AEC CAD Pros Blog

Windows Vista Problems With CAD Need to Be Sorted Out

info@aeccadpro.com (Dave Taylor) — Thu, 01 Feb 2007 03:34:00 GMT

[Editor's Note: After posting a note last night about the reports of terrible performance by CAD software on Windows Vista, I turned to a knowledgeable industry veteran who recently became available to talk freely. When I asked Evan Yares for his view on what's happening, he sent the following reply.]

Microsoft Windows Vista was released for worldwide distribution on January 30. The very next day, reports started popping up about serious performance problems with CAD programs running on Vista. In an article on his WorldCAD Access blog, Ralph Grabowski says “Wow! Vista Runs CAD 80% slower,” pointing to benchmarks published by Tom’s Hardware Guide. Several readers jumped in, speculating about the source of the problem.

Before damning Microsoft for having completely screwed up, it might be worthwhile to consider that neither Microsoft nor the major CAD vendors are run by idiots. I can’t imagine Jim Heppelmann (Chief Product Officer of PTC) standing up in front of a crowd of users, and telling them to use a version of Windows that runs Pro/E 80% slower. (It’s not only because I think Heppelmann is smarter than that, it’s because Pro/E users are probably the toughest crowd in the CAD industry.)

The claim that Vista runs CAD 80% slower simply doesn’t hold up to reasonable scrutiny. Looking at the benchmarks run by Tom’s Hardware, the only one to report such distressing numbers is SPECviewperf 9.03—which relies upon OpenGL. What the authors of the article didn’t explain particularly well is that, out of the box, Vista supports OpenGL as a software layer sitting on top of Direct3D, creating a nasty performance problem. The solution is to use the installable client drivers provided by either NVIDIA or ATI (both of which include high-performance OpenGL support), rather than the “certified” drivers that come with Vista. The authors of the Tom’s Hardware article didn’t do this.

There are legitimate reasons to be concerned about using Vista as a platform for CAD, not the least of which is that it has demanding minimum hardware requirements. Acceptable CAD performance under Vista is going to require new top-of-the-line hardware. Yet, even with the right hardware, CAD performance under Vista is going to remain an open question for a while longer. Microsoft pushed hard to get Vista shipped, but important components, such as display drivers and development tools, are still buggy and incomplete. It will likely be many months before these problems will be shaken out.

Guest writer Evan Yares is the former executive director of the Open Design Alliance and, before that, a CAD industry analyst.

CAD on Vista Performs Much Worse than on XP

info@aeccadpro.com (Dave Taylor) — Wed, 31 Jan 2007 09:33:00 GMT

Various commentators around the web are now reporting on how various CAD programs run on Windows Vista. The common theme seems to be that performance takes a huge hit.

Tom's Hardware has published benchmark results using SPECperf for various visualization and MCAD programs. Average performace was down 90% in Vista for MCAD applications (PTC's Pro/Engineer, UGS's NX and Teamcenter Visualization Mockup, Dassault Systemes CATIA and SolidWorks), and down 86.4% in visualization programs (Autodesk 3ds Max, LightScape, and Maya).

I expected there to be no benefit for CAD users to an immediate upgrade to Windows Vista, and I've said so here before. But it is rather shocking to see these reports of such terrible degradation of performance.

I will be attending press events sponsored by SolidWorks and Autodesk in the next two weeks. I am sure CAD performance in Windows Vista will be a hot topic at each event.

--RSN

3Dconnexion Devices are the Must-Have Peripheral of 2007

info@aeccadpro.com (Dave Taylor) — Tue, 30 Jan 2007 10:43:00 GMT

The 3Dconnexion line of 3D navigational devices are, in my humble opinion, the must-have item for CAD and GIS geeks in 2007. I've been using the SpacePilot (US retail $299) for about two months. I unplugged it on purpose yesterday just to see my reaction, and I went into a serious case of 3D navigation angst.

If you work in 3D CAD, or use Google Earth, you owe it to yourself to get either the high-end, programmable SpacePilot, the SpaceNavigator ($99), or the road-ready SpaceTraveler ($59). Go for a joy ride once in Google Earth and you'll wonder how you ever got along without the device. You can even use it to view 2D graphic images with unusual maneuverability, thanks to the utility program that comes with the device.

