Rhino Files

Rhino® files (*.3dm) provide NURBS and analytic surfaces for free-form shapes.

You can open Rhino files that contain multiple bodies. Rhino multibody files result in one SOLIDWORKS part file. Rhino is integrated into SOLIDWORKS menus for actions such as Edit Feature and Insert > Features > Imported.

Curves are not supported.


You can:

  • Open Rhino files, which is the same as importing to a new part document.
  • Import Rhino files to a new or existing SOLIDWORKS part document.
  • Edit Rhino files in context and replace them with other Rhino surfaces.
  • Edit Rhino files in the Rhino application. You must have the Rhino application installed.

Opening Rhino Files

To open Rhino files:

  1. Click Open or File > Open.
  2. Select Rhino Files (*.3dm) for Files of type, and browse to a file.
  3. Click Options to specify whether surfaces and solids on hidden Rhino layers are imported as features or suppressed features or ignored.
  4. Click Open.
    The surface appears in the graphics area and as a Surface-Imported feature in the FeatureManager design tree.

Importing Rhino Files

To import Rhino files:

  1. In a new or existing part document, click Insert > Features > Rhino Imported.
  2. In the dialog box, browse to a Rhino file and click Open.
    The surface appears in the graphics area and as a Surface-Imported feature in the FeatureManager design tree.

Editing Rhino Files

To edit Rhino files and replace them with other Rhino files:

  1. In the FeatureManager design tree, right-click the Surface-Imported feature and select Edit Source.
  2. In the dialog box, browse to a Rhino file and click Open.

Editing Rhino Files in Rhino

To edit Rhino files in Rhino:

  1. In the FeatureManager design tree, right-click the Surface-Imported feature and select Edit In Rhino.
    The Rhino application opens and SOLIDWORKS is disabled.
    Edit in Rhino is available if the Rhino file contained only one body when you first imported it into SOLIDWORKS.
  2. Edit the file, save it, and exit the Rhino application.
    The geometry in the imported Rhino file updates in SOLIDWORKS.