can Rhino do 2D technical drawings comparable to Solidworks?

Hi everyone,
I’m a product designer and have worked with Solidworks for the last few years in my job every day. Now I’m starting my own business and since I cannot afford a Solidworks licence I’m checking out Rhino. I do like the easy surface modeling with Rhino (have worked with Alias a bit a very long time ago), but can I create 2D technical drawings in Rhino that are comparable to the ones in Solidworks?
I work mainly in housewares - lighting - consumer electronics, and while I sometimes supply 3D data to clients, the detailed 2D technical drawings showing assemblies, exploded views, sections etc. are the most important deliverables for sourcing.

Also, how do I build assemblies of pieces that accurately fit into each other with Rhino?

Thanks for any input.

short answer: No. the ease and accuracy with which technical drawings are created in Solidworks is not an option with Rhino. Making those types of 2d drawings is a definite weak point in Rhino. Especially the section views.

In regard to assemblies, you can do this with the worksession manager tool, but it’s not really similar to Solidworks and its assemblies.

We use both Rhino and SW, projects that will require those type of technical drawings that have fairly simple surfaces use SW, and projects that utilize very complex surfaces (think Frank Gehry’s wall surfaces) we use Rhino.

i suggest, that if you are working in rhino and you need some good 2D, you should export and do it with SW, rhino have a _make2d option, but its weak. if you really really need the blue prints rhino is not the best obtion.

Check out VectorWorks, or even Illustrator with some Dimensioning plug-ins.

SW makes crap drawings anyway.

Define “same as solidworks”

If you join all your surfaces into a solid model and use the Create 3 Views command, you get a 3 View Drawing which is typically very good.

You need to add your own dimensions…but that’s no biggie considering 9 times out of 10 you have to do a LOT of clean up on the “automatic” dimensioning within programs like solidworks and pro/e

So, for me, the answer is yes, you can make comparable drawings in Rhino.

here’s an Appearance plug-in for rhino for technical views : Wiki de Robert McNeel & Associates [McNeel Wiki]

This plug-in adds a new Technical display modes to Rhino 4.0 with hidden lines and other options.

Could you recommend a (free) dimensioning plug-in? (as opposed to a complete CAD plug-in)
I was wondering whether there is something better than Modules externes pour Illustrator, français ou anglais, Plug-ins for Illustrator, French or English, it’s 25€ and in French.

Pirating an old thread here, again:

Coming back to the nitty gritty during easter holiday season I decided to download a trial of Rhino 5.

Sometimes I need to do acurate technical drawings to DIN standard for some woodworking on CNC mills.
So far those still came out of “Lino”, that no one rememberes right now.

Where is the technical drawing funcitonality in Rhin0 5? Tutorials?

Today I feel like I should finally migrate to solid works.

Ugh.

mo-i