WorldCAD Access

Archive: Which corporation should own the Web?

Slaves to anarchy

 

In the beginning...

The Internet was designed for anarchy. It bypassed countries. Corporations were ignorant of it. Anyone with a modem could visit a telescope in Italy without buying an airplane ticket or look at dirty pictures without having to trudge to the nearby corner store.

(I still have Wired magazine issue #2, which featured masked anarchists on the cover, while inside editors mocked MacDonalds for being willfully clueless that some little guy had snatched up the macdonalds.com domain.)

With Web 2.0, the Internet became corporatized. Wired magazine, too. Those who once sang praises to the obvious goodness of The Network Effect today find themselves stumbling over stanzas 3 and 4.

2018 will mark the year Google and Facebook flipped from benign providers of information and communities to becoming Microsoft version 2.0, Evil Incarnate. Every week -- every week! -- new scandals splay across the the pages of Tech-meme as the technorati tweet their collectivist outrage over Yet Another Privacy Invasion. It wasn't supposed to have become like this.

So, it's easy to muse what-if. Like this thought from earlier in the week:

Google isn’t the company that we should have handed the Web over to.

True. But any other company that ended up owning the Web becomes would have become just as envious of our privacy; c.f. Facebook.

The thing is that young people don't know that Microsoft in the 1990s was headed the same way with its break-the-Web Internet Explorer browser and accompanying IIS server software. In the long run, the corporation's attempt to put the Internet under its heel failed, as incompatibilities introduced by Microsoft turned around and bit it. Be thankful for the folks behind Firefox who pluckily overcame the convicted monopolist. 

During that time when it still thought it could control the Internet, Microsoft even had the first version of SSO (single sign-on) for its Web properties. Oh, the ruckus, the horror, the robe-tearing the day Microsoft announced it. It backed off. With SSO, Microsoft could have conceivably collected so much more data about each one of us.

Goggle learned from that experience, and so slid SSO in silently, incrementally, and efficiently. More recently, it attempted the same tactic with Project Dragonfly, which it had been working on since 2008, it turns out. Project Dragonfly, Google's attempt to slide into the censor-rich Chinese search market of potentially 800 million Internet users, was exposed from inside. "Exposed," because the CEO had earlier proclaimed it was morally wrong for Google to work with a brutal dictatorship, and some of his employees had believed him.

In any firm, a tiny portion of employees are sufficiently horrified by corporate policy to speak up/whine. Normally, they go unheard. Now that Google has nearly 100,000 employees, it suffers/benefits from that tiny portion achieving a voice loud enough to effect change. Doubly so, as Google find its home in the woke San Francisco area. 

'Course what the "Is Google wrong for the Web" article is referring to is other Google employees making slight changes to YouTube code forcing Microsoft's Edge browser to run slow. Very slowly. This occurred after Microsoft trumpeted that Edge was faster than Chrome. It was Grade 8 boys letting off a stinkbomb in the Grade 12 jock change rooms.

Thinking back to when those of us who refused to use Microsoft software, while our non-IE browsers stumbled over Web pages, we smirk.  The Googlers paid back Microsoft for fiddling with Web code so that only its IE browser could work correctly. But now Microsoft has given up on its own Web engine for Edge, and will switch to the Chrome engine. With Microsoft making most of its income from the corporate sector, building a different Web browser is no longer the way to win sales. 

So Google racks up another win. But by winning, it loses. Facebook, too:

"Back in the day you had the city, with a million homes and secrets, each protected by its own lock," says Richard Fernandez. "To burgle the city you had to pick a million locks. Now the data is behind a server with one ginormous lock. You only have to burgle one lock. No wait, they'll sell it to you."

 

 

Archive: 'State of the PLM Economy' webinar

Growth, growth, growth

 

Taking in CIMdata PLMNews' Webinar "The State of the PLM Economy" this morning with Stan Przybylinski.

Stan reminding us that PLM is different for different industries. Companies that make automobiles don't care about the problems toothpaste makers face. Hexagon AB is of greater interest now that they no longer only make measuring devices. They have a strong position on the shop floor, says Mr Przybylinski.

Siemens PLM working on "generative engineering": generative design that will eventually be applied to more than just single parts, but to entire sub-systems in mechanical and electronic designs.
In part, this is to support all the tech they've acquired for autonomous autos.

Last year's revenues:

• Multi-discipline MCAD = $3.7 billion (like high-end @PTC_Creo )
•  Design-focused MCAD = $2.8 billion (like @Solidworks, low-end Creo)
•  CAM without CAD bundled in = $1.4 billion
•  AEC CAD = $3.6 billion

Many more billions in other areas of CAD. Where CAD vendors get their revenues from:

Big changes in IT affecting CAD:

• Changes in license models, affects revenue flows
• Cloud changing how IT is maintained
• Mobile changing types of engagement

The other big impact is the heaving (my term) fluctuation changes in currency exchange rates.

Acquisitions over the last year:

Pages 2, 3, and 4 of acquisitions. I did not know Siemens PLM had acquired Lightwork Design.

 

Q&A

Q: How is Microsoft Azure vs. AWS playing out in the PLM space?

A: The adoption of PLM on the cloud to date is still a small percentage of the overall comprehensive cPDm segment based on our market estimates. More practically, many of the leading players are partnering with AWS and Azure, and some with both.

 

Q: What is the role of cloud computing platforms like AWS in the future?

A: Most of the existing solutions are available on the cloud in some form, from hosted to single tenant to multi-tenant. Some providers have stated that the increasing availability of new services from providers like AWS is decreasing the amount of new services they need to develop in-house to provide their complete solution. Going forward, there are emerging providers that are assembling their complete solutions from services offered by the cloud service providers, e.g., FusePLM.

 

Q: As you described CAM as standalone, is the Simulation and Analysis (S&A) number standalone or included tools owned by DS, PTC, Siemens?

A: We have separate estimates for all of the Tool categories for Dassault Systèmes, PTC, and Siemens, including CAM and S&A.

 

Q: In what category do you count software for PLM collaboration?

A: Depending on the provider, it could be in either comprehensive cPDm or focused cPDm applications.

 

Q: Are you aware of any major customers of Dassault Systèmes not wanting to upgrade to V6 due to architecture changes and migration concerns?

A: Yes.

 

Q: Will you include takeaways regarding PLM in the F&B industry?

A: CIMdata does consulting in companies interested in formulation PLM, including Food and Beverage (F&B). Some of the key issues facing that space are

• Food safety, much in the news, particularly in emerging economies where they may not have many digital tools. This goes to both formulation and packaging.
• Packaging itself is a huge issue as products go more global.
• Access to global specifications for large F&B companies is a huge issue. Many companies use single instance solutions that can be hard to access from far-flung factories and value-chain partners. A minute or two delay means a lot of out-of-spec product.

Q: Do you think ANSYS is a competitive bidder to purchase PTC?

A: They could be. They are about the same size. To date, ANSYS has been more focused on the S&A [simulation and anaylsis] space and maintaining good partnerships with all of the tools players. Combining ANSYS and PTC puts more co-opetition in play, much more complex.

 

Q: Are we at or close to a tipping point for Cloud PLM to takeoff in the market? Which industries in particular are advancing quickest?

A: There are certainly more people expressing interest and more solutions available. I would point you to our cloud PLM study last year on CIMdata.com for more information. The full whitepaper may be downloaded at
https://www.cimdata.com/en/resources/complimentaryreports-research/white-papers. Non-discrete industries are moving faster. Their IP is less bulky and complex. Among the discrete it is more about supply chain and BOM, like high tech electronics than those wanting to manage engineering work in process.

- - -

You can listen to the Webinar (following registration) at https://register.gotowebinar.com/register/7123717532016177409

And view the accompanying slide show (PDF) through https://www.cimdata.com/images/Webinars/CIMdata_Webinar_December_13_2018.pdf

 

How Social Engineering (and acad.fas) Steals IP from AutoCAD

Social engineering

 

What with all the news about China looking to snare Western technology (and Westerners snaring  Chinese), we are now learning more about efforts to steal intellectual property from design firms.

A reader writes,

I guess you already have seen this, but just in case:

https://www.forcepoint.com/blog/security-labs/autocad-malware-computer-aided-theft

I have been warning about AutoCAD malware since the introduction of VBA routines in DWG, which include the auto-open function. Targeting acad.lsp (and the like) was possible even longer before, but always required social engineering, as it still does today.
     - D. R.

Unauthorized access to AutoCAD and the IP it holds should not come as a surprise, neither to Autodesk nor to users. I remember reading (and telling you) about it a decade ago. From 2008, here is how AutoLISP can be used as malware:
https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/wdsi/threats/malware-encyclopedia-description?Name=Virus:ALisp/Bursted.A

The New Attack Vector

In the new vector of attack, a file meant to protect IP is being used to steal IP. The acad.fas file is meant to encrypt AutoLISP routines so that the code cannot be borrowed, lifted, or stolen. (Normally, AutoLISP code is written and run in plain ACSII text, and so is easily inspected, reviewed, and stolen.)

AutoCAD limits its searches for support files, such as acad.fas, to specific folders. Outsiders won't know the names of project folders, necessarily. (There are some default folders.) So here is the solution, as ForcePoint describes it:

The easier and more obvious solution is to include the [malware] modules next to project files and let the user do the work by loading them and automatically executing the script along with it.

The social engineering part – i.e. tricking the user into opening the project – uses a set of lure drawings (in this case, apparently real drawings from already-infected victims) which may be selected to reflect the interests of the targeted company.  

For example, companies interested in the construction business can be easily targeted with project names pretending to be concrete bases, metal alloy structures, or any element of a complex building design or ongoing tender.

These lures are often part of completely legitimate projects which have been previously acquired and become weaponized.

How It Works

Over the last few months, Forcepoint found 300 packages of drawings containing 100 versions of the acad.fas malware whose file attributes are set to Read-Only and Hidden. The .fas code sets system variable AcadLspAsDoc = 1, which tells AutoCAD to load the common acad.lsp file every time the operator opens another drawing (as documented by Autodesk). The purpose of the acad.lsp file is load additional programs in AutoCAD.

With every drawing opened by the operator, the malware learns about additional project folders, and then copies itself into them. Using AutoCAD's CDate (current date and time) system variable, the malware attempts to communicate once every 24 hours with its masters, a server running in Chinese -- and that's as far as Forcepoint got in locating the source. 

How AutoCAD Protection Works

If you use AutoCAD 2014 or newer, then Autodesk provides protection in the form of

• System variable TrustedPaths specifies the folders from which files can be opened by AutoCAD; see https://knowledge.autodesk.com/support/autocad/learn-explore/caas/CloudHelp/cloudhelp/2019/ENU/AutoCAD-Core/files/GUID-2FB4611D-F141-48D5-9B6E-460EB59351AF-htm.html?st=TrustedPaths
• System variable  SecureLoad allows only code located in TrustedPaths to be loaded into AutoCAD; see https://knowledge.autodesk.com/support/autocad/learn-explore/caas/CloudHelp/cloudhelp/2019/ENU/AutoCAD-Core/files/GUID-541566C6-2738-49DD-87C3-C1490E924A02-htm.html?st=secureload
• Command SecurityOptions sets the security level of AutoCAD; see https://knowledge.autodesk.com/support/autocad/learn-explore/caas/CloudHelp/cloudhelp/2019/ENU/AutoCAD-Core/files/GUID-2199A941-E183-4CAC-914C-E4538468DE64-htm.html?st=securityoptions
• External CAD Manager Control Utility allows CAD managers to turn on these settings for all computers under their control; it is included with the AutoCAD installation.

The malware, however, gets around this security system by presenting itself as a legitimate project, defeating the usefulness of TrustedPaths and SecureLoad. 

Who is Affected? 

The malware primarily targets energy and automotive design firms located in China, India, Turkey, and UAE, but some in the USA are affected, as well. Forcepoint thinks that malware is introduced when a CAD operator plugs a USB drive into his machine, which he received by courier from an apparently trustworthy source. 

The problem is difficult to solve on the software side, as AutoLISP and other third-party code is extensively employed throughout AutoCAD, from simple pull-down menus to running design automation routines.

The solution is on the hardware side. Design firms, who take security seriously, remove USB ports and DVD drives, allowing their computers to access only the in-house server. The in-house sever is not connected tot he outside world.

 

 

 

How to fix a dead half-string of LED Christmas lights

Don't go be slicing them

 

As I am lazy, I keep our outdoor Christmas lights up all year. December 1 each year, I plug them in, and set the timer for dusk to 8 hours later.

This year, however, a bunch of the bulbs did not light up, right in the middle of them all -- as my wife quickly informed me. Inspecting it closer, I found it was half a string, precisely. Sixty-bulb LED Christmas lights are built from two half strings of 30 bulbs each.

There was no way I was going to replace the entire string, so I went online to see what kind of solution might present itself. The first several search results made me gag: people actually suggested cutting out the offending half-string and patching in another one. Actually.

I kept searching, and further down the list was a fellow who described in detail how strings of LED lights work, technically. See "LED Christmas Lights and How to Fix Them" by Terry Ritter.

One sentence jumped out at me: the string needs at least 75 volts to light up. That made my brain jump back to my Electricity 8 shop class:

What causes voltage to drop? 

Resistance.

What causes resistance?

Corrosion (among other reasons).

I got out some sandpaper and sanded the two dark brown prongs of the plug to a shiny clean brass color. Plugging the lights back into the outlet...

...

...the lazy lights sprang back on.

Merry Christmas!

 

 

I already have a great phone, why'd I get another one?

Enter the KEYone

 

I am so thrilled with my ASUS ZenFone 3 Zoom that I cannot image a better phone on the market today. It has these functions that I love about it:

• a huge battery (it lasts 2-3 days) in a slim case
• two-lens camera, with the second lens having an optical 2.3x zoom
• intelligent screen grab utility, important in my work as tech writer
• relatively frequent security and bug-fix updates for a phone nearly two years old
• ASUS written apps are good, especially their phone book app
• oh, and a headphone jack

It has its faults. The camera API was written by ASUS and is slow to start up. I've missed shots. Two rows of pixels at the bottom of the screen are always lit (a problem reported by other users), and with last week's update a new bug arrived, in which the phone turns on its screen by itself and doesn't turn it off.

With all the hard work I've been doing this fall, I decided to treat myself. First I eye'ed the Skagan Falster 2 smartwatch, but the price in Canada remains stubbornly high, and the Skagan site in the USA (20% off for new customers!) won't ship to Canada. During Black Friday Month sales (yes, now here in Canada too), I eyed a number of new cell phones priced ridiculously low. But none beat my ASUS.

Then I came across the Blackberry KEYone for the equivalent of US$300 in the Staples flyer with 32GB storage RAM. Same price as that Skagan watch, but could I do better? A brief time later, I found it on eBay for the same price, brand-new, free shipping, but with 64GB RAM and 7% less sales tax.

The KEYone returns the famous Blackberry keyboard to a pure Android phone -- plus Blackberry's security software. That made it distinctive enough for me to splurge on. While I sometimes get hardware free for being a technical writer, I will buy stuff just to try it out -- like the awful stand-alone touchpad or the unused VR goggles. The phone arrived after week, after delays from the on-going rotating strikes by Canada Post employees.

The KEYone runs at the same speed as my ASUS Zenfone 3 Zoom (2GHz), was immediately updated to Android 8.1 (a 1.4GB download), has the 64GB storage RAM, and 4GB operating RAM. It takes two SIM cards (good for my international travel) or one SIM and a microSD memory card (up to 2TB).

More specifically, it is the BBB100-7 model that I ended up receiving; I didn't know there were varietals. I am not 100% sure how it differs from other models in the KEYone line, but I see that another model has just one SIM card but 6GB operating RAM. (I'd rather have the two and 4.) Some models are specific to certain regions of the globe.

It feels solid, but a bit on the heavy side and somewhat top-heavy, which is unfortunate. It has an aluminum frame and a rubberized back. Also has a hardware function button that I haven't figured out how to customize, and that I keep pressing accidentally due to its placement.

In terms of multimedia, the single-lens camera takes good quality photographs, and the sound of the music playback is excellent.

The hardware keyboard will take some getting used to. It removes some of the area normally used for the screen, and I am spoiled by the big screen on my ASUS phone. Sometimes the software keyboard appears as well, so then the free screen space is tiny!

I'm not finding Blackberry's security software particularly useful, but I might use this phone should I travel to privacy-unfriendly countries next year. I had already been using the Blackberry software keyboard on my other phones, because it is superior to most others.

Getting it reminds me of how time consuming it is to fine-tune a new phone. Google offers to transfer over files and passwords but does a surprisingly incomplete job. For now I'll just use it for multimedia and playing around with features I haven't uncovered yet.

Full specs here: https://www.mobosdata.com/blackberry-keyone-bbb100-7

 

 

 

 

Exclusive: Q&A With Frustum CEO Jesse Coors-Blankenship

Generative design is hot

Generate running in NX from Siemens PLM Software

 

PTC this week made the surprise announcement that it had purchased generative-design software maker Frustum for about $70 million. For this amount, PTC gets into generative design, which its competitors Siemens PLM, Dassault Systemes, and Autodesk had already broached.

