People, people, people. It literally pains me to see the amount of
"half-floating out there. I will now like to quote to
you directly from the Rhinoceros Users Guide page 17 for all of you
that so avidly claim otherwise:
"Rhino is a companion for other modelling and rendering software.
Rhino gives you full support for trimmed NURBS surfaces, a robust
IGES translator, and a streamlined interface that let’s you model
quikly. Rhino free-form modeling complements:
Parametric featured based modellers
Rendering and animation software
Computer aided manufacturing (CAM) software
Finite element analysis (FEA) software"
What this translates to in plain english is that Rhino is not a
CAD/CAM program, but instead a “3D NURBS modeling program for
windows” as they plainly write it on their first sentence of the
first chapter on page 13 of the manual.
Now please let’s compare aplles with apples :
For all of you that has visited the Gallery Notice that Giuseppe’s
drawings clearly state rendered in 3D Studio MAX - This means that he
drew the outline in Rhino and then “colored” the designs to make them
look that realistic in 3D Studio. (another program - check out the
price and learning curve)
He uses a PNC 300 from Roland for milling models (at least this is
what the Roland web says) the milling machine cost roughly USD 8,000
. But Giuseppe states that instead of using a Roland Program he uses
a Rhino/Virtual Mill combo - this costs not USD 795.-, but USD
4,150.- ! And all of this to create a 2 1/2 D model which he meeds to
"glue together" and then manually remove the supports before making a
mold.
And all of this from a man with 15 years using computer programs to
design/manufacture jewelry.
I use both Rhino and JewelCAD but I use them for different purposes,
and people JewelCAD also uses NURBS! You do the rails, you do the
boolean operations just as you can in Rhino. You can edit points as
it suits you, and devide objects in U and V linesto facilitate
deforming operations. So if you are having a problem with the
program…it just might not be the program it might be the
training or lack of training you received!!!(which is by no means
your fault)
So please, please, please be responsible about the you
are publishing. Not everyone has the luxury of years of computer
experience, and people outhere is being influenced and repeats what
is said on a forum like this.
Do not claim things McNeel and associates would not dare to claim.
Rhino can output on .iges and .stl format, but it is dependant on the
interpretation og the actual milling machine or RP machine to
understand the codes. This also goes for other applications.
The reason consulting firms such as Andersen Consulting are making
the the ammount of money they are making is because thousands of
businesses have inefficient Information Technology Systems. They are
inefficient because they lack interconnectivity - in other words they
do not communicate with each other. A series of computers will
communicate with one printer but not another, so new computers were
bought for the new printer, some computers will run on diffrent
operating systems, which means the company might be paying several
employees to key in the same and on and on and on.
The TOC or total cost of ownership is bottom line. If you have to buy
Visual Mill and Rhino, be sure you have plan in your budget to pay
for the updates for Visual Mill and Rhino. You will also be gambling
that five years from now these companies will be still working
together. Of course this is irrelevant if you get your system paid
off within a year WRONG, in you economic calculations and buget there
should be room to replace the set-up based on the estimated future
cost. As any financial analyst will tell you this is how investment
companies decide what to invest on - they peak into the future.
Be wise, be realistic and be honest with yourself, compare your
educational background and your working history to the person giving
you advice, don’t be shy write them and ask them how many programs
they are proficient in, how many years they have used, etc. Those of
you giving advice: be honest and forget for 5 minutes of the all
mighty dollar. Any one who receives honest and unbiased advice is
more likely to remember you in the future than those who feel
betrayed by you.
Lara