upFront.eZine News Archives

What's In Store for Solidworks Users, Part 1

Issue #978

 

During January's annual Solidworks World love-in, Dassault Systemesmade what could be perhaps the most important announcement in a decade to the Solidworks users assembled in Los Angeles: the French company finally recognized that Solidworks is here to stay on the desktop -- this after attempting since 2007 to cloud-ize the software.  Solidworks CEO Gian Bassi showed a slide in which he heralded a reality of two pillars: one made of desktop Solidworks, the other online. (See figure 1.)  Figure 1: CEO Bassi describing the two pillars of Solidworks, desktop and online (all images sourced from Solidworks World) Mr Bassi explained why two pillars were needed: "You know how to run your business. We want to give you choice: to grow your business now [with desktop Solidworks] and to help you for the next foreseeable future [with online Solidworks]." Despite the second pillar sporting "Online Solidworks," it turns out there is no such thing, except in name. Instead, the gray 3Dexperience logo that bridges the two pillars gives it away: the second pillar consists actually of a variety of browser-based programs running on Dassault's 3Dexperience platform, not Solidworks. Nevertheless, the admission that desktop Solidworks is a pillar was great news for the "millions of [Solidworks] users that happily use it throughout the world" (as Mr Bassi described them), but who had suffered through several stages of uncertainty. It began with 2010's 'Solidworks has to move to the cloud', and then moved on through 'Maybe on the cloud soon', to 'On the desktop for maybe for another 5-10 years', and finally to this year's 'Yup, we consider it a pillar'. The second pillar is, however, weak. Dassault not only failed at cloud-izing Solidworks, it has made short headway in linking Solidworks with its 3Dexperience software. Dassault has shipped little, and what little it has shipped has been mostly rejected by Solidworks users. No surprise, given that 3Dexperience offers users what they don't want: A different file format (Enovia) A different kernel (CGM) A different user interface (3Dexperience) A different price -- a more expensive, subscription-only price Further, the product names are confused, as we see next.   What Dassault Wants You To Know "We want to build you a ramp to what is coming next." With those words, Mr Bassi ignored Solidworks for the rest of his keynote. He demonstrated instead a number of Web-based Dassault applications, showing them in the order that users might employ them in their projects. "From dream to doorstep" is how he described deploying five apps for designing and making a bracket -- from initial sketch to delivery by FedEx. 3DExperience Social Collaboration Services is the dream stage. This app collects all information about a design project, such as scanned-in napkin sketches and third-party parts shared from other systems. It is meant for online collaboration between designers. "Think of it as a Google Drive that understands how Solidworks builds knowledge," explained Mr Bassi. Solidworks 3DExperience PLM Services app is for tracking changes and doing other product lifecycle management tasks. Solidworks Product Designer app is a suite of programs for doing mechanical design: parts, smart assembly, motion simulation, sheet metal, drawings, and BOM -- all running on the 3Dexperience platform. (See figure 2.) "It is art-to-part and is natively integrated with everything you have seen so far and will see today," proclaimed Mr Bassi. (A related program, Solidworks Industrial Designer, was given only a brief mention, while Solidworks Conceptual Designer was ignored.) Figure 2: Solidworks Product Designer performing a motion study Solidworks XDesign app is meant for design on-the-go, running in WebGL-compatible browsers specifically on tablets and laptops. It offers design, mass reduction, and collaborative task assignment. It has Design Guidance, where you specify connection points and force conditions, form which XDesign suggests a design. (I wrote about XDesign when it was introduced in 2016, but its rollout is delayed; the xdesign.solidworks.com Web page still only hosts a feel-good video and the beta signup form.) 3DExperience Marketplace Make is the final stage: the doorstep. This app is for finding contract manufacturers certified by Dassault. You specify the materials for manufacturing your 3D model, get a fixed-cost price, and a delivery date. "We want to become the Amazon for engineers all over the world," Mr Bassi stated. - - - Mr Bassi didn't say it explicitly, but his message was not unclear: from dream to doorstep, all the design work he demo'ed in front of Solidworks users was done without Solidworks. Dassault still aims to convert Solidworks users to 3DExperience platform for the recurring income, and to eliminate the expense of developing in parallel an incompatible MCAD program. In the meantime, the company told financial analysts last week that "For the Solidworks users’ community, [3DExperience cloud platform] represents the opportunity to benefit from a wide range of cloud services, from 3DExperience PLM services, to Marketplace, or to Solidworks xDesign, a browser-based solution."  www.solidworks.com In part 2: What Solidworks Users Want to Know [This article first appeared in Design Engineering magazine and is reprinted with permission.]   MOBILE CAD for Android and iOS   ARES Touch offers 150+ CAD features to read, modify, and annotate DWG drawings on tablets and smartphones. Visit www.graebert.com/arestouch to learn more. Viewing and measuring features of ARES Touch are FREE for all users. ARES subscribers gain premium features like editing and photo annotation. Get a free 30-day trial of ARES Touch's premium features when you activate your free trial of ARES Commander at  www.graebert.com/arescommander  Sponsor: Okino Graphics == 3D CAD & DCC Conversion for MAXON's Cinema-4D Animation System == Okino (Toronto) and MAXON (Germany) celebrate 20 years of supporting MCAD data visualization through Okino's PolyTrans-for-Cinema-4D conversion software. MAXON's Cinema-4D is one of the world's most used and respected animation systems for MCAD data visualization. Okino's PolyTrans software transforms ultra-massive 3D datasets into highly-refined models for fast, efficient, and optimized animation creation. All conversions are 'Load & Go,' with no model rebuilding necessary. Popular CAD data sources include SolidWorks, ProE/Creo, Inventor, AutoCAD, Revit, Navisworks, DGN, IGES, STEP, Parasolid, and JT. DCC data sources are Cinema-4D, 3ds Max, Maya, FBX/Collada, and many more. Perfected over three decades, we know 3D data translation intimately, providing you with highly personalized solutions, education, and communication. Contact CTO Robert Lansdale at lansd@okino.com  http://www.okino.com   The Rest of the News New posts on our WorldCAD Access blog in the past week: PTC loves IoT (but not CAD) on the cloud PTC's opinion of PLM competitor ARAS: strange projects - - - We have a new geometric kernel! Frustum announced the commercial availability of its in-house TrueSOLID 3D volumetric kernel, meant for generative design. It offers Optimized designs that include mesostructures (lattices)  Multi-part assembly optimization Kernel-integrated mesostructures TrueSOLID powers Frustum’s Generate software for complex geometry in additive manufacturing, milling and casting. The technology is also commercially licensed to Siemens PLM software. Get more information from www.frustum.com/blog/ - - - The AllPlan division of Nemetschek introduced Allplan Bridge for parametric modeling of bridges. "The initial focus points to the requirements of detailing concrete and composite bridges." Data is imported via Bimplus. https://www.allplan.com/add-ons/bridge/ - - - Stratasys is very excited that their improved  J750 3D Printer is 5x-10x faster than the competition and prints in over 500,000 color combinations. http://www.stratasys.com/j750 - - - Not that Gartner is often right, but they feel that cloud computing is as much of the