CADalyst articles from April 2005

CADalyst archives from April 2005

Age of uncertainty: worries about workload, job security dog CAD managers.(Editorial)
April 1, 2005... CALL IT CAD MANAGER'S MALAISE. If you've been reading Robert Green's CAD Manager's Newsletter, you know the symptoms. (If you haven't, you can catch up on past issues at http://management.cadalyst.com/cadmanarchives/). In feedback from...

Bentley blasts Autodesk practices as contributor to AEC waste.(CAD CENTRAL)
April 1, 2005... Citing a recent NIST (National Institute of Standards and Technology) survey estimating that almost $16 billion is wasted annually in the AEC industry due to lack of interoperability among software tools, Bentley Systems places blame for $1...

Ten manufacturing trends for 2005.(CAD CENTRAL)
April 1, 2005... Technology and processes must change together to meet the coming challenges to manufacturers in 2005, according to analysts at Manufacturing Insights (www.manufacturing-insights.com), part of research firm IDC. Basing its predictions on...

Model, mesh and analyze: harnessing analysis technology for CAD.(TECH TRENDS)
April 1, 2005... Think back to the emergence of digital cameras, not so long ago, as the point-and-shoot choice of the everyday photographer. At first, professionals no doubt looked down their noses at these contraptions. All this trend will do, thought many of...

On a roll: plotter technology keeps paper popular.(printers)
April 1, 2005... If you've seen the output from modern wide-format printers, you probably don't need much convincing as to the usefulness of the technology, whether the final output is used for presentations or display, input from a workgroup or for archival...

Alias StudioTools 12: time-tested surface modeler for industrial designers.(Product/Service Evaluation)
April 1, 2005... EVERY DESIGNER WHO'S serious about design work will have at least heard of Alias. It's the de facto standard in industrial design software. More people use Alias software in the concept stage than anything else I can name--it's the big dog. In...

Form*Z 5.0: solid modeling for design visualization and animation.(Product/Service Evaluation)
April 1, 2005... The modeling program form*Z occupies a useful niche between industrial modeling tools and conventional CAD. It doesn't provide the drafting tools and materials sense of solid modelers like SolidWorks and Inventor for industrial design or Revit,...

ATI FireGL V5000 PCIe: midrange PCI Express graphics card offers extra features.(peripheral component interconnect)(Product/Service Evaluation)
April 1, 2005... ATI EXPANDS ITS LINE OF PCI Express 16x graphics cards with the introduction of the FireGL V5000, which fits into the midrange of the company's offerings in terms of both price and performance. The ATI FireGL V5000 features 128MB of onboard...

HP xw9300: dual AMD64 workstation.(Product/Service Evaluation)
April 1, 2005... WORKSTATIONS IN HP'S new xw9300 line are built on single and dual AMD Opteron 200 series processors with AMD64 technology and HyperTransport. Processors currently available are the 246 (2.0GHz), 248 (2.2GHz), 250 (2.4GHz) and 252 (2.6GHz)....

Corel DESIGNER: technical Suite 12: technical illustration toolbox.(Corel Designer Technical Suite 12.0)(Product/Service Evaluation)
April 1, 2005... COREL DESIGNER TECHNICAL SUITE 12 is a bundle of applications for technical graphics built on Corel Designer 12. Originally developed by Micrografx, the DESIGNER program was acquired by Corel Corp. in the fall of 2001. In addition to the...

Managing multiple CAD systems: training, data management top the list of challenges.(CAD MANAGER)(Column)
April 1, 2005... IN THE PAST, CAD MANAGEMENT involved controlling a 2D CAD environment and making sure that our users followed standards. No more. Increasingly, CAD management means dealing with multiple software applications and all the user training and data...

Software strategy: high-end options: powerhouse programs handle demanding design projects.(MCAD MODELING METHODS)(PTC Pro/ENGINEER, NX 3 and CATIA V5)(Editorial)
April 1, 2005... THIS FINAL INSTALLMENT OF Cadalyst's mechanical CAD software strategy series tackles the high-end mechanical design products: CATIA (Dassault/IBM). Pro/ENGINEER (PTC) and NX (UGS). Though in recent years all three products have become...

