The New Rhino 4.0 is Here!

After keeping us waiting for years, Robert McNeel finally released Rhino 4.0. It's a completely new version of the popular Rhinoceros 3.0 NURBS modeler, mostly known by its nickname: Rhino 3D.

Rhino 4.0 includes over 800 improvements based on users' feedback

The development team put a lot of effort and energy into improving a product that is already one of the most powerful of modeling systems. According to McNeel the product includes over 800 improvements based on users' feedback and several enhancements for almost every feature of the program.

I received the not-for-resale version and immediately installed it on my computer to see what was new. First of all the new Rhino comes in a different box – there is no longer the traditional heavy carton box, now it's a light DVD case.
Inside the case:

• One DVD with the installation program and the main documentation.
• One CD with additional documentation and a free service pack to upgrade Flamingo 1.1, Penguin 1.0, and Bongo 1.0 for full compatibility with the new Rhino 4.0.

The traditional 500 page printed manual is gone, replaced by a full set of users manuals in digital form. The installation is simple and the new Rhino can coexist with the old Rhino 3.0, without any side effects. Personally I do not recommend this configuration if you have any Rhino plug-ins installed on the the same computer.
Once you have the program installed you can start to enjoy all the improvements and enhancements in several areas, such as:

Modeling

Enhancements include robust variable blend tools, improved Booleans, and G-infinity blending.

Editing Tools

New Editing tools including UDT for free-form deformation of all geometry types, feature recognition for direct polysurface and solids editing and command history for editing surfaces by changing their input curves.

User Interface

Enhancements including SmartTrack technology and live help with video clips.

Display Pipeline

The new pipelines takes advantage of the latest graphic card technology to provide a major speed improvement, new advanced display modes, new analysis tools, dual-screen support, and support for new third-party applications.

Photorealistic Rendering

New rendering including new basic rendering technology, upgraded Flamingo and Penguin, Brazil r/s available, and new third-party renderers including V-Ray and Maxwell. Also included are texture mapping tools that can be used by all Rhino plug-in renderers.

2-D Drawing

Several enhancements including line styles, line weights, hidden lines, dimensions, hatching, page layout and printing/plotting.

Mesh modeling

Major enhancements in mesh creation and editing. Also many new tools for STL repair and 3-D printing.

Analysis

Also enhanced tools detecting problems and evaluating model quality so the problems downstream can be avoided.

Large Projects Support

Large project are now supported with hierarchical layer management, file locking, and enhanced support for worksessions, blocks, and reference files.

Compatibility (import /export)

Several improvements including improved PDF, AI 8+, STEP, DWG/DXF, PLY, DGN, FBX, SolidWorks, Google Earth, SketchUP, and WAMIT support.

Software Development

Enhancements for users and third-party developers.

The list price for Rhino 4.0 is higher than the old Rhino 3.0 price, and you can check on our Novedge website for the best deal. If you own a copy of Rhino 3.0 you can upgrade to 4.0. For a list of improvements and new features you can check the Robert McNeel website.

As with the previous version, Rhino 4.0 doesn't require any special hardware to run. Unless your PC is from the Dark Age you should be able to run the program with no problem. Rhino 4.0 is also compatible with the latest Microsoft operating system, Windows Vista.

Franco Folini