CADalyst articles from January 2002

CADalyst archives from January 2002

Don't judge a magazine by a single issue.(Brief Article)(Product Announcement)
January 1, 2002... We received many letters from readers concerned about the thickness of our December issue. The comments ranged from helpful--one reader included a list of possible topics to write about--to sarcastic--another suggested we refer to the...

Dialog box : Thoughts from our readers.
January 1, 2002... talk to us TO EACH HIS OWN CAD layer standardization sounds like a contradiction in terms. Because there is so much freedom in how you can apply layering, it is difficult to establish one set to serve all needs. I use nonstandard...

Corrections.(Correction Notice)
January 1, 2002... Thanks to Kathy Bartley for pointing out that Tip #1744 (clear.lsp) published in our October issue deletes objects that are identical, but on different layers. The routine also deletes identical objects that are different colors.

Autodesk to develop own modeling kernel for Inventor.(Brief Article)
January 1, 2002... Autodesk announced plans to develop a dedicated 3D modeling kernel for Inventor and other products. Autodesk ShapeManager will be based on the ACIS 7.0 kernel developed by Spatial Corp., a subsidiary of Dassault Systemes. Autodesk will purchase...

XP ADOPTION MAY BE SLOW.(Brief Article)
January 1, 2002... Microsoft's Windows XP operating system, the successor to Windows 2000, is now on the market. Market research firm Dataquest, a unit of Gartner (www.gartner.com), predicts that business buyers will be slow to adopt the new operating system. In...

KODAK PLANS TO BUY ENCAD.(Brief Article)
January 1, 2002... Eastman Kodak Company will acquire ENCAD, Inc. (www.encad. com), a manufacturer of wide-format inkjet printers. Kodak will pay $25 million in Kodak stock or cash. ENCAD will become a Kodak subsidiary. The acquisition gives Kodak a full...

GIS MARKET NEARS $1 BILLION.(Brief Article)
January 1, 2002... Market research firm Daratech reports that GIS software revenue reached $939 million in 2000. State and local government purchases account for 20% of GIS revenue, followed by telecommunications companies and utilities. ESRI and Intergraph...

INTERGRAPH CONTINUES QUEST AGAINST INTEL.(Brief Article)
January 1, 2002... Intergraph filed suit against Intel for patent infringement relating to Intel's Itanium chip. An existing Intergraph lawsuit accuses Intel of patent infringement with its Pentium 4 chips. The patented technology for parallel instruction...

UGS, AUTODESK FORGE FACTORY ALLIANCE.(Brief Article)
January 1, 2002... Autodesk and UGS' e-Factory business line formed a strategic alliance focused on the "virtual factory initiative," which Autodesk's Architectural Desktop will serve as the platform for the UGS FactoryCAD factory design product. FactoryCAD will...

ACQUISITIONS.(Brief Article)
January 1, 2002... PTC (www.ptc.com) will sell its ICEM surfacing business to a management team. The deal is scheduled to be complete on January 31, 2002, and is contingent on certain conditions, including the ability of the management team to secure funding. ...

BUSINESS.(Brief Article)
January 1, 2002... Acer Communications and Multimedia (America) changed its name to Benq (www.benq.com) and will focus on communications and multimedia consumer products such as CRT and LCD monitors, scanners, projectors, storage, keyboards, digital cameras, and...

ALLIANCES.
January 1, 2002... ANSYS, Inc., formed a strategic OEM partnership with SAS LLC, a provider of NASTRAN simulation software and services, to jointly develop a new NASTRAN computer-aided engineering solution. Through a strategic alliance, CoCreate Software will...

PRODUCTS.(Brief Article)(Product Announcement)
January 1, 2002... Arc Second's PocketCAD PRO now supports the Bentley MicroStation V8 DGN file format. AMD introduced its Athlon MP processor 19001, along with the AMD-760 MPX chipset, for workstations and servers.

Hardware : Color inkjet printers.(Brief Article)(Product Announcement)
January 1, 2002... The HP Designjet 1050c Plus ($8,995) and HP Designjet 1055cm Plus ($11,995) large-format printers from Hewlett-Packard offer increased paper-handling options and speed. Designjet Plus units feature a Jetdirect 610n network card, 10 print heads,...

Hardware : PCI rendering board.(Brief Article)(Product Announcement)
January 1, 2002... Advanced Rendering Technology unveiled PURE ($3,699), a PCI 3D rendering board for graphics workstations that includes software and PCI card hardware based on the company's proprietary ray-traced rendering 3D graphics chips. According to the...