Generate works in a Web browser and as a desktop program running in Windows. PTC also gets the TrueSolid volumetric kernel, talented programmers, and a customer base.

Between Frustum and ANSYS simulation, PTC ceo Jim Heppelmann is working on turning his company's Creo MCAD system into a powerhouse: "Creo is core to PTC’s overall strategy, and the embedded capabilities from ANSYS and, later, Frustum will elevate Creo to a leading position in the world of design and simulation."

The idea behind Generate is to minimize the volume of a part (to keep cost and weight down), yet to generate a part that can be manufactured by additive or subtractive manufacturing, but without any post-processing -- which is normally needed to prepare a CAD-designed part for being manufactured. 

- - -

Ralph Grabowski: Fustum received funding from Siemens Venture Capital, and Siemens PLM Software uses your technology in its NX and Solid Edge MCAD programs (see image above). Why did Siemens not buy Frustum?

Jesse Coors-Blankenship: I can't speak for Siemens, or to who bid or not on our acquisition, but I can say that we chose to merge with PTC because it is the best fit to realize the company's aspirations.

Grabowski: Will Siemens still be using your generative technology in NX and Solid Edge, now that PTC owns it?

Blankenship: We will continue to honor our agreements to the full extent of them, and we will immediately discuss how to accomplish that with each other.

Grabowski: Is PTC also interested in your adopting your TrueSolid volumetric kernel in its software?

Blankenship: Yes, the intention is to fully integrate all of our generative design capability into Creo over time, while continuing incubation of the technologies we have under development that the public has not seen yet.

Grabowski: In the interview we held in October, you didn't seem to be interested being acquired, saying: "We are not interested in providing a traditional CAD solution. It can't be CAD, because that already exists. We are trying to shoulder into the market as the next generation of 3D design software."

Blankenship: I don't recall being asked about my interest in being acquired at the time. What I was trying to say in this quote was that Frustum has never been interested in replacing CAD or duplicating CAD -- that was not our business strategy. Our strategy was to pioneer generative design technologies and shoulder into the market.

Grabowski: What happened?

Blankenship: It was a blue ocean strategy. There were two ways for us to shoulder into the market; i.e., integration and point solutions. We pursued both paths, and our acquisition marks the success of this strategy, as shown in the monetization of ROI [return on investment] for my investors. Our IP [intellectual property] and team found a fantastic home with PTC.

Grabowski: In the interview, you listed a number of items that you planned to add to your software:

• Lattices
• Implicit modeling with primitives, extrusions, and preset parts for connecting geometry
• Closer connection to manufacturing machines
• Scale the desktop software across nodes

Are these still in the works?

Blankenship: Yes. Generate will be enhanced to further learn from users and their respective use-cases. We are working out how we will deploy it and support it with PTC.

Grabowski: How quickly did this acquisition come up?

Blankenship: We have been talking with PTC for long enough to arrive at the idea of merging, but not so long that it was just talk. We love their philosophy on generative design, their modern pace, and track record of bringing transformational technology to market. They have a very impressive record of success and culture that embraces a seriousness around transformation.

Personally, I want to see our technology change the world. I want to see that transformation through. I think that can happen now to the full extent of our aspirations with PTC by the shared vision we have with their leadership who I am very impressed with.

Grabowski: What will your role be at Frustum under PTC?

Blankenship: I am very honored to become a Senior Vice President of Technology working from the new PTC Boston Seaport headquarters. It is personally a very exciting time for me and I'm very proud to continue to lead me team within PTC.

- - -

"With breakthrough new technologies such as AR/VR, high-performance computing, IoT, AI, and additive manufacturing entering the picture, the CAD industry is going through a renaissance period, and PTC is committed to leading the way,” concludes Mr Heppelman.

Official press release from PTC: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20181120005326/en/

Frustum home page: https://www.frustum.com/

 

Archive: My tweets from the Berlin 2019 Graebert Annual Meeting

November 7, 2018

 

Getting ready for the Berlin Graebert Annual Meeting here in the Humbolt Box, a temporary structure in former East Berlin overlooking the reconstruction of the Berliner Palast (Berlin Palace) torn down by communists. The view outside the Humbolt Box reminds us we are in former East Berlin, with the modern tv tower next to centuries-old buildings -- and construction cranes as Berlin continues to rebuild itself.

The Berliner Palast at night 

- - -

At #Graebert18 we'll be hearing about what's new in ARES, Touch, Kudo, Dassault Systemes DraftSight, Corel Software CorelCAD, Onshape, and third-party add-ons. As a reminder Graebert is the CAD vendor with:

• Desktop CAD (called ARES Commander)
• Mobile CAD (Touch for Android and iOS)
• Browser CAD (Kudo)
• OEM versions of all of them
• APIs for all of them
  
  

The Keynotes

The opening keynote from Graebert ceo Wilfried Graebert gives us the history of this area of Berlin. The Palace was where the Prussian empire was centered. He notes that Graebert Gmbh has 160 employees, with 85 in R&D. Business is strong in Japan, so Graebert Japan Ltd. was created this year.

Mr Graebert says that his company is one of the last independent developers of DWG editing technology, and so he wants to help third-party developers secure their future. He adds that a growing number of developers looking for AutoCAD alternatives due to Autodesk's moves. Developers may also be concerned about Hexagon's acquisition of Bricsys.

Two corporations in Japan have more than 500 licenses of ARES Touch for mobile devices, using MDM.

- - -

Head of Greabert sales and marketing Cedric Desbordes is now giving us the rundown of software moving to the cloud. His argument is that CAD is becoming a utility like word processing, and that accessing drawings by cloud-mobile is the way to universalize access.

Mr Desbordes says Graebert's competitors are using a 'Winter is Coming' approach, where they think they have to move the whole desktop CAD package to the cloud. The other mistake is that releasing mobile or cloud CAD viewer is a sufficient strategy. Instead, the Graebert solution is both:

• Both desktop CAD and mobile/browser CAD
• Both view-only and editing on all platforms
• Both permanent licensing and subscriptions
• Both locations for files, local and cloud

One license for all products.

In general, subscription licenses outsell permanent ones 10 to 1, Mr Desbordes says, but some countries are still hardcore permanent licensees (other CAD vendors report that tends to be Japan).

Naturally, there are restrictions beyond the 30-day free use and if you are not on subscription or maintenance. If you are not paying the subscription for Kudo browserCAD, it reverts to viewing, sharing, and measuring -- no editing and no view-only links. Available as of January, stand-alone licenses of Kudo are $199/year.

OTOH, one license gives you access to ARES Touch mobile on both Android and iOS, and as many devices as you are signed into (phones and tablets). It is possible to get ARES Touch outside of the Graebert's all-in-one license by buying it through the Android and iOS online app stores. Corel Software's CorelCAD Mobile offers the same thing.

Graebert has integrated the browser-based Kudo program into the desktop ARES Commander program, so that the two work together, such as:

• Accessing the latest versions of DWG files
• Sharing DWG files with URLs
• Accessing DWG and other files on the cloud in desktop CAD and online

Kudo supports the following cloud-based storage sites:

• Box
• Dropbox
• Google Drive
• Microsoft Onedrive and Onedrive for Business
• Onshape
• Trimble Connect
• WebDAV

(Apple iDrive is not supported, except on Apple devices, as Apple has no external API for iDrive.)

"We have really worked on this synergy," summarizes Mr Desbordes. "Also, we don't force you to use one particular cloud service."

 

What's New in ARES 2019

Graebert's ARES Command 2019 gets a new block editor that creates and edit parametric blocks, tables to define states, complex and simplified states, such as hiding dashed line. These new customizable blocks with parameters and grips are not, however, compatible with AutoCAD's dynamic blocks, probably because Autodesk holds a patent on their version of variable blocks.

Also new in 2019:

• 3D modeling with push-pull
• New rendering facility
• Layers palette lets you rename layer names directly
• Polysolids for wall-like entities
• Area highlighting
• 4K support with larger icons
• Chamfer edges of 3D solids
• STL output for 3D printing
• Layer merge with options
• Digital signatures (only for Windows)
• DWG recovery

The old system for plug-ins would not move to a new computer, and so Graebert wrote a new one with Graebert's account now bound to users, not the device. New plug-ins to be introduced today using new SDK include the following:

• Render plug-in
• UNDET point cloud plug-in
• Maps plug-in (this plug-in is free to subscribers only)

The challenge is to handle very large point clouds, where AutoCAD is limited to about 10 million points, says Graebert. The plug-in from UNDET (named after leaf cutter ant, the most powerful animal in the world) supports 100 million points. It accepts data from many scanner brands.

We are seeing it rotate point cloud of 86 million colored points, nearly 2TB (not 2GB) on disk, loads in seconds. (See image above.) It changes colors, both real and fake, like by elevation, clips the points, and has a manager for scan positions. However, it is for ARES Commander desktop Windows 64-bit only.

ARES Commander 2019 will be released by Grabert in the second half of January 2019. You can try the new features in this pre-release version downloadable from:

• For Windows 32-bit: https://www.graebert.com/getares2019PRforwin32
• For Windows 64-bit: https://www.graebert.com/getares2019PRforwin64

Graebert supports more operating systems than Autodesk for desktop CAD.

Graebert is speeding up development through the use of their new plug-in architecture, allowing them to leap-frog some competitors in areas of point clouds, rendering, and mapping. You will find in ARES 2019 many more new features than in earlier years, because for the last five years they spent much energy on getting browserCAD (Kudo) right, in conjunction with Onshape. With the browserCAD problem solved, they can now accelerate base CAD development.

More updates to ARES Commander will arrive via service packs during 2019, including the following:

• Revit underlay with entity snaps, etc
• Revit export
• IFC underlays to come later
• More functions for customizable blocks

In fact, Graebert says that more features will come out in service packs than in the main release.

FxARX is the name of the new API, short for "effects." It is compatible with ARx from Autodesk, handles UI, custom entities, hidden line API, and jigs. It is due out with ARES 2019. Also new is the Commenting API, which consists of non-DWG data.

Graebert now offers an Enterprise version of all ARES software, for firms of 100+ employees:

• Controls permitted cloud services
• Mobile device management
• Disable unwanted functions
• Single signon
• Kudo on private server
• Pay only for actual users

Can disable things like sharing of links and PDF export; can lock user profiles; allow only commenting.

There is a minimum spend of US$25,000 a year, and carries a 25% premium on the cost. For example, 200 users of ARES Touch only or 100 of ARES Commander.

 

DraftSight 2019

Coming up next is what's going to be new in DraftSight from Dassault Systemes, who's been working with Graebert for ten years now. The two just signed a new agreement to continue the contract where Graebert works on DraftSight for Dassault. No wonder, as Dassault projects two million users of DraftSight by the end of 2018.

DraftSight 2019 will work with Dassault programs, such as:

• Solidworks for FEA
• Marketplace for finding manufacturers
• Homebyme for populating floor plans

DraftSight 2019 will have many of the new functions in ARES 2019, plus a new API for third-party development. (Dassault had written its own API for DraftSight, but that's been waylaid now.)

Bigger news is that Dassault will start selling Kudo under their DraftSight brand name. It might be called DraftSight Cloud, but the name is not final. It will be released in beta at Solidworks World in early February. After it is out, Dassault will see how the mobile Touch app fits into their ecosystem.

It's a pretty interesting that Onshape is working deeply with Graebert, as is Dassault.

 

Kudo Updates

Coming to Kudo is "CAD Processing as a Service":

• Thumbnails of dwg, rvt, and dgn at specified resolution & background color with specific layouts and zooms
• Extract info from DWGs, such as all text, layers, styles, layout names, layer extents
• PDF generation

https://www.graebert.com

 

 

 

Archive: What I tweeted about Bricsys 2018 London

London Calling

 

Theme music for the London conference of Bricsys 2018 is "London Calling" by The Clash. "Who's that?" asks the young-ish 61-year-old CAD journalist sitting next to me. "I bought the [double] album when it first came out," I replied, smugly.

 

BricsCAD Beyond V19

Learning about the future plans of Bricsys at BRICSYS 2018. It involves practical jobs performed by the CAD system on behalf of the human designers. Computer are best at repetitive, boring work; humans best at the creative side. Bricsys sees one assisting the other.

Bricsys sees the problem with Autodesk's dynamic blocks are being too manual, and so too difficult, and limited to 2D. BricsCAD V20 will instead have a 3D version that generates flexible blocks semi-automatically. Even add BIM data automatically using BIM styles. 

Future versions of Blockify will do more than just finding simple entities. Future versions will handle assemblies and imports of tessellated data and point clouds -- replacing them with more appropriate entities.

Other things Bricsys is planning for future releases of BricsCAD:

• Use AI to automate processes in BIM, 2D, 3D, mechanical, civil, more
• Aim to add XR (VR, AR, mixed-R)
• Adding Navisworks next
• More commercial file formats, thanks to ODA
• DWG is now 36 years old, no limit to it

 

Hexagon Acquires Bricsys

By being acquired by Hexagon of Sweden (which has a major presence in Huntsville Alabama through Intergraph), it makes it easier for Bricsys to take on the American market. If you are asking who is bigger, Autodesk has about $2.5 billion in sales while Hexagon/Intergraph/Bricsys is at about $3.5 billion in sales.

So, this is Hexagon's Trimble moment, when Trimble bought SketchUp from Google to get further into AEC, except that SketchUp isn't useful for real 3D modeling. Official reason given by Hexagon on acquiring Bricsys:

"We can now provide the AEC market with an end-to-end platform – with conceptual design, CAD design, BIM software and collaboration tools, project and cost controls, in-field construction execution tools (work packages), and progress documentation (reality capture) – to connect, automate, and ultimately ‘autonomise’ the entire building and construction ecosystem through our HxGN SMART Build solution.”

The big sales pitch is that you don't need to leave DWG or translate to/from DWG. "The flow stays in one format as you move from application to application -- at a fraction of the price. We will win one customer at a time," says Hexagon exec vp.

After Autodesk canceled his ADN agreement (he was the 2nd oldest ADN member) with no reason, Hexagon PPM exec vp Rick Allen got nervous about the future of CADWorx. Now, he says, Autodesk should be nervous, because he feels Revit penetration is not very deep, users dissatisfied.

The acquisition is closed, which means it is final. Here is a picture of Erik de Keyser’s new boss, Hexagon executive vp Rick Allen.

(Hexagon PPM is short for "plant power marine," which is what Intergraph became specialized at. "Became" because the company got its start as M&S Computing doing work on the Apollo moon shot of 1969. Which is why the Intergraph [Hexagon PPM] head office is in Huntsville, AL, the home to NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center.)

 

Future of BIM in BricsCAD V19

 Bricsys estimates the BIM penetration is only 16%, split between Revit, Vectorworks, GRAPHISOFT, and others. This, ceo de Keyser feels, gives Bricsys and Hexagon a big chance. He hopes 20-25% market share in a few years time.

 The aim, says Bricsys ceo Erik de Keyser, is to virtualize the to-be-built structure eventually to LOD [level of detail] 450 in 3D. BricsCAD V19 imports RFA (Revit family files, which are parametric blocks). When the RFA lacks parameters, then BricsCAD can add them with a single click inside the new Block Editor environment.

Doing semantic searches in BricsCAD BIM available now.

Site modeling with new commands in BricsCAD BIM V19: import TIN and then cut/fill the site to match the building's needs.

Here's the new UI for the BIM module of BricsCAD V19:

 

 

Future of Mech in BricsCAD V19

The new Animate option in the Parametric panel animates parametrics: BricsCAD briefly moves the entities related to the parameter, such as a shaft moving inside a cylinder.

Applause at BRICSYS 2018 for the real-time exploded view in BricsCAD V19. Dragging the cursor back and forth pulls the assembly apart and together.

New in sheet metal: Associative unfolding and curved junctions. Creating sheet metal parts from scratch right in the assembly view of BricsCAD V19. BricsCAD also displays both the original sheet metal and the unfolded version in the same window. One sheet metal design took three minutes, partly thanks to the semi-automation BricsCAD provides the designer. It can also design in conjunction with imported models, such as from STEP and Solidworks. Also seeing how sheet metal is created automatically from imported solids, such as corner reliefs -- and then unfold. "It takes two seconds!... Maybe 3."

 New in BricsCAD V19 is a parametric hole library, with drag and drop insertion into parts. A future release will allow holes in blocks and assemblies. All this is done with DWG. Also new with assemblies in BricsCAD V19: arrays of parametric components and automatic exploded views.

 

All this is the new BricsCAD Mechanical, the new name for the old Sheet Metal add-on.

 

Initial BricsCAD User Group Meeting

Steve Johnson lead the initial BricsCAD User Group in London, at which it was agreed that the group should be formed.

