CADalyst articles from October 2001

CADalyst archives from October 2001

CAD ASP, anyone?(Editorial)
October 1, 2001... While previewing a soon-to-be-released design-online product, a CAD vendor--that shall remain nameless here--was quick to point out that its security measures were top-notch and its host server was 99.9% reliable. I would expect nothing less,...

Dialog Box : Thoughts from our readers.(Letter to the Editor)
October 1, 2001... If it ain't broke... We are a national engineering firm with headquarters in Boston, Massachusetts (and we subscribe to CADALYST). We have 20 CAD stations and six HP1055CM plotters. We still use AutoCAD Release 14 and LT98. Why? No one can...

Corrections.(Correction Notice)
October 1, 2001... Here's a corrected version of the sample weld symbol from September's Hot Tip Harry column (p. 64). ARCHIdigm, covered in September's AEC Tools (p. 56), offers Web-based training for Architectural Desktop Releases 2 and 3...

Daratech anticipates 9% growth for AEC software market.(Brief Article)
October 1, 2001... The worldwide AEC software and services market will grow 8.9% from last year to pass $1.8 billion in 2001, according to estimates released by market research firm Daratech (www.daratech.com). The firm projects 9% growth each year through 2006....

3D Systems runs into merger roadblocks.(Brief Article)
October 1, 2001... Rapid prototyping system maker 3D Systems hopes to complete its merger with DTM Corp. after reaching an agreement with the Department of Justice to resolve antitrust concerns. 3D Systems will enter into a patent licensing agreement for either...

PlanetCAD adopts supply-chain strategy.(Brief Article)
October 1, 2001... PlanetCAD acquired eCAS, a supply-chain productivity tool developed by CastaLink. The acquisition is PlanetCAD's first step in its new strategy to provide solutions that reduce cycle times for manufacturing. The eCAS technology is a portfolio...

Consulting group picks CPC standouts.(Collaborative product commerce ratings by Aberdeen Group)(Brief Article)
October 1, 2001... Aberdeen Group published its picks for the top ten CPC (collaborative product commerce) implementations to date. Vendors of profiled products include Alventive, CoCreate, Framework Technologies, PTC, SDRC, and SmarTeam. www.aberdeen.com/...

Intergraph continues quest against Intel.(Brief Article)
October 1, 2001... 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)
October 1, 2001... Autodesk and UGS' e-Factory business line formed a strategic alliance focused on the "virtual factory initiative," which promotes 3D factory design. Autodesk's Architectural Desktop will serve as the platform for the UGS FactoryCAD factory...

Standards.(Brief Article)
October 1, 2001... SGI and the OpenGL Architecture Review Board announced the availability of the OpenGL 1.3 specification. New features include cube map texturing, multisampling, and new texture modes.

Products.(Brief Article)(Product Announcement)
October 1, 2001... Autodesk is now shipping Land Desktop 3 along with Civil Design 3 and Survey 3. Map v5 is also available. | SolidWorks Corp. (www.solidworks.com) is now shipping eDrawings Professional ($995), which enables team members to communicate and...

Business.(Product Announcement)
October 1, 2001... Construction services site BuildNet and six of its subsidiaries filed for reorganization under Chapter 11 bankruptcy code. Workstation shipments worldwide decreased by 15% in the second quarter of 2001, according to research firm Gartner...

Alliances.(Brief Article)
October 1, 2001... CoCreate plans a series of solutions for plastics part and mold design based on technologies developed in conjunction with R&B Mold and Die Design. New products are scheduled to appear by the end of the year. Rebis will integrate Robot...

HARDWARE : Wide-format printer.(Brief Article)(Product Announcement)
October 1, 2001... The X2-TECH (call for pricing) wide-format digital printer from Xerox Engineering Systems employs RACER (rapid acceleration of color element recognition) technology that uses automatic accelerators to optimize speed and switch between fast...

HARDWARE : 170 monitor.(LCD from Viewsonic)(Brief Article)(Product Announcement)
October 1, 2001... ViewSonic Corp. introduced the VE170m ($849) 170 LCD monitor that offers an ultra-slim 20 profile, extra-wide viewing angles, and automatic tuning features. The monitor includes built-in speakers, 300:1 ratio, and 128031024 true resolution. The...

HARDWARE : 360 graphics plotter.(Brief Article)
October 1, 2001... ENCAD Inc.'s NovaJet 736 ($5,495) 360 wide-format color plotter provides Adobe PostScript 3, Vibrant-Link, and a raster image processor that integrates as a software driver. The NovaJet 736 features color profiles for ENCAD's family of inks and...

