upFront.eZine News Archives

From 1996: Welcome to the Future

upFront.eZine Issue #824 

 

 

by Ralph Grabowski

Before the Internet, there were the likes of CompuServe and AOL. Their walled email gardens ensured that worldwide communications continued to be accomplished through fax and telephone. In those pre-Internet days, I kept a notebook of my telephone conversations and my research. This is what our industry was talking about in 1996 and 1997 [with additional notes from me in square brackets]:

- - -

4 Sept 1996: Cut'n paste

Softsource DWG plug-in
Go to Bellingham end of September
[Softsource's VDraft was the very first DWG-based CAD program not from Autodesk, and one of the first on Windows]

 

Intergraph: OLE allows use of solid models without translation.
Solids Modeler has assembly environment to use AutoCAD solid models.
[This is a reference to "OLE for D&M" -- object linking and embedding for design and modeling -- promoted by Intergraph as a solution to CAD interoperability; it didn't go anywhere. "Solids Modeler" later became Solid Edge.]

 

ACIS Open - OEM Group [I think this might have been an Autodesk effort? The idea was to find a way to make ACIS open, because Spatial requited it to be encrypted by Autodesk in its DXF and DWG files; still does today]
MCAD interoperability (incl. xlation format)
Autodesk will continue with DWG and DXF
Common model representation
Xlate ACIS format to own format
Geometry only; no attributes, constraints
Problems in trim surfaces not serious; b-rep data serious
ACIS is encrypted in DXF; DXF is prevalent
Making ACIS available opens Pandora's box since many have DXF but not ACIS; use SAT instead
Prototype STEP xlator in beta testing; di-directional xlator in 1997 1H [first half]
STEP is extremely compact with Autodesk's international focus

 

Acad Rel 14 [heading for my notes on what was new in AutoCAD Release 14; I'm not reproducing them here]

 

Rome

Nov 4-5 [refers to a Bentley sponsored trip to Rome that turned out to be amazing, back in the days when the remarkable Yoav Etiel was in charge of marketing MicroStation]

 

[List of DWG viewer software; I think I made this list for a mutli-product review I wrote for Cadence magazine]
1. Expert Graphics
2. Cimmetry 
3. Cyco
4. Kamel
5. Spicer
6. Myriad (ICG)
7. AutoMate (Cadmandu)
8. NCrewe (QuickViewer)
9. Adesk View beta
10. Smart Solutions
11. AutoEDMS

 

TCAD 4.0 [TurboCAD 4.0; I think these lists were for a review I wrote for InfoWorld magazine]
Weaknesses 
No pick hatch
Edit bar for object sizing but not positioning
Separate commands for Dim Hor, Ver, Ali
Symbols vs blocks

Strengths
300MB symbols
Raster-vector conversion
HTML help files
Right-click on icon for associated dialog box
Measurement palette is like a paper tape
Distance shows mspace and pspace distances
Drag symbols from palette

 

ADN [Autodesk Developer Network conference] 16 July 1997

 

Xlate Layer300 [the time it took several CAD packages to translate my test drawing, Layer300.dwg]
AutoCAD R14 0:27 [minutes:seconds]
DesignCAD 1:28
DynaCAD 0:39
[Intergraph] Imagineer 
      - to view only 0:25
      - to edit 4:53
MicroStation 0:36
VDraft 0:12
Visio
      - to view only 1:40
      - to edit 27:11
[AutoCAD] LT 97 0:27
LT 95 0:51

 

[I wonder if this progress report had to do with IntelliCAD or BricsCAD?]
ALISP - almost complete
DCL - very little done
DWG R/W - mostly done
SDS - 75%

 

[Names of three companies acquired by Autodesk in 1997]
Teleos Research [became Exegis]
Argus Technologies [developed MapGuide]
Creative Imaging Technologies [software for interior decorating]

 

And One More Thing...

ASCON Group today launches the Home edition of its KOMPAS-3D MCAD software for $95 (e60). It does 2D drafting and 3D modeling with parametrics, direct modeling, surfacing, and solids. It reads and writes files in DWG, DXF, STEP, KOMPAS, and other formats. You can download the demo version from http://ascon.net/download/KOMPAS/items/?dl_id=652 after registration.

In related news, the St Petersburg company is this year celebrating its 25th anniversary.

 

 

For More News

WorldCAD Access: blogging nearly daily with articles about CAD and tips about computers; available on RSS and through email alerts:

• How to switch your Google phone to run faster
• Using VLC on touch screens

@upfrontezine: news, updates, and commentry from upFront.eZine throughout the day on Twitter

 

 

Thank You to Our Subscribers & Donators

These great people support upFront.eZine through their contributions. Thank you!