If you have a bad DWG, the BLADE LISP editor from Bricsys lets you examine it.

https://www.bricsys.com

 

 

 

Archive: What PTC told financial analysts about Q4

Discovery Live delayed

 

Each quarter, executives from shareholder-owned companies have to face financial analysts in public, and talk about the last three months and a little bit of what to expect for the future. Here is what PTC execs told them. One significant item was that ANSYS Discovery Live is delayed being integrated into Creo to customers by half a year,

- - -

PTC reports fiscal year 2018 revenues of $1,252 million.

While IoT [Internet of things] didn't quite surpass PLM [product lifecyle management] in the full fiscal 2018, it was close and we expect IoT to handily surpass PLM to become our second largest source of bookings in fiscal 2019.

It took significant development work to build ANSYS's real-time simulation technology into Creo, but the project is on schedule and the initial launch of a version of Creo that has ANSYS Discovery Live simulation embedded will happen in the first quarter. Broader commercial shipments to the entire customer base will start in the second quarter.

We plan to integrate the full breadth of the ANSYS simulation suite into Creo over time.

We raised subscription prices by 5% on Oct 1. Our industry does tend to raise prices every year. [We] introduced new pricing and packaging for Creo, which gives us an opportunity frankly to drive people to higher price points and raise the overall average price of a Creo seat.

 

Archive: Google’s smart city a privacy nightmare

You're doing distopia all wrong

 

Engadget reported on a "smart city" experimental neighborhood planned for Quayside, a portion of the waterfront in Toronto, Canada. The headline read, "Google’s smart city dream is turning into a privacy nightmare." See  https://www.engadget.com/2018/10/26/sidewalk-labs-ann-cavoukian-smart-city/. More accurately, it is Google's parent, Alphabet, doing the work through its Sidewalk Labs division, which is engaged in  smart city work.

The story was sparked by a member of the planning team, who resigned after she objected to a Data Trust being given the trust to "approve data collection that isn't anonymized or de-identified at the source." In short, Google wants Quayside to be like your Android phone, where it wishes to track everything you do, say, and view.

Returning to the headline...

But, no. It's not turning into a privacy nightmare: it always was meant to be a nightmare. The no-privacy bug is designed into smart cities, right from the beginning, but it is worded as a "feature" -- or, more accurately, the 'smart city' feature. It it's smart, it can't be a bug. Why do you suppose dictatorships like Singapore and China are keen on smart cities? It sure isn't for the green aspect. 

Smart cities is the side-effect of the envy of Google feels in seeing Facebook collecting non-anonymized data. That, and the techno-utopianism that bets billions that technology turns otherwise flawed humans into perfection -- the singularity, followed by the utopia.

And so, how can we be sure that utopia will persist if we cannot track every citizen's action, by name, to ensure he retains the Good Citizen Achievement Level. If we detect a citizen failing be an Eloi, then we are prepared to ban him to a Morlock existence.

 

What's Coming in BricsCAD Mechanical V19 & V20

Bricsys is fond of telling us what they plan in future releases. Here at the Bricsys 2018 London conference, we learned what to expect in BricsCAD V19 or V20:

Future Plans for Part Design

• Copy and paste parametric features
• Additions to the deformable modeling tool set

Future Plans for Assembly Design

• Levels of details
• Assembly features
• Trailing lines in exploded views
• Custom properties in BOMs

Future plans for Sheet Metal

• Tabs
• Gussets
• Tessellated lofted bends
• Unfolded views in paper space

Future Plans for Drawing Generation

• Threads in drawing views
• Broken-out views

Future Plans for Communicator Translation

• Import and export drawing in the background
• Rewritten Communicator code allows more and new file formats to be added easily
• Communicator can be released independently of BricsCAD

 

 

 

 

BricsCAD V19 Best: #2, Blockify Conversion

BricsCAD V19's Best Three New Functions

Blockify command detects multiple copies of identical entities, and then replaces them with an equivalent block. For example, select a line segment. BricsCAD searches the drawing for all other lines of the same length, creates a block (of a line) that mimics them, and then replaces the lines with the block.

The drawing looks no different afterwards, but replacing entities with blocks reduces the drawing size in memory and when saved to disk, as well as improving opening, drawing, zooming, and saving performance. This works, because the block is actually a reference to a definition, and not an entity in itself.

For a practical application, use Blockify to convert general polylines in imported PDF files to blocks. Here is how the command looks in action:

: BLOCKIFY

Select input entities or [Find all groups] <Find all groups>: (Select the line segment)

Entities in set: 1

Select input entities or [Find all groups] <Find all groups>: (Press Enter to continue)

Select search space or [use entire Model space] <use entire Model space>: (Press Enter to search the entire drawing)

Duration of finding similar groups: 0.000164 sec

Number of block inserts: 7

Select block insertion point or [use Default point] <use Default point>: (Press Enter)

Once done, the newly-created block looks identical to the replaced entities. BricsCAD gives the block a generic name, such as ‘block1’. Here is the meaning of the Blockify command’s options: 

Select input entities - Select one or more representative entities to be replaced by the block

Find all groups - Have BricsCAD find multiple instances of entities automatically

Select search space - Select the area of the drawing to search

use entire Model space - Have BricsCAD search the entire drawing

Select block insertion point - Pick a point, should you wish the block offset from the entities

use Default point - Have BricsCAD use the natural insertion point

 

 

BricsCAD V19 Best: #1, Nearest Distance Editing

BricsCAD V19's Best Three New Functions

 

NearestDistance variable toggles a dynamic dimension that reports the nearest distance between two selected entities. (This function does not work when three or more entities are selected.)

To use the nearest distance function, just select two entities. The distance appears on a blue dimension line.

Shortest distance shown between the circle and line

 

The distance reported is the shortest distance. You can edit the distance to move the last selected entity. In the first figure, I picked the circle first, and so it has the dot on the dimension line; I picked the line second, and it has the arrowhead -- meaning it will be the entity that moves. Type in a new distance, and then press Enter. This lets you move blocks or lines into position; it even lets you change the size of complex entities like rectangles.

When You Can't Move. When two entities intersect or connect, the distance is zero. When an entity cannot be moved, the dimension field is read-only and shown in gray (not editable). For instance, you cannot move two lines that intersect, or the entities that make up a block. (Go into the new BEdit block editing environment to change block elements.)

Distance between intersecting entities is 0, and cannot be changed

 

Hold down the Ctrl to select sub-entities, such as two of the polyline segments that make up a rectangle, polygon (see below), or even a donut! (On a donut, the distance is 0 and cannot be edited.)Hold down the Ctrl key when selecting the individual polylines making up this polygon.

 

 Here is the result after I changed the distance to 0.75 units:

Shape of polygon changed by editing the distance

 

 

Bricsys 2018 London: Day 2

#bricsys2018

 

 OK, here we are on day 2 of the Bricsys 2018 London conference and we are just waiting for the BLADE session to begin,

BLADE is the BricsCAD LISP advanced development environment for interactively programming with the LISP programming language. BLADE was introduced last year with BricsCAD V18.

 While we wait, here is an overview that I gleaned from yesterday's session for third-party developers:

• BricsCAD V19 is is compiled with Visual Studio 2017 and uses Teigha 19.5
• A public API is now available for sheet metal. It uses ARx syntax in BRx (API previously worked through LISP).
• BIM API is u pdated in V19 with IFC export classifications, all BIM properties, spatial id, such as buildings and stories, associative and non-associative rooms, compositions, linear elements like beams and columns, and BIM dialogs.
• BricsCAD App Store has been reworked to make it easier to find the specific add-ons.
•  BricsCAD Solution Build V19 will be released end of 2018. It is not AutoCAD OEM, but the end result is the same.

BLADE

 Why still use LISP?  It has low to zero maintenance, is compatible between releases (unlike C++), no compiler requires (faster development), lots of libraries available, and it good enough probably for 99% of users programming needs.

 
Steve Johnson speaking on LISP in BricsCAD

 Here is a picture of the BLADE user interface.

 It offers parentheses highlighting, pretty printing, collapsing sections, automatic code indenting, and tooltips that show function syntax.

One project can be open at a time, where a project consists of two or more files. A preferences dialog box lets you set up colors and other settings as you wish. You can add your own keywords, and can be highlighted in a different color from regular keywords. Define constants, text scaling factor, and save multiple configurations.

 A very nice feature is the side panel that lists the functions used in the current code. Click on a function name, and it is highlighted in the code -- and vice versa. The function names can be sorted in a variety of ways, such as actual order and alphabetical.

BLADE is being updated with each new release of BricsCAD, such as the new syntax and variables check. More on BLADE from https://blog.bricsys.com/inside-bricsys-blade/

 

Future of Drawing

On to the next session, "The Future of Drawing," where we are getting some more previews of the next release of BricsCAD V19. First up, linking Excel spreadsheets to tables through data linking. It works only with Excel, alas.

The Dim command has been reworked to do semi-automatic dimensioning. As the cursor passes over geometry, BricsCAD selects the correct style of dimensioning, such as linear for lines and radial for circles.

A formal block editor is added to V19, which is accessed through the BEdit command or by double-clicking a blck.

Tangent and Perpendicular entity snaps controls geometry being stretched, such as resizeing an arc attached to lines.

NearestDimension shows you the distance between two objects: just select two of them. See my tutorial on using it at https://www.worldcadaccess.com/blog/2018/10/bricscad-v19-best-1-nearest-distance-editing.html

Nudge lets you move entities with the arrow keys. The distance moved depends on the zoom level.

 Blockify converts individual entities to identical-looking blocks, which helps reduce file size. See my tutorial at https://www.worldcadaccess.com/blog/2018/10/bricscad-v19-2-blockify-conversion.html . It is useful for cleaning up imported STEP files. In one example, the filesize went from 33MB to 3.5MB.

PDF files can be imported as drawing entities.

The manipulator gets a ruler and a protractor, and recognizes snapping. The Repeat option makes multiple copies, while the Copy option makes copies at any angle or distance.

 Point clouds can be imported, and entity snaps used with them. A future release will add object recognition.

 After the break, the future of mechanical...

 The Future of Mechanical

And we're back.

A new module is called BricsCAD Mechanical, which combines BricsCAD Platinum with the old Sheet Metal module. The tease question is "What's wrong with mechanical design?"

• AutoCAD Mechanical is not a choice because it is just a toolset to create 2D drawings -- not 3D. No collision checks, no mass properties, because it is not 3D.
• Autodesk Inventor is not a choice because it loses the ability to edit 3D DWG files. "It forces you to be a programmers not a designer," because it uses history.
• Fusion is not a choice because it requires a stable Internet connection, and uses the same engine as Inventor.

The right MCAD software is

• Compatible with AutoCAD (like Bricsys), even at the API level
• Full-blown 3D with parts and assemblies, sheet metal, and drawing views
• Able to edit any DWG and imported 3D geometry from other MCAD programs
• able to do parametric modeling without getting into the history trap

Also: be affordable, work without an Internet connection, and have a permanent license.

 The backhoe was modeled from scratch in BricsCAD, and moves using parameters.

 See my Twitter stream at upfrontezine for more on mechanical and sheetmetal.

https://twitter.com/upFronteZine

 

 

BricsCAD V19's Best Three New Functions

I've been working with the beta version of BricsCAD V19 and found three commands that I feel (a) are unique to BricsCAD and (b) will prove pretty useful to end-users. Over the next three blog entries, I'll list describe them to you in detail.

BricsCAD V19's new splash screen

 

 

BricsCAD V19 Best: #3, QuickDraw Development

BricsCAD V19's Best Three New Functions

 

bimQuickDraw command draws rectangles and L-shapes with height for conceptually designing buildings and room layouts. 

When you start the command, you see this initial square. The blue square represents the floor area, the white outline is the walls. The wall thickness is fixed at 1/4" in imperial drawings and 5mm in metric ones.

As you move the cursor, the square elongates. You can enter exact distances in the dynamic distance fields. 

When you click a point to indicate the opposite corner (and the size of the floor), walls appear; the height is fixed at 10' (imperial) and 3m (metric). The dimensions show you the distance from all four walls.

Click the blue + to add stories to the floor. The more you click, the more stories you get. (When you click the blue + too many times, you cannot remove stories.)

Draw more attached rooms inside and out by clicking a point inside or outside the walls.

To cut out a portion of a wall, click at the base of the wall. You did it right when a portion of the wall turns red.

 

 

 

Bricsys 2018 London: Day 1

London skyline from near my hotel

Alright, here we are waiting for the official start of Bricsys 2018 conference here in sunny London. We've already had a developer session, where we learned of some of the nuts and bolts about developing add-ons for BricsCAD.

The big news, of course, is that Hexagon of Sweden has bought Bricsys, making it part of its PPM devision that also houses Intergraph, famous for being one of the oldest CAD programs ever. To challenge the "A" company (Autodesk) is going to take more resources. By being acquired by Hexagon (which has a major presence in Huntsville Alabama through Intergraph), makes it easier to take on the American market,

 Keynote Address

CEO Erik de Keyser is on the stage saying "We are going to rock the industry. Again."

Attendees in The Brewery conference hall

He is reminiscing about the start of BricsCAD, which goes back to TriForma, which he sold to Bentley -- BIM before it was called BIM. And then they went to write BricsCAD, first based on IntelliCAD, and then rewritten independently of ITC. "Best decision we ever made" was buying the solid modeling from LEDAS. 

 Now hearing from Rick Allen, executive of Hexagon PPM, also president of CADWorx and Analysis Solutions. CADWorkx link is important, because all this began a few years ago when Intergraph ported CADWorx from AutoCAD to BricsCAD. In the slide below, the extra 180 employees come from Bricsys.

 

 Why did Hexagon buy Bricsys?

They wanted customers to have a complete solutions. The most complex engineering problem today is the offshore platform, with issues like tight spaces and centers of gravity. Intergraph specializes in software that designs them, as well as oil processing plants, water treatment plants, and so on. 

Intergraph/Hexagon is excited by the one-DWG platform provided by Bricsys, for CAD, BIM, and MCAD design in a single file format -- no translation. As opposed to Autodesk, who suffers from CAD (DWG), BIM (RVT), and MCAD (IPT), and the conversion headaches that result.

 Bricsys ceo Erik de Keyser (see photo below) takes his inspiration from German architect Mies (full name Ludwig Mies van der Rohe):

1. Less is more
2. God is in the details, as amplified by Jim Eyre

So the aim these days is to simplify the use of BricsCAD, and yet represent the details with BricsCAD.

 

Bricsys ceo Erik de Keyser

 

User Group Meeting

The brief lunch is over, and now it is time for the inaugural BricsCAD user group meeting. First question on the boar, "Should there be a BricsCAD User Group?" Led by Steve Johnson, who says Bricsys asked him to tackle this.

 User group leader Steve Johnson

Should there be a BricsCAD user group? Yes, we'll give it a try.

What should its goals be? Have Bricsys promote it; membership is free; hope Bricsys might fund direct expenses; exchange information about pain points

What should it do? Maybe discounts for members, reduced ticket prices for the annual conference, wish list, access to beta, exclusive training info, meet with developers; existing forum does a good job, so maybe a member-only section

Should it be primarily online? Meet once a year at the annual Bricsys conference, but then meet virtually

How independent should it be? Maintaining the independence of the user group is important to attendees.

Steven Johnson offers to lead the group initially, with a few others helping. The problem being we don't know what BricsCAD might be called in the future under Hexagon (Intergraph was renamed Hexagon PPM).

 

Building Information Modeling

VP of communications Don Strimbu is asking, Who thinks BIM is awesome? Who thinks BIM is too hard? 

Four top BIM myths

• BIM is just hype
• BIM is just for the big buys
• BIM will just cost more
• BIM is just too much work

 
Bricsys vp of communications Don Strimbu

Now we are getting a demo of what's new in BIM for BricsCAD V19.  The BIM module has a new UI that borrows from the free Sketch program, such as a toolbar-like ribbon and video-based help in a panel.

 New user interface for BricsCAD BIM V19

 BIMify is already two years old, the "AI" command that turns CAD elements into BIM elements. It recognizes beam, columns, components, rooms, internal and external walls, and so on.

Compositions is the most among the most BIM part of BIM, where the details of walls and floors/roofs are defined. A typical residential wall is gyproc on the interior, then 2x4" framing, insulation, plastic vapour barrier, exterior wall of plaster or brick or wood -- and the software needs to know which walls are exterior and which are interior. BricsCAD handles this.

 

 Using BIMify to convert a generic 3D model into a BIM model

BIM V19 now imports @AutodeskRevit RFA family (component) files for use in architectural designs. This means that BricsCAD can now make use of the huge catalogs of Revit parts on third-party sites. Parameters and constraints associated with the RFA are imported. But when the RFA file lacks parameters, then BricsCAD can add them with a single click inside the new Block Editor environment.

 Revit door component inserted in BricsCAD BIM model

BricsCAD BIM V19 improves drawing generation (design documentation) with

• labeled grids
• a Project Browser to track levels (floors) and content on each level
• schedules and quantity take-offs
• reflected ceiling plan
• and so on.