HARDWARE : Color scanner.(Contex Scanning Technology Chameleon)(Brief Article)(Product Announcement)
October 1, 2001... Contex Scanning Technology's Chameleon ($7,900-$9,900) 250 monochrome and color scanners feature Contex's High Precision Color Scanner Technology, variable line resolution, and adaptive error diffusion. The base unit features 425dpi resolution...

HARDWARE : Autostereoscopic display.(StereoGraphics' SynthaGram 18.10 color monitor)(Brief Article)(Product Announcement)
October 1, 2001... StereoGraphics Corp.'s SynthaGram 18.10 monitor ($6,000) permits simultaneous stereo viewing by several people without the need for 3D eyewear. It measures 18.10 3 180 3 9.40 and weighs 25lb. The SynthaGram monitor supports Windows operating...

CAM & GENERAL SOFTWARE : Mold-making CAM.(OPEN MIND Software Technologies' hyperFORM 6.0)(Brief Article)(Product Announcement)
October 1, 2001... OPEN MIND Software Technologies, Inc., introduced hyperFORM v6 (contact company for pricing), a standalone 2- to 5-axis CAM system. The software includes definition capabilities for 2D tasks such as hole drilling and thread milling, and...

CAM & GENERAL SOFTWARE : CNC programming.(BOBCAD-CAM's BOBCAD 18.0)(Brief Article)(Product Announcement)
October 1, 2001... BOBCAD v18 from BOBCAD-CAM offers enhanced CNC programming, 32-bit programming with long filenames, multiple windows to work on more than one drawing at a time, 3D part view and draw from different angles, and 2D and 3D dynamic rotation. It...

CAM & GENERAL SOFTWARE : Hybrid solid 3D modeler.(auto*des*sys' form*Z 3.8, form*Z RenderZoneand form*Z RadioZity)(Brief Article)(Product Announcement)
October 1, 2001... auto*des*sys' form*Z 3.8 ($1,495 user license, $285 upgrade), form*Z RenderZone ($1,995, $350 upgrade), and form*Z RadioZity ($2,390, $350 upgrade) are hybrid solid and surface 3D modelers that provide smooth parametric modeling based primarily...

CAM & GENERAL SOFTWARE : CAM with SolidWorks.(TekSoft's CAMWorks 2001)(Brief Article)(Product Announcement)
October 1, 2001... TekSoft introduced CAMWorks 2001 (contact company for pricing) software that integrates with SolidWorks' Assembly mode to support NC programming. The software includes AFR (automatic feature recognition), IFR (interactive feature recognition),...

CAM & GENERAL SOFTWARE : CAD and CAM solution.(VX Corp.'sVX CAD/CAM 5.0)(Brief Article)(Product Announcement)
October 1, 2001... VX Corp. (formerly Varimetrix Corp.) introduced VX CAD/CAM v5 ($3,995) for engineering and industrial design. The software offers freeform surface capabilities and features manual and automatic healing of imported solid models and direct import...

CAM & GENERAL SOFTWARE : 3D software environment.(Innovative Concept Environment's `3D presentation software)(Brief Article)(Product Announcement)
October 1, 2001... Innovative Concept Environment released iceCAD Lite ($475), Pro ($1,250), and Dev (call for pricing) 3D presentation software with a freely distributable viewer. IceCAD's Presentation Builder includes a 3D virtual walk-through system; real...

MECHANICAL SOFTWARE : Standalone tooling design.(Cimatron Ltd.'s QuickConcept Quote CAD software)(Brief Article)(Product Announcement)
October 1, 2001... Cimatron Ltd.'s QuickConcept Quote (call for pricing) is a stand-alone preliminary design and tooling review system. It transforms CAD part designs into 3D models and offers geometric analysis and viewing and markup tools. The Collaboration...

MECHANICAL SOFTWARE : Drawing visualization tool.(CAD Centric Systems' OneView Compare)(Brief Article)(Product Announcement)
October 1, 2001... OneView Compare ($525) from CAD Centric Systems is a drawing visualization tool that allows interactive, side-by-side comparison of drawings from SDRC's I-DEAS software and additional drawings through TIFF, HPGL, and other generic formats. The...

MECHANICAL SOFTWARE : Mechanical design automation.(SDRC's I-DEAS Freeform)(Brief Article)(Product Announcement)
October 1, 2001... SDRC's I-DEAS Freeform, formerly known as Imageware products, is now part of SDRC's I-DEAS mechanical design automation suite. This integrated freeform modeling solution includes Freeform Modeler ($28,000) for rapid surfacing, reverse...