3Dconnexion is a wholly owned subsidiary of Logitech, a company that has been a faithful supplier to CAD users of high-quality pointing devices and keyboards for years. My circa 1997 Logitech trackball is still as good as the day I bought it, although it could use a bath.

I mention all this because today 3Dconnexion announced compatibility of its devices with Windows Vista. A public beta of their device drivers are downloadable at http://www.3dconnexion.com/support; 3Dconnexion expects to release a final version next month.

I may be bullish on 3Dconnexion devices, but I recommend patience regarding Windows Vista. When people ask, I say don't upgrade until your key applications give you a reason, or until you buy a new computer. But if you have Windows Vista, with all its fancy 3D presentations, a 3Dconnexion device would be a delight.

--RSN

Bentley 2006 Revenue Tops $400 Million

info@aeccadpro.com (Dave Taylor) — Tue, 30 Jan 2007 04:40:00 GMT

At a reception Sunday night in Houston honoring the Engineering News Record 2006 Top Design Firms, Bentley told assembled guests that corporate revenues topped $400 million in 2006.

Because Bentley is privately owned, and does not break out revenue by product or service division when it shares revenue information, there is no way to know what part of the $400 million came from organic growth in existing products and services and what part came from recent acquisitions.

Bentley has been acquiring firms rapidly over the last three years, substantially contributing to its continued strong growth. This week, for example, Bentley announced the acquisition of Design Power and KIWI Software, whose respective PlantWise and ProSteel products will be applied to Bentley’s DigitalPlant portfolio.

--RSN

Bruce Sterling to Keynote COFES 2007

info@aeccadpro.com (Dave Taylor) — Tue, 30 Jan 2007 02:53:00 GMT

Noted science fiction author and high-tech visionary Bruce Sterling will be the keynote speaker of COFES 2007.

Follow the link for complete details.

--RSN

AEC CAD Pro.com Mission Statement and History

info@aeccadpro.com (Dave Taylor) — Sat, 10 Feb 2007 14:41:58 GMT

Welcome to AECCADPro.com blog.    Our company was recently founded by Jack Zimmer and myself Dave Taylor. This is what happens when a designer/builder and a technology nut meet.

My background in CAD started in the tech support for Turbocad.   Eight months later I found myself managing, the Floorplan 3-D product line which at the time was the number 2 top selling software for the residential home design market, behind only 3-D Home Architect.     Things changed once I discovered the power of the Internet in about 1995. By 1997 my entrepreneurial desire took over,   as I found myself in the ISP (Internet service provider) business where I helped to develop an e-commerce engine, which was the roots of the engine currently used in our store. http://products.ironhorsemedia.com/CatalogDisplay.cfm?cid=6

What happened next is a story which I will save for a different time,   Suffice to say my company was almost bought and I ended up with a great paying job as a sales engineer for enterprise solutions.   That was until the declined of the dot-coms. After some soul-searching and the wanting to get back into CAD, I was reunited with the then director of Turbocad Robert Berry, with whom I help to start CADCourse.net which is where I was introduced Jack Zimmer. Actually, I had knowledge of Jack's work at the tail-end of my Floorplan 3-D product management days.   Little did I know then that about 10 years later Jack would be my business partner.

Jack holds a Masters degree in architecture, but also has 20+ years experience in the construction industry.
This is a unique combination, since many architects seemingly design without the knowledge or concern of the practicality of building what they design.   This being the case,  there is a delicate balance between what architect delivers and what the contractor builds or recommends to the client.   Decisions are constantly being made as to the practicality and cost of a design compared to its artistic beauty. I feel this gives us a unique perspective in working with builders, designs, contractors, developers, architects and even homeowners.   Couple that with the convenience and accessibility of collaborating online with our clients using the latest technologies and we are able to provide what I hope is the best experience possible for construction drawing and floor plan design marketplace.

Until next time,
Dave Taylor
dtaylor@aeccadpro.com

Adobe PDF Release for ISO Will Include PRC 3D

info@aeccadpro.com (Dave Taylor) — Mon, 29 Jan 2007 02:30:00 GMT

[Editor's Note: As originally published, this article contained subtle errors regarding the timing and content of Adobe' releases, which are now corrected.]

