By:James Monahan
Drafting is also known as technical drawing, it is the method of creating drawing for architectures and engineering. A person who is skilled in this field is more popularly known as a draftsman.
The fundamentals of drafting are easy. To be able to draft something, a draftsman places a piece of paper (or other drawing material) on any surface that has straight sides and right angle corners (drafting table).
Another tool needed for drafting is a t-square. A t-square is a ruler-like tool that slides on a straight edge, making it easier for a draftsman to move his/her tool on the drafting table.
The t-square enables its users to draw parallel lines by moving this tool and running your pencils edge along its straight edge line.
T-squares can also be used to hold other drafting devices like a set of squares or triangles. This way, the right angle of the t-square plus the angle of the triangle can create a perfect straight and angled line onto your paper.
Modern day drafting tables now come equipped with parallel ruler supported by both sides of the table. This ruler can also slide through your drafting table, assuring you that parallel lines that you draw are going to turn out parallel.
Other drafting tools are used to create circles and curves. A primary tool used in drafting is the compass. This instrument is used to create simple circles in your drawing.
A French curve on the other hand, is a plastic curved ruler that helps create simple and complex curves for your project. For more intricate curves, a spline is a drafting tool that is made of an articulated metal covered in rubber to enable users to bend this tool in different curves.
The simplest drafting system needs to pay full attention to the placement of tools and the accuracy of the table. The most common mistake in drafting is to let the triangle push the top of the t-square slightly down. When this happens, it will throw off all the proper angles in your drawing.
Another common problem in the area of drafting is the difficulty in drawing two angled lines and making them meet at a point. Because this was such a tedious task, the introduction of the "drafting machine" came into the light of possibility.
This machine makes it possible for the draftsman to have a precise angle wherever part of the paper he wishes to draw at. He does this with the help of the pantograph.
A pantograph is a special mechanical tool connected to the drafting table that when used to draw, it moves in a fixed relation to every other element of itself. Also, one major advantage of the drafting machine enables the ability to modify angles, thus eliminating the use of triangles.
Drafting must seem easy to most people, but to be able to draft something, it requires a certain knowledge in engineering.
For a time, drafting was a sought after profession in the United States, considering that the draftsman was a very skilled at his craft. But because of the creation of the drafting machine, drafting has become fully automated and largely accelerated using computer aided design or CAD.
An innovation of CAD is the less recognized CADD or computer aided design and drafting. Although this may be the case, skilled draftsmen may still be of use to some who need routine changes to their drawings.
Drafting is an art common to architects, engineers, or machinist. Some of the uses of drafting are for birds eye view, elevations, plan view, isometric projections, cross sections and the like.
Article Source: http://www.redsofts.com/articles/
Monday, January 3, 2011
Thursday, December 30, 2010
Increase project visibility.
The Autodesk® Buzzsaw® service helps you keep your
projects on schedule and within budget. As the leading
online project collaboration service, Buzzsaw allows you to
better manage, share, and track project information across
your extended teams. Whether you manage building,
manufacturing, or infrastructure projects, you always have
complete visibility and control.
View Activity Logs
View a complete list of site
and project activity to make
sure you don’t overlook
urgent action items.
Keep It Secure
Ensure the safety of your project
information. Autodesk Buzzsaw
is backed by a fi nancially stable
market leader, and it uses Secure
Sockets Layer (SSL) transactions
for confi dential transmission of
sensitive project and company
information.
Use Dashboards
Monitor progress and quickly
identify potential problems and
discrepancies across projects.
Run Reports
Create customized
reports that track detailed
information across your
project portfolio. Get clear
visibility into schedules,
budgets, and project status.
Customize Workspace
Tailor forms, dashboards, and
reports to fi t your company’s
needs. Dashboards can include
information from multiple sources,
such as action items and external
schedules.
Manage Your Results
Reduce costs and errors by maintaining full control of
projects. Improve design review with sophisticated
viewing technology. Version control eliminates out-of-date
information and communicates the latest status instantly.
Run reports on project status, overdue items, and all site and
project activity, including who accessed what and when.
Increase Visibility; Improve ROI
Executive- and project-level dashboards provide customized
views so you can oversee and manage all your projects at
once. Instant access to crucial information increases return
on investment by spurring timely action and reducing the risk
of cost overruns and schedule delays.
Deploy, Use, and Maintain with Ease
Autodesk Buzzsaw is up and running in minutes without
help from programmers or IT specialists. Automatic webbased
installation and upgrades, plus the familiar Microsoft®
Windows® environment, make the system easy to learn
and use with little disruption to your processes. Flexible
permission levels maintain project security and control as
projects and team members change.
Depend on a Proven and Secure Service
The industry-leading Autodesk Buzzsaw project collaboration
service is backed by a fi nancially stable market leader with
more than 20 years’ experience. The service is integrated
with AutoCAD software and provides unmatched
performance and effi cient processes for managing all your
project information. Buzzsaw delivers secure, around-theclock
access from anywhere in the world.
Manage Design Development
View and mark up drawings directly from AutoCAD®
and MicroStation® software. And with enhanced viewing
technology, not only can users view and revise drawings
in Autodesk® DWF™ (Design Web Format™), DXF™, and
DGN™ format fi les, but they can automatically bring those
comments back into the original CAD fi le.
Reduce Bidding Costs
Publish and distribute sheet sets in DWF fi les to project
bidders. Reduce your printing, reproduction, and shipping
costs.
Simplify Construction Workfl ow
Use standardized forms, including requests for information
(RFIs) and change-order requests, for all construction
processes. Track and report progress to everyone involved
with built-in timers, reminders, tracking, and reporting
features.
Buzzsaw has given us a big edge in
time savings by eliminating printing
and delivery from our processes, not
to mention the expense. For instance,
it used to take one week to print and
collate a tender package, but it takes only
two days with Buzzsaw.
—David Meadows
Woolworths, Ltd.
Automated Calculations
Minimize tedious manual data transfer by directly
accessing engineering data in your model for design
calculations.
Intuitive Design Tools
Lay out, modify, and document building systems in an
intuitive design environment with improved tools that
require fewer clicks to accomplish the same task.
Dynamic Scheduling
Schedules are dynamically linked to your design data,
automatically updating as your design changes, increasing
productivity while reducing the chance for errors.
For more information, go to
http://south-apac.autodesk.com/buzzsaw.
visit http://south-apac.autodesk.com.
Autodesk, AutoCAD, Buzzsaw, Design Web Format, DWF, and DXF are registered trademarks or trademarks of
Autodesk, Inc., in the USA and/or other countries. All other brand names, product names, or trademarks belong to their
respective holders. Autodesk reserves the right to alter product off erings and specifi cations at any time without notice,
and is not responsible for typographical or graphical errors that may appear in this document.
