CADalyst articles from May 2001

CADalyst archives from May 2001

BACKUP UTILITIES : Traditional and online solutions offer plenty of ways to back up your data.(evaluation of four backup software products)(Software Review)(Evaluation)
May 1, 2001... Keeping a copy of your computer's data in a safe and secure place seems like a reasonable precaution--yet it's amazing how few people make regular backups and how few new systems are equipped to back up at all. I suppose doing backup is much...

Backup NOW! Newtech Infosystems.(Software Review)(Evaluation)
May 1, 2001... Backup NOW! Newtech Infosystems www.ntius.com 4 stars out of 5 Newtech Infosystems' Backup NOW! Software differs from the three other backup solutions reviewed here in that it specifically backs up to either writable or...

NovaBackup : NovaStor Corp.(Software Review)(Evaluation)
May 1, 2001... NovaBackup NovaStor Corp. www.novastor.com 4.5 stars out of 5 NovaStor Corp. offers a broad range of backup solutions for a variety of operating systems and purposes, including NovaNet-Web, which is designed for backing up data...

UltraBac Software.(Software Review)(Evaluation)
May 1, 2001... UltraBac UltraBac Software www.ultrabac.com 5 stars out of 5 UltraBac Software produces a wide array of backup and disaster recovery software in its UltraBac line. For this particular roundup, we tested using the Enterprise...

Veritas Backup Exec 8.5 : VERITAS Software.(Software Review)(Evaluation)
May 1, 2001... Veritas Backup Exec 8.5 VERITAS Software www.veritas.com/us/ 5 stars out of 5 Veritas Backup Exec is something of the Rolls Royce of backup software. It offers an extremely broad range of options. You can use it for the...

Back up online : Backup solutions are flourishing on the Internet.(Company Business and Marketing)
May 1, 2001... Backup solutions on the Internet fall into two main categories--simple online storage and traditional backup. I looked at two of each of these categories to get some sense of what's available today. Online backup BlueEye Technologies...

Hitachi CM823F : 210 flat-screen monitor.(Hardware Review)(Evaluation)
May 1, 2001... The Hitachi CM823F is a 210 (200 viewable area) monitor based on Hitachi's ErgoFlat technology. It's touted to be 10% brighter with better convergence than competing flat-screen aperture-grille displays. At the heart of the CM823F is an Invar...

CADLock SE v3.3 : Drawing security management.(Software Review)(Evaluation)
May 1, 2001... An incredible amount of time, energy, and (often proprietary) information goes into an AutoCAD drawing, yet there are times when a drawing must leave the premises. Given that, how do you safeguard your firm's drawings? CADLock SE combines...

Business Inkjet 2250tn : A-size color printer.(Hardware Review)(Evaluation)
May 1, 2001... Hewlett-Packard makes a variety of printers that span a gamut of performance and price. The HP Business Inkjet 2250tn is a high-performance A-size color printer that should be of special interest to CAD users. A replacement for the 2000C...

HARDWARE : 850MHz notebook.(Product Announcement)
May 1, 2001... Compaq Computer Corporation announced the Compaq Presario 1800 (pricing starts at $2,299) and 1700 (pricing starts at $1,949) series of Internet notebook PCs. The notebooks feature a Pentium III 800MHz or 850MHz processor, 5,400RPM hard drive...

HARDWARE : Triple-input monitor.(AG Neovo S-174)(Brief Article)(Product Announcement)
May 1, 2001... The S-174 (call for pricing) SXGA 17.40 flat-panel LCD monitor from AG Neovo supports triple-input interfaces of analog, digital, and video for a variety of applications and connections. The S-174 features an antireflective, scratch-proof...

HARDWARE : Data storage.(Procom Technology's DF 300-90, DF 300-120)(Brief Article)(Product Announcement)
May 1, 2001... Procom Technology, Inc., introduced the DF 300-90 ($5,795) and DF 300-120 ($6,999) midrange DataFORCE DVD and CD-ROM storage appliances. The storage devices cache up to 90GB and 120GB of data, respectively. Procom's CD-ROM acceleration...

HARDWARE : Internet scanner.(UMAX Technologies AstraNET iA101 Internet-ready scanner)(Brief Article)(Product Announcement)
May 1, 2001... UMAX Technologies released the AstraNET iA101 Internet-ready scanner ($129). Buttons on the scanner let you e-mail an image and send scanned images to a Web site, a Windows document, and a printer for copying. Once you press a button, the UMAX...

HARDWARE : 3D printer.(Z Corp's Z402C 3D Color Printer)(Product Announcement)
May 1, 2001... The Z402C 3D Color Printer ($67,500) from Z Corporation creates 3D physical models from native CAD formats. The Z402C system prints parts in 24-bit RGB color one layer at a time with a four-color print head. The Z402C comes with a software...

