Archive for the ‘Uncategorized’ Category
Wednesday, September 17th, 2014
During SIGGRAPH 2014, we talked to a lot of attendees and exhibitors. One of the CG software developers we spent time with was MAXON, whose flagship product line is CINEMA 4D. Admittedly, this software product is targeted primarily to the media/entertainment market, but also has a place in the MCAD world as well, just as Autodesk’s Maya and 3ds Max have. Certainly not a huge market, but one that has a place for these specialized applications.
CINEMA 4D is a 3D modeling, animation and rendering application developed by MAXON Computer GmbH (Friedrichsdorf, Germany). It is capable of procedural and polygonal/surface modeling, animating, lighting, texturing, rendering, and common features found in 3D modeling applications.
We spoke with Paul Babb, President and CEO of MAXON for the Americas. He said that CINEMA 4D is an animation product used for motion graphics for broadcast television, visual effects, scientific/medical animation, video game graphics, and architectural and engineering visualization.
At their SIGGRAPH 2014 exhibit, MAXON employed a wide range of artists at the booth showing what CINEMA 4D can do, such as game developers, visual effects artists, and motion graphics experts. Also exhibited at the booth were demonstrations showing integration with the Arnold renderer and the Houdini graphics engine.
What is CINEMA 4D?
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Tags: animation, cg, Cinema 4D Broadcast, Cinema 4D Prime, Cinema 4D Studio, Cinema 4D Visualize, computer graphics, Maxon, rendering, SIGGRAPH 2014, textures
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Thursday, September 11th, 2014
We just returned from three exhausting but exhilarating days at the International Manufacturing Technology Show (IMTS) 2014 in Chicago. This biennial, week-long exhibition and conference is by far the biggest manufacturing showcase in North America. As a matter of fact, it had over 110,000 registrants when we left the show at the end of its third day. IMTS occupies virtually all of the buildings at McCormick Place, covering millions of square feet, so you have to strategize how to see everything you want to see. It showcases just about anything you can imagine for manufacturing – metal cutting, abrasives, additive processes, CAD/CAM, controls, inspection – you name it, and it’s probably at IMTS.
IMTSTV – Live IMTS Coverage
MCADCafe conducted several video interviews that will be available for viewing in the very near future at www.mcadcafe.com. The interviewees were a diverse group, everything from traditional CAD/CAM vendors, to software component suppliers, and even a reseller.
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Tags: 3D printing, IMTS, International Manufacturing Technology Show, Local Motors, manufacturing, SmartForce Student Summit, Strati
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Thursday, September 4th, 2014
Remember a long time ago when the so-called “paperless office” was just around the corner. Well, we’ve all turned a lot of corners over the years waiting for the nirvana that still seems to be “just around the corner.”
Of course, strides have been made for a way to communicate design engineering information in a paperless manner, but one of the most promising developments has been model-based definition (MBD) and model-based engineering/enterprise (MBE).
We spoke with Aaron Kelly, SOLIDWORKS’ Vice President, User Experience & Product Portfolio Management about many things regarding the SOLIDWORKS 2015 portfolio launch, including a brand new offering called SOLIDWORKS MBD. It is designed to help improve communication between design and manufacturing teams by enabling them to communicate product and manufacturing information (PMI) in 3D. The intent here is to use Model Based Definition and to no longer use 2D drawings to define products.
SOLIDWORKS MBD
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Tags: Action Engineering, digital product definition, DPD, Jennifer Herron, MBD, MBE, model-based definition, model-based engineering, PMI, product and manufacturing information, SOLIDWORKS 2015, SOLIDWORKS MBD
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Wednesday, August 27th, 2014
Although SIGGRAPH is primarily focused on computer graphics (CG) as it relates to media and entertainment (M&E), there were several technologies that could be used constructively in the MCAD arena.
One of the more interesting ones we came across with possible MCAD implications was Clara.io, a web-based 3D computer graphics software developed by Exocortex, a Canadian software company. Clara.io was announced in July 2013 and first presented as part of the SIGGRAPH 2013 program later that month. With that in mind, we checked it out earlier this month at SIGGRAPH 2014 in Vancouver, British Columbia.
Clara.io: Basics of Polygon Modeling
Clara.io is offered on what the company calls a freemium basis, a pricing strategy by which a product or service (typically a digital offering such as software, media, games or web services) is provided free of charge, but money (premium) is charged for proprietary features and functionality. Clar.io freemium pricing structure is discussed below.