© 2005 Autodesk, Inc. All rights reserved. 0000000
projects on schedule and within budget. As the leading
online project collaboration service, Buzzsaw allows you to
better manage, share, and track project information across
your extended teams. Whether you manage building,
manufacturing, or infrastructure projects, you always have
complete visibility and control.
View Activity Logs
View a complete list of site
and project activity to make
sure you don’t overlook
urgent action items.
Keep It Secure
Ensure the safety of your project
information. Autodesk Buzzsaw
is backed by a fi nancially stable
market leader, and it uses Secure
Sockets Layer (SSL) transactions
for confi dential transmission of
sensitive project and company
information.
Use Dashboards
Monitor progress and quickly
identify potential problems and
discrepancies across projects.
Run Reports
Create customized
reports that track detailed
information across your
project portfolio. Get clear
visibility into schedules,
budgets, and project status.
Customize Workspace
Tailor forms, dashboards, and
reports to fi t your company’s
needs. Dashboards can include
information from multiple sources,
such as action items and external
schedules.
Manage Your Results
Reduce costs and errors by maintaining full control of
projects. Improve design review with sophisticated
viewing technology. Version control eliminates out-of-date
information and communicates the latest status instantly.
Run reports on project status, overdue items, and all site and
project activity, including who accessed what and when.
Increase Visibility; Improve ROI
Executive- and project-level dashboards provide customized
views so you can oversee and manage all your projects at
once. Instant access to crucial information increases return
on investment by spurring timely action and reducing the risk
of cost overruns and schedule delays.
Deploy, Use, and Maintain with Ease
Autodesk Buzzsaw is up and running in minutes without
help from programmers or IT specialists. Automatic webbased
installation and upgrades, plus the familiar Microsoft®
Windows® environment, make the system easy to learn
and use with little disruption to your processes. Flexible
permission levels maintain project security and control as
projects and team members change.
Depend on a Proven and Secure Service
The industry-leading Autodesk Buzzsaw project collaboration
service is backed by a fi nancially stable market leader with
more than 20 years’ experience. The service is integrated
with AutoCAD software and provides unmatched
performance and effi cient processes for managing all your
project information. Buzzsaw delivers secure, around-theclock
access from anywhere in the world.
Manage Design Development
View and mark up drawings directly from AutoCAD®
and MicroStation® software. And with enhanced viewing
technology, not only can users view and revise drawings
in Autodesk® DWF™ (Design Web Format™), DXF™, and
DGN™ format fi les, but they can automatically bring those
comments back into the original CAD fi le.
Reduce Bidding Costs
Publish and distribute sheet sets in DWF fi les to project
bidders. Reduce your printing, reproduction, and shipping
costs.
Simplify Construction Workfl ow
Use standardized forms, including requests for information
(RFIs) and change-order requests, for all construction
processes. Track and report progress to everyone involved
with built-in timers, reminders, tracking, and reporting
features.
Buzzsaw has given us a big edge in
time savings by eliminating printing
and delivery from our processes, not
to mention the expense. For instance,
it used to take one week to print and
collate a tender package, but it takes only
two days with Buzzsaw.
—David Meadows
Woolworths, Ltd.
Automated Calculations
Minimize tedious manual data transfer by directly
accessing engineering data in your model for design
calculations.
Intuitive Design Tools
Lay out, modify, and document building systems in an
intuitive design environment with improved tools that
require fewer clicks to accomplish the same task.
Dynamic Scheduling
Schedules are dynamically linked to your design data,
automatically updating as your design changes, increasing
productivity while reducing the chance for errors.
For more information, go to
http://south-apac.autodesk.com/buzzsaw.
visit http://south-apac.autodesk.com.
Autodesk, AutoCAD, Buzzsaw, Design Web Format, DWF, and DXF are registered trademarks or trademarks of
Autodesk, Inc., in the USA and/or other countries. All other brand names, product names, or trademarks belong to their
respective holders. Autodesk reserves the right to alter product off erings and specifi cations at any time without notice,
and is not responsible for typographical or graphical errors that may appear in this document.
© 2005 Autodesk, Inc. All rights reserved. 0000000
Sunday, December 19, 2010
Facing these issues ?
a.product design teams need to increase innovation in existing and new design while reducing the time required to bring them to market
b.Designers are interested in the benefits of digital Prototyping but worried about losing invesments in existing DWG design data
c. Rapid creation of production - ready drawing is required for downstream user
d. Designers are unable to easily find and reuse designs
e. Designers need to optimize product perfomance and make accurate design decisions without building physical protoo ltypes
f. piping and wiring design take too long to develop.
DISCOVER WHY AUTODESK INVETOR IS THE FOUNDATION FOR DIGITAL PROTOTYPING
b.Designers are interested in the benefits of digital Prototyping but worried about losing invesments in existing DWG design data
c. Rapid creation of production - ready drawing is required for downstream user
d. Designers are unable to easily find and reuse designs
e. Designers need to optimize product perfomance and make accurate design decisions without building physical protoo ltypes
f. piping and wiring design take too long to develop.
DISCOVER WHY AUTODESK INVETOR IS THE FOUNDATION FOR DIGITAL PROTOTYPING
Wednesday, December 15, 2010
Lay out And Two-point perspective drawing
Layout
Measuring the dimensions of a subject while blocking in the drawing is an important step in producing a realistic rendition of the subject. Tools such as a compass can be used to measure the angles of different sides. These angles can be reproduced on the drawing surface and then rechecked to make sure they are accurate. Another form of measurement is to compare the relative sizes of different parts of the subject with each other. A finger placed at a point along the drawing implement can be used to compare that dimension with other parts of the image. A ruler can be used both as a straightedge and a device to compute proportions.
When attempting to draw a complicated shape such as a human figure, it is helpful at first to represent the form with a set of primitive shapes. Almost any form can be represented by some combination of the cube, sphere, cylinder, and cone. Once these basic shapes have been assembled into a likeness, then the drawing can be refined into a more accurate and polished form. The lines of the primitive shapes are removed and replaced by the final likeness. Drawing the underlying construction is a fundamental skill for representational art and is taught in many books and schools, as its correct application will resolve most uncertainties about smaller details and make the final image look self-consistent.
A more refined art of figure drawing relies upon the artist possessing a deep understanding of anatomy and the human proportions. A trained artist is familiar with the skeleton structure, joint location, muscle placement, tendon movement, and how the different parts work together during movement. This allows the artist to render more natural poses that do not appear artificially stiff. The artist is also familiar with how the proportions vary depending on the age of the subject, particularly when drawing a portrait.
