CADalyst articles from February 2001

CADalyst archives from February 2001

Something for EVERYONE.(Hardware Review)(Evaluation)
February 1, 2001... This month's graphics card roundup catches video card manufacturers at a transitional time--it reflects a mix of newly introduced products, hot new graphics cards, and older technology. There's a bit of something for everyone here, with a broad...

Oxygen GVX420.(Hardware Review)(Evaluation)
February 1, 2001... 3Dlabs, Inc. 4 stars out of 5 3Dlabs' Oxygen GVX420 is not only a dual-headed card, it's dual-headed for both mini D-sub connectors and DVI-D digital connectors as well. As a result of these four connectors and the added width of a...

ATI Radeon32.(Hardware Review)(Evaluation)
February 1, 2001... ATI Technologies 3.5 stars out of 5 Based on the ATI Rage 6 AGP (QD) chipset operating at 350MHz, the Radeon32 graphics card from ATI Technologies is available in two versions, one with 32MB RAM (the version we tested) and another with...

GLoria III.(Hardware Review)(Evaluation)
February 1, 2001... ELSA, Inc. 4.5 stars out of 5 ELSA, Inc., long known for high-performance graphics cards targeted at the workstation market, has formed a strategic partnership with NVIDIA. The two companies jointly market a complete line of...

Diamond FireGL 2.(Hardware Review)(Evaluation)
February 1, 2001... SONICblue (formerly S3) 5 stars out of 5 We first began seeing this high-performance graphics card during the course of our last system roundup, where it appeared as the primary video card in system after system. After we put it on the...

AKA missing.(Questions and Answers)(Column)
February 1, 2001... AutoCAD Release 14's Aliasedit command lets you modify your acad.pgp file in real time. AutoCAD 2000 either does not have this feature, or has hidden it away. Is the Editor still there? Or is there a similar program? I am currently modifying my...

Software updates: Patches and service packs.(Technology Tutorial)(Column)(Tutorial)
February 1, 2001... My December column generated quite a bit of feedback, most of it agreeing with my concerns about the fast pace of software upgrades. This month I'll discuss a related subject: how to control and manage the update patches and bug fixes that are...

SCAN YOUR WORLD WITH 3D LASERS.(Product Information)
February 1, 2001... Wouldn't it be wonderful if you could take a picture of a scene and automatically convert it into very accurate 3D data? Well, wait no more. Laser scanning technology can create accurate 3D models of existing buildings, plants, and...

Callidus laser system : Callidus Precision Systems GmbH.(Company Business and Marketing)
February 1, 2001... 149 (03) 45 558 3633 cps@callidus.de www.callidus.de The Callidus laser scanner uses pulse time-of-flight as its measurement principle. It transmits an extremely short light impulse that, when it meets an obstacle, is reflected back...

SOISIC : MENSI, Inc.(Product Announcement)
February 1, 2001... 770.613.5255 info@mensi.com www.mensi.com Auguste D'Aligny and Michel Paramythioti founded MENSI in Paris, France, in 1987 to develop and market 3D laser scanning technology and 3D modeling software. The SOISIC laser scanner is...

LMS-Z210 : RIEGL USA Inc./RIEGL LMS GmbH.(Product Announcement)
February 1, 2001... 407.248.9927 info@rieglusa.com www.rieglusa.com Dr. Johannes Riegl, professor of radar technology at the Technical University of Vienna and founder and managing director of RIEGL LMS GmbH, has been actively involved in the research...

Dialog Box : Thoughts from our readers.(Letter to the Editor)
February 1, 2001... e-no thanks Many magazines tout the glories of Internet collaboration. In the fifteen years I've been in the engineering industry, I've never needed the services of long-distance collaboration. Did Autodesk and other CAD companies offer...

Corrections.(Correction Notice)
February 1, 2001... The Concord Center, the building image on p. 56 of our August 2000 rendering feature, was developed by Brookmont Realty Group and designed by Williams Blackstock Architects--principal Joel Blackstock and project architect Richard Carnaggio. ...

Aboard the Challenger.(Technology Information)
February 1, 2001... After the Space Shuttle Challenger crew died in the terrible post-launch explosion in 1986, their families vowed that memories of the astronauts would live on. Teacher-in-space Christa McAuliffe's personal mission was to instill a love of...

Ahead of the pack.(Editorial)
February 1, 2001... We recently received a profile study of our readers prepared by Harvey Research, Inc., a highly respected independent research company. The data from these reports (we try to do one annually) is always interesting, and sometimes surprising....

