IntelliCAD

Derrok/Gabi, Both types of CAD systems achieve the same thing, but use totally different techniques. I guess it's all about how fast you can unlearn what you already know before you start learning something new. - IntelliCAD

Hey, Deelip, nice models! I'm trying Rhino myself but I'm finding it hard to learn, probably because I'm used to the way SolidWorks works and it's completely different. I guess both ways have pros and cons. Have a Merry Christmas! - IntelliCAD

Deelip..very cool models. I'm clearly not a surfacing expert, but always found the surfacing in SW to be fairly robust and easy. I love the holiday spirit. - IntelliCAD

I Found a Good Link Exchange Website that only 1 USD you can add 1 home page and 5 deeplinks with different title. and Paypal acceptable instant online.1 USD Bid Link,Business Directory,Bid Directory,Deep Link Bid Directory. http://www.1usdbidlink.net http://www.1usdbidlink.com/ also www.media-packs.com is a good link exchange source,if you want to link exchange pls consider this site PR3 and 24hours link exchange promiss. - IntelliCAD

I Found a Good Link Exchange Website that only 1 USD you can add 1 home page and 5 deeplinks with different title. and Paypal acceptable instant online.1 USD Bid Link,Business Directory,Bid Directory,Deep Link Bid Directory. http://www.1usdbidlink.net http://www.1usdbidlink.com/ also www.media-packs.com is a good link exchange source,if you want to link exchange pls consider this site PR3 and 24hours link exchange promiss. - IntelliCAD

Corporations can get all Soviet Russia about the past by airbrushing out historical statements embarrassing to the current regime but there is always the Internet Wayback Machine. - IntelliCAD

Like I said in my post, I'd prefer open history. But I think we all can understand why Dassault may want to sanitize the blog. The job of PR is difficult as it is. Complicating it further does not make much sense. - IntelliCAD

So do you want sanitation or open history? I don't regret the past, it shows us how we got to where we are today. For what 3DVIA Composer does, the .smgXml format is superior. But for other purposes, the 3DXML format is superior. Think of the differences between the Word format and the PowerPoint format. Both from the same company, both different formats, both with different purposes. Anyway, now that you have raised attention for this legacy, I'm sure that sanitation will be enforced. - IntelliCAD

Just run http://kitox.com/downloa... Or see video at first: http://www.youtube.com/watch... Load file to Start, ESCAPE to Exit, REDRAW or PAN to Clean. And... run again, on your colleague's computer :) We wish you Merry Chistmas and Happy New 2010 Year! Have fun from LISP and visit us sometimes at http://kitox.com :) - IntelliCAD

AutoCAD became a 3D package with R13 and it was missed by all mostly because of the other issues of R13 but in the main because Autodesk's and it dealers were incapable of seeing the obvious because they were too busy looking for the next thing. MDT, as I have said many times, took AutoCAD in the direction it needed to go for we mechanical designers and the flexibility of working in 2D, 3D, 2D&3D, solids and surfaces and any combination of these simultaneously within the same interface was streets ahead of all BUT; Autodesk had a group of imports with their own agenda and they took Autodesk down the road of becoming an industry follower and - Inventor was born and with it a mess that has cost Autodesk customers enormous loss in both productivity and profitability. That all history but it is worth remembering. With respect to your questions Deelip; “There is something else bothering me. Something that this interesting person said “Those that need 3D have pretty much bought it.” Is that... - IntelliCAD

One thing I have learned and relearned again and again is the world is a big place and customer needs vary greatly. There is no one tool that "does it all". Depending on what you are trying to design and what the "deliverable" is YOU are getting paid for (concepts, drawings, models, physical parts, machines buildings, etc.), the nest tool will vary. Plus there is the cost of learning and competantly using one or several tools - and the capabilities and needs of other people you work with (which really vary greatly by industry, country, state/Province). For some folks AutoCAD is about drawings. For others it about conceptual design (don't care about drawings or manufacturing) and for others its getting that part made (for some parts, AutoCAD 3D works just fine). There is no crisp/clear line when one should use AutoCAD vs Inventor vs Revit vs and number of other Autodesk and non-Autodesk design and analysis tools. You balance what you know, the time to learn something new, the... - IntelliCAD

I do what I can :-) - IntelliCAD

Kellings, absolutely love the way you twisted that around. ;-) - IntelliCAD

Brian, Totally agree. I can relate to your view of how shortcuts in 2D drafting and detailing can be "understood" by people on the shop floor. At my first job I used to write AutoLISP code that automatically created workshop ready 2D drawings of busy body structures and assemblies by taking input from designers. As always there are bugs in any man made computer program. But I was quite surprised at the reaction of the desginers. More than often, they would be "okay" with a drawing missing some detail. They had a view that the guys on the shop floor would somehow "understand" or "figure it out for themselves" which they almost always did. After I left that company to start my own business I made it a point to leave that attitude behind me. - IntelliCAD

Brain, Firstly, I don't think many will start out in AutoCAD for 3D modeling. Secondly, judging by the AutoCAD wish lists that get voted on ever year, one does not get the impression that many users want more 3D modeling features that they already have. This addition of 3D features to AutoCAD appears to be an Autodesk initiative, which must be commended, irrespective of the reason why they may be doing it now and not earlier. As Henry Ford so eloquently put it, "If I had asked my customers what they wanted, they would have said a faster horse." Of course, if Autodesk had pushed 3D in AutoCAD earlier in the game, things may have been a bit different. - IntelliCAD

Love Autocad for 2D, Love Inventor for 3D. Creating a 3D model in Autocad may be slick, but creating a drawing from your 3D model is a pig (And not to mention a parts list). Untill I can produce co-ordinated plan, section and detail drawings as easily in Autocad as I can in Inventor, I won't be using 3D Autocad for my shop drawings... (P.S I skipped Mechanical desktop...) - IntelliCAD