Get under the hood of UGS Teamcenter: PLM solution fits design teams of any size.(UGS PLM Solutions)
April 1, 2005... UGS IS USUALLY LISTED AT the very top in regard to PLM--with good reason. CIMdata and other industry evaluators have given UGS top-dog PLM bragging rights for the past five years in aerospace/defense, automotive/transportation,...

Preliminary design tools: going digital can spark creativity and speed work along.(use image processing software for architectural designing)
April 1, 2005... AN ARCHITECTURAL COLLEAGUE, although he considers his practice digitally up to date, told me recently that he still prefers to design with colored pencil and tracing paper. This method, he says, gives him a "feel for the design." Although this...

Working in a 3D world: understanding terrain models.(management of digital terrain models and digital elevation models)
April 1, 2005... THE WORLD OF GIS (geographic information systems) is a 3D world. Much of the geospatial data is not only georeferenced to fit an actual location on the earth, but also includes z-coordinates that define the elevation and height of both natural...

All together now.(Carl Bass report on new products of Autodesk Inc. )(Brief Article)
April 1, 2005... In the wake of Autodesk's first synchronized release of upgrades of all of its products, COO Carl Bass says that a fixed release schedule makes for a better product. Only a small minority of users say they don't need new software every year,...

CAM consolidation.(Engineering Geometry Systems, Delcam PLC, acquisition deal)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2005... British developer of machining software Delcam extended its market position with the acquisition of Engineering Geometry Systems, developer of FeatureCAM software. FeatureCAM will continue as an independent product line, developed in the United...

Quick poll.
April 1, 2005... OF THESE ISSUES, WHICH IS THE GREATEST CHALLENGE FACING YOU AT WORK? * Data interoperability (49) 27% Software instability (49) 27% Outdated hardware (31) 17% Work with remote...

MVP meeting.
April 1, 2005... Market research firm Daratech has come up with a groovy abbreviation (and a new conference) for the hot topic of mockup, visualization and 3D publishing technologies. DaratechMVP2005 is scheduled for May 23-24 in Novi, Michigan. Daratech...

New name.(Anzwerz changing its name to Retrieve Technologies Inc.)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2005... Anzwerz, the software company headed by former Softdesk founder Dave Arnold, changed its name to the more conventional Retrieve Technologies. The company is targeting CAD users with StandardsRetrieve, a Web-based application that allows users...

Surf's up.(new software from PTC Technology)(ICEM Surf and Style)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2005... Formerly part of the PTC stable of products, the now independent ICEM Surf and Style products will be released for CATIA V5 in the third quarter. New releases of the stand-alone versions are due this summer.

We were here first.(new product Solid Edge from UGS Inc.)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2005... The next release of Solid Edge, announced last month and scheduled to ship this spring, will feature direct editing--the ability to change geometry without using the history tree. UGS says Solid Edge is the first midrange mechanical CAD...

Diminishing returns.(management of Reed Exhibitions for Datastream--National Manufacturing Week)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2005... With participation dwindling--since 1998, the show has shrunk in size by 45%, according to former exhibitor Datastream--National Manufacturing Week organizer Reed Exhibitions announced that next year's show will take place at the renovated...

Can't be discreet.(Autodesk Inc. reorganizing its divisions)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2005... Autodesk has dropped the Discreet name for its film and gaming software business in favor of Autodesk Media and Entertainment Division. The division remains based in Montreal, Canada.

ISO approval.(International Organization for Standardization, Adobe Acrobat 7)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2005... The Adobe-led PDF/E initiative has completed a draft of its proposed ISO standard for exchange of engineering drawings. The group hopes that the standard will receive final approval by the end of 2006. Adobe Acrobat 7 supports the draft version...

Geospatial data deluge.(use of geographic information systems)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2005... Too much data, too few standards is how market research firm Daratech sums up one of the challenges facing the GIS and geospatial markets. The firm predicts increasing focus on data management, including synchronization, search techniques and...

Pump up presentations.(new software SpinFire from Actify Inc.)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2005... In a move that could push 3D into the mainstream office environment, Actify introduced SpinFire for Microsoft Office, a plug-in that enables users to embed 2D and 3D CAD models in Actify's .3D format while working in Word, Excel, PowerPoint and...

Capturing CAE.(Enductive Solutions uses computer-aided engineering technology)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2005... Startup company Enductive Solutions is targeting what it sees as a hole in current PLM systems--CAE test parameters and results. The company will consult and recommend custom solutions to customers who want to better integrate CAE into their...