Today's announcement that Adobe is releasing the PDF specification to standards bodies (as reported elsewhere) is not news in and of itself. Adobe has previously made its intentions clear that it would release the full Portable Document Format specification to AIIM, the Enterprise Content Management Association, for the purpose of publication by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO). What is news is that the PDF 1.7 standard (based on Adobe Acrobat 8) will now be released, and that as soon as it becomes available, an update to PDF Specification 1.7 will include the newly added PRC intermediary format for 3D data.

The addition of the PRC format—which is compatible with a wide variety of proprietary 3D file types—will strengthen Adobe's bid to be the de facto standard for the digital storage, publishing, and archiving of engineering and design data.

Since the current status of the PDF 1.7 standard matches Acrobat 8, which does not yet contain all the power that it will once Acrobat 3D is released, Adobe intends to publish the addition PRC information separately, with the hope that the AIIM working committee will be able to incorporate the new information into their final release of the PDF standard.

Adobe acquired the PRC format as part of its purchase of 3D file translation expert TTF of France last year. It is Adobe's goal to see all of PDF Specification 1.7 become part of the PDF/E standard for engineering data storage in PDF. In closely related news, last week Adobe announced a free upgrade for Acrobat 3D that gives users the ability to import a wide variety of proprietary file formats, mostly ones used for manufacturing. A full list of those formats is at the end of this article.

Since 1995 Adobe has participated in various working groups that develop technical specifications for publication by ISO and worked within the ISO process to deliver specialized subsets of PDF as standards for specific industries and functions. Today, PDF for Archive (PDF/A) and PDF for Exchange (PDF/X) are ISO standards, and PDF for Engineering (PDF/E) and PDF for Universal Access (PDF/UA) are proposed standards. Additionally, PDF for Healthcare (PDF/H) is an AIIM proposed Best Practice Guide. AIIM serves as the administrator for PDF/A, PDF/E, PDF/UA and PDF/H.

Adobe will release the full PDF 1.7 specification as defined in the PDF Reference Manual available at www.adobe.com/devnet/pdf/pdf_reference.html to AIIM for the purpose of submission to ISO. The joint committee formed under AIIM will identify issues to be addressed, as well as proposed solutions, and will develop a draft document that will then be presented to a Joint Working Group of ISO for development and approval as an International Standard. AIIM holds the secretariat for the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) Technical Committee (TC) 171 and 171 SC2 for Document Management Applications, and is the administrator for the U.S. Technical Advisory Group to ISO TC 171 that represents the U.S. at international meetings.

The free update to Adobe Acrobat 3D supports the following formats:

ACIS, up to version 13.0
Autodesk Inventor, up to 10
CATIA V4, up to 4.2.4
CATIA V5, up to R16
CGR
IGES, up to 5.3
JT, up to 8.0
Parasolid, up to 16.0
Pro/ENGINEER, up to Wildfire III
SolidWorks, up to 2006
STEP, AP 203, AP 214
STL
I-DEAS, up to 12.x
NX (Unigraphics), up to NX4
VRML, up to 2.0
XVL, P-XVL

The update requires that Acrobat 3D 7.0.8 or Acrobat 3D 7.0.7 Trial is installed. To determine which version of Acrobat 3D is in use, choose Help > About Acrobat 3D. The version number appears in the upper left corner below the Acrobat logo. Acrobat 3D requires Windows 2000 with Service Pack 2, Windows XP (Pro, Home, or Tablet), Internet Explorer 5.5, a minimum of 512MB RAM, 1GB available hard disk space, 1,024x768 screen resolution, a CD-ROM drive, a video card with pixel shader support and DirectX 8.1 required for video hardware acceleration (recommended for optimal performance), and an Internet connection.

--RSN

Nemetschek Officially Off the Fence, Enters Strategic Partnership With Adobe

info@aeccadpro.com (Dave Taylor) — Mon, 22 Jan 2007 04:39:00 GMT

Nemetschek and Adobe today announced a strategic partnership concerning the use of Adobe PDF for document processes in AEC and Facilities Management. Now that Graphisoft is part of Nemetschek, the announcement means that two of the three top global AEC BIM firms (the other being Bentley) are aligned with Adobe on the use of PDF as their "format of choice" for building industry data exchange. The other leading player in BIM, Autodesk, champions its own document process using its Design Review technology and the DWF file format. It thus appears we have an "us versus them" approach to project document sharing in AEC, with Autodesk on one side and everybody else on the other.

