CADalyst articles from April 2004

CADalyst archives from April 2004

Keep up with AEC technology: revamped show highlights software and solutions for AEC.(AEC From The Ground Up)
April 1, 2004... I attended the A|E|C SYSTEMS show in Orlando, Florida, in late February to get a first-hand taste of new technology for AEC applications. The show targets decision-makers, gatekeepers, forward-thinkers, CTOs, CIOs, and the like in the...

VisionRez.(AEC From The Ground Up)(Ameri-CAD)
April 1, 2004... VisionRez Ameri-CAD www.americad.com Although still in beta testing at the time of this writing, VisionRez is an exciting design program for homebuilding based on Autodesk Architectural Desktop 2004. This BIM (building information...

FieldProfessional fieldDesigner sketch.(AEC From The Ground Up)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2004... fieldProfessional fieldDesigner Sketch FieldDesigner www.fielddesigner.com FieldDesigner produces software products for automated field measurement, surveying, and in-field coordinate placement that work in conjunction with...

Green building studio.(AEC From The Ground Up)(GeoPraxis)
April 1, 2004... Green Building Studio GeoPraxis www.geopraxis.com Green Building Studio from Geopraxis is a free Web service that gives 3D CAD users estimates of a building's energy costs during the early conceptual design stages. GeoPraxis, an...

ArchiCAD 8.1.(AEC From The Ground Up)
April 1, 2004... ArchiCAD 8.1 Graphisoft www.graphisoft.com Graphisoft's ArchiCAD 8.1 helps you leverage integrated 3D modeling and intelligent object technology and transform CAD from an electronic drafting board into an integrated productivity...

Primavera P3e/c for construction 4.0.(AEC From The Ground Up)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2004... Primavera P3e/c for Construction 4.0 Primavera www.primavera.com At the show, Primavera launched P3e/c for Construction 4.0, a scheduling and planning tool tailored to the construction industry. It offers schedule analysis,...

WinEstimatorst.(AEC From The Ground Up)
April 1, 2004... WinEstimatorst WinEst www.winest.com WinEstimator offers a family of powerful, integrated, and flexible estimating and bidding solutions called WinEst Pro, WinEst Pro Plus, and the collaborative estimating package WinEst eTeam for...

Cadalyst turns 20: our challenge is to remain relevant to readers immersed in rapidly changing technology.(Editor's Window)(Editorial)
April 1, 2004... This month marks the official 20th birthday of Cadalyst. Our challenge, as it's been throughout the past 20 years, is to remain relevant to readers immersed in rapidly changing technology. Think back to what you were doing 20 years ago. How...

Boeing's 7E7 Project Pushes PLM Boundaries: digital behavior modeling from concept through lifecycle.(Tech Trends)(product lifecycle management)
April 1, 2004... In 1990, Boeing (www.boeing.com) stunned the design world with the launch of its Boeing 777 project. Using CATIA V4 from Dassault Systemes (www.3ds.com), the company's engineering group modeled the 777's parts as 3D solids, simulated the...

Go digital: Cadalyst Labs tests the latest wide-format scanners.(Cadalyst Labs review)(charge-coupled device)
April 1, 2004... Many firms have a large number of original, hardcopy drawings and blueprints that have never been digital. Wide-format scanners provide the tools to convert these valuable drawings to digital formats, either as bit mapped images or through...

4260e.(Cadalyst Labs review)(Colortrac)
April 1, 2004... 4260e Colortrac www.colortrac.com Star rating: 4.5 stars out of 5 Price: $18,500 All Colortrac scanners use trilinear CCD cameras with open aperture width of 7,500 pixels and a glassless image path for streak-free...

Premier TX 36.(Cadalyst Labs review)
April 1, 2004... Premier TX 36 Contex Scanning Technology www.contex.com Star rating: 5 stars out of 5 Price: $9,900 Base; $11,900 Plus Contex submitted two scanners for this roundup that at first appear to be identical, but on closer...