Hardware : Pocket PC.(Brief Article)(Product Announcement)
January 1, 2002... Compaq Computer Corp. introduced five new models to its iPAQ Pocket PC line that features Pocket PC 2002 from Microsoft: the H3760 and H3765 ($499), H3850 and H3835 ($599), and H3870 ($649). The H3700 Series offers iPAQ File Store, iPAQ Task...

Hardware : LCD monitor.(Brief Article)(Product Announcement)
January 1, 2002... Wacom's Cintiq ($1,899) combines an LCD monitor with the control of a tablet. The system features a cordless and batteryless pen with 512 levels of pressure sensitivity, a DuoSwitch, and pressure-sensitive eraser. You use the pen directly on...

Hardware : 190 short-neck display.(Product Announcement)
January 1, 2002... Samsung introduced the new 190 SyncMaster 957FS ($499) short-neck flat-screen CRT monitor that delivers a 0.20mm horizontal dot pitch and 1,92031,440 maximum resolution at 64Hz and 1,28031,024 optimum resolution at 85Hz. Its MouScreen and...

Internet/General : CONTENT EXCHANGE.(Brief Article)(Product Announcement)
January 1, 2002... DocQuest v5 (starts at $175,000) is a technical content exchange and collaboration system from DigitalPaper Corp. that lets you securely exchange and collaborate on engineering drawings, specifications, blueprints, and more via the Web....

Internet/General : Drawing file security.(Brief Article)(Product Announcement)
January 1, 2002... CADLock 3.32 ($400-$1,600) drawing file security software from CADLock, Inc., lets you freely publish AutoCAD Releases 13-2002 and AutoCAD LT 97-2002 drawings while maintaining control over the files. CADLock 3.32 transparently encrypts data...

Internet/General : Plant design/management.(Rebis AutoPLANT Plant Design and Structural Workgroups 2.01)(Brief Article)(Product Announcement)
January 1, 2002... Rebis released AutoPLANT Plant Design and Structural Workgroups v2.01 (contact company for pricing) with support for AutoCAD 2002. The software lets you import and export STAAD files. It also includes AutoPLANT Explorer/Explorer ID and improved...

Internet/General : File viewing.(Samsung SDS America WiseVIEW 4.0)(Brief Article)(Product Announcement)
January 1, 2002... Samsung SDS America (SDSA), a subsidiary of Samsung SDS, launched WiseVIEW 4 ($400 per license standard version, $4,500 per license CATIA version) file viewing software that lets you display and print multiple file formats without the...

Internet/General : 2D drafting.(IntelliCAD Technology Consortium IntelliCAD 2001)(Brief Article)(Product Announcement)
January 1, 2002... IntelliCAD Technology Consortium introduced IntelliCAD 2001 ($249), which provides DWG file compatibility and support for AutoCAD commands, menu files, script files, text styles, hatch patterns, symbol libraries, AutoLISP and ADS programs, and...

Internet/General : Hatch pattern library.(Brief Article)(Product Announcement)
January 1, 2002... CompugraphX's 100 Plus Hatch Pattern Library v7 ($99) now contains 320 hatch patterns appended to AutoCAD's 69 patterns for architectural, geological, and other use. They are separate PAT files for use with the custom hatch pattern option. The...

mechanical : Document Management.(Cyco Software AutoManager TeamWork 2002)(Brief Article)(Product Announcement)
January 1, 2002... AutoManager TeamWork 2002 ($725) EDM (engineering document management) software from Cyco Software supports mechanical engineering workgroups (5-15 users) transitioning from 2D to 3D. It integrates with AutoCAD, Mechanical Desktop, Inventor,...

mechanical : MCAD design solution.(Product Announcement)
January 1, 2002... The Alibre Experience (free) from Alibre lets you explore Alibre Design, an interactive mechanical design and data-sharing platform. Alibre Experience includes a live Web-based introduction to Alibre Design, consultation with Alibre engineers...

mechanical : Enterprise solution.(Brief Article)(Product Announcement)
January 1, 2002... EDS' Enterprise Quality Solution (call for pricing) consists of Vis VSA for dimensional analysis, Vis Publish for 3D digital publishing, and Vis Quality for high-end visualization of measurement inspection data. Vis VSA lets you analyze and...

