upFront.eZine News Archives

In 2014 SP1, SpaceClaim Preps 3D Printing, Reviews Through the Cloud

upFront.eZine Issue #811 

 

 

SpaceClaim, earlier this month, released SpaceClaim 2014 SP1, and director of product management Justin Hendrickson tells upFront.eZine readers about it:

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Normally we wouldn't have much to talk about in an SP1 [service pack 1], but this time it is different. Through it, SpaceClaim gets two significant add-ons:

• STL Prep for 3D Printing ($1,200)
• SpaceClaim LiveReview (free for now)

STL Prep for 3D Printing

SpaceClaim resellers often sell 3D printers. There are problems that are faced with printing, because we can't just send a CAD model to a 3D printer. The problems include the following:

• STL files have to be watertight (*)
• Shapes must be suitable for printing, such as merged assemblies, thickened ribs, and interiors removed
• Models have to be resized to fit the envelop size
• Fixtures added, such as exterior and interior supports
• Model reduced in complexity to reduce the data sent to the printer
• Additional considerations for material, such as shrinkage

(*) Most 3D printers accept STL format files from CAD programs. STL is short for "stereolithography," and the format was invented in 1986 by 3D Systems. It consists of simple 3D coordinates of surface triangles. "Watertight" means that there are no gaps in the surfaces.

And then there are the problems created by 2D drawings and scan data. Well, 2D drawings cannot be printed because they are not 3D, but SpaceClaim turns 2D drawings into 3D models. Scan data almost always has holes in the model where the scanner was unable to see, and so these need to be covered over.

SpaceClaim has a lot of tools that are good for making models ready for 3D printing. The most important one is that it can combine models from a variety of CAD packages. When the source file is a mesh, then the new 3D Print Prep module cleans up meshes by removing gaps, holes, and intersecting meshes -- making them watertight.

Sometimes users may need to print something derived from a model, such as a mouth guard derived from a cast of someone's teeth. Use SpaceClaim's modeling tools to create a generic mouthguard, and then subtract the mesh (of the teeth) from the mouthguard model.

SpaceClaim's new 3D print prep module also handles these tasks: converts any model to STL or AMF [additive manufacturing format] files; previews the solid to mesh export, with adjustable settings; reduces triangles automatically.

 

Ralph Grabowski: Does SpaceClaim handle supports?

SpaceClaim: Supports are handled by the printer's software, since it best knows how to add supports inside the hollow model.

 

Ralph Grabowski: Are you using technology from Geomagic?

SpaceClaim: Although we have partnered with Geomagic, none of our clean up technology is from Geomagic.

 

SpaceClaim LiveReview

The second add-on provides live 3D collaboration in a different manner that's somewhat from other systems: it allows real time input from collaborators. But first, let's have a look at some of the problems with other collaboration systems:

• PLM locks parts to prevent other versions, and so is no good for working together
• Dropbox and FTP creates problems with versioning and bottlenecks
• Web meeting software shares views but allows only one participant to be in control, who must pass on the cursor control

SpaceClaim itself reads any CAD file and can edit it, which makes it better for reviews. LiveReview reviews models with multiple viewers on any OS on supported Web browsers. It also allows limited editing.

It works like this: you start LiveReview in SpaceClaim 2014 SP1, and then send emails to those you want to participate. Their emails contain a link, which they open in their Web browser. Immediately, they see the model.

Between you and the participants, LiveReview sends 3D triangle data to the LiveReview Manager servers on the cloud; this is not raster data, as some other systems use. When a participant clicks on a part, only a tiny bit of info is sent, making it useful in low bandwidth situations. (See figure 1.)

 

Figure 1: How the data flows during a LiveReview session

 

The source model remains secure, because it resides on the host machine only and not on any cloud; the cloud is only used to manage the sharing process.

All participants can navigate the model, select objects, apply markups, and initiate edits. Editing is limited to actions like moving or rotating objects; copies cannot be made. Parties have independent views. (See figure 2.)

 

Figure 2: Host's view of LiveReview in SpaceClaim (at left) and the client's view in a Web browser (at right)

 

At any time, a participant can freeze the view to mark it up, or discuss issues without the others watching. Snapshots can be taken to record states with markups (when marking up, the 3D view is frozen.) Because the geometry is not simply a raster image, participants can measure geometry (angles, areas, diameters).

 

RG: Is latency a problem? 

SC: Once the model is loaded, there is no latency [or delay]. [We tested it by Mr Hendrickson sending me a link, and I opening the model in Firefox. It did not work in my Opera Web browser. Even though we were 2,000 miles apart, the model of figure 2 experienced only a slight hesitation as I rotated and zoomed it.]

 

RG: How much does LiveReview cost?

