CADalyst articles from February 2003

CADalyst archives from February 2003

This is what's on your mind. (Editor's window: opinions, comments, and predictions).(Column)
February 1, 2003... I'll tell you, because you (and/or your fellow designers, engineers, and managers) told me. A couple of months ago we ran a checklist of concerns in this space with a plea to fill it in and fax it back. The replies I received were in some ways...

Dialog box: readers talk to us.(Brief Article)(Letter to the Editor)
February 1, 2003... You missed... One thing you didn't mention in your thinkdesign review (December 2002) is that the interface can run in a simulated AutoCAD mode. Go to Tools | Customize and under GUI profiles click on AutoCAD Emulation. If you use that to...

Corrections.(Correction Notice)
February 1, 2003... Autodesk Inventor (January 2003, p. 36) runs on Windows XP/2000/NT 4.0 only. Windows XP Home is recommended only for training and light design work. Price for Inventor Series 6 is $5,195, with an annual subscription fee of $1,095. The...

Flat-panel LCD. (hardware).(Hitachi America's CML174 170)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2003... The CML174 170 LCD monitor ($699) from Hitachi America is suited for digital design and multimedia applications. The panel features a 16mm bezel on each side, with an auto-adjust function for quick image adjustments. The monitor comes with 1608...

3D laser-imaging scanner. (hardware).(Riegl USA's LMS-Z420 3D laser-imaging scanner)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2003... The LMS-Z420 3D laser-imaging scanner ($130,000) from Riegl USA has dual scanners for mapping topographical targets to natural targets at a distance of up to 1,000m. The scanner delivers 3D images for analysis and monitoring of buildings,...

Laser scanner. (hardware).(Axila's G-Scan)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2003... The hand-held G-Scan from Axila Inc. ($39,900 arm only; $80,000 for a complete system) lets you digitize parts without contact. It creates ASCII, DXF, IGES, and STL files to import into a CAD system. G-Scan is compatible with AXILA portable...

Portable CMM. (hardware).(FARO Technologies' FaroArm Titanium)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2003... FARO Technologies released the Titanium series FaroArm portable coordinate measurement machine (call for pricing). The Titanium enables you to inspect, reverse engineer, and perform CAD-to-part analysis on parts, fixtures, and assemblies. The...

Presentation plotting. (Software: general/gis).(Motive Systems' M-Color 7.0)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2003... Motive Systems introduced M-Color 7 ($395), the latest version of its presentation plotting software for AutoCAD. M-Color 7 offers PDF and PostScript output and lets you plot AutoCAD drawings in color. You can use effects such as gradient...

Electronic signing. (Software: general/gis).(eQuorum's Digital Signature)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2003... eQuorum Corp. released Digital Signature ($7,500), an optional module for ImageSite that lets you digitally sign documents and markups to ensure authenticity and content. A digital signature is an encrypted code that is attached to a...

3D terrain analysis and visualization. (Software: general/gis).(Intergraph Mapping and GIS Solutions' GeoMedia Terrain 5.0 )(Brief Article)
February 1, 2003... Intergraph Mapping and GIS Solutions announced GeoMedia Terrain 5.0 (call for pricing) for terrain generation, elevation processing, and 3D visualization. With 3D functions to perform flythroughs, display color-coded elevation or shaded-relief...

Virtual conference room. (Software: general/gis).(IDEAL.com's Conference on Demand service)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2003... Conference on Demand from IDEAL.com is a customized virtual conference room for a single online meeting or presentation. It is a daily, monthly, or yearly subscription service. Pricing depends on your specific needs. Conference on Demand...

Raster conversion. (Software: general/aec).(Softelec's VPHybridCAD 7.0)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2003... Softelec announced v7 of its VPHybridCAD raster software (call for pricing), which lets you directly access, edit, and modify scanned technical documents. VPHybridCAD now features direct raster-to-vector conversion, tracing of colored drawings...

Learn XML/VBA. (Software: general/aec).(TrainingA )(Brief Article)
February 1, 2003... TrainingA Corp. developed a multimedia training package for Visual Basic.net ($29.95), which includes four CD-ROM-based training courses with interactivity and knowledge reviews plus a bonus course for learning ASP.net. Each course runs...

System management. (Software: general/aec).(Executive Software International's Sitekeeper 2.0 )(Brief Article)
February 1, 2003... Sitekeeper 2.0 (call for pricing) from Executive Software International is a system management tool that supports Windows 95/98/ME/NT/2000/XP. Its Inventory Tracker feature lets you see what hardware and software is used throughout a site....

Laser scanning. (Software: general/aec).(Cyra Technologies' Cyclone 4.0 )(Brief Article)
February 1, 2003... Cyra Technologies released Cyclone v4 laser scanning software. As part of this new release, Cyra added Cyclone-SURVEY, a trimmed-down version of Cyclone-MODEL, for civil/survey types of projects. Cyra has also added Cyclone-REGISTER v4 as a...

