Cadalyst - November/December 2008 - (Page 10)

cadcentral IMSI/Design Freeware Targets AutoCAD LT Users This holiday season, the developers of “We take great care to import all TurboCAD at IMSI/Design will deliver a geometry, to convert all SketchUp comgift to the CAD community. Their latest ponents to A/CAD LT Express blocks creation, tentatively dubbed A/CAD LT to optimize drawing performance, to Express, is set to follow the distribution create a Paper Space for each camera model of Google SketchUp — availview, even to convert 3D models into ability by free 2D hiddendownload. line presentaWhereas tions,” IMSI/ some 3D softDesign stated ware makers in an early are targeting draft of its AutoCAD users FAQs. with their 2D A/CAD giveaways — LT Express for example, serves as an Solid Edge 2D, introduction touted by its to the commakers as the mercial verproduct that sion, A/CAD “eases the LT, priced IMSI/Design’s A/CAD LT Express is designed to appeal transition from to AutoCAD LT users. at $695. 2D AutoCAD” This version — IMSI/Design is setting its sights on includes 2D constraints, a range of Autodesk’s AutoCAD LT users. Accordintelligent (parametric) architectural ing to IMSI/Design CEO Royal Farros, objects, automatic drafting detail (assothe new product is a CAD application ciative), parametric parts manager, bill not based on the IntelliCAD Technology of materials (BOM), xrefs, design direcConsortium’s code but its company’s tor, and premium customer support, all proprietary code. He described the of which are reinforced with what its product as “a reliable and robust workmakers call “one of the widest varieties alike alternative for AutoCAD LT.” of file filters in the CAD industry, In an early draft of its announceincluding support for DWG, SKP, 3DS, ment, IMSI wrote, “A/CAD LT Express is OBJ, SAT, IGES, STEP, and more.” a full-powered 2D CAD application and Farros expects that both versions is DWG (AutoCAD) and SKP (Google of A/CAD LT could excite the small SketchUp) compatible.” In A/CAD LT and mid-size businesses whose Express, IMSI/Design has created a work revolves around AutoCAD and work area that mimics that of AutoCAD SketchUp. “There are hundreds of LT. A preview reveals a product offering AutoCAD shops that have spent thouthe same menu items and drawing sands of dollars buying AutoCAD LT tools as AutoCAD LT. Users can even seats for basic drafting and detailing,” use the same high-level AutoCAD LT he observed. He thinks the same buyers command lines within A/CAD LT. will be tempted to use the more affordTo give AutoCAD LT users a reason able and powerful A/CAD LT as an to switch from their familiar drafting AutoCAD LT replacement. AutoCAD LT environment, Farros realizes his comsells for $800–$900 through Autodesk pany’s offering should provide more authorized resellers. than similar features. He hopes that In Farros’ view, “we hope A/CAD LT self-healing walls, self-aligning blocks, will shake up the status quo.” A/CAD advanced hatch-and-gradient fill tools, LT Express and A/CAD LT are expected handle-based editing paradigm, and to be available for download at www. tight integration with Google SketchUp acadnow.com by December 2008 and will set A/CAD LT Express apart from January 2009, respectively. the competition. 10 By Kenneth Wong Quiet Eulogy for Mechanical Desktop In February 2002, Autodesk declared Mechanical Desktop would no longer be available as a stand-alone product, but rather only as part of the Autodesk Inventor series. “Users of Mechanical Desktop who have current subscriptions will get Inventor Series 5 at no charge, effectively giving them a free upgrade to Inventor,” Autodesk wrote at the time. “Customers who don’t have current maintenance contracts have only a few days to buy them before the withdrawal of Mechanical Desktop from the market.” Software users familiar with how Autodesk works understood the involuntary transition the company was urging and that it foretold the demise of Mechanical Desktop. This October, the company sounded the final death knell. “Autodesk has ceased development of Autodesk Mechanical Desktop and will no longer release new versions of the product,” Autodesk notified the media. “This decision was made to allow Autodesk to focus on the development of the Autodesk Inventor and AutoCAD Mechanical product lines. Autodesk recognizes that its customers have created many Mechanical Desktop files containing valuable intellectual property. To protect this data, Autodesk will continue to provide product support for subscription customers for a period of no less than three years after the removal of Mechanical Desktop from the Inventor product line.” The last version, Mechanical Desktop 2009, will remain available as a download for Inventor users, the company promised. www.cadalyst.com cadalyst November/December 2008 http://www.acadnow.com http://www.acadnow.com http://www.cadalyst.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Cadalyst - November 2008

Cadalyst - November 2008 Contents Editor's Window CAD Central Tech Trends: Designed after Our Own Image Budget-Conscious Workstations — 64-Bit CAD Power for Less than $2,500 Cadalyst All-Star Awards 2008 SolidWorks 2009 — 3D MCAD Software IES Virtual Environment 5.9 — Building Performance Analysis Software View Point: A Design with Teeth CAD Manager: CAD Manager’s Survey 2008 MCAD Modeling: Ask for What You Want AEC Insight: AEC Software by the Clock CAD Cartoon Issue Indexes Hot Tip Harry: Hot Tips for Cold Days

Cadalyst - November 2008

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