SC: LiveReview is given to all customers on subscription for six months free; we will decide later how much to charge.

http://www.spaceclaim.com

Information on AMF: http://amf.wikispaces.com

What Ralph Grabowski Thinks

The consumer side of 3D printing is breathless over its future possibilities, reminding me of the early days of desktop CAD, when "the only limit is your imiagination." Later we found out that CAD is far more limited than we ever imagined. So while there is much excitment over what 3D printing can do, the lower prices and increasing quality of 3D printers, the 3D Printing Prep add-on is not for consumers, not when it costs $3,645 (that's $2,445 for SpaceClaim + $1,200 for the add-on). So this is something that is for professionals, those that buy the five- and six-figure 3D printing machines. I am surpised that SpaceClaim is charging for the add-on, rather than making it part of service pack 1.

As for the remote viewer, the technology makes a lot more sense than the the raster-pushing technology from other CAD vendors. SpaceClaim sends actual 3D triangles that can be viewed in a Web browser; no mobile app needed.

 

And One More Thing...

Theorem Solutions' 3D PDF Publisher and Publish 3D plugin for CATIA V5 isn't just new -- it's also the first one that lets Catia V5 output 3D interactive PDF files with 3D FTA (PMI) annotations and dimensions, MBD [model based definitions] through the Save As command, plus batch output.

This lets non-Catia users view models through free Acrobat program, although Thorem's PDF publisher is not free. Demo sample from http://www.theorem.com/dm/3dpdf-v5-stq.htm (after registration).

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Heard on Twitter and On the Blog

upFront.eZine (@upFronteZine): Windows marketshare falls below 90%, first time since the mid-1990s -> http://www.theregister.co.uk/2014/03/15/windows_desktop_and_laptop_market_share_dips_below_90_per_cent

upFront.eZine: The What's-New for BricsCAD V14 is now 102 pages long (as of version 14.2.06, Feb 27'14) -> http://www.bricsys.com/rss/html.jsp?channel=bcad&site=1

upFront.eZine: Of course the NSA knows where that missing Malaysian jet liner ended up.

- - -

 

On the Blog

Here are items that appeared on the WorldCAD Access blog recently at http://worldcadaccess.typepad.com:

• Dassault counter-sues Auto-Dimensions (aka Acacia Research)
• The PDF quandary: better quality for ebooks than ePub but no security
• Orange Juice Studio's CADO goes on Kickstarter
• It's time for you to fill out the CAD survey
• Solving the Mac Mini's blank-out problem
• Dell: You Bought an SUV, Now Buy Our Workstation by Roopinder Tara

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Letters to the Editor

Re: Virtualization, and What You Can Expect from It

"Put these in the datacenter: http://www.fluidyna.com/content/fluidyna%C2%AE-typhoon."
      - William J. Munson
        CADzation

The editor replies: "I see that they mention Tesla, and so they are using nVidia chip sets."

 

"Are you back from SXSW? I heard about the big incident down there."
       - J.O.

The editor replies: "I was at SXSW just on the Friday, when the streets were already blocked off but not much of anything else going on. It was disappointing that Dell gave us these complimentary tix normally worth $500 each, but we couldn't use them because we all flew home Saturday. The accident that killed attendees was shocking. I wonder how this incident will affect next year's event; probably concrete barriers, instead of traffic diverters."

Re: Spin Doctor of the Moment

"I read 'Spin Doctor of the Moment' on my new Nokia 1520 Windows phone, and totally agree with Mr Nadella: 'This is the right move for Microsoft'."
      - Robin Capper
        New Zealand

The editor replies: "I feel the same way about my old PalmPilots. There is stuff in them that no modern phone does yet."

 

Re: Heard On Twitter
"Since Mr. Kurzweil will be 81 when this takes place, I predict Ray will be willing to mow lawns rather than being buried under them. He's betting that radical life extension will go hand-in-hand with the Singularity."
       - Rob Curran

The editor replies: "He is betting on the mechanistic philosophy of the brain. I am willing to bet that his Singularity won't happen in 2029."

 

"I read with interest the Russian-to English translation of your article that had already been through an English-to-Russian translation. It reminded me of the story about one of the first attempts at computerized translations. The real test of a translator is to do a round trip into the same translator and back.

"Apparently what they put in was 'The spirit is willing but the flesh is weak'. What came back was 'The booze is okay but the meat's gone bad.' I use this as a cautionary story when talking to people about CAD (and other) file format compatibilities and translations.
      - Bill Fane
        Canada

 

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Notable Quotable

"My mind is aglow with whirling transient nodes of thought careening through a cosmic vapor of invention."
      - Hedley Lamarr in Blazing Saddles

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Virtualization, and What You Can Expect from It

upFront.eZine Issue #810

 

by Ralph Grabowski

The cloud is not only for storing cat photos. Virtualization is another purpose. This is where CAD (and other) software runs on servers in a data center. Each server has one or two high-end nVidia or AMD graphics boards, each capable of serving raster images to four to eight remote computers. (See figure 1.) The raster images are displayed sufficiently quickly that CAD users think they are operating the CAD software on their desktop computer. As users enter commands and move the mouse, the servers running the software update the images they send over.

