3D Modeling in Rhino 3D

6 min readDec 15, 2020

Model 1: Belt Buckle

For this model, I was interested in creating a belt buckle for 3D printing. I did not want to have any moving parts since my modeling skills are limited, so I went with a peg design for the buckle. I measured my own belt to create measurements for this buckle. I wanted the buckle to have an inset for some clear acrylic so I could insert an image on the buckle if I wished.

To make the shapes of the buckle, I made a lot of rectangular surfaces and extruded them. Then I would cap the holes on top and turn them into solids. Then I would boolean union the pieces to create the overall shape. The buckle is composed of four main shapes, the fastener underneath, the inset body of the buckle, a piece for screw holds, and a prism that connects the holds and body.

To make the holes for the screw holds, I made circle polylines on the buckle and used them to make holes extending through the buckle. Making the pin for the buckle was easy since all I had to do was make a solid cylinder and put a sphere on top. After assembling all of the pieces, I filleted the edges of the buckle to round them off. Then I unioned all of the pieces to prepare them for printing.

I was happy how my print turned out, I ended up with a solid buckle. I will say that the plastic used for printing it is probably not strong enough to actually use this buckle, but it could function.

Model 2: Sword

For my second model, I thought it would be fun to make a sword. This ended up being much more difficult than I thought it would be.

I started by making a basic pommel, handle, and hilt. Then I drew a basic blade shape. The mirror command was helpful for keeping everything symmetrical during this process. After getting the basic shapes, I made a surface from my blade outline and centered it on the hilt.

Creating the blade was the most difficult part since I had to create a surface in three dimensions. I tried a few things like ribbon surfaces and planar surfaces. But, after trying for a bit, I realized I needed a diagonal on the hilt to make the sharp edge I wanted. After that, I was able to make a planar surface using the edges of the blade and the diagonal on the hilt. I mirrored the blade surface on each side and moved on to editing the hilt.

I wanted more that a basic block for the hilt, so I used solid control points to make a more “hand-made” shape. After this I added another embellishment to the pommel and textured the sword. Here are some renders.

Model 3: Lipstick

For this model, I wanted to experiment with subtracting solids to create shapes. So I decided upon making a tube of partially used lipstick.

I started with a few basic shapes, a cylinder, a tube, and a star outline for the twist tube. Then I made a shape to subtract from the lipstick. The first one I made was not the right shape, so I drew another one by hand and extruded a surface from it.

After this, I tried to smooth the edges of the lipstick, but I was unable to find a way to do so. After this I made the base for the twist tube and then decided to put a brand logo on the tube using text. I textured all of the parts and rendered it after positioning the logo.

Model 4: Classic Space Helmet

For my fourth model, I wanted to make a classic space helmet. I was inspired by the many sci-fi book covers I have seen, especially older books. I started with a basic sphere and cylinder overlapping. Then I made a surface to create a cutting plane through the shape to make a graded bottom.

After this, I started drawing a faceplate for the helmet. I recently watched The Mandalorian so I went with the classic T-shield. I wanted to inset a visor on the plate so I had to create a bezel on the inner part of the T. To do this, I offset my original T-surface and created another solid out of it. Then I overlapped the solid with my original T and subtracted it. I trimmed an parts that were hanging from the bottom of the helmet after this.

After this I wanted to add some embellishments to the helmet, so I created the outline of a wing to put on the sides of the helmet. I also wanted a fin like a 1950' s convertible so I made the shape for that as well. After positioning, extruding, and mirroring my pieces I was satisfied with the result.

Model 5: Lucky Coin\

For my last model, I was inspired by the coins that Maneki-neko statues hold. For this I had to look up some of the common character that are printed on the coins. I decided on the character “千万両” which roughly translates to 10,000,000 Ryo, which was an early form of Japanese currency and I thought a little historical reference would be fun. I started with the characters lined up vertically, then I made a rounded rectangle around them to make the basic shape of the coin.