CAM & VISUALIZATION SOFTWARE : Toolmaking software.(Cimatron's QuickConcept)(Brief Article)(Product Announcement)
May 1, 2001... QuickConcept from Cimatron is a stand-alone Web-enabled application for math data analysis and preliminary tool design. QuickConcept works with any CAD/CAM system and includes native Cimatron files and IGES input and output. Features include...

CAM & VISUALIZATION SOFTWARE : Design rendering.(Eagle Point Software's ColorFast)(Brief Article)(Product Announcement)
May 1, 2001... Eagle Point Software announced ColorFast ($495) software to render CAD designs. ColorFast lets you apply multiple color, border, shading, and display order options to your DWG and DXF designs. ColorFast also orders visibility by layer, color...

CAM & VISUALIZATION SOFTWARE : Design management.(Brief Article)(Product Announcement)
May 1, 2001... Router Solutions Inc. announced CAMCAD Professional System 4 (call for pricing). You can connect CAMCAD 4 to Manufacturing Database REALPART to store manufacturing information for assemblies, DFT and DFM component outlines, and design rules in...

CAM & VISUALIZATION SOFTWARE : Visualization tool.(Product Announcement)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2001... QuarkWrapture ($6,999) from Quark Inc. is a dynamic layout and visualization tool for packaging professionals. It generates 3D renderings of 2D package designs and fuses the graphic design to the CAD structure so you can view complete packaging...

CAM & VISUALIZATION SOFTWARE : CNC programming.(Brief Article)(Product Announcement)
May 1, 2001... BOBCAD 18 ($995) from BOBCAD-CAM is CAD/CAM/CNC programming software. Version 18 features multiple windows to let you work on more than one drawing at a time or view and draw a 3D part from different angles simultaneously. Additional features...

CAM & VISUALIZATION SOFTWARE : STL software.(Brief Article)(Product Announcement)
May 1, 2001... Materialise announced Magics 6.2 ($4,800 per seat) visualization and STL manipulation software. New features let you define coordinate systems and embed text on an STL file using TrueType fonts, store color information in STL files, and output...

GENERAL SOFTWARE : Image conversion.(Brief Article)(Product Announcement)
May 1, 2001... ProVec 3.5 ($2,500) from Abakos Digital Images is a stand-alone raster-to-vector conversion product that runs on Windows 95/98/NT/2000. ProVec 3.5 features raster editing, rubber-sheeting, multilayering, batch processing, and a preview mode....

GENERAL SOFTWARE : Plot tool.(Brief Article)(Product Announcement)
May 1, 2001... CAD fx, Inc., announced Plot Minder2 ($95), a tool to capture every plot for billing purposes and manage media usage costs. Plot Minder automatically captures information such as job number, drawing name, plot area, user name, date, time,...

GENERAL SOFTWARE : Document management.(Company Business and Marketing)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2001... Spicer Corp. announced Spicer Imagenation, ViewCafe, and Image a*X ActiveX controls as data access collaboration components in Axis Technologies' ViPeR (virtual print room) and Web-enabled PAS (project access system). ViPeR manages document...

GENERAL SOFTWARE : File management.(Brief Article)(Product Announcement)
May 1, 2001... RefManager (call for pricing) is Axiom's reference file management solution. RefManager can modify vector and raster reference file attachments in any group of design files. RefManager can change the filename, logical name, description,...

GENERAL SOFTWARE : Wire harness design.(Brief Article)(Product Announcement)
May 1, 2001... EMbassy v3 ($8,000) from Linius Technologies, Inc., helps you design and document wire harness and cable systems using a 3D model. New features include a write API that allows end-user customization and support for rectangular wire bundles and...

GENERAL SOFTWARE : Batch file purging.(Brief Article)(Product Announcement)
May 1, 2001... Purgem 2000 ($34.95 for single-user license) from Absolute Computer Solutions is a utility for AutoCAD Releases 12-2000 and AutoCAD LT to batch process the purging of AutoCAD drawings. Purgem 2000 purges all elements of a drawing or selected...

NDES 2001.(Hardware Review)(Software Review)(Evaluation)
May 1, 2001... National Manufacturing Week 2001, held March 5-8 at Chicago's McCormick Place, is actually four related shows housed in a single, albeit huge, structure. CADALYST focused on NDES, the National Design Show. Best of Show After reviewing...

DaratechSUMMIT 2001.(News Briefs)
May 1, 2001... Market research firm Daratech hosted daratechSUMMIT on February 26-28 in Boston. Daratech founder Charles Foundyller proclaimed this the best of times and the worst of times for "the industry formerly called CAD/CAM/CAE." The conference focus...

