Autodesk introduced the newest version of its desktop 3D CAD product, Autodesk Inventor 2016, which provides a trio of modeling tools: parametric, direct editing and freeform design tools. Inventor 2016 also enables users to associatively connect their Inventor data to non-native CAD formats so their electrical and mechanical data can be integrated into one single […]
GrabCAD Announces Integration with PTC Creo and Workbench Summer 2014 Release
It appears the folks at GrabCAD have been quite busy. The Cambridge-based startup is making two significant announcements today: the integration of its Workbench cloud-based file management platform with PTC Creo CAD software and the release of Workbench Summer 2014. Since PTC Live Global was just held this week in Boston, we’ll start with that […]
Luxion Releases KeyShot 5 Rendering Software
Rendering software is increasingly being put to use by design engineers to create downstream product collateral used to support, maintain and sell products–often before the product even exists in physical form. Rendered 3D models are also created and used early in the design process to speed the process of obtaining customer or management approval. Rendering […]
The failed promise of parametric CAD, final chapter: A viable solution
What is the failed promise of parametric CAD? In short, model reuse. It’s a lot more difficult than it ought to be, for a variety of reasons. Several months back, I wrote a series of articles discussing those reasons, as well as some of the solutions that have come up over the years. What was missing […]
Autodesk Introduces Next Generation Integrated CAM for Inventor
After two months in public beta and collecting a wealth of invaluable user feedback, next generation integrated CAM for Inventor is here with the commercial availability of Autodesk Inventor HSM Express. Last October, Autodesk announced it was entering the CAM market with the acquisition of HSMWorks, a developer of integrated CAM solutions for SolidWorks software. […]
The failed promise of parametric CAD part 5: A resilient modeling strategy
The model brittleness problem inherent with parametric feature-based modeling is a really big deal. And it’s something, honestly, that I don’t have a great answer for. I’ve even asked a few power users who I know, and their answers seemed to involve a bit of hand-waving, and a reference to having lots of experience. While […]
The failed promise of parametric CAD part 4: Going horizontal
In the early 90s, Ron Andrews, a senior product designer at Dephi’s Saginaw Steering Systems Division, became fed-up with the difficulties of editing parametric CAD models. So, he and a team of his colleagues, including Pravin Khurana, Kevin Marseilles, and Diane Landers, took on a challenge of trying to find a solution. They came up […]
The failed promise of parametric CAD part 3: The direct solution
Direct modeling—a syncretic melding of concepts pioneered by CoCreate, Trispectives, Kubotek (and many others)–has shown the most promise to cure the parametric curse. Direct modeling is today’s hot CAD technology. PTC, Autodesk, Siemens PLM, Dassault (CATIA, but not so much SolidWorks), IronCAD, Kubotek, Bricsys, SpaceClaim (and certainly some other companies I’ve forgotten) all have their […]
The failed promise of parametric CAD part 2: The problem is editing
In the previous post, I wrote about the failed promise of parametric CAD: problems such as parent-child dependencies and unwanted feature interactions, coupled with no easy way to either prevent, or check for them. The difference between modeling and editing in a parametric CAD system is simply the difference between creating things from scratch, and […]
The failed promise of parametric CAD part 1: From the beginning
The modern era of 3D CAD was born in September 1987, when Deere & Company bought the first two seats of Pro/Engineer, from the still new Parametric Technology Corporation. A couple of years later, Deere’s Jack Wiley was quoted in the Anderson Report, saying: “Pro/ENGINEER is the best example I have seen to date of […]
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