Online building collaboration helps Seahawks Stadium open early. (on the job).(Brief Article)
February 1, 2003... Home to the National Football League's Seattle Seahawks and local soccer team Seattle Sounders, the new Seattle Seahawk Stadium also houses an exhibition center that hosts conferences and events attracting thousands of people each year. Ellerbe...

ArchiCAD ADD-ON. (Software: aec).(Cigraph's ArchiSketchy)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2003... The new ArchiCAD plug-in from Cigraph, ArchiSketchy ($155 retail or $145 online), gives regular computer-drawn projects a hand-drawn style. The program is easy to use--you select the drawing and choose one of seven types of transformations. You...

Civil design software. (Software: aec).(Infrasoft's MXURBAN civil design software)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2003... Infrasoft Corp. announced its MXURBAN civil design software to reconstruct roadways in highly confined urban and suburban settings. Its step-by-step features and automated wizards help you quickly define the outer road envelope and include...

Architectural software. (Software: aec).(Autodesk Architectural Studio 3.0)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2003... Autodesk Architectural Studio 3 software offers conceptual design options, customizable drawing tools and palettes, and a streamlined design and collaboration environment. New tools let you directly manipulate and manage documents. Customizable...

MicroStation QA tool. (Software: aec).(Axiom's SpecManager for MicroStation)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2003... Axiom's SpecManager software (call for pricing) for MicroStation lets you select and place features (physical components like a specific door, masonry wall, or two-lane road) from a preconfigured list that meets CAD standards for level, color,...

Translation tool. (Software: mcad/cam).(Gibbs and Associates' Solid Exchange Built on Granite for GibbsCAM)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2003... Gibbs and Associates released the Solid Exchange Built on Granite option for GibbsCAM. The option allows GibbsCAM to directly access native Pro/Engineer, Pro/Desktop, and other Granite-based CAD systems' design data and access solid models in...

Sheet-metal stamping. (Software: mcad/cam).(ESI Group's Pam-Stamp 2G)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2003... ESI Group announced PAM-STAMP 2G, an integrated sheet-metal stamping simulation solution with capabilities from die design feasibility to process validation and optimization. PAM-DIEMAKER handles design and optimization of binder surface and...

Solids modeling. (Software: mcad/cam).(TekSoft's ProCAM II )(Brief Article)
February 1, 2003... ProCAM II from TekSoft with its automatic feature recognition and solids machining, now offers new capabilities for handling solid models. You can create and manipulate solid geometry in ProCAM II. New methods of slice roughing include offset,...

SmartPlant 3D preview. (report).(Intergraph's SmartPlant 3D software)
February 1, 2003... Changing the Future of Engineering was the theme of the January 13 industry press and analyst event put on by Intergraph's PPO (Process, Power & Offshore) division (www.intergraph. com/ppo). Intergraph is eager to make a fresh start after...

Calendar.(Calendar)
February 1, 2003... Solid Edge Global Summit February 19-21, 2003 Orlando, FL www.solid-edge.com/summit Pacific Design and Manufacturing February 19-21, 2003 Anaheim, CA www.pacdesignshow.com GITA March 2-5, 2003 San Antonio, TX...

PDM software. (Software: mcad/cae).(SolidWorks' PDMWorks)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2003... SolidWorks Corp. introduced PDMWorks ($995), which supports engineering workgroups, and SMARTEAM ($1,000), which supports broad data management needs throughout an enterprise. PDMWorks allows team members to search for, revise, and vault (store...

Simulation software. (Software: mcad/cae).(Integrated Engineering Software's Electro, Magneto, and Oersted 6.0 simulation software )(Brief Article)
February 1, 2003... The Electro, Magneto, and Oersted 6.0 simulation software from Integrated Engineering Software are 2D rotationally symmetric field solvers that simulate electric, magnetic, and time-harmonic fields in high-voltage insulators, MEMS, electric...

Machinery maker turns to CAE for custom job. (on the job).(MSC.visualNastran 4D)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2003... McElroy Manufacturing in Tulsa, Oklahoma (www.mcelroy mfg.com), specializes in the design and manufacture of pipe fusion machines. The machines, which range in size from handheld models to truck-size, self-propelled models, join lengths of...

AGP 8X graphics cards: bigger pipeline speeds CAD performance. (cadalyst labs feature review).(includes related review on Matrox's Parhelia128)(Buyers Guide)
February 1, 2003... Though our roundup of current graphics cards features some very strong contenders, no across-the-board leader emerged. What our tests did show quite clearly are the individual strengths and weaknesses of the various cards. Overall, we found...

Wildcat4 7110.(3Dlabs)(Hardware Review)(Brief Article)(Product/Service Evaluation)
February 1, 2003... WILDCAT4 7110 3Dlabs 4 stars out of 5 The 3Dlabs Wildcat4 7110 is a full-length, double-width AGP 8X graphics card that not all systems can accommodate. An empty PCI slot adjacent to the AGP slot is required to handle the width of the...

