CADalyst articles from March 2003

CADalyst archives from March 2003

Tips from our readers. (hot tip harry).
March 1, 2003... $50 BONUS WINNER Matching Views Tip #1858 [MATCH1.LSP] Here's a routine to make better use of multiple screens. Reader Donald Wells does plumbing design and is constantly switching from floor to floor to line things up or for copying....

Block text blues: two cases where blocks just won't behave. (AutoCAD clinic: AutoCAD helpline answers your support questions).
March 1, 2003... I use AutoCAD 2002 for electrical engineering and power distribution design. The IG (isolated ground receptacle) block causes endless frustration. It's a simple block with a G inside a circle and two short legs under the G. Attaching the leg...

Programmer's Web toolbox: shareware may solve your programming problem. (Lessons in programming: how to customize AutoCAD).
March 1, 2003... Many AutoLISP and VBA (Visual BASIC for Applications) programmers face the daily challenge of creating routines and programs that automate their AutoCAD projects. Often the routine or solution to your programming task may already exist...

An edit off the old block: edit blocks and xrefs in place with AutoCAD's Refedit command. (Learning curve: strengthen your knowledge of AutoCAD commands).(Column)
March 1, 2003... Captain LearnCurve and his gorgeous wife had just returned from their Grand Tour. Leaving Vancouver, B.C., on September 26, they reached Boston on October 8, Key West on October 30, and returned home by November 20. They drove slightly more...

Applying finite-element analysis: insights from FEA software developers. (Modeling: 3D solid modeling fundamentals).
March 1, 2003... FEA (finite-element analysis) is easier to use than ever before as it becomes more closely integrated with the 3D modeling system. Designers, not just engineering analysts, can now use FEA. We'll discuss this and other issues such as...

Lifecycle FM solutions: CAD integrates with facilities management. (AEC tools: master the architect's desktop).(Facilities management tools)(Buyers Guide)
March 1, 2003... The purpose of FM (facilities management) is to maintain control over all facets of a building complex once it's designed and built. This includes, but is not limited to, space planning, lease management, personnel location and relocation,...

Contex Crystal Tx 400: wide-format color scanner. (First look reviews: brief hands-on product reviews).
March 1, 2003... The Contex Crystal Tx 400 wide-format scanner impresses with features that not only enable excellent scanning results, but also make it easy to use. Support for FireWire enables the Crystal Tx to act as a true plug-and-play device. This,...

Essential Textures: easy-to-use materials and effects. (First look reviews: brief hands-on product reviews).
March 1, 2003... Some purists like to create everything from scratch, including texture maps. There's nothing wrong with this, if you have the time and skill. If you're like me, though, you have deadlines to meet, and there aren't enough hours in the day to get...

Particle Studio: particle-generation system for 3ds max. (First look reviews: brief hands-on product reviews).
March 1, 2003... If you know particle-generation systems, you know that you can create a wide variety of effects with them. If you've used 3ds max's built-in particle-generation system, you know its limitations: cumbersome tools, limited number of particle...

Revit 5: Autodesk's answer for AEC: new release beefs up support for large projects, DWG files. (cadalyst labs review).
March 1, 2003... Revit Release 5, now an Autodesk product, continues along the remarkably rapid growth and improvement path established by previous releases. Revit has become a mature and functional product aimed at a full range of architectural design and...

8 great CAD workstations: today's systems combine style with quality. (Cadalyst labs feature review).(Buyers Guide)
March 1, 2003... The quest of CAD/CAM software users for ever-greater computing power tends to make us more conservative in our computer choices, both in selection of design and in sticking to proven technologies. After all, speed makes a real and tangible...

Xi 4306 MTower SP.(Brief Article)
March 1, 2003... Xi 4306 MTower SP @Xi Computer Corp. 800.432.0486 www.xicomputer.com 5 stars out of 5 @Xi Computer has once again posted the fastest figures on the Cadalyst C2001 Benchmark in a somewhat heated competition for fastest system in...

3D BOXX H2. (Cadalyst labs feature review).(Brief Article)
March 1, 2003... 3D BOXX H2 BOXX Technologies 877.877.2699 www.boxxtech.com 4.5 stars out of 5 New to reviews in Cadalyst, BOXX Technologies sent its H2, a very quiet system housed in a lightweight, attractive silver and black case. The BOXX logo...

HP Workstation xw5000. (Cadalyst labs feature review).(Brief Article)
March 1, 2003... HP Workstation xw5000 Hewlett-Packard 800.888.9909 www.hp.com 4.5 stars out of 5 Housed in a wide, deep, but extremely stylish case, the HP Workstation xw5000 is one of the quietest of all the systems we tested in this roundup. The...

M Pro 6219-46U. (Cadalyst labs feature review).(IBM)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2003... M Pro 6219-46U IBM Corp. 800.772.2227 www.ibm.com/intellistation 4 stars out of 5 The 3.06GHz Pentium 4-based IBM M Pro 6219-46U is housed in a compact and stylish case. This is a sleek design, smaller than previous cases in the...