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Letters to the Editor

Re: Switching from History to ST Modeling

Great article describing the trend for seeing the advantages of having both history-based (ordered) and direct modeling capabilities mixed together to achieve increased productivity. However, it is important to note that different implementations of this mixed environment can have an impact on the actual productivity, predictability, and ease of use that is expected from the end users.

When converting from ordered features to direct modeling features, management of how and where this is taking place can have dramatically different results and can yield unpredictable results. Leaving this management up to the user to figure out can reduce the overall productivity not to mention the difficulties that will be faced since some users may not be familiar with history orders and relations. For a simple example to show the differences and potential risks, you may want to consider reviewing this article on Mixed History-based and Direct Modeling Practices at http://www.ironcad.com/are-changes-as-simple-as-they-seem.

     - Cary O'Connor, vp of marketing

       IronCAD

Re: HP's New Large-format PageWide InkJet Printer Not Due Until 2015

Red is new? Perhaps to CAD printers. My Designjet Z3100 has a red cartridge.

And there lies a sad tale. Even with the red ink, the printer simply cannot reproduce many shades of red. They all have an orange tint. HP improved the situation with a re-formulated red ink. Great news, but they only make it available for owners of the follow-up model, the Z3200. In effect, HP abandoned the Z3100 owners, leaving them with a sub-par printer. I'm sad to say that I'm one of those owners.

There is no reason I know of the would prevent the new ink from working in the Z3100, other than the embedded chip which prevents this. HP's solution is for me to buy a new Z3200. Guess how I feel about that. Overall, it is a great printer. But so are the current Epson and Canon printers, and I own one of each of those. HP's decision to not release the improved ink on the Z3100 tells me they no longer care about the customer's long-term investment.

I have been a long-time HP fan, but I can no longer recommend their printers, if a Canon or Epson model exists that fits your needs. I find the page-wide printhead interesting, but I don't feel I can trust the company any longer. I feel that any design flaws will not be corrected on the initial model, and you'll have to buy a new one to resolve any such issues. As a DesignJet owner, I can say from first hand experience: Buyer Beware. I'm really sad to have to say that. I miss the old HP company.

    - Ken E

      (via TypePad)

 

I can't recall exactly when I first read about Memjet technology: modular inkjet heads, themselves nano-litho'd like computer chips. Place them together to make amazing super-fast, color page-printers of any width. Just around the corner! Yes, I was eager to buy one!

Years went by. Had the technology ever gotten closer to commercialization? Curious, I searched the internet for these about-to-happen printers. I printed that page, and it's still in my file cabinet. The date on the bottom was April 2007. Now I'm hearing that products are a year away, and I should make plans to buy now. Though I'm generally an early adopter of new technologies, I'll wait until actual products are shipping and getting good reviews before I plan to buy one of these coming-soon inkjets.

    - Steve Wells

      Conceptworks

The editor replies: At the event, HP admitted it's taken them a decade to get the modular technology right.

 

What happens to the printed paper, is it being rolled up? Or just falling out? Looks like both to me.

     - Herbert Grabowski

The editor replies: The paper normally is caught by a tray; at this press event, I think HP allowed the paper to flutter to the floor for dramatic effect.

 

Your photo made me chuckle. Over the years using different plotters, HP, Océ, Xerox, I have noticed improvements in plot speed, quality of plot (a little). But one thing that has been a generally constant source of frustration has been the output - a really nice set of prints plopped out and curled haphazardly onto the floor. Reminds me of this classic Far Side cartoon: http://www.pinterest.com/pin/487303622153037984/

I will say that the plotter we are currently using (Oce Plotwave) seems to be doing much better along those lines -- output stacked neatly at the top and so far nothing ending up on the floor.

     - David Kozina

       (via TypePad)

 

Thanx for the techie update!

      - Chris

 

Re: upFront.eZine's Redesign
New graphic design, nice,
      - Stan Przybylinski, vp of Research
        CIMdata, Inc.

 

New newseltter format for the PageWide printer introduction?

      - Herbert Grabowski

The editor replies: No connection. I realized that because upFront.eZine now runs just one article per issue, I no longer need a table of contents. So, I took advantage of this change to do a bit of a make-over of the newsletter's design.

