I’ve created a collection of viewing modes, preferences, tool bars, and templates to help make Rhino easier to use. Here’s the deal:
You don’t have to work with me for long before learning that I’m not exactly a “Rhino guy.” In fact, I’ve traditionally pretty much hated Rhino. Why waste time on useless data that can’t be changed, when you could be building with a parametric app?
Well, I figured that the answer to that question can only be learned by doing. I’ve never really learned Rhino well because I’ve always been so frustrated by it, so I attended a Rhino training course at McNeal Miami this week, and though the class itself was very basic, the opportunity to spend time in the software was very helpful to me.
One of the most frustrating things about Rhino, I find, is that there are far too many tools. It’s not a good thing: they’d be better off having one powerful “extrude” command than the twelve various commands they have now.
My way of getting around this was to create toolbars that organize the tools in a much cleaner, easier-to-read way. I hate dealing with cryptic icons, though they are helpful at a glance, so I like to use both text and icons to get the best of both worlds. I’ve also added some custom tools, like X Y and Z flavors of the “mirror” and “setpt” commands, making them much faster to use in daily practice.
One toolbar change I made that is bound to stir up controversy is the removal of all right-click functions on “top-level” tools, or tools that have popup menus beneath them. This makes it much quicker to access nested tools, and much more predictable. The right-click functions are all still available in the resulting pop-up menus.
I’ve used F1, F2, and F3 to change CPlane orientations on the fly while in perspective mode.
I also really dislike the default visualization modes in Rhino. I quickly found that it’s not Rhino itself that’s the problem, it’s just the way it’s configured that’s the problem. I’ve created some custom view modes that work better for me, based on “Material” rather than layer color. I find it makes organizing the file much easier.
The one thing these lack as of today are all of my custom scripts, which I’ll have to add to this distro at a later date. More to come soon!
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Adam O'Hern is an industrial design consultant specializing in visual brand languages, and has designed products ranging from laptops to power tools, classroom toys to bathroom fixtures, and robots to lint rollers. He has published with 3DWorld Magazine, CGTuts+, and Luxology, and works with Josh Mings of SolidSmack.com on EngineerVsDesigner.com. |
Hi Chris:
Glad to hear you’re learning to use a variety of tools! No matter what else you may learn about the various tools on the market, know this: learning to use a new tool is NEVER a waste of time. The more tools you learn, the easier it is to learn the next one! SolidWorks might be the tool of choice for 2011, but in 2015 it might be thoroughly passe, and there’ll be some new thing out to replace it.
If I asked “Which tool should I learn: the band saw, or the table saw?” any reasonable person would say “you should learn both.”
That said, you clearly need to prioritize your time in school. I require all of my students to learn a surface modeling package like Rhino or Alias, and a parametric modeling package like SolidWorks or ProE. If you know your way around Rhino and SolidWorks, you should be good to go at most ID firms in the US. Many will want you to use something else, but knowing those two will make it much easier to slip into the house tool of choice.
Small (but important) correction: despite its name, SolidWorks is not only a “solid” modeler: it can do surface modeling just like Rhino. The major distinction between them is that Rhino is a NURBS modeler, and SolidWorks is a “Parametric” modeler.
As for specific gripes about Rhino, there’s no real point in listing them here. I know a handful of designers (I think I literally only know three or four) who swear by Rhino, and they’re smart, talented guys. The tools you use don’t make you a good or bad designer! If you can communicate your design intent quickly and accurately using hot glue and foam core, more power to you!
If I were you, I’d learn Rhino and SolidWorks, but focus my time and energy on the latter.
Adam,
I was just curious, after reading your rant about Rhino, what do you mean that Rhino is based on “useless data that can’t be changed”? I am very new to Rhino and just bought the educational edition and am a 3rd year ID student. I am going to learn Solidworks next semester for the first time and even though I am aware of their differences (one is solid modeling and the other surface), why do you think Rhino sucks? Is it just good for working out forms, but NOT for serious modeling and prototyping, and is that why many prefer Solidworks? Please explain. I just don’t want to waste my time with Rhino, if it’s not worth my time. I intend on learning at least two 3D modeling programs, but not sure which ones. I tried Alias (took it my first semester but forgot most of it), but it was too hard and expensive to own. Rhino was a cheaper option and so is Solidworks (the educational version, that is). Thanks Adam.