What 3D Modeling Software Should I Use? 10 Reasons to Use Rhino as your CAD Software

Ten reasons I think Rhino is a great tool for 3d modeling, particularly in the worlds of architecture, engineering, & construction.
I realize how gushy I sound, but in the interest of full transparency, I'm not sponsored by McNeel, the developers of Rhino. I just genuinely love using their CAD software, and I think that if you give it a chance, you might too.
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[@vakarisvaitkunas6964]

Rhino is so useful I use it for family planning.

[@eon9241]

that's so funny. I have certainly considered this, given I spend more time in rhino than with family atm :(

[@thierryeeman1778]

Not many people know this, but it also exports Illustrator AI files, which makes it the greatest line vector art creation tool in the world... For all designers who like a mathematical approach (like logo's or mech design), this is a must have!

[@lazydog3741]

This is so true. The Osnap, SmartTrack and general Line funktions like Array, Offset, BlendArch, Trim, Split etc. makes Rhino greater than most vector software solutions out there. Just add masks, filters and colours and we are good to go. 🤗

[@peppylemon1717]

Thank you, im considering rhino now

[@kcharles8857]

I have been 3D modelling since 'Imagine' on the Amiga, and have tried many programs since, never quite happy. Then I stumbled upon Rhino V3 years ago and have stuck with it through every iteration. It is superb! Powerful and intuitive and I love the bloody thing.

[@Slato]

Great video, very professional and helpful.

[@mikeburke1993]

Thanks. Been looking into which one to get into.

[@TarickTheDemonSlayer]

Thanks heaps bud, just what I was looking for.

[@GB-ty2uc]

Thank you !! That was quite helpful. :)

[@elitemodelingschool]

Glad I could help!

[@johnfmondro]

Good video - agree with all points. Been working with AutoCAD since v2 and Rhino since v3. Also Solidworks and Inventor. If I were only able to use one program for design and documentation - it would be Rhino hands down.

[@InspiredScience]

As much as I like Rhino, I'm curious about the reason you prefer it over SW. In my experience, most people that are highly proficient in SW, prefer SW -- unless it's a matter of Grasshopper?

[@johnfmondro]

@@InspiredScience should’ve been a bit more descriptive. If I had to purchase the software, then based upon initial cost, upgrade cost, quality of support, ease of use and compatibility with other CAD and graphic design programs the Rhino exceeds both SW and Inventor in utility. Used SW for years, currently use Inventor. Maybe it’s the discipline that I work in.

[@polka23dot70]

I used AutoCAD since about 1983. Approximately in 2008 I switched to Rhino. Rhino and Alias are direct competitors. They are used by mechanical engineers when Solidworks fails to make complex, organic surfaces. Alias is highly specialized tool used to design automobile bodies. Rhino looks more like Swiss Army knife - it can do many things rather well. Rhino is good, but its plugins are bad. Its main advantage is that complex, organic NURBS surfaces can be made quickly and accurately. Fillets never worked well, but they are somewhat reliable in Rhino 7. SubD surfaces are not accurate, but they are very well suited for making organic surfaces with record speed. QuadRemesh command quickly converts messy polygon meshes into SubD surfaces that are very easy to edit. Almost all young architects use Grasshopper, which now is integral part of Rhino.

[@rafaelborges3203]

Hey, you! I was looking for a 3D software recently and I found out that Blender is free and really powerful. Have you already used this program? Cheers

[@rahilakhan831]

Its 2021 march end and your video is just more relevant

[@thecolorblinddesigner1094]

Yesssssssssssss! Rhino is such an awesome CAD program.

[@macrumpton]

I am a longtime Adobe Illustrator user (almost 30 years) and while I have dabbled in some 3d packages, I have never found one that I felt really comfortable with. On one side you have polygonal modelers like blender that have lots of flexibility and are good for design, but the polygonal nature is alien to me. On the other end modelers like Fusion 360 and Onshape have that resolution independence that feels like Illustrator, but they are very rigid tools that seem (at least to me) to require you to know what you are going to do ahead of time. From glancing at some videos it looks like Rhino might have that special sauce that I'm looking for but I am leery of spending dozens of fruitless hours to find out.

[@GS-hv9rd]

Nothing fruitless about experimenting with a new programm. Just think back to your Illustrator days and learning new features. I feel you would get something out of it even if you feel you didn't. Certainly not fruitless!

[@jupol143]

Masterpiece of software, so inteligent solution in background, and in front of you just easy to use. And with Grasshopper you can be dev in easy and fun way

[@kayjami1996]

I love Rhino - there's generally a built-up command for any manipulation i want to make, but end up using SketchUp because of SketchUp Warehouse, the speed at which i can populate models at concept stage is a deal-breaker. If there was Rhino warehouse filled with a diverse mix of free, well-built models, i would be back in a heart-beat. I hate the over-reliance on plugins in Sketchup, and common issue of version compatibility. If you have any advice please let me know!