Tips from our readers.(News Briefs)
February 1, 2001... $50 BONUS WINNER Custom Hatch Patterns Tip #1680 [METAPAT.LSP] METAPAT.LSP automates the process of creating your own hatch pattern files. It prompts you for the type of pattern (tile, brick, or herringbone), the size (width and...

Master a model with I-DEAS 8 : SDRC integrates PDM with its powerful modeling program.(Software Review)(Evaluation)
February 1, 2001... SDRC began with a few University of Cincinnati students who were fascinated by structural analysis. They initially consulted with companies that had structural analysis problems and then started writing computer code to examine mechanical...

Explore parallel universes.(Product Support)(Tutorial)
February 1, 2001... These are the voyages of the CADship Learning Curve. Its ongoing mission: to explore new AutoCAD commands, to seek out strange new techniques, to boldly go where the AutoCAD user has never gone before. Captain's log (rtos (getvar "date")) =...

Autodesk rolls out XML-based extension, enterprise GIS.(Product Announcement)
February 1, 2001... Autodesk unveiled a new product based on the company's XML Internet schemas for transfer of design data. The XML/Data Extension ($149 U.S. and Canada only) for the AutoCAD 2000i product family contains DesignXML, a tool for third-party...

Intergraph forms new GIS division.(Company Operations)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2001... Intergraph Corp. launched a new global division called IntelliWhere (www.intelliwhere.com) to provide software and solutions infrastructure to wireless and location-based service industries. Lead product IntelliWhere Genie uses an architecture...

SDRC revamps internal structure.(Company Operations)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2001... SDRC (www.sdrc.com) reorganized its existing business, product development, and marketing units to strengthen its capabilities in the collaboration solutions market. Another goal is to extend its market reach through business and technology...

Autodesk funds Internet firms.(Company Business and Marketing)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2001... Autodesk Ventures invested $3 million in three Internet startup companies. Alchemedia develops tools to protect againt unauthorized use of digital images posted on Web sites. FIS (Facility Information Systems) develops Web-based tools to manage...

Products.(Product Information)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2001... Market research firm IDC estimates that shipments of Microsoft Windows 2000 will surpass those of Windows NT by 1.7 million this quarter. By the end of 2001, IDC predicts that Windows 2000 shipments will account for 71% of Windows NT/2000...

Business.(Company Business and Marketing)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2001... NVIDIA Corp. will acquire certain graphics-related assets for 3dfx Interactive for $70 million cash and 1 million shares of common stock. The two companies also agreed to stay the patent infringement litigation between them through the closing...

Alliances.(Company Business and Marketing)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2001... Dassault Systemes announced three development partnerships: Silicon Graphics Inc. will develop high-end immersive solutions integrated into the ENOVIA DMU navigator environment. ZEH Software will develop technical output management applications...

HARDWARE : Flat-panel monitors.(Brief Article)(Product Announcement)
February 1, 2001... Samsung Electronics announced the 150 SyncMaster 150MB ($914) and 170 SyncMaster 170MB ($1,499) flat-panel monitors. The dual-purpose displays are both a computer monitor for viewing graphics and a video monitor for direct hookup with a VCR,...

HARDWARE : 240 flat-face display.(Brief Article)(Product Announcement)
February 1, 2001... The Multiscan FW900 ($2,499) from Sony is a 240 flat-face CRT display. The FW900 features a maximum resolution of 23043 1440 at 80Hz. The display also features a four-port USB hub housed in the base, which rotates horizontally 2708 to connect...

HARDWARE : Graphics cards.(Brief Article)(Product Announcement)
February 1, 2001... Matrox Graphics Inc. announced the Matrox Millenium G450 Series ($145) graphics cards based on the Matrox G450 chip that integrates DualHead, DVI, and TV output. The Millenium G450 is a dual-VGA, 2D, 3D, DualHead, and DVD graphics card with...

HARDWARE : Pentium 4 Workstation.(Brief Article)(Product Announcement)
February 1, 2001... Dell announced the Precision Workstation 330 (pricing starts at $1,801) for digital content creation, finite element analysis, and mechanical CAD. Features include Intel Pentium 4 processors at 1.4- and 1.5GHz, and the Intel 850 chipset with a...