Figure 1: The kinds of rack-mount computers needed to serve up raster images to terminals (click image for larger version)

 

Dell Precision executive director Andy Rhodes explains the need for virtualization this way: "The notion of a 1:1 relationship between a user and a piece of hardware is going away, as an increasing number of IT [information technology] managers see desktop virtualization as a viable means of providing users with a secure, manageable and resource efficient way to access their desktops and applications." (Precision is the name of the division at Dell that designs and manufactures workstations.)

A group of 50 editors were, last week, learning about virtualization at Dell headquarters in Round Rock, TX. The company, on Thursday, launched a new Workstation Center of Excellence, and listed just four virtualization software partners: Siemens PLM (available now), PTC, Autodesk, and Dassault Systems (available later in Spring). Dell has certified that certain software packages from these vendors work through virtualization.

(The fallout from the list of names is, curiosity. Siemens PLM was not present at the event, even though their software is the only one certified currently. Representatives from Autodesk and Solidworks spoke at the event. Dell uses Pro/E in-house for designing its computers, but PTC's software is not available until Spring.)

To improve the it-feels-just-like-the-software-is-running-on-my-desktop feeling, Dell adds routines to do things like cursor anticipation (updating the screen only where users appear to be moving the cursor) and zoom pixelization (lower resolution images are generated when users zoom in and out of drawings).

 

Virtualization for CAD Operators

After a design firm implements virtualization, CAD users will come in to work and discover that they no longer operate big, honking desktop computers. Instead, they will find the hardwarereplaced by tiny computers hooked up to the usual big monitors. These small computers are just powerful enough to take the raster images coming over the network connection and to display them on the screen. They can be Wyse terminal units from Dell ($350 each; see figure 2), older PCs or laptops no longer powerful enough for today's CAD software, or even tablets connected through wireless networking.

 

Figure 2: Typical form factor of Dell's Wyse zero-client computer for Citrix HDX

 

The data center is best located right on the premises of the design firm, due to the latency problem. Latency is the time it takes for data to flow over the network between the data center and the end users' computers. The further the distance, the more likely users will experience a halting image on their screens. When I asked a Dell executive about the maximum allowable distance, he instead quoted the maximum latency: the delay should be no more than a 1/4-second at worst, and ideally no more than 0.10-0.15 seconds. In the rare case of sufficiently high-speed and dedicated network lines, it could be possible to host in England and view in India; but on-premise gives the best performance, he told me.

You may recall the announcement Autodesk made a couple of months ago that their software now can be virtualized. Dell execs and users reported at this press event that they had to work with Autodesk to get its software working properly. For example, moving the cursor created a lot of unnecessary data for the network; the first solution was to turn off hardware graphics acceleration. Revit in its native form in particular was poorly equipped to work with Citrix virtualization, and needed the most reworking.

 

Why Bother Virtualizing Software?

Replacing the normal way of running CAD on desktop computers directly seemed to me like an awful lot of work. Why would a design firm bother with virtualization? These are a few advantages that Dell told us about:

Zero Install. Software is no longer installed on individual workstations, desktop by desktop. Instead, it all resides in the central location (the servers), and users sign into their terminals to access the software.

Hardware Reuse. Older computers can be kept in service, instead of buying new ones.

Secure Backup. Files are stored on the drives of the servers, not on local computers. Indeed, drawing files never make it to the engineers' work areas. While the data center might be more secure against natural disaster than the office, the real security comes from employees being unable to steal files with USB thumbdrives, etc.

These advantages could make medium-size firms consider buying gear from Dell. One representative of a CAD vendor indicated that in his experience virtualization tends to be adopted by firms with 100-200 engineers.

For Dell, the advantage is that they make higher profits selling servers and associated services. With sales of desktop computers falling year over year, companies like Dell, HP, and Lenovo are keen to increase sales of expensive kit.

"Won't sales of servers for virtualization eat into the sales of workstations?" asks an editor. "No," avowed the Dellexecutive, spreading his hands apart to indicate a market whose size is growing larger. I wondered if perhaps this was the first time the question ever came up. The exec figured Dell would make up the difference from increasing sales of low-end workstations to non-CAD professionals, such as in banking and healthcare.

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Virtualization, and What You Can Expect from It, continued...

 

How HOK Uses Virtualization

At these kinds of events, the vendor is sure to bring in customers to tout the product. HOK is a large design firm that operates worldwide on big architectural and other projects. They have begun to implement virtualization with 30 Citrix servers and 85 terminals -- out of about two thousand workstations.