On the job : Ashlar Vellum finds sweet success for Starbucks.
January 1, 2002... The David Ryan Design Office of Seattle, Washington, recently used Ashlar's Vellum Solids (www.ashlar-vellum.com) to speed the development of a new line of chocolate bars for Starbucks, the purveyor of coffee and coffee-related products. Ryan...

mechanical/aec/internet : 3D object modeler.(Brief Article)(Product Announcement)
January 1, 2002... Abvent's ZOOM GDL ($495) 3D object modeler for ArchiCAD applications on the Macintosh and PC offers extrusion, piping, and curved surface design tools. The cross-platform solid modeler features an interface similar to ArchiCAD, automatic and...

mechanical/aec/internet : 2D and 3D drafting tool.(Brief Article)(Product Announcement)
January 1, 2002... Ashlar-Vellum's Graphite ($995) drafting tool for 2D and 3D professional drafting is the latest release in its Designer Elements line. Graphite features a new navigator palette that lets you click through multiple sheets or layers, with popup...

mechanical/aec/internet : Collaboration tool.(SolidWorks eDrawings Professional)(Brief Article)(Product Announcement)
January 1, 2002... SolidWorks unveiled eDrawings Professional (starts at $995, Viewer is free), collaboration software. Anyone who receives an eDrawing published with eDrawing Professional via e-mail can review, mark up, and measure using the embedded markup pen...

Solidworks Press And Analyst Event.
January 1, 2002... SolidWorks invited press and analysts to its Concord, Massachusetts, headquarters in early November to present a corporate update, preview SolidWorks 2001 Plus--the tenth release of its flagship MCAD application--and review other applications...

aec/cae : Building systems.(Autodesk's Building Mechanical, Autodesk Building Electrical)(Brief Article)(Product Announcement)
January 1, 2002... Autodesk's Building Mechanical ($1,995) and Autodesk Building Electrical ($995) building systems software are available for use with Autodesk Architectural Desktop 3.3. Both let you create 2D and 3D designs, check for system interferences,...

aec/cae : Fluid-analysis.(Brief Article)(Product Announcement)
January 1, 2002... NIKA unveiled two new modules in its FloWorks family: FloWorks Basic ($3,995) and FloWorks PE ($9,995). FloWorks Basic is wizard-driven and offers fluid flow analysis capabilities such as internal and external flow, incompressible and...

aec/cae : HVAC engineering.(Brief Article)(Product Announcement)
January 1, 2002... HVAC Solution's HVAC Solution ($499-$1,499) is a Windows-based HVAC system design tool that performs engineering calculations associated with air and water schematics using intelligent objects. It determines air handlers and mixed air...

aec/cae : Drag-and-drop HVAC.(Right-CommDraw from WrightSoft)(Brief Article)(Product Announcement)
January 1, 2002... Right-CommDraw v5.0.07 ($599) from Wrightsoft Corp. helps you draw a floor plan with a complete HVAC design. Drag and drop Wrightsoft's HVAC Shapes to sketch a floor plan complete with thermal characteristics. The software figures load...

Bentley Media day 2001.
January 1, 2002... Bentley Systems inaugurated the V8 generation at its Media Day 2001, in Exton, Pennsylvania. The company showcased MicroStation V8, the latest version of its flagship product, and announced new alliances with GEOPAK and MASTERSPEC. The V8...

Calendar.
January 1, 2002... daratechPLANT 2002 January 28-31 Conference focused on process and power industry information technology. The Wyndham Greenspoint Hotel Houston, TX 617.354.2339, x2000, www.daratech.com/plant2002/ daratechSUMMIT 2002 February 25-27...

Web solutions to view and share aec plans.(Buyers Guide)
January 1, 2002... While some dream of the paperless office, the reality is that architects, engineers, and contractors still rely heavily on hardcopy prints. Though the design process now incorporates computer technology that reduces the need to produce...

Wildcat II 5000 : Affordable 3D graphics power.(Hardware Review)(Evaluation)
January 1, 2002... It's no coincidence that the two fastest workstations in our last roundup review (December 2001, p. 26) included a Wildcat II 5110 graphics card from 3Dlabs. The 5110 is one of the top-performing 3D OpenGL cards on the market today. In...

AutoCAD LT 2002 : 2D drafting for less money.(Software Review)(Evaluation)
January 1, 2002... AutoCAD LT 2002 largely represents a scaled-down version of AutoCAD 2002. As in the past, this latest LT version provides no 3D or visualization functionality and tools such as CAD standards, network licensing, and quarterly extensions. It also...

FAB Professional : Sheet-metal design.(Software Review)(Evaluation)
January 1, 2002... If you use AutoCAD to create your sheet-metal fabrication drawings, you are well aware of AutoCAD's limitations. To overcome these shortcomings, Striker Systems offers FAB Professional, an AutoCAD add-on for sheet-metal fabrication. FAB...