Drawings generated from BIM model showing grid

 

 Hearing how to design a skyscraper with BricsCAD:

Draw the basic shape with 3D solids, then use the new multi-slicing command to create the floors. Shell the model to create walls and ceilings, and then BIMify to identify them. Add glazing. New grid is either rectangular or radial; any curve can be the grid axis, then use standard tools to modify the grid's look.

 The new Propagate command quickly adds elements to a drawing, such as columns in a room.

New Curtain Wall tool adds curtain walls, after you specify the material (such as glass), repeating patterns, and thickness.

Twisted skyscraper with curtain walls

 

 BricsCAD BIM V19 imports TIN files to display the terrain, and has site modeling tools for flattening areas for buildings and roads. Use the outline of the building's base to define the cut/fill volume. When volumes are removed, BricsCAD reports the volume. 

Editing an imported terrain file

The afternoon break is over, and now we hear about CDE -- common data environment -- which Bricsys deploys through 24/7, the new name for their online file sharing site that used to be known as Chapoo. 24/7 also handles project planning, editable work flows, multi-file viewing, and so on with unlimited users, each with different access rights. Cost is $200 per month but will be free for subscribers as of V19.

The example given is a 2.5-mile-long tunnel under Brussels being updated over a period of years.  

 

Managing data with 24/7

 For the future, notifications from BricsCAD, BIM collaboration format, and VR in 24/7.

And that's it for today!

[Disclosure: Bricsys paid part of my airfare, my hotel stay, and some meals] 

Archive: Future of Simulation with Comet

 SPDM

 

Acronym alert! SPDM is short for "simulation process and data management"

Aras recently acquired Comet, software that automates the many steps of running simulations, such as meshing the 3D model, running a variety of simulation scenarios, and then generating reports. 

Often in simulation demos given by CAD/CAE vendors are simplified to solve just one problem. In real world, however, simulation has to solve more than one problem. For instance, shown below is a simple model with four design objectives.

Aras says that Comet would handle the four simulation tasks in a single run. The Comet workspace is shown below. The large area shows the simulation process tree that is automated. Goals reached/not-reached are shown in green/red.

Simulation templates are created by experts in each of their fields, such as meshing and ANSYS. Once the simulation variables are set up, Comet runs the simulation and adjust the CAD model, as shown by th list of tasks (below) that the software performs. ARAS says this takes 14 minutes to run: Comet runs the entire simulation with no user involvement, until the end.

"If it doesn't appear in a PowerPoint, the simulation didn't happen," joked the presenter Tim Keer, Director of Customer Solutions (now with Aras, formerly with Comet) at the  Aras "Future of Simulation" seminar.

Comet normally runs on the desktop, but a version is available from Aras runs in a Web browser, which is suitable for non-expert users who don't need to set up the simulation: just enter data and wait for the results. The browser version also hides proprietary rules from the user and customers.

Aras says they do no favor any other vendor, so Comet works with any MCAD system and simulation software.

 

Q&A

Q: Does Comet come with any simulation tools?

A: None, because it works with what you have, except we provide ANSA meshing.

Q: How does Comet work with CAD and simulation software?

A: To link with other software, adapters have to be written that read-run-write the data with Comet.

Q: When will Comet work with Aras Innovator?

A: There is no target date, but fairly soon.

Q: Can I access Comet now?

A: Aras Comet SPDM will be available pretty soon. It will be for subscribers only.

Q: What does the acquisition mean for Comet customers?

A: We will honor existing contracts. 

 

https://www.aras.com/news/press-releases/2018/09/aras-acquires-comet-solutions

Why IFCs are so bad at BIM translation

 

 

A reader writes:

Here's something which has always bothered me. How can we say that IFC [industry foundation classes] is a BIM [building information modeling] exchange format? When I create walls in one BIM app, export them to IFC and then import the IFC into another BIM app, they aren't native wall objects and don't operate as them. If it really is an exchange format -- besides mere object shapes -- shouldn't this be possible? What am I missing?

     - D.E.

 IFC is a kludge.

It was first designed by Autodesk to solve the problem they created with AutoCAD Release 13's new DWG format that allowed it to store any kind of data -- and the new ARX programming interface that allowed AutoCAD to create any kind of object. These actions in 1995 future-proofed the format, but also lead to unintended consequences.

The problem became how to display that "any kind of content" which AutoCAD did not understand, such as custom objects created by AutoCAD Architectural and Mechanical.

Autodesk came up with three solutions:

• Proxy objects that display custom entities in a dumb format that could be viewed but not edited
• Plug-ins that mimicked the functions of ADT and MDT, so that the proxy object could be edited
• IFC format to transfer the data stored in the custom objects between programs

The plug-ins became unwieldy as the versions multiplied. Autodesk spun off the IFC format to a committee to deal with. The proxy objects are still supported.

For the first many years, the IFC committee worked on exchanging data between programs, such as from ADT to a thermal analysis software, and then into another CAD program. But just data.

When Revit popularized the concept of BIM (2000 and following), IFC was seen as ideal as exporting the building data (information) it stored in its models.

With successive updates to IFC by buildingSmart, the format began to handle graphical data, such as walls and windows. IFC is up to version 4 now. IFC slid into becoming the BIM translation format by default.

So, you are right to be frustrated about the quality of translation, as it was never meant to do that. The problems you encounter are due to every BIM vendor defining their parameterized objects differently.

The good news is that the Open Design Alliance has begun attacking the problem of IFCs, writing an API [application programming interface] for that, along with the API for Revit files. The other good news is that other BIM vendors want this to happen, as well.

The reader responds:

Thanks for the info. I've been seeing US Government contracts written with Revit file format requirements. They state you can use any software you wish, but I don't know of any (yet) which can fulfill this requirement. Also engineers really love having all of the "I" in BIM available to them, so we're kind of stuck when you want to work with these firms.

https://www.opendesign.com/blog/2018/october/oda-begins-work-ifc-solution

 

 

Archive: Generate for Windows

Now on the desktop

 

Frustum is one of a new spate of CAD companies that are deploying the latest mathematics and computing technology to leap ahead of established players and find themselves a niche. In the case of Frustum, their Generate software generates optimal 3D shapes; until now, it has run only in Web browsers.

The company this week held a Webinar to introduce the desktop version of Generate (for Windows only). I listened in and grabbed some screenshots.

- - - 

The Generate software determines the best design of a part based on input, such as stresses and connection points. What's new in the desktop Windows version is interactive modeling, and it is more secure than the cloud.

Frustum claims that Generate creates designs that are actually manufacturable, unlike others.

It has options for optimizing the shape for milling, 3D printing, and casting. These affect the shape in different ways. For instance, designed for casting means the shape must be able to be pulled out of a mold, while optimized for 3D printing means it should have a flat bottom.

Here is the user interface of Generate for Windows.

Generate for Windows can run on a laptop, as was done for the Webinar. But it will run faster on a multi-core desktop computer with a GPU. Only nVdidia graphics boards are supported. Real-time FEA (finite element analysis) does not mandate a GPU. GPU is optionally enabled if the machine has an NVIDIA graphics card.

A future release will add lattice design to Generate for Windows.

Output from Generate is an STL file. A future version might output a b-rep for input to CAD, but it is not a simple problem to solve.

Demo version cannot be simply downloaded from Frustum's Web site. You have to contact info@frustum.com for a trial version.

https://www.frustum.com/product

Archive: Cambashi Webinar on CAE Opportunties

Buyin' 'em up

 

Cambashi is a CAD market analysis firm out of England, and this week it held a Webinar intriguingly named "Assessing Investment Opportunities in the CAE market." (The company also provides consulting and training.) I listened in to hear what they had to say.

- - -

One of the first stats blew me away: There are 470 non-EDA companies providing 2D and 3D CAE and physics simulation software. The biggest names are listed below.

 

As the Cambashi Webinar was about the opportunities in acquiring a CAE firm, one obvious purchaser that jumped out at me is Bricsys, which could use analysis to compliment its advanced design capabilities. 

Here is a slide on investment scenarios:

Cambashi maintains a dashboard that tracks many CAE companies, which presumably would help you decide which CAE vendor to acquire, based on criteria like these: 

• Growth rate of the CAE vendors
• Specialty areas, such as which kinds of simulation and analysis they do
• Future plans

Well, that, and the cost of acquiring the software company.

http://www.cambashi.com/cae-market-data

 

Archive: MagicLeap's first developer conference

 First Look

 

MagicLeap is a secretive company that amassed a crazy amount of money over several years -- $2.5 billion in investor's money -- before finally getting around to showing its product a few months ago. This week, it held its first conference for third-party developers. 

This was an important event: what can it show for a couple of billion bucks? Two CAD vendors made brief presentation towards the end of the three hours, Trimble for SketchUp and Onshape.

Here are the notes I took during the first three hours of the Webcast, which you can view at https://www.magicleap.com/LEAPcon

- - -

Fascinating spin from MagicLeap's first developer conference. Company execs claiming media like radio and tv (which brought people together) actually were social failures, but VR goggles (which by their very nature are isolating) are inclusive.

Despite the "We Are the [liberal progressive] World" vibe from the MagicLeap developer conference, all the [video] demos show lonely people stabbing their arms in their empty-of-other-humans rooms.

 

New open-source-based LuminOS from MagicLeap to offers fastest meshing available.

 

Software roadmap from MagicLeap, looking like development will continue into 2019.

Company, which pocked $2.5 billion in funding, is offering $200,000 for bug bounties.

It's VRML time all over again. MagicLeap wants to create spatial (ie, 3D) Web experiences through their own new browser, Helio and declarative HTML library, Prismatic. Spatial Web to solve on-line shopping problems.

 

Apparently the primary purpose of MagicLeap is viewing whales. Whales feature prominently in the company's marketing images.

 

Coming this fall, avatars for picking tv dinners.

 

"MagicLeap has its own editorial point of view, and putting [MagicLeap] Studios name on content helps us reflect what the company believes in. These are the stories WE want to tell." Content created by Create software, to be delivered next year.

 

Science fiction author Neal Stephenson of Goat Labs showing the PHILTR, which was pilfered from ComicCon. He says it works with MagicLeap but doesn't say how.

 

2.5 hours into watching the MagicLeap developer conference and I still figure VR will be as successful in homes as 3D TVs.

Slide shows percentage of kinds of apps being made for Magicleap. Is CAD part of the Productivity type?

Home shopping is back at MagicLeap, which has 10 million shopping items. Pull items from their 3D Web browser into your space.

 

First mention of CAD is SketchUp from Trimble.  Trimble is talking about mixed reality made of hardware and software to capture the physical environment and manage engineering projects. SketchUp has 30 million users and its Warehouse is probably the largest 3D library.

"We are not telling stories, we are not playing games."

Prototype SketchUp software brings models from 3D Warehouse into MagicLeap. https://www.roadtovr.com/magic-leap-reveals-16-ar-experiences-at-leap-con-2018/

 

Onshape is now on. "I believe we will see CAD move to a new generation, on a new platform: Mixed reality and 3D CAD."

The new Onshape 3D CAD app for @MagicLeap is announced and shown in a video. Use markup tool, and then see the changes in real-time. "This is live editing of CAD."

Although not made explicit, the MCAD editing is done with the Onshape app running in a Web browser or on a tablet -- not by the MagicLeap interface. The 3D view is updated after the editing change is made.

https://www.prweb.com/releases/onshape_teams_up_with_magic_leap_for_new_spatial_computing_cad_app/prweb15829664.htm

How to send email from overseas when your ISP blocks you

VPN to the rescue

 

When I want to send email from outside of Canada, the outgoing email is filed to Outgoing, the purgatory mailbox. It is never sent. The problem occurs whether I want to send email from my Android phone or my Windows laptop, using a desktop client like Eudora or eM Client, or mobile app, like AquaMail. Who blocks the email, and why, I don't know.

I asked my ISP's tech support. They had no clue, suggesting that I instead use their Webmail client, which is only slightly worse than Gmail's Web client. (The Webmail client is, admittedly, effective in overcoming geographic boundaries, but awkward to use.)

 

Fool 'em with VPNs

The solution is to use a VPN, a virtual private network, which fools everybody on the Internet and all software on your computer that you are in a different country. There are numerous VPNs that provide a basic service for free. I use TunnelBear, which offers 500MB a month of data transfer at no cost; paying for TunnelBear gets me unlimited data and use on up to five computers at once. (I use it at home on all our computers as a extra layer of protection.)

So, download and install a VPN like TunnelBear (https://www.tunnelbear.com/download), and then specify your home country, the one where your ISP is located. In my case, Canada. Problem solved.

If you have emails stuck in the Outgoing box, then you'll need to resend them. In some cases, the email client is smart enough to send them once it senses that you are "back in Canada." In other cases, you need to manually resend them, which might involve moving them to the Inbox, forwarding them as an original, or some other tactic. 

I use TunnelBear to watch videos, such as live news events, that are geographically locked. Some jurisdictions, however, like China, and some software giants, like Netflix, block VPNs. So, there is an alternative. 

 

The Alternative to VPNs

There is an alternative solution, involving a "visual" VPN like TeamViewer (https://www.teamviewer.com/en/download/windows). It displays on your local screen (laptop or Android device) what is displayed on the distant computer to which you connect. I primarily use this software to support the computers used by elderly relatives. It lets me see what is happening on their computer screens, operate the software, and even reboot their computers.

When I am abroad, I use TeamViewer to access my desktop computer back home. I've used it sometimes to transfer files that I forgot to take along, but mostly I use it to access my Eudora email client running on my primary desktop computer. I go through the incoming emails, answering them, and filing them into mailboxes.

It is possible to watch geographically-locked and VPN-blocked video with TeamViewer, but the frame rate is slow. It works, because as far as Netflix is concerned, the video is being watched on a geographically-correct computer. I don't know if TeamViewer is effective at evading the Great Red Firewall imposed by China.

 

 

 

PTC CEO: Everyone will want real-time FEA

Real-time spell checker

 

Gabriela Borges (financial analyst): On Discovery Live [real-time FEA from ANSYS], I’m curious on the feedback that you've gotten since the announcement, and your understanding of the composition of PTCs CAD base, do you have a sense for what percentage or what types of customers within the CAD base would be interested in buying through the Discovery Life partnership?

 

Jim Heppelmann (PTC ceo): To simplify things for the benefit of everybody, think of Discovery Life being like a spell checker in a word processing document. You used to write a lot of text and then you’d stop writing and you would spell check and you’ll find all the mistakes. You’ll fix them all and then go back to writing more new text.

And now like in Microsoft Word that spell check is running all the time and as you're typing or misspelling a word, it's already showing you that doesn't look like a word to me and if you make a capitalization mistake its correcting itself.

So now take that kind of metaphor if you will and bring it over to CAD. We used to design, design, design, stop designing and go simulate find a whole bunch of problems, try to fix them all and then go back to designing.

Now as you design Discovery Live is watching over your shoulder and, with literally every change you make, it tells you what are the implications of that change.

But I want to say is who wouldn't want a spell checker in Microsoft Word. Anybody on the phone call here that have no use for a spell checker?

So I think that everybody wants it, every single user and probably especially the ones that are creating geometry would benefit from this capability. Now we would have to figure out its kind of amazing thing and we don't know how fast and how far the penetration will go, but I will tell you, we should end up with a very high penetration of this technology into our CAD base. I would be surprised if that didn’t happen.

Source: https://seekingalpha.com/article/4188231-ptc-inc-ptc-ceo-jim-heppelmann-q3-2018-results-earnings-call-transcript

Takeaways from COFES 2018

by  Oleg Zykov

 

One of the most important events for me at the annual COFES (Congress on the future of engineering software) conference is Tech Suites. This is a series of briefings that are held by vendors who sponsor the congress. I find them exciting to attend as I get to hear what vendors are saying about their latest innovations directly to competitors and industry analysts, rather than only to potential customers.

The result is an open, dynamic discussion that delves deeply into underlying issues that don't usually come to the surface during typical sales events. This year at COFES 2018 I felt that the Tech Suites headliners were two -- Onshape, and Solidworks with xDesign – plus one more, the surprise change at the top of Spatial.

 

Onshape vs xDesign

It seems to me that many agree that Jon Hirschtick, a co-founder of Onshape, is one of the most charismatic figures in the modern CAD world. The packed audience of Onshape’s Tech Suite was proof of this. But this is not the only reason why I think OnShape has won over Solidworks xDesign.

Today, the Onshape brand has a lot to boast about. It is a full-scale MCAD system, a top-notch "no files - no problems" policy with a single cloud database, thousands of users, its own app store with 51 partner applications, and tons of other reasons to transfer over from other MCAD systems. After creating and dominating the desktop MCAD market with Solidworks, Hirschtick created and dominated a whole new segment in the MCAD market as other major players are rushing to develop their cloud solutions as well. This is somewhat reminiscent of Tesla, isn't it?

So then what does that make Solidworks xDesign? It is, in fact, a timid attempt to enter the emerging cloud CAD systems market with a raw product that doesn't support even a fraction of Solidworks’ features; how many years will it take to fix this?