"A lot of people at HOK have the same question: what is the usefulness of virtualization," said the speaker from HOK. There is the ability to show projects without clients needing to travel to the office, and to share files with other offices. Employees can work from home, or can engage in-house experts who reside in other offices. With CAD files becoming large, HOK finds it more efficient to store all files in a central location, and then send the raster representations instead. (As drawings become more complex, the raster image stays the same size.)

An editor asked, "Have you looked at the cost, such as the large upfront cost [of implementing servers and new terminal hardware] vs ongoing costs [of keeping desktop workstations]?" HOK saved the cost of 85 engineering laptops due to the Wyse terminals they got instead. The uptime for users is faster, because computers no longer need to be customized for each user with software, etc. Some projects are so big that they can only be opened on Citrix servers, they can't be opened on local machines.

"We are committed to BIM," he concluded. "This is not to say we ignore the most important tool of our trade: the pencil."

 

Dell Tells Us Why Their Computers Are Different

Dell spent some time at their first-ever Worldwide Media Event explaining to us why their workstation computers are better than those from competitors. I've heard the arguments before, and me, I don't particularly buy them. As for Dell employees, well, they have to believe in the difference, because the company spends in excess of $50 million in developing a new line of workstations.

But it was really cool that they gave us a first-time-ever tour of their engineering lab, where really smart people use a half-million-dollar oscilloscope to precisely determine whether CPUs and cores, as well as system and graphics memory are utilized fully. They certify every little piece of hardware inside the computer, as well as the software (Windows, CAD, and so on) running on the computer.

"Who pays for all this testing?" I asked. "Do software vendors kick in some funds?" No, Dell bears the costs all to themselves. I would add that ultimately the customer pays, explaining in part why workstations cost more.

Here are some stats I recorded on how Dell optimizes the performance of it workstations. They have ten design centers in USA, Europe, and south east Asia. There, some 250 engineers build 3,500 prototypes. Dell engineers optimize performance to the point that they can boast that their workstations run 18% faster than competitors' computers with the same components. In the labs, the company showed us the world's fastest workstation (currently), as measured by a benchmark. We also toured their massive design studio (where shapes, colors, and materials are selected for new computer lines) and photo studio, though half of all images are now digitally generated from CAD drawings.

"Which software do you use for design?" asks an editor. Pro/Engineer, it turns out, and not just for designing the insides of the chassis but also for the industrial design of the outside. Other product names mentioned included Allegro for PCB layouts, and ANSYS and Flowtherm for strength and thermal analysis.

Dell includes with workstations a number of software programs that optimize the way in which the hardware operates. There is some that automatically optimizes the hardware so that it works best with specific applications. Other software caches reads and writes to speed up disk performance.

 

What Ralph Grabowski Thinks

I found it fascinating to see how much effort is put into squeezing a few extra percent of speed here and there out of a workstation. From my experience, 18% is meaningless. As companies like Dell, HP, and Lenovo desperately attempt to outsell each other in this era of "the end of the computer," marketing departments nevertheless find great comfort in a number like this.

Virtualization is one way of solving the problem of how to run software on an in-house cloud, especially for software from vendors like Autodesk and Siemens PLM who don't offer customers the option. (Autodesk only has off-premises cloud, and Siemens doesn't have either version.) Virtualization could be useful to mid-size firms. Huge firms will have little interest in what Dell offers, because they already do this sort of thing with their in-house IT capabilities. It is not cost effective for small firms.

http://www.dell.com/learn/us/en/555/virtual-data-center

 

And One More Thing...

Intergraph's new CADWorx E&I V2014 import instruments and electrical load data from CADWorx P&ID though an Access database, SQL server, or Oracle. Differential view checks the results and creates a log file. The new release now supports DXF binary and DWG for AutoCAD 12 through 2013. Users can define custom attributes for loops and loop elements; plus other new functions. Get all the info from http://www.intergraph.com/products/ppm/cadworx.

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== Professional 3D File Conversion/Viewing/Rendering Software ==

For over 2 decades Okino (Toronto) has provided mission-critical 3D conversion software used extensively by tens of thousands of professionals. We develop, support and convert between all major CAD, DCC & VisSim formats. Robert Lansdale (CTO, [email protected]) tailors each package to the specific conversion requirements of each customer.