[edit] Perspective
Linear perspective is a method of portraying objects on a flat surface so that the dimensions shrink with distance. The parallel, straight edges of any object, whether a building or a table, will follow lines that eventually converge at infinity. Typically this point of convergence will be along the horizon, as buildings are built level with the flat surface. When multiple structures are aligned with each other, such as buildings along a street, the horizontal tops and bottoms of the structures will all typically converge at a vanishing point.
Two-point perspective drawing.
When both the fronts and sides of a building are drawn, then the parallel lines forming a side converge at a second point along the horizon (which may be off the drawing paper.) This is a "two-point perspective". Converging the vertical lines to a point in the sky then produces a "three-point perspective".
Depth can also be portrayed by several techniques in addition to the perspective approach above. Objects of similar size should appear ever smaller the further they are from the viewer. Thus the back wheel of a cart will appear slightly smaller than the front wheel. Depth can be portrayed through the use of texture. As the texture of an object gets further away it becomes more compressed and busy, taking on an entirely different character than if it was close. Depth can also be portrayed by reducing the amount of contrast of more distant objects, and also by making the colors more pale. This will reproduce the effect of atmospheric haze, and cause the eye to focus primarily on objects drawn in the foreground.
Measuring the dimensions of a subject while blocking in the drawing is an important step in producing a realistic rendition of the subject. Tools such as a compass can be used to measure the angles of different sides. These angles can be reproduced on the drawing surface and then rechecked to make sure they are accurate. Another form of measurement is to compare the relative sizes of different parts of the subject with each other. A finger placed at a point along the drawing implement can be used to compare that dimension with other parts of the image. A ruler can be used both as a straightedge and a device to compute proportions.
When attempting to draw a complicated shape such as a human figure, it is helpful at first to represent the form with a set of primitive shapes. Almost any form can be represented by some combination of the cube, sphere, cylinder, and cone. Once these basic shapes have been assembled into a likeness, then the drawing can be refined into a more accurate and polished form. The lines of the primitive shapes are removed and replaced by the final likeness. Drawing the underlying construction is a fundamental skill for representational art and is taught in many books and schools, as its correct application will resolve most uncertainties about smaller details and make the final image look self-consistent.
A more refined art of figure drawing relies upon the artist possessing a deep understanding of anatomy and the human proportions. A trained artist is familiar with the skeleton structure, joint location, muscle placement, tendon movement, and how the different parts work together during movement. This allows the artist to render more natural poses that do not appear artificially stiff. The artist is also familiar with how the proportions vary depending on the age of the subject, particularly when drawing a portrait.
[edit] Perspective
Linear perspective is a method of portraying objects on a flat surface so that the dimensions shrink with distance. The parallel, straight edges of any object, whether a building or a table, will follow lines that eventually converge at infinity. Typically this point of convergence will be along the horizon, as buildings are built level with the flat surface. When multiple structures are aligned with each other, such as buildings along a street, the horizontal tops and bottoms of the structures will all typically converge at a vanishing point.
Two-point perspective drawing.
When both the fronts and sides of a building are drawn, then the parallel lines forming a side converge at a second point along the horizon (which may be off the drawing paper.) This is a "two-point perspective". Converging the vertical lines to a point in the sky then produces a "three-point perspective".
Depth can also be portrayed by several techniques in addition to the perspective approach above. Objects of similar size should appear ever smaller the further they are from the viewer. Thus the back wheel of a cart will appear slightly smaller than the front wheel. Depth can be portrayed through the use of texture. As the texture of an object gets further away it becomes more compressed and busy, taking on an entirely different character than if it was close. Depth can also be portrayed by reducing the amount of contrast of more distant objects, and also by making the colors more pale. This will reproduce the effect of atmospheric haze, and cause the eye to focus primarily on objects drawn in the foreground.
COMPOUND OBJECTS
COMPOUND OBJECTS
• When the Use Soft Selection check box is turned on in the Blobmesh compound object, objects that do not have their own Use Soft Selection turned on will not generate a blobmesh surface. To correct this, enter the object’s sub-object mode, turn on the Use Soft Selection check box, and then exit the sub-object mode. A similar effect can be achieved using a Select modifier or by adding a Turn To modifier and turning on Invert in the Subobjects Selection group.
CONTROLLERS
• SHIFT+cloning path-constrained objects might not position copies properly. Creating clones of a path-constrained object using the SHIFT+Move technique will not evenly space each clone from its previous sibling.
• There is currently no action item for the Gimbal coordinate system.
• If an older scene containing a Local Euler controller is loaded into 3ds max 7, it will be changed to an Euler XYZ. The animation data and resulting animation will be precisely the same.
• NURBS Point controllers should be individually reassigned from the Surface sub-object level rather than at the Master Controller level in Track View in order to see their effect.
• Master Point controllers are compound controllers and depend on sub-controllers and their structure; therefore, you cannot cut and paste Master Point controllers.
• Setting a motion track's input type to None after it was assigned to another type, such as Mouse or Keyboard, and then using Undo can cause program failure.
CUSTOM ATTRIBUTES
• Loading into 3ds max 7 a 3ds max 5.x file with missing plugins (stand-ins) that had stored custom attribute information can lead to program instability. Loading into 3ds max 7 a 3ds max 5.x file that contains custom attributes can lead to instability if missing plugin stand-ins are created upon load. It is recommended that you save the file in 3ds max 5.x without the missing plugins, open it in 3ds max 7 and then save it before proceeding.
DAYLIGHT (IES SUN & SKY)
• The positioning controller of the Daylight system does not exactly correspond to the one described by the “IES RP-21 Calculation of Daylight Availability” standard, thus resulting in slight intensity variations at certain times and locations.
DEPTH OF FIELD
• The use of atmospheric effects with the Depth Of Field rendering effect is currently not supported.
DOPE SHEET EDITOR
• Performance can degrade when moving or coping keys for objects requiring intensive re-calculations based on previous keys (for example HD IK.).
DISPLAY
• Using max in D3D mode disables the Use Dual Planes check box for OpenGL and Software display modes. To re-enable Dual Planes support, go to Customize > Preferences > Viewports Tab > Viewport Parameters section and choose Use Dual Planes. The default value for OpenGL and SZB is to Use Dual Planes.
• DX Display of Standard Material is supported only when running max in DirectX 9 mode.
• The Direct3D Metal Bump viewport shader only supports DDS files as cube maps.
• The Wave, Ripple, Bomb, Drag, and UDynaFlect space warps will display with incorrect coloring under Direct3D.
• Some video cards might display only half the lines on wireframe objects. To fix this, turn off the toggle Use Wireframe Faces (Custom Driver Extension) on the Configure OpenGL dialog, located under Customize > Preferences > Viewports panel.
• Running 3ds max 7 under Direct3D with Microsoft NetMeeting® can cause display problems or product instability.
• Direct3D does not support two-sided display for materials.
• “Best” and “Simple” viewport transparency modes are the same for all D3D display drivers.