Its questionable positioning among other Dassault products isn't helping either:

• What is their strategy?
• To pull users over from Solidworks?

Even if we try for a second to imagine why someone might get fed up with a best-in-class product for whatever reason, why wouldn't they just switch over to Onshape based on the same Parasolid kernel? (xDesign is based on CGM, which means there are bound to be issues converting old templates.)

So if xDesign is intended to attract new users, things are even worse than I thought, because at COFES I could not find one argument in favor of xDesign. And it's not just me, either! Most people talking about this informally share this opinion.

 

Spatial vs C3D Labs

Now that we've mentioned software components, let's switch gears. I suppose the biggest surprise during COFES (at least, for me) was the news that Linda Lokay is stepping down as general manager of Spatial. Linda is a prominent figure in the global CAD market, confirmed by receiving the Leadership Award at this year's COFES.

We may never know why she made the decision, but it's not hard to see a growing problem if you talk with Spatial solution users. The company's portfolio offers two geometric modeling kernels. The first of them is ACIS, written by Spatial, with a huge user database. The other is CGM, which is developed by Dassault, and was assigned by its parent company to Spatial to market it. We can't count for certain the number of CGM users, but I suspect there aren’t very many.

What is Spatial's strategy? If the company were independent, there would be no alternative to ACIS: hundreds of customers would bring in good revenue, and the main focus would be on them and developing the product to increase royalties.

But, what if we look at this issue from Dassault's perspective? This French company does not use ACIS, and so revenues from ACIS sales are likely lower than its own platform sales. (End-user products are always more profitable than components.) Plus it has CGM, which a great product, and its development is of crucial importance for Dassault's core business. Transitioning ACIS users to CGM will have a synergetic effect on kernel development and the development of the 3Dexperience platform ecosystem. The only question is: why would ACIS users need this?

Irrespective of future developments, uncertainty about Spatial may play into the hands of its competitors, primarily Siemens PLM and its Parasolid kernel. Apparently, Parasolid is already putting competitive pressure on ACIS, as now most often new influential CAD market players choose Parasolid. For example, OnShape and the even more innovative Sharp3D.

The C3D Labs team might also try to take advantage of this situation. For example, we entered the formerly exclusively ACIS domain as a second 3D kernel for Open Design Alliance's Teigha platform. NanoCAD Plus 10, which will be released very soon, will use our C3D kernel on an equal basis with ACIS in its 3D modeling component.

 

Oleg Zykov is CEO of C3D Labs. 

"Disclaimer: As the CEO of С3D Labs, which specializes in the development of toolkits for the software engineering industry, everything written above is my personal opinion and does not necessarily reflect the official position of the company. My opinion cannot be considered fully objective and impartial due to my primary activities."

This article was first posted at https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/three-takeaways-from-cofes-2018-oleg-zykov/ and is reprinted with permission.

 

Why CAD vendors might want to implement blockchains

IP protection

 

A reader asks,

At COFES [conference], a guy from McKinsey asked me, "Why would blockchain would have material value over a typical distributed database?" Blockchain is most valuable where the transactions are between parties where there is limited trust and where maintaining a potentially public ledger is beneficial.

To what extent is that the case in CAD design? What exactly would you put in the blockchain? 

      -- J. P.

 There is an issue in CAD revolving around IP [intellectual property] protection. Right now, the solution provided by CAD vendors is a form of design simplification. This function strips out details that a sub-contractor or manufacturer does not need to see.

For example, when a sub-contractor is providing a part that connects to a car engine, the engine designer might strip out the details of the engine's internals, leaving only the connection points for the part -- be it electrical, hydraulic, or mechanical.

The drawback is that this process of simplifying the model takes an extra step, as well as deciding which elements to remove.  

(An even worse method of IP protection is to send uneditable PDF files. However, CAD programs today increasingly import vector elements of PDF files for editing.)

If CAD vendors were to use blockchains instead, users could track the individual parts of a model throughout the sub-contracting and manufacturing steps. In theory, if someone were to steal the IP, it could be traced -- in theory. Whether this would work in practice, I do not know -- just as "uneditable" PDF files don't work in practice.

I have worked on a couple of legal cases as an expert consultant where DWG files were alleged to be stolen. Inside DWG files are a few properties that could help prove theft -- but not to the CAD-untrained eyes of lawyers. Integrating blockchain inside DWG and other CAD files would be proof sufficient for a court of law.

This would apply to both MCAD (manufacturing) and AEC (construction of buildings).

 

 

This One Flaw Dooms the Aurga (Updated)

Part 2

 

(For update, see end of this posting.)

When I last wrote about the Aurga remote camera controller (see http://www.worldcadaccess.com/blog/2018/06/aurga-remote-camera-controller.html) , it wasn't working. It would not connect to the camera. Aurga tech support promised me that a software update coming soon would fix the problem.

(Aurga is a remote controller that sits in the DLSR's hotshoe, connected to the camera with a USB cable. See figure 1. Their app runs on an Android or iOS device, with which you control the camera remotely via a local WiFi connection.)

Figure 1: Aurga controller (red) mounted in battery supply (yellow) on DSLR, connected to camera via USB cable (green).

 

The software update turned out to be for the Android app. (I had thought it would be a firmware update to the controller unit.) With the update, the app now connects to the controller, showing me information about the camera, in my case a Nikon D3100. The primary purpose of the app is to control the camera, such as changing settings (shutter speed, aperture, photographic modes) and taking pictures, such as in timelapse and multiple-image modes.

With the app working, I found that several remote functions don't work with the D3100, including the all-important live view. (See figure 2.) Live view is where the app shows on the Android screen what the camera lens is seeing. This one flaw dooms the Aurga. If you can't see remotely what the camera is seeing, then there is no point to the Aurga.

Figure 2: Yes, we have no live view.

 

Not only would live view show the image being captures, but also the settings that affect it, such as how bright or dim the image is. There isn't even a non-live live view, such as a one-time static image updated, say, through a refresh mechanism.

A few other Aurga controls also do not work with the D3100. 

The Aurga Web site does not list which functions work with which cameras, and so if you purchase a unit, you are gambling it will work as advertised. Unhappily, the site implies that all functions work with all cameras. (See figure 3.) The only hint of a problem is in the corporate blog, in which Aurga staff indicate that they are getting more functions to work on Sony DSLR cameras -- meaning not all functions work with Sonys, either.

Figure 3: Aurga Web site promoting live few function (emphasis mine)

 

I suspect the problem lies in which functions the camera manufacturer makes available via the USB connector, and so Aurga programmers have no control over which functions can be controlled by their app. This problem does not, however, absolve the company of failing to warn consumers of reduced functionality.

Aurga is not the only remote camera controllers on the market. 

 

Update from Aurga 

24 June 2018

Thanks for your detailed reviews. About the live view features. We are making a list for the functions like:

1. Live View

2. Change Mode

3. Auto Focus

4. Manual Focus

5. Change Focus Area

6. Bulb

7. HDR

8. Shooting

9. Timelapse

10. Focus Stacking (Base on Live view and manual focus)

11. Video

12. View Live View

 

The list is not finished yet. We are still confirming some models. For some old cameras like Nikon D80, D3000, D3100. They doesn’t support live view natively (on camera LED), Aurga doesn’t support too. Anyway, that is true we have to make the feature more completed on website.

 

 

Al Dean explains why Autodesk running generative design in the cloud is wrong

On Twitter,  DEVELOP3D co-founder Al Dean explains why it is a mistake for Autodesk to limit running its generative design software on a cloud service: 

So here’s the thing with this. Autodesk’s Generative Design tools run in the cloud, its rationalization being that it needs parallel computation and it needs collaboration.

The issue is that this is going to restrict experimentation -- experimentation that’s vital in both an industrial and an educational context. (It’s unlikely to be made available in Fusion Educational licenses.)

There’s also the fact that Autodesk say they need to recoup the costs of that computation. That’s entirely their decision.

Autodesk’s Generative Design tools run on GPUs, specifically CUDA. GPUs are cheap. Folks could stack out a machine and do the computation on their own hardware -- as they do now for rendering and viz[ulization].

My personal belief is that it’s a huge error on Autodesk’s part, and one that I doubt they’ll correct any time soon. </rant>

As a reference point, all other CAD vendors to offer generative design do so via desktop software, proving that no cloud is needed. Generative design from Autodesk is available through Fusion 360 Ultimate. https://www.autodesk.com/products/fusion-360/compare#generative-design

Aurga remote camera controller

For Canon, Nikon, and Sony DSLRs

 

I tend to ignore pleas from Kickstarter, but over the years two pleas did catch my fancy. One was the latest release from the makers of Myst, even though the new game took something like two years to deliver.

The other was more recent, a remote camera controller for DSLR [digital single lens reflex] cameras. It promised a host of functions, which you set from your smartphone, which then passes the commands to the camera through an attached controller. It was only $99 for an early supporter, so why not!

Unlike some other hardware startups on Kickstarter, this one actually shipped and arrived last week. It didn't work, but a firmware update is due soon, so we'll see.

 

What The Aurga Consists Of

It comes in four parts. (Very little of this explained on the company's Web site, so this can act as a user manual for you.)

 

Yellow (Battery): This largish black plastic part is basically the battery. It has a microUSB port in the side for charging, a red button on the back for turning it on and off, and four LEDS that report the battery level.

Underneath it has a hot shoe attachment for mounting on the camera's hot shoe, and on top a USB-A port for plugging in the controller.

 

Red (Controller): The main part is the controller, in silver and black. It plugs into the battery's USB-A port. It has a WiFi antenna for connecting with your smartphone, as well as the electronics for special effects.

On the side, there is a microSD slot for memory cards up to 256GB, and at the front a second USB-A port for connecting the USB cable. Photos can be stored on the camera, as usual, or on the memory card.

It actually has two LEDs that light up, one next to the WiFi logo, a second next to the globe logo. Aurga provides no explanation for the Globe LED; I wonder if it is meant for connecting to the Internet, so that the camera can be operated really remotely?

The controller can be used a card reader. If the photos end up on the microSD card, you can plug the controller into your computer's USB port and copy the photos over.

 

Green (USB Connection): The USB cable is for controlling the camera. One end connects to the controller, the other end to the camera's USB port.

This cable is included, but it was the wrong kind for me: Aurga supplied a microUSB cable, but my DSLR uses the older miniUSB connector.

 

The 4th part is the app running on your smartphone, as described later.

 

How It Works

In summary, you use the smartphone to tell the camera what to do:

1. The controller receives its instructions from your smartphone.
2. The controller instructs the camera through the USB connection.
3. The battery provides power to the controller.

I suppose you could use any 5v power source with a USB-A connector, should the included device run low. In fact, the Aurga does not even need to be mounted on the camera; it only needs to be connected to the camera by a USB cable.

Here is the process to set it up:

1. Install the Aurga app from the Android or iOS app stores.
2. Turn on the Aurga power unit by holding the red power button for three seconds.
3. Wait a half-minute for the Wifi to start up.
4. On the smartphone, connect the Wifi to the Aurga-xxxx address.
5. Control the camera with the app on the phone.

What It Does

The kinds of functions the controller can handle depend on the camera model. For instance, my Nikon D3100 apparently does not support live view in the smartphone, something the Aurga Web site does not state. (I say "apparently" because I haven't got the system working; I learned this from Aurga tech support.)

Here is what Aurga is supposed to do:

• Control DSLR cameras from 100 feet away
• Display live view (see on the phone what the camera is seeing)
• Generate effects like
  • Light trails
  • Time lapse
  • Focus stacking
  • HDR
• Shoot with several cameras at once

 

 Much to my disappointment, Aurga isn't working for me. The smartphone is not making the connection with the camera, even after I tried the Aurga app with on different smartphone models with four different releases of Android.

I am working with tech support, and I will update this blog if the device does work.

http://www.aurgadslr.com/

- - -

BTW, this is not the first remote assistant. Shutterbug describes Arsenal at https://www.shutterbug.com/content/arsenal-new-“intelligent-camera-assistant-promises-help-you-take-perfect-photo.

 

Nanosoft releases nanoCAD Mechanica v8.5

 Now with international standards

 

While CAD software from USA and Europe gets a lot of free publicity from industry magazines, software from other parts of the world tends to be ignored -- Asia, Russia, Africa, and so on. There is, for instance, a thriving CAD software industry in Japan, but we don't know about it, because the user interfaces are Japanese and it is written to Japanese standards.

Software firms in Russia suffer the Japan problem: UIs written in Russian, and CAD written to Russian standards. Some firms are breaking out of the mold, such as C3D Labs (geometric kernels), LEDAS Group (consulting), and NanoSoft (CAD software). 

Nanosoft last week released nanoCAD Mechanica 8.5 CAD software for preparing mechanical documentation but with a twist. It's available in English and it includes some international standards, including ISO and DIN. It comes with

• A library of parametric parts, such as for bearings, fasteners, springs, gearboxes, and electric motors.
• Calculators for gears, springs, shafts, bearing, and so on.
• Plus all the functions of the underlaying nanoCAD Plus 8.5 CAD system, which is like AutoCAD

New in this release are

• Specifications, such as for wiring
• Lots more parametric parts, such as pulleys, toothed belt drives, gear boxes, tap and gate valves, aviation fasteners, and so on
• Fields for displaying the properties of objects
• Import and export specifications in DBF format
• Angular chain dimensions, and angular ordinate dimensions
• And more.

More information from http://nanocad.com/products/mechanica/

 

 

 

Driverless in Phoenix

People-free but in a bad way

 

As I tried to stay out of the 108F-degree heat of Phoenix earlier this week, I figured out why companies like Uber were testing driverless cars in this part of the world. The Phoenix region offers:

No rain.

No snow.

No pedestrians.

A pure driving environment unencumbered by the problems of the real world.

Take a look at the photo I took from the LRT transit stop in downtown Phoenix, at 1:30pm on a Tuesday afternoon, and notice what is missing. People.

The lack of pedestrians is a benefit to early driver-less car testing, as pedestrians are irrational, in particular by jay-walking, ignoring traffic signals, suddenly reversing their route, and wearing disguises like packages, shopping carts, and large flapping articles of clothing.

The lack of pedestrians is a drawback, as the software doesn't get to learn about them.

During the Siemens PLM Connection Americas 2018 conference, one of the keynote speeches was about a chip from newly-acquired Mentor that handles Level 5 automatic driving (fully independent of humans) but can be throttled back to Levels 4 and 3 (more human intervention needed). In particular, we saw how the system identifies pedestrians. This was supposed to be happy news from the keynote stage, and so the recent killing of a pedestrian by an Uber-operated autonomous Volvo wasn't mentioned.

By coincidence, Roopinder Tara yesterday summarized the details of the death, as determined by the US's National Transportation Safety Board. Read the article at https://www.engineering.com/Hardware/ArticleID/17054/Ubers-Self-Driving-Car-Had-6-Seconds-to-Respond-Before-Fatal-Crash-But-Got-Confused-Did-Nothing.aspx, although the headline says it all:

Uber’s Self-Driving Car Had 6 Seconds to Respond Before Fatal Crash, But Got Confused, Did Nothing

In brief, the Uber software could be set to Smooth (ignore objects in order to brake and swerve less) or Safe (avoid or stop for things that might not be a problem.) In this case, it was set to Smooth, and so ignored the bicycle-camouflaged jaywalker.

Software that performs semi- and fully-autonomous driving has been killing drivers as well, and most often by Tesla cars whose ceo has been championing the fight against AI that could kill us all.

 

 

The failure of a 3D printer on Kickstarter

 Funding unsuccessful

 

It was in late 2014 when I received a press release regarding a new 3D printer aimed at children but being funded through Kickstarter. Aiming 3D printers at children had so far failed in the marketplace, as had the marketing war cry, "A 3D printer in every child's bedroom!"

Why target children? The less obvious answer is that the 3D printer can be less sophisticated (ie, cheaper to make), along with the more obvious hope that by snaring them young, the vendor gains a customer for life -- alway a dubious proposition. 

I hung onto the press release, because I wanted to see if it would fail. It did, despite a flurry of positive press around the November 2014 announcement.

The company Web site today

 

Here is the press release in its entirety. I've left out the identifying names. (Emphasis mine.)

- - -

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
NOVEMBER, 2014

THE 3D PRINTER BRINGS TOMORROW'S TECHNOLOGY INTO TODAY'S HOME

Family-friendly, Child-safe, Proven Technology at an Affordable Price!

3D printing, in the form of the revolutionary 3D Printer, is finally ready for prime time – not to mention play time and study time! Designed BY families FOR families, the 3D Printer aims to make an exciting new technology as commonplace and worry-free as a microwave oven. While not quite “Tea, Earl Grey, Hot”, the D Printer just might be the closest thing on Earth to home-based Star Trek tech.

Currently featured in a high-profile Kickstarter campaign, the 3D Printer is the first such featured device to offer a one-year warranty, FREE lifetime online education, and a family-friendly, child-safe design.

