Rhinoceros 3D is a stand-alone, commercial NURBS-based modeling tool, originally developed by Robert McNeel & Associates as a plug-in for Autodesk's AutoCAD. The software is commonly used for Industrial Design, architecture, Marine design, Jewelry design, CAD / CAM, rapid prototyping, reverse engineering as well as the multimedia and graphic design industries.

Rhino 3D specializes mainly in free-form NURBS modeling. There are several major add-ons available for the program, also developed by Robert McNeel & Associates, including Flamingo (a raytracing rendering plugin), Penguin (non-photoreal rendering), and Bongo (animation) . Penguin is also available for AutoCAD. There are also hundreds of third-party plugins available.

One of the interesting aspects of the program, and reasons for widespread use among many industries, is the vast import and export options within the program. The import and export options allow for Rhino to act as a 'converter' tool which often allows other programs to communicate with each other.

Rhino 3D is becoming increasingly popular amongst many different industries because of its diversity, multi-disciplinary functions, and relatively low cost.

External links

• Official website

References

• Rhino3d.com http://www.rhino3d.com/. Retrieved Nov.15, 2005.

3D graphics software