[@ElvinDude]

Grabcad?

[@johnfmondro]

Any of the models on Sketchup's 3D Warehouse can be dragged into Rhino. Of course, they'll still be polyagonal - but they will display. Need to save as Sketchup v7 or lower to be able to do this though. Word of caution - I've found many of the models on 3D Warehouse to be, hmmm how to say politely - "not dimensionally accurate?" Double-check everything if your designing something that requires accuracy. Great for pretty pictures though.

[@wunwinglow]

Adore Rhino, have done since the turn of the Century! Now trying to use Fusion 360, and struggling, to be honest! Maybe a case of an old dog trying to learn new tricks, but I keep getting to issues that I know would be a few seconds to sort out in Rhino, that are pretty complex to do in Fusion...... Ah well. Excellent round-up, by the way!

[@nikhilbharti4344]

buddy i have knowledge about AUTOCAD and CATIA\CREO is it necessary to know rhino if i want to work in automobile manufacturing industry

[@kunalagarwal2996]

I use vray for rhino for my interior renders and its been 2 years i am not able to get desired results from IES Light pls help spl request IES Light is really creepy not getting the output as shown in photo from ies file in vray for rhino

[@WarrenPostma]

I am aware of some semi-pro and professional simulator aircraft modelling people who precision model high detail aircraft not just down to visible outer and inner surfaces, but right down to accurate models of the engine compartments, every seat in the passenger compartment, etc. They probably use Blender and retopo and texture paint tools to get their final 4K PBR work products, but it seems Blender is not even close to usable as a CAD program. I could probably get farther doing a 747 cockpit and passenger cabin in sketchup than doing it directly than in blender. When will Rhino get a dark mode that is easy on the eyes? My feeling, using it is, holy dated UI batman.

[@user-ff4cy8ki8u]

Сan I ask you I have a problem with I am working on rhino but When I save my project in dwg And go to outocad I have a very big problem with editing my project on outocad Like I know rhino and am good in it But when my friend want to work on my project he always have a big problem with editing on outocad He didn't know rhino

[@HierophanticRose]

It has come to a point when I open AutoCAD it all feels... weird, like I start missing the grey

[@andreabacigalupo2558]

I'm late to seeing this but I was wondering if you would recommend Rhino for a sculptor. I would like to use a software where I can use a picture of a space and place my sculpture in it. My work can be placed indoors or out of doors and I would like to make proposals and use photos of actual spaces and propose my work in it. Can Rhino do this? Thanks.

[@alexflores4458]

I'm not in the art field (so you would need to do a little research) but I can recommend you to check "blender" it's a software for 3d modelling, 3d animation and rendering (give it a look) and the best thing is that is free, there you can model your sculpture and also do render there, or import the model to "keyshot" which is a software only for rendering and animation (also is easier compare to blender) there you can put a photo as a "backplate" and adjust everything to make the lightning and shadows match with the picture.

[@parix85]

Blender

[@thiagochena]

zbrush is THE program for sculpting

[@suchitthakkar1859]

hi can any suggest me minimum ram, processor and graphics required to run this software

[@Slato]

i have a lenovo idea pad 330. intel i3 8 gb ram and it runs just fine. To give you an idea, I normally put my gaming graphics at medium-low settings. Hope this helps

[@hectororestes2752]

Depending on the work you do, it can run on a potato.

[@munirshaikh101]

hi, my friend suggested me to use AutoCAD rather than rhino3d(after learning rhino 3d) as I am looking forward to getting my career into the automotive industry. Also with a bit of research, not a single automotive industry uses rhino 3d. I am very confused help, please

[@FelipeMartinez-tp5rp]

I suggest you use catia and/or alias

[@alexflores4458]

Well, I'm not a expert by any means, since I'm on university right now, (so take this advice with a grain of salt) but I've searching software for surface modelling, to start learning and I found that in the automotive/transportation field, they need software capable of "class A surface modelling", software like catia, nx, alias, and other ones, I recommend you to see this video kzbin.info/www/bejne/a2KVhGWupJKae68

[@johnfmondro]

AutoCAD is firmly entrenched in Architectural layout industries (and some automotive suppliers) but Rhino is a much better choice to learn hybrid surface / solid modeling. It's 2D detailing and sheet layout capabilities are as good - and in many cases better than AutoCAD. Another commenter noted Catia or Alias (or NX) which is true - most suppliers use these high-end programs. Unless you can get access to them as a student, the cost of these packages is prohibitive for most beginning designers. BTW, Rhino can create "Class A" surfacing.

