Rhinoceros (typically abbreviated Rhino or Rhino3D) is a commercial 3D computer graphics and computer-aided design (CAD) application software that was developed by Robert McNeel & Associates, an American, privately held, and employee-owned company that was founded in 1969. Rhinoceros geometry is based on the NURBS mathematical model, which focuses on producing mathematically precise representation of curves and freeform surfaces in computer graphics (as opposed to polygon mesh-based applications). Rhinoceros is used for computer-aided design (CAD), computer-aided manufacturing (CAM), rapid prototyping, 3D printing and reverse engineering in industries including architecture, industrial design (e.g. automotive design, watercraft design), product design (e.g. jewelry design) as well as for multimedia and graphic design. Rhinoceros is developed for the Microsoft Windows operating system and macOS. A visual scripting language add-on for Rhino, Grasshopper, is developed by Robert McNeel & Associates. Overview Characteristics Rhinoceros is primarily a freeform surface modeler that utilizes the NURBS mathematical model. Rhinoceros's application architecture and open SDK make it modular and enable the user to customize the interface and create custom commands and menus. File formats The Rhinoceros file format (.3DM) is useful for the exchange of NURBS geometry. The Rhino developers started the openNURBS Initiative to provide computer graphics software developers the tools to accurately transfer 3-D geometry between applications. An open-source toolkit, openNURBS includes the 3DM file format specification, documentation, C++ source code libraries and .NET 2.0 assemblies to read and write the file format on supported platforms – Windows, Windows x64, Mac, and Linux. Compatibility Rhinoceros offers compatibility with other software as it supports over 30 CAD file formats for importing and exporting. The following CAD and image file formats are natively supported (without the use of external plug-ins): DWG/DXF (AutoCAD 200x, 14, 13, and 12) IGES STEP SolidWorks SLDPRT and SLDASM SAT (ACIS, export only) MicroStation DGN Direct X (X file format) FBX X_T (Parasolid, export only) .3ds LWO STL SLC OBJ AI RIB POV UDO VRML CSV (export properties and hydrostatics) BMP TGA uncompressed TIFF VDA GHS GTS KML PLY SketchUp The following CAD file formats are supported with use of external plug-ins: 3DPDF ACIS CATIA V4 CATIA V5 CATIA V6 CGR Inventor JT Parasolid PLMXML Creo Parametric Solid Edge Siemens NX When opening CAD file formats not in its native .3dm file format, Rhinoceros will convert the geometry into its native format; when importing a CAD file, the geometry is added to the current file.