Introduction to Rhino

For our first class, we were introduced to the Rhino modeling program. Our assignment was to build something that fits in a 3 inch cube using the commands we learned about in the lecture.

My goal was to make a standard rook chess piece. To begin, I created a new workspace with millimeter settings (as instructed by Xuedi) and turned on the grid snap. Using the Polyline command, I drew a rough outline of the contour. My intention was to later use the Revolve command.

Gray grid with green and red axis lines and crude outline of rook chess piece

I wanted to add some groves to the exterior to make it more detailed. Using the Offset command, I made an offsetting line 2mm inside the first line. Then I added some horizontal lines for use with the Trim command.

Gray grid with outline of rook chess piece with offset line inside

After using the Trim command, I selected all the segments and used the Join command to make a complete curve. Then I added another offsetting line 8mm inside the first line. My intent here is to make a hollow rook.

Gray grid with outline of rook chess piece with distant offset line

I then used the Fillet command to soften some of the corners of the outside line.

Gray grid with outline of rook chess piece and smooth curve.

Now I am ready to use the Revolve command to make my rook. The rook is hollow because I revolved both lines together.

Gray 3D pedestal like object

I had the basic shape but I needed to crenellate the top of the rook to make it look more like a typical rook piece of a chess set. These crenellations should be curved to make them line up with exterior of the rook.

To accomplish this I created two cylinders, one inside the other, and used the Boolean Difference command to make a ring. The ring was added to the top of the structure.

Gray 3D pedestal like object with ring on top

Then I used the Polyline and ExtrudeCrv commands to create a wedge shaped object and positioned it to intersect with the ring.

Top-down view of pedestal with yellow triangle intersecting ring on topSide view of pedestal with yellow triangle intersecting ring on top

Using the Boolean Intersection command, I can create a single block on the top of the rook. Notice it is curved on the outside (and inside), making it flush with the surface below it.

Gray 3D pedestal with single crenellation on top

Now all I needed to do is use the Polar Array command to duplicate that block around the top of the rook.

Gray 3D pedestal with ring of crenellations around the top

The crenellated rook looked fatter than what I had in mind so I used the Scale2D command to make it thinner. I also added a Linear Dimension annotation in inches to demonstrate that it would fit in a 3 inch cube.

Below is the final result. Notice it is hollow inside. If I was actually 3D printing this, the hollow space would make it lighter and would reduce the printing time and cost.

Rook chess piece standing 2.75 inches tall

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