Driving Dimensions Labs is the space for new technology: here you can see
some of our prototypes in action. Although not all of them are in beta stage yet, you can see how dimension-driven design can be used in different context helping CAD users implement their
ideas in rather simple and intuitive way. We appreciate your feedback on these
prototypes at labs@drivingdimensions.com.
Rhinoceros, a popular NURBS modeling application, allows to create fantastic
shapes, but these shapes cannot be edited parametrically. To remedy this, we are working on RhinoDirect, a new plug-in that allows users to parametrically edits history-free 3D geometry in Rhinoceros. The following video demonstrates how the simplest Rhino shapes can be edited with RhinoDirect.
In version 0.3 we introduced many additional features, including radial driving dimension, the support of polysurface vertices as arguments to the distance, coincidence and fixed constraints, the ability to group sub-surfaces into rigid sets, to deal with free edges, and to automatically highlight satisfied and unsatisfied constraints in the RhinoDirect Manager windows. The following video demonstrates some of these features.
Some features introduced in previous versions of the plug-in have been improved. Cylindrical holes that consist of several parts are now correctly modified. The concentricity of cylinders and perpendicularity between cylinders and planes are automatically recognized and maintained. Now any solid geometry consisted of planar and cylindrical faces can be modified parametrically with RhinoDirect plug-in. The following video demonstrates how a SolidWorks model can be edited in Rhino.
The following video tutorial demonstrates the possibilities of creation and parametric modification of a hammer 3D model that includes both Rhino history and constraints:
If you already have some experience with RhinoAssembly, you can consider RhinoDirect as an extension of this plug-in that can be used to assemble complex mechanisms composed of rigid and non-rigid parts. Three-dimensional shapes of non-rigid parts are adjusted automatically to satisfy the geometric constraints and driving dimensions set by the user. Moreover, RhinoDirect allows users to apply constraints and dimensions directly between the faces and edges of one part.
This point of view is demonstrated in our next tutorial video:
RhinoDirect is a simple but powerful tool for parametric modifcation of 3D solid geometry in a direct modeling environment. This point of view is demonstrated in the next tutorial video:
The version 0.3 of RhinoDirect works with solid geometry consisted of planar and cylindrical faces only. This limitation will be overcome by later beta releases.
The version 0.3 of RhinoDirect requires Rhinoceros 4.0 SR5B and higher, and runs on 32-bit versions of Windows XP, Vista, and 7.
