CADalyst articles from December 2001

CADalyst archives from December 2001

Expanding the role of CAD data.
December 1, 2001... CAD tools for architects have improved dramatically over the past few years. Not long ago, we were happy to have a routine that automatically created a pair of parallel "dumb" lines spaced 60 apart to represent a wall on a floor plan. Today, we...

HARDWARE : Graphics tablet systems.(Wacom Technology Intuos2)(Brief Article)(Product Announcement)
December 1, 2001... Wacom Technology Corp. announced the new Intuos2 ($219.99-$819.99) graphics tablet system, available in five models with 40 3 50 to 120 3 180 active areas. USB and serial versions work with Windows 98/2000/ME/XP. A cordless, pressure-sensitive...

HARDWARE : Wide-format plotter.(Xerox Engineering Systems Synergix 8850)(Brief Article)(Product Announcement)
December 1, 2001... Xerox Engineering Systems (XES) announced that its Synergix 8850 (call for pricing) wide-format plotter now features MicroDensity technology with a print yield of 10 D-size prints per minute. The unit measures 360 wide and functions as a...

SOFTWARE : Help for hardware.(Executive Software International's DiskAlert for Windows NT/2000/XP)(Brief Article)(Product Announcement)
December 1, 2001... Executive Software International's DiskAlert for Windows NT/2000/XP (price starts at $49.95) provides automatic warning of hard drive problems before such problems cause computer failure. The software also detects when free space is low and...

HARDWARE : Windows, Linux systems.(Linux-based HP workstation x2000, x-based HP workstation x4000 and Windows-based HP workstation x4000)(Brief Article)(Product Announcement)
December 1, 2001... Hewlett-Packard Company introduced three 2GHz workstations--the Linux-based HP workstation x2000 ($2,166), Linux-based HP workstation x4000 ($3,386), and Windows-based HP workstation x4000 ($3,520). The HP workstation x2000 features an Intel...

HARDWARE : Workstation series.(Compaq Evo W4000, Evo W6000 and Evo W8000)(Brief Article)(Product Announcement)
December 1, 2001... Compaq Computer Corp. unveiled its Evo Workstation line. The W4000 model ($1,064) uses Intel Pentium 4 processors, and the W6000 ($1,929; reviewed on p. 27) and W8000 ($2,224) feature Intel Xeon 2GHz processors. The W4000 model incorporates the...

SOFTWARE : CAM for Pro/ENGINEER.(Pathtrace and PTC licensing agreement)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2001... Pathtrace PLC has combined its EdgeCAM Solid Machinist (call for pricing) with PTC's Granite, the geometric modeling kernel at the core of Pro/ENGINEER. The CAM solution now works with native Pro/E data. EdgeCAM Solid Machinist does not require...

SOFTWARE : Land development tools.(Autodesk Civil Design 3.0, Autodesk Land Desktop 3.0 and Autodesk Survey 3.0 CAD software)(Brief Article)(Product Announcement)
December 1, 2001... Autodesk's Land Desktop 3 ($4,995) provides tools to analyze, plan, and design land development projects such as road, rail, residential, hydrology, and utility. The software handles COGO and map creation, terrain modeling, alignments, and...

SOFTWARE : Structural analysis.(Research Engineers International's STAAD.Pro 2002 CAE software)(Brief Article)(Product Announcement)
December 1, 2001... Research Engineers International, a division of netGuru Inc., released STAAD.Pro 2002 ($3,995) structural engineering analysis and design software. The software is compatible with other REI products: STAAD.etc 4 for component design and...

SOFTWARE : Map visualization.(Intergraph Mapping and GIS Solutions' GeoMedia WebMap and GeoMedia WebEnterprise 4.0)(Brief Article)(Product Announcement)
December 1, 2001... Intergraph Mapping and GIS Solutions' GeoMedia WebMap and GeoMedia WebEnterprise v4 (contact company for pricing) are Web-based map visualization solutions that provide analysis capabilities and real time links to GIS data warehouses. GeoMedia...

Solid Edge Global Summit.(Solid Edge 11.0 previewed)
December 1, 2001... A preview of Solid Edge v11 highlighted the fourth annual Solid Edge Global Summit, held from September 24-28 in Atlanta, Georgia. Solid Edge developer UGS is now known as EDS PLM Solutions following its merger with SDRC. A year in...

ARCHICAD v7.(Brief Article)(Product Announcement)
December 1, 2001... ArchiCAD v7 Reviewed 10.01, p. 48 Graphisoft (www.graphisoft.com) has been developing its architectural application for nearly 20 years. Our reviewer noted that ArchiCAD v7 offers a relatively complete 3D modeling environment that does...

DesignJet 500 Series.(from HP)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2001... DesignJet 500 Series Reviewed 11.01, p. 30 Hewlett-Packard (www.hp.com) has long set the standard for inkjet plotters, and the DesignJet 500 Series continues the tradition. Our reviewer had only one question: Is the DesignJet 500 a...

Unigraphics v18.(Brief Article)(Product Announcement)
December 1, 2001... Unigraphics v18 Reviewed 09.01, p. 36 No one would call it cheap, and thanks to its flexibility, it may take longer to learn, but our reviewer had no doubt that Unigraphics v18 from EDS PLM Solutions (formerly UGS; www.ugs.com) delivers...

XI 1800+ MTower SP.
December 1, 2001... Xi 1800+ MTower SP Reviewed 12.01, p. 31 Technically this award goes to the Xi 1800+ MTower SP workstation (www.xicomputers.com), but it's really in honor of Xi Computer's batting average for our workstation reviews over the past ten...