• DirectX viewports might become unresponsive after Windows standby, running a screen saver, fast-user switching or locking the system.
• Changing the DirectX Manager’s shader drop-down will cause the viewport to temporarily display the first frame on an animated scene.
• Users of the nVidia Quadro4 XGL display cards might see window flashing as the TrackView window opens. If this occurs, disable the nView Desktop Manager using the NVIDIA Media Center. Choose nView Desktop Manager > Disable.
• Switching between vertex color, alpha, and illumination using Properties in Editable Poly when the display mode is Direct3D can cause the colors to garble or not change. In this instance, refreshing the viewport or entering or exiting the Editable Poly's sub-object mode should force a refresh.
• Direct3D viewports can become unresponsive after minimizing and maximizing when a viewport background is displayed. If this occurs, please save your file and restart 3ds max.
• Starting Windows XP with the /3GB option reduces the amount of kernel address space to 1GB. Sometimes the kernel might need more space for DirectX or system drivers, resulting in cached mesh corruption or sluggish DirectX performance. See Microsoft support for tuning information. If you are using the /3GB switch and have this problem, use "/USERVA=2800" (or 2700 etc.) (MB for this argument) to limit the USER Virtual Address space to less than 3GB. This allows more space for the operating system kernel if it is needed. This option is placed in the boot.ini file just after the "/3GB" option.
• DirectX Shaders are displayed incorrectly for objects that have been mirrored on one axis with the Mirror tool. This does not occur for objects mirrored with the Mirror or Symmetry modifiers.
• The DirectX viewport shader sample, colortest.fx, does not display correctly.
• The Metal Bump DirectX plugin will overwrite the currently assigned Metal Bump Cubemap when using 'Pick object and create' to create a new cubemap
• When the Use Soft Selection check box is turned on in the Blobmesh compound object, objects that do not have their own Use Soft Selection turned on will not generate a blobmesh surface. To correct this, enter the object’s sub-object mode, turn on the Use Soft Selection check box, and then exit the sub-object mode. A similar effect can be achieved using a Select modifier or by adding a Turn To modifier and turning on Invert in the Subobjects Selection group.
CONTROLLERS
• SHIFT+cloning path-constrained objects might not position copies properly. Creating clones of a path-constrained object using the SHIFT+Move technique will not evenly space each clone from its previous sibling.
• There is currently no action item for the Gimbal coordinate system.
• If an older scene containing a Local Euler controller is loaded into 3ds max 7, it will be changed to an Euler XYZ. The animation data and resulting animation will be precisely the same.
• NURBS Point controllers should be individually reassigned from the Surface sub-object level rather than at the Master Controller level in Track View in order to see their effect.
• Master Point controllers are compound controllers and depend on sub-controllers and their structure; therefore, you cannot cut and paste Master Point controllers.
• Setting a motion track's input type to None after it was assigned to another type, such as Mouse or Keyboard, and then using Undo can cause program failure.
CUSTOM ATTRIBUTES
• Loading into 3ds max 7 a 3ds max 5.x file with missing plugins (stand-ins) that had stored custom attribute information can lead to program instability. Loading into 3ds max 7 a 3ds max 5.x file that contains custom attributes can lead to instability if missing plugin stand-ins are created upon load. It is recommended that you save the file in 3ds max 5.x without the missing plugins, open it in 3ds max 7 and then save it before proceeding.
DAYLIGHT (IES SUN & SKY)
• The positioning controller of the Daylight system does not exactly correspond to the one described by the “IES RP-21 Calculation of Daylight Availability” standard, thus resulting in slight intensity variations at certain times and locations.
DEPTH OF FIELD
• The use of atmospheric effects with the Depth Of Field rendering effect is currently not supported.
DOPE SHEET EDITOR
• Performance can degrade when moving or coping keys for objects requiring intensive re-calculations based on previous keys (for example HD IK.).
DISPLAY
• Using max in D3D mode disables the Use Dual Planes check box for OpenGL and Software display modes. To re-enable Dual Planes support, go to Customize > Preferences > Viewports Tab > Viewport Parameters section and choose Use Dual Planes. The default value for OpenGL and SZB is to Use Dual Planes.
• DX Display of Standard Material is supported only when running max in DirectX 9 mode.
• The Direct3D Metal Bump viewport shader only supports DDS files as cube maps.
• The Wave, Ripple, Bomb, Drag, and UDynaFlect space warps will display with incorrect coloring under Direct3D.
• Some video cards might display only half the lines on wireframe objects. To fix this, turn off the toggle Use Wireframe Faces (Custom Driver Extension) on the Configure OpenGL dialog, located under Customize > Preferences > Viewports panel.
• Running 3ds max 7 under Direct3D with Microsoft NetMeeting® can cause display problems or product instability.
• Direct3D does not support two-sided display for materials.
• “Best” and “Simple” viewport transparency modes are the same for all D3D display drivers.
• DirectX viewports might become unresponsive after Windows standby, running a screen saver, fast-user switching or locking the system.
• Changing the DirectX Manager’s shader drop-down will cause the viewport to temporarily display the first frame on an animated scene.
• Users of the nVidia Quadro4 XGL display cards might see window flashing as the TrackView window opens. If this occurs, disable the nView Desktop Manager using the NVIDIA Media Center. Choose nView Desktop Manager > Disable.
• Switching between vertex color, alpha, and illumination using Properties in Editable Poly when the display mode is Direct3D can cause the colors to garble or not change. In this instance, refreshing the viewport or entering or exiting the Editable Poly's sub-object mode should force a refresh.
• Direct3D viewports can become unresponsive after minimizing and maximizing when a viewport background is displayed. If this occurs, please save your file and restart 3ds max.
• Starting Windows XP with the /3GB option reduces the amount of kernel address space to 1GB. Sometimes the kernel might need more space for DirectX or system drivers, resulting in cached mesh corruption or sluggish DirectX performance. See Microsoft support for tuning information. If you are using the /3GB switch and have this problem, use "/USERVA=2800" (or 2700 etc.) (MB for this argument) to limit the USER Virtual Address space to less than 3GB. This allows more space for the operating system kernel if it is needed. This option is placed in the boot.ini file just after the "/3GB" option.
• DirectX Shaders are displayed incorrectly for objects that have been mirrored on one axis with the Mirror tool. This does not occur for objects mirrored with the Mirror or Symmetry modifiers.
• The DirectX viewport shader sample, colortest.fx, does not display correctly.
• The Metal Bump DirectX plugin will overwrite the currently assigned Metal Bump Cubemap when using 'Pick object and create' to create a new cubemap
Sunday, December 12, 2010
Notes About 3ds max 7 Features
Notes About 3ds max 7 Features
ACTIVESHADE
• Using Raytrace materials can cause the ActiveShade window to lose focus, activating the main UI keyboard shortcuts. Click the ActiveShade window to reactivate ActiveShade keyboard shortcuts.