 

 

Notable Quotable

"The Man 2.0 is far worse than The Man 1.0"
      - Andrew Orlowski, The Register
        http://www.theregister.co.uk/2014/06/05/indies_music_explains_eu_emergency_plea/

 

 

HP's New Large-format PageWide InkJet Printer Not Due Until Late ...2015

upFront.eZine Issue #823  

 

 

 

by Ralph Grabowski 

The biggest surprise around HP's announcement last week of its sort-of-new page-wide technology for large-format inkjet printers was not the page-wide printing; it was that the new printers would not ship for another 12-18 months.

As it turned out, the long delay in shipping was a surprise only for the CAD editors attending. We were the minority among the 36 or so North American journalists HP flew to San Diego, USA. All of the others write about the print industry, which takes a longer-term view than us impatient, we-want-it-now CAD journalists. HP's pr firm explained it like this (notice that they consider 12-18 months "soon"):

We have introduced something so disruptive that is important for our customers to know [about] it so they make the right buying decision as soon as possible. By nforming customers today that the new HP Large Format PageWide Technology will be available soon, they can make their own decisions with all the information; whether is it worth to renew their current equipment with existing technology and commit to another 3-5 years with LED technology in many cases, or wait until PageWide Technology is available soon and enjoy all its benefits.

 

What PageWide Is

Most inkjet printers work in two dimensions: the print head moves side to side, as the paper moves perpendicularly, jerkily. HP showed us a printhead that is as wide as the paper. This means that only the paper moves. And the paper moves much faster, because it no longer needs to wait for the printhead to finish its sideways travel.

Page-wide printing is not, however, new. We have experienced it for several decades with laser printers, and today it is the norm for large-format LED printers. Essentially, LED printers are like laser printers, but they use a wide, stationary array of blue LED lights, instead of a scanning laser. This is great for monochrome prints (which CAD users capitalize on), but not as efficient for color.

Furthermore, PageWide is not new to HP's line of inkjet printers. Last year, the company introduced its first page-wide inkjet printhead in its Officejet Pro X model. By eliminating the delay from the printhead moving side to side, this printer outputs 70 pages a minute (in office print mode, as measured by HP).

So was there anything new to last Tuesday's announcement? What's new is that HP figured out how to modularize the page-wide printhead: they can stick two, three, ten in a row, each one being five inches wide. Eight gets you an E-size (A0) printer.

One of the techies on the stage said that HP could conceivable keep going, and have modules 20 or 40 wide. More Intriguingly, he let it slip that printers could also have two or three rows, but then stopped himself. Additional rows for additional colors or special coatings, I suppose.

Speaking of additional colors, HP introduced a new color: red. In the real world, red is a vibrant color, but in the printing world, colors are faked by combining various amounts of ink colored cyan (light blue), yellow, magenta (pink), and black. (Red is made from 15% Cyan, 100% Yellow, 100% Magenta, and 0% blacK.) In the samples HP provided, CYMK red looked orangier than the new pure red. So now top end inkjet printer owners have to buy eight print cartridges: light magenta, light yellow, light cyan, and red -- in addition to the original four.

How Thermal Inkjet Works

Inkjets are called that because they jet ink at paper. The problem is how to throw tiny amounts of  ink consistently and quickly. HP's method involves heating the ink by sending a 1-microsecond electrical pulse to a resistor. The heat causes a bubble to form in the ink-filled chamber, which forces out a drop 6 picoliters in size at a speed of 225 mph (10 meters per second) over a distance of 1mm. The bubble collapses, drawing more ink into the head. The process lasts 10 microseconds.

One gram of ink is good for 170 million droplets. HP ink is made of pigments, water solvent, and other stuff. After landing on the paper, the water evaporates.

The 8.575" page-wide printhead in the Pro X has ten offset "dies," and each one is overlapped by 30 nozzles so that a seamless print line is formed. Each die has 4224 nozzles, 1056 for each one of the CMYK colors. Data that controls the on-off operation of the 4000+ nozzles is fed at a rate of 100 megabits per second through ten data paths. When you go through the math (width times nozzles, divided by 4 colors, minus overlaps), the resulting resolution is 1200dpi.

When it comes to next year's large-format page-wide inkjet printers that print on paper up to 40" wide, HP uses eight 5" printhead modules. The resolution is lower at 600dpi, because half the nozzles are reserved for backup, in case their neighbors plug up. Now, this puzzled me, because HP boasted about the integrated printhead cleaner, and a new technology that keeps nozzles from drying out. The new technology is a simple change to the shape of the nozzle (its output end is extended slightly) so that the ink forms a concave, non-evaporating, viscous layer through surface tension. I guess the idea is higher reliability through redundancy.

HP execs insisted to us that because color prints just as fast as monochrome, they have no intention of releasing a monochrome version of the new printer.

