January 2004

MicroStation 101: V8 Level Display - MicroStation tips, Karen Fugle, benyleyuser.org, January 26, 2004

Out With The Old, In With The New - we need to remove the emphasis on CAD as a process and concentrate instead on making it a tool again by which we achieve our desired result - concentrating on design, Nigel Davies, benyleyuser.org, January 23, 2004

Is CAD a Done Deal? - a fundamental change in CAD technology is needed to help users make a quantum leap forward in productivity terms - but the answer is not simply PLM as many in the industry would have you believe, Bob Brown, Engineering Automation Report, January 2004 (hosted on Cambashi)

Will Building Modeling Trickle Down to Smaller AEC Firms? - are the needs of local and global architectural firms the same, and will the building model design paradigm trickle down from signature architects to the single office firm working on a local school?, Mike Evans, AEC Automation, January 2003 (hosted on Cambashi)

Using an Offset Constraint When Things are in Contact in an Assembly - CATIA tips explain how to save time when things are in contact in an assembly, Tom Cisler, COE NewsNet, January 2004

A Benchmark Comparison of Curvature Matched Machining Methods - Curvature Matched Machining methods go head to head with three commercial CAM algorithms, C. Greg Jensen, Rob Cheatham, Zhenyu Chen, Max Wan, Yifan Chen and Brian Bowman, COE NewsNet, January 2004 (pdf)

Blueprint for Change - building information modeling (BIM) technology - in which databases manage 3D drawings and all related project data - could have a profound effect on the building industry, John Foley, InformationWeek, January 26, 2004

AutoCAD - Complex Linetypes - tips on creating complex linetypes, Ralph Grabowski, WorldCAD Access, January 20, 2004

Delete Key Not Working in AutoCAD on a New PC - AutoCAD tip, CAD Forum, January 30, 2004

How to Import a .BRD, .BDF, or .IDB File in Inventor - Inventor tip, CAD Forum, January 30, 2004

Removing Point Symbols from Linestyles -MicroStation tips, Dan Eng, Bentley.com, January 30, 2004 (may require free registration)

Creating Protrusions and Ribs - VectorWorks tutorial covers the basics of creating protrusions and ribs by creating a 3D toy block, CADdigest.com, January 29, 2004

How to Prevent Creation of Frozen Layers in New Layouts - AutoCAD tip, CAD Forum, January 29, 2004

Smaller VRML files from AutoCAD, Architectural Desktop or Inventor - tips on compressing files, CAD Forum, January 29, 2004

Where Can I Find My Previously Entered AutoCAD Authorization Code? - AutoCAD 2004 tip, CAD Forum, January 29, 2004

Keep a Polygon Line String Shape Session While Zooming In and Out - MicroStation tips, Lorys Lea, MicroStation Digest, January 29, 2004

Inkjet Goes 3D - researchers have developed a printer that makes three-dimensional forms without the use of a laser, offering a cheaper alternative for many in the rapid prototyping and manufacturing industry, TRN, January 28, 2004

The Power of Cobalt Feature Reordering - interactive tutorial explains the effects of feature re-ordering when exploring different design options in Ashlar's Cobalt, Novedge Newsletter, January 2004

Design Classes Open 24/7 on the Web - think3 offers more than 200 online lessons, including a range of instructions including simple text files, e-seminars and more complex lessons that involve interactive modules, Paul Dvorak, Machine Design, January 28, 2004

Down: PTC's Q1 2004 Financial Results - PTC's revenues from CAD were down 4% and revenues from PLM were down 6%, but the company hopes to see a net profit soon, Ralph Grabowski, upFront.eZine, January 27, 2004

Multi-layer DWGs Produce Multiple Sketches - Inventor tip, CadSoft, January 7, 2004

This Week In Boston - a report from the recent SolidWorks gathering, including what's coming in SolidWorks 2005, Jeffrey Rowe, MCAD Cafe, January 26, 2004

Revit Tips & Tricks - a collection of productivity-enhancing tips, Revit Users Group International, January 27, 2004

And the Award Goes to ... Us! - that CAD magazines and organizations hand out so many awards has as much to do with placing themselves in the limelight as it does honoring outstanding products and services, Ralph Grabowski, upFront.eZine, January 26, 2004

How Cavity Closure Works - ArchiCAD tutorial explains how the Cavity Closure feature of Windows/Doors works and what each of it parameters controls, Graphisoft.com, January 16, 2004

PLA File Loaded Twice When Using Library Cache - ArchiCAD tip, Laszlo Nagy, Graphisoft.com, January 16, 2004

2003 Progress Report for America's Infrastructure - in their latest report the American Society of Engineers (ASCE) found that the condition of our country's roads, bridges, drinking water systems and other public works have shown little improvement since they were graded an overall D+ in 2001, ASCE, January 26, 2004