Poly 880NF2-2700XGL (AMD). (Cadalyst labs feature review).(Brief Article)
March 1, 2003... Poly 880NF2-2700XGL (AMD) Polywell Computers 800.999.1278 www.polywell.com 5 stars out of 5 Housed in an extremely compact and lightweight aluminum and Lucite case with a clear window on the removable side panel, the Poly...

Poly 7205G1-3000XGL (Intel). (Cadalyst labs feature review).(Brief Article)
March 1, 2003... Poly 7205G1-3000XGL (Intel) Polywell Computers 800.999.1278 www.polywell.com 4 stars out of 5 It's difficult for one company to compete against itself, especially when the other system it submits is a great-performing bargain....

SYS PowerHouse 3066. (Cadalyst labs feature review).(from SYS Technology)(Hardware Review)(Brief Article)(Product/Service Evaluation)
March 1, 2003... SYS PowerHouse 3066 SYS Technology 800.613.9963 www.sys.com 5 stars out of 5 Based on our previous experiences benchmarking and evaluating computers from SYS Technology, we've come to expect high-performance systems with many...

Tri-Star. (Cadalyst labs feature review).(from Tri CAD/CAM Systems)(Hardware Review)(Brief Article)(Product/Service Evaluation)
March 1, 2003... Tri-Star Tri CAD/CAM Systems 800.800.1714 www.tricadcam.com 4.5 stars out of 5 The Tri-Star computer from Tri CAD/CAM Systems is housed in an elegant, simple case with a swing-away door that covers the drive bays. A total of ten...

Winning mechanical designs. (Caddies image awards).
March 1, 2003... PROFESSIONAL STILL--INDUSTRIAL 1st PLACE David Maloney of Mero Structures in Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin, completed this visualization to demonstrate feasibility of the design in a pre-engineering stage and to help market the product....

210 display. (hardware).(Samsung SyncMaster 1100DF)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2003... Samsung expanded its line of DynaFlat flat-screen CRT displays with the SyncMaster 1100DF ($689), a 210 monitor that incorporates HighLightZone and HighLightZone II brightness controls and MouScreen software. HighLightZone lets you select a...

Wide-format scanners. (hardware).(from Oce-USA)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2003... Oce-USA added four wide-format scanners to its line of products. Able to scan originals up to 0.60 thick and 360 wide, at resolutions up to 800dpi, all four models can scan to file, scan to archive, and scan to print. The CS4030 ($11,780) and...

RP material. (hardware).(Roland DGA's Poly Board rapid prototyping material)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2003... Roland DGA Corp. announced its light-density SRP (subtractive rapid prototyping) Poly Board ($130 for six 40 3 60 3 20 blocks). Made of cell-structured polyurethane, the board is suited for milling high-precision finished prototypes using...

Graphics accelerator. (hardware).(3DLab's Wildcat VP560)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2003... 3Dlabs introduced the Wildcat VP560 ($249) programmable professional graphics accelerator, which supports dual screens. The VP560 uses scalable visual processing architecture for CAD, digital content creation, desktop publishing, and Web...

Sealed input devices. (hardware).(ITAC Systems MOUSE-TRAK )(Brief Article)
March 1, 2003... ITAC Systems announced the MOUSE-TRAK panel-mount, sealed-dome industrial series of products ($250) compatible with PS/2, Sun, and USB interfaces. These devices use a deformable dome mounted over a miniature motion encoder mechanism to capture...

Generate basic forms. (Software: aec/general).(with Tekstars TekCAD 2.0)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2003... With TekCAD 2 (four versions, from free to $900) from Tekstar, you can use generated forms to represent any components, from basic beams, columns, walls, and roofs to advanced structures such as curtain walls, space frames, and domes. Surfacing...

Furniture generator. (Software: aec/general).(Brief Article)
March 1, 2003... AFV Software and Cadopolis.com teamed up to offer 1-2-3D Office, a 3D office partition and furniture generator that makes render-ready 3D models in DWG format. With 15 types of glazed and solid panel designs, 1-2-3D Office lets you enter the...

Building systems. (Software: aec/general).(Building Systems 3.0 )(Brief Article)
March 1, 2003... Autodesk announced Building Systems 3 software for design of mechanical, electrical, and plumbing systems. It incorporates Autodesk Architectural Desktop 3.3 technology to work as a stand-alone product. A number of features improve accuracy and...

Real-time CAD. (software: aec/general).(Real Time CAD)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2003... OfficeCAD announced Real Time CAD, a new feature of OfficeCAD ($1,495 per workstation; $9,950 for Web server) that provides development and hosting of automated design and CAD drawing creation. With Real Time CAD, you can generate custom...