What Ralph Grabowski Thinks

I was prepared to not be excited by yet another large-format printer-plotter announcement. After all, what could be new after 30 years? This is a class of product I began reviewing in the 1980s as technical editor at CADalyst magazine. Back then, HP already was the undisputed leader of pen plotters, significantly ahead of the competition in speed and accuracy. (The nearest competitor was Mutoh of Japan, as I recall.) For example, they managed to coax a hair-raising connection speed of 19,200 bits per second with the computer (over the then-standard serial connection), whereas competitors were managing half that speed.

Well, last week HP managed to foil my skepticism with its page-wide inkjet printhead that prints as fast in color as in monochrome (they say). Then HP let me down by delaying the product launch by more than a year. My spirits will be lifted if HP announces a price that keeps to their promise of lowering costs. Current pricing for large-format printers ranges roughly between $10,000 and $14,000. (By contrast, the HP DraftMaster of the late 1980s was around $18,000, and used ink pens for plotting -- nasty for doing renderings.)

The reason behind faster printing (and for color-only printing, instead of a monochrome option, and for the new pure-red color) is, of course, to sell ever more ink. During one session, HP allowed that their definition of a "high value customer" is one who spends 14x more on ink than average. Printing faster means printing more, and so using up more ink; printing monochrome prints in color means using up ink cartridges at an uneven rate. When Tenlinks.com editor Roopinder Tara asked about being locked in HP's ink prison, and if ink could be sourced from other suppliers, HP's response was significant: sure, you can buy HP ink direct from us or from our distirbutors.

There is no way other than The HP Way; buying ink from a cheaper, non-monopoly source is out of the question.

https://ssl.www8.hp.com/us/en/large-format-printers/designjet-printers/overview.html (this page has a video briefly showing the early pen plotters)

[Disclosure: HP paid my airfare, accommodation, ground transportation, and meals.]

 

 

And One More Thing...

Open Design Alliance releases version 4.0 of its Teigha software development platform for CAD. The primary feature is an alpha Teigha Cloud for cloud-based rendering of DWG and DGN files. Drawings are stored and rendered on a remote server, and then displayed by a WebGL-compatible browser.

Also in Teigha 4.0 are 400 bug fixes, support for Java support on Android, and improvements to Android and iOS rendering. Teigha is for download by ODA members only at http://www.opendesign.com

 

 

For More News

WorldCAD Access: blogging nearly daily with articles about CAD and tips about computers; available on RSS and through email alerts:

• HP's plans to displace LED printers with its PageWide printhead by Roopinder Tara
• Summary notes from HP's large-format printer launch event
• WorldCAD Access and its 12,000 readers
• Graebert ports their entire ARES CAD system to Android tablets
• Now in German: "BricsCAD V14 in 12 Lektionen" tutorials

 

@upfrontezine: news, updates, and commentry from upFront.eZine throughout the day on Twitter

 

 

Thank You to Our Subscribers & Donators

These great people support upFront.eZine through their contributions. Thank you!

• Trix Systems
• Michael Orth
• Arthur Vincent, England

(To donate by PayPal, click http://www.upfrontezine.com and then choose the Donate $25 or Donate $500 button.)

 

Letters to the Editor

I have enjoyed the publication for many years. I [have] an upcoming career change next month -- from plug-ins and content management to a startup technology driven medical device company. Wishing you continued success!

      - D. F.

 

Notable Quotable

"Cloud technology is a key focus for us, but it's not a panacea. Native apps are the preferred choice for many situations, and Teigha fully supports native development on iOS and Android. Our aim is to provide choice for our members, and allow them to pick the right technology to meet their needs."
       - Neil Peterson, CTO, Open Design Alliance

 

Graebert's CAD Software First to Run on Four OSes

upFront.eZine Issue #822 

 

 

 

Graebert Gmbh of Berlin last week announced that they had successfully ported their ARES CAD software to the Android operating system. Alpha testers report good performance. Now, I haven't run the software (code named Radon), and so my reporting is based on the statements of the software vendor -- and not through independent verification.

We can, nevertheless, speculate. Here are the claims Graebert makes for Radon:

• Ported the full ARES CAD engine to Android
• Operates all 2D and 3D functions like the desktop versions
• Reads and writes DWG files natively
• Supports three desktop APIs (Tx C++, LISP, and FDT)
• Modifies only the ARES user interface to work better with touch
• To be officially announced and priced October 9-10 during Graebert's first developer conference

Sign up to request a beta from http://www.graebert.com/radon.