future as, oh, let's say the Pony Express, to be replaced by edge computing: "Around 10% of enterprise-generated data is created and processed outside a ...cloud. By 2022, Gartner predicts this figure will reach 50 percent. "The market for so-called micro-modular data centers is growing rapidly" because customers can "run enterprise-grade IT in close proximity to their operational technology (OT) environments, machines and equipment to enable low-latency, secure, and reliable digital processes." gartner.com/smarterwithgartner/ (If Gartner were typically correct, they'd be fund managers, not prognosticators.) - - - The yearly SigmaNEST user conference takes place May 8-9 at the Sharonville Convention Center in Cincinnati OH USA. Full info and registration at www.stac2018.com. - - - BETA CAE Systems' Open Meeting in Korea is May 10 at the InterContinental Seoul COEX in Seoul. www.beta-cae.com/news - - - SpatialManager 4.2 works with AutoCAD, BricsCAD, and ZWCAD in six languages. The new release offers to... Bring transparent background maps to front Create geo-referenced raster images Import/export hatch properties Import LiDAR points More info from  www.spatialmanager.com/downloads/ - - - Siemens PLM reports that the beta of its MindSphere Internet of Things (IoT) operating system for the cloud is now available on Microsoft Azure. The final release is scheduled for late this year. www.siemens.com/mindsphere  In other Siemens PLM news, the firm launches its Additive Manufacturing Network to match on-demand design for industrial 3D printing. It "creates an open ecosystem that instantly connects highly qualified members to co-innovate and help realize new products using the latest software, technologies, and materials." More info on the network at www.siemens.com/plm/am-network/  - - - The new Design With Shapeways software walks "through the 3D-printing process, starting with a 3D file, 2D drawing or even just an idea." design.shapeways.com/ In related news, Shapeways needs more cash, borrowing $30 million in  a fifth round of financing. The 3D printing service company has now borrowed $100 million from investors. - - - Hexagon AB acquires Alphacam CAM software for woodworking, metal, stone cutting. It's a complex move, so bare with me here: Licom Systems was already part of Vera Software, which in turn was acquired by Hexagon in 2014. But now Hexagon has sole ownership of Licom, making it part of its Manufacturing Intelligence division. In a related move, Hexagon acquires ProCAM, a distributor of Vero Software Solutions in Italy. ProCAM joins Hexagon’s Manufacturing Intelligence division and will operate within the Vero organization. www.hexagonmi.com/en-US - - - Next step in cutting off your life details from Google and Facebook: cancel logins you make through them.  For Google, this is at "My Account" and then "Apps with access to your account. And then refuse to do business with sites and apps that demand sole login via Google-Facebook. - - - "We have to transform PTC into one of the premier software companies in the world. Our current plan says that by 2021, we will achieve revenues approaching $2 billion" - Jim Heppelmann, ceo, PTC. https://seekingalpha.com/article/4163907 - - - Autodesk in 2012: "I’d say two to three years from now, every one of our products will be used online. The only way to use them will be online." https://techcrunch.com/2012/04/04/keen-on-carl-bass-why-autodesk-remains-incredibly-relevant-tctv/ Autodesk in 2018: "There are still significant gaps between the browser-based version of AutoCAD and its desktop-based sibling." http://through-the-interface.typepad.com/through_the_interface/2018/03/the-future-of-autocad.html - - - For late-breaking CAD news, follow upFront.eZine on Twitter at @upfrontezine. Letters to the Editor Thank you for your useful and smart information about CAD software. It helps me so much to know the trend of the technology and their strategies. I am a user of a DWG-compatible CAD system. Now I am shocked to hear the rumor that AutoCAD 2019 has a function to watermark the CAD data drawn by DWG compatible, as "Trial version." 'Til now I didn't notice any similar statement from any DWG-compatible CAD software developer nor the ODA. If you have any comment or have any plan to put the comment on any of your public information sources, I would like to read it.     - P.K. The editor responds: It is within Autodesk's rights to do anything they want to their software -- such as adding a watermark to free versions. Other  CAD programs do the same thing, such as ARES from Graebert. - - - What do you know about OEM software? What do you know about how OEM licensing is effected by the EU's recent court ruling in favor of buyers from original purchasers?     - Chris Cadman The editor replies: The license is modified to suit the company selling the OEM'ed software. The OEM'er would have a separate license with their CAD vendor customer. I would suspect that the CAD vendor (say Dassault Systemes selling Draftsight) would be the vendor responsible, not the OEM'er (Graebert, in this case.)   Re: The Steep Challenges Facing MBE Adoption Nice paraphrase of my Webinar on MBE. I particularly liked that you added some references to further help people understand the evolving world of MBE.     - John MacKrell, chairman     CIMdata, USA - - - Move over BIM, here’s MBE. Which, for those of us who have been on-board forever, is just CAE.     - Greg Morehouse, managing director     Motovated Design & Analysis, New Zealand - - - Hey, the last few eZines have been really good! In light of the featured article this week, I thought I should send you this link, which I found through my alma mater’s newsletter. It goes hand-in-hand with the premise of the capabilities of 2D and 3D drafting. I hope this prof gets some traction with his article. https://polytechnic.purdue.edu/newsroom/award-spotlights-need-for-design-students-understand-sketching     - Ron Powell The editor replies: Coincidence! Earlier today I got out my drafting textbook from first-year engineering to admire how 3D shapes were projected in 2D. A photograph on an adjacent page explains that this is how the Apollo command module was designed.  You could say that ever since CAD arrived, we haven't been back to the moon! (Image source: 'Engineering Design Graphics' by James H Earle) - - - A wonderful introduction. I like it!     - Herbert Grabowski - - - The hyperlink below to the online article isn’t working. It opens up a page on my Google Chrome browser but it stays blank and never loads the content. It also didn’t work in Internet Explorer, failing to even open a page for the article.     - M. L. The editor replies: I see that the link in the newsletter contains extra code used by my email provider. Normally this is not a barrier, but perhaps a security setting is causing the blockage. Here is the direct link: http://www.upfrontezine.com/2018/04/upf-977.html - - - You really tweaked me this past eZine! [RE: "CNN lists five questions the Zuck dodged (with my answers).] I had to laugh at your answers, because we all know it's true!       - Chris Cadman The editor replies: I was ROTFL at the mainstream media admiring the Zuck for his "clever" answers.    Thank You, Readers! Should you wish to support upFront.eZine through PayPal, then the suggested amounts are like these: $25 for individuals > paypal.me/upfrontezine/25 $150 for small companies > paypal.me/upfrontezine/150 $625 for for large companies > paypal.me/upfrontezine/625 Should Paypal.me not operate in your country, then please use www.paypal.comand the account of grabowski@telus.net. Or mail a cheque (US$ or CDN$ only, please) to upFront.eZine Publishing, Ltd., 34486 Donlyn Avenue, Abbotsford BC, V2S 4W7, Canada.   Notable Quotable “When instructors skip teaching sketching and just move to CAD (computer-aided design), it’s a big problem because students need to learn how to visualize objects before they can draw objects on a computer.”      - Todd Kelley, associate professor, Department of Technology Leadership and Innovation, Perdue University      polytechnic.purdue.edu/newsroom