On the Job: Epson prints America.(Company Business and Marketing)
May 1, 2001... On May 25, 2000, photographer Stephen Wilkes and a team from California-based Epson America Inc. (www.epson.com) embarked from Birmingham, Alabama, on a journey across the country. The goal? To answer the question, "Who and what is America?"...

VISUALIZATION : Animation extensions.(Company Business and Marketing)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2001... coMOTION ($125, $350 for site license) from The Le Bihan Partnership is a set of animation extensions for AccuRender. Features of co-MOTION let you accelerate, twist, zoom, open doors, and move cars, people, and elevators. You can sequence...

VISUALIZATION : 3D lighting.(Product Announcement)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2001... Nemetschek North America announced VectorWorks SPOTLIGHT ($1,295) software that lets you create light plots, generate paperwork, and visualize design concepts in 3D. SPOTLIGHT features a library of more than 400 intelligent instruments and...

VISUALIZATION : Hand-held PC software.(Brief Article)(Product Announcement)
May 1, 2001... PocketCAD VIEWER ($139) from Arc Second Inc. is CAD software for hand-held computing devices. PocketCAD VIEWER lets you view, mark up, and redline design drawings in the field. You can upload PocketCAD VIEWER files to desktop programs in DXF...

MARK YOUR CALENDAR.(Calendar of Events)
May 1, 2001... COFES 2001 April 26-28 Scottsdale Plaza Resort Scottsdale, AZ 301.365.9085 www.cofes.org URISA Public Works 2001 May 6-8 Holiday Inn O'Hare Int'l Rosemont, IL 847.824.6300 www.urisa.org RAPID Prototyping &...

Intellimouse tricks.(Product Support)
May 1, 2001... I can't figure out how to make AutoCAD 2000i recognize the fourth and fifth buttons on my Microsoft Intellimouse Explorer. I want to set up one button to enable Endpoint and the other to enable Ortho. -- Brent Hoover via Internet ...

High-volume plotters handle big print jobs.(Product Information)
May 1, 2001... You finished that 150-drawing project just in time. Your client is at your heels to get the documents into permit, but first he wants his people to do a complete final check: "Send us the drawings and we'll get them back to you in three days....

Rotate AutoCAD's UCS.(Product Support)
May 1, 2001... Rowen Delaforce e-mailed a request to rotate the UCS (user coordinate system) by selecting an object even if that object is part of a block or xref. He wanted to include polyline segments and lines that may or may not be part of a block. The...

Meet the manager: HOK's corporate CAD director.(Company Business and Marketing)
May 1, 2001... I first met Mario Guttman about a decade ago, when both of us were finding our way in the architecture and engineering corner of the CAD world. We showed up at the same San Francisco AutoCAD user's group meetings and bumped into each other at...

Chief Architect 7 : An extensive list of new and improved features refines this residential design software.(Software Review)(Evaluation)
May 1, 2001... Since 1992, Chief Architect has gained a well-deserved solid reputation among residential designers and builders. With the release of Chief Architect 7, it has matured into a highly usable and sophisticated application. Chief Architect is aimed...

Dialog Box : Thoughts from our readers.(Letter to the Editor)
May 1, 2001... Drafters needed I desperately wish that Art Liddle was right in his April editorial (p. 8) where he says that "designers and engineers will create their own designs," but my experiences tell me otherwise. I draft and design daily with...

A design marvel.(Company Business and Marketing)
May 1, 2001... The Bose Wave Radio is the size of a standard clock radio, yet it produces concert-quality sound--a feat many considered impossible until the product was released in 1993. Steven Drake, lead mechanical engineer for Bose Corporation's Home Audio...

Can CAD vendors learn to share?(Industry Trend or Event)(Editorial)
May 1, 2001... Though the daratechSUMMIT 2001 conference took place in the icebox that is Boston in February, you'd have thought it was the Summer of Love as CAD CEO after CEO proclaimed support for openness--open APIs, open standards, open file formats....

Tips from our readers.(Letter to the Editor)
May 1, 2001... $50 BONUS WINNER Super Clip command Tip #1704 [SUPERCLIP.LSP], [SUPERCLIP.DCL], [CUT.BMP], and [PASTE.BMP] AutoCAD's Cutclip command works fine for a single block, but Superclip lets you quickly save and reuse ten different files or...

Autodesk launches MCAD collaboration site.(Product Information)
May 1, 2001... All your life you've been told to share. Give up the TV remote control on a Saturday afternoon? No way! Open your design notebook to share your thoughts on a new project? Maybe, but what if you need to share that design with hundreds of people...

3D Web toolkit.(VizStream WebKit from RealityWave)(Brief Article)(Product Announcement)
May 1, 2001... RealityWave Inc. announced its VizStream WebKit (pricing starts at $30 per month) Web site that lets you add interactive 3D content to your Web site. The VizStream WebKit includes a setup wizard that guides you through a step-by-step process to...