Q&A

During last week's conference call, I interviewed the company's ceo, Wilfred Graebert.

Q: Why Android? [When I last spoke with the company in Berlin, CTO Robert Graebert was keen on Apple products.] 
A: It has by far the largest market share, and by next year tablets are expected to dominate desktop/laptop sales.

Q: Was it difficult to port desktop software to Android?
A: It was not complicated. The way our software is architected, it has the same code base for Windows, Linux, Mac OS X, and now Android. We are doing daily builds [compiling new code into a running program]. Our alpha testers have not found any great problems running it on Android.

Q: Might you use Radon's touch interface for a touch version that is specific to Windows 8?
A: ARES [for desktop] already runs well on Windows 8 tablets.

Q: It is five months before it will be released; why are you making the announcement this far in advance?
A: We are interested in a long beta to help developers create better apps. By running on a tablet, we see that there will be different packages dedicated to mobile, like for surveying.

 

Q: All Android tablets have between 1GB and 2GB of RAM; a few newer ones have 3GB. How can you fit a full CAD package, all the APIs, third-party apps, and several drawings into this small space [which must be shared with the entire operating system]?
A: We will be holding technical briefings in a few week's time. But don't forget we have a decade's worth of experience of running CAD on mobile devices, such as on Windows CE.

Q: Is the developer conference the first one for you?
A: We have had one every year in our head office, a small one for our customers. This conference will be larger, which we will hold somewhere in Berlin.

Mr Graebert ended with this promise: "This is only the first of several major announcements we have for the year."

 

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Article now continues...

 

I didn't get a chance to ask, "Why the name Radon?" But I can see that it fits with the ARES image as the god of war, aka Mars: radon is a radioactive gas whose isotopes are also all radioactive. Ask me privately why Graebert named its CAD software for war.

Radon Pricing

A key element will be the price of Radon, something that won't be announced until October. Between now and then, Graebert has a difficult decision to make: how much to charge? Prices of Android and iOS apps tend to be rock bottom, but charging $0 or a couple of dollars is no strategy for success. We know that CAD vendors don't get more downloads when the price is cheap -- as my research in upFront.eZine #799 showed. (See "The State of portableCAD in 2013: Actual Download Statistics and Prices" at http://www.upfrontezine.com/2013/upf-799.htm.)

I doubt Radon will sell for $0 to $10, which is the typical price range for mobile apps. Keeping in mind that desktop ARES is $795, I expect Graebert to price Radon in the range of $95 to $445.

What the marketplace hasn't told us is whether higher prices for mobile apps can lead to greater sales. Professional users are willing to pay a higher price for software that makes them more revenue (or more efficient). The only precedent we have is IMSI/Design and their $499 iPad-basedTurboSite Pro, but we don't know the sales figures. It's the most sophisticated markup program on the market; it's not a full CAD package.

But this is just one price point. Might Dassault Systemes license a 2D-only version of Radon and distribute it free (to compliment its free/not-free versions of ARES-based DraftSight)?

And how might Autodesk or IMSI/Design react? I wonder if there are functions hidden in AutoCAD 360 or TurboSite that are ready to be turned on, say, in the first week of October. It is a long time between now and then.

For Graebert, the point is not the CAD system, oddly enough. I think that for them this sentence from the press release is more significant:

"Through Radon, developers will be able to offer the same functionality and features on both tablet and desktop while maintaining the same core stream of code."

As Mr Graebert indicated in our interview, he is using the long lead time to entice third-party developers to get on board and develop add-ons that are hopefully different from desktop apps, ones that take advantage of the tablet being in the field. I doubt that Autodesk has mobile APIs that they are on the verge of unleashing, but IMSI/Design might.

Many Questions

These questions remain:

• Is the API extended to support Android-specific functions? This would give Radon TurboSite-like abilities crucial for creating portable apps that are superior to desktop ones, such as exploiting the GPS/WiFi, compass, motion sensor, front and back still and movie cameras, photosphere, and so on.
• What are the hardware requirements? I expect them to be stringent, and this is no different from specifying minimum hardware specs for PCs and Macs.
• How are files accessed by tablets in the field? Dropbox and email support are the minimum I expect.
• Will Radon run ACIS for 3D solid modeling? Spatial does not have an Android port.
• Does it perform renderings? Shadings are already possible on Androids, and renderings are the easiest aspect of CAD to offload to the cloud.
• Can the UI be customized? Third-party developers and end-users want to change keyboard and touch actions, modify the menus and toolbars with macros, and so on. 
• What about the desktop APIs not mentioned? Some are specific to Windows, but the full list includes CFX/DRX (simiar to Tx, I believe), VSTA, .net, Delphi, COM, Active X, and DCL.