*6226

The Steep Challenges Facing MBE Adoption

Issue #977

 

by Ralph Grabowski with John MacKrell A few blocks away from the worldwide offices of upFront.eZine Publishing, new water pipes were last week put under the road. I wish I'd taken a photo of the stack of D-size paper plans laying on the grass next to the piles of dirt excavated from under the asphalt. "Documentation" is the word that describes the roll of drawings, along with the contract and specification books that define how things are to be made -- whether cladding a half-mile-high skyscraper or adding new water pipes under aging roads. Drawings are mostly made in orthographic 2D, with some isometric (simulated 3D) views. Engineers like me learned to draw and read in 2D, historically because paper is 2D. But there are benefits to 2D: it shows all aspects of a design in a single view -- through the assistance of hidden lines, section views, details, dimensions, and notes. Some designs lend themselves to being represented primarily in 2D, such as sheet metal and electrical layouts, while others are suited to fake 3D (isometric), such as piping. For these, true 3D is not better. True 3D can have difficulty documenting things well, because real-world objects have six sides, making 3D 6x more complex than 2D. We need to see the back sides, the side sides, and the insides, and so we orbit and slice the 3D model interactively -- actions that are prettier than they are practical. The preponderance of 2D thinking may, however, change, says consulting firm CIMdata,. As people come out of universities, they've learned how to make models with CAD. Not having been taught drafting, they might not be able to read 2D drawings. This can be an impetus to move to MBE.   MBE: Model Based Engineering The movement to push 3D into documentation is called MBE -- model-based engineering. The idea is to include all the information in the 3D digital model needed for manufacturing (MBE) and construction (BIM), with no paper and no 2D plans.  Advocates say that 3D models, by their nature, already have all the information needed to build. But models don't, of course. Tolerances and finishes are two examples of the data missing from pure CAD models, and so the data has to be added through PMI [product manufacturing information] (see figure 1). These are leaders that point at different parts of the 3D model with text describing the missing information. Figure 1: PMI data attached to 3D part (image source Actify)   CIMdata chairman John MacKrell this month held a Webinar to talk about the benefits and problems with MBE. His thesis is that our industry has to understand how the product works at a much higher level than just at the document level. "The drawing process is a non-value-added task that documents something that's already documented." Mr MacKrell said that MBE is needed to communicate information consistently, so that anyone who reads the model can understand it. (See figure 2.) Existing drafting standards are not good enough for MBE, in that they specify only 2D, leaving out things like how PMI is specified. Figure 2: MBE at the center of the design and manufactuirng; MBSE = model-based systems engineering (image source CIMdata) The two primary standards organizations, ANSI in the USA and ISO internationally, have established preliminary 3D standards for MBE. In addition, there are two file formats that CIMdata considers suitable for use with MBE: JT from Siemens PLM Software. It is an ISO standard (14306), except that Siemens has an internal version that is somewhat different and so not necessarily compatible. www.plm.automation.siemens.com/en/products/open/jtopen/ PRC from the 3D PDF Consortium. It too is an ISO standard (14739-1) and is embedded in PDF files. 3dpdfconsortium.org/ [More accurately, PDF is really the correct format for MBE. PRC is the format used inside PDF for storing 3D data, Phil Spreier of the 3D PDF Consortium tells me. The organization participates in the standards development; PDF and PRC are both ISO standards managed by TC171 SC2.] Many CAD packages already support the two formats (read and write JT. and write-only PRC-PDF) and reading and/or writing PMI. Once your CAD software has these two aspects, your design firm has the rudiments of MBE.   Problems with MBE It isn't all  rose petals and milk baths. Mr MacKrell described problems hindering the adoption of MBE. He said that we can do a lot of MBE things internally, but if clients don't use it (because they want drawings), then we don't save any effort. For instance, the American Department of Defense has a technical data package standard for MBE, but many parts of the military don't bother using it, and so contractors supplying them still need to supply 2D drawings. Never mind the lack of adoption by clients. The primary problem with MBE and PMI is that they are established primarily for mechanical design, and so are not as advanced in other areas crucial to manufacturing, like weldments and electrical. Mr MacKrell added. that we don't have any MBE for electrical, and so models that combine electrical and mechanical have problems. Inspections are in MBE but not yet universal. Connected to both problems is the issue that MBE is not just technology, but is something involving processes and so involves people. If people don't want it, then processes don't happen.   Paraphrased Q&A Q: How long until MBE is institutionalized? A: It will take a while, because it is complicated. Most of us don't run on MBE, most still use drawings. [On top of slow adoption,] the standards will not stop developing. Even as aspects of MBE are institutionalized, new aspects are being added. Q: Will institutionalization be industry-specific? A: Yes. For instance, the offshore oil industry needs very good delivery of models. But not much is happening in the areas of footwear and apparel, beverages and food. Food, for example, is also affected by FDA standards. Q: Which standard should we adopt? A: There is a lot of overlap between standards, because they start in one area and then expand, or start in one geographic area and overlap other regions. You need to watch for this. [See figure 3.]   Figure 3: Many configuration standards to choose from (image source CIMdata) Q: Is STEP AP242 [long-term archiving of CAD data] being used? A: It is being used, but I have no clue how many use it. A lot of people use standards, but it is hard to identify them globally. Because you have to buy the standard, we might be able to ask the organization how many they sold.  [Datakit has a good summary of STEP AP specs at www.datakit.com/en/step_protocols.php.] Q: Doesn't JT have a mode where it display solids as shells? A: Yes, JT has multiple geometric representations. The shell model is only the outside of the model and so it is lightweight. it is like a blackbox: I don't know what's inside. Lightweight mode is suitable for tablets, as it takes up less file size. (Heavyweight mode includes everything about the model.) This is not unique to JT, but JT became an ISO standard, while lightweight formats from other vendors are not. www.cimdata.com Listen to the replay at register.gotowebinar.com (requires registration). View the presentation's slides in a PDF file at www.cimdata.com/images/Webinars/CIMdata_Webinar_April_2018.pdf   MOBILE CAD for Android and iOS   ARES Touch offers 150+ CAD features to read, modify, and annotate DWG drawings on tablets and smartphones. Visit www.graebert.com/arestouch to learn more. Viewing and measuring features of ARES Touch are FREE for all users. ARES subscribers gain premium features like editing and photo annotation. Get a free 30-day trial of ARES Touch's premium features when you activate your free trial of ARES Commander at  www.graebert.com/arescommander  The Rest of the News Acculis feels there is room for another 'Track Your BIM Project' software in the market. It works with Revit and IFCs. https://acculistech.com/ - - - Bricsys launches the MacOS version of its free Shape 3D modeling software. The company sees the program as pre-BIM design software. Download Shape for MacOS and Windows from https://www.bricsys.com/en-intl/shape/   In other Bricsys news, the company has made two recent appointments: Heidi Hewett is the new User Success Manager at Bricsys; she is the former AutoCAD Technical Marketing Manager at Autodesk Robert Green is a new Bricsys Certified Migration Consultant. - - - Creaform announces its CUBE-R turnkey automated dimensional inspection station using robotization and their MetraSCAN 3D-R metrology scanner. It measures objects as large as 3m (10ft). www.creaform3d.com/en/metrology-solutions/ - - - As systems become too complex for humans to handle, technology offers AI as a solution. The problem with using AI is that it allows systems to become even more complex. - - - The IntelliCAD Technical Consortium last year held its World Conference in Auckland, this year it'll be in Prague at the end of July. www.intellicad.org/articles-and-press-releases - - - Siemens PLM Software holds its annual 2018 Simcenter Conferences in USA and Europe this fall: Oct 15-17 in Detroit MI USA Dec 3-5 in Prague More info at www.cvent.com/events/simcenter-conference In related news, Siemens PLM is again holding regional Solid Edge Universities like last year, which they are calling "Global Series." The one-day events are held in a variety of cities in eight countries. See the current list of dates at www.plm.automation.siemens.com/global. - - - C3D Labs reports 2017 revenues from its C3D Toolkit licenses fees increased by 30%, and landed nine new clients for its geometric kernel. Export earnings account for 65% of C3D Toolkit licenses sold, with USA in the #1 spot. c3dlabs.com/en/news/items - - - Berlin-based 3D printer OEM Big Rep is working with Etihad Airways Engineering of Abu Dhabi to figure out how to make aircraft cabin parts with 3D printing. "There is a need for a wider spectrum of AM-suitable polymer materials that can pass the aerospace certification process." - - - Siemens PLM released of Parasolid 30.1 with improved complex modeling of facet B-reps and repair of imported facet data. Details of the new release at community.plm.automation.siemens.com/t5/ - - - CADBloke will be launching its CAD Find and Replace utility on May 13 to find and replace text in blocks, attributes, and regular text inside of AutoCAD, BricsCAD, and similar software. The Find and Replace utility offers Regular Expressions, Lists of Searches, Batch Replacements, LISP and .NET API, and Command-line access. More info at www.cadreplace.com - - - Bluebeam earlier this month launched Revu 2018 PDF viewer embedded in project management software. It has over a million users. A new minimal UI pops up commands as needed, such as a dedicated button to access the markup list panel. Studio Project is included for storing project files in cloud; Studio Markup for collaborative markup; and Studio Session for realtime collaboration, including with non-Revu users. Starts at $349/seat; 30-day demo version from www.bluebeam.com - - - CNN lists five questions the Zuck dodged (with my answers): 1. Is Internet activity outside the app tracked? (Yes.) 2. If I delete Facebook, how long for data to purge? (A couple of months.) 3. Who is Facebook's biggest competitor? (There is no one big enough to be considered a competitor.) 4. Will Facebook do anything about its privacy policy? (Minor tweaks, but the data collection will continue.) 5. Is Facebook willing to change its business model? (Only if it makes Facebook more profit.) - - - Alibre LLC released the first update to Alibre Design since the software returned to private ownership in mid-2017. Some of its features include  Miter flanges in sheet metal New Home window Import Solidworks 2018, Inventor 2018 parts and assemblies, and Parasolid v30 Alibre Design starts at $1,000 and does not require a subscription.Get your 30-day trial from www.alibre.com - - - For late-breaking CAD news, follow upFront.eZine on Twitter at @upfrontezine.   Letters to the Editor Re: Figuring out what AutoCAD 2019 is I watched a guy destroy a restaurant chain once. He cut costs of food by removing quality ingredients and, when asked about customers noticing the diminished food quality, his comment was they will be educated as to what they will like.  When he started getting into trouble, he went through two layers of people, blaming them for the reasons for the failure of his new way -- until finally it caught up to him. You can only fire so many people and use them as scapegoats before someone figures out who is really the problem. The sad thing is that thousands of people lost their jobs and the chain almost went under before the idiots were canned.     -Dave Ault    Re: What Nemetschek Is Doing The interview with Sean Flaherty translated into Russian. Please see isicad.ru/ru/articles.php?article_num=19827. Four brands -- ARCHICAD, Allplan, Solibri, and Vectorworks -- are mentioned in the title, because in Russia they are much, much better known than Nemetschek itself.      - David Levin, publisher     isicad, Russia Thank You, Readers! Should you wish to support upFront.eZine through PayPal, then the suggested amounts are like these: $25 for individuals > paypal.me/upfrontezine/25 $150 for small companies > paypal.me/upfrontezine/150 $625 for for large companies > paypal.me/upfrontezine/625 Should Paypal.me not operate in your country, then please use www.paypal.comand the account of grabowski@telus.net. Or mail a cheque (US$ or CDN$ only, please) to upFront.eZine Publishing, Ltd., 34486 Donlyn Avenue, Abbotsford BC, V2S 4W7, Canada.   Notable Quotable “It’s not a human problem; that’s just the result of our ability. We’re approaching the limits of our ability to build some of these things from precise-enough technology.”     - Jeff Babione, general manager of advanced development programs, Lockheed Martin       www.defensenews.com/

