This is actually why the extension files (.rbz) are as large as they are. The actual code files themselves are really quite small. Most of the size is found in the pre-configured .skp files (ie. holdowns, anchor bolts, door hardware, straps, joist hangers etc…) and in the images files for certain textures. Even though I have simplified the various components as much as possible they are still typically between 30Kb to 150Kb in size. It does vary quite a bit.
Not too much has changed with the Resources page, just the addition of the Blender and Rhino sections:
Thanks for the info. The results show the size is worth the trade.
FYI, I was asking because I’m going down ‘proxy road’ for something I’m doing to keep excessive geometry at bay. The results would not be as good as yours, so I thought I’d ask you why you went one way or another. Did you consider simplified proxies? By no means for example would a rectangle with edges on the face look as good as your hurricane ties but they would have less geometry. Same for door handles, bolts, - all the knickknack stuff.
Anyway, as we used to say, the new stuff on your site is, “Rad”!
The Rhino port is slowly coming together. The goal is to get all of the advanced options enabled for common trusses, then add in the rest of the common truss configurations. At that point I will probably release the initial 0.9.5 Version (Windows only). Then, based on the traction I receive in the Rhino community, I will continue to port the rest of the extension over from SketchUp.
I’ve been speaking to a number of people over the weekend about this port to Rhino. There does seem to be quite a bit more interest and even excitement as compared with my previous port to Blender. I’m actually a bit surprised, I didn’t realize there were that many people using Rhino for architecture, who knew?
However, I doubt that there are nearly as many architectural users as there are in SketchUp but I do believe now that the number is not insignificant. To my knowledge Rhino has no integrated 2D drawing system like Layout so I am wondering what is the workflow in Rhino, do they create their drawings in AutoCAD or some other type of CAD environment?
Once this port is complete (maybe in a couple of days), or at least the first public iteration is released, I will be jumping back into my SketchUp code. What I found particularly useful during this entire porting process was the extent to which AI could traverse my code and thoroughly audit it. With those audits I was able to uncover some longstanding bugs and typos that have literally gone undetected for years. AI may prove to be an existential threat but for the time being it is also an excellent proof reader.
I’ve released the first BETA version of the Rhino extension (Version 0.9.5 - 08.18.2026). Please note that only common truss types (ie. King Post, Queen Post, Fink, Howe) can currently be drawn with the extension. The web page is posted here for more information:
You can also download the 30 day trial at this link (Windows only):
It’s definitely possible to do contract documents and modeling in the same file in Rhino, though I’ve only ever used it for university and I would still prefer to create 2D drawings in AutoCAD. I believe it’s still pretty popular in architectural firms in Europe.
Not sure of your setup but If you need to run some compute locally, Id be interested in sharing. I’ve just set up a (slightly older) machine with 64gb vram so it can run some decently intelligent AI including the new qwen models. It won’t be as smart as frontier models nor as fast but everything indicates it’s not far off either. I’m in the process of setting up a 2nd machine of only 32gb vram. I have the intent of using something like hermes to run both machines separately or combined (via separate agents) as needed and likely Grok and Gemini as well but 1 step at a time…
