CADalyst articles from October 2002

CADalyst archives from October 2002

Dialog box: readers talk to us.(Letter to the Editor)
October 1, 2002... Wrong questions I received your survey invitation (Editor's Window, September 2002, p. 8), and I did respond. I wanted to tell you what I thought about Cadalyst, how I saw it helping me, and what I would like to see. Here is what I hoped...

Industrial design meets engineering: Alias/Wavefront's StudioTools 10 offers high-quality surface modeling. (cadalyst labs review).(Alias/Wavefront's product)(Product/Service Evaluation)
October 1, 2002... Michelangelo would feel right at home with StudioTools 10. His 2D painting on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel is one of the great paintings of all time, and his 3D statue of David is one of the greatest sculptures. Similarly, StudioTools 10...

Power of the pen: Autodesk Architectural Studio 2 assembles intuitive design tools. (cadalyst labs review).(Product/Service Evaluation)
October 1, 2002... Very quickly after the first release, Autodesk shipped Autodesk Architectural Studio 2. This is an elegant piece of software that presents architects and designers with a truly new and more productive way to design. In my opinion, this is the...

Xi MTower 4800/3600 DPR: dual-processor workstation. (First look reviews: brief hands-on product reviews).(Xi Computer Corp.)(Product/Service Evaluation)
October 1, 2002... This Xi MTower 4800/3600 DPR system included dual Intel Xeon processors rated at 2.4GHz on a motherboard populated with 1GB of dual-channel interleaved 800MHz RAMBUS RAM. You can upgrade to a total of 2GB RDRAM. Other features include a 400MHz...

SPI sheetmetal inventor 5: tools for sheet-metal design and unfolding. (First look reviews: brief hands-on product reviews).(Product/Service Evaluation)
October 1, 2002... SPI Sheetmetal Inventor 5 provides tools for creating parametric 3D sheet-metal parts and corresponding 2D flat patterns in Inventor 5.3. SPI is behind some of the most powerful, easy-to-use sheet-metal design applications, including SPI...

Graphisoft Plan2Model: transform 2D drawings into 3D object models. (first look reviews).(Product/Service Evaluation)
October 1, 2002... Scenario: A client wants you to do a total rehabilitation of an office building and gives you a set of hand-drawn as-built drawings. Normally, you'd face the time-consuming task of manually creating new computer drawings based on information...

Design pipe flanges: AutoLISP routine draws both front and side views. (AutoLISP solutions: reader-requested AutoLISP routines).(AutoCAD 2000 )
October 1, 2002... Stacy Mitchell requests an AutoLISP routine to draw pipe flanges with both end and side views. Depending on the view required, the input information includes flange thickness, flange inside and outside diameters, bolt circle diameter, number of...

Tips from our readers. (hot tip Harry).
October 1, 2002... $50 BONUS WINNER BREAK TEXT Tip #1825 [BREAK_TEXT.LSP] This routine breaks text (not mtext). When you select a word, the remainder of the text line after the selected word is cut and placed below the existing line. --Andrej...

How to create a 3D arc: write a routine to add the missing dimension to your AutoCAD arcs. (Lessons in programming: how to customize AutoCAD).
October 1, 2002... AutoCAD lacks a 3D arc command. To create some 3D surfaces, you may need to improvise an arc that arcs up or down in the z-axis. Figure 1 shows a 2D arc in cyan and a resulting 3D arc in red. The vertical lines show the 24 increments of 0.250...

Who are you? (Editor's window: opinions, comments, and predictions).(Editorial)
October 1, 2002... That may be what you're wondering, looking at my photo here instead of Art Liddle's. Well, for starters, I'm immensely interested in your work and what the team at Cadalyst can do to help you improve it. Change is about the only thing you can...

On a wire: using AutoCAD variables in a menu macro. (AutoCAD clinic: AutoCAD Helpline answers your support questions).
October 1, 2002... I'm completing a menu macro to place a symbol that represents utility poles on a map. The macro erases the circle after you pick the point, cuts the line at the pole placement, offsets a line to show the line between poles, places a block to...

Graphics cards performance for all price points: from low-end to high-end, drivers make the difference. (cadalyst labs feature review).(Product/Service Evaluation)
October 1, 2002... Since our last roundup of graphic cards (February 2001), new graphic cards and GPUs (graphic processing units) have become available, but fewer vendors are vying for market share in a somewhat depressed technology sector. Normally the loss of a...

WildCAT III 6110.(3Dlabs' graphics card )(Brief Article)(Product/Service Evaluation)
October 1, 2002... WILDCAT III 6110 3dlabs 4.5 stars out of 5 3Dlabs produces graphics cards that are typically used by professionals in CAD, DCC (digital content creation), and other fields that require high-performance graphics. The Wildcat III 6110...

