I have some “machine” modeled with direct Rhino methods (for 3d printing purposes). In the outer case, I have some electronics which have got constant dimensions. Some of the printed parts are close to those electronics. I’m not sure of clearance and final design. I would like to change dynamically some offsets, holes, position of booleans cutters. I know that project is more for Solidworks than Rhino but I have already a Rhino license and I think there is some present workflow to watch/learn to build construction that has got dynamic parts inside. I would like to learn that workflow a bit. Could you recommend me something (I`m mostly a direct modeler). I would like to omit buying the license of SW
Have a nice Sunday.
Thanks for the reply. In the meantime (I posted my question 7 months ago), I’ve bought a T-Flex license - it’s a SolidWorks alternative with a better price and almost the same features (T-Flex has got Parasolid kernel same as SolidWorks). I use it together with Rhino and MoI3d but it is the start of my mixed workflow journey. You can see here my newest parametric electronic device prototype built over variables in T-Flex. The biggest problem for me with building prototypes is that everything is changing during a project. Firstly I’ve made that box in Rhino/MoI3d but after few complete rebuilds, I`ve bought a T-Flex license. All electronic parts in the box were built with Rhino and MoI (it was much faster for me).
If someone is interested you can see here the manual of the T-Flex: T-FLEX CAD 17 Help
Edit: I would like only to add that IMO Rhino is much better surfacing software than any other parametric CAD, even twice or triple more expensive than Rhino. I think Rhino is a super addition to any parametric/mechanical CAD software because most of them are poor in surfacing and fixing geometry errors. For 3d print, I use also MoI3d because I have the best results in meshing CAD files there. I use Rhino3d and MoI3d almost as one seamless software because of copy/paste which works well between Rhino and MoI3d. Some commands I use in Rhino some in MoI3d (most hard tasks always in Rhino).
It`s about 2xRhino license cost or a bit more but it depends on reseller and region I think (same as Solidworks). But for that you have:
library of standardized objects included
full history of operations (rollback)
complex assemblies creation
mechanical animations (mates etc.)
global variables
express FEA
Associative Bill of Materials (BOM)
design of metal sheets.
Parasolid Kernel operations
better fully parametric surfacing than competitors in that price range
It has also a much wider parametrization than competitors, so everything can be parametric (it’s possible to get every value from your scene and put in every other place with calculations like in excel formulas). It’s possible because every dimension has got unique ID that can be read or changed globally (for example from the global variable table sheet). It has also the unique ability to create a simple clickable configurator (parametric presets to choose from) which can create heavy parametric tasks in the background. It`s useful when you design the same things every day with different dimensions and you would like to automatize your workflow a bit by using configurators.
I thought about buying Alibre Design Expert or T-Flex. I’ve chosen T-Flex because IMO it has better surfacing and for me is more intuitive than Alibre. I’ve created that box a few days after starting with software so it’s quite easy for Rhino user. The Manual is also great it`s very well written what is important for me.
What I can say more. Shell command equivalent in T-Flex solve self-intersections (thanks to Parasolid Kernel). It`s something that I would like to see in Rhino 8 (in shell and offsetSrf commands). That was also important to me.