COUGAR TX 36.(Cadalyst Labs review)
April 1, 2004... COUGAR TX Contex Scanning Technology www.contex.com Star rating: 5 stars out of 5 Price: $17,900 Base; $19,900 Plus The second of the two scanners submitted by Contex is the COUGAR TX 36. Like the PREMIER TX 36 reviewed...

MAGNUM XL 54".(Cadalyst Labs review)
April 1, 2004... MAGNUM XL 54" IDEAL.com/Contex Scanning Technology www.ideal.com Star rating: 5 stars out of 5 Price: $27,900 Base; $29,900 Plus The MAGNUM XL 54" scanner is available in two models: the Basic model for $27,900 and the...

TCS400.(Cadalyst Labs review)
April 1, 2004... TCS400 Oce www.oceusa.com Star rating: 5 stars out of 5 Price: $24,145; $38,140 with printer The Oce TCS400 wide-format scanner distinguishes itself from the others in this roundup in several ways. First, it's...

CS2000.(Cadalyst Labs review)
April 1, 2004... CS2000 Western Graphtec www.graphtecusa.com Star rating: 4.5 stars out of 5 Price: $13,995 At $13,995, the Western Graphtec CS2000 scanner is priced comparably with other scanners of similar capabilities reviewed here....

Chief architect 9.5 fills niche tools for basic architectural design.(Product/Service Evaluation)
April 1, 2004... ART (ADVANCED RELATIONAL TECHNOLOGY) continues to develop and improve its CAD application--Chief Architect 9.5--aimed at residential designers and builders. Chief Architect has been around for more than 10 years and has earned a solid...

@Xi 6400 MTower DPR: Intel Xeon dual-processor system.(first look review)(Product/Service Evaluation)
April 1, 2004... The 6400 MTower DPR system from @Xi features two new Xeon 3.2GHz processors housed in a black midtower case with a swingaway drive bay door. This case, also available in putty or silver, features a clear Plexiglas panel on the tool-free...

IBM T221 flat-panel monitor: extreme resolution.
April 1, 2004... There are times when technology simply amazes me, and reviewing the IBM T221 flat-panel monitor was one of those times. Capable of resolutions as high as 3840X2400 in 24-bit color on a 22.2" diagonal screen, the T221 boasts some 9.2 million...

Training tips and strategies: tailor training to solve your biggest problems.(CAD Manager)
April 1, 2004... Frustrated CAD managers often ask me how to handle user-training programs. Questions range from how to identify materials to the best time to train to how to justify training to dubious upper management staff. Invariably, answering any...

Barriers to model exchange: why is it so difficult to send data from one CAD system to another?(MCAD Modeling Methods)(Mechanical Computer Aided Design)(Interview)
April 1, 2004... Wouldn't it be nice if we all used the same MCAD application--and that it had all of the bells and whistles found in each application available today? Everyone could send each other 3D models without worrying about losing data. Everyone could...

Perfect paper space, part 1: here's your map to paper space.(Circles And Lines)
April 1, 2004... Even after 12 years, the most frequently requested articles are those on paper space. So, after many moons (and many pleas from readers), it's time to dust off these tips and update them to reflect the new features in AutoCAD 2005. A great...

Macro medley: use these macros to extract attributes and move text.(CAD Clinic)(Column)
April 1, 2004... I want a menu to extract the attributes from some blocks, but it fails when I select multiple boxes in a drawing. I want the attributes to be comma-delimited, and I want the file to prompt me to save it. Here's my macro: [ --from AutoCAD...

Tips from our readers: tips to measure lengths, make patterns, tidy your text, and more.(Hot Tip Harry)
April 1, 2004... A ship full of CAD cruisers slipped comfortably into the pier as the sun rose above the hills to the east. Exotic smells and sights filled my senses as I ventured on deck to take it all in before the rest of the ship awoke. I felt a presence...