*6232

What Nemetschek Is Doing

Issue #976

 

by Ralph Grabowski with Sean Flaherty After being at Vectorworks for a long time, Sean Flaherty is now chief strategy officer at Germany's Nemetschek Group. Nemetschek originally was a software company that developed Allplan, a CAD system for architects that first ran on Unix-based computers. Its popularity today continues primarily in Europe.  Now the company's name refers to a German holding company that owns 15 independently-run software companies specializing in AEC. (See figure 1.) They produce software in areas of design, analysis, collaboration, and construction.  Figure 1: Brands held by Nemetschek Nemetschek runs without a CEO [chief executive officer]. Mr. Flaherty is part of a three-man board running the firm: (1) himself as CSO, (2) a chief financial and operations officer, and (3) a BIM strategy officer.  He spoke last week with upFront.eZine via GoToMeeting: - - - We are working to improve how Nemetschek is known. Outside of Europe, it is not well known. We switched from a financial holding company in AEC to a strategic holding company that allows its brands to run independently. A new thing is that 1-2% of profits are taken for strategic projects, such as multi-product solution workflows. The biggest change is that our position in USA is different from five years ago. USA and Germany now have equal market shares, about 30%, whereas USA used to have less than 10%, and this year could surpass Germany. We now have more than 800 employees working in the USA, more than in Germany, and we established a second headquarters in the USA, in Washington, DC. [The other is in Munich, Germany.] We used to be known in the USA only for Vectorworks, Graphisoft[ArchiCAD, the original BIM software], and Maxon [3D rendering and animation]. But we have made acquisitions that have changed our footprint. We have locked down the structural market with Risa for analysis and SDS2 for steel design. (See figure 2.) We can go all the way from modeling to construction -- both steel with steel, and steel with concrete. Construction management is handled by Bluebeam. Figure 2: Steel connection design with SDS2 (image source SDS2) The big problem is solved: everyone now has modeling techniques. So, the problem now is how to connect them into workflows. For us, these are the three big ones: Architecture is pretty far ahead in BIM Structural is the most disconnected of the major disciplines Collaboration is hot Q&A Ralph Grabowski: Your recent press release calls Nemetschek the #2 firm in BIM. Who is #1, and do you consider Bentley Systems (which has larger revenues than Nemetschek) to be in BIM? Sean Flaherty: Autodesk is still the leader, dollar-wise at around $880 million in AEC; we are closing in at $500 million. And we think Trimble is smaller than us in software sales; they make more money from selling hardware. Bentley used to be substantial in architecture, but plant and civil is their core now. We see them more in the collaboration side, rather than in BIM. Grabowski: Nemetschek plans to grow revenues by 50% by 2020. How does it plan to do this? Flaherty: Our growth over the last four years averaged 20% a year. We are the best performing software vendor in AEC.  Often companies can grow too large and become inefficient, and so middle-size firms are seen to produce the highest quality goods. Our holding company structure is like that: it consists of component firms that are in the $30-$100 million range and the best in the field. They operate best as medium-size, independent companies that have their own [fiscal] targets. Grabowski: There was a rumor late last year that Vectorworks would be spun off to an investment company. Any truth to this? Flaherty: Definitely not. Because we are a holding company, investment firms might get confused that we are available. We are in fact looking for acquisitions in AEC, particularly on the structural and collaboration side. Grabowski: Three years after Bluebeam was acquired, its capabilities were finally integrated into Vectorworks, albeit through Vectorworks Cloud Services. Why the long delay? Flaherty: We did have a connection between the two through PDF-export for markups, but what is new is that we are doing it at the server level. We are going to connect all of our products that produce documents, which is most of them, to Bluebeam. (See figure 3.) Bluebeam technology will be the basis of our document and process CDE [common data environment]. Figure 3: Revu software from Bluebeam (image source Bluebeam) We are now going for UK BIM Level 2 which is all about digital workflows -- AEC design and construction firms can no longer print or email documents. (Level 3 is sharing models live.) I like that, because I consider the UK BIM requirements to be among the most achievable in the world. I think it is a lighthouse market for the rest of the world, and so it makes sense for us to adopt it, because it will probably become the standard elsewhere. www.nemetschek.com/en/   MOBILE CAD for Android and iOS   ARES Touch offers 150+ CAD features to read, modify, and annotate DWG drawings on tablets and smartphones. Visit www.graebert.com/arestouch to learn more. Viewing and measuring features of ARES Touch are FREE for all users. ARES subscribers gain premium features like editing and photo annotation. Get a free 30-day trial of ARES Touch's premium features when you activate your free trial of ARES Commander at  www.graebert.com/arescommander  The Rest of the News C3D Labs releases an embeddable 3D model viewer designed for information systems, such as PDM, PLM, ECM, and EAM. C3D Viewer Enterprise 2018employs a lightweight file format to reduce network bandwidth and increase upload speed. c3dlabs.com/en/news Also: C3D Labs welcomes a new head of marketing communications, Olga Kalyagina. She is the former head of marketing and communications at ASCON Group. - - - The addition of full editing to Kudo cloudCAD has been slow, but it's now available three ways: Be an Onshape subscriber. Ask Graebert to flip the switch (my copy has editing) Wait for it to occur before summer. Now when users click on any DWG or DXF file in Onshape Documents, it launches ARES Kudo to display the file. Should users have a subscription from Graebert, then they can also edit the file in Kudo. https://www.graebert.com/blog/product-news/ares-kudo-is-now-tightly-integrated-with-onshape/ - - - Bricsys ships BricsCAD V18.1.14-1 for Linux. Download the 30-day demo from https://www.bricsys.com/. Installers available for Ubuntu, Fedora, OpenSuse, and general Linux. Read the release notes at www.bricsys.com/rss/html.jsp - - -  IntelliCAD-based IGiS-CAD 2018 received Open Geospatial Consortiumcompliance certification. Learn more from www.intellicad.org/articles-and-press-releases - - -  The reason why Google dumped Reader: "RSS doesn’t allow publishers to track user behavior." techcrunch.com/2018/04/07/rss-is-undead/ - - - OrthoGraph releases v2 of its floor plan survey software for iOS and Android, with these new functions: Curved walls Add corners and free-standing walls Optimized export Reduced battery consumption New API Video of the changes is at  www.youtube.com/watch?v=AbSV6pM1FRo And a PDF is here: www.orthograph.net/OrthoGraph_platform.pdf Orthograph also extended their software to the Web browser, with Orthograph Cloud featuring a  3D web viewer, real estate datasheet, and API integration with external systems.  - - - Design a range extender (i.e., 7th axis) for a Universal Robots UR10 robot to do a dual palletizing operation, and maybe win $1,000 from Vention_io.  www.vention.io/blogs/48 - - - Applied Software has partnered with ManufactOn to provide tracking of prefab and regular material handling through mobile and Web. Applied Software's eVolve is a Revit add-on for electrical prefabrication workflows. www.asti.com/manufacton - - - Rakesh Rao of DesignSense Software Technologies told me about this video "about the entrepreneurial spirit of a small town called Belgaum in India." It's the story of entrepreneurs working when government wouldn't. (The CAD software you see is @Solidworks.) rakeshrao.typepad.com/work_smarter_geotools - - - VI-grade is pleased that Mercedes AMG chose their new motion platform DiM250 (Driver-in-Motion) equipped with an AMG car cockpit to virtually optimize dynamic behavior of all passenger vehicles developed and marketed by Mercedes-AMG. www.vi-grade.com/ - - - OPTIS WORLD VRXperience joins with EB Automotive EB arware to virtually drive with AR HUD: pedestrians, road signs, and other vehicles detected by car’s sensors are superimposed on the road via the windshield display. www.optis-world.com - - - Anthony Frausto (@architosh): A move to Apple-designed CPUs for future Macs spells some trouble for complex pro apps like CAD and 3D.  architosh.com/2018/04/apple-leaving-intel-on-macs-by-2020 UPFRONT.EZINE (@upFronteZine): Apple never cared much for the special requirements of CAD users, such as direct access to the (undocumented) graphics board. Anthony Frausto (@architosh): So true. And associate editor, Akiko Ashley, would jump all over that comment too. She has been the voice of reason and sound criticism about Apple's pro hardware/software for years now at Architosh. UPFRONT.EZINE (@upFronteZine): CAD vendors tell me they daren't complain lest Apple cut them off. Apple delayed its new desktop Mac Pro until 2019; admits trashcan design from five years ago was a mistake. techcrunch.com/2018/04/05/apples-2019-imac-pro   - - - For late-breaking CAD news, follow upFront.eZine on Twitter at @upfrontezine. Letters to the Editor Re: Autodesk Wants to Be Your Dassault Good title!      - Etienne Lacroix, ceo       Vention.cc - - - You wrote, "This model is suitable for large corporations and some startups, but the direction is an on-going concern for Autodesk customers who do 2D drafting with software on permanent licenses.“ I can see products like Trimble SketchUp or SmartDraw  becoming the go-to for small organizations and single-person businesses when they finally decide to stop keeping old workstations around to run old software.  Autodesk, Dassault, Bentley, et al are after the data-pile in the way that Facebook is. It creates a very powerful data-pile of very timely trends, which is vastly easier to harvest from the cloud. What do the data management agreements look like?     - Greg Hruby The editor replies: Other ones include the free Draftsight for 2D, and the free Bricsys Shape for 3D. It would be interesting to peruse the data management agreements for issues of data ownership and possible denial of liability.   Thank You, Readers! Should you wish to support upFront.eZine through PayPal, then the suggested amounts are like these: $25 for individuals > paypal.me/upfrontezine/25 $150 for small companies > paypal.me/upfrontezine/150 $625 for for large companies > paypal.me/upfrontezine/625 Should Paypal.me not operate in your country, then please use www.paypal.comand the account of grabowski@telus.net. Or mail a cheque (US$ or CDN$ only, please) to upFront.eZine Publishing, Ltd., 34486 Donlyn Avenue, Abbotsford BC, V2S 4W7, Canada.   Notable Quotable "Took 28 years to realize that no matter what the meeting is about, if you randomly chime in with 'it's just about finding that balance', people will always agree."     - "Adam Hess on Twitter (@adamhess1)

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Autodesk Wants to Be Your Dassault

Issue #975

 

