Rhino, Grasshopper, Matrixgold, and KeyShot

What is Rhino used for?

Rhino, a CAD software with curves and advanced modeling tools, is commonly used in architecture, product, industrial, and jewelry designs. It is a precision software with dimensioning, 2D and 3D complex modeling, and rendering capabilities. Rhino was Zaha Hadid, the famous architect tool of choice for designing futuristic architecture characterized by curved façades and sharp angles.

The current version, Rhino 8, is BIM-compliant and object-oriented. We often use it to model organic objects. Bring your Rhino models into KeyShot to render stunning real-like images. If you use the Grasshopper plugin, you will create complex geometric patterns based on parameters. If Jewelry design is your specialty, jump onto the Matrixgold bandwagon to go to far, far away places.

Rhino 1 - Fundamentals for All

This Rhino course covers fundamental skills applicable to various specializations, including architecture, jewelry, product, and furniture design. Throughout the course, you will gain proficiency in modeling a diverse range of ojects.

Rhino 2 - Jewelry Design

In this course, you will learn the basic and initial process of jewelry design and production. Then, we will go over the theory, from jewelry typology and ring anatomy to basic tools for hand and digital sketching.

You will learn about the manufacturing process and modeling parameters for prototyping and production in order to model emblematic rings step by step that range from simple shapes to the application of gems.

Finally, you will learn how to create base layouts and blueprints, and prepare your model for printing and rendering.

Rhino 2 - Exterior and Interior Architecture

In this Rhino course, we focus on modeling various exterior and interior architecture objects such as building elements, landscapes, furniture, interior fixtures, facade elements, structural components, and decorative elements.

Rhino 2 - Product and Furniture Design

In this Rhino course, we focus on modeling electronic devices, appliances, furniture, packaging, and industrial equipment.

Rhino 3 - Grasshopper Generative Designs

Grasshopper is an excellent plugin for Rhino. We often encounter complex generative designs based on parameters and formulas, such as roof glass domes, solar shades, metal claddings, and complex jewelry design patterns. There is no need to learn to program. Instead, we connect nodes with various functions to visually and graphically build the program. We could import the data to generate the design from Excel.

Grasshopper allows for creation of highly flexible and adaptable designs by allowing users to modify parameters and adjust the model's rules easily. This flexibility makes it an ideal tool for exploring multiple design options and generating various outcomes.

Rhino 4 - MatrixGold Jewelry Design

MatrixGold is a CAD software specifically tailored to the jewelry industry with features and tools that make it a more powerful tool for jewelry designers and manufacturers. It allows them to create intricate and detailed designs for jewelry pieces. MatrixGold offers advanced tools such as gemstone placement, intricate pattern creation, and precise modeling of complex shapes. Additionally, it enables users to visualize designs in 3D and create realistic renderings, which can be helpful for presentations or marketing purposes.

KeyShot

KeyShot is a rendering software commonly used for creating high-quality, photorealistic images and animations from 3D models. It's widely utilized across various industries such as product design, industrial design, automotive design, jewelry design, and more.

KeyShot allows users to quickly and easily apply materials, textures, lighting, and camera settings to their 3D models, resulting in stunning visualizations that closely resemble real-world objects and environments. It's known for its user-friendly interface and powerful rendering capabilities, making it a popular choice among designers and artists for showcasing their designs in a realistic and compelling manner.

Rhino and Grasshopper Inside Revit

Rhino and Grasshopper offer more flexibility and advanced capabilities in terms of geometric modeling and algorithmic design. Integrating Rhino and Grasshopper with Revit can enhance the design process by allowing for more complex and customizable designs.

You can use plugins like Rhino.Inside.Revit to directly link Rhino and Grasshopper with Revit. This plugin allows you to run Rhino and Grasshopper inside the Revit environment, enabling seamless data exchange between the two platforms. You can create Rhino and Grasshopper models and components that directly interact with Revit elements, parameters, and families.

Rhino and Grasshopper allow you to create custom components and parametric families that can be used in Revit. You can design intricate building components, façade systems, or structural elements in Rhino and Grasshopper, then export them as Revit families for use in your projects.

Rhino and Grasshopper offer various analysis and simulation plugins for tasks such as daylight analysis, structural analysis, and energy performance simulation. You can use these tools to evaluate your designs and optimize them for performance before transferring them to Revit for detailed documentation.