>
> Hello Michael,
>
> It sounds like you have experience with both Form Z and
> Rhino. If so, what features make one preferable over
> another?
>
> Any comments appreciated. Thanks
Hi Stephen,
I broke my teeth on form z so I'm a form z guy. I've played with rhino,
but not productively. Many users shout its praises to the skies. I
wonder sometimes if this is because they got it for free while it was
developing and they were very responsive to their users beta tests.
Its difficult to compare features. They are two different views of the
modeling world. Rhino began life as a nurbs modeler. When going to STL
it subdivides the surfaces for you, automatically. Form Z began life as
a polygonal modeler, (though it how supports nurbs entities) you have
much better control of the polygons and where they're going to end up in
the model. THis makes form z a little more wysiwig. Also Z is mature.
Its in rev 3.1 after 9 years as a commercial product. Rhino is in rev
1.x. This is both good and bad for both programs. For Rhino, its
features aren't mature. For form z its a little overdeveloped, a little
too mature. YOu really have to pay attention to what kind of entities
you are creating in form z for manufacturing output. This makes for
headaches and for great control. I would say that Form Z approaches
Alias in complexity and control. Rhino isn't in the same ball park,
though it is very good and very affordable.
I'd have to say, if I were buying for first time students, I'd be hard
pressed to put them into the steep learning curve that Form Z demands.
If I wanted to train students for flexible fluid control over virtual
and manufacturable entities, and for animation, I'd have to go for Form
Z. Even so, rhino is proven to output to stl and CAM.
DISCLAIMER: NO ENDORSEMENT EXPRESSED OR IMPLIED OF ONE PROGRAM OVER
ANOTHER! PLEASE LETS NOT START A RHINO vs. FORM Z OR vs MY FAVORITE
PROGRAM WAR. experiences and comparisons welcome.
helps? hope so, best,
-- michael rees effective immediately suite Number 301 www.michaelrees.com 1015 Washington Ave 314 494 7393 St. Louis Mo 63101 msr@michaelrees.comFor more information about the rp-ml, see http://ltk.hut.fi/rp-ml/
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