Though 3D printing technology has proven its worth time and time again in recent years, the majority of applications have been in industrial and commercial settings. The 3D Printer is the logical next step in the evolution of 3D printing, seamlessly incorporating this advanced technology into our daily lives by ensuring it's safe, simple to use, and affordable.

To that end, the R&D team behind the 3D Printer made safety a priority in all aspects of the design, beginning with the elegantly rounded, Polycarbonate-ABS injection molded case. There are no confusing and superfluous buttons or screens, no sharp edges or fiddly clamps, no hot plates or wayward lasers to burn tiny hands or damage inquisitive eyes. Instead, a large window illuminated by a cool-running white LED bulb showcases each and every 3D-printed creation as it comes into being, layer by paper-thin layer.

“Sure there are competitive products with flashy laser cutter attachments,” explains one of the Co-Founders behind the 3D Printer, “but as a parent do you really want that in your home? I don't know how many times my son has reached in for a part while it's printing. If that was a laser cutter he would not have a hand!”

The 3D Printer isn't just user-safe, it's environmentally-friendly too. The 3D printing process employs biodegradable print material derived from renewable resources such as corn starch and sugarcane. This material does NOT give off foul-smelling, toxic fumes when the printer is used, making it ideal for home or classroom use. Available in a rainbow of colors at a surprisingly low price, the material comes in the form of thin flexible filaments wound on spools for ease of storage.

The family-oriented team behind the 3D Printer strongly believes in the value of their “baby”; the fact they're offering a one-year warranty with every 3D Printer (no other price-competitive product on Kickstarter or otherwise offers this) means they're in this for the long haul.

The result of the Kickstarter campaign at the end of 2014

 

In addition, when you purchase a 3D Printer you also gain access to FREE on-line education for life. “We have learned so much along the way through this journey and want other families and kids to benefit,” states a Co-Founder of the company. “What we found frustrating, however, was that we could not find a good on-line educational resource that teaches how to use 3D printers, where to find and/or design images, and so on. Our goal is to create an on-line educational community of learning with training modules, instructional videos, projects for family, friends, kids, and school teachers.” You can't put a price on that kind of knowledge!

Both co-founders share the vision of bringing a learning package centered on the 3D printer into the classroom. It is their hope that teachers will take advantage of this amazing technology to further their learning experience in order to reach the diverse endpoints required in the Board of Education curriculum. For example, a learning module of the grade 4 science curriculum could be developed that exploits the capacities of the 3d printer, allowing students to actually make their own gears and pulleys. “If a picture is worth a thousand words, well then a working model is worth a million!” he explains. “There are many aspects of the curriculum where the 3D Printer could be used to further the learning process from biology to geometry and so much more,” according to him, “and if we are successfully funded in Kickstarter these are the types of things we would do.”

The 3D Printer lists for $799.99 at the company website but in concert with the Kickstarter campaign running until the end of 2014, purchasers can take advantage of a host of special, value-added discounts: the Early Bird at $649, the Kickstarter Special at $699, and the value-infused Kickstarter Bundle that features a trio of 3D Printers plus three spools of printing filament for just $1,999! 

For more information on the revolutionary, groundbreaking, family-friendly 3D Printer, please visit the home page and the Kickstarter campaign page .

ABOUT 3D Printer

3D Printer was co-founded by several families inspired by the wealth of opportunities offered by the amazing new world of 3D printing. We believe an affordable, easy to use, and child-safe 3D printer such as 3D Printer should be available to ALL families and should be a vital component of every home and classroom. Our founders have successfully launched new products in Canada and have expertise in product development and fulfilment while our team includes skilled engineers who have spent many years designing and making 3D printers and software.

- - -

The company Web site is down, but its Twitter account is still active, with the last tweet on April 2015. The jurisdictional government reports that the corporation is still "Active" but has "Dissolution Pending" due to "Non-compliance," which I probably is due to failing to file annual reports and so on.

 

About those 12 million pirates Autodesk has eyes on

Maybe not so many

 

In past conference calls, Autodesk liked to trot out the number of pirate users -- 12 million! -- as a sign of the huge upside to forcing its customers onto subscriptions. After all, 12 million as a number is a lot bigger than 2 million -- which is the actual number of customers on permanent licenses that have so far refused to switch. And who knows how accurate the 12 million number is, given Autodesk ceo Andrew Anagnost's statement, "Pirates don’t declare themselves at the door."

The implication was that Autodesk would have within a few years (perhaps as soon as 2020) another 14 million customers paying it a couple of thousand dollars a year. Do the math, and you would have a $28 billion-dollar-a-year company, about 14x larger revenues than today. Not so.

In last week's conference call, Autodesk moderated its earlier claim. Here's what Mr Anagnost says now about converting pirates to his vision:

- - -

I sometimes feel like everybody expects like some quarter I’m going to declare 50,000 net subscriber adds for piracy in the score. You might be waiting a long time to hear that declaration.

This move (with regard to how we address non-paying users in our market) is an ongoing process, basically keeping the run-rate at a relatively nice clip, quarter after quarter after quarter -- well beyond even the FY 2020 goal [when all maintenance subscribers are supposed to be on the new subscription plan]. That’s what some of the companies that have engaged in this, like Adobe and Microsoft, have seen: [converting pirates] has been an ongoing return to the business.

So we have done some new things this quarter:

• We rolled out the in-product messaging to the pirate in AutoCAD, and we’re going to roll that out worldwide as time progresses.
• We’ve also let some things in our sales force with new lead regeneration and new team.

But there’s no headline around how piracy gets added into our business. It’s going to be one of these thing that actually maintains the business as we move forward.

And like I said many times before, pirates don’t declare themselves at the door. 

 

Source: https://seekingalpha.com/article/4177021-autodesk-inc-adsk-ceo-andrew-anagnost-q1-2019-results-earnings-call-transcript

 

 

 

 

Autodesk hopes to have complete BIM in 5 years

Five-year plan

 

Autodesk ceo Andrew Anagnost describes where he hopes the company will arrive in five years, BIM-wise.

- - -

Our cloud products have become an integral selling point for our EBA [enterprise] customers and usage within our EBA customer base has really taken off. For example, in Q1 [Feb-Apr, 2018], just over half of the monthly active users for BIM 360 were in EBA accounts. This really validates our relevancy at the top of the general contractor market, which is where we focused initially.

From High-end to Mid-market

That success is a strong foundation to build on and we’re now leveraging it in the mid-market contractors.

For example, Miron Construction, an U.S.-based construction company, is deploying some of the most advanced technology available in the construction industry. They use the new BIM 360 project delivery platform to process a change to their building project that [used to add] up to 70 design documents and the potential to add almost $1 million in project costs.

The 70 documents needed review by everyone in the project, which would have taken hundreds of hours to resolve to manual processes with their old digital document management software. But Miron resolve the issue in just a fraction of that time with BIM 360. The project manager also found several additional issues, which never would have been caught with their old document management tool. Now that’s real value delivered on real projects.

The Five-year Plan

...we expect in five years, Autodesk will have moved the building information model across the entire construction process from start to finish.

BIM will become the record of everything it is happening from design to pre-fabrication, to on-site assembly into the final handover of the building to its owner. BIM will become the single source of truth across the full spectrum of design and make processes.

...we intend to go deep on the entire process, just like what’s happened in manufacturing where the model has become the record of the entire process. That’s what’s going to happen in the construction space as well. So we intend to touch every piece of that process.

We’ll do some of that organically with internal development; we’ll do some of that inorganically. But we intend to touch just about every part of that process. We’ll probably stay clear of the ERP [enterprise resource planning] side of the business. But every other part of it -- from pre-construction all the way to field operations -- we’re going to be involved.

- - -

Source: https://seekingalpha.com/article/4177021-autodesk-inc-adsk-ceo-andrew-anagnost-q1-2019-results-earnings-call-transcript

Which CAD vendors use Facebook logins?

Very few

 

With Facebook having become a data-slurping, teenage-irresponsible, swear word, who would still want to be associated with it? Lots, when you look at the many Web sites requesting logins through Facebook or Google. 

A reader recently wrote me:

 Are you familiar with BOTS 101? It’s 3D modeling that doesn’t require coding or visual programming. You simply give it text instructions and it uses AI to create the results. Pretty cool stuff!

It sounded interesting and so I went to take a look. But the only way to get a look was to first sign in with Facebook or Google. No thanks.

Matt Asay (head of developer ecosystem at Adobe) last week wrote an article for The Register excoriating online firms that require Facebook logins. Didn't they know about the third-party data slurping that Facebook tacitly was permitting? Turns out Adobe itself has the Facebook login option.

 

CAD Vendors Without Facebook Logins

SO I wondered, which CAD vendors are like BOTS 101, requiring a login with Facebook or Google? It turns out that most don't even provide the option, which is excellent news. 

Now, it could be that when you log in with the CAD vendor, another firm handles the security and data, slurping it up for sharing with third-parties, who then bombard you with ads for that CAD software. 

Nevertheless, here are the ones that I checked and that do not offer Facebook as a login option:

AllPlan (Nemetschek)
Ansys
ARCHLine.XP
Arcsite
Autodesk

Bentley Systems
Bricsys

Cad-schroer
Convergent Science
Corel

Dassault Systemes

Graebert
Granta Science
Graphisoft
Gstarsoft

Hexagon

IMSI/Design
IntelliCAD Technical Consortium

Frustrum

Kubotek USA (CADkey)

Mecsoft

NanoSoft
nTopology

OnShape

PTC

Shapr3D
Siemens PLM
Solidworks

TechSoft3D
Trimble

Vectorworks
Vention.io

ZWSOFT

 

CAD Vendors Who Offer Facebook Logins

 There were only two vendor Web sites of the 35 I visited and attempted to create a new account that offered Facebook (or Google) as a log in option:

Alibre (see below)

Robert McNeel Assoc (see below)

Given the option, log in with your email and a specific password. Never log in with Facebook or Google. 

 

PTC loves Industry 4.0; the Dassault CEO disses it

Clash of the CEOs

 

One week the ceo of PTC reaffirms his love for Industry 4.0, and the next week competitor Dassault Systemes sloughs it off as yesteryear's technology.

(Industry 4.0 goes beyond concepts like the industrial Internet and the digital factory. Industry 4.0 completely digitizes physical assets and integrates them into digital ecosystems that include partners all along the value chain, from suppliers to customers -- from PwC Canada.)

Here is what the two chief executive officers had to say to financial analysts last month:

 

Jim Heppelmann (ceo PTC): "I'll start with smart connected operations, what we call SCO, which is all Industry 4.0 factory automation. During the quarter, we closed an expansion deal in the Americas with one of the leading global food and beverage companies to extend their Industry 4.0 initiatives across their entire manufacturing footprint.

"That's a space where in my view we're selling a surprising amount of ThingWorx technology and Vuforia technology, but frankly we could sell a lot more if we had a partner who had a customer base and gave us more credibility and so forth because most people don't think PTC as a provider of factory automation amazing technology. We happen to have a very good product.

"...of course, we're looking for other partners, we've spoken of our desire for example to have a similar strong partner that might help us in Industry 4.0 factory automation.

"If you do that SCO work, factory Industry 4.0-type deployment that could be either on premise or on the cloud. And frankly a lot of this is on premise today."

 

Bernard Charlès (ceo Dassault Systemes): From our perspective, Industry 4.0 is yesterday’s way of thinking, with people applying new technology to old ways of working together. That is not enough. And digitalization is not enough either, it can be a catalyst but it needs more.

"Tomorrow is about the makers and innovators, basically the ecosystem, about inventing new things and changing the way you do things in order to innovate with the end-customer or consumer in mind, leading also to the creation of new type of services and new content that industries can offer to their clients.

"The 3DEXPERIENCE marketplace positions Dassault Systèmes as a catalyst as well as an enabler of this transformation by connecting buyers and sellers of design and manufacturing content as well as services worldwide. Among the first services of the 3DEXPERIENCE marketplace, which we opened last January, is 3D printing services enabling any buyer, someone who wants to produce a 3D part, to find a seller, someone who is going to produce that 3D part. So we are becoming part of a transaction, the transaction bringing together the buyer and the seller, hence the term marketplace."

- - -

PTC source: https://seekingalpha.com/article/4163907-ptcs-ptc-ceo-jim-heppelmann-q2-2018-results-earnings-call-transcript

Dassault source: https://seekingalpha.com/article/4165852-dassault-systemes-dasty-ceo-bernard-charles-q1-2018-results-earnings-call-transcript

Why Dassault figures Solidworks will become a billion-dollar brand

Double-digit growth

 

For a CAD package as firmly set on the desktop as Solidworks, its sales are growing remarkably. Not only is it stuck on the desktop but doubly-stuck in Windows. Yet sales in 2018 are "double-digit," as marketing people and financial analysts would tout. In the last quarter (January-March, 2018), sales of Solidworks licenses grew 13% over a year earlier.

This wasn't supposed to happen. This is, after all, the age of Onshape (the self-declared Solidworks killer) and Fusion along with the rest of Autodesk's "infinite" cloud marketing. 

Heck, Onshape and Autodesk were so sure that the cloud (and rental payments) would form the immediate future of our industry that they... well, let's see:

• Onshape put itself into $160+ million in debt, but now has only "thousands" of paying users, as its co-founder told me last November.
• Autodesk's then-ceo gambled the entire company on rewriting everything for the cloud -- by 2015 -- but failed to reach the self-imposed goal.

Meanwhile, revenue from Solidworks, solidly on the Windows desktop, is up 13%, attaining $211 million this last quarter. Executives at parent Dassault Systemes are very excited about it reaching the magical $1 billion/year soon. 

At one time, Dassault also thought like the Onshape/Autodesk duo. Solidworks would need to move to the cloud. "Kill the baby in order to save the baby," as management gurus intoned back when it was still okay to talk about killing babies -- as well as to use the term "guru." That was 2010.

Today, in 2018, Dassault is very excited that Solidworks runs on the desktop. It makes sense, because CAD work is done on local computers, which are dedicated and more responsive than remote servers sharing tasks at a latency-fouled distance away.

For Dassault, the cloud is an assistant to Solidworks, which is, of course, its proper role. "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."

Dassault cfo Pascal Daloz explains where the sales are being made:

"One is basically the 2D-to-3D migration. And, frankly speaking, when I look at the 2D install base, we still have a lot we can do before to convert them into 3D 100%.

"Two, more and more we’re seeing a traction coming from 2D-to-3D migration. And as you may know with Solidworks [we have] significant market share gains [in] almost all the entry-level and the mid-range 3D solutions on the market.

"And last, but not least, we are basically complimenting the portfolio of Solidworks with new domains, like simulation, manufacturing, and so on.

"Now from a numbers standpoint, the 2D and the 3D migrations represent 70% of the revenue of Solidworks; 30% are coming from all the new expansion we do, like EPDM, simulation, manufacturing and so on.

"My last point is when I look at where the new license growth is coming for Solidworks, ...55% is still coming from new customers we’re winning. And 45% of the new license are coming from existing customers extending what they have."

 

Quotation and numbers source: https://seekingalpha.com/article/4165852-dassault-systemes-dasty-ceo-bernard-charles-q1-2018-results-earnings-call-transcript

 

 

 

PTC's opinion of PLM competitor ARAS

Strange projects

 

At one time PTC was all about CAD (Pro/Engineer). Then it was all about PLM (Windchill). Then it was all about ALM/SLM (products whose names I wouldn't know). And now PTC is all about IoT (ThinkWorx).

Still, some financial analysts still ask about the PLM biz. Here is how PTC cfo Andy Miller answered when asked about open-source competitor Aras.

---------------

Shankar Subramaniam (Bank of America): On the PLM, I want to just understand some more on the competitive dynamics, especially how customers are thinking about open-source PLM solution with this software solution bought from you and your European peers.

Because it seems like Aras is finding some success in terms of selling seeds into the heavy industry market. But, you are also growing a PLM booking. So longer term, do you see customers kind of doing a mix of implementation between open-source and software solutions? Or is it going to be predominantly the solutions you are selling into the market?

Andy Miller: Yes. I think Aras is having some success at the edges. A lot of their wins are sort of strange projects in the core of the company, a little bit like how Autodesk can claim that every major manufacturing enterprise has tons of 2D seeds of AutoCAD. But it's not their CAD system.

So I think Aras is starting to win a lot of deals like that, sort of not the mainstream system but maybe a test management system over in one department or something like that.

So I think they're probably doing okay but I don't think that there's that much to the open-source story. I think they dangle that out there, but I don't think it's actually core to their value proposition and I don't actually think if it were that it would help them, because I think in this industry, PLM is very complex and there's not a vibrant open-source community in the PLM universe. And customers don't want to take on development responsibility for the core technology stack.

So I think that that may be talking about open-source is a good way -- good conversation starter, but I think at the end of the day they're selling fairly traditional looking PLM into pockets around the edges of the major systems that companies have deployed.

So putting it another way, they're not a major competitor to us at this point. They may occasionally show up in accounts where we're trying to show up. Aras announced a win at BMW some quarters before we did. But when we competed for really big business at BMW, they weren't even on the list of competitors. And they wouldn't have been, because BMW would never bet that important mission-critical system on an open-source strategy when there is no ecosystem of developers around that open-source community.