Popular formats include 3ds Max, Maya, C4D, LW, ProE, SolidWorks, Inventor, SketchUp, DWF/DWG, DGN, CATIA, IGES/STEP/Parasolid, 3D PDF/U3D, JT, FBX, Collada & more. We know data translation, and provide immaculate developer-to-customer relations.
http://www.okino.com

 

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Heard on Twitter and On the Blog

upFront.eZine (@upFronteZine): The share price of DDD falls 5% after Barron's cover story, "Beware 3-D Printing!", saying shares could fall 80% -> http://seekingalpha.com/news/1616783-3d-printing-stocks-fall-on-barrons-piece

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Randall S. Newton (@RSNatWork): Autodesk to discontinue Softimage. No-cost cross-grades to Maya, 3ds Max for subscribers. http://bit.ly/NRJaRL

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Alex Bausk (@bauskas): Wow look, a BIM jedi handwave. "The open BIM versus closed BIM problem doesn't exist" http://www.augi.com/library/myth-buster-revit-ifc

- - -

upFront.eZine: Ray Kurzweil forgets that when robot brains exceed that of humans in 2029, he too becomes unemployable, like the rest of us.

 

On the Blog

Here are items that appeared on the WorldCAD Access blog recently at http://worldcadaccess.typepad.com:

• Photojournal of Dell Precision's First Worldwide Launch Event 
• Live blogging Dell Precision media day: The Switcher Panel
• Live blogging Dell Precision workstation launch
• Bricsys launches a TV channel, and it's got my videos

 

Thank You to Our Subscribers & Donators
These great people support upFront.eZine through their personal contributions of $25 (or corporate of $500). Thank you!

• Paul F. Aubin Consulting Services
• Leroy Moore
• Robert Fraser
• Wolfgang Lynen

(You can donate through PayPal to this newsletter using the Personal or Corporate donation links at http://www.upfrontezine.com.)

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Letters to the Editor

Re: About Version 15 of the C3D Kernel

"I translated your 'What Ralph Grabowski Thinks': http://levin-isicad.blogspot.ru/2014/03/c3d.html "
      - David Levin
        LEDAS, Russia

 

The editor replies: "For context, here is the English translation of the Russian page: http://translate.google.com/translate?sl=ru&tl=en&js=n&prev=_t&hl=en&ie=UTF-8&u=http%3A%2F%2Flevin-isicad.blogspot.ru%2F2014%2F03%2Fc3d.html."

"All the world still love iPhone, in spite of Iraq or Libya... 'let the politicians rattle their sabers' - great words."
     - Oleg Zykov @olegazykov
       via Twitter

 

"It's time to be professionals! Everybody should have an open view on their business opportunities in the age of globalization. And don't worry about our leaders with temporal hysterics. Phones are working good, economics are needing their friendship :) "
     - Бурый медведь @savagemen
       via Twitter

Re: Heard on Twitter

"This looks like an interesting candidate for a distributed database for cloud CAD: http://techcrunch.com/2014/02/26/nuodb-raises-14-2m-round-led-by-dassault-systemes-for-its-distributed-database-management-system

"Imagine hosting instances behind the corporate firewall (on a private cloud), on the public cloud, and in offshore engineering offices. All of a sudden, the latency problems of cloud CAD go away."
      - Evan Yares

 

"You wrote in upFront.eZine: 'How Autodesk plans to grow 12%/yr: extract 20% more revenue from every customer, get 50% more customers on subscriptions, and cut more costs.' I'm just a CAD tech at this engineering firm. I originally purchased AutoCAD LT for Windows 95 and have had several upgrades since. Currently I am on AutoCAD LT 2010 and I do not think I am going to continue with this upgrading path due to a couple of reasons.

"First, the original purpose to get AutoCAD LT was to learn AutoCAD and get off the drawing board (literally!). I saw the writing on the wall and saw hand drafting was going the way of the dinosaur. But now, I am doing very little at home and the pricing on upgrades has gotten to the point that even upgrading to LT has become a MAJOR investment for home users. And the upgrades do not warrant the cost.

"No surprise here that Autodesk is not meeting their [financial] goals. Perhaps they should check their math. 20% of 0 = 0."
      - Brian Spillane

 

Re: The End of Print

"Your comment about lazy video watching -- 'This is one side effect of choice: a regression to the least effort' -- piqued my interest. When water does that, it's called the path of least resistance, right? More recent translations include 'The path of highest efficiency'.

"I have been personally wrestling with this question for years, and society has been doing so for decades: If it is more efficient (and simply faster) to ingest information via video (as compared to reading), aren't we better served by doing so, the laziness label be darned? If we can safely assume that a picture is worth a thousand words, then an accurate video must be worth at least that, and it adds audio for even further value.

"Books and reading are a passion of mine but they are, objectively speaking, a fairly slow and primitive way of transferring knowledge. We are all well aware of the high social esteem in which reading is generally held, but we must also recognize its limits.

"The same can be said of our current method of transferring knowledge onto the page, namely typing on a keyboard. As a hunt-and-peck typist, I often silently curse the limitations of the keyboard, which Dvorak will tell you are intentional, at least in part. We need to have a more direct interface with our computers, which is a concept both frightening and exciting.

"To the future, and beyond!"
       - Peter Lawton

The editor replies: "Video has lower information density than text."