Creating Helix-spiral Objects - VectorWorks tutorial creates a model of a doorstopper, CADdigest.com, January 23, 2004

The TCW90.ini File - TurboCAD tips, John R. Sollman, CADcourse.com, January 21, 2004

SolidWorks World Report: Day 2 - the second general session of SolidWorks World revealed more details about SolidWorks 2005 and a demonstration of a 3D photography product designed using SolidWorks, Sara Ferris, Cadalyst, January 20, 2004

AutoCAD Tips - a collection of tips on topics such as leaders, layouts, views and polylines, Alex Borodulin, NYacad, January 23, 2004

Importing AutoCAD Meshes - tutorial explains how to create a triangular ground model using VIZ and AutoCAD, David Watson, CADTutor, January 23, 2004

Do You Have to Adopt BIM? - if you haven't jumped on the building information modeling bandwagon yet don't worry, BIM authoring tools are still mostly immature, Michael Dakan, Cadalyst AEC Tech News #112, January 22, 2004

How to Create Gradient Fills in ArchiCAD - ArchiCAD tips, T. Prokopchak, Graphisoft.com, January 20, 2004

Size of Pictures in Interactive Schedules - ArchiCAD tips, Laszlo Nagy, Graphisoft.com, January 19, 2004

The 'All' Checkbox in the Additional Parameters Dialog of the Interactive Schedule - ArchiCAD tips, Laszlo Nagy, Graphisoft.com, January 19, 2004

Toggle Between Tool Settings and AccuDraw - MicroStation tip, George Lee, MicroStation Digest, January 22, 2004

Dassault Systemes - with no serious competition in the aerospace business and a top player in the global auto industry, Dassault sets its sight on capturing the PLM sector, Carol Matlack, Business Week Online, January 26, 2004

AVEVA Delivers XMpLant - AVEVA's new translation technology promises to affect the plant design fortunes of not only AVEVA, but also Bentley and Intergraph, Randall Newton, CADwire.net, January 22, 2004

Macworld 2004 - a report on the AEC products on display, including ArchiCAD, VectorWorks, form*Z, SketchUp, Piranesi, Art*lantis and PhotoCAD, Lachmi Khemlani, AECbytes Newsletter, January 22, 2004 (more Macintosh features; more AEC features)

My, What Big Teeth You Have! - a team of design engineers has created a CAD program called Vertebrate Analyzer to create, mechanically articulate and animate skeletal models of ancient beasts - from sabertooth cats to dinosaurs - to try to answer some of the questions about how they lived, SciScoop, January 22, 2004

SolidWorks World Report - highlights of the first day of  the SolidWorks 2004 conference included a sneak preview of SolidWorks 2005 and the announcement that SolidWorks licenses have reached the 300,000 mark, Sara Ferris, Cadalyst, January 20, 2004

Downward Compatibility Utility in CATIA V5 - tips for converting CATParts, Harpreet Singh Arora, CATIA Digital Digest, January 20, 2004

DriveWorks & FISHER/UNITECH Partner - the development and increasing availability of "smart" design tools and related technologies are paving the way to more efficient product design, Amy Rowell, CADwire.net, January 20, 2004

A Non-Programmers Guide to Using Macros - Inventor tutorial explores ways to load and run macro files and how to assign custom toolbar buttons to macros for easy access, Sean Dotson, sDotson.com, January 19, 2004 (pdf)

Creating Raised Text in Pro/ENGINEER Wildfire - a step-by-step tutorial, Asim Rashid, Pro/E Central, January, 2004

Carrots, Sticks and Spies in Software Piracy Fight - the Business Software Alliance estimated global losses from all software piracy - including CAD applications - at more than $13 billion in 2002, Douglas Heingartner, New York Times (hosted on International Herald Tribune), January 18, 2004

Architectural Designs Get New Dimension from Software - @Last Software is donating its SketchUp software to school children in North Carolina in the hopes that the tool will spark an early interest in architectural design, Dale Neal, Asheville Citizen-Times, January 19, 2004

Manchester, Mo., Computer-Design Pioneers Blaze New Trails in Aerospace Field - CAD/CAM technology's role in aerospace design and manufacturing has evolved so much that makers are eliminating years between the time it takes to design an aircraft and to build the first prototype, Cynthia Wilson, Miami Herald, January 19, 2004

10 Express Tools Conquer Text - AutoCAD tips on using the Express Tools Text commands, Lynn Allen, Cadalyst, January 6, 2004

MicroStation V8 - Getting Multi-lines out of Settings Manager and into a DGNLib - MicroStation productivity tips, Shawn Foster, Sextant Consulting, January 19, 2004

Customizing your PopUp Menu in MicroStation V8 - MicroStation productivity tips, Shawn Foster, Sextant Consulting, January 19, 2004

