Rhino Tutorial: Setting Line Weights, Line Types, Hatches, and Exporting to PDF

This tutorial will cover the basics of setting line weights, line types, and hatches, as well as setting a page size and scale, to properly export a rhino drawing into a PDF format. These skills are important for creating clear architectural drawings, and are the basis of Computer Assisted Drafting or CAD.

Learning CAD is important because it allows for vector drawing, opposed to a raster drawing. The difference between the two is that if one were to make a curve or line in a vector program, it is a continuous line and will keep the same properties no matter how much you magnify it. However, a line or curve drawn in a raster program, such as Photoshop, will be made up of pixels and when magnified the accuracy of the curve will be dependent on how high the resolution is before the curve loses its shape and and it’s pixels become visible. Vector programs are great for creating large drawings with a lot of detail at real world scale, which makes it a important tool for architects.

Before we get started it is important that you organize rhino in a manner in which you are comfortable with. The two primary tabs we will use are the layers tab and the properties tab, so it would be beneficial to keep both tabs open at the same time. In order to create more accurate drawings it is also important to turn on OSnap located at the bottom of your screen.

Now we are ready to begin!

Line Weight

Lets first start by drawing a horizontal line, and then selecting the line and typing in the command “array” setting the x value to 1, the y value to 8, and z value to 1. This should give you 8 lines equally spread apart.

Select the first line and change the display color to the standard gray, by left clicking the carrot on the right under the properties tab labeled “display color”, and selecting “other” and then “gray.” Repeat these steps for each line but select the following colors in order from top to bottom, dark gray, red, yellow, green, cyan, blue, and lastly magenta.

Assign line weights in a similar fashion by selecting the gray line and left clicking the carrot labeled print width, and selecting 0.18pt. Repeat these steps for the other seven lines, assigning increasingly larger print widths as you move from top to bottom.

These seven lines can serve as a key for your CAD file.

Assign these line weights and display color to a curve in your drawing by selecting the curve and then using the command “MatchProperties,” and selecting the line form your key you wish to use.

If you wish to change the print width of your key, you can change all of the line of the same color by using the command SelColor, and then changing the print width in the properties tab.

Setting Line Type and Hatches

Select a curve and left click the carrot labeled “line type” in the properties tab, to change the line type. For the purpose of this tutorial please select hidden.

Hidden should be a dashed line, however, my drawing is to large to show the line type at the default rhino properties. In order to remedy this issue, use the command “DocumentProperties” and select “line types” and change the model space linetype scale value up, until you get the desired effect.

In order to create a hatch, select a closed curve and use the command “hatch” if you want to individually select areas to hatch, check the box labeled “boundry.” Select the style of hatch you want to use in the menu and click okay to complete the hatch.

Scaling and Exporting to PDF

The first thing you want to do in order to export your rhino file to a PDF, is to chose a paper size. For this tutorial I will print to a 11" 17" paper size. As well as making sure your print color is set to your desired color. This can be changed either in the properties tab or in the layers tab.

Open up the print menu under file, located on the top left, and select “adobe PDF” as the print destination, select a file orientation, vector output (for reasons previously stated), print color, and view port. Then under the scale section, select a scale where your drawing can be fully displayed in the print preview.

In order to have your drawing located in the same place every time you wish to print, create a box the size of your paper, with no print color, and scale it up by the factor you selected in the print menu, by using the command “Scale2D,” and creating a “paper” for your drawing at real scale.

Open up the print menu again and change view port to widowed and then press set.

Select move in the command text and drag the window to match your scaled paper.

press print and save the PDF file. The file should automatically open up. Make sure you view your PDF at 100% scale to check your line weights, and make sure that “enhance thin lines” is unchecked. It is found in edit>preferences.

You can always change your line weights in rhino and print again if you feel that some lines are too thick or too thin.

I hope that this tutorial was helpful!