RhinoProto

An exceptional value for your money can be obtained by combining the Rhino 3D CAD software and the DeskProto 3D CAM software. Rhino or in fact Rhinoceros is a well known 3D CAD program offering NURBS modeling for Windows. The program matches well with DeskProto, as both programs share the same ideas about ease-of-use and low cost.

For many DeskProto users Rhino will be interesting as companion software with their current CAD system. For many Rhino users DeskProto will be interesting as it makes prototyping easy and affordable. Many CAM packages are available: DeskProto differs as it has been created for designers instead of for moldmakers. Only those parameters are available that are absolutely needed for prototyping, so the number of choices is limited and the software is easy to learn. Quoting Rhino-trainer John Brock of Robert McNeel & Associates:
"The combination of well thought out simplified features and the unique Milling Wizards found in DeskProto, make it highly recommended for users inexperienced in CAM."

The RhinoProto combination is extremely powerful, also for more advanced users, as can be seen in the following Rhino / DeskProto example projects. Click on a picture to see the complete story:

Thin-walled Cellphone. Front cover of a mobile phone, designed in Rhino, and machined as a shell model using DeskProto's Two-Sided Milling Wizard.

Freeformed Pudding Packaging. Typical NURBS design created in Rhino. In this project DeskProto was used for quick-and-dirty Concept Models and later also for Rapid Tooling of the pre-production test series.

Beautiful Platinum Ring. This ring was designed in Rhino to fit a trapezoid stone and machined in wax for investment casting, using DeskProto's unique rotation axis feature.

Model Submarine. Fascinating scale model, as this r/c model can really submerge during sailing. Read the story about it's use in the Keanu Reeves movie "Sweet November".

Rhino and DeskProto have been perfectly integrated by the Rhino command Print 3-D. This command (Rhino File menu) will open DeskProto with the current geometry automatically loaded. The command is standard available in Rhino V 4, and will be initialized when Rhino finds a DeskProto on the same PC.
Rapid Prototyping made really easy: just using this Rhino command Print 3-D will do the job. Now you can use DeskProto as a solution for Direct Printing !

For Rhino V 3 (when the Print 3-D command was not yet there) the RhinoProto Plug-in has been made. This plug-in shows a DeskProto button in Rhino to start DeskProto and automatically load your current Rhino geometry. Though now obsolete, this Plug-in still can be downloaded free of charge. It requires both Rhino V 3 and DeskProto on your PC, otherwise installation is not possible.
Download the file "RhinoProto.zip" (18 Kb)