ASSET BROWSER
• Scene XRef drag and drop of files with scripts that depend on explicit scene object references can cause unpredictable results or program failure.
BONES
• Bones creation behavior can be unpredictable when using Snap Override. When you use SHIFT+right-click to invoke Snap Override, the Bones system interprets this as a left-click and places a bone in the scene.
• The Macro Recorder does not support Bones creation. However, you can manipulate the bones with the Macro Recorder after creating them.
• When Reassign Root is used, it deletes and recreates new bones. Any animated parameters, controller setups and custom bone settings are lost, including IK chain assignments. You should use this tool before making any adjustments or IK assignments to your bones.
• Negatively scaled bones can be set to unity with the Reset Scale button in Object Properties rollout of the Bone Adjustment Tools dialog. In tandem with the Reset Stretch and Realign buttons, it is now easy to create symmetrical bone chains free of scaling and stretch problems.
• The Stretch Factor for the selected bone is now displayed in the Object Properties rollout of the Bone Adjustment Tools dialog.
BOOLEANS
• Edges created during a Boolean operation involving compound (nested) Booleans might be visible when they should be invisible. This affects only viewport display modes that display visible edges, such as Wireframe, Lit Wireframes and Edged Faces. These edges can be made invisible through mesh editing.
CAMERA MAP TEXTURE
• Per Pixel Camera Map should only allow lights or cameras to be selected but does not correctly filter the available selection. Please use only lights or cameras.
CAMERAS
• Changing a Camera Corrected view to a User or Perspective view causes the view to display distorted geometry. Changing to any other axonometric view will correct this.
CHARACTERS
• Use of the Unlink Selection tool on objects that are contained in Characters can produce unexpected results. Instead, use the specific tools provided for adding and removing objects from Characters.
• Objects with animated TCB Rotation controllers can shift position when a containing character is destroyed. To avoid this, use Euler rotation controllers instead.
• Pick Object must be used to add characters to groups. Adding groups to a character by selecting from the viewport is not supported.
• In some instances, the Character Error dialog can appear with no nodes listed. If this occurs, try reselecting or selecting part of your hierarchy and then using Add Member to add more objects to your character.
• Before entering the Skin Pose mode for a character or group, it is advised to first set keys for all the members. The easiest way to do this is to click Set Key Pose.
CLONE AND ALIGN
• In 3ds max, some tools flip the sign of the scale of the objects they operate on. This is not always apparent to the user. If you use Clone and Align to align an object to another whose scale has been flipped, you might get unexpected positioning and orientation. Choose to also Match Scale to correct the discrepancy. (Example: the Mirror tool applies a negative scale to at least one axis of the object it is used on. In Clone and Align, select Match Scale to achieve the desired results with such objects.)
COMBUSTION MAPS
• combustion needs to be installed on your system in order to view CWS files. It should also be installed on all network-rendering servers if you are going to net-render a scene that contains CWS files. combustion does not need to be authorized to process CWS files used within 3ds max net-rendering servers, but does need to be present.
• CWS files that were created as “rub-throughs” won’t display unless combustion is installed on your computer.
• In the Combustion Parameters rollout when Track Time or Custom Resolution > Enable is turned on, viewport selections are not highlighted.
• If you are using a Combustion map with a Displace modifier or as a projector light map, the scene will not render correctly while a live link exists between 3ds max and combustion. To render correctly, save the loaded workspace file, and then turn off the Edit button to terminate the link between 3ds max and combustion.
• Using the Combustion map (within 3ds max 7) with combustion and attempting to change the UV Coordinates while Unwrap is selected and the Unwrap operation is visible in combustion, you might experience a disconnection error in 3ds max. To correct this, verify that all your UV settings are in place before you attempt to edit your map within combustion. The disconnection alert only appears when you have an object selected in your scene, so if you deselect your object and change the Unwrap UV channels, no disconnection alert should appear.
• The UV Offset values in the Coordinates rollout of the combustion map are not honored when painting directly on the object in 3ds max 7. To offset the UVW Coordinates of the combustion map, apply a UVW Map modifier and a UVW XForm modifier.
• You will have to save the workspace in combustion for every render in 3ds max. Save the combustion workspace and load it using the Project button.
• The latest changes in combustion are getting displayed in the sample slots of the material editor but not in 3ds max renderings. You will have to save the workspace in combustion and render again in 3ds max.
• In the Combustion Parameters rollout, when the Edit button is Enabled, combustion launches and prompts to create a new workspace. You must close this dialog, or 3ds max will not respond.
ACTIVESHADE
• Using Raytrace materials can cause the ActiveShade window to lose focus, activating the main UI keyboard shortcuts. Click the ActiveShade window to reactivate ActiveShade keyboard shortcuts.
ASSET BROWSER
• Scene XRef drag and drop of files with scripts that depend on explicit scene object references can cause unpredictable results or program failure.
BONES
• Bones creation behavior can be unpredictable when using Snap Override. When you use SHIFT+right-click to invoke Snap Override, the Bones system interprets this as a left-click and places a bone in the scene.
• The Macro Recorder does not support Bones creation. However, you can manipulate the bones with the Macro Recorder after creating them.
• When Reassign Root is used, it deletes and recreates new bones. Any animated parameters, controller setups and custom bone settings are lost, including IK chain assignments. You should use this tool before making any adjustments or IK assignments to your bones.
• Negatively scaled bones can be set to unity with the Reset Scale button in Object Properties rollout of the Bone Adjustment Tools dialog. In tandem with the Reset Stretch and Realign buttons, it is now easy to create symmetrical bone chains free of scaling and stretch problems.
• The Stretch Factor for the selected bone is now displayed in the Object Properties rollout of the Bone Adjustment Tools dialog.
BOOLEANS
• Edges created during a Boolean operation involving compound (nested) Booleans might be visible when they should be invisible. This affects only viewport display modes that display visible edges, such as Wireframe, Lit Wireframes and Edged Faces. These edges can be made invisible through mesh editing.
CAMERA MAP TEXTURE
• Per Pixel Camera Map should only allow lights or cameras to be selected but does not correctly filter the available selection. Please use only lights or cameras.
CAMERAS
• Changing a Camera Corrected view to a User or Perspective view causes the view to display distorted geometry. Changing to any other axonometric view will correct this.
CHARACTERS
• Use of the Unlink Selection tool on objects that are contained in Characters can produce unexpected results. Instead, use the specific tools provided for adding and removing objects from Characters.
• Objects with animated TCB Rotation controllers can shift position when a containing character is destroyed. To avoid this, use Euler rotation controllers instead.
