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Greetings!
Don't forget today is the free all day ADN conference at
Autodesk San Rafael. You do not have to be an ADN
member to attend. The conference starts at 9 am.
Tomorrow, Saturday, November 8, I will be speaking at
the Conference on Strategies for CAD Software
Customization in Oakland. Find out more at
www.ebig.org. Go to SIGS, CAD SIG on the ebig site.
Autodesk Misses the Boat
That big splash you may have heard was Autodesk
missing the boat while Bentley and Adobe announced a
new partnership to better address the complexities of
Architecture/Engineering/Construction (AEC)
information and document workflows.
While Autodesk clings to the DWF format and their
viewer, Adobe has established pdf and Adobe Acrobat
as the industry standard for documentation delivered
over internet and intranet environments.
Autodesk could have kept their seat as industry leader,
but chose to abdicate it in order to cram DWF down
users' throats. It's all a question of control - Autodesk
controls DWF, they do not own PDF.
What I love about users is that most users have
common sense and it doesn't make sense to spend
valuable time and dollars training and using DWF
Viewers when virtually all computers come with Acrobat
Reader. The fact is that when we are sharing
documentation that is NOT in DWG format, the recipient
is probably not a gearhead. He's probably a
purchasing, marketing, management, or sales guy. This
guy probably doesn't know the difference between his
hard drive and network drive, but Autodesk expects us -
the engineer! - to spend time training him on how to
use DWF.
Users have already made their choice - PDF.
Autodesk should crash this party before it's too late.
Start dancing with Adobe, and cut Bentley out of
this picture.
Read on...
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Autodesk Releases AutoCAD Electrical 2004 |
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I am sure many of you will say it's about time...but
Autodesk has released a version of AutoCAD that will
support schematic design and PLC layout.
Three Cheers for Autodesk on this one!
AutoCAD Electrical is the perfect solution for anyone
designing or laying out ladder-style control schematics
or point-to-point wiring diagrams, helping save users
time and money while at the same time drastically
improving their drawing accuracy. The software offers
intelligent electrical controls engineering and design to
help users create better designs, reduce errors, and
save time-enabling customers to focus on the design
and engineering task rather than repetitive drafting
functions. It provides an intuitive interface for new
users and the same familiar working environment for
AutoCAD users along with many industry-specific tools
to automate the design process.
These tools include automatic wire numbering and
component tagging, automatic project reports,
automatic creation of programmable logic controller
(PLC) I/O drawings from spreadsheets, and the ability
to re-use existing drawings. The software also has
many features to drastically reduce errors including
automatic coil and contact cross-referencing with
usage tracking, audit reports that check for design
errors, and the ability to build control panels from
design information to eliminate missed components.
I haven't gotten my copy of the software yet - but I
can't wait to check it out. I don't know why companies
expect mechanical engineers to be able to do electrical
layouts too, but they do.
I just hope Autodesk figures out a way to bundle
Electrical - hopefully with the Inventor Series, because
the majority of mechanical designers are in the same
boat as I am - employers expect you to at least be
able to do the physical layout of the board and wiring,
as well as the electronic packaging.
Find out more.... »
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Trial version of design of experiments software available |
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Design of Experiments(DOE), along with Six Sigma, is a
new buzz word for today's designers and engineers.
The Stat-Ease Web site has free, fully functional, 45-
day trial versions of its two software packages, Design-
Expert and Design-Ease. The site has case-
study articles, which can be viewed online or
requested. Stat-Ease
specializes in design of experiments software, training,
and consulting services.
Download some free trials... »
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Tool Palette Extension Now Available |
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For those users who already are addicted to the new
Tool Palettes in the 2004 version software, you will
have to buy the new Tool Palette Extension. Yes, you
could wait for the next release, but once you check out
the features, you won't want to.
This extension makes having a subscription totally
worth it...so all of you not on subscription can now
officially kick yourselves.
Among the things it supports -
- automatically attach commonly used external
reference files from your local or network drive to your
drawings by selecting them from your custom tool
palettes
- Apply an auxiliary scale to block and hatch tools
that corresponds to the current drawing's dimscale or
plotscale value. This minimizes the number of necessary
tools, saves time, and ensures consistency by
automatically inserting content at the appropriate
scale
- Save time by automatically attaching commonly
used image files from your local or network drive to
your drawings by selecting them from your custom tool
palettes
- Launch any AutoCAD command directly from a tool
palette using preassigned tool properties. This
automates repetitive tasks, without the need for
programming, to increase both drafting productivity and
drawing consistency
Learn more about this new extension »
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Have you seen any pigs flying recently? |
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X10 Wireless Technology, known for ubiquitous Internet
ads showing scantily clad women as seen from
miniature wireless cameras, has filed for protection in a
Chapter 11 bankruptcy petition.
X10 launched the trend towards those annoying pop-up
ads. At its height two years ago, X10.com was the
fourth-most visited Web site, ranking ahead of well-
known businesses such as eBay and TerraLycos,
according to Jupiter Research in Darien, Conn.
Nearly two-thirds of the people who saw X10's ads
closed the browser within 20 seconds.
The owners of X10 Wireless have been ordered to pay
$4.3 million for stealing technology.
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Commands redefined in ADT2004 |
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If you are a Lisper and trying to call some commands in
ADT2004 - you should be aware that ADT 2004
redefines some of the more common commands - and if
you try to run the same routine in AutoCAD2004 - it
could work just fine.
These commands are actually redefined in the ADT
menu file during the load time.
If you look at C:/Documents and Settings//Application Data/Autodesk
Architectural Desktop
2004/R16.0/enu/Support/adt.mnl, you'll see
(command "_undefine" "fillet"). After this line, "fillet" is
redefined using
AecFillet and Acad Fillet. This is to enhance the Fillet
functionality to work
with Aec entities. When the Fillet command is used, it
first calls AecFillet.
If the selected entity is not an Aec object (like a door
or a wall), acad Fillet is called.
In a similar way, Layer command in ADT2004 now calls
AecLayer. "chamfer", "dfxout", and "units" are all
redefined in adt.mnl file.
In order to prevent problems, you should open the
adt.mnl file (DON'T USE WORD!!!! It adds formatting.
Use the Visual Lisp editor or Notepad.) and check out
what commands are redefined.
Only folks who are knowledgeable should be
checking under the hood like this - if you have doubts
hire an experienced consultant. If you don't know one,
check with Autodesk's ADN group and get a referral.
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Free Gifts for Subscribers |
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Thanks to Semyon Solomon who sent me a check for
$25 to support CADzette. A 2004 pocket calendar is
being sent to him.
I appreciate the kind words, but money helps pay my
monthly service fee and keeps advertisements OUT of
Cadzette.
This newsletter is free, but if you are so inclined to
send a check, I will be happy to send you a free gift to
acknowledge your kindness.
Send your check to:
Moss Designs
21951 Bear Creek Way
Los Gatos, CA 95033
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A Free Lisp Routine for You! |
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You can use AutoLISP to determine if a dimension style
exists in a drawing and is current; then if not, import
the dimension style and make it current.
This routine prompts you for a dimension style name
and then sets your current drawing to that dimension
style.
If the dimension style exists, sets it current; if the
dimension style does not exist, inserts a drawing that
contains the dimension style and sets it current. In this
example, the inserted drawing file is named
dim_template.dwg.
To use a different template or source drawing, modify
the code to use the correct file name.
Download the lisp file here »
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