The term "strategic partnership" is generally reserved to describe the highest level of cooperative activity between two companies without one taking an ownership stake in the other. But such terms are not used the same way by all firms. In this transaction, Nemetschek is licensing the Adobe PDF Library Software Development Kit. This probably means Nemetschek is paying Adobe for the license, but such payment is not spelled out in the announcement.

There is no mention of Graphisoft or ArchiCAD in the announcment. Graphisoft has been the leading advocate for the IFC interoperability format from the International Alliance for Interoperability. It offers a "Save As PDF" command based on non-Adobe software. As described in the annoucement, this affects both the VectorWorks line from Nemetschek North America (NNA), and Allplan from Nemetschek's headquarters in Munich, Germany. NNA has already begun by integrating Adobe PDF creation capabilties directly into VectorWorks 12.5; Nemetschek has integrated the technology into Allplan.

"The partnership with Adobe signals our intention to move beyond simple sharing of PDF files over e-mail and web services,” says Sean Flaherty, CEO of Nemetschek North America. "We see PDF and the integration between VectorWorks and the Acrobat product line as way to fundamentally improve the collaboration workflow with CAD and remove much of the current uncertainty when transferring documents between design partners. PDF offers a key advantage over the current translation mechanisms—absolute reliability of data.”

Nemetschek claims that by significantly increasing established PDF functions in BIM software, it will be easier for architects and engineers to exchange drawings and project documents with clients and contractors. The vision is for users to be able to merge design models and drawings, project drawings, and models/drawings from different sources in a single PDF file, regardless of vendor-dependent interface formats.

"PDF files are a little revolution in action, and VectorWorks, with built-in Adobe technology, helps make it happen for us, ” says Tom Greggs, principal, Greggs Building Design, in the Nememschek announcement. "DXF and DWG-based files received from others have created frequent problems for us. Our engineers often use fonts that are not in our system, or their special nested symbols don't scale correctly, or line weights need attention. With PDF files, none of this is an issue, and we find ourselves simply importing and placing those PDF files directly onto our VectorWorks sheets with no issues concerning translation. We now e-mail PDF documents to clients and contractors on a regular basis. This allows us to gain quick approval, despite a client being halfway across the country or a contractor needing clarification on a detail. And plan set distribution has become virtually paperless, as we give our builders and owners the option of sending PDF plan sets directly from us to their preferred printing service. We have also begun archiving plan set sheets in PDF for every project.”

--RSN

AECnews Editor Blacklisted from DaratechPLANT 2007

info@aeccadpro.com (Dave Taylor) — Wed, 17 Jan 2007 11:34:00 GMT

This week I was informed I would not be granted press credentials to attend DaratechPLANT 2007, a conference that draws hundreds of attendees and most of the software vendors in the plant design industry. My blacklisting comes after I was granted press credentials to attend the event in 2005 and 2006.

I've decided to share the full story behind this blacklisting, to give readers the same information already known to quite a few members of the industry press/analyst corps. I am currently attending a press/analyst event sponsored by a mechanical CAD vendor; within five minutes of walking in the door today, without saying a word to anyone about the blacklisting, I was asked by three different people what it was like to be "persona non grata" in the CAD industry.

Click to read the complete article, "AECnews Editor Blacklisted from DaratechPLANT 2007."

--RSN

Autodesk Considers 3D Piping Acquisition

info@aeccadpro.com (Dave Taylor) — Tue, 16 Jan 2007 01:03:00 GMT

The new Autodesk Plant Solutions group, which ships its first product (AutoCAD P&ID 2007) shortly, intends for a 3D piping tool to be its second product. It is currently weighing whether to build the product from scratch—as it did with P&ID—or to acquire an existing product and/or company.

Among the possible acquisition targets are COADE Cadworx Plant, Pipe Designer 3D from QuickPen, and 3DSmart from PROCAD. Of the three, 3DSmart seems like the closest match to Autodesk's technology and market vision for its plant solutions. It is compatible with AutoCAD 2007, and it supports a variety of tools from other vendors including NavisWorks Jetstream, the popular visualization tool. It also uses Microsoft SQL Server (or SQL Express for single-user installations), a big plus in Autodesk's goal to "bring shrink wrap to plant," in the words of Autodesk Plant Solution's Mark Strassman.