In part, Graebert is assisted by Open Design Alliance's work in porting Teigha libraries to Android, which handle DWG, DXF, and DGN import/export, some APIs, and so on.

What Ralph Grabowski Thinks

Graebert now boasts the singular distinction of having the same CAD system that runs on Android, Linux, Mac OS X, and Windows. They are not, however, unique in having a CAD system running on Android, as some commentators mistakenly declared last week.

But the CAD part of their announcement is not the important part, because finger-based tablets (those without styli) are cumbersome for inputting and editing CAD drawings. I think that maybe Graebert saw that IMSI/Design had the right idea in developing TurboSite as a semi-automatic data inputter. And so Graebert sees that wonderful opportunity of unique-to-mobile add-ons that distinguish it from the less-than-full-CAD offerings from Autodesk and IMSI/Design.

Graebert has one key advantage over nearly all other competitors: they have a decade's worth of experience fitting CAD systems into tiny workspaces. I've seen their CAD software running on 5" Windows CE pocket computers, recording data from laser measuring devices (over Bluetooth) and from users. This company knows how to squeeze bytes into limited RAM.

Mobile is a big market, and so far no CAD vendor has monetized it to its potential. Apple's App Store policies drove the price of apps down to free and 99 cents (which effectively is free), unfortunately, and so drove down customer expectation. Apple handicapped serious third-party developers working in serious verticals.

With the 5-10 million downloads of Autodesk's free AutoCAD 360 bulldozing all other DWG viewer and markup apps, some competitors told me they figure the mobileCAD market is dead: who can compete against a free DWG viewer from the source, Autodesk? But now Graebert has figured out the key to unlocking competition by offering the full CAD deal -- we hope.

 

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And One More Thing...

form-Z from AutoDesSys is a 3D form synthesizer based on 3D solid geometry, and now version 8 introduces subdivision modeling that can be converted to NURBS, solids, or surfaces. There is a new realtime rendering engine offering ambient occlusion, soft shadows, and bump mapping. For 3D printing, AutoDesSys has linked up with Sketchfab. http://www.formZ.com

For More News

• @upfrontezine: news updates and commentry throughout the day on Twitter
• WorldCAD Access: blogging nearly daily with articles about CAD and tips about computers; available on RSS and through email alerts

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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, lansd@okino.com) 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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---

Letters to the Editor

Re: Switching from History to ST Modeling

Great story on the difficulties in making changes like this. We all talk about culture and ingrained practices, and that they should change, but it is hard work. Your article highlights just how hard it is, and how a strong plan and follow-through is necessary. It would be interesting to go back to them in a year or so to see how this hard fought change is sticking.
     - Stan Przybylinski, vp of research
        CIMdata

The editor replies: From my understanding, they did the switchover three years ago, and had the following medium-term results:

• Users new to Solid Edge took to ST
• Most old users use ST most of the time
• Some old users reverted to history modeling

Re: Spin Doctor of the Moment

Your newsletter rarely disappoints, though I rarely mention that. That you gave me a laugh-out-loud chuckle for morning, I figured I should say "thanks" for the Spin Doctor: "We admire the News & Observer's long tradition of fair-minded journalism; we just wish they would practice it more often." Most other chuckles from upFront eZine come from the depth of seriousness to which we take ourselves.
       - Greg Bau

The editor replies: The quote expresses the clash between media (who think they are fair and even-handed, even though they are not, AND will never admit to mistakes), and PR departments who see neutral coverage as negative reporting, and positive coverage as barely acceptable.

 

Re: Adobe Cloud Down

When are people gunna learn not to trust the corporations? Engineers and CAD people can't be that stupid can they?? 
       - Chris Cadman

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Notable Quotable

"I'm not sure I want to fly on an airplane that has been designed democratically, says Boeing's David Kasik at #3DCIC.
      - Roopinder Tara (@rtara) on Twitter

 

Switching from History to ST Modeling

upFront.eZine Issue #821

 

I was interested in this Solid Edge University session on switching to a new form of modeling, because I had heard that it can be hard for designers familiar with history-based design to switch. In this case, the direct modeling in Solid Edge is called Synchronous Technology (ST). Siemens PLM calls history-based modeling "ordered" modeling, to emphasize that the model is (must be) designed in order, from start to end. By contrast, ST and other direct modeling systems, like in Creo or Fusion, allow designers to draw and edit 3D models at any point in their development.