Wildcat VP970.(3Dlabs)(Hardware Review)(Brief Article)(Product/Service Evaluation)
February 1, 2003... WILDCAT VP970 3Dlabs 4.5 stars out of 5 The Wildcat VP970 is the newest and most capable of a family of four midrange graphics cards from 3Dlabs. Other members of this family vary in price and performance characteristics. They include...

Fire GL Z1.(ATI Technologies' graphics card)(Hardware Review)(Brief Article)(Product/Service Evaluation)
February 1, 2003... FIRE GL Z1 ATI TECHNOLOGIES 4.5 stars out of 5 At an estimated street price of $559 (suggested retail price $595), this particular model in the ATI Technologies' Fire GL series, the Z1, is moderately priced, even though it is a...

PNY Quadro4 980XGL.(from Nvidia)(Hardware Review)(Product/Service Evaluation)
February 1, 2003... PNY QUADRO4 980XGL PNY Technologies, Inc. 5 stars out of 5 Nvidia's current top-of-the-line graphics card powered its way to great performance scores in this round of benchmark testing, falling slightly off the top place in only the...

Pro/E wildfire: intuitive, scalable: parametric pioneer adopts Windows-style interface. (cadalyst labs review).(PTC, or Parametric Technology Corp.)(Software Review)(Product/Service Evaluation)
February 1, 2003... Pro/ENGINEER Wildfire, the latest mechanical CAD offering from PTC, represents the twenty-fourth major release of the software that shook the CAD world in the late 1980s. PTC, then known as Parametric Technology Corp., was the first vendor to...

Xi 4306/4160 MTower SP: 3.06GHz Pentium 4 workstation. (First look reviews: brief hands-on product reviews).(Xi Computer)(Hardware Review)(Product/Service Evaluation)
February 1, 2003... This is the first 3.06GHz Pentium 4 system to come through Cadalyst Labs for testing, and it did not fail to impress. The new Xi Neon case is lightweight and stylish. From the illuminated vertical Lucite bars at the front edges of the minitower...

SURFCAM Solids 2.1: solid modeling software. (First look reviews: brief hands-on product reviews).(Product/Service Evaluation)
February 1, 2003... Surfware's solid modeling software, SURFCAM Solids 2.1, lets you combine multiple construction steps into a single operation, unlike other CAD programs that create models in a step-by-step approach. All aspects of the procedure, including...

QuadriSpace Presenter 2.3: interactive 3D presentations. (First look reviews: brief hands-on product reviews).(Software Review)(Product/Service Evaluation)
February 1, 2003... The Quadrispace developers describe this software very well when they say that QuadriSpace Presenter 2.3 is the glue that brings multiple file types together as one interactive 3D presentation. Though PowerPoint has become a standard for...

Web-based services for MCAD: Internet makes training, file translation, and prototying more accessible. (I-collaboration: tools and technologies for collaborative design).(Directory)
February 1, 2003... The Internet allows companies to deliver some traditional products in more efficient ways. This month I look at three service-related products that are delivered quite well over the Web. The underlying theme is that by using the Internet,...

Manage the review process: annual performance reviews can be an effective CAD management tool. (CAD manager: CAD management strategies).
February 1, 2003... We often receive queries from CAD managers, especially young people or those new to the CAD manager role, about how they can learn about the people-management parts of their job. Internet newsgroups and forums feature a stream of complaints and...

Package a data file in VLISP: compile data in text files along with your Visual LISP applications. (Lessons in programming: how to customize AutoCAD).
February 1, 2003... AutoCAD's Visual LISP feature offers the ability to return the text stored in a TXT file when packaged in a VLX application. A VLX file is compiled set of one or more AutoLISP and DCL (dialog control language) files that you can create using...

Whole lotta holes: VBA routine automatically produces standard holes in Mechanical Desktop. (From the trenches: practical solutions to real-world problems).
February 1, 2003... This program is designed to automatically generate Mechanical Desktop holes that conform to our divisional through-hole standards. It eliminated the need to fill in the values in Mechanical Desktop's regular Amhole dialog box each time we need...

Purge block attributes: learn how to use AutoLISP to make changes in multiple documents. (AutoLISP solutions: reader-requested AutoLISP routines).
February 1, 2003... Thom Beauchamp e-mailed a request to take a set of 10 or so drawings, each with 2,200 or more attributed blocks, and purge all of the attributes, leaving the graphics for the blocks intact. The AutoLISP Solution is purge-attribs.lsp and its...

Disappearing toolbar buttons: bonus routine duplicates a tablet's Numeric Pad. (AutoCAD clinic: autoCAD Helpline answers your support questions).
February 1, 2003... I'm trying to take my firm to AutoCAD 2002 from Release 14. Spoiled by using a digitizer, I customized a toolbar menu in AutoCAD Release 14 to duplicate tablet area number three, the Numeric Pad. Below is part of my menu.mnu file: **...

Tips from our readers. (hot tip harry).
February 1, 2003... $50 BONUS WINNER ZOOMING WITH ACCELERATOR KEYS Tip #1852 [accelerator-keys. txt] Reader Harry Pisila suggests using accelerator-key menu macros to make zooming quicker, especially for you touch-typists. Here are some of the ones...