|
upFront.eZine |
|
|
a
publication from |
|
|
Issue #507 : : February 27, 2007 |
|
|
C o n t e n t s
Autodesk's World Media Day 2007, Part II:
|
Write the editor. Through Paypal, consider donating $25 in support of upFront.eZine. Access daily CAD commentary at our Weblog, WorldCAD Access.
|
|
|
|
|
You've probably been reading the weblogs that are humming with bits and pieces about the soon-to-be-released AutoCAD 2008. I've just completed work on "What's Inside? AutoCAD 2008," a 110-page PDF ebook with 200+ figures. The new ebook describes what's new, what's changed, and what's undocumented in Autodesk's upcoming release of its flagship software. As in other years, purchasers receive a free update to this ebook after AutoCAD 2008 ships. The price is US$16.50 for a single copy (PayPal or cheque), with a hefty discount available if you plan to use more than one copy in your workplace. You can learn more about this new ebook and place your order at www.upfrontezine.com/wia8 Adobe Acrobat 3D's US$995 price has the potential to partially disrupt the rarefied high-price world of high-end CAD translation. But not yet. "We are absolutely avoiding interoperability between CAD systems," Michael Kaplan tells me. He's Adobe's Bowen Island-residing director of engineering. Acrobat 3D v8.0 is based on Acrobat Pro .0, with the added ability to read CAD assemblies as large as 1GB in these formats:
-- well, that's a good question. No where does Adobe publish the definitive list of supported CAD formats and versions, as does Cimmetry at www.cimmetry.com/formats.html . But to give you an idea, here are some of them, specifically those that also store PMI [product manufacturing information: dimensions, tolerances, notes, etc] data:
CAD drawings are converted into two formats: the older, Intel-sponsored U3D [universal 3D] and the newer, TTF-developed PRC [intelligent compression format]. You got to chose. And you got to chose the level of compression. And you got to choose whether you want the models converted to tessellation surfaces or b-reps [boundary representation solids] or both. Clear? The U3D'ed, PRC'ed PDF file can then export the translated 3D models in STEP, IGES, or ParaSolid format. The output is meant for viewing, marking up, importing to CAM and mold-making software, and so on. But we all know that what comes out as STEP can go in as STEP. The absolute of "avoiding interoperability" becomes less so when Adobe admits that the b-rep output could be used for the basis of CAD models. Despite the number 8.0 implying otherwise, this is the second release of Acrobat 3D. The version number is meant to be consistant with the other Acrobats -- Reader, Elements, Standard, Pro. Except that it's not. To make the free Acrobat Reader more compatible with 3D, it requires a v8.1 release. Acrobat Reader 8.1 The rather clever thing that Adobe's done is to make Reader, its free PDF viewer, compatible with its more expensive brethren. You can use Reader for viewing CAD files: right-click a file name, and then select Convert to Acrobat PDF. Once the updated Reader is released, it will display PMI data found in 3D CAD files, parts trees, and more. If enabled by an Acrobat 3D user, you can also use the free Reader to mark up and return 3D files. The Market Ahead But is Adobe falling into Visio-IntelliCAD Trap? Visio Corp thought it could easily outsell AutoCAD with a clone that cost 10x less. What the company didn't realize is that CAD software and its fanatically-precise users are 100x more demanding than office workers who occasionally update an org chart. (A former Visio exec told me that most Visio diagrams were so simple that it was easier for users to recreate them from scratch than bother hunting down and updating the source VSD files.) There is a parallel here with Adobe and its CAD aspirations. Visio had a best-selling product that was ubiquitous; ditto Adobe. Both purchased companies that gave them entry to the CAD world. Both figure(d) that extending their products to the CAD world was a no-brainer. Adobe's Rak Bhalla, senior marketing manager, is convinced of Adobe's upcoming success. Hearing him speak, you get this feeling of-- I don't know what. Try these quotes:
Acrobat 3D is an interesting product, but I can't shake the feeling that Adobe is a bit too sure of itself entering the rarefied market of computer-aided design. On the other hand, could Autodesk be feeling the heat? Since introducing DWF Design Review, the price of the markup'n view software has dropped from US$199 to $99 to $49 and now to $0. - - - Franco Folini provides additional views on Adobe's challenges in the CAD market in his blog, "Is the New Acrobat 3D headed for Failure or Success?" <blog.novedge.com/2007/02/acrobat_8.html> - - - Acrobat 3D is currently in beta, and is due to ship by June. www.adobe.com/products/acrobat3d In related news, 3Dconnexion has a new driver for Acrobat 3D, downloadable from www.3dconnexion.com/support/4a1.php
Autodesk's
World Media Day 2007 "My readers are the last users of AutoCAD." That from Angus Stocking, who writes for land surveyors. He made the remark to me over lunch at World Media Day 2007 put on by Autodesk earlier in the month. Land surveyors, he told me, work strictly in 2D. AutoCAD 2008 Autodesk's Shawn Gilmore spoke on AutoCAD 2008, the software that now has seven million legal licenses. The emphasis in this release is documentation, the details of which you can read elsewhere. My ear picked up at him mentioning the 64-bit port, which becomes officially available for the first time with next month's release. It'll run on both AMD and Intel 64-bit CPUs and needs Microsoft's 64-bit OS, 'natch. He says the only reason you should use it is for faster performance with large models. On the Vista front, all flavor are supported, even Home Basic. A special thank you to product manager Abhi Singh for spending 45 minutes patiently answering my many questions about AutoCAD 2008. Building Systems Division I spent 30 minutes with Jim Lynch, now vp of marketing for the architectural side of Autodesk. He was first on the MCAD side, helping launch Inventor 1.0 but then made the move to AEC and the East Coast. We talked about trends:
That last item points to a "need unarticulated by customers," according to Mr Lynch: the integration of AEC and MCAD, unique to Autodesk in the industry (at this point). You know: designing the canning machinery (MCAD) inside the new building (AEC) on the site (Civil) mapped by GIS -- all in one file. If you want to know where Autodesk is headed, that's the goal. I asked his opinion on Nemetschek's acquisition of Graphisoft. "Perplexing," was his response. But also an opportunity for Autodesk to capitalize on customer confusion -- particularly in Germany and Eastern Europe where the merged companies dominate. HOK CEO The ceo of mega-architectural firm HOK, Pat MacLeamy, candidly expressed his thoughts on the architecture business. "In a time of change, we [HOK] want to make sure we are leading it, instead of being crushed by it." He is extremely frustrated by the disconnect between architects and contractors, because it results in huge profits for lawyers. His aim is to cut out the lawyer and his law suits by sharing information -- and the risk/reward -- between owner, architect, and contractor. In the old days, design was based on the site, available materials, and using technology on the materials. Today, he says, the aim of design is to ask, "How well does this design serve its purpose?" Too often, he lamented, "Our design is informed by fashion." MCAD Q&A Interesting comments by Buzz Kross during a Q&A with the media. Jeez, can I repeat this? "It just sucks," he said of Siemens buying UGS. The acquisition makes no sense to him, because the biggest customer of UGS is General Electric, who is the biggest competitor of Siemens. Asked about Autodesk ceo Carl Bass being negative on PLM, Mr Kross explained that he sees it this way: "PLM is different from data management. We are looking at data management differently than all other CAD companies." His plan is to have all product data stored in Inventor's files, just as it is with Revit. Andrew Agnost described Autodesk's MCAD software of the future:
"Users should never have to use a sketch or a constraint to go from a concept to a model," he concluded. - - - [Disclosure: Autodesk provided airfare, hotel accommodation, ground transportation, meals, and corporate gifts to journalists attending this event.] Geoffrey Moore Langdon has a presentation tomorrow (Feb 27) on SecondLife at www.caddtutorialsonline.com/architecturalcadd/dbug-2007.html - - - Rewriting code to work with Vista:
- - - CADSOFT announces Envisioneer 4.0 for release in March 2007. New features include faster drawing and detailing, new country-specific construction options, and parametric model details. http://www.cadsoft.com Autodesk makes public the 4th beta of its post-CAD processor, Impression. http://impression.autodesk.com Autodsys releases AcceliCAD2CAM (US$499), CAD software combined with Solustan's LinkMotion driver for direct-to-CAM output. http://www.autodsys.com FreeDesign update their FreeDimension software to v1.1 with output to SketchUp and an optional NURBS output module. http://www.freedesign-inc.com VirtualGrid releases its VRMesh v3.5 library for point cloud meshing, mesh repairing, editing, and sculpting. http://www.vrmesh.com Sescoi is previewing the G3 version of its WorkNC CAM/CAD software (due this Spring), and WorkPLAN Enterprise ERP software for custom manufacturing (due in Autumn). http://www.sescoi.co.uk CATIA, ENOVIA, and DELMIA now support the ISO 16792:2006 standard for documenting 3D product definitions by reusing 2D tolerances and annotations. http://www.3ds.com MachineWorks releases MachineWorks v6.4 with full machine simulation and improved rendering performance. http://www.machineworks.com/whats_new.htm ASCON announces its new 3D-Model Recognition System for recognizing parts and assemblies imported to KOMPAS-3D from ACIS, Step, IGES, and ParaSolid files. Metris releases v8.3 of its point cloud-based inspection software, Focus Inspection. It now handles 90 million points. http://www.metris.com - - - These news items were posted during the last week at the WorldCAD Access blog <worldcadaccess.typepad.com>:
People/Companies on the Move Print Audit appoints John Hewitt as its new global channel manager, and David Wilson as its new dealer territory manager. Cyco Software adds Tony Leaver as UK sales manager and Paul Hiles business consultant; Michael Sobanski is added to the services team in Germany; Coen Vromans joins Cyco Software in the Netherlands as pre-sales manager effective March 1. Tech Soft 3D opens its European office with Ken Royall (director of European business) and Richard Baxter (director of European consulting. COADE appoints Joseph Dixon as product manager for plant design solutions. Cyon Research adds Russell F. Henke to its group of consultants. BricsCad changes its name to Bricsys NV, and has a new address: Bellevue 5/201, 9050 Gent, Belgium. GiveMePower moves to 170-12143 40 St.S.E. in Calgary (AB, T2Z 4E6, Canada). CoCreate licenses LightWorks for use within CoCreate OneSpace Modeling 2007. . Market News UGS reports 2006 revenues of US$1.2 billion, up 6% from 2005. But the company suffered a net loss of $10.3 million. Privately-held Synergis Software reports 61% growth over last year. RAND Worldwide is selling 60% of Rand Technologies Finland, Axis S.A. of Belgium, Rand Worldwide Denmark, and Rand Technologies of Slovakia to a private consortium. UK CAD dealer Excitech acquires Fenix Consulting. Spin Doctor of the Moment "Dell's goal is to make the [Express] upgrade package available
four to eight weeks after the Windows Vista general availability
launch date."
Notable Quotable "Both are basically memory dumps with angle brackets around
them."
Copyright 2007 by upFront.eZine Publishing, Ltd. All rights reserved worldwide Article reprint fee US$250.0 and up.
All
trademarks belong to their respective holders.
"upFront.eZine," "Talking About CAD," and
"On your desktop every Tuesday morning" are
trademarks of upFront.eZinePublishing,
Ltd. |
|
|
|
|