Project management.(Company Business and Marketing)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2001... Worksolv ($19.95 per month) and Timesolv ($9.95 per month) from Elite.com Inc. are Web-based project management applications that provide project team members, subcontractors, and clients with access to project plans via standard Web browsers...

Online construction site.(Company Business and Marketing)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2001... e-IDC.com from International Design and Construction Online is an Internet site for commercial, industrial, and residential construction. The Web site offers three networks: Trade Network (free), Design Commerce ($12.95 per month), and...

Digital printing service.(Company Business and Marketing)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2001... Pictopia announced its Web-based photo printing and digital image management service (call for pricing). Companies that require professional-quality photographic prints can upload their digital files to Pictopia via a Web browser, order prints...

Online CAM services.(Company Business and Marketing)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2001... Tools4CAM (prices start at $39 per use) from C-Solutions, Inc., is a CAM (computer-aided manufacturing) "try before you buy" Web site. The Web-based services optimize and verify toolpaths, cut machining time, and minimize unexpected errors....

Construction management.(Company Business and Marketing)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2001... Struxicon.com (call for pricing) is a B2B solution to streamline procurement and management of construction processes from design to closeout without a legacy application. Struxicon integrates project management, content services, and project,...

i-News.(Company Business and Marketing)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2001... Cadcentre Group (www.cadcentre.com) announced an alliance with Industria Solutions (www.industria.com) to combine Cadcentre's project, management, and engineering information management tools with Industria's B2B marketplace. This alliance...

Eagle Point founder seeks to buy company.(Company Business and Marketing)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2001... Eagle Point Software founder and director John Biver has put together an acquisition proposal to buy all outstanding Eagle Point shares for $6.40, a 75% premium over the average closing price for the 90-day period ended March 5, 2001. Former...

New company to develop IronCAD.(Alventive spins off IronCAD L.L.C.)(Product Information)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2001... Alventive (www.alventive.com) spun off an independent company, IronCAD LLC, to develop its IronCAD software business. IronCAD, now at v4, is a solid modeling application. Based in Atlanta, Georgia, IronCAD LLC (www.iron cad.com) is an...

AMD launches new processors.(Product Information)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2001... Systems featuring AMD's (www.amd.com) new 1.3- and 1.33GHz Athlon processors are now available from such vendors as Compaq and Hewlett-Packard. The 1.33GHz processor features a 266MHz front-side bus, and the 1.3GHz unit has a 200MHz front-side...

Bentley ships V8 beta.(MicroStation 8.0 from Bentley Systems)(Brief Article)(Product Announcement)
May 1, 2001... Bentley Systems released the first beta version of MicroStation V8. The software is free to all Bentley SELECT members at www.bentley. com. It features a revamped DGN file format that will enable MicroStation to directly read and write DWG...

Product collaboration market thrives.(Industry Trend or Event)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2001... Market research firm CIMdata (www.cimdata.com) reports that the worldwide CPDm (collaborative product definition management) market grew 62% to $2.86 billion in 2000. The firm expects continued growth to a market size of $13 billion by 2005....

XML for product manufacturing.(Company Business and Marketing)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2001... Smart Solutions announced a new XML-based standard for integrating and exchanging product, plant, and project information throughout discrete and process manufacturing enterprises and their supply chains. The iXF format (www.ixfstd.org) lets...

Alliances.(Company Business and Marketing)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2001... Revit Technology Corp. introduced its Revit Solutions Provider Program for AEC consultants and resellers. Partners will offer training and integration assistance; Revit will continue to sell its product directly. SolidWorks Corp. announced...

Business.(News Briefs)
May 1, 2001... Varimetrix Corp., developer of VX Vision MCAD software, will change its name to VX Corp. to more closely align the company with its products. The core VX CAD/CAM engine will now be called VX Overdrive. Spatial acquired translation...

Products.(Company Business and Marketing)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2001... Translation Technologies, Inc., plans to accelerate development of its Acc-u-Trans Internet-based translation service, which currently handles Pro/ENGINEER and CATIA files. The company will add SDRC I-DEAS and Unigraphics support in mid-2001,...

Rapid Prototyping Cuts Time to Market.(Technology Information)
May 1, 2001... Rapid prototyping is an automated process that quickly builds physical prototypes from 3D CAD files composed of surface quilts or solid models. The vast majority of projects we work on involve an RP (rapid prototyping) model of some sort. A...

Thinkdesign 6 : Voice recognition sets this solid modeler apart from the rest of the pack.(Product Announcement)
May 1, 2001... While midlevel CAD vendors fight for market supremacy, one company is gaining a following for its unique product. Thinkdesign is a solid modeling and surfacing application that runs on Windows 98/NT/2000/ME. It sets itself apart from the pack...