CAD Culture » Rhino 3D http://www.cadculture.com Learn something new Tue, 21 Nov 2017 05:53:54 +0000 en-AU hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=4.2.38 A Simple Introduction to the Use of NURBS in Rhino http://www.cadculture.com/a-simple-introduction-to-the-use-of-nurbs-in-rhino/ http://www.cadculture.com/a-simple-introduction-to-the-use-of-nurbs-in-rhino/#comments Tue, 10 Nov 2015 09:20:25 +0000 http://www.cadculture.com/?p=803 If you’ve been researching Rhino 3D and other CAD software, the chances are you’ve come across a lot of pieces talking about NURBS. Standing for Non-Uniform Rational Basis-Spline, NURBS is essentially an intuitive way for working with curved shapes with high precision. It also allows you to analyse curvatures, volume distribution and section lines in […]

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]]> If you’ve been researching Rhino 3D and other CAD software, the chances are you’ve come across a lot of pieces talking about NURBS. Standing for Non-Uniform Rational Basis-Spline, NURBS is essentially an intuitive way for working with curved shapes with high precision. It also allows you to analyse curvatures, volume distribution and section lines in your design software.

Breaking down NURBS

You know what NURBS stands for, but what does it mean?
• Non-uniform- the portions of a curve, affected by individual control points, aren’t necessarily evenly distributed along the curve.
• Rational- the pull of each control can be adjusted.
• Basis-Spline- functions define how much control each point will influence the curve at any parameter value.

NURBS curves and surfaces are largely controlled by two factors:

• number of control points
• degree

NURBS curves and surfaces all have control points that act like magnets, pulling the curve to themselves. Rhino is a great piece of design software as all you need to do to draw a curve, is plot the point exactly where you want them. Then, if you wish to change the shape of the curve, you simply move these control points.

The degree of a curve determines the influence each control point has the curve. To give a curve less local influence and a higher global influence, you need a higher degree curve.

NURBS surfaces

The best and easiest way to think of a NURBS surface is like a rubber sheet that can be almost infinitely deformed.

For example, you can collapse one edge into a single point by placing all the control points of the edge at the same place.

Modelling tips

When you’re playing around with NURBS, there are two tips we find really help you create models easily and simply:

1. Use as little data as possible to describe the shape

This will leave you with a smoother model, whilst giving you greater control of curvatures. You will also find the model a lot easier to edit.

• Only introduce new points if they describe new features in the curves.
• New points or curves should only be introduced if they describe new features in surfaces.
• Avoid using multiple small patches if one large surface can describe the shape

2. Wherever possible, use oversized surfaces with four corners

• Rather than collapsing edges or squeezing edges into continuous lines, it is better to have surfaces with four corners.
• You can always trim any surplus surface to create your final shape.

However, if you need precision for the dimensions of the edge itself, you’re better to use the true surface edge as the final boundary. You will also need to take this approach if you need to match the surface edge to another surface.

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]]> http://www.cadculture.com/a-simple-introduction-to-the-use-of-nurbs-in-rhino/feed/ 0 What is Rhinoceros 3D? The Benefits of Rhino 3D http://www.cadculture.com/what-is-rhinoceros-3d-the-benefits-of-rhino-3d/ http://www.cadculture.com/what-is-rhinoceros-3d-the-benefits-of-rhino-3d/#comments Tue, 06 Oct 2015 10:03:07 +0000 http://www.cadculture.com/?p=780 What is Rhino 3D?   Rhinoceros 3D, or Rhino 3D, is the world’s most versatile 3D modeller. It can create, analyse, edit, animate, render, document and translate polygon meshes, point clouds, solids, surfaces and NURBS curves. Apart from the size of your hardware, there are no limits to the complexity you can produce with Rhino […]

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]]> What is Rhino 3D?
 
Rhinoceros 3D, or Rhino 3D, is the world’s most versatile 3D modeller. It can create, analyse, edit, animate, render, document and translate polygon meshes, point clouds, solids, surfaces and NURBS curves. Apart from the size of your hardware, there are no limits to the complexity you can produce with Rhino 3D.
 
Rhino 3D offers the precision needed to design, prototype, analyse, engineer and manufacture anything from an airplane to jewellery. Its uninhibited free-form 3D modelling tools are usually only found in products 20-50 times more expensive, meaning you can model any shape you want.
 
Rhinoceros has been designed to be compatible with a range of design, drafting and CAM software, as well as engineering, analysis and rendering programmes. It can also be used with animation and illustration software, presenting a range of new possibilities to your artwork. For Windows users, Rhino 3D functions as a development platform for many different modelling products, making it even more versatile. Rhino 3D has the ability to read and repair meshes, including IGES files, which can be extremely challenging.
 
What are NURBS?
 
Non-Uniform Rational B-Splines, or NURBS, are simply the mathematical representations of 3D geometry that accurately describe a shape, from the most simple 2D line, to the most complex 3D free-form solid or surface. NURBS models are often used in many processes such as manufacturing, illustration and animation due to their immense flexibility and accuracy.
 
There are several reasons NURBS are the best option for computer-aided modelling (CAM):
 
• Many industry standard model use NURBS, making it able to store information in a way that will be useable for the foreseeable future
• NURBS have a well-known and precise definition. NURBS geometry is taught at most universities, making it easy to find trained programmers.
• NURBS not only has the ability to represent standard geometric objects, such as spheres, circles and ellipses, but free-form geometry, such as car bodies and dogs.
• NURBS representation of a piece of geometry requires a lot less information when compared to other common faceted approximations.
 
Who can use Rhino 3D?
 
Anyone can use Rhino 3D. No special hardware is needed and it’s fast even on a regular laptop. It’s affordable too, with an affordable price and no maintenance fees, coupled with the lack of specialist hardware and the short time needed to learn how to use it, Rhino 3D is the perfect design software. As you can focus on the design and visualisation aspect of Rhino, quickly learning how to master it, it’s an insanely accessible product, unlike many other design software packages.

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