In the CAD lab at Folkwang University of the Arts (room 1.14), students learn to construct virtual geometries (three-dimensional objects, bodies, prototypes) so that these can then be materialized in the ATL lab or in the plastics workshop. Or they can be represented in images or animations. The lab offers nine laptops and four workstations with various software applications:
Rhino 3D® | SolidWorks® | Fusion360® | Blender® | Unity®
Fusion and Unity only start with a personal account, which the manufacturers grant to students in exchange for providing an email address.
Applications such as Processing and Arduino are installed for training in simple programming. The former Rhino plug-in Grasshopper is already integrated in the current version 8.
In addition, there is hardware and software for creating project documentation:
flatbed scanner (A3) and DTP software: Affinity Photo, Affinity Designer, Adobe InDesign, Illustrator, and Photoshop (CS4 only).
Borrowing a SolidWorks license
Folkwang University provides students with temporary SolidWorks licenses. At the beginning of the course, students receive the necessary information for installation on their personal computers. These licenses are usually valid for three semesters.
Unfortunately, SolidWorks does not run on Macs.
You can borrow a Rhino license from Folkwang University. To do so, you need to follow a few steps:
1. Set up an account with McNeel . Use your @folkwang email address to do so.
2. Request an invitation to the license server (Zoo-cloud) by emailing Philipp Steffens .
3. Once you have received the invitation, you must join the "Rhino@Folkwang" team.
4. Next, download the appropriate installation file for Rhino 8 (Rhino 8 license key required) . The "One-Time Evaluation" offered in the first line here does not work with our license.
5. After installation, Rhino will only start up to the info screen. Please do not enter your email address here yet. Instead, check the box to accept the license agreement and privacy policy and click "Continue."
6. Now open the options at the bottom left and select "Enter email address." Then enter the address you used to set up your account@McNeel.
7. Now click on the "Log in as..." button. You may have to log in again with your McNeel account (step 1) before your account is found.
This loaner license is initially valid for 20 days locally and must then be renewed. If you are online, this usually runs discreetly in the background. However, you may also need to log in again with your Rhino account.
Educational software, but McNeel provides information here about commercial use.
Try Rhino3D
McNeel offers a trial version (Rhino 8) for download here, which runs without restriction for ninety days after activation. To activate, you must provide an email address that has not been used for a download in the past. An activation code will then be sent to this email address.
Rhino3D for Mac
Rhino also runs on MacOS, but the user interface looks significantly different in many places. This video from fall 2020 shows some settings for the user interface (GUI). In Rhino 8, the GUIs are supposed to be largely customizable and can then be saved as so-called containers on both platforms.
More info
For more information on safety training and SolidWorks license borrowing, please log in with your Folkwang account (button at the top right with arrow and entrance symbol).
Exercise material
Rhino: Template file for surface tools
F logo, 400 x 400 pixels, .PNG file with transparent background