--RSN

Pioneer (and Still Active) CAD Develper Michael Riddle Starts a Blog

info@aeccadpro.com (Dave Taylor) — Sun, 14 Jan 2007 14:39:00 GMT

If you care about CAD development issues, and want to sit at the feet of a pioneer in the field, point your browser to Michael Riddle's new blog. Riddle wrote the software that became the basis for AutoCAD, but did not become one of the company founders. He went on to create Evolution Computing, publisher of EasyCAD and FastCAD. He's still at work today trying to make CAD tools more valuable.

--RSN

IMSI/Design and Google Create Retail CAD Bundle

info@aeccadpro.com (Dave Taylor) — Fri, 12 Jan 2007 10:44:00 GMT

IMSI/Design, the CAD vendor known for TurboCAD, and Google today announced TurboSketch Studio, a retail software bundle for Macintosh and Windows that combines Google SketchUp with lighting and photorealism tools from IMSI/Design

The retail bundle is the first of its kind for Google, and it picked the right company to take it into the shrink-wrap world. TurboCAD is a 20-year survivor in retail CAD because IMSI/Design (formerly IMSI Software) has become expert at retail marketing. The idea is to provide an off-the-shelf impulse buy conceptual modeling tool for architects, engineers, and designers. The bundle is using the freely downloadable version of SketchUp, not SketchUp Pro 6 ($495.00), which includes advanced import/export features and the LayOut add-on for creating presentations.

TurboSketch Studio will be sold at leading office stores, software retailers and also directly from IMSI/Design for $99.95.

--RSN

How SketchUp Stays True to the Google Corporate Mission

info@aeccadpro.com (Dave Taylor) — Wed, 10 Jan 2007 04:02:00 GMT

On Tuesday Google released a new version of SketchUp, took Google Earth 4 out of beta, and introduced a new 3D Collections features in Google's 3D Warehouse (see "Google to Bundle "Grizzly" Layout Tool in SketchUp 6 Pro" for details ). Of all the new features in these three products, the Collections feature and the tweaks to Google Earth are what keeps all of this tied to the Google corporate mission. As stated on the Google corporate home page, “Google's mission is to organize the world's information and make it universally accessible and useful.”

Google intends for the world's built environment data to be organized and made accessible in Google Earth and 3D Warehouse; SketchUp is a preferred tool for creating the data. The work will be—is being—done by hundreds of thousands of motivated architects, developers, and hobbyists. Since most AEC CAD products now include either SketchUp or Google Earth compatibility, the work doesn't have to be limited to SketchUp users. Download (or update to) the latest version of Google Earth to see the progress that's already been made. Thousands of buildings are now viewable, and thousands more can be selected from the Google 3D Warehouse for viewing in Google Earth or SketchUp.

I described the phenomenon of user participation as it relates to SketchUp in more detail when I first wrote about Google's acquisition of atLast Software in March 2006.

--RSN

Google to Bundle “Grizzly” Layout Tool in SketchUp 6 Pro

info@aeccadpro.com (Dave Taylor) — Mon, 08 Jan 2007 14:11:00 GMT

Tomorrow's release of Google SketchUp 6 will feature a new 2D page layout program that compares to elements of AutoCAD PaperSpace or Microsoft Office PowerPoint. The program, called LayOut, has been previewed occasionally as “code name Grizzly” to rave reviews from existing SketchUp users. LayOut is one of several new features added to Google SketchUp 6 being announced Tuesday at Macworld in San Francisco. Other new features include a new 3D text tool, the ability to create and save styles, export to Adobe PDF, and a Photo Match tool for working with photorealistic views in perspective that will be of special interest to those who create models for display in Google Earth.

In a related announcement, Google Earth 4 is now out of beta, and it features the ability to display a “best of” set of building models selected by Google from its 3D Warehouse. Existing Google Earth users need to download the latest version to gain this feature.

Click to read the complete article, "Google to Bundle 'Grizzly' Layout Tool in SketchUp 6 Pro."

--RSN