So I'm saying that's a great conversation starter, but I don't think it's a serious business strategy. But I am saying they're having some success in pockets, like pockets at BMW, pockets elsewhere, but I don't think they're yet displacing any mainstream systems.

 

Source: https://seekingalpha.com/article/4163907-ptcs-ptc-ceo-jim-heppelmann-q2-2018-results-earnings-call-transcript

 

PTC loves IoT (but not CAD) on the cloud

 IoT yes, CAD, not so much

 

Dassault Systemes and Autodesk continue to be the only Big 5 CAD vendors to wholesale their software from the multiple servers located who-knows-where (ie, the cloud). Siemens PLM, PTC, and Bentley Systems have little interest, as moving desktop software to servers has been proven to be a long, arduous, painful, and then largely unsuccessful haul.

In his conference call with financial analysts, PTC ceo Jim Heppelmann confirmed his company's lack of urgency of jumping on that particular bandwagon.

------------

Ken Talanian of Evercore ISI: I was wondering if you could talk about the initial results you're seeing from the Microsoft partnership, how you expect that to evolve and whether there might be some other similar partnerships in the works?

Jim Heppelmann:  I think what's exciting is Microsoft sees us as their go to market partner into the industrial world...

Microsoft is seeing PTC contribute a lot of deals into the joint pipeline. And vice versa when they have a customer who wants to take Azure IoT and apply it to an industrial problem maybe integrated with Dynamics maybe not, they tend to now point their customer toward PTC...  Microsoft loves what we have and of course we think they have the best device in the HoloLens. So lots of stuff going on there.

It's likely that we will pull PLM and CAD into this, but I'd say not a top priority. We'd like to focus our energy first on IoT and Dynamics and augmented reality, but it's a very exciting partnership...

Now, I don't really need another cloud partner at this point. I'm pretty happy with Microsoft. But of course, we're looking for other partners, we've spoken of our desire for example to have a similar strong partner that might help us in Industrie 4.0 factory automation.

That's a space where in my view we're selling a surprising amount of ThingWorx technology and Vuforia technology, but frankly we could sell a lot more if we had a partner who had a customer base and gave us more credibility and so forth because most people don't think PTC as a provider of factory automation amazing technology. We happen to have a very good product.

So we're definitely looking for partners of all types. But I'd say there's a couple of killer partnerships in industrial world that we really want to have and Microsoft was one of them and industrial automation partner would be a second.

Source: https://seekingalpha.com/article/4163907-ptcs-ptc-ceo-jim-heppelmann-q2-2018-results-earnings-call-transcript

 

Figuring out what AutoCAD 2019 is (updated)

Opinion by Ralph Grabowski

 

An industry insider alerted me a day ahead of the March 22 release of AutoCAD 2019 that AutoCAD would not longer be available standalone, but only as part of a suite. I ran that tip on the @upfrontezine Twitter feed, emphasizing it was a rumor. It turned out to be somewhat true:

With the so-called 2019 release, there is no more stand-alone AutoCAD per se -- except for enterprise-license customers, and the free 30-day demo version. You now get AutoCAD 2019 plus an optional number of vertical add-ons for one price.

With R2019, software-rental firm Autodesk raises the price of AutoCAD's annual subscription fee by 7% -- to US$1,575/year. (In places like new Zealand, the price is nearly double, NZ$2,866, and not the $2,049 it should be at the current exchange rate.) This makes good the promise ADSK executives made to Wall Street to keep raising the subscription cost to customers, not just this year but for years to come.

Autodesk softened the blow of the higher cost  by throwing in nearly all AutoCAD add-ons -- now renamed "toolsets." Combining AutoCAD + toolsets = "One AutoCAD," which to me sounds like the "one godhead." Keeping up the new-name meme, Autodesk's FAQ insists the name actually is "AutoCAD including specialized toolsets." See https://knowledge.autodesk.com/support/autocad/learn-explore/caas/sfdcarticles/sfdcarticles/Only-One-AutoCAD-Frequently-Asked-Questions.html?st=one%20autocad%20FAQ

Some enthusiast sites are saying that all add-ons are included in this new bundle, but not: the most notable exception is Civil 3D. Perhaps instead it should have be named "Nearly One AutoCAD."

The way it works is that if you are on maintenance or subscription, you can download AutoCAD 2019, and then if you are on subscription you can also download the add-ons you need.

Autodesk says that each toolset is the same as the full add-on. Nevertheless, existing subscribers stay with their current vertical add-on until they specifically request Autodesk to switch them to One AutoCAD. If they are the same, then the option to switch is a puzzle. Collections will continue to be available.

 

Bugs in the Ointment

Users attempting to download the update suffered from not only from update problems severe enough to keep them from their livelihoods, but also reported not being able to find the download in the first place. (As I write this, Bing has no knowledge of AutoCAD 2019's existence on autodesk.com.) This is not a good testament to the much-vaunted cloud, which Autodesk executives have repeatedly given the God-like attribute of being infinite.

There are other bugs in the ointment:

MacOS users do not have toolsets, except through Windows emulators; toolsets run on Windows only. MacOS subscribers nevertheless pay the extra 7%, while enduring a CAD package that still only does an estimated 75% of the Windows version.

It is not clear to me if drawings can travel back and forth between vertical add-ons (say, AutoCAD Architecture) and toolsets. One source suggested to me that once the drawing is touched by a toolset, it cannot be edited further by an add-on. I have not, however, found a definitive declaration on this crucial point.

Update: It appears the incompatibility is between toolsets, according to a FAQ sent to me. If you work on a drawing with the plant toolset, you cannot simply switch to the architecture one: you have to save and (possibly) close the drawing, open it again, and then start using the architecture toolset.

Toolsets cannot be shared between users. If you, an architect, download the Plant 3D toolset, the plant design specialist in your office cannot use it. He has to have his own One AutoCAD license and do his own download.

 

The Competition Comments

Autodesk's competitors have traditionally been hesitant to take advantage of Autodesk's missteps surrounding subscriptions, but this time the #1 AutoCAD competitor was quick to react. Graebet Gmbh ceo Wilfried Graebert had this to say:

It looks to me like Autodesk made an announcement driven by the stock exchange, and not by the interest of their users. Custom entities created by each vertical cannot be edited by the others.

Each vertical aims at different professions: You can't expect that an architect will deal with mechanical design nor that a mechanical designer will understand how the GIS world works. Unlike with the Adobe suite, each user will only use one product, and doesn't want to pay more to get the others. At the end it feels like a price increase hidden behind a marketing message.

The accumulation of negative messages, year after year, is alarming for the AutoCAD user. At Graebert, we see an increasing number of Autodesk's large customers and partners coming to us because they lost trust in Autodesk, and want to experience our Trinity concept.

With this Autodesk announcement, we will work on a new campaign to show that CAD users with DWG files have a vital alternative with ARES. As you can see, the announcement also is an attack on those surviving Autodesk partners that are competing with the new vertical toolsets. We started actively working with developers to facilitate the migration of industry-leading solutions from AutoCAD to ARES.

 

What Ralph Grabowski Thinks

With 14 million AutoCAD users not moving to subscription, the company keeps publishing  deals that might entice the reluctant. (The number comes from Autodesk: they estimate 12 million pirates + roughly two million legal customers.) By throwing in nearly everything but the ginzu knives, Autodesk is hoping the new value-proposition is compelling.

It won't be enough, because the company is not giving these customers what they want: the flexibility to choose between permanent, permanent+maintenance, or subscription -- as do most other CAD software firms.

The ginzuknife-like offer makes Autodesk look desperate, and cheapens the perceived value of vertical add-ons. I can imagine future offers: "And if you order today, we'll throw in Inventor for just $1/year more (plus shipping, handling, and applicable fees and taxes)."

One AutoCAD devalues products produced by third-party developers to Apple Store-like levels. With this change, Autodesk has declared the value of AutoCAD Architecture + AutoCAD Mechanical + AutoCAD Electrical + AutoCAD Map 3D + AutoCAD MEP + AutoCAD Raster Design + AutoCAD Plant 3D to be $105 -- fifteen bucks each.

It's no wonder pirates don't value software enough to pay for it.

 

Q&A from Unreal Studio launch

Users have questions

 

When Epic Games announced Unreal Studio for CAD users, the Webinar was accompanied by a Q&A panel. I picked out the best questions and present them below; you can read the entire list at https://www.ustream.tv/qna/23532233 . I rearranged the questions to group them into categories, and did some mild edits to make the text clearer.

- - -

 

What Unreal Studio Is

Q: So basically, Unreal Studio is the architectural workspace (where you import all the files and add the materials) and UnrealEngine is the renderer?

A: That is one way to look at it. However, we import materials and lights from 3ds Max too. And Unreal is a lot more than a renderer. If you consider it as a tool to create interactive experience that also has high visual fidelity, that becomes a game changer.

 

Q: Do I understand it correctly that Unreal Studio is different to what we using at the moment? And it’s going to become a subscription based?

A: Datasmith is part of Unreal Studio (if that is what you're thinking). It will become a subscription offering, but upon non-renewal, you can keep using it.

 

Q: Does "royalty free licensing" mean that once Studio becomes $49/month, I can publish as many projects as I want without extra cost?

A: Correct. You'll have to read the full EULA for this but in short, you can create projects and charge professional fees for them (like one would do for rendering images for an architect, as a service) and not have to pay anything to Epic.

 

Q: Is there any chance for student license after official release in November? I would love to buy it, but 50$pm is not affordable for me.

A: We will have EDU pricing in November, and it will be significantly cheaper.

 

Q: We already have Unreal Studio if we have been using Datasmith correct?

A: You are on the Datasmith beta, which will be closing April 1st so you must move to Unreal Studio, or Datasmith will stop working. Datasmith is inside Unreal Studio.

 

Q: Network managed floating licenses will be much easier to sell to management. They want me to spread these practices in the firm!

A: This is something we have on our road-map and that will come soon since it's expected from most major accounts and preferred by IT.

 

Programming with Unreal Studio

Q: Which version of Python is supported?

A: We are currently using Python 2.7. Here is a reference to get you started: https://epicgames.box.com/v/ScriptingandPythonGuide

 

Q: So without having a coder on my team, I won´t be able to make interactive archviz scenes, is that right? I though UES could do that.

A: Doesn't require a coder, unless you think visual programming by wiring up functions is a "coder". You can use our Blueprint feature to wire up things without touching a line of code.

 

Q: Datasmith with Mac support would be a great for realtime workflows, we have large office and would be much needed.

A: You can sort of do this as the UE4 assets you create with Unreal Studio are UE4 assets that you can load in our mac version of UE4. You just need to bootcamp Unreal Studio to get the assets.

 

Limits to Unreal Studio

Q: After importing model to UE with DS, it builds a scene with all meshes, separately. Sounds heavy on drawcalls. Any plans for auto instancing?

A: We have a lot of optimization planned. But we already support instances if they exist in 3ds Max. Once you have it in engine, then you can use our Python/Blueprint tools to optimize further (grouping, automation of LOD creation, finding/deleting small parts).

 

Q: What is the max vertex count within UE4? I know when working in Unity it will "break apart" a mesh when over the count for editor rendering.

A: Well, there is not a single value, it's rather a combination of several aspects that combines CPU and GPU load, memory, etc. It's possible to have models as big as 40 millions polygons if you keep drawcalls reasonable but on the other end it's possible to kill performance with small models made of 10k+ draw calls.

 

Supporting Other CAD Formats

(Among CAD formats, Unreal Engine today supports only MCAD ones.)

Q: Most architecture firms, don't utilize 3ds MAX when their main app is BIM, apps like Revit. Any Datasmith plug-in planned for Revit?

A: Yes, on our roadmap! We haven't started yet, but your one of the many requester for this workflow.

 

Q: Is there going to be a support for IFC formats in future?

A: We are looking into IFC. I think we will have to support it eventually, but it isn't on our roadmap so far.

 

Q: How about Aautodesk Fusion 360? Will you support that?

A: We don't have plans to support Fusion 360 directly. However if you can export to Step or STL there might be a chance for you to benefit from Unreal still. If there is a lot of demand for it, we can reconsider .

 

Q: Is there is a date for Datasmith working with Sketchup?

A: No commitment on the date, but its going to happen very soon. I just saw a build of our plug-in today and we get basic meshes. The smoothing groups are all wrong, and the objects are mirrored, but it’s expected by us in such early days. But don't panic yet, it will be all fine when were ready to beta test it.

 

Q: What would be recommended workflow for ArchiCAD--> Cinema 4D workflow to use Unreal  for VR authoring?

A: Cinema4D is on our roadmap, it was just recently delated [sic]. I can't give an estimate on when it will happen. We are also planning on DWG support, so if ArchiCAD supports that, then maybe it will work for you.

 

Q: Will this allow for runtime import of common 3D file formats?

A: Not at the moment, but we are hearing this request more and more. Its something we will need to have a look at. Version 1.0 will not have this capability.

 

How CAD Models are Handled

 Q: How does Datasmith handle the tessellation of CAD data? Does it triangulate and optimize vertices / mesh data?

A: We have implemented tessellation algorithm that generates not only optimized geometry for real time but also create UVs directly from the CAD NURBS data.

 

Q: How will optimization be handled for very dense designs on low-end (client) terminals? That bike model, for example?

A: Have you heard about HLOD [Hierarchical Level of Detail System] in Unreal Engine? You should research that. However, we are also looking into using the cloud to help you deliver to these low-end platforms.

 

Q: When it comes to using Datasmith’s pipeline to bring CAD models to poly based scenes, optimization becomes important, like pipe detection. Any plans?

A: Yes, we have feature detection coming. There is a bunch of related data prep tools that we simply have to get exposed via interfaces. We have the tech, just need to get it in your hands.

 

Q: Does Datasmith bring over the rigging structure on CAD models, say for cranes, cement trucks etc. with a piston-based rigging structure?

A: We are importing the product catalog structure (assembly and parts) but we don't currently import the joints and kinematics data. What would be your use case?

 

Q: I had some issues with unwrapping CAD model during the beta test of the Data Smith. Are everything fixed?

A: You'll have to try 4.19 and tell us.

 

Q: Will Unreal change the hierarchy naming conventions or file .meta data on import for CAD data?

A: We’re working on meta data support and you'll see things very soon on that. It’s not in 4.19, however (except for some hidden under the hood aspects). If your willing to go the Python route, you can "massage" your hierarchy the way you want it today.  In the future we want to add more tools to let you handle hierarchies in the editor as well.

- - -

 More info from https://www.unrealengine.com/en-US/studio/getstudio

 

 

Share your PLM experience in a new survey

Dr. Neil Littell at Ohio University is seeking your help conducting a study on future trends in PLM. He writes:

- - -

This study is anticipated to result in a series of journal articles on the projected impact of future technologies as they will impact PLM in the next 5-10 years. Participants who complete the study (3-4 surveys) will receive access to these articles, which will provide insight into what other experts feel will be the most impactful technologies in the PLM space.

Please correspond with Dr. Littell (littellw@ohio.edu) to volunteer or nominate your company's PLM expert for this project. This study is not interested in trade secrets or confidential company information. All information provided in this study about the participants and the specific companies will be confidential.

Here is a link to the first survey: https://ohio.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_eyzFFs48D4FTzVz

Thank you in advance for contributing your expert knowledge towards the future of PLM study!

 

Nine months later: ASUS ZenFone 3 Zoom cell phone

Unsung midprice hero

 

It's been nearly nine months since I bought my latest cell phone, an ASUS ZenFone 3 Zoom. I am happy to report that if I needed to get a new one, I would get the same one. It's that good.

It's also unsung. I am amazed at the tech media fawning over small vendors like OnePlus, Essential, or even Mezui -- never mind the obsession over Samsung and Apple.

ASUS is a significant manufacturer of computers, and so I am surprised at how its phones are ignored, largely. Even to the point of misinformation, when one tech reviewer claimed that the software on the phones is never upgraded. My phone has been upgraded regularly with new Android OSes (from 6 to 7 to 7.1), Google security patches, and updates to ASUS' own apps. ASUS has stated that this phone will get Android 8 sometime this year.

Complaining about the biased tech media aside, here is what I like best about this phone, features that I don't think you are going to see on yours:

 

Huge Battery

The battery is rated 5000mAHr, about 1/3 better than most other phones. In theory, it could run for three days, although I have not tested it for that long; I've gone 2 days. In practice, it means I never need to worry about running out of a charge, even on long days that involve flights overseas.

 

Optical Zoom

Many phones today have two lenses on the back, but most use them for foolish marketing purposes like the bruha brokeh effect. A few, like this ASUS, use it as an optical zoom -- 2.3x zoom, in this case. In practice, it is wonderful. 

ASUS works on making its phone cameras take good pictures. How good? Good enough that this is now my primary camera for when I travel. 

