Griddle is a cutting-edge meshing tool that empowers engineers to transform complex geometry into high-quality simulation meshes with unmatched speed, control, and accuracy.
What is Griddle?
Griddle, ITASCA’s meshing tool, is a powerful Rhino plug-in for generating high-quality surface and volume meshes for use in FLAC3D, 3DEC, and other engineering analysis software. Whether you’re modeling complex geologies, infrastructure, or excavation sequences, Griddle provides the tools to go from CAD geometry to simulation-ready meshes entirely within the Rhino environment.
One Environment for Everything
Griddle extends Rhino’s native tools to streamline meshing workflows for engineers and scientists. Users can create and manipulate geometry, extrude profiles, import topography, define construction stages, and export support structures or mesh data—all from a single workspace.
Explore the Griddle 3.0 Toolkit
Griddle 3.0 includes a full suite of tools accessible through the Griddle toolbar in Rhino or by entering the corresponding command names directly. Whether you’re working with surface meshes, volume grids, or mesh repair, each tool is designed to streamline your workflow and enhance modeling precision. Explore the key components below to see how Griddle can help you build high-quality, simulation-ready models with ease.
Mesh the Complex with Confidence
Griddle handles intricate, non-conformal geometries with ease:
- Automatically intersect and repair overlapping surfaces
- Extend and extrude meshes to close gaps or form 3D domains
- Visualize and fix bad mesh elements directly in Rhino
- Preserve internal faults, joints, and interfaces during meshing
Volume Meshing: Structured or Unstructured
Griddle supports both structured and unstructured volume meshes, giving you flexibility to balance speed, mesh quality, and simulation needs.
Structured Meshing with BlockRanger
Use BlockRanger to generate pure hexahedral grids from solid Rhino geometry. These structured grids are ideal for accurate stress modeling in FLAC3D and 3DEC.
Reference model (left) and BlockRanger generated mesh (right).
Unstructured Meshing with GVol
New in Griddle 3.0, GVol generates tetrahedral or hex-dominant meshes from any watertight surface geometry. It supports hard nodes, element quality filtering, VTK export, and visual feedback.
📸 Recommended Image: GVol-generated tetrahedral mesh with color-coded element groups
Source: Griddle_3_Manual.docx, GVol section mesh preview or “volume mesh visualization”
Streamlined Workflows for Engineering Applications
Griddle directly supports exporting to:
- FLAC3D and 3DEC with zone groups, face sets, and slots
- Abaqus, ANSYS, LS-DYNA, and NASTRAN via surface groups
- VTK, CSV, VRML, and DXF for post-processing or additional modeling
All group and object names created in Rhino are preserved for use in your numerical model.
Tailored for Real-World Modeling
Griddle is especially useful for:
- Meshing complex geology with embedded faults and joints
- Constructing high-resolution tunnel or excavation meshes
- Generating conformal grids from scanned or imported surfaces
- Handling large models with performance improvements in 3.0
Why Choose Griddle?
- Built entirely within Rhino—no external software needed
- Advanced tools like GInt, GCollapse, GVol, and GHeal
- Fast, interactive, and visual mesh manipulation
- Output-ready for leading geotechnical and structural solvers
Let’s start a conversation
At ITASCA, we are committed to providing advanced tools that empower engineers to solve the most complex engineering challenges. Explore our software solutions and see how they can enhance your geomechanical projects.