You are on page 1of 7

Chapter 5: Accurate Modeling

Thecursorcanalwaysmovefreelyinspace,butchancesare,youwillwanttorelateyourmodelingelementsto
theconstructionplanegrid,existingobjects,orcoordinatesinspace.Youcanrestrictthecursorsmovementto
thegrid,enterspecificdistancesandanglesfromapoint,snaptospecificlocationsonexistingobjects,and
enterCartesiancoordinatestolocatepointsin2-Dor3-Dspace.

The Rhino cursor


Therearetwopartsofthecursor:thecursor (1)andthemarker (2).Thecursoralwaysfollowthemouse
movement.
Themarkersometimesleavesthecenterofthecursorbecauseofsomeconstraintonitsuchasgridsnapor
ortho.Themarkerisadynamicpreviewofthepointthatwillbepickedwhentheleftmousebuttonisclicked.
Whenthemarkerisconstrained,inelevatormode,forexample,atracking line (3)alsodisplays.
Constraintsmoveyourmarkertoaspecificpointinspaceormakeitsmovementtrackaccordingtothe
constraintsoyoucanmodelaccurately.

Snap to the construction plane grid


Gridsnapconstrainsthemarkertoanimaginarygridthatextendsinfinitely.Youcansetthesnapspacingto
anyvalue.
ClicktheGrid Snapbuttononthestatusbartoturngridsnaponandoff.

Tip:Toreadmoreaboutacommand,clickthered,underlinedcommandnamelink.

Constrain the angle of movement


Orthomodeconstrainsthemarkermovementorobjectdraggingtoaspecificsetofangles.Bydefault,thisis
paralleltothegridlines,butyoucanchangethis.Orthoissimilartotheaxislockfunctionfoundindrawingor
animationprograms.
ClicktheOrthopaneonthestatusbartoturnorthoonandoff.PressandholdtheShiftkeytotemporarily
toggletheorthomode.
Anothercommonusefororthoistoconstrainobjectdraggingtoaspecificaxis.

33
Chapter 5: Accurate Modeling

Orthoisactiveafterthefirstpointforacommand.Forexample,afterpickingthefirstpointforaline,the
secondpointisconstrainedtotheorthoangle.

Ortho off (left); Ortho on (right).


Ifyouonlyneedadifferentangleforasingleoperation,angleconstraintisfastertouse.Enteraspecificangle
foroneoperationinsteadofchangingtheorthoangleandthenchangingitback.

Snap to existing objects


Object snapsconstrainthemarkertospecificpointsonanobject.WhenRhinoasksyoutospecifyapoint,
youcanconstrainthemarkertospecificpartsofexistinggeometry.Whenanobjectsnapisactive,movingthe
cursornearaspecifiedpointonanobjectcausesthemarkertojumptothatpoint.
Objectsnapscanpersistfrompicktopick,orcanbeactivatedforonepickonly.Multiplepersistentobjectsnaps
canbesetfromthestatusbar.Allobjectsnapsbehavesimilarly,butsnaptodifferentpartsofexisting
geometry.Inaddition,therearespecialobjectsnapsthatworkforonepickonly.

Persistent object snaps


Usepersistentobjectssnapstomaintainanobjectsnapthroughchoosingseveralpoints.Sincepersistent
objectsnapsareeasytoturnonandoff,youcansetthemandleavethemonuntiltheygetinyourway.You
canthensetadifferentoneorjustdisablethem.
Sometimesobjectsnapsinterferewitheachotherandwithgridsnaporortho.Objectsnapsnormallytake
precedenceovergridsnaporotherconstraints.
Thereareothersituationswhereobjectsnapsworkinconjunctionwithotherconstraints.Youwillsee
examplesofthisinthischapter.Formoreinformationincludingvideodemonstrations,seetheRhinohelptopic
Object snaps.

Open the Osnap control


4 ClicktheOsnappaneinthestatusbar.
TheOsnapcontrolopens.Thiscontrolisusuallydockedatthebottomofthescreen.

4 Clickacheckboxtoturnonanobjectsnap.
4 Rightclickacheckboxtoturnanobjectsnaponandturnoffallotherobjectsnaps.
4 Whenanobjectsnapisactive,movingthecursornearaneligiblepointonanobjectcausesthe
markertojumptothatpointandatooltiptoappear.
ThebuttonsontheOsnaptoolbarallowsingle-useoverridesforthepersistentobjectsnaps.

