Software Products

Griddle 1.0 64-bit

Update Instructions

Quick Start for Griddle , BlockRanger , and Rhino

Griddle and BlockRanger are mesh generation tools which plug into the Rhino CAD system. Griddle and BlockRanger are only available for the Windows versions of Rhino 5 (64-bit) or Rhino 6 (only available in 64-bit). A single installer (Griddle_xxxx.msi) will install Griddle and BlockRanger products on your computer. Your license will determine which components are enabled. Rhino, the CAD system (installed separately from Griddle and BlockRanger), is used for constructing model geometry. Instructions are provided below to get started with Rhino, Griddle, and BlockRanger.

Installation (on a non-server machine)

Skip step 1 if you already have Rhino 5 for Windows (64 bit) or Rhino 6 for Windows installed on your machine. If you are a new Griddle user or you are updating your Griddle version follow steps 2-10.

1. Download the Rhino version you purchased, Rhino 5 for Windows (64 bit) or Rhino 6 for Windows from https://www.rhino3d.com/download. Install your Rhino version by double clicking on the *.msi file you downloaded.
2. Do not connect your Itasca hardware key to your computer until step 5.
3. Download the Griddle installer (only available in a 64-bit Windows version) and double click on Griddle_xxxx.msi to install it.
   
4. Reboot your machine.
5. Connect your Itasca hardware key to the local computer (if a non-network key).
6. From the Windows Start menu, find the Itasca group, Griddle 1.0, and click on the “Griddle 1.0 User Files” shortcut. This will move you into a directory with Rhino plugins that need to be installed.
7. Double click on BlockRanger.rhi and follow the instructions, to install BlockRanger.
8. Similarly, double click, each in turn, on Gint.rhi, GSurf.rhi, GVol.rhi, and G_NMExtract.rhi to install Griddle components.
9. Open Rhino 5 (64-bit) or Rhino 6 and select rvb and rui files from the same directory as above and drag and drop these files into the Rhino viewport.
10. You are done.

Installation (network key)

If a network key was purchased, follow these steps:

1. Do not connect your network-version hardware key to your server computer until step 3.
2. The server requires key server driver software to be installed which can be obtained from here: https://sentinel.gemalto.com/support-downloads/sentinel-drivers (download and install the latest Sentinel System Driver Installer).
3. Connect your Griddle network-version hardware key to the server computer.
4. Griddle should be installed on a network accessible workstation (not on the server) as described above (steps 1-10). To set up access to the server network key from the workstation, start Rhino on the workstation, and then select the GSurf icon or type _GSurf on the command line. A dialog box will appear which allows you to specify the server location (the machine with the Griddle key).

Prerequisites

Griddle and BlockRanger are plug-ins for Rhinoceros CAD software. Rhino, sold separately, is required in order to use Griddle and BlockRanger. Itasca is an authorized OEM reseller of Rhino.

Griddle and BlockRanger require a license key to run with full functionality enabled. A license key can be obtained by contacting www.itascacg.com/sales. A Griddle license automatically includes a full access to BlockRanger. BlockRanger can also be purchased separately from Griddle. A BlockRanger license does not allow access to Griddle functionality. BlockRanger will also work with a FLAC3D v6.0 or a 3DEC v5.2 license key. If a license key is not present, Griddle and BlockRanger will operate in a demonstration mode. In demonstration mode, the Griddle surface remesher and volume mesher output a maximum of 600 surface or volume elements respectively. The Griddle surface mesh intersector does not operate in a demonstration mode. BlockRanger will only output VRML format in demonstration mode.

Supplementary Files

A PDF version of the Griddle and BlockRanger User’s Guide and associated example files can be downloaded HERE or they are accessible from the Windows Start menu if you installed Griddle or BlockRanger.

The user’s guide provides step-by-step instructions for creating models in Rhino and generating computational grids for FLAC3D (Itasca, 2012) and 3DEC (Itasca, 2013). Output to other formats (ANSYS, ABAQUS, …) is as simple as a key press.

Software Update Revisions