 

Print Screen

As a technical writer who writes about software running on Android and iOS devices, it needs to be easy for me to take screen grabs. Holding down two buttons (the default on Android and iOS devices) is unpleasant. Some vendors have a special button for screen grabs; on ASUS devices, I just need to hold down the AppSwitch button for two seconds. 

This feature is so significant to me that when I bought a new tablet earlier this year, it was an ASUS so that I could easily take those screen grabs.

There is one drawback: when I take the phone out of my holster, I frequently and accidentally take a screen grab. Oh well.

- - -

Over all, it is a 5.5" phone with 32GB storage RAM (expandable with a microSD card), 4GB operating RAM, and nearly as thin as an iPhone. For travel, I love that it has room for two SIM cards. Being older, it is now priced at under $300. The sole negative is that the three buttons -- Back, Home, and AppSwitch -- are not lit up, and so a pain to find in the dark.

https://www.asus.com/us/Phone/ZenFone-3-Zoom-ZE553KL/

 

 

 

Six months later: Sibolan S1 secondary monitor

Unnecessary accessory

 

Last October, I described the 13" S1 secondary monitor from Sibolan ($200). You plug in an HDMI cable (for video and audio) and a USB cable (for power), and so have a second monitor for a laptop computer. See my original review here: http://www.worldcadaccess.com/blog/2017/10/a-second-monitor-for-your-laptop.html 

It's been nearly a half-year since, and so I thought I'd follow up. 

In brief, I don't use it much. For me, it is useful only when typesetting with InDesign on my laptop, because I have an entire screenfull of palettes that need to occupy a second screen. And typesetting does not happen very often with my 13" laptop; a desktop computer with 23" and 18" monitors is preferable.

So, the S1 spends most of its time in its neoprene carrying case. On my most recent trip to Europe, I took it along and didn't use it once.

Afterwards, I noticed that it suffered from two largish reddish areas, which I think is where it might have been bumped during travel. If I were to take it along in the future, I would cut a thin sheet of plywood to size, to protect the screen from further damage.

A computer reseller did write to let me know that this monitor was the kind his customer was looking for.

 

 

 

Using blockchains in CAD and PLM

So far, in theory only 

 

CIMdata held a Webinar last week on the potential use of blockchains by the design and manufacturing industries. I need to emphasize that no CAD or PLM vendor has implemented this technology, and so this seminar acted as an introduction to the topic. CIMdata hopes to form a working group to think about the subject some more, and help with the implementation.

The host of "Blockchain Technology and PLM Usage" Webinar was not ignorant of the subject. He has a six-GPU rig running in his garage and even posted his Bitcoin address for us to see.

The idea is that blockchains could be used to track all the steps of a part being produced, used, and discarded -- the usual PLM strategy. The benefit of using blockchain is that it records each step and the record cannot be monkeyed with. See the slide below.

With that intro, here is my record of the Q&A that followed the Webinar.

- - -

Q: Is blockchain scalable?
A: Yes. Although the compute power required is high for currencies like Bitcoin, within enterprises it is probably acceptable. Some new technologies like etherium are trying to reduce the computational requirements.

Q: What is a practical example of blockchains for government compliance?
A: A blockchain records every transaction, and so your compliance actions would be recorded in the blockchain. The government would have access to it to test and verify through the blockchain's audit trail.

Ralph Grabowski: How much does blockchain technology slow down the manufacturing process?
A: I don't think normal usage will see a slowdown. You are going to have to work on some new applications and use-cases. We are replacing one database with another. This is not like the huge computing resources [typically room fulls of nVidia graphics boards] needed for mining increasingly-rare Bitcoins.

Q: How do you maintain blockchains for PLM -- internally or externally to the PLM service.
A: My vision is that it would be inside the PLM service. We haven't done it yet.

Q: Are you aware of any use cases outside of 3D printing?
A: One major [PLM] vendor we talked to is in the research stage.

Q: What manufacturing industries will benefit the most?
A: I see two: aerospace involved with FAA compliance and tracking parks; the other is the process industry, to trace back which machine created this particular part.

Q: Is blockchain only useful for tracking transactions, or can it be used for configurations?
A: [Both.] I am moving this part to production. As a part moves through processes, it is recorded.

Q: How easy is it to move from one blockchain provider to another?
A: I have never done that. I would think you have to do a validation check. As time goes on, we can expect more services from blockchain providers, kind like moving a database from IBM to Oracle.

Q: How does blockchain detect counterfeit parts?
A: Each transaction is recorded in the block, and each one is verified by the computation of the block before it moves to the next one. The user of the counterfeit part would have to be really fast to fool the system, such as 100x faster than all other users in the system.

- - -

You can replay the presentation here (registration required): https://register.gotowebinar.com/register/7962664694494537473

Slide deck is here (PDF format): https://www.cimdata.com/images/Webinars//CIMdata_Webinar_8_February_2018.pdf

https://www.cimdata.com

 

It took me three tries to get the zoom lens I wanted

Try once, again, and then again

 

The only SLR I ever bought new was a film one, the handsomely chunky Minolta XE-7, which I owned from roughly 1976 to 1985. Then I got old enough that convenience was more important than heft and interchangeable lenses, which back then I couldn't afford, anyhow. I was stuck with its stock 50mm lens, albeit at a bright f1.4, until I sold it to afford a zoom lens for my wife's SLR.

From 1976, the Minolta XE-7 with stock f1.4 lens (image source Flickr)

 

Last year, my professional photographer daughter wanted to sell her first DSLR, a Nikon D3100, to help fund a new high-end Nikon, so I offered to buy it, but she sold it to me without lenses.

 Nikon D3100 body-only (image source Harrison Camera)

 

First lens I got was a Tamron 70-300, which I though would go from just over 50mm (the standard) to 6x zoom. But I did not realize that the D3100 camera (and other Nikons with similar model numbers) have a smaller sensor, meaning that the mm numbers need to be multiplied by 1.5. This meant that I was using a 105-450mm equivalent.

Tamron 70-300 (image source Cheergreat)

 

The good news was that I had a 9x zoom at the far end, but 105mm at the short end. That was irritatingly long, so I gave the lens to my daughter-in-law.

With that lesson learned, I next bought a Nikon 18-55mm lens. The equivalent on the D3100 is 27-82mm. This is nice for indoor shots, where a wide angle is needed, but I was frustrated by the lack of zoom. I love zoom!

 

Tamron 18-200mm

So I finally got the best of both worlds: a Tamron 18-200mm lens. Mounted to the D3100, I get the equivalent of 27mm wide angle and 300mm zoom (6x).

Tamron 18-200mm (image source Skymallstore)

 

The lens is reasonably compact at 3.5 inches long. When not extended, it is the size of my hand wrapped around it, so a comfortable size. When zoomed out all the way, the lens extends by another 3 inches. 

The aperture, unfortunately, is small (f3.5 for wide angle and f6.3 for maximum zoom), but that is the tradeoff with buying it at a low price (US$250). Since zoom photos are always taken outdoors, the small aperture is not too much of a problem.

The filter ring size is 62mm, but it comes with a sun shade which also help keep fingers off the glass.

The lens has manual zoom control, with auto or manual focus. In addition, the anti-vibration (VC) can be turned off, which you want off at slow shutter speeds.  There is a lock that keeps the lens from extended by accident, such as when you carry the camera hanging down.

 

 

How to place dimensions in Bricsys Shape

It's not easy

 

Shape is a new Windows CAD program from Bricsys that is meant for 3D modeling. Its inspiration was SketchUp (from Trimble) and its purpose is to do conceptual design for input to BricsCAD BIM software. However, for students, casual users, and architects doing pre-design, it stands alone.

A BricsCAD drawing opened in Shape

 

It is free, and it reads DWG files, as well as starting new models from scratch. But it does not read BIM data from existing BricsCAD BIM files. Download it from https://www.bricsys.com/en-intl/shape/

One reader wrote: 

I have down loaded Bricsys Shape and given it a brief trial. It seems to be well thought out and has some interesting features. However, if it is to be a serious rival to SketchUp it will need to have the capability to add dimensions. And it's a pity that you have to keep hitting the Enter key after every action, a la AutoCAD.
     - P.H.

 

Hitting Enter

Shape is a stripped down version of BricsCAD, and so the command-line interface is the same. So, yah, press Enter. In fact, you can press Ctrl+9 to expand the command line to the usual five-line height, and then you can customize it further by right-clicking the command line and choosing Options.

 

Dimensioning

Placing dimensions is possible with a workaround, but it is awkward. In short, you draw an aligned dimension (DimAli) or other dimension in BricsCAD, and then copy and paste it into the Shape drawing. 

Some tips:

• Start the drawing in BricsCAD with the same units as Shape (metric or Imperial), otherwise the dimension ends up tiny in Shape -- or too large.

Dimension drawn in BricsCAD being copied to the Clipboard

 

• It helps to draw the dimension in BricsCAD as similar as to how it will be used in Shape. So, draw it upside down for bottom edges, sideways for sides, and so on.
  
  
• When you paste the dimension in Shape (using Ctrl+V), pick a point as close to the object being dimensioned as possible.

Dimension pasted into Shape

 

• Once the dimension is in Shape, drag it by its grips into position, just like you would in other CAD packages. It sometimes helps to put the model in plan view.

Dimension being dragged into position in Shape

 

• You cannot use this method to dimension vertically.
  
  
• Is the dimension accurate? Yes. I used the Measure command to ascertain this:

Measure command confirming accuracy of dimension

 

What apps are on my Android this year

More than incremental improvements

 

I am a strong advocate of not upgrading software, unless it has to do with security patches or significant improvements that benefit me. In the Google store app on my Android, I have auto-update turned off, and so I have 48 apps waiting with updates. They can continue to wait.

A decade after the iPhone launched the full-screen touch-with-finger paradigm, the app market is mature. Most apps do what we need them to do. There rarely are breakthrough apps anymore. I am more likely to get a new phone than a new app. 

But once in a while, I hear about a new app that sounds interesting (and then end up not using it most times anyhow), or I get frustrated with the capabilities of an existing one and so go searching for a better replacement (which is not easy).

The biggest change I made in the last year was to replace the K-9 email app with AquaMail. The new one has a nicer interface and this killer feature: when attaching a picture to an email, AcquaMail asks how small you want to make it -- so no need to resize before attaching it. Another nice function: swipe to hide messages but keep them on the server. This declutters the list of emails on the phone without erasing them unnecessarily.

The drawback: AcquaMail has a ton of options. It took me months to find the option to automatically BCC: to self. (From AquaMail support: "This is a per-account option, so long press your account, choose Options and Folders, then Extended mode, finally scroll down to see it.") Even that Swipe-to-Hide function took me a while to discover and implement.

 

My Primary Apps

Here are the primary apps I'm using these days. Remember to pay developers. App prices are cheap, and programmers need the income.

- - -

Home screen and launcher: KK Launcher, but I use an old one that is no longer available (another reason to not update). My most-used apps are on the home screen, with lesser used ones on the left and right screens.

Home screen with Tasks To Do dominating; background image by my daughter, professional photographer Katrina Grabowski

 

Task manager -- Tasks To Do (displayed as a widget and the most important app on my phone)

Email -- Aquamail

Browser -- Opera (ad killer!) with search set to Bing (to avoid Google)

Twitter -- Plume Pro (Twitter ads? What Twitter ads?)

RSS  Reader -- gReader Pro

Texting -- ChompSMS (allows me to send cell phone texts at a future date and time) plus WhatsApp, Instagram, and BlackBerry Messenger to be compatible with my kids

File manager -- FC File Commander and Dropbox (for remote file transfer)

Photo viewing -- QuickPic

Photo resizing -- Photo Resizer (don't need it as much now that Aquamail resizes)

Tides -- Tide Prediction for our cabin by the ocean ( and scientific proof that sea levels are not rising precipitously)

Music player -- Neutron (the best sound of any music player, but horrible interface)

Neutron Widget dominates the left screen; Date in Status Bar app in green

 

Movie player -- MX Player Pro (love that I can change the brightness, volume, and place in the movie just by dragging on the screen)

Office documents -- OfficeSuite (to avoid using Google as much as possible). The exception is Google Sheets, because OfficeSuite's spreadsheet doesn't zoom properly on small screens.

Travel -- apps from each airline I commonly fly with and railroad I travel on; I especially like that United's app now reports the location of checked bags.

 

Others

Date in Status Bar -- does what it says, but does not work on all Android devices

My Data Manager -- tells me how much of my monthly cell data plan I've used; priceless! In the figure below, the (very short) dark blue bar tells me how much I've used so far in this month's cycle; the lighter blue shows how much I could have used, based on dividing the monthly 500MB allowance by 30 days.

Notification bar with customized Widgetsoid (in black), and My Data Manager; the blue and gray buttons are from ASUS

 

Wigetsoid -- to add the most-used functions to the notification bar, such as 10/30/100% brightness, flashlight, and orientation

Gas Buddy -- tells me which gas station has the lowest price in the area

TeamViewer -- to access my desktop computers visually

Mobile Passport (USA) and eDeclaration (Canada) -- to skip long lineups at US/Canada border crossings at airports

MCW -- to display the monthly calendar as a widget

MCW (monthly calendar widget) dominates the right screen; all travel apps are in a folder

 

In rare cases, I revert to the apps native to the phone. My current phone is the ASUS ZenFone 3 Zoom, an unsung phone if there ever was one. (It has a 5000mAHr battery, 2.3x optical zoom, screen grabs jsut by holding down the Recents button, etc.) I reverted to using its apps for Camera, Contacts, and Phone, as ASUS beefed them up to be good enough for my needs.

When out of country, I  put $5 on Skype to phone home for cheap.

 

 

PTC ceo describes how he won at BMW

Digital transformation

 

I think that what got us in the door with BMW was not, "Hey, we need a pin for pin replacements of a legacy PLM system!" They said, "No, we are doing a digital transformation of BMW and to transform BMW, we are going to need a new way, for example, to move designs into production, and who has a system that could do that?"

Now it turns out we do. It's Windchill with a bit of ThingWorx processing on top. And that was a great system.  I think that our opportunities will come from people taking a fresh look at "What are our needs?" as opposed to "Who has the best version of yesterday system?"

And that's what got us into BMW. I would tell you we are having interesting conversations with numerous other automotive companies who are really stepping back and taking a fresh look at "What really are our needs and our requirements?" And then, "Who in the vendor community is kind of out there thinking in the same way we are?"

I think that's the big advantage for PTC, because I think we are well ahead of our traditional CAD and PLM competitors and thinking about how the world is changing. And again BMW is great evidence to that.

We at PTC had no meaningful incumbency position in BMW whatsoever. We were on the outside looking in, and then there was a need, but we had to co-exist between a couple of other systems -- SAP systems, other PLM systems, legacy systems. And if we couldn’t be open enough to come in there and use our data pipelining techniques and so forth to trade data with other systems but apply our value-add-to along the way, there is no way we can win that business.

But in the end, we are the only company who had both the openness and the functionality to make that work, and that's actually why we rose from standing on the side lines, looking at the building to ultimately closing the order with them.

So I think it's a very interesting time in the industrial world in general and in the automotive business being a very advanced industrial business, we're starting to see some interesting possibilities. We don't want to get ahead of ourselves, but we feel good about things.

 

Source: https://seekingalpha.com/article/4138220-ptcs-ptc-ceo-jim-heppelmann-q1-2018-results-earnings-call-transcript

 

PTC ceo speaks quite frankly about a new customer

A win with BMW

 

When a CAD vendor sells some software to a significant customer, the accompanying press release can make it sound like the software just replaced all competitors at the significant customer.

For example, when Dassault Systemes announced that Boeing was going Dassault-only, the CAD company admitted later it would take five years just to implement the software, and we all know how implementation schedules run.

In fact, the big deal in all these press releases is the name of the customer, not the software order itself.

So it's refreshing when a CAD ceo admits that a landmark deal isn't actually all that huge, in this case PTC ceo Jim Heppelmann.

First, here's the lead paragraph in a PTC press release from this morning:

PTC announced the BMW Group has selected the PTC Windchill solution as its PLM backbone for production and sourcing bill-of-material (BOM). Windchill will be the enabler for globally configuring and releasing cars to production.

The wording of the press release makes it sound like PTC software is now running BMW, globally. But it's not.

Here is the ceo yesterday describing the, well, insignificance of the size of the deal:

I don’t think we should get ahead of ourselves and suggest that BMW is going to standardize on our suite, although I think incremental opportunities will be presented to us...

We didn’t displace every use of PLM and engineering. We didn’t displace their CAD systems.

We were selected as their one and only digitization platform, but we certainly won a very big piece of business right in the middle of their business process. We competed long and hard and, quite frankly, we technically won. They were impressed by our technology, both Windchill and ThingWorx.

...BMW was surprised at what we are capable of doing... We went from not being invited, to the first round, to winning the last run.

The ceo indicated that the deal was worth just north of $5 million.

Source: https://seekingalpha.com/article/4138220-ptcs-ptc-ceo-jim-heppelmann-q1-2018-results-earnings-call-transcript [Quotes edited for errors in the transcription.]