To suspend all persistent object snaps


4 IntheOsnaptoolbar,clicktheDisablebutton.
Allpersistentobjectsnapswillbesuspended,butremainchecked.

34
Chapter 5: Accurate Modeling

To clear all persistent object snaps


4 IntheOsnaptoolbar,clicktheDisablebuttonwiththerightmousebutton.
Allpersistentobjectsnapswillbecleared.

To turn on one object snap and turn all others off with one click
4 IntheOsnaptoolbar,right-clicktheobjectsnapyouwanttoturnon.

Special case object snaps


Complexobjectsnapsthatallowselectingmultiplereferencepointsoraddotheradvancedcontrols.Seethe
RhinohelptopicObject snapsformoreinformation.
ThesearealsoavailablefromtheOsnapcontrol.

To turn on complex object snaps


4 HoldtheCtrlkeyandhoverovertheOsnapcontrol.
Analternatesetofcontrolsappears.

Cursor constraints
Whenenteringpoints,youcanconstrainthemarkertoadistanceoranglefromthepreviouspoint.Onceyou
havesetthedistance,dragthelinearoundtoanyangle.Youcanalsousefurthersnapstopointthelineina
specificdirection.

Distance constraint
Duringanycommandthatrequirestwopoints,suchastheLinecommand,placethefirstpoint.Thenatthe
nextprompt,typeadistanceandpressEnter.
Themarkerwillbeconstrainedtothespecifieddistancefromthepreviouspoint.Dragthecursoraroundthe
firstpointandthenpickapoint.

Angle constraint
Angleconstraintissimilartoortho,butyoucansetanyangleanditisaone-timesetting.
The<symbolisusedbecauseitissimilartothesymbolusedingeometrytoindicateanangle.
Themarkerwillbeconstrainedtolinesradiatingfromthepreviouspointseparatedbythespecifiedangle,
wherethefirstlineisthespecifiedn umberofdegreescounterclockwisefromthex-axis.Ifyouenteranegative
number,theanglewillbeclockwisefromthex-axis.

35
Chapter 5: Accurate Modeling

Distance and angle together


Distanceandangleconstraintscanbeusedatthesametime.
1. Atthecommandprompt,typethedistance,andpressEnter.
2. Atthenextcommandprompt,typethe<characterandtheanglevalue,andpressEnter.
Theorderofthedistanceandangledoesnotmatter.Themarkerwilldragaroundyouroriginalpointat
angleincrementsatthespecifieddistance.

Elevator mode
Pickasecondpointtospecifythez-coordinateofthedesiredpoint.Itiseasiesttoseethisinadifferent
viewportorusethePerspectiveviewport.Dragthemousecursoraroundtoseethemarkermovevertically
fromthebasepointalongthetrackingline.
Pickthepointwiththemouseortypetheheightabovetheconstructionplane.Positivenumbersareabovethe
constructionplane;negativenumbersarebelowit.Youcanusefurtherconstraintslikecoordinates,object
snapsorgridsnapforthefirstpoint,andyoucanuseobjectsnapsfortheheight.

Tomovethemarkerintheconstructionplanez-direction,holdtheCtrlkeyandclickapointonthe
constructionplane,andthendragverticallyfromtheconstructionplaneandclicktopickapoint.This
constraintiscalledelevatormode.Usingelevatormodetomoveyourpickpointverticallyfromthe
constructionplaneletsyouworkmoreinthePerspectiveviewport.

SmartTrack
SmartTrackisasystemoftemporaryreferencelinesandpointsthatisdrawnintheRhinoviewportusing
implicitrelationshipsamongvarious3-Dpoints,othergeometryinspace,andthecoordinateaxesdirections.
Temporaryinfinitelines(trackinglines)andpoints(smartpoints)areavailabletoobjectsnapsverymuchlike
reallinesandpoints.

36
Chapter 5: Accurate Modeling

Youcansnaptointersectionsofthetrackinglines,perpendiculars,anddirectlytosmartpointsaswellas
intersectionsoftrackinglinesandrealcurves.Thetrackinglinesandsmartpointsaredisplayedforthe
durationofacommand.

