Here’s the full question: [B]What do you do for a living and how is Rhino, in addition to any other 3D packages, essential to your workflow and subsequently livelihood?[/B]
Kind of a mouthful, and perhaps a strange question, especially coming from me who typically asks mundane technical things like, [I]how do I export text as curves?[/I] As an architecture student who uses Rhino every day, I am wondering how you all use it professionally.
The disciplinary landscape of “design” in the most general sense has surely changed over the past decade – almost every design job I see out there is UX/UI these days, asking for proficiencies in JavaScript and whatnot. Obviously, we’re in a different niche with all this 3D talent, but I’m curious nonetheless where Rhinoriders work, and how they bring home the bacon.
Architecture student at UC Berkeley, Rhino is the primary design tool. I’m actually just transferring in the Fall so I’m not speaking from authority, but I had a long session with a classmate who transferred last year and she filled me in. Sketches, study models, Rhino —> Photoshop —> Illustrator —> pinup boards
|—> unroll —> paper cutter —> assemble model
I’ll know more in a few months. One thing I was surprised at was the absence of AutoCAD, but it makes sense in an undergraduate program to not focus on construction documents.
Been using Rhino since the beta days, now working as senior industrial designer in 400+ company. Rhino is my/our primary modelling tool with SWX being used less and less. Rendering in Keyshot (which replaced Vray 6 months ago - speed, speed, speed).
I’ve been on rhino since the beta days. I’m working as a packaging/industrial designer. I use rhino in conjunction with Adobe’s creative suite. I was using Neon for rendering but I’ve switched over to mac and that hasn’t been ported so I’m between engines at the moment.
Aluminum composite panels manufacturer here.
We use FARO scanner to scan as-built buildings and Rhino to model around pointclouds for a near perfect fit of our panels.
I’m a modeling lead-man.
We are in a process of completely switching from AutoCAD to Rhino regarding our shop/approval drawings.
RIP AutoCAD.
fabricator / craftsman
I use rhino every day in some combination of the following:
-design (standard 3D modeling/drafting and some algorithm based stuff via Python and Grasshopper)
-shop drawings
-rendering for sales (via indigo or fusion360)
-CNC (3axis stuff… toolpaths via fusion360…(I’m on Mac))
-visual calculator
-graphic design work on occasion
-probably some other things too
I work in the entertainment/theme park industry and have used Rhino since ver 1. My job has me doing a lot of varied tasks from concept design to actual modeling for CNC construction. Taking designs from the client (Usually done in Sketchup) and rebuilding object in Rhino. Also taking Zbrush meshes and slicing polymeshes to be CNC milled to create molds both positive and negative. Also taking client models or sketches and creating geometry for 3D printing.
I use Rhino professionally, most of my work revolves around aerospace. I make models that used for CFD simulation, and define the OML surfaces of additions to those aircraft (radomes and such). I also do surface modeling from laser scanned data - again, usually aircraft. I use Autodesk’s Shape plugin in Rhino for all my surfacing. For fillets I now send everything over to Fusion 360 and then bring it back into Rhino.
I design luxury yachts. Using it since 2000. Rhino is essential as it has all the plug-in I need.
We can make any shape we want.
Small office. We just got a new guy in, used to other cad software.
He learned quickly on a iMac. He loves it.
I use Rhino just about everyday. Working for a glass/millwork company that does commercial new installs and reno work. Curtain walls, storefronts, custom fab…I do most all of our shop drawings and plans for submittal. I also run the CNC mill, so I do all the design work, as well as all the toolpathing for that part of our fabrication.
No, unfortunately I do not do any toolpathing in Rhino. While if you look at my past posts, I was looking for that solution a while back when I was asking about RhinoCAM vs MadCAM. In reality, for us though, both of these programs are way out of our budget for the amount of CNC milling that actually goes on here.
I am experimenting with Fusion 360, but 99% of my toolpathing comes from Aspire. It’s not my favorite to design in, but it’s pretty straight forward and easy to learn. Their advanced toolpath options leaves much to be desired, but with their new update Aspire 8.5, they’ve added a few things that make my job a little easier. For instance, with 8.5 they’ve added a molding toolpath that can follow a rail curve, where before, it was only either a contour or raster path, so you had really clunky edges that required hand finishing sometimes.
If it’s simple stuff, I’ll just design it in Aspire. If it’s more technical 3d stuff, I’ll build it in Rhino and import it to Aspire.
designer/maker of furniture and related products, lighting, mirrors etc etc, part time user of Rhino, it’s versatility keeps me using it, to me it’s just another tool in the toolbox, essential though, just like a scalpel is to a surgeon
We have been using Rhino since its inception to design luxury yachts in composites, steel and aluminum. Rhino (and Orca3d) is essential to us for developing hull lines, superstructure, and related parts. Tooling for large composite parts is developed in Rhino and sent to a third party for 5 axis mold or plug machining.
Bench Jeweler. Re: design, some pieces are completed by the traditional method of hand carving the waxes. Others (halo mounts, etc.) can be done better via CAD, and R5 is my tool of choice.
I am a senior test engineer in the combustion test laboratory of a global turbine engine systems company. I have long felt that a proper workman owns his tools. My license for Rhino allows me to become sufficiently adept in one part of my job which otherwise would leave me dependent upon the workstream of another department. When I need something made for a one-off test, I can just design it myself, then simply order the parts made on my corporate credit card. That saves me days of wait on each occasion.
I had looked once also into buying a personal copy of SolidWorks. The base price was steep, but almost tolerable. The yearly maintenance fees, however, were not. And as I recall from the few times I used it, the interface was nowhere so intuitive as for Rhino, which I’ve had now for over ten years, since version 4. I can set Rhino aside for weeks at a time, even months, then pick it up and just go from there. It’s that straight-forward. Never need I delve deeply into manuals to puzzle it out.
I agree with Aplonis in that I find that I can not work in Rhino for weeks at a time and come back and just pick up where I left off. Other softwares, not so much. To me Rhino is like riding a bicycle or breathing. I don’t have to think about it, it just happens and you never forget.
Product Designer, fabricator. I use Rhino almost every day, mainly for preparing cnc cutting files which I first model in 3d and then convert to 2D curves. I also experiment a bit with generating toolpaths in grasshopper.