Clara.io is part of an ongoing proliferation of web/cloud-based 3D technologies. WebGL, HMTL5, CSS3D, and Canvas were the start, and were followed by a myriad libraries and other 3D software that runs inside web browsers, and also can run under any OS, tablet, or smartphone.
Clara.io is an impressive example of such burgeoning cloud-based technology. Instead of being a proof of concept or a set of limited features, Clara.io is a comprehensive 3D app. It’s also open source and promises to support the Blender file format in the future (more about Blender later).
Clara.io: Real-time Collaboration
Clara.io has many interesting following features, including:
- Hierarchical scene graph
- Lights and cameras
- Robust support for Polymeshes, including indexed UV, Normal and Color maps
- Flexible operators (known as “modifiers” in 3DS Max.
- Keyframe-based animation
- Powerful sub-object editing
- Renderer and pass management
- Extensive materials
- Sharing/collaboration capabilities
- Rudimentary bones and skinning
- Real-time multi-user collaborative editing
- Automatic versioning with history (somewhat analogous to parametric, history-based CAD modeling and a PDM system)
- Plugin model
- Script log
- FBX, Collada, OBJ, ThreeJS and STL file format support.
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Tags: 3D modeling, animation, Blender, cg, Clara.io, cloud-based, Exocortex, SIGGRAPH 2014, V-Ray
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Wednesday, August 20th, 2014
We just returned from one of the most interesting events of the year for us and one that we always look forward to – SIGGRAPH 2014. SIGGRAPH (short for Special Interest Group on GRAPHics and Interactive Techniques) is the name of the annual conference on computer graphics (CG) convened by the ACM SIGGRAPH organization.
The first SIGGRAPH conference was in 1974, and this year’s event was held in beautiful Vancouver, British Columbia.
As usual, we found the most interesting aspects of the conference to be the SIGGRAPH Emerging Technologies program and the exhibit floor.
SIGGRAPH 2014 Emerging Technologies Preview
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Tags: Acute 3D, AMD, Autodesk, Blender, CAD, cg, Clara.io, computer graphics, Dell, entertainment, Formlabs, Fuel3D, media, NVIDIA, SIGGRAPH, Sketchfab, Teradici
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Wednesday, August 6th, 2014
In just about any industry or market segment you can think of, the words “cloud,” “mobile,” and “app” are about as ubiquitous as it gets. PLM is proving no different, although acceptance and implementation seem slow in coming. However, the tide is beginning to turn.
PLM, of course has received considerable support from large organizations, and is finally being embraced by significant numbers of SMBs. To date, the two biggest obstacles for SMBs considering PLM, much less implementing it, have been cost and complexity – whether real or perceived.
Although hardly the first or only one, a couple years ago Autodesk launched a major effort to bring PLM to the SMB masses with the introduction of cloud-based PLM 360. More recently it launched a PLM 360 app for iOS and Android mobile devices.
Autodesk PLM 360 Mobile App Overview
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Tags: Android, app, Autodesk, iOS, mobile, PLM, PLM 360, product data management, SMB
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Wednesday, July 30th, 2014
If you’ve been around the technical/engineering software business as long as I have, as with any business, nothing stays the same. This includes founders, executives, and other major players who were once prominent in the industry, but for many reasons have moved on. Some, to other companies in the industry, some to other industries, and some who have just plain disappeared. History never stands still and the CAx industry is no exception.
Although it’s a bit dated and based on a research project, check out the video below for a very short recap on the history of CAD:
A Short History of CAD
During the coming weeks and months we’ll try and track down players who were formerly very prominent in the MCAD arena and see what they’re up to now. Some of these folks include:
- John Walker – Autodesk
- Mike Riddle – Autodesk
- Carol Bartz – Autodesk
- Dominic Gallello – Autodesk
- Dick Harrison – PTC
- Steve Walske – PTC
- Jim Meadlock – Intergraph
- Joe Costello – Think3
- Pat Hanratty — MCS
- Martin Newell – Ashlar
- Jon Hirschtick – SolidWorks
- John McEleney — SolidWorks
- Jeff Ray – SolidWorks
- Jason Lemon – SDRC
- Fontaine Richardson – Applicon
- John Wright – United Computing (later Unigraphics)
- Thomas Curry – MSC Software
- Robert Bean – CADKEY
Obviously, this list only scratches the surface of possibilities. If there is anyone currently or formerly renowned in the CAD/CAM/CAE/CAx industry you would like to see us track down and update what they’re up to, send an email to me at jeff@ibsystems.com with a subject line that reads, “Where Are They Now?”, and we’ll do our best to respond in an upcoming blog on a person’s whereabouts and more recent accomplishments.