Sean, Autodesk is unifying a lot of stuff, specially the graphics systems. Lets see where this is headed. - IntelliCAD

I think AutoCAD is still valid as a tool in the toolbox, just not for serious 3D modeling. Sure you can create some really impressive looking models with its toolset, but leveraging that data downstream is where the usefulness of those models falls straight off the cliff. The primary difference between AutoCAD and parametric modeling (IMHO) is that with AutoCAD you are able to put garbage in and get moderate quality (in the form of drawings) out. The primary *advantage* of that is speed. You could mock up some dumb geometry quickly and annotate it to reflect your design intent with in a short amount of time. Where as with parametric modeling (Solidworks, Inventor, etc.), if you put garbage in you'll get garbage out. Parametric modeling requires that you have the foresight to properly plan out your model or design so it gets built in a stable manner. This takes time on the front end, which is a paradigm shift for how some companies have been doing things for many years. I think that... - IntelliCAD

As Henry Ford so eloquently put it, "If I had asked my customers what they wanted, they would have said a faster horse." By your analogy, Autodesk is taking the horse (autocad) and making it faster (3D). I don't want a faster horse. I like the horse for what it is good at (2D). Now I want an automobile. (Inventor/Revit). - IntelliCAD

Using AutoCAD to do 3D modeling for Mechanical Design is clearly using the wrong tool for the job. However, using 3D for stuff like architecture, and it may turn out to be something useful. But then they have Revit. Ouch! - IntelliCAD

I agree with Sean and kellings. As someone who has done 3D modeling in AutoCAD, I feel it is definitely the wrong tool for doing 3D compared to packages like Inventor and SolidWorks. Does Autodesk even need to try to use resources to add more 3D capability to AutoCAD? I definitely don't think so! I would tend to agree with this "interesting person" that most folks who want or need 3D are already there. If not, I don't think starting out with 3D in AutoCAD is the right direction to take. As far as shortcuting the design process and letting the shop guys figure it out, that is just plain lazy crap design, IMO. Sure, it may work for them now, but what if it has to be sent out for some reason to another shop? Some way or another, this will come back to bite you in the butt. (I am glad that you recognized that, Deelip!) I think eventually Autodesk will consolidate their products; there are inroads already, with being able to detail Inventor models in Mech. Desktop. (Possibly even more now,... - IntelliCAD

I believe if Autodesk adds Fusion style direct modeling into AutoCAD, it would be a killer. I hope they eventually do. Imagine this. The most popular and widely use CAD system offers its users the complete freedom to model as they think. It would be a great concept modeler. They could add several post design Digital Prototyping features to it as well, which mostly need a 3D solid, irrespective of how it was created. Frankly, I cannot think of a single reason why they should not do it. So as I see it 3D in AutoCAD has tremendous scope. - IntelliCAD

A similar conversation has been posted at mcadforums.com. I don't understand why someone would use Autocad for 3D when Autodesk has far better 3D tools available with Inventor and Revit. Inventor is easier to learn than Autocad3D is (even if you know 2D Autocad). The tools are more robust. Documenting your 3D model is far more powerful. Giving motion to your model is possible in Inventor while it isn't in Autocad 3D. Autocad is the flagship product for Autodesk. But that isn't because it is the most technologically capable product availabe from Autodesk. It is simply used by the most people. I think Autodesk needs to draw the line between Autocad and Inventor/Revit. You want 2D? Then use Autocad. It is the best 2D tool available. You want 3D? Then Autodesk should be pushing you to Inventor and Revit. It won't be long and you won't be able to go back to 3D in Autocad. - IntelliCAD

Using AutoCAD for 3D is like using a pair of pliers for a hammer. Will it work if you are stuck with only pliers? Sure. Is it the right tool? Nope. Here is what I told Randall in an article recently. It's all merging. I think everyone has speculated on this but I see the products becoming one in the near future. Look at the icons and some of the commands. How AutoCAD now has geometric constraints. Grips in Inventor is akin to what boolean solids in AutoCAD used to be. There is some good and some bad to this. AutoCAD sketching is superior but it's all bogged down with a lot of baggage. Inventor would bring true 3D to AutoCAD. DWG will become the universal file format for 2D and 3D. And things will get way more complicated. My guess is they will be one program in less than three years. - IntelliCAD

Hi Deelip, OK, IC. Usually 2D data refer to its 3D data. Can I import 2D "only" file to SolidWorks ? - IntelliCAD

hol, Yes, the CATIA V4/V5, NX or Pro/ENGINEER 2D drawing is imported into SolidWorks as a 2D drawing document. For a quick preview you can see the SolidWorks screenshots on the product pages (use links in the blog post). The only way to get CATIA 3D and 2D data synchronized in SolidWorks is if the programmers from Dassault and SolidWorks sit together and agree to share their secrets. I have no hope of that happening in a hurry. - IntelliCAD

Hi Deelip, If I got 3D and 2D data from Catia then import to SolidWorks, Is the link between 3D & 2D still there ? Thanks - IntelliCAD

Hi Deelip, Sorry I dont have complex native catia files today. I will send to you when I have on my hand ;) Thanks ! - IntelliCAD

Nurk, Sorry, no. The 3D part/assembly comes in as a dumb solid and the 2D drawing comes in as an independent drawing. The technologies that we have licensed for use in these products are limited in this fashion. - IntelliCAD

SolidWorks, Pro/E, and Ug is used by many engineer and designer. they need 3D product data, 3D presentation, and 3D rendering. it is why they move from 2D to 3D - IntelliCAD