Introduction to Rhinoceros 2

• 1. Tangent Lines
  • Horizontal or Vertical Tangent Line
  • Tangent from a Point to a Circle
  • Circle-to-Circle Tangent Line
• 2. Offset
• 3. Mirror
• 4. Fillet
• Exercises
• Answers

1. Tangent Lines

There are several ways to draw a tangent line.

Horizontal or Vertical Tangent Line

If two identical circles are aligned horizontally or vertically, use the Quad object snap to locate their quadrant points and draw a common tangent.

Tangent from a Point to a Circle

1. Select the starting point of the tangent line.
2. Make sure Tan is enabled in the Osnap toolbar.
   • Disable Cen; otherwise, the cursor may snap to the centre of the circle.
3. Move the cursor near the tangent point. The Tangent indicator should appear and snap to the correct point.

Circle-to-Circle Tangent Line

1. Disable Cen in the Osnap toolbar; otherwise, the cursor may snap to a circle's centre.
2. Enter Line and press Enter.
3. Enter T and press Enter, or select Tangent on the command line.
4. Move the cursor near the first circle. When the white tangent preview appears, left-click.
5. Move the cursor near the second circle. Depending on the cursor position, Rhino offers an internal or external common tangent. Left-click the required one.

2. Offset

1. Enter Offset on the command line.
2. Select the object to offset, then press the space bar or Enter, or right-click to confirm.
3. Select Distance and enter the offset distance.
4. Left-click on the required side to define the direction and confirm.

• Offset works with lines, circles, rectangles and any closed shape, including curves combined with Join.
• It is also useful for positioning geometry at a known distance.

Offset also has a BothSides option, which creates offsets on both sides simultaneously.

3. Mirror

1. Enter Mirror.
2. Select the objects to mirror, then press the space bar or Enter, or right-click to confirm.
3. Select the start and endpoint of the mirror axis.
4. To keep the original objects, set Copy=Yes before defining the mirror axis.

4. Fillet

To create a fillet between two objects:

1. Enter Fillet on the command line.
2. Select Radius, or enter R and press Enter.
3. Enter the required fillet radius and press Enter.
4. Select the first and second objects.

Fillet also works between two circles:

It also works between a circle and a line:

Exercises

Exercises 1–3:

Exercises 4–7:

Exercises 8–11:

Exercises 12–15:

Answers

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4. Complete this exercise yourself.
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7. Complete this exercise yourself.
8. Complete this exercise yourself.
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