[@ClintonCaraway]

Does Rhino software have a CAM feature?

[@Spyderman500]

Mecsoft offers a CAM plugin. I've haven't tried it but looks promising. mecsoft.com/rhinocam/

[@danb7211]

@@Spyderman500 We use it. It is very good, and support is outstanding.

[@jesusmunozgarza5565]

Im using Rhinno to train my cat, great software!

[@rahilakhan831]

I want to know how

[@mixchief]

Is it for 3D modeling or CAD or both? Worth 3D modeling I mainly regret to polygonal modeling.

[@aethylwulfeiii6502]

Both. It’s especially unmatched in 3D CAD, dimensionally precise and watertight models that make for great computer aided manufacturing and product design. Something AutoCad is terrible at. And that Blender doesn’t really do precision.

[@aethylwulfeiii6502]

Rhino is definitely awesome all rounder program. Beats the hell out of AutoCAD, especially in 3D. Although Blender has it beat in terms of animation.

[@aethylwulfeiii6502]

It’s terrible compared to Revit when you actually know how to use it well. The relationship between orthographic views renders, and 3D model is unmatched. RhinoCAD doesn’t really understand what a plan section and elevation are.

[@kevine1462]

I'm currently using ViaCAD Pro v10, which I've had for a few years or so (late 2016 I think). How would you compare Rhino3D and FormZ Pro v9 (which I'm looking at buying later this year)? Some other KZbinr said about pros and cons of Rhino (which he likes) and in it he mentioned about the con of it crashing with complex models (of large cities or planets of stuff!?) and that the surface modeling in it lacks 'pro level' ability to edit/manipulate it (& whatnot). The response I'm looking for is a few sentences or so along with kinda filling out my form I have in this video (please) I made a while back here: kzbin.info/www/bejne/d3PPlH2jlpKbn6c ..has surface, solid, and mesh modeling? has text/dim? has hatching, layers and symbols? etc.

[@InspiredScience]

FormZ is a great tool; however, a large percentage of their users have moved to Rhino. It's hard to explain if you haven't used FormZ; part of the issue is that the company just doesn't get any market exposure and as a result development also becomes stagnant over time.

[@kevine1462]

@@InspiredScience OK. Thanks for the extremely late reply man! LOL 😆 By the way, I ended up going with Rhino3D instead of FormZ because it seemed more professional. I ended up needing to spend about 5 months learning the damn CAD program, but with some relearning years from now when I'm ready to focus my time/effort on using it to model my personal passion projects (hobby) then I'll finally put Rhino3D to some good use. I may or may not ever upgrade my current version 6 to 8 or 9 when I get around to diving back into Rhino3D for my projects.. not sure. Affordability and relearning (etc.) are all issues I need to consider when the time comes. I'm hoping for AI in version 8... when/if that ever comes out. Note: before Rhino3D version 6, Rhino3D was junk and outcompeted by such CAD programs as AutoCAD, Solidworks, and even Google Sketchup Pro.

[@eastudio-K]

I use Revit mostly, I feel rhyno is great not sure why I should model with rhyno vs revit

[@InspiredScience]

They have almost no overlapping purpose. One is a conceptual modeling tool. Another is a BIM tool. If you don't need to do a lot of creative design -- BUT -- you need to focus on construction docs/takeoffs/etc -- then Revit is obviously all you need. If you need a very freeform tool for conceptually/creatively testing ideas -- then Rhino is absolutely more native and results in more flexibility/creativity.

[@johnfmondro]

@@InspiredScience I've heard many people refer to Rhino as you do, "a conceptual modeling tool". Don't know that I agree with that. While it does excel at this function, it's also very strong as a detailing tool using it's AutoCAD-like layout environment. Actually, it's much stronger than AutoCAD (or it's variants - BricsCAD) due to it's ability to present view styles and clipping planes in viewports without odd display artifacts. It definitely does not have the ability to generate 2D vector views on the fly like SW or Inventor (or Revit), but still very easy to annotate in the layout environment. Regarding modeling in Rhino vs. Revit, I don't have much experience modeling in Revit, but feel that modeling in Rhino truly provides an environment that is conducive to developing free-form, organic shapes very easily (simple geometry too - but just about any modeler can do that easily.) I often model in Rhino and import/open directly into Inventor.

[@aethylwulfeiii6502]

Revit can definitely do all the 3D solid architecture modeling that RhinoCAD to do, except meshes. Although you really need to know what you are doing when you only have 5 3D modelling options.

[@udaybali9852]

plzz increase the volume of ur voice, its hard to listen at some points

[@oliverf944]

your speaking volume too low. ive got speaker volume and youtube volume to max in order to hear.

[@clebo99]

So point blank...how is Rhino compared to Maya and Blender?