Melissa Schultz is engineering CAD administrator at Curt G Joa, 13 years a Solid Edge user, and in charge of 75 engineers. The company makes non-woven converting machinery -- a euphemism for diaper-making machines. The challenge to the firm's designers is that all their machines are custom-made, and so the library of parts changes constantly.

Figure 1: Engineering CAD administrator Melissa Schultz speaking at Solid Edge University

 

Ms Schultz knew she had to move the company's designers to ST after attending sessions at earlier SE Us and saw for herself how ST worked. She realized it no longer was acceptable to remodel parts that were already designed by others, just because the model was failing to update. She decided to make the switch when both ordered and ST elements could be in the same Solid Edge file.

There were external pressures. As Siemens PLM added new features to the software, they tended to be focused on ST instead of ordered mode. Switching fit her company's strategic plan to reduce engineering time, such as the problem of waiting for complex models to regenerate. Their machinery has thousands of elliptical shaped holes, with fillets. The models could take ten minutes to open, and as much as 8-9 hours to regenerate. One pre-ST shortcut that reduced regeneration times was to use patterns. ST itself results in smaller file sizes and so has faster load times.

But before introducing ST to the designers, she first had to overcome facts and myths that they held.

Facts

• Curt G Joa users have great ordered modeling skills
• Ordered is the way "we've always done it"
• If users work only on their own files, then ordered isn't that bad

Myths

• ST is for product design, not machine design
• ST loses control of the model
• Designers need history

Selling ST to Users

With the assistance of the local Solid Edge reseller, Ms Schultz created a master plan to transition designers from ordered to ST modeling.

Step 1: From the 75 engineers, she selected a power user team of eight. These eight would later assist in training the others. Initially, they were not impressed by the ST demo presented by the dealer, and so Ms Schultz had the dealer put them through a week of basic training, as if they knew nothing about ST.

To believe in it, they needed to do it. Users were asked to bring their most difficult files, ones that they thought ST could not handle. "We wanted to find where ST wouldn't work," she said, "so that we would know where it would work."

 

Step 2: Following the week of training, a presentation was made to management, telling them the areas that users found ST useful. She told the managers, "If you want us to be faster, let us take advantage of this new tool we're not using yet."

She had to justify training 75 engineers for a week, which represented a loss of productivity. But, she argued, this would not be not a problem, because training was the #1 request from users, who wanted to be better at their jobs. Management agreed that the ST training was not just about a new modeling technique, but could also include best practices. Approval was given, because the firm was facing customers who wanted machines delivered even more quickly.

 

Step 3: Trainers from the reseller arrived, and began their work by speaking with every user. All were asked about the problems they faced, and what changes they would like to see in Solid Edge. The result was 30 enhancement requests. 

Article continues following this advertisement...

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Article now continues...

 

Next, Ms Schultz had the reseller rewrite their training program to be specific to her company. Every designer was scheduled to learn ST through five, sequential, week-long training sessions of 12 users each. Trainers from the reseller were supported by two employees who had been trained earlier in Step 1. Here is the schedule developed for the training program:

Days 1-3 The same ST training for all:

• Explain the transition from paper to 2D drafting to 3D modeling
• All users started from the same point, and would have questions
• Users were reassured that if they stuck with it, they would not want to go back
• Extra examples were provided to those who got through the labs quickly

Trainees were told that the frustration they would feel was expected. At the end of each day, they were surveyed on the speed of the training (too fast, too slow) and on problems with the content. Groups with advanced users were allowed to move faster through the training.

Day 1 Users were confused and frustrated
Day 2 Users could see that ST might be useful for other people
Day 3 Users saw they could use ST themselves
Day 4 Users received training in best practices and advanced techniques
Day 5 Users learned about internal standards

Day 5 ended with The Race. Here the class was split in two, half to use ST and the other half ordered modeling. They were given the same model, where they had to make a part longer, and change the spacing of holes. The ordered half laughed as they knew they would be done first, but then got mad as they saw the complexity of the history tree. Instead, the ST half finished first, and had fun calling out as they got done earlier. Then the two groups were switched.

The only job that week was to learn ST. To force users to learn, all internal internet and messaging was turned off during training. They could use email only during lunch time. Agreements were set up with co-workers to take over work of the trainees.

Figure 2: One of the machines built by Curt G Joa

 

Post Training Implementation

Users were told that once the training week was over, ST would be mandatory on all new files -- except for areas that ST could not handle, such as linked part copying, complex blends, and known bugs. "Any time you cannot use ST, we want to know about it," Ms Schultz told graduates.

