I've taken a low poly approach to modeling equipment for layout purposes. I try to get each one done in like 5 minutes. I measure each one by hand with a tape measure, to the nearest 1/8" (because I'm a dumb american and still use fractional freedom units).
I'm working in Rhino, and I make a 3D solid of the device, with rounded corners as appropriate, and often a separate face plate.
Then I grab the most orthographic photo of the unit I can find, paste it into a separate layer, and lock it. I trace only the most prominent and basic elements; enough for it to be instantly recognizable by me, but without going of the trouble (and overhead) of modeling every connector.
I'll make custom colors for objects using the color picker.
#rhino3D #retroTech #electronics
#rhino3D
Did you know? In Colombia we celebrate the Day of Love and Friendship in September, and it's customary to play the seasonal equivalent of Secret Santa. This year I'm playing with my acrylic painting classmates, and for the final gift we agreed on something hand-crafted.
So because I can't stop myself from being needlessly extra, here's a 3D model of a miniature replica of "Vigilantes" (1976), abstract sculpture by Colombian artist Edgar Negret.
It was a nightmare to replicate digitally. I'll post pictures of the finished physical cardboard model.
All I've done to get this result is to draw that exact shape in #Rhino3D, use the SaveAsSVG plugin to export it, manually copy the d="..." string to both the "board" and "silkscreen" sections in the PCB-ready SVG.
...With one extra step - I altered the "viewBox", "height" and "width" fields to get it to display fully in Fritzing - otherwise it cropped it to the same 40x20 rectangle from the first test. JLC probably doesn't care about those values, so setting them liberally might be a solution.
Modeling something like this is simpler than you think. I use #Rhino3D and a plugin called BoltGen to generate an M20x50 thread (with a 2.5mm pitch), shoved an inverted truncated cone on top, and messed around with subtracting bits from the top until it looked about right.
The 20mm width is mainly to make it print reliably - something this tall but less wide would be more likely to break off mid-print, and I didn't want to spend time reprinting a joke.
Pitch meetings are short. Attention spans, even shorter.
That’s why 3D models matter — they communicate your product’s value instantly.
Give your startup an edge:
🔗 https://intellitrongenesis.com/2025/07/29/how-3d-can-help-startups-pitch-products-better/
#3DModeling #3DDesign #3DVisualization #3DGraphics #3DRendering #3DAnimation #CADDesign #ProductDesign #DigitalPrototyping #3DPrototype #Blender3D #AutodeskMaya #AutoCAD #SolidWorks #Fusion360 #Rhino3D #Cinema4D #SketchUp #ZBrush #TinkerCAD #RevitArchitecture #SubstancePainter #3dsMax #MarvelousDesigner
I think I've entered a new phase with my #PCB design skills. Being able to sketch the layout in #Rhino3D where I'm relatively skilled, then export as SVG and then just line up the handful of actual components just so in Fritzing has been great.
Today I've discovered the existence of "single line" or "single stroke" fonts - apparently used in engraving, but also useful for text on PCBs. The one I'm using here is "MecSoft" from the Rhino people themselves: https://wiki.mcneel.com/rhino/engravingfonts
So what did I do on my vacation? Just iterating on some of the most boring icons there is... 😅 #Rhino3D #CAD #gui
Quick note on how I design these #NES controller breakout PCBs. I've not made a "footprint" that is natively understood by #Fritzing or other software as a part, what I'm doing is exporting the vector drawings from my 3D model to SVG (for other users of old versions of #Rhino3D, you will want to install SaveAsSVG: https://www.food4rhino.com/en/app/save-scalable-vector-graphics), adding that as an image within Fritzing, and carefully aligning headers and other holes to that image.
🌘 草蜢程式設計入門 – Brendan Harmon
➤ 利用演算法建模幾何圖形
✤ https://baharmon.github.io/basics
本文介紹了視覺程式設計介面「草蜢」（Grasshopper），它用於Rhino 3D建模軟體中。草蜢允許設計師透過演算法生成複雜幾何圖形，並快速創建替代設計方案。文章涵蓋了點、線、多段線、曲線和曲面的建模基礎，並說明如何利用滑桿、面板、以及Rhino中繪製的幾何圖形來定義這些基本元素。此外，也介紹瞭如何使用各種組件來建構更複雜的幾何形狀，例如通過插值曲線和曲面。
+ 這篇文章對初學者來說非常友善，清楚地解釋了草蜢的基本概念和操作流程。
+ 我一直想學草蜢，這篇文章讓我對它更有興趣了，迫不及待想開始嘗試！
#數位設計 #程式設計 #Rhino3D #草蜢
Huh, I think #Rhino3D's "Display modes" will do what I want: https://www.rhino3d.com/features/display/display-modes/
Looks like they're even (almost) all in my super old version of Rhino, so all I'll have to do is model the plugs and sockets to a reasonable degree of accuracy, SetDisplayMode to something pretty, then save as an image and label the pins separately.
I'm also liking Ghosted mode for showing the internal structure of a complex shape rather than getting it from multiple angles, too.
I'm glad to see conversations about design and labor multiply in design spaces and social media circles. Design professionals are often taught to see themselves as artists and not workers, which helps to keep designers from advocating collectively for better working conditions - a concept Marisa Cortright names "The Myth of the Calling". Read Cortright's essay "Death to the Calling: A Job in Architecture Is Still a Job" in Failed Architecture for more on this idea. https://failedarchitecture.com/author/marisa-cortright/
#architectsneedunions #jointhemovement #union #solidarity #architecture #architectureunion #1u #labormovement #uwcbe #uwcollegeofbuiltenvironments #gouldhall #gouldhalluw #uwlandscapearchitecture #uwarchitecture #rhino3d #rhinoceros3d #3dmodeling #digitaldrawing #illustrationartists #illustration
I'm quite happy with this Synthwave #matcap I made. It's quite soothing when I have to do troublesome surfacing at work. 😎 I made it for #Rhino3D but it also works in #Blender3D so feel free to use it! 💙💜
Breakdown in alt text for those interested. #Rhino3D #Procreate #Blender3D
My sunday yak shave instead of doing other things was figuring out how #ipywidgets work and making a small one to load #rhino3d models into a @threejs renderer in @ProjectJupyter notebooks
Has anyone done #rhinoinside #jupyter yet?😅
This was a lot harder than I expected for really dumb reasons (webpack, mostly 😤).
Continued #penPlotter font antics.
I’m modifying the ‘txt’ font to be open path, which works in #rhino3d but only using the ‘textObject’ command which makes polylines. That plots OK using autoDesk TrueView.
I’ve been trying #inkscape as well, but I think it’s HPGL implementation is lacking. I can use its ‘Hershey text’ plug-in to turn regular text into open path SVGs, but all the prints fail after some number of segments. Sometimes the pen will just go off into space, and other times it’ll just stall. Tried slower baud rates just in case, to no avail.