VP Studio v6.7.(from Softelec)(Brief Article)(Product Announcement)
December 1, 2001... VP Studio v6.7 Reviewed 07.01, p. 37 For five years straight, softelec's VP Studio (www.soft elec.com) has been our reviewer's top choice for raster-to-vector solutions. He noted that VP Studio v6.7 is fast, elegant, and powerful...

Six AEC vendors speak out on data exchange.(Autodesk,Bentley Systems,Graphisoft,NEMETSCHEK and REVIT TECHNOLOGY)
December 1, 2001... Data exchange remains a perpetual headache for CAD users. We asked leading CAD vendors in the AEC space to address why it's so darn difficult to move drawing data from one CAD system to another or from a CAD program to a downstream application...

Seven Speedy Systems for 3D CAD Modeling.(Evaluation)
December 1, 2001... Unlike our last workstation review (August 2001), which investigated the efficiencies of dual-processor systems running multiple applications simultaneously, we kept things simple this time around. We invited ten vendors to send workstations...

EVO Workstation 6000.(from Compaq)(Evaluation)
December 1, 2001... EVO Workstation 6000 Compaq 4 stars out of 5 It's too soon to tell how the pending acquisition of Compaq by Hewlett-Packard will affect their respective lines of computer systems. At present, Compaq systems deserve their reputation...

Precision Workstation 340 Minitower.(from Dell Computer)(Evaluation)
December 1, 2001... Precision Workstation 340 Minitower Dell Computer 4.5 stars out of 5 Dell's Precision Workstation 340 pairs Intel's newest and fastest CPU, the 2GHz Pentium 4, with nVidia's proven midrange 3D OpenGL graphics card, the Quadro2 Pro...

INTELLISTATION M PRO CTO.(from IBM)(Evaluation)
December 1, 2001... INTELLISTATION M PRO CTO IBM 4.5 stars out of 5 The IBM IntelliStation M Pro CTO is housed in a sleek, dark charcoal gray case that is well engineered and designed. Niceties abound. The case locks from the back, incorporates a handle...

Poly 850GB-2000.(Polywell Computers)(Evaluation)
December 1, 2001... Poly 850GB-2000 Polywell Computers 5 stars out of 5 Polywell sent a 2GHz Pentium 4-based workstation outfitted with a GLoria DCC graphics card (filled with 64MB), which is based on nVidia's new Quadro DCC chipset. Though the GLoria...

SYS POWERHOUSE 2000.(Sys Technology Inc.)(Evaluation)
December 1, 2001... SYS POWERHOUSE 2000 Sys Technology Inc. 4.5 stars out of 5 Housed in an unassuming case, the Sys Technology SYS PowerHouse 2000 lived up to its name by turning in the best overall performance score of any workstation in this review,...

1800+ MTOWER SP/4200 SP.(Xi Computer)(Evaluation)
December 1, 2001... 1800+ MTOWER SP/4200 SP Xi Computer 5 stars out of 5 Though our "official" review covers the Xi Computer 18001 MTower SP, Xi also sent an SDRAM-based Pentium 4 system. The test results from both systems appear in the accompanying...

CATIA V5R6 serves up robust tools for mechanical designers : High-end system handles both surfaces and solids.(Evaluation)
December 1, 2001... CATIA, IBM/Dassault Systemes' flagship CAD/CAM/CAE product, is a powerful high-end system with a depth of add-on modules that rivals other products in its class. This review covers CATIA V5R6--the next iteration, V5R7, shipped as this review...

Auto-Z 3.0 : 2D conversion for Mechanical Desktop.(from EMT Software)(Evaluation)
December 1, 2001... Do you have a lot of 2D mechanical drawings to convert to 3D, but not much time and money to spend on the conversion? EMT Software's Auto-Z is an ARX application that creates fully parametric, feature-based models from 2D multiview mechanical...

Diskeeper 6.0se : System maintenance made easy.(from Executive software)(Evaluation)
December 1, 2001... Aside from adding more RAM or ever-faster SCSI cards and exotic peripherals, nothing provides a better performance boost for your computer than regularly defragmenting the hard disk. Defragmenting is a reasonably priced alternative and, with...

bom.com charts design costs : Online service organizes first stages of product design and development.(Evaluation)
December 1, 2001... From the beginning of product design, it is critical to track changes and organize all relevant vendor data to ensure a smooth hand-off to manufacturing once the design is completed and approved. Bom.com is an elegant tool that tracks and...

Dimensioning bolthole circles : Routine uses center arcs to dimension bolt circles.
December 1, 2001... Darrell Fletcher, a teacher of CAD, e-mailed a request for a routine to place center arcs instead of centerlines when dimensioning bolt circles. I'm pleased that he requested this routine. In my classes, I insist that students dimension bolt...

Insertion issues : How to place a PDF file in an AutoCAD drawing.
December 1, 2001... Please tell me how to insert a PDF document into an AutoCAD drawing file. We are using AutoCAD Release 14 and 2000. We tried using the _PSIN command, by converting the PDF to a PostScript file, an EPS file, everything we could think of, all to...

Tips from our readers.
December 1, 2001... $50 BONUS WINNER Message service Tip #1756 [MESSAGE.LSP] and [MESSAGE.DCL] Use this routine to save notes to yourself or others. You can retrieve the messages the next day, next week, or next year. Click on a message in the dialog...