In this tutorial I will go through modeling this simple house in Rhinoceros without using any plugins like VisualARQ. In this first part we will model the base shape of the house from Autocad plans.
Introduction
Before we even start modeling we need Autocad plans of a house. I’ve taken dwg files and saved it as 3dm (native Rhino file format). You can download it here:
plans
If you like, or if you get stuck with some step, you can download each step individually here:
step 1
step 2
step 3
step 4
step 5
step 6
final
STEP 1
Ok, in this first step we will be setting up our plans in 3D space. Actually we will align each view plan to our viewport in Rhino. But first, we need to group all the lines from each view and put them in a separate layer. Just so we don’t get big pile of curves in one layer, that way we wouldn’t be able to control anything. Organizing in layers is always a great idea because we can easily hide whole layer or lock it.
Ok, so lets start. First create a new layer named Plans and move all other layouts (except Default) inside Plans layers.
You should have your layers setup like this
Now we need separate layers for our views. We need 4 side views and one top. So go on and create new layers (top, front, left, right, back).You should have something like on the image 2.
image 2
Next thing to do is to group each view and put the lines in its layers accordingly.
image 3
image 4
We need to orient our blueprints so they fit in every viewport in Rhino, right now they are all oriented the same way visible in Top view. We will be using RemapCPlane command to do this, so we don’t have to rotate, Rhino can do that for us. So, lets start with Front view. To do so, click on the Front group of curves (or layer) from Top viewport and run RemapCPlane and click anywhere inside front viewport. You should get the same situation like on image 5 below.
image 5
Using Move tool and with help of Osnap (End option would be enough, but just to be sure you can check Intersection too. Near could be a little confusing) we will position our front layer in right place according to our top layer (check image 6).
image 6
We will do this same step for all other views, so we get a “house” made of plans. Sort of. Note: when using RemapCPlane for other views (groups of curves) make sure you use the right viewport and cplane. For example, if you want to remap back layer you will have to select it, run the RemapCPlane and click anywhere on Back viewport. Since Back (or left) viewport is not active by default, you can click on any of 4 viewport names with right mouse button, then Set View, and there you can choose which viewport to use. Just remember, For back group of curves you need back viewport, for right group of curves you need right viewport, and the same applies for left, front and even top.
I don’t think this should be very hard to setup, and once you do, you will have something like on the image 7 below.
And note the orientation of the letters above groups. That should give you pretty good idea of how well you did to recreate this.
image 7