Mr Lawton responds: "But MUCH higher bandwidth, both in the visual and aural pathways? This is my guess. Also, how would your statement reconcile with the old adage, 'a picture is worth a thousand words?' What would be more efficient, reading three pages of Thomas Hardy's descriptive text of a garden in spring (five minutes of reading), or seeing a 30-second HD clip of that same garden, birds chirping, and bees buzzing?"

The editor replies: "It an adage and it's old. Sometimes pictures work better, sometimes text does. What does this icon do? 

"Here it is again with text:."

Mr Lawton responds: "Agreed!"

 

"No longer working. Still receive your newsletter at my home office – which I read with interest."
      - Brian McKenzie

 

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Spin Doctor of the Moment

"This is the right move for Microsoft."
       - Satya Nadella, ceo Microsoft, on the acquistion of Nokia's phone biz
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-03-05/microsoft-s-nadella-manages-legacy-of-ballmer-board-split.html

 

About Version 15 of the C3D Kernel

upFront.eZine Issue #809

 

 

by Ralph Grabowski

ASCON is Russia's largest CAD vendor, and C3D Labs is their year-old subsidiary formed to license the C3D kernel. Staff last week held Webinars to tell the media and others about its progress and future plans. As reflected by the name, C3D consists of three components: a geometric kernel, a parametric solver, and a translator:

Geometric module

• 3D solid modeling
• 3D hybrid modeling
• Sketching
• 2D drafting
• 3D meshes

Parametric module

• Creating and solving parametric constraints
• 2D and 3D geometry

Translation module

• STEP read/write
• Parasolid read/write
• ACIS read/write
• IGES read/write
• STL read/write
• VRML read/write

It runs on Windows and Linux; development is done with Visual Studio.

After one year, C3D Labs has a staff of 15, and ten corporate customers. The most recent release added 50 modeling functions, sped up the solver 10x, and sped up the converter 30x. This is reasonably impressive, as a year ago they had just one customer, parent company ASCON. ASCON uses it for its own CAD software, naturally, as well as for the Android version of its software.

Some software firms using C3D include LO CNITI and Rubius (Extra CAD for Esprit), LEDAS (Geometry Comparison), BASIS Center (BAZIS furniture design), Center GeoS (K3 furniture design), and most significantly NTP Truboprovod (PASSAT vessel design, used by default all across Russia). In addition, three universities are teaching in Russia how to use C3D.

"Now that we have enough customers," said Oleg Zykov, "We have an online service desk at sd.ascon.ru. We upload a new version of the kernel every two weeks, available to customers through our FTP server" at c3d.sd.ascon.ru. Online documentation is available in English and Russian at c3d.ru/doc/math/modules.html.

"Theory" is the name of the book that describes how C3D works. (See figure 1.) Currently it is in Russian only, but an English version will be available later in the summer.

Figure 1: Pages from the 'Theory' book describing the C3D geometric kernel in detail

 

Business Model

Here is what C3D Labs offers potential customers:

• 3 months free to evaluate; includes full tech support
• Royalty-free for low-cost and free products
• Special terms for startups
• Educational program for universities

C3D Labs will soon have their own site at c3dlabs.com. In the meantime, they can be contacted through [email protected].

What's New in C3D V15

Even though C3D Labs is just a year old, the C3D kernel has more nearly two decades of development as a proprietary kernel in ASCON's KOMPAS-3D MCAD software. Hence the new version is numbered "V15." Here are some of the functions newly added to C3D:

C3D V15 Geometry

Swept builds solid objects from several planar and non-planar contours

Fillets can now be stopped at an arbitrary point along an edge, ie, partial fillets length-wise. Where the fillet ends can also be filleted to the edge.

In addition, fillets can be trimmed by a face; fillets can keep bosses and holes, so that intersecting extrusions are untouched by the fillet.

Boolean operations let you control how co-planar faces are merged. In addition, C3D is faster when applying Boolean operations to arrays of solids.

Shells can been made from arbitrary borders in a significantly simplified manner.

Holes can have tails (extended holes, like partial countersinks) whose shape you specify.

Sheet metal made from two sketches can be unfolded.

Triangulation of narrow faces is improved.

C3D V15 Solver

Constarints can be added to any geometry in the model, such as points, lines, cylinders, and so on. (Previously, they worked only with solids.)

3D Solver operates significantly faster.

2D Solver handles more cases:

• parts of curves between bounding points
• align points in specific directions
• percentage of the length of a curve
• linear dimensions between two circles and between circle-linear objects
• transformations like displacement, rotation, and scaling

C3D V15 Converter

STEP translator now exports and imports attributes and annotation, such as dimensions, text, and auxiliary geometry.

Also, the STEP translator is up to 30x faster at importing large 1GB files with many surfaces.