LISP programming. (Software: aec/general).(Argon 5.0)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2003... 3rd Day Software announced five new versions of its SharpLisp (pricing varies depending on version) LISP programming tool. SharpLisp compiles stand-alone executables, AutoCAD ARX files, OMF (Object Modeling Framework) for Architectural Desktop,...

3D models. (Software: aec/general).(Brief Article)
March 1, 2003... Dosch Design USA added to its line of design products. 3D: Furniture consists of 140 textured 3D models of furniture objects for interior scenes, architecture, product design, and technical illustrations. 3D: Character Elements comprises 110...

Solid/surface modeling. (Software: mcad/cam).(Argon 5.0)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2003... Ashlar-Vellum announced an upgrade to Neon v5 (3D publishing), Argon v5 (advanced 3D), Xenon v5 (advanced associative 3D), and Cobalt v5 (feature-based parametric modeling). Contact company for pricing. Cobalt v5 is a solid/surface hybrid...

4-Axis machining software. (Software: mcad/cam).(VisualMill 4.0)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2003... MecSoft Corp. released VisualMill v4 ($2,000), which offers 4-axis continuous machining, plunge roughing/re-roughing, high-speed machining, optimized horizontal finishing, and improved speed. The software features between-two-curves finishing,...

Translation application. (Software: mcad/cam).(TransMagic 3.0)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2003... TransMagic launched Release 3 of its translation application, TransMagic ($2,990). This release features new support for Unigraphics and expanded support for current versions of Pro/ ENGINEER. This complements existing CAD translation, viewing,...

Calendar.(Brief Article)(Calendar)
March 1, 2003... GITA March 2-5, 2003 San Antonio, TX www.gita.org NDES March 3-6, 2003 Chicago, IL www.manufacturingweek.com WESTEC March 24-27, 2003 Los Angeles, CA www.sme.org/westec 2003 PLM World April 28-May 2, 2003...

Solids modeling plug-in. (Software: mcad/cam).(Power Solids 1.4)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2003... nPower Software announced v1.4 of Power Solids ($495; existing customers can upgrade for free), a plug-in for 3ds max that adds creation and editing tools for both surfaces and open shells. Power Solids 1.2 can help you merge and sew surfaces...

Simultaion software. (Software: mcad/cam).
March 1, 2003... ANSYS Inc. announced ANSYS 7, featuring FEMXplorer (call company for pricing), the first ANSYS product created with Series Xpansion variational design technology. When combined with ANSYS simulation software, ANSYS FEMXplorer helps you make...

Autolisp software. (Software: general).(Brief Article)
March 1, 2003... Autodraw released a collection of AutoLISP routines ($3.99) for AutoCAD users. The software lets you use a single command to set up 3D drawings with multiple views and user coordinate systems. You can add distances of multiple lines on screen,...

Publishing drawings. (Software: general).(Cad Publisher 1.9.024)
March 1, 2003... Gasworks Graphics Technology introduced Cad Publisher 1.9.024 (call for pricing) DXF file processing software. Cad Publisher provides rendering, scaling, ordering, layering, and font controls to produce output files from CAD DXF files as...

Development tool kit. (Software: general).(Rowse Co. ships SiteMenu Release 5 )
March 1, 2003... Rowse Company released SiteMenu Release 5 ($250 individual license; $25/user enterprise license), an interface development toolkit used to deploy CAD standards and design automation in MicroStation and AutoCAD. SiteMenu offers customizable menu...

SolidWorks World 2003: community, information, inspiration. (report).
March 1, 2003... SolidWorks World 2003 in Orlando, Florida, was a meeting of 1,600 customers, resellers, and industry-watchers. Or you could say it was a gathering of friends, community, or family, as the SolidWorks team often used those three words to describe...

Easy document access keeps ships in shape. (on the job).
March 1, 2003... The crews of U.S. Navy ships need access to engineering drawings and documents no matter where they are in the world. They rely on the MSC's (Military Sealift Command) Engineering Technical Library to provide drawings and data necessary for...

Dialog box: readers talk to us.(Letter to the Editor)
March 1, 2003... How to help How can Cadalyst assist us? As an owner of a 40-person civil engineering firm, I am not interested in the nuts and bolts of AutoCAD. What I and my partners need is information that helps us direct our technicians in doing what...

Corrections.(Brief Article)(Correction Notice)
March 1, 2003... Elise Bauman is the author of Hot Tip Harry Tip #1847, loud.lsp (January 2003, p. 58). The price of the Hitachi CML174 170 LCD display described in February 2003's Product Showcase (p. 12) is $549. The annual maintenance fee for PTC...

Show off, show on. (Editor's window: opinions, comments, and predictions).
March 1, 2003... Congratulations to the winners of the Mechanical Caddies competition! Have you created an image this year that compares favorably to these beauties (p. 18)? Get some mileage out of it. The deadline for the next Mechanical Caddies is nine months...