• Pick Object must be used to add characters to groups. Adding groups to a character by selecting from the viewport is not supported.
• In some instances, the Character Error dialog can appear with no nodes listed. If this occurs, try reselecting or selecting part of your hierarchy and then using Add Member to add more objects to your character.
• Before entering the Skin Pose mode for a character or group, it is advised to first set keys for all the members. The easiest way to do this is to click Set Key Pose.
CLONE AND ALIGN
• In 3ds max, some tools flip the sign of the scale of the objects they operate on. This is not always apparent to the user. If you use Clone and Align to align an object to another whose scale has been flipped, you might get unexpected positioning and orientation. Choose to also Match Scale to correct the discrepancy. (Example: the Mirror tool applies a negative scale to at least one axis of the object it is used on. In Clone and Align, select Match Scale to achieve the desired results with such objects.)
COMBUSTION MAPS
• combustion needs to be installed on your system in order to view CWS files. It should also be installed on all network-rendering servers if you are going to net-render a scene that contains CWS files. combustion does not need to be authorized to process CWS files used within 3ds max net-rendering servers, but does need to be present.
• CWS files that were created as “rub-throughs” won’t display unless combustion is installed on your computer.
• In the Combustion Parameters rollout when Track Time or Custom Resolution > Enable is turned on, viewport selections are not highlighted.
• If you are using a Combustion map with a Displace modifier or as a projector light map, the scene will not render correctly while a live link exists between 3ds max and combustion. To render correctly, save the loaded workspace file, and then turn off the Edit button to terminate the link between 3ds max and combustion.
• Using the Combustion map (within 3ds max 7) with combustion and attempting to change the UV Coordinates while Unwrap is selected and the Unwrap operation is visible in combustion, you might experience a disconnection error in 3ds max. To correct this, verify that all your UV settings are in place before you attempt to edit your map within combustion. The disconnection alert only appears when you have an object selected in your scene, so if you deselect your object and change the Unwrap UV channels, no disconnection alert should appear.
• The UV Offset values in the Coordinates rollout of the combustion map are not honored when painting directly on the object in 3ds max 7. To offset the UVW Coordinates of the combustion map, apply a UVW Map modifier and a UVW XForm modifier.
• You will have to save the workspace in combustion for every render in 3ds max. Save the combustion workspace and load it using the Project button.
• The latest changes in combustion are getting displayed in the sample slots of the material editor but not in 3ds max renderings. You will have to save the workspace in combustion and render again in 3ds max.
• In the Combustion Parameters rollout, when the Edit button is Enabled, combustion launches and prompts to create a new workspace. You must close this dialog, or 3ds max will not respond.
Thursday, December 9, 2010
Features and Benefits Design, Visualize, Document, Share
Realize your ideas with efficiency and clarity, from conceptual design through drafting and detailing. Whether you’re creating solids and surfaces, studying the effects of lighting on your design, exploring design alternatives with walk-through animations, or producing an entire sheet set, AutoCAD® 2007 software has the tools to make it happen quickly and accurately.
Autodesk provides a complete set of tools to help designers clearly convey their design vision to clients and then quickly and accurately document those visions so that projects are completed on time and within budget. AutoCAD® 2005 built on the dramatic productivity gains of AutoCAD® 2004 software by adding tools that help designers efficiently manage sets of drawings. AutoCAD® 2006 enabled designers to work even faster and smarter on a wide range of day-to-day tasks with powerful new drafting features such as Dynamic Blocks and Dynamic Input.
Now, AutoCAD 2007 focuses on improving designers’ ability to create, navigate, and edit a conceptual design, clearly present the design to a nontechnical audience, and then easily document the design using all the powerful AutoCAD drafting tools. AutoCAD 2007 provides a huge productivity boost to users who currently do conceptual design in AutoCAD and to users who would like to do so. The common set of underlying technology “engines” and enhanced interface tools mean interoperability and cross-training between AutoCAD and Autodesk® products such as Autodesk® Revit® Building and Autodesk Inventor® software applications has never been better.
From turning thoughts into designs to creating compelling, rich graphical presentations that market your work to documenting that work as an entire set of drawings—AutoCAD helps you realize your ideas.
This Features and Benefits guide outlines the key features of AutoCAD 2007 by presenting the problems designers might currently encounter when creating and presenting conceptual designs, and by outlining the solutions provided in AutoCAD 2007. This guide also details the bottom-line benefits to designers and organizations.
This guide is not intended as an exhaustive list of the new AutoCAD 2007 features. To view a comprehensive list of new features, visit www.autodesk.com/autocad-features.
www.autodesk.com/autocad
AUTOCAD 2007 FEATURES AND BENEFITS
Contents
Design, Visualize, Document, Share...............................................................................1
Design..............................................................................................................................3
Design Environment.....................................................................................................3
Solid and Surface Modeling..........................................................................................4
Model Navigation..........................................................................................................4
Visualize...........................................................................................................................5
Visual Styles.................................................................................................................5
Animations....................................................................................................................6
Lights, Materials, and Rendering..................................................................................6
Document.........................................................................................................................8
Section and Flatten.......................................................................................................8
Dynamic Blocks............................................................................................................8
Tables..........................................................................................................................9
Share................................................................................................................................9
DWF as an Underlay..................................................................................................10
Publishing to the Adobe PDF File Format...................................................................10
www.autodesk.com/autocad 2
AUTOCAD 2007 FEATURES AND BENEFITS
Design
AutoCAD software provides powerful tools for the creation, management, and sharing of design documentation. Companies around the world use these documents and drawings to create buildings, landscapes, sheet metal parts, and much more. There is a key step that precedes the creation of drawings, however. That step is conceptual design. During this phase, designers lay out their vision for how to meet the customer’s requests and solve their problems. It is during this stage that the customer is sold on the abilities of the person or firm that they are discussing doing business with. Large and small firms alike go through this stage, often repeating the process many times during the different phases of a project, from bid to contract signing to project completion.
Currently, small firms commonly use simple tools such as hand sketches or foamcore models to convey their ideas. Larger firms may have a single specialist or a whole department that works only on the presale design process using complex and expensive dedicated software tools. Many firms use AutoCAD software to complete the conceptual design process, but the tools to produce these hand sketches or models in older versions can be difficult to learn and use. Using AutoCAD for the conceptual design process is especially challenging for small firms that cannot dedicate a resource to learning the more complicated tools found in the older AutoCAD versions.
AutoCAD 2007 makes the creation, editing, and navigation of solid and surface models simple and intuitive. It brings the power and flexibility of AutoCAD lines, arcs, and circles to cubes, surfaces, and spheres. It enables even an occasional AutoCAD user to quickly and easily create a model of a design. Designers can explore design alternatives with a client, and then, after the contract has been won, reuse that model data as a basis for the drawings needed to build the design.