 

What Ralph Grabowski Thinks

From my trip to Russia some years ago, I learned that Russian CAD vendors hoped to entice Western markets with low prices. Problem is that the Internet lets anyone drop prices, and so that competitive advantage is gone. I think that they should emphasize quality over price; but even so, this would not overcome the issues of mindshare and visibility. When a Western CAD vendor thinks of CAD programming, they think of Russia automatically (it has mindshare); when Western CAD vendors think kernels, they do not think of Russia. And so it is up to publications like upFront.eZine to assist with visibility.

Since I wrote this article last week, the Russia-Ukraine-Europe conflict has worsened, with the first boycotts being announced surrounding the para olympics. In my opinion, let the politicians rattle their sabers, verbal or real; let us, the other 99%, continue to treat each other as worthy human beings.

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And One More Thing...

In a first for ZWsoft, the Guangzhou, China company reported on the financial picture of its ZW3D unit, even if only vaguely reporting near-meaningless percentages.

"Revenue of high-end, mature markets, like Germany, Japan and France among others, has increased by over 40%. Meanwhile, the growth of ZW3D's emerging mid-market, such as Poland, South Africa, Turkey, Thailand and Mexico etc., has surged 70%. Of particular interest has been the success in Chinese market, witnessing a compound growth rate of 100%."

The company notes that 80% of its customers upgraded during 2013. The number of its dealers and distributors grew 35% last year. http://www.zwsoft.com/ZW3D/

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Heard on Twitter and On the Blog

upFront.eZine (@upFronteZine): Here's why ADSK didn't talk about FY revenues in its press release: annual revenues fell $38 million from a year ago.

upFront.eZine: How Autodesk plans to grow 12%/yr: extract 20% more revenue from every customer, get 50% more customers on subscriptions, and cut more costs

- - -

upFront.eZine: MPAA wants US government to erect trade barriers against electronic transmissions across US borders -> http://pando.com/2014/02/25/revenge-of-the-nerds-how-tech-geeks-found-a-secret-weapon-in-their-fight-against-big-hollywood/

upFront.eZine: MPAA reasoning: electronic transmissions contain files for copyright-breaking products, such as 3D printer files of movie characters.

Mike Burke (@kiwifrenzy): Read this about NZ Customs wanting to restrict access to files that allow you to print 3D guns. http://dlvr.it/51hhkG

Mike Burke: They won't be able to stop it with a law of course. But this is only the start, other restrictions would be added as well.

Mike Burke: I think they will end up calling for a ban on 3D printers for public use outright, Still won't stop people though.

upFront.eZine: Remarkably, NZ Customs thinks we can 3D-print gold -- from lead?

Mike Burke: No, out of thin air. ;-) Proves Govt agencies have no clue. There was a good follow up to that article http://www.stuff.co.nz/dominion-post/news/9773172/No-smoking-gun-with-3-D-printers-experts-say

- - -

upFront.eZine: AVG kills its cloud service: "Please be sure to back up all of your LiveKive files before this date." Wait! I thot the cloud was the backup

upFront.eZine: "One reason employees become disengaged is when leadership breaks the psychological contract." -> http://thenextweb.com/entrepreneur/2014/03/02/disengaged-employees-really-thinking/

upFront.eZine: When world leaders and parroting news readers talk of the "international community," remember that there is no International Community.

 

On the Blog

Here are items that appeared on the WorldCAD Access blog recently at http://worldcadaccess.typepad.com:

• Autodesk describes its business model transition
• Autodesk expects you to moan'n groan when it eliminates software upgrades next year
• Extending the range of your wireless system

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Letters to the Editor

Re: The End of Print

"I am brand new to CAD, having last year purchased Bricscad V13. I didn't even bother looking for anything else after I saw your ebook, and I certainly didn't bother trying to find another way to get hold of it for free: I thought $20 was great value for money. It is a great book for the complete beginner in CAD, as I am. I am up to Chapter 4 and really enjoying it.

"I'm sad that things have gone the way they have, but I can equally see it happening around me. As the CEO of our little company, I know that everything is correct, everything is licensed, and everything is properly paid for. We like to do it that way. Kind regards and best wishes for the future."
      - Peter Selwyn, ceo
        Navicom Dynamics, New Zealand

"Thank you so much for your great contribution to the CAD world. As the books (printed and ebooks) lose ground as being a source of income, videos are gaining popularity as you experience yourself. I am happy to see that you jumped onto the video tutorial bandwagon. Perhaps you create you own YouTube channel. Your insight and tutoring is appreciated by so many of our users."
      - Heinz Baumann, senior manager engineering
       IPG Global Engineering, Autodesk

"Sorry to hear your book-writing is a dying art. I've seen it in other avenues, too. For example, my sister designed hats, until Asians bought a few and made knock-offs at about 1/10 the price. She quit making hats and went into making lady's evening dresses. That carried her for about 10 years and then the same thing happened. Now, she's outta work after 30 years of designing and making. One of the thing that killed her business was the rent in down-town NYC: over $8,000/moth."
      - Chris

"I'm an author and co-author of almost 50 books, mainly AutoCAD and 3ds Max, written for a Portuguese publisher (none as ebooks), and two books written in English for an international publisher (these have ebook versions). We non-English authors have some local advantages, as many readers are not fluent in English.

