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Issue #523 : : June 19, 2007 |
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In this issue: - New UI Out of the Inbox, plus the other regular columns. |
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SolidWorks showed off new features in the 2008 release of their namesake software last February in New Orleans, and last week they were at it again. Originally due to ship in August, the company realized that no one's around then (upFront.eZine takes its annual vacation in that month), and decided to move the shipping date up to -- later this summer. Some of what Darren Henry showed me was repetition from the February showing, and so I'll point out items from last week's conference call that caught my eye. (Mr Henry heads up technical marketing and has been with SolidWorks for ten years.) His boast is that the 'What's New' guide for SolidWorks 2008' booklet runs some 200 pages; indeed, his beta-3 copy of the software had 34 demo drawings for showing off new features.
New UI SolidWorks 2008 has a new face, a new user interface with some unique and some borrowed elements. Most interesting is the tabbed CommandManager that shows icons, command names, both, singly, or stacked. Customizable by the user, of course. See http://www.upfrontezine.com/Figs/sw08.jpg for a screengrab of the new UI. You can be editing the 3D model in a realistic mode that shows textures (materials), self-shadows on objects, and a mirrored kind of reflection on the ground plane. Or not. The visual effects can be turned off. I wonder about the utility of robbing computing horsepower for eye-candy like mirrored reflections and on-object shadows; I suppose much of it is offloaded to sufficiently-powerful graphics boards. In any case the pretty imaging can be turned off to let the computer concentrate on dealing with large assemblies, complex analysis, and animation computations. Missing are the menus, a UI element I find I rarely every use. But you you miss them, the menus are hidden behind the SolidWorks logo: click to make them emerge. Don't like ch-ch-changes? You can always switch back to the UI of SolidWorks 2007.
Interactive Editing Mr Henry showed how it was possible to draw and edit completely within the drawing area -- no need to access toolbars, history trees, or even the new CommandManager. Pressing F brings up context-sensitive user-defined mini-toolbars at the cursor. Entire portions of models can be edited interactively by dragging and rotating features. You can drag a boss to turn it into a countersink. Rotate objects freely or by entering an angle. Or use live sectioning to drag 2D cross-sections around; you can edit 3D parts while in sectioning mode. One way to deal with the limitations of the history tree is to eliminate it, a la CoCreate and Kubotek. Another way is to work around it, invisibly to the user, a la SolidWorks 2008.
Selection Manager The new search bar looks for existing drawings that might contain parts you could reuse. Nominally, it searches metadata to return the drawings you might be interested in. A separate function operates -- overnight, if need be -- on all drawings to locate parts, features, and sketches. Here's the cool part: Once the search engine returns drawings matching your criteria, you double-click the thumbnails and SolidWorks highlights parts, features, and sketches. Then you can drag just what you need into the drawing. Drag a sketch into the drawing, and then use Instant3D to turn it into a 3D solid. Works on imported geometry, too, such as blocks and views stored in DWG files. The new SelectionManager highlights common possibilities, such as all vertical edges or horizontal ones. This makes it faster to fillet pockets. And when a 3D corner fillet has multiple possibilities, the new Show Alternatives command lets you page through the fillet possibilities and choose the one you want. So far, this works only with single-radius fillets. You can now select objects using a 3D selection cube, called Volume Select. Or select mated surfaces. Or enter "washer" to select all washers. Etc. One way to deal with large assemblies is to not deal with them. SolidWorks 2008 now opens a 3D image of the model, and then you can choose which parts you want to edit. Volume Select is useful for this. (Behind the scenes, SolidWorks stores a highly-compressed 3D image of the model in its drawing file.) - - - There's lots more, but I think I'll end it here. Although SolidWorks 2008 is for sale today, you get the 2007 release, with 2008 shipped to you at some point later. It's all rather vague to me. Currently in 32-bit only (64-bit avail for SolidWorks 2007).
Links: SolidWorks -- www.solidworks.com
I have been father for 20 years. My youngest daughter (16) has never come in first place in ten years of competitive figure skating. My other daughter's (19) greatest fear is losing yet another new-found friend. My son (20) has four months left in his court-imposed driving ban. Sometimes I feel I haven't done so well as father. Two summers ago, my daughters discovered they had become best friends with each other, after spending their childhoods disliking each other intensely. They both adore their older brother, who has a new girlfriend. She's drop-dead gorgeous, deaf in one ear, half-deaf in the other. Yesterday for Father's Day, my wife and I and our three children sat in a booth at Sobieski's Restaurant. I looked at them laughing and kidding with each other, and was content to see three old teenagers happy being with each other and with their parents. I figured that's pretty good.