WildCAT VP870.(3DLabs' graphics card )(Brief Article)(Product/Service Evaluation)
October 1, 2002... WILDCAT VP870 3dlabs 5 stars out of 5 The Wildcat VP870, a new graphics card from 3Dlabs, is the middle card among three midrange entries: the VP970, VP870, and VP760. For details about the specifics of this trio of graphics cards, go...

Fire GL 8800.(ATI Technologies graphics card )(Brief Article)(Product/Service Evaluation)
October 1, 2002... FIRE GL 8800 ATI Technologies 5 stars out of 5 Markham, Ontario-based ATI Technologies has been an established name in the graphics card industry since it was founded in 1985. The Fire GL graphic card name has moved from its original...

Parhelia.
October 1, 2002... PARHELIA Matrox graphics, Inc. Not rated--Beta preview Matrox Graphics has long been noted for the 2D capabilities of its line of graphics cards, but its recently introduced Parhelia card promises to win advocates among 3D users as...

PNY Quadro4 550 XGL.(PNY Technologies)(Brief Article)
October 1, 2002... PNY QUADRO4 550 XGL PNY Technologies Not rated PNY was the only vendor to send us an entry-level board. Its Quadro4 550 XGL sells for an estimated street price of $299 and can't be upgraded beyond its installed 64MB of RAM. See the...

PNY Quadro4 700 XGL.(PNY Technologies)(Product/Service Evaluation)
October 1, 2002... PNY QUADRO4 700 XGL PNY Technologies 5 stars out of 5 In May 2002, PNY announced the PNY Quadro family of graphics boards for workstation professionals, based on NVIDIA Corp.'s GPU (graphics processing unit). We looked at three PNY...

PNY Quadro4 900 XGL.(PNY Technologies' PNY Quadro4 900 XGL workstation graphic card)(Product/Service Evaluation)
October 1, 2002... PNY QUADRO4 900 XGL PNY Technologies 4 stars out of 5 The PNY Quadro4 900 XGL is at the top of PNY's XGL line of workstation graphic cards. It comes equipped with 128MB of RAM and two separate DVI-I digital display jacks that support...

What now? The ongoing quest for full-featured, easy-to-use CAD software. (CAD manager: CAD management strategies).(Industry Overview)
October 1, 2002... Over the past few months, several people have asked me to recommend a CAD program that handles architectural work all the way from schematic design through construction documents. They inevitably qualify their question with some combination of...

190/22.20 LCD monitors. (hardware).(iiyama's Pro Lite 4821, Pro Lite 5611DT)(Brief Article)
October 1, 2002... iiyama released the new Pro Lite 4821 190 color LCD ($1,194) and Pro Lite 5611DT ($8,400) 9.2 megapixel Color 22.20 LCD. With a maximum resolution of 1280X1024 (SXGA) and a contrast ratio of 600:1, the Pro Lite 4821 offers a slim design, dual...

190 LCD monitor. (hardware).(Hitachi America's CML190B flat-panel LCD monitor )(Brief Article)
October 1, 2002... Hitachi America's new CML190B 190 flat-panel LCD monitor ($1,199) provides a contrast ratio of 500:1 with 250-nit brightness. It features 15ms rise and 10ms fall times, a slim 21mm left and right bezel with a panel-only depth of 30, and...

Monochrome and photographic plotters. (hardware).(Epson America's EPSON Stylus Pro 7600, EPSON Stylus Pro 9600)(Brief Article)
October 1, 2002... Epson America released the 240 wide EPSON Stylus Pro 7600 ($2,995) and 440 wide EPSON Stylus Pro 9600 ($4,995) photographic plotters. According the company, both plotters are the first Stylus Pro models to use UltraChrome inks. The 7600 and...

Professional notebook workstation. (hardware).(Fujitsu PC's CELSIUS Mobile H workstation)(Brief Article)
October 1, 2002... Fujitsu PC's CELSIUS Mobile H workstation (starts at $3,999) helps you take your 3D designs on the road. The system's advanced Mobile Intel Pentium 4 Processor-M runs at 1.9GHz and supports enhanced Intel SpeedStep technology. The CELSIUS...

Internet camera. (hardware).(Pentax Technologies' Pentax VersaCam IC-4 )(Brief Article)
October 1, 2002... The Pentax VersaCam IC-4 ($1,199) Internet camera from Pentax Technologies produces high-quality images without the need for an attached computer. The camera features an electronic auto-iris that adjusts to most light levels to correctly...

Smith & Wesson aims for excellence using MYRIAD viewing Software. (On the job: general).
October 1, 2002... Business has been brisk at Springfield, Massachusetts--based Smith & Wesson Corp. (www.smith-wesson.com), one of the world's leading producers of handguns, law enforcement and security products, and firearm safety training. Law enforcement...