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Tags: Applicon, Ashlar, Autodesk, CAD, CADKEY, CAE, CAM, CAx, Intergraph, MSC Software, NX, SDRC, SolidWorks, think3, Unigraphics
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Friday, July 25th, 2014
It appears that PTC is wading deeper into Internet of Things (IoT) waters with the announcement that it has signed a definitive agreement to acquire privately-held Axeda Corp., a pioneer in the development of technologies that connect machines and sensors to the cloud. Paying approximately $170 million in cash, PTC’s primary motivations behind the acquisition are Axeda’s innovative technology, customer base, and partnerships that could directly complement the PTC ThingWorx business across the entire Internet of Things technology stack.
Axeda IoT ROI and Value Curve Overview
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Tags: Adexa, ALM, Internet of Things, IoT, Jim Heppelmann, PTC, RFID, SLM, ThingWorx
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Tuesday, July 22nd, 2014
Hexagon AB, a provider of design, measurement (metrology), and visualization technologies has acquired Vero Software, a provider of CAM software.
Hexagon AB is a global technology group headquartered in Sweden and was founded in 1992. The diverse provides products for designing, measuring, and positioning objects. Surveyors, government agencies, mapping companies, construction, and security and defense related industries are the primary customers of their services.
Although the following video doesn’t have an audio track, it does demonstrate one of Vero Software’s technologies, WorkNC, that is part of the acquisition by Hexagon.
WorkNC CADCAM and Vero Software – EMO Show 2013
One of the Hexagon’s main focuses is on precision measuring technologies and is divided into three business areas: Geospatial Measuring (Surveying and GPS), Industrial Metrology (Hexagon Metrology), and Technologies. The company markets its products and services under more than 35 different brands worldwide.
Hexagon’s operations encompass hand tools, fixed and portable coordinate measuring machines, GPS systems, construction machine control systems, level meters, laser meters, total stations, sensors for airborne measurement, aftermarket services and software systems.
Hexagon’s macro products are used within construction and engineering industries, while micro products are used primarily by automotive and aerospace industries, medical industries and design industry. Hexagon’s other operations focus on supplying components primarily to the heavy automotive industry as well as key components for industrial robots.
Vero Software is a leader in CAD CAM software. Vero develops and distributes software for aiding design and manufacturing processes, providing solutions for the tooling, production engineering, sheet metal, metal fabrication, stone and woodworking industries. Several well-known brands in Vero Software’s portfolio brands include Alphacam, Cabinet Vision, Edgecam, Machining STRATEGIST, PEPS, Radan, SMIRT, SURFCAM, VISI, and WorkNC, along with the production control MRP system Javelin.
Despite the diversity of Vero’s applications, they all address the rising challenges of achieving manufacturing efficiencies.
The acquisition strengthens Hexagon’s software offerings, providing the means to close the gap of making quality data fully availableby extending the reach of the newly developed MMS (metrology planning software) to include CAM (manufacturing planning software).
Subject to regulatory approval, Vero Software will be fully consolidated as of August 2014.
This constant flow of acquisitions sure make for interesting times. For example, earlier this year CAE giant ANSYS acquired SpaceClaim, and now Hexagon acquires Vero. As much as anything, I think these acquisitions illustrate the desire for technical organizations to diversify when it makes sense for symbiotic relationships. Instead of trying to corner a market by acquiring all competitors, more and more technical software acquisitions seem to be happening with technologies that complement existing product offerings, not just expand similar lines of offerings.
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Tags: Alphacam, Cabinet Vision, CAM, CMM, Edgecam, Hexagon AB, Hexagon Metrology, Machining STRATEGIST, PEPS, Radan, SMIRT, SURFCAM, Vero Software, VISI, WorkNC
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Thursday, July 17th, 2014
This week Deloitte University Press announced the launch of a massive open online course (MOOC) on the business implications of additive manufacturing (AM). Entitled, “3D Opportunity: The Course on Additive Manufacturing for Business Leaders,” it is the first course of its kind to be offered by a large professional services firm and is designed to help educate the market on the business drivers behind additive manufacturing/3D printing.
3D opportunity: Deloitte’s MOOC on additive manufacturing (3D Printing) for business
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Tags: 3D printing, 3D Systems, AM additive manufacturing, America Makes, Deloitte University Press, MOOC
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