Speaking of Father's Day, load up on brand-new copies of "The Illustrated AutoCAD 2008 Quick Reference," hot off the presses and autographed by the author, moi. US$30 gets you a copy, postage-paid to addresses in North America; other locations, please add $15 for surface mail. Also available autographed at the same pricing:
All orders include a free upFront.eZine pen with a frosted dark
blue barrel. Send your payment to the PayPal account of grabowski@telus.net
, or mail a cheque to: Thanks for your support. Synergis Software releases Adept Explorer (US$800), the new Web client for its Adept desktop document management software. www.synergis-adept.com BunkSpeed [finally] ships its hyper-realistic rendering software, Hypershot, in three versions: 800x450 (max resolution) for US$195, 1920x1080 for $995, and unlimited -- ahem. www.bunkspeed.com/hypershot . Spicer Corporation ships Imagenation 8.1 for scanning, reviewing, marking up, and printing hundreds of file formats. Plus format conversion, redaction of confidential info, and document archiving of CAD formats. Save markups in PDF, and plug Imagenation into Firefox. www.spicer.com Cimmetry Systems announces its Integration Software Development Kit for third-party programmers to add AutoVue viewing and collaboration into other software. www.cimmetry.com/integrations-custom-dms.html DRCAUTO Software release Toolkit Max 2008 (US$450), which lets AutoCAD LT 2008 run AutoLISP, Visual LISP Executable, ObjectARX , and ObjectDBX files. estore.smart-architect.com/toolkitmax2008products.htm It seems hard to believe, but HP will now certify you in the Designjet Z6100 Certification Program. It's best if I let their pr firm describe it: "The HP Designjet Z6100 Certification Program will provide graphics professionals, print service providers and technical designers working in color-critical environments with enhanced compatibility and confidence in the complete solution with assured levels of functionality and interoperability when they select one of the HP-certified third-party RIP products." [I couldn’t have said it better myself.] www.hp.com/go/z6100/solutions Pinion Software has a new version of its ShareSafe file protection solution running on PTC's ProductView Graphics Server. "File protection" is in terms of "technical rights management." www.pinionsoftware.com Adobe is shipping Acrobat 3D Version 8 [which is actually release #2] for US$995. Upgrades are free or cheap. www.adobe.com/go/acrobat3dv8 An older press release that I finally got around to reading: The Irish Department of Education and Science purchases 25,000 licenses of SolidWorks Education Edition and 4,500 Dell computers, costing the taxpayers US$53.4 million. Allowing $2000 per PC, SolidWorks Edu-version seems to have cost around $1,500 per license. Safe Software is using TCI Software's Curvefitter optimization technology to create smooth lines from point-to-point linework, reducing CAD and GIS files by up to 80%. www.tcicorp.com BlueCielo (ex-Cyco) unveils its InnoCielo (ex-AutoManager) 2007 software: Meridian Enterprise and TeamWork. [It's nice to see at least one software company getting the year correct.] Their ceo says, "With the important changes that have shaped new political realities in China, India, Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union, the meteoric rise of international communications and intensifying global trade, the world has truly become a global village." [In other words, "Buy our software!"] www.bluecieloecm.com Google Earth Extension Technology Preview is updated for AutoCAD 2008. Download from labs.autodesk.com/utilities/google_earth_extension_beta/ UGS [do I have to use the full name of "UGS PLM Software, a division of Siemens Automation and Drives (A&D)"?] is using its own software, which is good to see. Its D-Cubed-brand Profile Geometry Manager and 3D Dimensional Constraint Manager are in Version 5 of it NX CAD software. [I wonder what the inter-departmental royalty payments might be?] www.ugs.com/products/open/d-cubed/animations/pgm/ Eagle Point Corporation creates The Engineering Exchange (US$250/yr), where members can advertise and bid on services in the land development industry. Advertising is free; bidding costs. www.eaglepoint.com/eepr/ TurboTools' Cable and Harness design software has been linked with Inventor 2008. www.turbotools.com SYCODE launches five new plug-ins for Rhinoceros (US$195 each): Mesh To Solid; NC Import; PIX Import; PLT Import; and PLT Export. As well, MeshCAD for Rhino has been updated. www.sycode.com/products/meshcad_rh/index.htm - - - These news items were posted during the last week at the WorldCAD Access blog <worldcadaccess.typepad.com>:
Seminars & Conferences CPDA's PLM Road Map 2007 is Sept 19-20 in Plymouth MI USA. www.cpd-associates.com/pdfs/PLMRM07-2.html Bentley Systems reports that 3,000 in total attended their BE user events in Los Angeles and London.
