Streamlined Modeling and Design Tools
Rhino 8 introduces a suite of intuitive new modeling tools and enhancements designed to simplify complex tasks and accelerate your design workflow. These additions make it easier than ever to create, edit, and refine your 3D models with speed and precision, allowing you to focus on creativity rather than complicated processes.
Introducing ShrinkWrap
One of the most powerful and time-saving new tools in Rhino 8 is ShrinkWrap. This feature automatically creates a clean, watertight mesh around any geometry, including open or closed meshes, SubD, NURBS geometry, and even point clouds. It is particularly useful for:
- Preparing raw, messy 3D scan data for manufacturing.
- Creating a solid union mesh from multiple, intersecting objects.
- Producing clean, printable files for 3D printing.
- Generating solid meshes from complex, fragmented geometry that would otherwise be difficult to repair.
The Intuitive PushPull Workflow
For users familiar with direct editing in software like SketchUp, the new PushPull workflow in Rhino 8 will feel immediately familiar. It allows you to intuitively grab a face on a solid or surface and either push or pull it to add or remove volume. This workflow significantly speeds up many common solid modeling tasks, reducing the need for complex commands and letting you work in a single perspective view.
SubD Enhancements
Rhino 8 builds upon the SubD (Subdivision Surfaces) functionality introduced in version 7 by adding SubD Creases. This feature provides precise control over the sharpness and smoothness of edges, allowing designers to create models that seamlessly blend organic shapes with hard edges. This is a major benefit for industries like product and jewelry design, where detailed edge definition is critical.
Smarter Gumball and Auto CPlanes
The Gumball manipulation widget has been enhanced with new grips that enable easier extrusion and extension of geometry. Additionally, the new Auto CPlanes intelligently aligns the construction plane to your selection, which reduces interruptions and simplifies the process of drawing directly on a surface or face.
Major Performance and Platform Improvements
Beyond the new tools, Rhino 8 delivers significant speed and stability improvements across all platforms, ensuring a smoother and more responsive user experience, particularly when handling large, complex models.
Speed Gains for Mac Users
Mac users will experience a massive performance boost, with Rhino 8 running natively on Apple Silicon and taking full advantage of the Apple Metal display technology. Depending on the model, speed increases can be up to 24 times faster than previous versions, leading to blazingly fast 3D drawing and fluid navigation. The user interface on Mac has also been made more customizable, aligning it closer to its Windows counterpart.
Enhanced Rendering
The built-in Cycles render engine has been updated in Rhino 8 to provide faster, GPU-accelerated raytracing. This means quicker feedback during rendering and improved final output quality. The rendering UI has also been overhauled to be more compact, interactive, and efficient. Additional improvements include native procedural textures and a refined UV mapping workflow with a new floating editor.
Expanded Capabilities with Grasshopper
Rhino's visual programming environment, Grasshopper, has been significantly upgraded in Rhino 8. These enhancements expand its functionality beyond geometry to control and manage a broader range of design data.
Grasshopper 1.0 Data Types
Grasshopper for Rhino 8 now includes native data types for layers, materials, annotations, and blocks. This allows for more sophisticated and organized parametric workflows where users can automate the management and styling of various design elements directly within their Grasshopper definitions.
GH Player Enhancements
The GH Player, which allows for direct execution of Grasshopper scripts, is faster than ever. This provides a more efficient way to automate tasks and run complex scripts with improved performance.
Dynamic Documentation and Visualization
Rhino 8 makes generating high-quality 2D documentation and presentations easier and more dynamic than ever before. Technical drawings and illustrations are now more directly linked to the 3D model, ensuring updates are automatically reflected.
Enhanced Clipping and Sectioning
Improvements to the clipping and sectioning tools now allow for selective clipping and dynamic drawings. This means that clipping sections can be automatically updated as the model changes, and users have greater control over visual styles and hatching. A new Reflected Ceiling Plan (RCP) viewport mode is particularly useful for architectural documentation.
Improved UV Mapping
A refined UV mapping workflow with a floating UV editor makes applying and editing textures much more straightforward, leading to better visual quality in both rendering and display modes.