3D digitizer. (hardware).(Immersion's MicroScribe G2 digitizer )
October 1, 2002... Immersion Corp.'s portable MicroScribe G2 digitizer lets you physically capture the properties of 3D objects and translate them into digital 3D models. USB support makes it easy to connect and power the device. A new companion product,...

420 3D monitor. (hardware).(StereoGraphics' 420 SynthaGram monitor)(Brief Article)
October 1, 2002... The new 420 SynthaGram monitor ($9,995) from StereoGraphics Corp. provides Stereo3D visualization--separate perspective views to each eye--without requiring viewers to use eyewear. Its wide viewing angles allow multiple people to see 3D images...

Collaboration tools. (Software: mcad/cam).(Alventive's Product Collaboration Solutions 4.0)(Brief Article)
October 1, 2002... Alventive's Product Collaboration Solutions Release 4.0, including Project Navigator, Quick Collaboration, PreSourcing Collaboration, and Design Process Collaboration, helps globally dispersed product teams roll out products. Contact company...

CATIA-based inspection tool. (Software: mcad/cam).(MSC.Software's MSC.CATCMM)(Brief Article)
October 1, 2002... MSC.Software Corp. released MSC.CATCMM (contact company for pricing), a CATIA-based inspection tool for CMMs (coordinate measurement machine) that lets you perform inspections that ensure manufactured parts meet design requirements set forth by...

Simulation automation. (Software: mcad/cam).(LMS' Optimus 3.1)(Brief Article)
October 1, 2002... OPTIMUS v3.1 from LMS provides features to manage and optimize engineering analysis and automatically evaluate design alternatives (call for pricing). The update works with all major mechanical CAE software, including structural, dynamics,...

Sheet-metal parts. (Software: mcad/cam).(Forming Technologies' Fastblank)(Brief Article)
October 1, 2002... FASTBLANK (contact company for pricing), from Forming Technologies, is integrated with SolidWorks and offers a customizable database of materials. You supply a SolidWorks 3D model and input the necessary material thickness, then FASTBLANK...

Sourcing service. (Software: mcad/cam).(ManufacturingQuote's MfgQuote.com 3.0)(Brief Article)
October 1, 2002... ManufacturingQuote's 3.0 release of MfgQuote.com, an online marketplace that connects buyers and suppliers of made-to-order parts and tooling, features user interface and navigation enhancements. The service is designed to connect buyers (free...

Product management suite. (Software: mcad/cam).(Agile Software's Agile Engineering suite )(Brief Article)
October 1, 2002... Designed to help you manage materials costs, introduce products, and improve product quality, Agile Software's new Agile Engineering suite (call for pricing) is a collection of integrated modules that extend product lifecycle management...

Autodesk previews inventor 6, streamline 4. (Report: general).(Inventor 3D 6.0, Streamline 4.0)
October 1, 2002... Autodesk announced details of the next versions of both its Inventor 3D solid modeling software and its Streamline collaborative engineering service at a press day in mid-August in Nashville, Tennessee. Streamline 4 shipped shortly after the...

Plastic selection. (Software: mcad/cam).(Resinate's RMA (Resinate Material Advisor))(Brief Article)
October 1, 2002... Resinate Corp.'s RMA (Resinate Material Advisor) is designed to help you select plastic materials from within your design environment. It integrates with Pro/ENGINEER, SolidWorks, and Autodesk Inventor. You can attach a material file directly...

Design visualization. (Software: mcad/cam).(Actify's SpinFire 5.0)(Brief Article)
October 1, 2002... Actify introduced SpinFire 5.0, the latest version of its design retrieval and visualization software. SpinFire works as a stand-alone server-based product or as part of an existing PLM, PDM, or EDM system. Server-side importers convert all...

Plant process evaluation. (Software: mcad/cam).(Reality Capture's OpSim)(Brief Article)
October 1, 2002... With Reality Capture's OpSim, you can use dynamic linking with a virtual plant model to start up, shut down, and follow operation and maintenance procedures for a plant. As you review a procedure inside a Word document, you can see it executed...

Data exchange. (Software: mcad/cam).(Elysium's CADporter)(Brief Article)
October 1, 2002... Elysium's CADporter (starting at $6,000), which translates component geometry and topology among CAD systems, now supports 3D solid and surface data from Spatial Corp.'s CATIA V5. The program accomplishes this through Spatial's CATIA V5...

VersaCAD makes beautiful music. (on the job).(John Brombaugh and Associates uses VersaCAD to design pipe organs)(Brief Article)
October 1, 2002... John Brombaugh & Associates, Inc., a Eugene, Oregon-based pipe organ designers, recently designed and built a 4,200-pipe organ--the second largest project ever designed by the company--to be installed by December 2002 in City of Toyota, Japan....