MECHANICAL SOFTWARE : 2D/3D mechanical design.(Product Announcement)
October 1, 2001... VariCAD v8 ($399), a mechanical engineering program from VariCAD, features 3D modeling, 2D drafting, associative dimensioning, and libraries of standard machine parts. VariCAD v8 also offers schematic symbols and blocks, calculations of common...

MECHANICAL SOFTWARE : Engineering design packs.(Brief Article)(Product Announcement)
October 1, 2001... CoCreate's four engineering solution process packs feature DMOX (dynamic modeling open extensions) technology. The Industrial Design Pack (call for pricing) lets you create, visualize, and share design concepts. The Structural Integrity Pack...

MECHANICAL SOFTWARE : 2D and 3D modeler.(Brief Article)(Product Announcement)
October 1, 2001... IronCAD, LLC's, IronCAD v4.2 ($3,495) solid modeling software offers 3D modeling and 2D drawing capabilities. IronCAD v4.2 directly imports IGES wire frame data for use as reference geometry during the model creation process. It also includes...

On the Job: Solid Modeling Solution Cuts Drafting Time.
October 1, 2001... Lanco Assembly Systems, a supplier of turnkey product assembly systems based in Westbrook, Maine, hoped to cut the time needed to produce drawings for new systems in half by adopting a solid modeling program. The company selected Solid Edge...

GENERAL : Revision management.(Furix's CompareDWG 2000 for AutoCAD)(Brief Article)(Product Announcement)
October 1, 2001... Furix introduced CompareDWG 2000 for AutoCAD ($240 for a single-user license) revision management software that supports AutoCAD Release 14 and 2000/2000i. The tool finds all differences between two AutoCAD drawings. The software's Basic Mode...

GENERAL : AutoCAD management.(GlobalCAD 2002 from GlobalCAD Consultants ltd.)(Brief Article)(Product Announcement)
October 1, 2001... GlobalCAD launched GlobalCAD 2002 ($350) that stores and retrieves AutoCAD blocks and design details within a database. You can manage and track 2D, 3D, and attributed blocks. You can create and password-protect entire libraries that contain...

SHOW REPORT : Ear to the Ground at SIGGRAPH 2001.
October 1, 2001... SIGGRAPH's (Special Interest Group Graphics) 27th convention in Los Angeles from August 12-17 was primarily a graphics, video, and animation show, yet it offered many things of interest to the CAD and CAM professions. Eyetronics ...

AEC SOFTWARE : Construction optimizer.(PacificSoft's EarthWorks Optimizer Pro)(Brief Article)(Product Announcement)
October 1, 2001... PacificSoft Inc. released EarthWorks Optimizer Pro ($695 for 30-day subscription), civil engineering software to optimize mass excavation and haul volumes in the design and construction of corridor projects such as public highways, roads,...

AEC SOFTWARE : Civil drawing and calculation.(Pythagoras Software's Pythagoras 9.0)(Brief Article)(Product Announcement)
October 1, 2001... Pythagoras v9 ($3,995) from Pythagoras Software, Inc., is a stand-alone drawing and calculation program that combines raster and vector data to make models, preliminary designs, thematic images, and digitized drawings. Pythagoras v9 imports and...

AEC SOFTWARE : Civil engineering analysis.(Infrasoft Corp.'s MXROAD MAX 2.5)(Brief Article)(Product Announcement)
October 1, 2001... Infrasoft Corp.'s MXROAD MAX 2.5 ($5,500) civil engineering application includes MXDRAW, a new drawing production tool for contract drawing that is interoperable with AutoCAD and MicroStation. MX 2.5 offers a real-time profile and cross-section...

GIS SOFTWARE : Desktop mapping software.(ESRI's ArcView 8.1)(Brief Article)(Product Announcement)
October 1, 2001... ESRI released ArcView 8.1 ($1,500) desktop GIS and mapping software that provides data visualization, query, and analysis integration capabilities and the ability to create and edit geographic data. The software supports Windows NT 4/2000....

Mark your calendar.
October 1, 2001... Bentley International User Conference September 23-27 Pennsylvania Convention Center Philadelphia, PA www.bentley.com/biuc/ AERO 2001 Worldwide Aerospace Conference and Technology Showcase September 24-26 Toulouse, France...

Developer roundtable: STEP vs. IGES -- Six MCAD vendors assess standards for file transfers.
October 1, 2001... Interoperability has been the bane of MCAD systems since day one. Starting in 1980, national and international organizations have addressed the issue through development and release of standards for the exchange of geometric and nongeometric...