Creating a Calculator Tool for AutoCAD - tutorial shows how to create your own calculator tool to bring up a calculator, Elise Moss, CADzette, January 16, 2004 (pdf)

MicroStation V8's Models - explores V8's new model options to organize design data, James Dyer, Cadalyst, January 5, 2004

CAD Management Forecast - examines 2003 CAD manager survey results to chart a management course for 2004, Robert Green, Cadalyst, January 1, 2004

Macworld Expo - CAD/3D/AEC - a report from the recent gathering on what's new and noteworthy in the Macintosh CAD-related industry, Anthony Frausto-Robledo, Architosh, January 15, 2004

Exclusive 2003 Plant Engineering Salary Survey - despite a recent dismal industrial economy, salaries for plant engineers have rebounded, Richard L. Dunn, Plant Engineering, January 1, 2004

Bug Watch January 2004 - the latest AutoCAD bugs and workarounds deal with a color conundrum, attribute annoyance, and flaky behavior on the part of AutoCAD 2004's Undo command, Steve Johnson, Cadalyst, January 1, 2004

A Darwinian Shake-out in the Building Industry - the president and CEO of Graphisoft presents his vision of the changes in the building industry that will result from the emerging strong interest and adoption of building information modeling, Dominic Gallello, AECbytes, January 14, 2004

Cross-Release Interoperability in Pro/ENGINEER - streaming tips for Pro/E users, PTC Express, January 2004

Hospital Superstructure Snaps Together with EFX - Pro/E's Expert Framework Extension is a module that saves money by modifying the information flow to identify errors in the drawings before they are sent out for bid, and by providing a truly rapid prototyping tool, Sarah Griffith, PTC Express, January 2004

Provo Seeks to Nurture Y Inventions - a computer program invented at Brigham Young University allows tool design to be transferred from an engineer's computer to machining mills at a faster pace, Rob Weiler, BYU Newsnet, January 15, 2004

Creating a Solid by Sweeping, Extruding and Shelling - VectorWorks tutorial creates a miniature prototype of a watering can, CADdigest.com, January 14, 2004

Basic Lighting in Pro/ENGINEER - how to set up lights for a rendering in Pro/E, Bill Taylor, PTC Express, January 2004

Creating Annotations in Windchill PDMLink - how to create annotations for documents, drawings, images and models, Jim Sweeney, PTC Express, January 2004

Using the Crossing Option with the Fillet Command - AutoCAD tips, PostalCAD, January 5, 2004

Architectural Desktop 2004: Scheduling Multiple Drawings In One Schedule - streaming tip shows how to create a schedule in ADT that schedules doors in multiple external drawing files, Rick Feineis, Avatech Solutions, January 13, 2004

 Plastic Part Modeling 1 - think3 tutorial how to create a plastic coffee maker housing using solid modeling, surfaces modeling, Boolean and GSM techniques, think3, January 14, 2004

Plastic Part Modeling 2 - think3 tutorial covers a new feature of thinkdesign 8.0 called "Derived Model" and other new modeling techniques, think3, January 14, 2004

Civil Design 2004: Quickly and Easily Cut Channels With the Grading Object - streaming tip illustrates how a channel can be laid out and contoured in under two minutes, Eric Chappell, Avatech Solutions, January 13, 2004

PLM - With and Without CAD/CAM/CAE - examines the recent financial strengths and weaknesses, and future prospects, of six major PLM players: MatrixOne, Agile, PTC, SAP, Dassault and EDS PLM Solutions, Russ Henke and Jack Horgan, MCADCafe, January 14, 2004

Graphisoft to Introduce New Construction Industry Software - Revised Strategy in March - Graphisoft will announce in March a corporate restructuring plan and also a new application to enhance its "Virtual Building" concept, Interfax, January 14, 2004

Faro Gets Lit - although Faro experienced a meteoric rise in its share price in 2003, no one is sure what its future market might be, or how soon it will arrive, Seth Jayson, Fool.com, January 14, 2004

McCann Students Get Video's Starring Roles - SolidWorks is producing a marketing film that will feature students who won national awards for their CAD projects, Susan Bush, The Berkshire Eagle, January 14, 2004

How to Navigate PipePak - ALGOR tutorial explores a user interface with an integrated spreadsheet for defining entire piping systems, which can then be analyzed for compliance with industry-standard piping codes, Algor.com, January 14, 2004

AutoCAD: Getting the Most Out Of Layouts - streaming tip examines the benefits of using layouts, Shawn Turek, Avatech Solutions, January 13, 2004

Support Files, Printer Files Path & Template Locations - tips on locating and customizing these files in AutoCAD 2004, CCAD Tip Sheet, January 2004 (pdf)