LEDAS Releases RhinoDirect 0.1

By DE Editors

LEDAS Ltd. has announced the public beta release 0.1 of its new product, RhinoDirect. This new plug-in for Rhinoceros 3D modeling software by Robert McNeel and Associates is built on the functions provided by the RhinoAssembly plug-in released last month by LEDAS.

RhinoDirect allows Rhinoceros users to assemble mechanisms composed of rigid and non-rigid parts. Three-dimensional shapes of non-rigid parts are adjusted automatically to satisfy the geometric constraints and driving dimensions set by the user. Moreover, RhinoDirect allows users to apply constraints and dimensions directly between the faces and edges of one part.

With the first beta version of RhinoDirect, solids can be modified if their boundaries consist of planar faces with sharp or filleted edges, round holes, and protruding cylinders. These limitations will be overcome by later beta releases. The next beta ships in February.

"RhinoDirect is the next in our Driving Dimensions series of plug-ins for Rhinoceros," said Dmitry Ushakov, director of Product Management at LEDAS. "Our first one, RhinoAssembly, has proven to be extremely popular among Rhino users, and we expect an even greater interest in this new plug-in. Our goal is to provide Rhino users with powerful tools that parametrically modify 3D geometry in a direct modeling environment that outperforms the capabilities of all other MCAD and AEC CAD systems on the market."

The version 0.1 of RhinoDirect is compatible with Rhinoceros 4.0 SR5B and higher, and runs on 32-bit versions of Windows XP, Vista, and 7. A set of tutorial videos are available.

The version 0.1 of RhinoDirect is available as a free download.

For more information, visit LEDAS.

Sources: Press materials received from the company and additional information gleaned from the company's website.