Rhino 6 and newer - Maxwell Menu and Toolbars

Render in Maxwell

It exports the model to an MXS file and renders it in Maxwell Render.

The same action as in left-click but only for selected objects.

Render Region

It first allows selecting a region for rendering in the active viewport and then exports the model to an mxs file and renders only that selected portion of the shot in Maxwell Render.

Render Blow-Up

It first allows selecting a region for rendering in the active viewport and then exports the model to an mxs file and renders only that selected region but blown-up to the resolution of the active camera in Maxwell Render.

Write MXS file and open in Maxwell Studio

It exports the model to an MXS file and opens it in Maxwell Studio (if available) for editing. The objects will be grouped in Studio, first by layer and then the blocks will also be grouped inside their layer. Rhino groups are not taken into account as the objects inside may belong to different layers.

Write MXS file and send to Maxwell Network

It exports the model to an MXS file and sends it to the Maxwell Network for rendering.

Write MXS file and send to Maxwell Cloud

It exports the model to an MXS file and sends it to the Maxwell Cloud for rendering.

Write MXS file to disc.

It exports the model to an MXS file.

Export all scene data with Pack and Go

It exports the scene to an MXS file and collects all the dependencies of the scene (textures, materials, etc); it will store everything in a folder of your choice so the scene can be moved and rendered on a different computer.

Maxwell Fire toggle

It starts or stops Fire mode in the active viewport.

It creates a new floating viewport and starts Fire in it. (Windows only).

Release License (only MacOS)

It releases the floating license until it is required again (so it can be used by another colleague). On Windows, this option exists on the menu and not in the toolbar.

Create a custom material.

It adds a new custom material to the materials panel with the default options: a grey diffuse material ready to be customized.

Import one or more materials.

It opens a file browser so you can select one or more .mxm files to be imported as a custom material (embedded).

The same action as in left-click but will import the materials as referenced

Export materials

It exports all the Maxwell materials in the scene as MXM to a folder of your choice.

Add a material from the online gallery.

It will toggle the integrated online gallery panel; it will let you search for a material and bring it into Rhino either as a custom material (embedded) or as a referenced material. On MacOS, it may be convenient to open it as a floating panel from the Window menu > Floating Panels > Show Maxwell MXM Gallery Panel, otherwise it will open docked in the side panel and it will be less usable. You can find more information about the panel here.

Create and emitting material.

It quickly creates a custom material with an emitter component in order to create your own lights.

Create AGS material.

It creates an AGS assistant material (the name stands for Architectural Glass Solution). It is a non-refractive material that works fine for framed glasses. It generates a mirror material with low opacity.

Create opaque material.

It creates an opaque assistant material. It’s good for plastics, ceramics, wood, lacquered surfaces,… it allows controlling the shine finish and intensity and add textures to each parameter.

Create transparent material.

It creates a transparent assistant material. This is a refractive material ideal for glasses and other transparent materials without subsurface scattering.

Create metal material.

It creates a metal assistant material. It allows different tints, and IOR; also simulates a dust layer and allows adding a perforation texture.

Create translucent material.

It creates a translucent assistant material. It creates a material with subsurface scattering properties; it includes several presets and many controls to fine-tune these complex materials.

Create a car paint material.

It creates a car paint assistant material. With two settings and a color selector, it creates a material with the subtleties of modern car paint.

Create hair material.

It creates a hair assistant material. It is thought for procedurally generated hair entities.

Create Substance material.

It creates a Substance Painter assistant material. It lets you easily load all the textures generated in Substance Painter in one go and automatically creates a Maxwell material out of them so you don’t have to figure out where to put them. It also lets you change the subdivisions and height of the materials with displacement and the intensity of the emissive materials.

It creates a Substance Designer assistant material. It lets you load a .sbsar file, choose between metallic or glossy preset, choose the texture export resolution and embossment method (normal, height/displacement or both). It also lets you change the subdivisions and height of the materials with displacement and the intensity of the emissive materials.

Create Table BRDF material.

It creates a Table BRDF assistant material. It allows loading a .brdf or .binary file translating a material generated under the MERL - Mitsubishi Electric Research Laboratories model into a Maxwell material.

Create Xrite AxF material.

It creates an Xrite AxF assistant material. It allows loading a .axf file (Appearane Exchange Format (AxF) | AxF File Format - X-Rite) translating the scanned material into a Maxwell material.

Add Referenced MXS.

It lets you select an mxs file (Maxwell scene file) an link it into the Rhino scene. It’s an easy and light way of inserting assets like plants, trees or furniture into Rhino without slowing down the viewport. It’s described in more detail below.

Add Maxwell Sea.

It adds a Maxwell Sea object to the scene. It creates a patch of ocean-like object with a quite sophisticated wave system and a water material already applied. You will find all its properties in the Rhino’s Object Properties panel. Check this page to learn about its options.

Add Maxwell Volumetric.

It adds a Maxwell Volumetric object to the scene. With it you can create a dense atmosphere or fog effects. You will find all its properties in the Rhino’s Object Properties panel. Check this page to learn about its options.

Toggle Extension Editor.

It opens or closes the Extension Editor that gives you access to the Maxwell Grass and Maxwell Scatter extensions. From this panel you can adjust all the parameters of each extension created in the scene. In order to assign the extension to a particular object, check the object’s properties panel > Maxwell section > Extensions table

Toggle Visuals.

It turns on or off some Maxwell related visual aids. Currently, it shows the Maxwell Grass extension blade guides as well as the Scatter extension guides of the instanced objects.

Toggle Visuals for Camera.

This toggle shows the active render area in the viewport. It will take into account the resolution of camera as well as the Shift Lens offset. If the render area is completely or partially outside the viewport area, the frame will turn red.

Path Fix.

It launches the Path Fix Tool. It helps locating any Maxwell related missing files, such as textures, MXM materials, environment files, IES files, etc.