotherside.
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Finishing touches
Foraddedrealism,addcolor,reflectivity,andtransparency.
Render the model
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Addmaterialsandtexturesandrender.
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Createtextassolidobjects.
Wraptheobjectstoasurface.
Make a surface
Forthisexample,createasimplecylinder.Onceyouhavelearnedthebasictechnique,youwillbeabletouse
othertypesofsurfaces.Rememberthattrimmedsurfacesmaintaintheirbasicrectangularshape.This
underlyingshapewillaffecttheplacementofthetext.
Create a cylinder
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InthePerspectiveviewport,usetheCylindercommandwiththeVerticaloptiontocreateasolid
cylinder.
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UseMove,Rotate,andScaleorothertransformstoarrangethetextobjectsinsidetherectangle
justthewayyouwantthemtoappearonthecylinder.
Addanyotherdecorationcurvesyouwanttouse.
UsethePlanarSrfcommandtomaketherectangleintoasurface.
YouwillusethissurfacelaterasareferenceobjectfortheFlowAlongSrfcommand.
Extrude the decoration curves
1. Ifyouhavecreatedothercurves,selectthese.
2. UsetheExtrudeCrvcommandtothickenthedecorationstomatchtheletters.
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3. AttheExtrusion Distanceprompt,setSolid=Yes.
4. AttheExtrusion distanceprompt,type.1.
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4. Clicktherectangular planenearthe"lower-left"cornerasillustrated.
5. AttheTarget surfaceprompt,clickthecylinderneartheloweredgeoftheseamasillustrated.
Thetextanddecorationsolidswraparoundthecylinder.
NowyoucanusetheletterstocutthecylinderorBooleantheobjectstogether.
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Createextrusionobjects.
Booleandifferenceshapes.
Drillholes.
Createa2-Dlinedrawingfromthe3-Dshapes.
Dimensionthe2-Dlinedrawingandmodifydimensiontext.
Open the tutorial model
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OpenthetutorialmodelfileToolblock.3dmandthenclickOpen.
Downloadthetutorialmodels.
IntheLayerspanel,confirmthattheProfile-01layeriscurrent.
Extrude the profile curve
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4. AttheExtrusion distanceprompt,setthecommand-lineSolidandtheDeleteInputoptionsto
Yes.
5. Clicktheendofthemagentaconstructionline.
Theextrudedshapeisasolidbecauseitformsaclosedvolumeinspace.
Hide the solid
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IntheLayerspanel,makelayerProfile-02current.
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ThesolidappearsonthecurrentredlayerProfile-02.
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5. PickapointinFrontview.
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6. Repeatthisforthetwoholesthatareontheothersideofthepart.
Note:Donotusethepointinthecenterofthepart.
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3. AttheCenter pointprompt,setthecommand-lineoptionsasfollows:
Depth=0.5
Diameter=0.312
DrillPointAngle=180
Through=No
Direction=CPlaneNormal
4. Clickthepointobjectinthemiddleofthebluesolidtofinishcreatingthehole.
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Double-clicktheviewporttitletomaximizetheTopviewport.
Dimension the part
1. OntheDimensionmenu,clickLinear Dimension.
2. IntheOsnapcontrol,turnontheEndobjectsnap;turnoffthePointobjectsnap.
3. AttheFirst dimension pointprompt,picktheupperleftcornerofthepart.
4. AttheSecond dimension pointprompt,picktheupperrightcornerofthepart.
5. AttheDimension locationprompt,pickalocationforthedimensionline.
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6. Repeattogenerateaverticaldimensionontherightsideofthepart.
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Repeatthechaindimensionstocreateverticaldimensions.
4. Doubleclicktheradialdimensiontext,andinthetexteditbox,addthetextTyp. 5 Places.
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OpenthetutorialmodelfileToolblock.3dmandthenclickOpen.
Downloadthetutorialmodels.
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Layout viewports
Usealayouttoarrangethe2-Dlinesforprinter.
Add viewport tabs
1. OntheViewport tabs,clicktheAdd new tab ( )icon.
2. Onthemenu,clickNew Layout.
3. IntheNew Layoutwindow,selectthefollowing:
Orientation=Landscape
Width=11 inches
Height=8.5 inches
InitialDetailCount= 1
Page1willappearintheviewporttabs.
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6. Dragthecontrolpointinthelowerleftcornertore-sizethedetailtofitinthetitleblock.
7. PresstheEsckeytoturnoffthecontrolpoints.
Lock the detail view
1. Selectthedetail.
2. OntheEditmenu,clickObject Properties (F3).
3. InthePropertiespanelontheDetailpage,underScale,settheinches on pageandinches in
modelto1.0.
4. ChecktheLockedbox
Thispreventsfuturepanningandzoomingsothedetailsstaysthecorrectsize.
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