by Ralph Grabowski With its ultimate aim being subscription-only access to applets getting their data from a single centralized database, Autodesk follows in the footsteps laid down first by Dassault Systemes. More of more of this is revealed the company's annual Autodesk University event.  During the event last fall, a number of Autodesk executives made themselves available to the CAD media for a question-and-answer session. Here is my transcript, which must be seen as a paraphrase; the first question below came from me. At times, more than one executive provided an answer. - - - Q: You have indicated that Fusion is the future for MCAD at Autodesk. What does this mean for Inventor? A: Inventor's future is bright, with lots of programmers working on enhancements. We are connecting Fusion to Inventor, so designers can use either one, depending which does a better job.  A: Fusion has a data connection to Inventor through AnyCAD. But our emphasis is on the manufacturing process through improvements downstream. [AnyCAD from Autodesk is not related to AnyCAD from AnyCAD Graphics Solution. The Autodesk version is meant for use with Fusion to maintain native files from Solidworks, Pro/E, and so on. -Ed.] A: In our PDM [product design and manufacturing] collection, all users can use Fusion as well as Inventor, so it is not either/or. Q: How many customers use how much in a collection [software suite]? How many buy a collection because it is the only way to get Inventor? A: We are still collecting data, but we find that most customers use two [of 14 programs in PDM collection]. We would like to see them get to three. [The Product Design & Manufacturing Collection consists of Inventor, HSM for CAM, HSMWorks for Solidworks, NASTRAM for CAE; Fusion 360 and Factory Design; AutoCAD, Architecture, Electrical, and Mechanical; ReCap Pro; Navisworks Manage; 3ds Max and Rendering; and cloud storage. It costs $2,525 a year. Users subsequently revealed that it was Autodesk's own license agreement prevented Collections customers from using more than two programs. Autodesk last week finally corrected the oopsie, allowing licensees to employ all 14 programs in their workplace -- five months after the question was raised. -Ed.] Q: With data being centralized [in the Quantum-like database], does this mean each product line can access this data? A: We are making sure that the right pieces can flow to each persona [or applet, a subset of a program]. This is different from importing and transferring data between programs.  A: The cloud makes files go away; you query and get access to the data, no huge files need to be accessed. Our first example is Project Quantum, which is currently focused on accessing Revit data. We might emphasize data flow[between products] over [product] features in the future. A: Forge [programming language] is the common platform on which everything is being built now, which customers and partners also have the exact same access to. Q: How do you prioritize the needs of the Forge platform when you have so many different kinds of users, say construction users versus augmented reality users. A: We find it is not a problem. Every one needs to access data, and then people see what applets can help out, such as visualization. Forge is the same for programmers inside and outside Autodesk. Q: I remember when Fusion was a platform. Are you moving away from that? A: It was probably a linguistic thing; Fusion is built on top of Forge. We are seeking the unification of simulation, design visualization, and so on.  Q: How much exclusivity is there in making Forge-based apps in specific areas? A: We have a mix, where some developers are opportunistic. And then there are some who Autodesk approaches and we ask them to build a specific Forge app. We allow three, four, five developers to go after the same market, so that customers can decide. Q: Why was Configure One [software for configuring, pricing, and quoting] acquired, then divested? A: It was a change of focus by us. It was useful at the time, and now they are a[third-party] Forge partner. [Configure One was software for carrying out configuring, pricing, and quoting functions. -Ed.]  Q: You have said you are aiming for 50% sales direct including from your Web site, and 50% sales through retailers. How will this happen, and who will be the retailers [that will be making] more money per reseller, but with fewer resellers? A: Partners have to move to a services model, where they sell services (consulting, installation, training) in addition to selling product. Some of them are Forge developers. A: Customers can buy either way, direct, online, or from a reseller. Q: Is Fusion Connect being used with IoT in buildings and products? A: We have not yet found the sweet point in IoT [Internet of things] for us. We need to figure out how to get development partners to build on top of the IoT capabilities in Forge, like bringing field data back to the design. [Fusion Connect is an IoT cloud service for connecting to and managing remote products.] Q: What is your top priority for 2018? A: Making sure users see value in putting all the software products together, instead of being in three departments -- BIM, MCAD, and Civil.   Analysis by Ralph Grabowski The master plan outlined at AU is clear, even if some parts are tentative. Here is what to expect from Autodesk: Sole payment method is by on-going subscriptions or tokens (mostly implemented) All Autodesk software to run on the cloud (partially implemented) All programs and data to connect with one another through the Forge API (partially implemented) Each program to store its data in a single database (baby steps taken) The plan resembles what Dassault Systemes did when they launched V6 (now named 3Dexperience) nearly a decade ago, with Envoia holding all data from their CAD and other software in a single database, with software and modules paid for by subscriptions.  This model is suitable for large corporations and some startups, but the direction is an on-going concern for Autodesk customers who do 2D drafting with software on permanent licenses. CEO Andrew Anagnost stated clearly at AU he has little interest in retaining legacy customers who do not follow his plan. As a result, the many firms that provide AutoCAD workalikes with permanent licenses are benefiting from Autodesk's swerve in direction.  