byRhinoView: Free & Lightweight Rhino3D / CAD Web Viewer

News
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Hi everyone,

Not long ago, I switched my smartphone from an iPhone to a Samsung Galaxy. While I love the new device, I quickly hit a critical roadblock: ‘iRhino’ is not available on Android.

Coincidentally, we had been receiving numerous inquiries from our users asking for an Android-compatible Rhino viewer. This inspired our design team to take matters into our own hands and conceptualize ‘byRhinoView’, a lightweight, Three.js-based web 3D viewer.

The most surprising part of this project? Not a single line of code was manually written. This is a 100% No-Coding, AI-generated application.

We used Antigravity as our core foundation. Whenever we hit limitations or complex roadblocks, we collaborated with Claude Code. The entire application was built, refined, and expanded solely through AI prompting.
(Thanks to this workflow, it will also be registered on the Google Play Store as a standalone Android app very soon!)

:mobile_phone_with_arrow: Android App : https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.byrhino3d.view

byRhinoView is now available on the Google Play Store as of June 17th!
Please download and check it out.

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■ Key Features of byRhinoView ■
Multi-Format Support: Opens Rhino (.3dm), STEP, IGES, and STL files seamlessly.

100% Local & Secure: All 3D rendering and computations happen entirely within your local browser sandbox. No files are ever uploaded to an external server, ensuring absolute data privacy.

Essential Inspection Tools: Built-in features for distance & angle measurement, cross-section analysis (clipping planes), and full layer control.

Cross-Platform PWA: Works flawlessly on both mobile and PC browsers, and can be installed as a standalone Progressive Web App (PWA).

What started as a personal necessity to solve an Android limitation has now been released as an open-source project under the MIT License. Anyone can use it completely free of charge, with no restrictions or sign-ups required.

:rocket:Launch Viewer: https://www.plusplastic.com/byRhinoView/

:blue_book:Official Website: byRhinoView

:laptop: GitHub Repository: https://github.com/plusplastic/byRhinoView

:mobile_phone_with_arrow: Android App : https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.byrhino3d.view

:eyes: View Sample Models:

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:clap: :clap: :clap:
Well done!
I was waiting for this since ages!

Best would be if it could link with cloud storage like Drive or DropBox so one can view directly the files stored there without downloading it.

3

This is AMAZING! Thank you!

4

Just a question about the topic title: Are there web viewers where you need to install something?

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Good point! You’re absolutely right, and we’ll probably need to update the title.

The phrase slipped in because we are currently developing both a web viewer and a separate downloadable app. Our main goal was to bring the powerful features of a desktop-installed program straight to the web without any hassle.

Thanks for pointing that out and for your interest!

6

This is a nice viewer.

Not sure about the distance tool. It is a bit weird when you measure something and then rotate the view

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Wow! Fantastic effort. Thankyou.
I was just about to go and buy a bunch of iPads to put on our machines with iRhino, so that operators could view files while in production.
Now it looks like I’ll go and get some Android tablets instead. :slight_smile:

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  1. Cloud Storage Integration:cloud:
    You can now open your Rhino files directly from your favorite cloud storage providers! We have integrated seamless access for:

    Google Drive
    Microsoft OneDrive
    Dropbox

  2. Measurement Persistence Bug Fixes:triangular_ruler:
    We fixed a critical issue where active Length and Angle measurements would completely disappear when changing viewport or layer settings. Measurements will now stay fully intact when executing any of the following actions :

    Settings, Layers & Selection Changes: Measurements will now stay fully intact even when changing viewport settings (such as toggling Edges, Shadows, Sun, or Display Modes), adjusting Layers, or selecting/hiding objects.

  3. Texture & File Size Optimization:package:
    Fixed a bug where JPEG textures were incorrectly converted and included as PNG format, which caused file sizes to inflate unnecessarily. This fix significantly optimizes loading times and reduces memory usage for textured models.

Thank you to our community members for the valuable feedback that helps us improve byRhinoView. Please try out the new updates and let us kn o w your thoughts!

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New Sample :
Sample1 byRhinoView

Sample2 byRhinoView

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Will there be any issues even if I turn on ‘Snap to vertex’?

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I will reply here again once the official Android app is registered!

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Thanks!
I’ve looked at the sample and the quality is impressive! Well done!
I’ll try my own 3D model soon.

17

I tested it out and found some bugs.

1- If you open a file that has layout pages, they get overlaid on the model.
It would be nice to have it separated, so we could see the model, or the layout space if we wish for.

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2- If your model has blocks, they can behave weirdly (I was not able to turn off the layer of the drawing block at all, it stayed overlaied no matter what.

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Wish - Any way we might support snapshots in the future, so I can save model/layer state and camera to create a lightweight PMI tool for Rhino?

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Thank you so much for your valuable feedback!

We are constantly working on updates and improvements. We will look into the layout overlay issue and the block layer bug immediately, and deploy a fix as soon as possible. Since our viewer updates in real-time, you’ll be able to see the changes reflected without any manual installation.

Thanks again for helping us make byRhinoView better!

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Ok, I have another wish, if possible.

There is a plugin called Iris Iris - Export Rhino Models to Web | Food4Rhino

It works sometimes, sometimes it doesnt.

Would it be possible to add the function to byRhinoView to be able to export the html file instead of relying on the webbrowser hosting? (Kinda like Iris does, but with the improvements you already have with better view rendering and measuring capacibilities.

Ah by the way, I found out the problem with the blocks where that the block definition is on the wrong layer, so when I moved the definition of the block to the correct layer I was able to turn it off normaly.

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I’ve identified the issue with the blocks and it looks like it won’t be too difficult to fix. However, I’m still figuring out the best way to implement the layouts.

The HTML export feature is also something I’m actively considering. One of my key goals is to allow users to view 3D models without having to send the actual 3D file, whether that’s through a standalone HTML file or another new format.

21

Apparently the Iris plugin is from a McNeel employee, so maybe @fraguada can help you with that since his name is on the Iris Github documentation page :slight_smile:

But thanks for your work Jin, the tool is already awesome to use.

22

This is extremely good!

What I am looking for is a free viewer where I can forward a web link to my client, enabling them to view the model as you do, but without the ability to download or extract the data (protecting IP)

23

If you haven’t already, try the Autodesk Viewer

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Hi Martin

Yes that’s exactly what I’ve been looking for however I do prefer the RhinoViewer platform - its simple and not too difficult for clients that may not be up to speed with CAD.

Thanks for sharing!