[@alex630710]

Rhino is a true CAD tool( NURBS surfaces ) , meaning not only you design on the screen but you can also use the data to build the product. NURBS are also needed for simulations such as CFD and stress analysis, used in engineering. NURBS are true representations of 3D surfaces whereas polygons are only an approximation of a surface. Rhino's used in a wide array of disciplines. As someone working in the aerospace industry for a good 20 years Rhino works great with other CAD packages such as Catia or Alias. Blender and Maya are more suited for visual effects.

[@clebo99]

@@alex630710 Perfect answer. Thanks!!!

[@WarrenPostma]

@@alex630710 I am a flight sim enthusiast and what I find is that modelling precise surfaces in Blender even for entertainment purposes, where it doesn't absolutely have to be precise, is just plane (ha see what I did there) very difficult. There is no way in blender that I can see to procedurally generate some control nodes which could be used to create stations, which generate nurbs, which then generate surfaces, which then generate meshes, in a non-lossy two-way or endless workflow. So it seems to me, that even if I am going to texture and generate my simulator (XPlanes) OBJ8 output assets from Blender because blender has an XPlane export plugin, I might still benefit from learning Grashopper and Rhino. My thinking is that aircraft skins should be imported from the xplane .ACF file by me, into a script generated in Grasshoper form, that would generate the starter set of control/reference/marker points, which would generate in turn a set of cross sections for the aircraft, which could then be 'lofted' into a fusillage which could then be modelled by moving around all these generated points. In short, while the UI of Rhino looks dated to me, it looks like it has a massive internal power and capability.

[@aethylwulfeiii6502]

If you need precision, water tight models and manufacturered parts, RhinoCAD is the go too. If you want to make sculptures and animations and edit videos and refer scenes, then Blender. Although I would say use both to complement each other

[@cekuhnen]

As a product design I have to say I never looked back at Rhino once I realized the power of parametric and direct modeling. For sure Rhino has a fantastic breath of tools but when it comes to design process it simply is pretty bad. DISCLAIMER: I loved working with Rhino.

[@InspiredScience]

I think it's safe to say that Rhino is not a competitor for Solidworks/Catia, SolidEdge/NX, etc. For most industrial designers like yourself, I can't imagine someone recommending Rhino as their primary solution, without some special need/purpose.

[@cekuhnen]

@@InspiredScience Rhino is extremely popular and used in industrial design - maybe for the wrong reasons It is cheap and can be extended a lot 10 licenses of rhino is not much vs 10 licenses of solid works But also solid works is just meh - the workflow is for engineers and not for designers Something like catia is out of the price for basically every buys besides car and plane design I found solidthinking to be a good direction or NX

[@kieranbarker7026]

@@cekuhnen the main issue is surface modelling software like rhino is terrible for industrial design because of how awkward filleting etc is, the only reason to use rhino is grasshopper but that can just be for a single component.

[@cekuhnen]

@@kieranbarker7026 yeah I left Rhino a long time ago Fusion360 does a much better job here already

[@cekuhnen]

@@kieranbarker7026 you can also look at solidthinking or Alias both better than rhino but more expensive specifically Alias. Rhino oh man … what a crazy app and so popular because of its price for industrial designers Fusion 360 just replaced it for me which I also now teach

[@KxxLxD]

so low voice

[@arko3822]

No visuals and sound is too low

[@daisymayer6102]

Turn up the volume

[@lawandnoaman1188]

It’s not meant to please your eyes, its about the context

[@1insp3ru16]

What happened to this guy

[@joetkeshub]

"Elite modeling school" is a JOKE! Then your recommendations are as useful as a $15 "home drawing" software...

[@nallepuh6969]

In 5 years blender will have killed Rhino

[@diocre7446]

Not gonna happen. Because of measurement.

[@tech477]

I use both. Blender isn't CAD per se. It is much easier to do something precise in a dedicated program. Blender also lacks somewhat in parametric form generation, while Rhino - in animation. But both complement each other rather nicely.

[@alex630710]

Blender is not a CAD tool and simply cannot compete against Rhino. Blender can only compete against tools like 3DS max and other mesh modelers. Try and design an aircraft that will be used to fly all done in Blender or for that matter try and convert your Blender data to be used in simulation packages such as CFD used in aerodynamics as another example.

[@RodlessReel]

Blender and Rhino are both epic! Rhino if you need dimensioned models, blender if you want to model ape shit fast and especially for games. Btw, is there a way to dimension stuff in blender even a plug in? If so, blender is super fun to model in and you can learn it in a few vid tuts.

[@cr4723]

There we see it again. The blender sect is very arrogant and overbearing. They talk about killing. Others respect the work of others.

[@khanra17]

Can't hear you