Rhino 8 vs Rhino 7: Key Differences
To help visualize the advantages of the upgrade, here is a comparison of key feature differences between Rhino 7 and Rhino 8.
| Feature | Rhino 7 | Rhino 8 | Benefit in Rhino 8 |
|---|---|---|---|
| ShrinkWrap | Not available | New, dedicated command | Quickly create watertight meshes for 3D printing and reverse engineering. |
| SubD Creases | Limited/basic functionality | Enhanced with precise crease control | Better control over sharp and smooth edges in complex SubD models. |
| Performance (Mac) | Runs via Rosetta | Native Apple Silicon & Metal support | Massive speed increases (up to 24x) and faster rendering on Macs. |
| PushPull | Manual process via commands | Intuitive, direct modeling workflow | Dramatically speeds up common solid modeling tasks. |
| Grasshopper Data Types | Focused on geometry | Expanded to include layers, materials, annotations | Automate and manage more aspects of your design within Grasshopper. |
| Cycles Render Engine | Older version | Updated with GPU acceleration | Faster rendering, quicker visual feedback, and procedural textures. |
Conclusion
Rhino 8 is more than a simple version update; it is a substantial upgrade that refines and accelerates the entire design process. The addition of revolutionary tools like ShrinkWrap and the intuitive PushPull workflow streamline modeling, while major performance boosts—especially for Mac users—ensure a smoother, faster experience. With deeper Grasshopper integration and dynamic documentation features, Rhino 8 empowers users to tackle complex design challenges with greater efficiency and creativity. For designers seeking a more fluid, powerful, and productive CAD environment, upgrading to Rhino 8 is a compelling choice that offers immense value from its extensive new features. To learn more about all the upgrades, visit the official Rhino 8 Features page.
What are the benefits of Rhino 8?
ShrinkWrap Tool: Quickly creates a clean, watertight mesh from any geometry, ideal for 3D printing preparation. Accelerated Performance: Delivers massive speed boosts, especially for Mac users with Apple Silicon, and faster GPU-accelerated rendering. Simplified Modeling: Features intuitive PushPull direct editing and an enhanced Gumball for faster, more fluid 3D model creation. Advanced SubD Control: Adds SubD Creases, allowing designers to precisely control transitions between smooth and sharp edges. Expanded Grasshopper: Integrates new data types for layers, materials, and annotations, enhancing parametric workflows. Dynamic Documentation: Improves drafting with dynamic drawings from clipping sections and new features like Reflected Ceiling Plans. Enhanced Rendering: The updated Cycles engine and new UV mapping features result in faster rendering and higher quality visualizations.
Is Rhino 8 a subscription-based service?
Answer: No, Rhino 8 licenses are permanent and do not require a subscription, making it a cost-effective choice for long-term use.
Can I use my Rhino 8 license on both Windows and Mac?
Answer: Yes, Rhino 8 offers cloud licensing through CloudZoo, which allows you to use your license on multiple machines across both Windows and macOS.
What is the benefit of the updated Cycles render engine in Rhino 8?
Answer: The updated Cycles engine provides faster, GPU-accelerated raytracing, resulting in quicker visual feedback and significantly reduced render times for high-quality images.
What is the main purpose of the new ShrinkWrap tool?
Answer: The ShrinkWrap tool is designed to quickly create a watertight mesh from various sources like raw scan data, helping to simplify geometry and prepare it for manufacturing, simulation, or 3D printing.
How does Rhino 8 improve workflows for architects?
Answer: Architects benefit from improved clipping and sectioning tools, a new Reflected Ceiling Plan mode, and enhanced drafting features that link technical drawings directly to the 3D model for dynamic updates.
What new editing capabilities does the Gumball have?
Answer: The enhanced Gumball widget in Rhino 8 includes new grips that allow for quicker extrusion and extension of geometry directly, streamlining the modeling process.
Does Rhino 8 have a dark mode?
Answer: Yes, Rhino 8 features an improved, more customizable user interface that includes a dark mode option, enhancing the user experience and reducing eye strain.