Coordinate systems
Rhinousestwocoordinatesystems:constructionplanecoordinatesandworldcoordinates.Worldcoordinates
arefixedinspace.Constructionplanecoordinatesaredefinedforeachviewport.

Cartesian coordinates
WhenRhinopromptsyouforapoint,ifyoutypexandyCartesiancoordinates,thepointwilllieonthe
constructionplaneofthecurrentviewport.Formoreinformationaboutcoordinatesystemsandnumeric
constraints,seewww.mathopenref.com/coordinates.

Right-hand rule
Rhinofollowswhatiscalledtheright-hand rule.Theright-handrulecanhelpyoudeterminethedirectionof
thez-axis.Formarightanglewiththethumbandforefingerofyourrighthand.Whenyourthumbpointsin
thepositivex-direction,yourforefingerpointsinthepositivey-direction,andthepalmofyourhandfacesin
thepositivez-direction.

World coordinates
Rhinocontainsoneworldcoordinatesystem.Theworldcoordinatesystemcannotbechanged.WhenRhino
promptsyouforapoint,youcantypecoordinatesintheworldcoordinatesystem.
Thearrowiconinthelowerleftcornerofeachviewportdisplaysthedirectionoftheworldx-,y-,andz-axes.
Thearrowsmovetoshowtheorientationoftheworldaxeswhenyourotateaview.

Construction plane coordinates


Eachviewporthasaconstruction plane.Aconstructionplaneislikeatabletopthatthecursormovesonunless
youusecoordinateinput,elevatormode,orobjectsnapsorafewotherinstanceswhereinputisconstrained.
Theconstructionplanehasanorigin,x-andy-axes,andagrid.Theconstructionplanecanbesettoany
orientation.Bydefault,eachviewportsconstructionplaneisindependentofthoseinotherviewports.

37
Chapter 5: Accurate Modeling

Theconstructionplanerepresentsthelocalcoordinatesystemfortheviewportandcanbedifferentfromthe
worldcoordinatesystem.

Rhinosstandardviewportscomewithconstructionplanesthatcorrespondtotheviewport.Thedefault
Perspectiveviewport,however,usestheworldTopconstructionplane,whichisthesameconstructionplane
thatisusedintheTopviewport.
Thegridliesontheconstructionplane.Thedarkredlinerepresentstheconstructionplanex-axis.Thedark
greenlinerepresentstheconstructionplaney-axis.Theredandgreenlinesmeetattheconstructionplane
origin.
Tochangethedirectionandoriginofaconstructionplane,usetheCPlanecommand.Presetconstruction
planes(WorldTop,Right,andFront)giveyouquickaccesstocommonconstructionplanes.Inaddition,you
cansaveandrestorenamedconstructionplanesandimportnamedconstructionplanesfromanotherRhino
file.

2-D construction plane coordinates


4 Atacommandprompt,typethecoordinatesintheformatx,ywherexisthex-coordinateandyis
they-coordinateofthepoint.

A line from 1,1 to 4,2.

3-D construction plane coordinates


4 Atacommandprompt,typethecoordinatesintheformatx,y,zwherexisthex-coordinate,yisthe
y-coordinate,andzisthez-coordinateofthepoint.
Therearenospacesbetweenthecoordinatevalues.
4 Toplaceapoint3unitsinthex-direction,4unitsinthey-direction,and10unitsinthez-direction
fromtheconstructionplaneorigin,type3,4,10attheprompt.

NoteIfyouenteronlyx-andy-coordinates,thepointwilllieontheconstruction
plane.

38
Chapter 5: Accurate Modeling

Relative coordinates
Rhinoremembersthelastpointused,soyoucanenterthenextpointrelativetoit.Relativecoordinatesare
usefulforenteringalistofpointswheretherelativelocationsinsteadofabsolutelocationsofthepointsare
known.Userelativecoordinatestolocatepointsaccordingtotheirrelationshiptothepreviousactivepoint.

To use relative coordinates


4 Atacommandprompt,typethecoordinatesintheformatrx,ywherersignifiesthatthecoordinate
isrelativetothepreviouspoint.

For example
1. StarttheLinecommand.
2. AttheStart of lineprompt,clicktoplacethefirstendoftheline.
3. AttheEnd of lineprompt,typer2,3,andpressEnter.
Thelineisdrawntoapoint2unitsinthex-directionand3unitsinthey-directionfromthelastpoint.

39

You might also like