"I share some of your concerns. In last years, revenue coming from books dropped to less than half due to the southern Europe financial crisis. I believe that YouTube videos cannot replace a good book. They are good for showing some particular aspects, but not a complete course.

"Another aspect you did not mention has to do with Autodesk policies. The last [several] AutoCAD versions had few real improvements in productivity. Together with high prices for purchasing or subscription/upgrades (and upgrades being dropped soon), lead to many clients to maintain current versions. If there are no real improvements, individuals also don't need to buy updated books.

"Cheers and keep up the excellent work."
      - Joao Santos, manager 
       QualiCAD, Portugal

The editor replies: "I agree with you in both cases. I cannot see how to make an income from YouTube videos, and Autodesk increased cost structure is facing resistance from customers."

"Autodesk's yearly software updates can't be helping the quality of the books either, causing authors to concentrate on new features and updated screen shots, rather than strengthening the presentation. In my opinion, computer books in general are horrible from a teaching point of view. The authors seem to dive off in to the exceptions before they even present the subject.

"And Autodesk books are the worst: They have to be read in an iterative fashion -- read it, don't really hope to understand it, try it, read it again. So maybe young people don't read, but there is a problem on the supply side too. Computer books aiming to teach software programs should study college textbooks, especially math books. Define terms before you use them. Don't use so many wordy paragraphs. Summarize."
      - Terry Priest

The editor replies: "When Autodesk went to yearly releases, it was a financial boon to authors like myself, getting that boost in royalty payments annualy instead of tri-annually. We lived through years of fat, and now have years of lean."

"I just read your piece about the end of printing (and how it affects you personally). Excellent information and insights (as usual). But what I most appreciate is the brief comment about your volunteer work. While you have never been overt or brazen, you have often over the years inserted casual, personal, and winsome comments that would lead someone to consider and evaluate their prioritie.

"I commend you on both your personal commitment and transparency as well as the skill with which you communicate. You continue to be an inspiration to me and an encouragement to be more open and proactive in my own communication into the engineering community in which I spend the majority of my waking hours."
      - L. Harold Chaney, manager of engineering systems and standards
        Columbus McKinnon, USA

"Sorry to hear about decline in printed page, and even your e-books. I guess you are right, the trend it toward lazy video watching. Thanks for the well written articles."
    - BF
      focusedresource, USA

The editor replies: "This is one side effect of choice: a regression to the least effort."

 

Re: Heard on Twitter and On the Blog

"I would like to offer some clarification to today's eZine, where you refer to the '$286-million Delcam acquisition being the most expensive ever'. The deal is the most expensive in the CAM industry, but not the most expensive by Autodesk. I believe Autodesk's acquisition of Discreet was at a significantly higher price.

"Also, I assume that the slides to which you are referring are the ones that I sent you. Since Delcam is a wholly-owned but independently-operated subsidiary of Autodesk, the slides should have been called 'Delcam slides' not 'Autodesk slides'. I know I'm biased but I think the slides contained enough information to show that there are more important considerations in this acquisition than the annual revenue multiplier, not least the rate of annual revenue growth."
      - Peter Dickin, marketing manager
        Delcam, England

The editor replies: "In the context, I think that it was understood to be the most expensive CAM acquisition. As for the slides, each one was prominently labelled with the Autodesk name and logo."

 

Re: Autodesk Core 1.0

"CAM applications have used variants of cellular modeling technologies (voxels, dexels) to do volumetric simulation of the machining process since the cellular approach was way more computationally efficient than one based on a B-Rep approach.

"Your readers might want to check out MachineWorks Polygonica (http://machineworks.com/polygonica), a modeling technology that is the core of MachineWorks' process and machine simulation. It has been under continuous development for the past 20 years. They recently introduced it as a stand-alone technology. This is another modeling technology that is extremely suitable for reverse engineering, rapid prototyping, and 3D printing.

"Keep up the great reporting!"
      - John Callen, director

        eTools Marketing

 

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Notable Quotable

"Intel finally seems cognizant of where the computing industry is going, and looks prepared to unleash its famous combination of paranoia, hard-line sales tactics, and near-oppressive marketing."
     - Ashlee Vance, BusinessWeek
       http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2014-02-24/the-unlikely-tale-of-how-arm-came-to-rule-the-world/

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