HARDWARE : Scanner.(Brief Article)(Product Announcement)
February 1, 2001... UMAX Technologies, Inc., announced the Astra 3400 scanner ($99). The Astra scans images at 60031200dpi in 42-bit color using an internal 14-bit A/D (analog-to-digital) converter. The IIPE (intelligent image process engine) automatically detects...

MECHANICAL SOFTWARE : File translator.(Brief Article)(Product Announcement)
February 1, 2001... CIMMC-UG ($1,995 for single-user license) from Compunix/Cimsoftek is a Unigraphics-to-Mastercam translator integrated within the Mastercam environment. CIMMC-UG lets you work with Unigraphics data without Unigraphics software. The translator is...

MECHANICAL SOFTWARE : CAD/CAM viewer.(Brief Article)(Product Announcement)
February 1, 2001... 3Dview 3.5 ($195) from Actify is a native CAD/CAM viewer for use where a CAD system or translation is not required. 3DView lets you view, measure, and mark up Pro/ENGINEER, AutoCAD 2000, SolidWorks 2000, Mechanical Desktop 4, and Autodesk...

MECHANICAL SOFTWARE : Fluid analysis.(Brief Article)(Product Announcement)
February 1, 2001... FloWorks 2000 ($7,000 per seat) from NIKA is a fluid analysis and simulation tool. FloWorks analyzes the flow of gases and liquids, heat transfer, and other forces on immersed or surrounding solids. Features of the 2000 version include faster...

MECHANICAL SOFTWARE : Solid modeling.(Brief Article)(Product Announcement)
February 1, 2001... Varimetric Solutions, Inc., announced AutoSolids ($995), an ObjectARX solid modeling application for AutoCAD Releases 14.01/2000/2000i, AutoCAD Mechanical, and Mechanical Desktop. AutoSolids adds more than 50 new solid modeling commands to...

MECHANICAL SOFTWARE : Design software.(Brief Article)(Product Announcement)
February 1, 2001... Unigraphics Solutions announced Unigraphics 17 (pricing starts at $7,995) CAD/CAM/CAE software. Version 17 features KDA (knowledge-driven association) that captures and recycles knowledge that exists in many forms at every stage of the product...

MECHANICAL SOFTWARE : File management.(Brief Article)(Product Announcement)
February 1, 2001... SolidWorks Corporation announced Activault 3 (call for pricing), an advanced file system for SolidWorks. Activault is an integrated add-on for advanced file management within SolidWorks. With Activault you benefit from the centralized...

MECHANICAL & AEC SOFTWARE : Design manufacturing.(Brief Article)(Product Announcement)
February 1, 2001... Varimetrix Corporation announced VX Vision 4 (call for pricing), a design through manufacturing solution. Version 4 adds image embossing, intelligent hole making, support for CAM fixture assemblies, and multiple incremental surfacing,...

MECHANICAL & AEC SOFTWARE : Design sharing.(Brief Article)(Product Announcement)
February 1, 2001... MYRIAD 3D for SolidWorks (call for pricing) from Informative Graphics lets you share your SolidWorks models and drawings. MYRIAD provides an interface to visualize and measure designs, and review and redline design drawings and associated...

MECHANICAL & AEC SOFTWARE : Landscape design.(Brief Article)(Product Announcement)
February 1, 2001... VectorWorks LANDMARK ($995) from Nemetscheck North America is a comprehensive landscape and site design solution. LANDMARK combines drafting and modeling tools with site and landscape tools to create, analyze, and present site and landscape...

MECHANICAL & AEC SOFTWARE : File storage.(Brief Article)(Product Announcement)
February 1, 2001... Meridian Project Systems, Inc., and Timberline Software Corporation announced Prolog DataBridge for Timberline Gold Extended ($9,995). DataBridge stores detailed field mapping between Prolog Manager and Timberline Gold collection. The stored...

MECHANICAL & AEC SOFTWARE : Design development.(Brief Article)(Product Announcement)
February 1, 2001... Autodesk Architectural Desktop 3 (call for pricing) from Autodesk is software for architectural design development and construction documentation. Release 3 features an expanded building model, including wall objects, structural members, window...

MECHANICAL & AEC SOFTWARE : Project control.(Brief Article)(Product Announcement)
February 1, 2001... Primavera Expedition 7 ($2,500 for single user copy) from Primavera Systems, Inc., is enterprise-class project control software. Expedition 7 provides secure access to project information by all members of a project team with custom,...