Hand-drawn effects. (Software: aec).(Insight Development's Squiggle 5.0)(Brief Article)
October 1, 2002... Insight Development Corp. released Squiggle v5 ($149), which gives CAD drawings a hand-drawn look. It works with DWG, DXF, and HPGL/2 files. You can vary the width, color, and style of as many as 255 pens. Export options now include PNG, DWF,...

Water body design. (Software: aec).(Haestad Methods' PondPack 8.0)(Brief Article)
October 1, 2002... PondPack v8.0 ($495), Haestad Methods' urban stormwater management and detention pond design software, uses Microsoft .NET technology for a more streamlined interface. You can now compute, edit, view, report, and graph results for each element...

Car library. (Software: aec).(ArchVision's RPC Automobiles Volume 2)(Brief Article)
October 1, 2002... ArchVision's RPC (rich photorealistic content) Automobiles Volume 2 ($399) includes models of the BMW 323 ti compact, Lexus IS 300, Lexus GS 400, and Mercedes Benz CL 600 and improved image calibration for more realistic models. Smart Content...

Landscape creation. (Software: aec).(3D Nature's World Construction Set 6.0)(Brief Article)
October 1, 2002... World Construction Set 6 (WCS6) from 3D Nature LLC creates photorealistic landscapes with transparent water and volumetric clouds and atmospheres, plus added detail through bump mapping. A network render controller helps you take full advantage...

Draw, paint, animate. (Software: aec).(Corel's CorelDRAW Graphics Suite 11.0)(Brief Article)
October 1, 2002... Corel Corp.'s CorelDRAW Graphics Suite 11 ($529, $249 upgrade), available for Mac OS X and Windows XP, includes three components. CorelDRAW 11 includes such new tools as Polyline, Roughen, and Smudge brushes and three-point drawing tools to...

Project collaboration. (Software: aec).(Autodesk's Buzzsaw Professional)(Brief Article)
October 1, 2002... Autodesk introduced Buzzsaw Professional, a version of its online project collaboration service designed for building owners and developers. Buzzsaw Professional adds construction management and administrative workflow features to the...

High-end 3D. (Software: aec).(Discreet's 3ds max 5.0)(Brief Article)
October 1, 2002... Discreet (a division of Autodesk) released 3ds max 5, its flagship 3D modeling, animation, and rendering software package ($3,495, upgrades from $795, yearly subscriptions from $330). 3ds max 5 offers advanced animation and rendering tools for...

Viewing, sharing. (Software: aec).(IMSI's TurboViewer)(Brief Article)
October 1, 2002... TurboViewer ($49.95), a new product in IMSI's TurboCAD line, is used to view, share, and convert 2D and 3D CAD files. It lets you view graphics in various modes, including wire frame, hidden line, and rendered. In rendered modes, TurboViewer...

3D Model library. (Software: aec).(Marlin Studios' Premium 3D Models--City Buildings )(Brief Article)
October 1, 2002... Marlin Studios' new Premium 3D Models--City Buildings ($199) offers 182 licensable, royalty-free building models in: 3DS, LWO(6), and OBJ. The package includes a special edition of Right Hemisphere's 3D Exploration software to view, transform,...

Low-cost CAD. (Software: aec).(DATACAD's DataCAD LT 10.0)(Brief Article)
October 1, 2002... DataCAD LT v10 ($149.95; discounts up to $50 for U.S. customers through December) from DATACAD LLC provides all of the fundamental 2D and 3D architectural drawing and modeling features of the full-blown DataCAD 10. Among these are automatic...

Viewing and markup tool. (Software: general).(Spicer Corp.'s ViewCafe 3.0)(Brief Article)
October 1, 2002... Spicer Corp.'s ViewCafe 3.0 offers Java 2 and Java 3D powered viewing and markup. System administrators can set it up as an applet within a browser or as a stand-alone, platform-independent application. New API commands, Java methods,...

Wide-format scanning. (Software: general).(Contex Scanning Technology's WIDEimage 2.5)(Brief Article)
October 1, 2002... Contex Scanning Technology says that WIDEimage 2.5, the latest version of its wide-format scanning software, focuses on reliability, quality, color precision, user-friendliness, and speed. The software lets you fine-tune parameters to work with...

PDF plugin. (Software: general).(Bluebeam Software's Bluebeam Pushbutton PDF )(Brief Article)
October 1, 2002... Bluebeam Software's Bluebeam Pushbutton PDF ($249), generates scalable PDF drawings from within AutoCAD and SolidWorks. It was designed for engineers and architects who furnish CAD drawings to clients, subcontractors, and governmental...

Calendar.(Calendar)
October 1, 2002... E-mail calendar items to editors@cadalyst.com National Collegiate CADD Conference October 8-10 University of Washington, Seattle, WA www.nccconf.org/nccc02/nccc02.htm GIS in the Rockies October 8-10 Plaza at the Mart,...