Design Environment
ProblemThe solid and surface tools in previous versions of AutoCAD are not integrated, making creation of these objects more difficult. There is no single place that users go to create a solid or surface model. Instead, they are forced to jump around and “discover” features as they move through the AutoCAD application. In addition, the tools used to edit a model are completely different from the tools used to edit drawing geometry. This lack of integration makes editing difficult. As a result, users sometimes delete their work and start over rather than trying to remember how to edit a solid model.
Solution
AutoCAD 2007 introduces the new design “dashboard.” This interface element consolidates all solid and surface modeling tools into a single place and enables users to see at a glance the tools and workflow available in AutoCAD. AutoCAD 2007 also takes the intuitive, grip-based editing features introduced for drafting in previous AutoCAD versions—such as Dynamic Input, ortho, and
www.autodesk.com/autocad 3
AUTOCAD 2007 FEATURES AND BENEFITS
tracking—and integrates them into solid and surface modeling.
Benefit
Quickly create and edit solid and surface models without the extended learning and relearning time necessary in older versions of AutoCAD software. A common set of editing tools means that no retraining is required to edit solids as opposed to lines, arcs, and circles. This capability increases speed and decreases the training time required to be productive with solid and surface modeling in AutoCAD.
Solid and Surface Modeling
Problem
To perform common conceptual design tasks, such as massing studies, mechanical prototypes, or landscape design, users must be able to quickly and easily place and manipulate multiple, basic solid shapes. They also must have the ability to create complex surfaces from both simple profiles and complex linear data.
Solution
New tools in AutoCAD 2007 make it much easier to create solid and surface models. The redesigned interface uses a single, easy-to-learn environment for creating both solids and surfaces. Creation and editing of surfaces (as opposed to mesh objects) have been added, and users can now create solid objects that have faces defined by more complex surfaces.
Benefit
Using solids and surfaces in AutoCAD enables designers to avoid the use of expensive, third-party software tools and to bypass the use hand sketches and physical models that can be difficult to update or modify.
Model Navigation
Problem
Navigation is another common problem when working with models in previous versions of AutoCAD. Designers must use the Pan and Zoom commands repeatedly as they create, edit, and examine 2D drawings. Basic 3D navigation tools are difficult to use. It is not possible to pan and zoom in a perspecitve mode. In addition, rotating the model to the correct orientation can be challenging, a nd users cannot edit models during use of the Rotate or Orbit command. These tools need to be more closely integrated with the AutoCAD user’s working habits.
Solution
AutoCAD 2007 software expands existing tools by allowing transparent pan or zoom while in perspective mode and by allowing www.autodesk.com/autocad 4
AUTOCAD 2007 FEATURES AND BENEFITS
editing during use of the Orbit command. It also introduces several new tools such as “walk” mode, which enables designers to walk through a model in the intuitive manner used in computer games. A new camera function enables designers to take a quick “snapshot” of how their design will look from a specific point of view in the design.
Benefit
These improved navigation tools make designers more productive because they encourage interaction with models during creation and editing. They also enable designers to more easily explore and understand their own designs. Designers can more easily evaluate design alternatives, uncover flaws early in the design process, and explain design choices quickly and efficiently during and after the design process.
Visualize
During conceptual design, designers often need to convey their design vision to someone who is not accustomed to looking at drawings. This process happens at multiple stages of the project lifecycle, for instance, presenting a preliminary concept to a client to make sure that the design is proceeding in the right direction. During this phase a sketch may be best because it indicates visually to the client that the design is fluid and unfinished and encourages detailed feedback. At another stage in the process, for instance, in the final bid package, the designer may want to put in a rendered image so beautiful that it looks like a photograph of the completed project. This type of image can pull an entire sales presentation together and create the excitement necessary to close the deal.
Previous versions of AutoCAD have tools that address some of these problems (for instance, the ability to create a rendered image), but they are time consuming to learn and use. In addition, because earlier versions lack common visualization tools (such as a selection of screen display methods), designers are forced to use third-party products if they want to achieve this type of look in their presentations.
AutoCAD 2007 solves these problems by significantly enhancing existing visualization tools, making them much easier to both learn and use. This release also simplifies the process of modifying images after they have been created. In addition, several new tools that complete the suite of AutoCAD visualization tools, have been added. These improvements make it unnecessary for AutoCAD users to spend extra time and money to learn additional software tools.
Visual Styles
ProblemA designer using AutoCAD may need to pull a design idea together quickly, performing the preliminary work in AutoCAD to take advantage of the software’s documentation features. At this stage, the design idea is an abstract thought, and the AutoCAD shade modes—wireframe, flat shading, and Gouraud shading—are too formal to convey the fluid nature of the design.
Popular conceptual design tools use display modes to give the model a “sketchy” or unfinished look while the designer is working. The resulting effect is deliberate, so that the model resembles a hand-drawn sketch.
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AUTOCAD 2007 FEATURES AND BENEFITS
Solution
The AutoCAD 2007 visual styles tools relate to all elements of the 3D display, including the creation of new face styles, edge line effects, materials display, shadow display, lighting display, perspective, and parallel/orthographic views. Designers can use these new tools to easily create a visual style that fits their needs.
Benefit
Designers can use a visual style that best represents the current stage of the project to most clearly communicate the design. They can do this effortlessly in the familiar AutoCAD environment without having to learn or puchase additional software tools.
Animations
Problem
Earlier versions of AutoCAD include tools to create informative static images, but clients are demanding more. They want video effects that dynamically display the features of the proposed design. They want to be able to virtually walk through or around the design so that they are not constrained by a single framed image. Earlier versions of AutoCAD do not include tools that enable a designer to take a client on an interactive tour of the design or to create a recorded animation of the design to send to a client for review.
Solution
Using the AutoCAD 2007 Walk and Path animation tools, a designer can identify points of interest in a model, and then create a path or simply walk past the points of interest to create an animation file for distribution. Designers can use different visual styles for the animation to get just the right visual effect. The designer can also use these tools dynamically to take the client on an “over the shoulder” tour of the design.
Benefit
These new interactive walk and animation tools mean that designers can effectively review their designs and expose any flaws early in the design process, before problems occur in the final product.
Lights, Materials, and Rendering
Problem
Proper lighting can dramatically affect a rendered image, completely changing the look and feel of a design. In previous versions of AutoCAD software, it is difficult to accurately place a light in a drawing and understand how it will affect the scene before rendering it. Designers must go through several iterations of placing and adjusting the lights and then rendering the design—a time-consuming and tedious process.
www.autodesk.com/autocad 6
AUTOCAD 2007 FEATURES AND BENEFITS
Proper display of materials is crucial to making a rendered image accurately reflect what the completed design will look like. The texture of stone or wood, the different looks of brushed aluminum or stainless steel can “make or break” a design when it is presented to a client. In previous versions of AutoCAD materials were difficult to create, apply and render making the use of matierals in AutoCAD difficult and time consuming.