ASPs for data exchange : Services translate CAD files online or on your workstation.
January 1, 2002... This month we take a closer look at a few data translation services available on the Internet through ASPs (application service providers). As was apparent from my exploration of the current state of the neutral data exchange formats IGES and...

Code with a view : Use AutoLISP to automate orthographic projections.(Tutorial)
January 1, 2002... Recently, I created some orthographic projections from several 3D models and found it very time consuming. This repetitive task lends itself to automation, and the resulting AutoLISP routine is a good example of how you can use basic AutoCAD...

Osnap shortcuts : AutoCAD LT macro help.(Tutorial)
January 1, 2002... In AutoCAD LT 2000, I want to display the object snap shortcut menu when I press [less than]F12[greater than] and also assign the small thumb button of my Intellimouse Explorer to execute [less than]F12[greater than]. In the ACCELERATORS...

Tips from our readers.(Tutorial)
January 1, 2002... $50 BONUS WINNER POLYLINE ELLIPSE Tip #1765 [PL_ELP.LSP] This routine uses the formula listed in the DXF Group Codes of the AutoCAD Customization Manual to create an ellipse using the Pline command. It prompts you for the center...

Visualization seven tools showcase your design.
January 1, 2002... Computers have certainly changed the way we work, play, and perceive the world around us. Perhaps one of their most valuable, and seemingly magical, functions is making ideas and concepts visible. With many of the visualization tools...

Art*LANTIS.(Software Review)(Evaluation)
January 1, 2002... Art*LANTIS Abvent Art*lantis Render 4 is a stand-alone rendering and animation application that offers a wealth of new features and improvements to existing features. Many CAD professionals produce high-quality renderings or animations...

Autodesk viz 4.(Software Review)(Evaluation)
January 1, 2002... Autodesk viz 4 AUTODESK A few years ago, 3D Studio VIZ diverged from 3D Studio MAX to specifically address the needs of architects and others who needed a flexible and capable visualization tool but not the animation and production...

LIGHTSCAPE 3.2.(Software Review)(Evaluation)
January 1, 2002... LIGHTSCAPE 3.2 AUTODESK Lightscape, acquired by Autodesk in late 1997, was the first widely available radiosity rendering tool. Radiosity accurately depicts color reflections to give digital images a more realistic quality than images...

PIRANESI 2 INFORMATIX.(Software Review)(Evaluation)
January 1, 2002... PIRANESI 2 INFORMATIX 144 (12) 2336 3014 www.informatix.co.uk Piranesi 2 is distinguished from the other applications discussed here in that it is a postrendering solution designed to be used after a given scene is modeled and rendered....

MERLIN 3D.(Software Review)(Evaluation)
January 1, 2002... MERLIN 3D DIGITIAL IMMERSION Merlin 3D is a modeling, animation, and rendering application that offers both speed and flexibility, even on older systems. You can view animatable deformations using modifiers such as twist, pull, relax,...

NUGRAF RENDERING SYSTEM.(Software Review)(Evaluation)
January 1, 2002... NUGRAF RENDERING SYSTEM OKINO Okino's PolyTrans software is well known to many in the CAD industry for its superb 3D file format conversion capabilities and for its visualization and data optimization tools that handle arbitrarily...

ACCURENDER 3.1.(Software Review)(Evaluation)
January 1, 2002... ACCURENDER 3.1 ROBERT MCNEEL & ASSOCIATES AccuRender differs from all the other applications evaluated here in that it runs inside AutoCAD, bringing sophisticated rendering and visualization capabilities to Autodesk's flagship product....

Autodesk Inventor adds support for AutoCAD files : New features improve sheet-metal, assembly, and sketching capabilities.(Tutorial)
January 1, 2002... Since its release little more than two years ago, Autodesk Inventor has rapidly added new features and capabilities. The latest version, Release 5, is billed as containing 200 new features. I was going to write only about my favorite ones, but...

I'll show you mine : AutoCAD offers an assortment of basic visualization tools.(Editorial)
January 1, 2002... Captain LearnCurve's depth gauge read 1079, yet the water was so clear he could see birds in the sky. His dives at Punta Perdiz on the Bahia de Cochinos, better known to Americans as the Bay of Pigs in Cuba, would go into the log book as two of...

Monitor projects via the web : Web-based cameras chart progress, provide security.
January 1, 2002... As investor euphoria over the Internet's seemingly limitless potential wanes, some Web-based technologies still shine. One such technology is the Webcam, a remotely located camera that takes pictures you view over the Internet. In the AEC...