Autodesk states that it wants most permanent+maintenance licenses converted to annual subscriptions by early 2021. Anagnost had asked doubters to give him a year to prove the benefit of paying subscriptions for access to cloud-based services that are otherwise unavailable. The year is nearly over, with the flawed launch of Autodesk 2019 giving hold-outs their next reason to keep on holding out. http://www.autodesk.com [Disclosures: This article first appeared in Design Engineering magazine, and is reprinted with permission. Some text was updated to reflect current events. Autodesk provided me with airfare, accommodating, and some meals.] MOBILE CAD for Android and iOS   ARES Touch offers 150+ CAD features to read, modify, and annotate DWG drawings on tablets and smartphones. Visit www.graebert.com/arestouch to learn more. Viewing and measuring features of ARES Touch are FREE for all users. ARES subscribers gain premium features like editing and photo annotation. Get a free 30-day trial of ARES Touch's premium features when you activate your free trial of ARES Commander at  www.graebert.com/arescommander  The Rest of the News Stratasys spun off its Powder-Bed Fusion (PBF) additive manufacturing division as Vulcan Labs, Inc. -- formerly acquired as Harvest Technologies. The new firm's mandate is "to harness the qualities of fast-moving entrepreneurial entities" and PBF deficiencies. www.vulcan-labs.com  But it was not done yet. The same day, Stratasys also announced it is spinning off its Selective Thermoplastic Electrophotographic Process (STEP) technology to form a new company, Evolve Additive Solutions. www.evolveadditive.com  I suspect these spin-offs are attempts to attain elusive profitability. - - - Nemetschek Group is calling itself "the world’s second largest software provider for the AEC industry." The group owns brand names like ArchiCAD,BlueBeam, and Vectorworks. It is feeling confident enough to announce a growth target for 2020: annual revenues of more than e600 million ($750 million). I just noticed that this projection represents a 50% increase over 2017. www.nemetschek.com/en/presse/press-releases - - - MachineWorks is improving its Polygonica polygonal modeling software engine to fills holes left by 3D point cloud scanning, including holes with islands. A new fill type matches features on opposite sides of holes, and then extends them across the holes. www.polygonica.com - - - MAGIX Software released Photostory Premium VR, its first virtual reality software at $130 or $10 monthly. It creates VR worlds from conventional photos and videos, with no additional hardware, and is played back on the free MAGIX VR-X player. www.magix.com/us/photo-graphic - - - Forklift manufacturer Crown is replacing manual teaching of its robotic welding systems with simulation-based offline programming for tool path generation with FASTSUITE Edition 2 software from Cenit AG. (I drove forklifts for a summer job -- FUN!) www.manufacturingtomorrow.com/content.php - - - Steve Johnson (@SteveJohnsonCAD): Facebook is bad, therefore rent our products. Is this the longest bow ever drawn in support of subscription?  Must be close.  upFront.eZine (@upFronteZine): I'm thinking back to when a previous Autodesk ceo boasted about how much data they collect from customers through CIP [Customer Involvement Program]. - - - For late-breaking CAD news, follow upFront.eZine on Twitter at @upfrontezine. Letters to the Editor Re: Figuring out what AutoCAD 2019 is You know what I'd like to see instead of something like [One AutoCAD]? Related products working together, and Autodesk finishing something. In 2018, if someone does a plant P&ID in AutoCAD P&ID, AutoCAD Electrical can't pull info from the said P&ID. or Revit MEP with AutoCAD Electrical. These related products don't talk at all. Then there's stuff like no project manager for AutoCAD. Every vertical has its own implementation and, no, the Sheet Set Manager is not a project manager; it's not even finished. So if you're an interdisciplinary firm, there's manual management of the drawing set, but no built-in tool.  Then there's things in Inventor I'd like to see finished, because the 60-80% that Autodesk did do killed off third-party companies that delivered the entire toolset. How many structural add-ons were there before Autodesk came out with Frame Generator?      - Donovan Cox (via WorldCAD Access) The editor replies: What I think One AutoCAD shovelware means is that Autodesk sees Civil 3D as the only valuable one remaining in its AutoCAD add-on stable. The others are supplanted (Architecture -> Revit) or are not doing well in the market (i.e., Plant 3D). - - -   They used to do this with Inventor Pro perpetual seats, too. Just before my maintenance subscription ended last December I went to download all relevant updates and what do I see but most of these add-ons were gone. Here today, gone tomorrow. Even though they "give" you more things. how many of them can you open and work with at one time -- even by the authorized user? Can they even communicate with each other? With 23% [of Autodesk] staff fired within the last year or so, what you see today is all you are going to get for some time to come. The days of advancement and innovation with Autodesk are over, because "subscription" means hostages, and hostages are not able to dictate terms nor demand improvements. I do like the new way as a source of gallows humor: 'Here you go subscribers! Just for you we are going to add a bunch of programs (that are not advancing) to the one you came here for (which will also not be advancing).' Funny how the only advancement you can rely on with this brave new Autodesk world is cost increases.       - Dave Ault The editor replies: I and others suspect One AutoCAD means that the add-ons will no longer get much in the way of new features -- abandonware. Perhaps the idea is to give users just enough of architecture, etc to get them frustrated enough to buy Revit, etc. Mr Ault responds: The death spiral here is pretty amazing. The more staff Anagnost fires to save money the worse it will all get. I was reading some of Scott Moyses' comments on the Artcam forum today and he mentioned that while Fusion 360 is being touted as the answer to all CAD and CAM problems, their developer staff has been reduced, too. Anagnost gambled on being able to force paradigm change within a certain timeframe, but failed and now the desperation sets in. - - - As always, excellent reality check! FYI: I quit using AutoCAD as my main CAD software back around the late 90s. The reason: It was ancient tech back then, and costs too much in time and labor.  The other reason: Autodesk never listens to its customers. I remember when I was forced to "upgrade" from AutoCAD R14 to the next release. I had a $50 add-on that could search and edit any and all text elements in any and all drawings. It was amazing!! Haven't seen anything like it in any 2D or 3D CAD program since then. I still have the 3.5" floppy disk it came on.  However, the AutoCAD developers, in their infinite wisdom, purchased the rights to that add-on and shelved it. Instead of incorporating it in AutoCAD, they crafted their own pathetic version of a text editor that began as a piece of garbage, and grew worse with every new release. Anybody who's edited P&ID drawings knows that it's impossible to do without a 'robust' text editor.  I quit editing P&ID drawings after Release 14. My point: Autodesk stepped on it when they shunned their customers' advice and nosed their investors instead. At least between Release 11 and 14 they pretended to listen to their customers. Good riddance Autodesk, b/c I'm moving on!      - Cadman (via WorldCAD Access)   Thank You, Readers! Thank you to readers who donate towards the operation of upFront.eZine: Should you wish to support upFront.eZine through PayPal, then the suggested amounts are like these: $25 for individuals > paypal.me/upfrontezine/25 $150 for small companies > paypal.me/upfrontezine/150 $625 for for large companies > paypal.me/upfrontezine/625 Should Paypal.me not operate in your country, then please use www.paypal.comand the account of grabowski@telus.net. Or mail a cheque (US$ or CDN$ only, please) to upFront.eZine Publishing, Ltd., 34486 Donlyn Avenue, Abbotsford BC, V2S 4W7, Canada.   Notable Quotable "Keep it in perspective. All the dead climbers on Mount Everest were once goal-oriented overachievers, too."     - Stella G. Maddox on Twiter (@StellaGMaddox)