GIS : File conversion.(Brief Article)(Product Announcement)
February 1, 2001... ABLE SOFTWARE announced R2V 5.0.7 ($1,495 per license), automated raster-to-vector conversion software for mapping and GIS data capture applications. The new release of R2V supports more image file formats, such as JPEG, GIF, RLC, TIFF,...

GIS : Mapping extension.(Brief Article)(Product Announcement)
February 1, 2001... SiteBuilder 3D ($1,995) from MultiGen-Paradigm is an extension to ESRI's ArcView GIS desktop mapping program. SiteBuilder 3D transforms 2D map data into realistic and fully interactive 3D environments and lets you conduct fly-throughs while...

Autodesk University bounces back.(Company Business and Marketing)
February 1, 2001... Autodesk University this year reverted to one major event rather than the regional events of the previous year. Held in Las Vegas from November 28 through December 1, the event drew close to 2,000 attendees to the MGM Grand Hotel for a full...

GENERAL SOFTWARE : Drawing creation.(Brief Article)(Product Announcement)
February 1, 2001... IMSI announced Visual CADD 4 ($495, $149 as upgrade) 2D design and drafting software. Visual CADD streamlines 2D drafting and design and is compatible with TurboCAD, AutoCAD, Generic CADD, and GIS file formats. As a CAD development engine, its...

GENERAL SOFTWARE : AutoCAD programming.(Brief Article)(Product Announcement)
February 1, 2001... AUTO-CODE 4.i (call for pricing) from AUTO-CODE is CAM software designed for AutoCAD 2000i. AUTO-CODE runs inside AutoCAD and supports leader options for starting and finishing cut sequences and expanding and customizing the interface. A...

GENERAL SOFTWARE : Design analysis.(Brief Article)(Product Announcement)
February 1, 2001... Dynamic Designer 2000+ (call for pricing) from Mechanical Dynamics, Inc., is mechanical design simulation software for use within Mechanical Desktop and AutoCAD Mechanical 2000i. Three levels of Dynamic Designer are available: Simply Motion,...

GENERAL SOFTWARE : Printer driver.(Brief Article)(Product Announcement)
February 1, 2001... ELAN GMK announced PixJet 2000 (call for pricing), a monochrome, grayscale, and color raster printer driver for multipage and multilayer documents. PexJet is a virtual printer driver that emulates a paper printer and lets you create more than...

On the Job: CAD goes to church.(Company Business and Marketing)
February 1, 2001... MMG (Motion Media Group) is a multimedia design firm that renders 3D architectural models for design approval and promotional purposes. Recently MMG worked on a project to design a one-million-square-foot building for the New Birth Missionary...

MARK YOUR CALENDAR.(Calendar of Events)
February 1, 2001... CRM Executive Summit January 22-24 Hilton Scottsdale Resort Scottsdale, AZ www.frost.com/conferences/CRM SolidWorks World 2001 February 11-14 Disney Coronado Springs Resort Orlando, FL 978.371.5077...

Solid Edge adds file translation tools : Version 9 streamlines assembly modeling with solids.(Software Review)(Evaluation)
February 1, 2001... Solid Edge 9 from Unigraphics Solutions, Inc., builds extensively on v8 (CADALYST July 2000, p. 30) with a host of new assembly functions, a new weldment environment, and two exciting new modules called Web Publisher and the Engineer's...

AEC sites look beyond collaboration.(Internet/Web/Online Service Information)
February 1, 2001... Even though the tremendous proliferation of online project collaboration sites has slowed, dozens of vendors continue to compete for your business. Many such vendors are trying to augment their collaboration services to become one-stop AEC...

Internet product update : Web-based software for CAD users.(Product Announcement)
February 1, 2001... To supplement the i-Collaboration column, this special Product Showcase highlights Web tools and Internet-related products. Online collaboration Viecon.com is an extranet offering from Bentley Systems, Inc., that lets members of...

Sorting lists--easy as (1, 2, 3).(Product Support)(Column)(Tutorial)
February 1, 2001... Sooner or later in your programs you will need to sort a list of values or symbols. Prior versions of AutoCAD and the first version of AutoCAD Release 14 provide only one built-in function for sorting: (acad_strlsort SLIST). This function takes...

Finite element analysis and solid modeling.(Technology Information)(Column)(Tutorial)
February 1, 2001... Once found only on dedicated high-end workstations, FEA (finite element analysis) software is showing up more and more on the engineering desktop. Designers can use FEA to immediately test the structural integrity of their 3D models. This...