Magazine/eZine/Weblog Updates Tony Lockwood resigns as editor of 'Desktop Engineering' magazine.
People/Companies on the Move Sescoi opens a subsidiary office in Shanghai. Seemage appoints Axemble as distributor in EU, targeting small and midsize manufacturing companies. Axemble is the second-largest SolidWorks distributor in Europe.
Market News Autodesk buys up yet another 3D visualization vendor, this time Opticore of Sweden. The company has clients among automotive, consumer product, and transportation industries.
WorthWhile Web http://thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com/2007/06/11/working-the-youtube-moment/
http://fakesteveballmer.blogspot.com/
Letters to the Editor Re: Only Dassault at Ford "Maybe you get one of their obsolete seats of UGS when you
buy any Ford vehicle? Ford's promotions are getting desperate these
days!"
Re: Tax Implications of Software Donations "Software is generally accounted for as a 98% margin business,
and you certainly cannot deduct the margin. Probably just the cost
of books, CDs, and boxes."
Re: Un-customizable AutoCAD LT, Inventor LT "From my own (limited) experience, half of AutoCAD users
use it 'out of the box". Most of the rest just add the odd
tweak; a small number use scripts of some type; but only a minuscule
number write their own [customization]."
Re: Old Engineering Books, Great 2D Drawings "Reminds me of a meeting I was in recently. A new client had asked me to describe my background as a mold designer, and I mentioned that I began in the mid-70s and worked on the [drafting] board until 1990. "One of the young guys exclaimed in wonder: 'WOW! You did
everything in just 2D for that long?' I replied that to the contrary,
I always worked in 3D. It was just that the 3D was in my head and
merely represented on a flat drawing. He looked baffled."
Re: Those Other Rhinio Events "The correct event link is www.rhino3d.com/tradeshows/tradeshows.asp . "What did I mean by this: 'At the level that works for the users. That can be at any level.' I'm not sure if I can explain so here is a couple of examples: "AutoCAD became the 2D drafting tool everyone standardized on. At the same time, Softdesk became the civil design tool set that everyone standardize on (at least in the US). You could say those are different levels. Did AutoCAD need to become the standard before Softdesk? I don't think so. Maybe DWG file format was the level of standardization needed for Softdesk. "Look at PhotoShop. It is the standard on both Windows and Mac. In the PhotoShop case, it doesn't matter to the users what the standard is at the operating system level. Nor at the file format level. "Each market is different. But for 3D CAD, there are no
standards at any level or in any market segment as near as I can
tell. Maybe you could say that the OS standard for 3D CAD is Windows
XP."
Re: Steinert's Homegrown CAFM Solution "It is commendable that an individual can take company time and build a CAFM [computer-aided facilities management[ solution to document the BOMA area of their facility using AutoCAD and Visio. It is also interesting to hear how much was spent at his previous place of employ, which must have been an organization with considerably more than 800,000sf. "However, the downside of any homegrown solution is it typically offers a one-dimensional solution; in this case, it can only be used for tracking specific aspect of area information. This solution would be useless for providing any metrics on space usage; planning; any form of move management; asset mgmt; phones, etc. I.e., the myriad of other things that a typical FM professional needs to be concerned with that a commercial CAFM solution should be able to provide. "And what happens when Mr. Steinert leaves? Who will support
any on-going/new development of his process? For most corporations,
in light of today's increasingly demanding regulatory environment,
the above solution would prove to be much too expensive to tolerate." - - - "Thank you so much for the interesting articles so far and
I look forward to them from now on!"
Spin Doctor of the Moment "The fact is that all the journalists I've ever met boasted
a combination of incredible naivete and limited intelligence with
an exaggerated sense of self-importance and a wrongheaded belief
that they are a great deal smarter than the people they interview."
Notable Quotable "Those that remember cliches are doomed to repeat them!"
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