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CAD Exchanger on the Cloud

Issue #974

 

by Ralph Grabowski with Roman Lygin and Ramil Gasanov CADEX is a file translation company, one that I previously interviewed in www.upfrontezine.com/2016/12/cad-exchanger.html. The company now has a Web version of their translation-viewing software. To learn more, I interviewed founder and ceo Roman Lygin and senior technical marketing engineer Ramil Gasanov. - - - Ralph Grabowski: I had a look at CAD Exchanger Cloud a few days ago. Is it still in beta? Ramil Gasanov: Yes. The beta will run for a few more months. We are working on introducing more features to catch up to the desktop version. We are looking for feedback from users on what they want, don't want. CAD Exchanger Cloud will be totally free during beta. For the production version, we plan to introduce a fremium version with basic functions, and a paid version with extra functions. Home page for CAD Exchange Cloud Grabowski: What functions do you plan to still add? Roman Lygin: Measurements, sectioning, explosion of assemblies, limited editing like changing colors, parts assembly, moving and rotating parts, and perhaps other features.  Grabowski: Why did you feel you needed to develop a cloud version of your desktop software? Lygin: We have believed in the cloud for quite some time, and so we started working on it many months ago. We feel that the cloud is gaining momentum. We, of course, feel the concern for data security, but as the community talks more about the cloud we want to be part of this wave. We regularly receive requests from prospective clients who might not need a full perpetual desktop license; a subscription-based (temporary) cloud license would be more relevant for them. Gasanov: For users, it is a quick start: go to a Web site, sign in, and then use the software right away. There are no version issues, like Windows or Mac or 64 or 32 bit. It is useful for those who just need it for a limited time in projects, as a better version of rental software. Of course, collaboration is the core value of the cloud, where is it much easier to use than from the desktop. File manager for uploading and selecting files   Grabowski: What kinds of people do you find are using the beta? Gasanov: We are aiming at two types of users: corporate users on a private cloud; and small companies or freelancers who are okay with using the public cloud. Mechanical engineering is the core audience, some from 3D printing, fewer from architecture or construction as we do not have IFC [industry foundation classes] for now. We plan to add IFC in a few months. Lygin: We also want to target ISVs [independent software vendors] with APIs [application programming interfaces] and an SDK [software development kit]so that they can build their own cloud-enabled software. Our public cloud acts as a show window. Interest in an API actually came before our public GUI [graphical user interface]. One ISV was on the traditional desktop, but wanted to migrate to the cloud to reduce costs for end-users. Some ISVs were already on the cloud, but wanted to use components that are already available, rather than writing them themselves, because programming is not their core business. Grabowski: You are based in Russia [Nizhny Novgorod, about 250 miles east of Moscow], so where are your customers based? Gasanov: Most of our customers are in the USA and Western Europe. The desktop version is used by 6,000 engineers in 55+ countries. Grabowski: I understand that you plan to allow some basic editing in the cloud-based viewer-translator. How far do you intend to go with editing? Lygin: Editing is not a core use for our users. Implementing editing in the cloud is much more of a challenge, and makes us think much deeper. We still plan to introduce some lightweight editing functions by mid-year. People will continue to work with what they are familiar [on the desktop], while the cloud is more for sharing and collaborating. It will not replace their desktop software, especially for large corporations for whom it is too expensive to make a big change. Lygin: On the technology side, I would like to add that our effort was strongly supported by Microsoft. In 2016 they offered their help in technical engagement which extended into 2017. We are grateful for their help.  Grabowski: How did Microsoft benefit from helping you out? Lygin: It was their practical case study for using Azure on workloads like ours. Azure is the public cloud for CAD Exchanger, but we also prototyped it on Amazon and on our own servers to ensure platform independence for private environments. 3D model viewer with parts list Grabowski: In addition to IFC [industry foundation classes], do you plan any more file formats? Gasanov: The Solidworks format is coming in a few weeks, because of user-demand and because there is a lot of data in the Solidworks format. This is an important milestone for us.  Grabowski: Dassault has announced a lot of cloud-based software for Solidworks users, although it tends to be very expensive. Why might Solidworks users prefer your software over theirs? Gasanov: We don't pretend to be tailored to the cloud. We want to provide a neutral platform -- along with ISVs. Lygin: Even if we are on a open-source geometric kernel, we add a lot of our own IP [intellectual property], such as all the converters, many healing and modeling algorithms, visualization, cloud, and the user interface. Since we own the stack, we can deliver a more efficient solution to end users. If we didn't own that part of the stack, we would be locked to another vendor. https://cloud.cadexchanger.com/   MOBILE CAD for Android and iOS   ARES Touch offers 150+ CAD features to read, modify, and annotate DWG drawings on tablets and smartphones. Visit www.graebert.com/arestouch to learn more. Viewing and measuring features of ARES Touch are FREE for all users. ARES subscribers gain premium features like editing and photo annotation. Get a free 30-day trial of ARES Touch's premium features when you activate your free trial of ARES Commander at  www.graebert.com/arescommander  Sponsor: Okino Graphics == Converting 3D CAD & DCC to Virtual/ Augmented Reality ==   With the explosive growth of VR/AR, the ultra-massive 3D datasets produced by CAD and DCC programs need efficient conversion to the popular Unity and Unreal development platforms. 