Support was intense due to the many questions raised by trainees. Any question asked by two or more users was shared with all. The most common questions surrounded Live Rules, such as how to make rigid sets and locked dimensions (to prevent Live Rules from moving mounting holes and other parts). The company now has three years worth of "Tuesday Tips" that show how to use ST efficiently.

After starting in ST, it typically took users three weeks to become as efficient as with ordered modeling. After four months, however, the ST mandate was lifted, with one exception: sheet metal is still mandated for ST. By then, ST had become for most users a habit in all areas of design; lifting the mandate allowed a willing transition to ST. Some users, however, reverted to ordered mode: "Change isn't easy." Ms Schultz found that these users tended to not use ST when creating new files, but then tended to use it for editing. "It is easier to learn ST when starting new in Solid Edge," she said.

 

Long Term Transitioning

Some users were very vocal in their opposition. "Don't give up because some users are against it," advised Ms Schultz. But working at a custom machinery manufacturer, designers were making edits all the time. With ST, a different designer didn't need to know how the original designer made the part.

There were two surprises from this transition: she could not tell ahead of time which users would adapt to ST more easily. This is because people's brains work differently, and so some adapt to ST quicker. The other surprise was finding that the more ST functions were applied to models, the smaller the assemblies got. Overall, ST reduced the number of parts by 30%.

Although the time savings are hard to quantify, Ms Schultz estimates her company saved 20% of the time on the 75% of the work. Overall, the transition was a nine-month process, including things as easy as adding a second monitor and as hard as automating work processes. "No machine shipped out late because of this," Ms Schultz summarized.

 

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And One More Thing...

Nemetschek Scia lets Scia Engineer 14's FEA model link to custom engineering calculators, to eliminate "the black box aspect of current engineering design software." Scia now supports Revit 2015 and tracks changes to models moved between the two programs; 64-bit version of Tekla Structures, and Allplan 2014-1. http://14.scia-engineer.com

For More News

• @upfrontezine: news updates and commentry throughout the day on Twitter
• WorldCAD Access: blogging nearly daily with articles about CAD and tips about computers; available on RSS and through email alerts

 

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Industrial Design Inside SolidWorks

 

Power Surfacing from nPower Software provides organic and freeform surface-solids modeling inside SolidWorks. Recently awarded Gold Medal for Best Software Product at SolidWorks World. Find out why the judges said, "nPower makes SolidWorks a surfacing monster."

Download a free trial version of Power Surfacing to become an industrial design superstar. And then visit our tutorials page to learn how to model difficult shapes easily.

http://www.npowersoftware.com/NewPowerSurfacingOverview.html

 

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Thank You to Our Subscribers & Donators

These great people support upFront.eZine through their contributions. Thank you!

• Julian Todd
• Jim Balding of The ANT Group
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(To donate by PayPal, click http://www.upfrontezine.com and then choose the Donate $25 or Donate $500 button.)

 

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Letters to the Editor

News item: "Outage of Adobe Creative Cloud, more than a day old, locked out app users." http://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2014/05/outage-of-adobe-creative-cloud-more-than-a-day-old-locks-out-app-users/. Will Adobe compensate users for the $200 to $500 or more in lost earnings due to this service outage? I'll bet that Adobe's terms of service take away user's right to sue for losses caused by Adobe's negligence.
            - Don Beaton

The editor repleis: "The marketing departments of these firms promise the world, but their legal departments give nothing."

 

You have been steadily feeding the industry for a long time. This is very much appreciated by all of us on the day to day front lines. Issue #820 -- wow!
             - Leroy Moore, supervisor
               Skanska USA Building

 

Re: What I Learned at Solid Edge University 2014

I got a big chuckle from the Chadwick comment. A day late and a dollar short, and here is what I mean. [Siemens PLM] have known about Solid Edge University 2014 for some time, and felt that their ecosystem of some 500 aps was worthy of mention. What they don't do, though, is prepare the Web page for perusal. They have know for how long? And another year slips by, and nothing gets done. 
      - Dave Ault

The editor replies: The Huntsville people did admit (from the SE U stage) their frustration in getting stuff done in a timely manner, due to the Solid Edge division needing approvals from further up the chain. This is the drawback to being part of a huge corporation, especially one whose head office is in another country and so operates by other cultural norms. 

 

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Spin Doctor of the Moment

"We admire the News & Observer's long tradition of fair-minded journalism; we just wish they would practice it more often."
       - Joel Curran, vice chancellor for communications, University of North Carolina
       http://www.nytimes.com/2014/04/27/sports/reporter-digging-into-scandal-hits-a-universitys-raw-nerve.html