6 CAD OPTIONS FOR TIGHT BUDGETS : Full-featured programs cost less than $600.
October 1, 2001... With AutoCAD's dominance in so many design industries, you'd expect a dearth of low-cost alternatives. Any such alternatives would fall more in the category of "toys" rather than serious, capable tools. If you think along these lines, you're...

GiveMePower : PowerCAD Professional Release 5.(Product Announcement)
October 1, 2001... GiveMePower PowerCAD Professional Release 5 PowerCAD Professional Release 5 was formerly FelixCAD, which has a substantial following outside North America with users in forty countries and versions in ten different languages. The...

IMSI : TurboCAD v7.1 Professional.(Evaluation)
October 1, 2001... IMSI TurboCAD v7.1 Professional The latest version of IMSI's TurboCAD (v7.1) is bursting at the seams with extra features and enhancements that all build on and further the reach of an already remarkable application. TurboCAD ships on...

Intergraph : SmartSketch 4.(Evaluation)
October 1, 2001... Intergraph SmartSketch 4 Intergraph's SmartSketch 4 is a parametric 2D design, production drafting, and diagramming application that is scheduled for release during the third quarter of 2001. SmartSketch is now modular--you install...

Microsoft Corp. : Visio Professional 2002.(Evaluation)
October 1, 2001... Microsoft Corp. Visio Professional 2002 While most of these applications are clearly CAD programs, Visio 2002 Professional is more of a technical illustration tool with CAD features and AutoCAD compatibility. Visio Professional...

SoftSource : Vdraft v2.21.(Evaluation)
October 1, 2001... SoftSource Vdraft v2.21 Vdraft is a basic 2D and 3D drafting application that directly reads and writes AutoCAD files through 2002 without a translation step. It also supports entity types such as hatching, leaders, bit-maps, complex...

Upperspace : DesignCAD 3D Max v12.(Software Review)(Evaluation)
October 1, 2001... Upperspace DesignCAD 3D Max v12 DesignCAD 3D Max is a moderately priced ($299) 2D and 3D CAD and visualization application with a variety of features that would be considered high-end in most environments. Among features...

Mechanical Desktop 6 gracefully matures : Powerful and versatile solid modeling.(Software Review)(Evaluation)
October 1, 2001... Recent discussion about the future of Mechanical Desktop centers on whether it is obsolete and in danger of being phased out in favor of Autodesk Inventor. Yes, it is based on older technology, and yes, parts of its user interface can be a...

Graphisoft improves an already great tool : ArchiCAD 7 matures into a complete architectural product.(Software Review)(Evaluation)
October 1, 2001... Graphisoft has developed and shipped ArchiCAD architectural CAD software for almost 20 years. This longevity is apparent in the thoroughness of the set of tools provided in the box and available from third-party vendors. Though it's unlikely...

InterWrite Meeting Suite : Meeting technology.(Hardware Review)(Evaluation)
October 1, 2001... GTCO CalComp's InterWrite Meeting Suite represents the next generation of meeting and collaboration tools for engineering applications, business, and education. It's designed to let you intuitively collaborate and train from any place in the...

SolidWorks Toolbox : Mechanical add-on.(Software Review)(Evaluation)
October 1, 2001... SolidWorks Toolbox (previously Toolbox/SE from CIMLOGIC) is a comprehensive set of tools for mechanical design in SolidWorks. The program helps you add standard features such as fastener hardware, power transmissions, and structural shapes. ...

How to get what you need from upper management.(CAD management)(Column)
October 1, 2001... CAD managers and users alike wonder how to get better support from upper management for the CAD manager position. One of the most frequently asked questions in CAD-related newsgroups is: How many CAD users should an organization have before it...

Make Windows Help files the easy way.(Tutorial)
October 1, 2001... In my last "AutoLISP Solutions" column (August 2001), which dealt with external reference tracking, I included a Help file accessed through a dialog box button. This month, my solution is devoted to creating Help files. In the old days of...

InFLEXible LM.(Tutorial)
October 1, 2001... This month we summarize several questions about how to use AutoCAD 2002's new license manager on a server that is already running FLEXlm for another application. To begin, Cancel Autoplay when you insert the AutoCAD (or vertical application)...

Tips from our readers.(Tutorial)
October 1, 2001... $50 BONUS WINNER Bearing lines Tip #1741 [LL.LSP] This routine simplifies drawing lines based on bearings, something I do many times each day. Before I had to convert bearing angles to the correct AutoCAD angle and then type in...

A Gem from the Past.
October 1, 2001... As commutes go, it was glorious. In the 1930s, CEOs and industrialists would travel forty miles or so from their palatial Westchester homes on the Hudson River to bustling downtown Manhattan in long, lean cabin-cruiser boats. Almost seventy...