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Contact CTO Robert Lansdale at lansd@okino.com  http://www.okino.com The Rest of the News Some of the most recent posts on my WorldCAD Access blog: Figuring out what AutoCAD 2019 is (updated) - - - There's nanoCAD Plus and then there's nanoCAD Pro with feature-based 3D solid modeling and parametric design with constraints. http://nanocad.com/news/4944832/ - - - NIST is sponsoring the Model-Based Enterprise Summit 2018 on Apr 2-5, 2018 in Gaithersburg, MD. Register by email through https://www.nist.gov/news-events/events/2018/04/model-based-enterprise-summit-2018  - - - Forklift manufacturer Crown is replacing manual teaching of its robotic welding systems with simulation-based offline programming for tool path generation with FASTSUITE Edition 2 software from Cenit AG. (I drove forklifts for a summer job -- FUN!) https://www.manufacturingtomorrow.com/content.php?post=11243  - - - nVidia stock dropped after the company stopped its self-driving car testing during its annual GPU Technology Conference celebration -- which had focused on self-driving cars and trucks, such as this one photographed by Roopinder Tara. . - - "Microsoft is warning customers using Office, Xbox, Skype, and other products that the company is prohibiting offensive language and inappropriate content starting on May 1." Another reason to avoid cloud-based software: Chinese-like censorship by corporations. - - - 3DRepo updates its cloud-based BIM platform with 30+ enhancements, supporting Building Collaboration Format (BCF) and live GIS data. The beta of v2.8 also supports Android and iOS thru mobile Web browsers, Xbox controllers, and FBX files with textures. http://3drepo.org/ - - - ANSYS is hoping to acquire OPTIS and its software for simulating light, human vision, and physics-based visualization. - - - Altair Q4 revenues were $89.9 million, up 8% from a year ago. But net loss was $60.3 million, down from $5.9 million profit last year. - - - ETH Zürich is looking to end the good-paying jobs provided to carpenters and summer students. "Hold this beam for me, friend robot, and let us construct a house together." https://techcrunch.com/2018/03/22/hold-this-beam-for-me-friend-robot-and-let-us-construct-a-house-together/ - - - For late-breaking CAD news, follow upFront.eZine on Twitter at @upfrontezine. Letters to the Editor I am setting up a system for my sister. She relies on Generic CADD for income, but is not computer-literate. I am having fun using Dosbox on Windows 7 trying to build a system to replace her current aging Macintosh laptop that emulates XP. Any other web locations that will help me along would be appreciated I am a 75 year old computer guy having some fun. Glad you are still active.     - P. B.     Canada The editor replies: You might find the many comments in my blog posting on Generic CADD useful. They are from people who got GCADD to run on modern-day systems: www.worldcadaccess.com/blog/2013/01/running-generic-cadd-in-2013.html   Re: Unique Features in IronCAD 2018 Thanx for the IronCAD 2018 review. If I could afford it, I'd switch today. The thing I like about IronCAD is its drag-and-drop, push/pull method of modeling. That's my idea of 3D CAD. Too bad it wasn't available when I was young! Thing is, nobody else does it, nobody. They may claim to do it, but everything they do is terrible compared to IronCAD. The only thing that keeps me from buying an IronCAD license is the added expense of add-ons. For example: IronCAD forces you to pay for library parts, which should be part of the base program for free. If I could get their 3D program with the parts library, I'd think about paying $4,000 for it.     - Chris The editor replies: Companies look for ways to charge more than what you think is the price. Most  egregious example of late: a friend got a new Honda with built-in GPS. Cost to update the maps: $200 a shot, he tells me. I advise him to buy a stand-alone GPS for $100 and get lifetime updates free. - - - I love this incredible solid modeler that combines simplicity and power so elegantly. Congratulations to this company, which is sadly little known in France because of the monopolistic position of Dassault in this field in our country.     - Cadlink on Twitter (@Cadlink)   Re: Figuring out what AutoCAD 2019 is Have you seen this dumpster fire being proposed by Autodesk?  Buyer beware! https://knowledge.autodesk.com/support/autocad/learn-explore/caas/sfdcarticles/sfdcarticles/Only-One-AutoCAD-Frequently-Asked-Questions.html      - Randy Thompson The editor replies: It is an aggressive attempt by Autodesk to convince permanent license holders to switch to paying annually in exchange for more value. I wrote about this move on my blog, WorldCAD Access: http://www.worldcadaccess.com/blog/2018/03/figuring-out-what-autocad-2019-is.html - - - It's almost like they didn't have enough staff for a proper roll out. I wonder if the shareholders are happy, though.     - Patrick Hughes on Twitter (@Time_Trvlr) - - - "It won't be enough, because the company is not giving these customers what they want" -- probably true, but it is a smart move in a couple of ways which I'll discuss on my blog in due course.     - Steve Johnson via Twitter (@SteveJohnsonCAD) - - - "...declared the value of AutoCAD Architecture + Mechanical + Electrical + Map 3D + MEP + Raster Design Plant 3D to be $105 -- fifteen bucks each." In contrast to AutoCAD Civil 3D, worth what? e350,-  in which I still really can't design a full bridge properly.     - HnsaCAD via Twitter (@CadHns)   The editor replies: In the USA, Autodesk charges an extra $580/year for the Civil 3D add-on. - - - There are tools in AutoCAD that have never worked right all the time, from the beginning. They still don't. One that drives me nuts is hatching.  Another thing that is also a big letdown: AutoCAD mostly doesn't listen to the user. They change and incorporate things that nobody ever asked for and then they call it an upgrade. We are lucky that there is BricsCAD to save the day.      - Neb (via WorldCAD Access) - - - The available info on AutoCAD 2019 is very confusing and will add to the frustration we have come to expect from Autodesk. I have personally had AutoCAD since v 2.5 and stopped upgrading at 2011. I now use ProgeCad 2017. ProgeCad has caused me no frustration and works as well if not better than AutoCAD and best of all there is no ever changing subscription and upgrade problems.       - Newt Edwards (via WorldCAD Access)   Re: Notable Quotable I might have found you a Notable Quotable in the comments of the (very interesting!) Tesla article you linked to:. "I wish that the diligence used over at SpaceX would be applied at Tesla." "NASA doesn’t let just any bozo try and dock with the International Space Station."      - Robin Capper        New Zealand   The editor replies: It certainly is a puzzle that the parts apparently don't fit right, as if they are being made by hand. Mr Capper responds: Seems they eliminated some of the preproduction steps other manufacturers use and are paying the price for it. It seems scaling manufacturing is harder than scaling software. Thank You, Readers! Should you wish to support upFront.eZine through PayPal, then the suggested amounts are like these: $25 for individuals > paypal.me/upfrontezine/25 $150 for small companies > paypal.me/upfrontezine/150 $625 for for large companies > paypal.me/upfrontezine/625 Should Paypal.me not operate in your country, then please use www.paypal.comand the account of grabowski@telus.net. Or mail a cheque (US$ or CDN$ only, please) to upFront.eZine Publishing, Ltd., 34486 Donlyn Avenue, Abbotsford BC, V2S 4W7, Canada.   Notable Quotable "Airbus, which designs, builds and sells civil and military aeronautical stuff, including commercial drones, embarked on the first phase of the 'digital transformation' project – you at the back, stop yawning – a year ago."     - Paul Kunert, The Register     www.theregister.co.uk/2018/03/14/airbus_ditches

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