Even after the lights and materials have been properly applied, adjusting the parameters associated with a sucessful rendering can be a complex process. Renderings are effective tools for both investigating design alternatives and showing a client or regulatory group (such as a planning commission) the effect of the design on its surroundings. However, the technology can be so complex that many smaller organizations cannot use it effectively, and even large organizations need a dedicated specialist who focuses only on using specialized rendering tools.
Solution
The new interactive light tool in AutoCAD 2007 enables users to quickly and accurately place distance, point, and spot lights in a drawing. After the light has been placed, designers can use the light target grips to shine the light precisely where they need it. By placing the lights, designers can see the effect of lights on shadows in real time, with no need to render the image first.
In AutoCAD 2007, applying materials to a model is as easy as applying hatch patterns in 2D. Users drag materials from a predefined library onto any solid face or surface defined in their model. The material then scales automatically; there’s no need to manually adjust scaling parameters based on the size of the model. If the material library does not have the proper materials, designers can use the new materials editor to edit the material and create a customized library.
AutoCAD 2007 incorporates the latest in rendering technology, the mental ray® rendering engine. This powerful technology (incorporated into other Autodesk products such as Autodesk® 3ds Max®) has been integrated into a new user interface that makes accurate and realistic renderings as easy as possible. Capabilities include a slider control that graphically displays the trade-off between time and rendering quality.
Benefit
Rendering, materials, and lighting enhancements make highly accurate rendered images available for any AutoCAD user. Use these images to win contracts, meet planning requirements, or study the effects of changes on the design. Because AutoCAD 2007 focuses on ease of use and simplicity, learning time for these powerful tools is short, and the final image is both accurate and beautiful. Design professionals who use AutoCAD can now achieve these effects without hiring a special consultant or having to purchase and learn additional software tools.
www.autodesk.com/autocad 7
AUTOCAD 2007 FEATURES AND BENEFITS
Document
After the project has been won and the design reviews completed, designers need to quickly and easily turn AutoCAD design models into clear and accurate construction documents. AutoCAD 2007 has tools that enable designers to work directly from the design model to create sections and elevations that can then be incorporated into the drawings. AutoCAD 2007 also has the powerful drafting tools introduced in AutoCAD 2005 and 2006, such as Dynamic Blocks and the Table capabilities, that make the creation of drawings productive and efficient.
Section and Flatten
Problem
Once the conceptual design phase of a project has been completed, the designer needs to reuse the data from that design to drive the creation of construction documents. If the conceptual design is done using hand drawings, physical models, or a third-party software package, most of the model information must be thrown away and the drawings started from scratch.
Solution
Use the new Section and Flatten tools In AutoCAD 2007 to quickly and easily extract drawing information from the conceptual model. The Section tool allows the movement of a dynamic, adjustable plane through the solid or surface model. Use this cutting plane to create an elevation or plan view that is ready to be dimensioned and annotated as part of the drawing creation process. Use the Flatten tool to represent the 3D model as a 2D illustration.
Benefit
Save time and money by avoiding the need to re-create model information for construction documents. In addition, this feature helps to avoid errors caused by the manual re-creation step.
Dynamic Blocks
Problem
Drawings that use a great number of AutoCAD blocks can be difficult to manage and manipulate. Often, users must sift through thousands of blocks to find those that meet their needs. In addition, designers want to be able to use existing libraries easily, as well as enhance them to make them simpler to manage.
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AUTOCAD 2007 FEATURES AND BENEFITS
Solution
With AutoCAD software, blocks are dynamic. With the block authoring tools, designers can add dynamic behavior to existing block libraries—simplifying use of block libraries and reducing time spent manipulating blocks in a drawing.
The Dynamic Block authoring environment provides an easy, graphical way to create Dynamic Blocks from existing block libraries. It does not require any programming experience. The new Block Authoring palette enables designers to add parameters and actions by dragging them directly onto the block. To help realize the power of Dynamic Blocks, AutoCAD includes sample Dynamic Blocks with tutorials that show how to create and use them.
Benefit
The Dynamic Block feature makes blocks more flexible. Combining multiple blocks into a single block makes block libraries much easier to work with—saving time and increasing productivity.
Tables
Problem
Tabular data such as lists, schedules, and legends, is fundamental to many drawings. Currently, this table data is created using basic AutoCAD objects such as lines and text. Manually creating or updating table data requires focused attention to detail as well as many time-consuming steps. In addition, the risk of error increases as the project progresses.
Solution
The Table command in AutoCAD 2007 streamlines the process of creating tables and controlling their properties so designers can focus on content. Predefined table styles control elements such as border properties (grid visibility, lineweight, and color), cell properties (text style, height, color alignment, and background fill), location of headings, and more. Use existing table styles to create new tables that inherit all the defined style properties. Change any property of any table element or apply a new table style in seconds.
Benefit
AutoCAD 2007 makes it easy to change any table property and to create table data with a variety of formatting options. Designers can easily import a table or schedule, or quickly create a new table using predefined table styles and a single command.
Share
As the document set is being created, or during the bidding and construction process, the extended design team must be able to share information. The entire design group can exchange DWG files, but depending on the audience and the business requirements other file and data types may be required. AutoCAD provides tools that make data exchange
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AUTOCAD 2007 FEATURES AND BENEFITS
simple. These include tools to export current DWG files to older versions of the DWG specification, tools for exporting and importing DWF™ files with redline and markup information, and a complete suite of flexible printing and plotting capabilites.
AutoCAD 2007 expands these powerful tools to include support for the PDF file format as well as improvements in the ability to work with DWF files.
DWF as an Underlay
Problem
DWF technology enables designers to control their design information and protect it from accidental or intentional modification. For several releases, AutoCAD users have been able to export DWF files. For the last two releases, AutoCAD users have been able to import and export DWF files that contain redline and markup information. Although these are important capabilities, designers often want to send a DWF file to a partner or subcontactor to be used as the basis to create their own drawings.
Solution
AutoCAD 2007 introduces the ability to reference a DWF file as an underlay. The information can then be used as the basis for creating new drawing information, but the information in the DWF underlay cannot be altered.
Benefit
The use of a DWF file as an underlay enables designers to maintain the visual and data fidelity of their drawings when working with other members of their design team.
Publishing to the Adobe PDF File Format
Problem
Many companies have standardized on PDF format as their corporate document viewing tool. Many government agencies also mandate submittals in PDF.
Solution
AutoCAD 2007 now has the ability to write drawings in the Adobe® PDF file format.
Benefit
Organizations no longer have to purchase a third-party application to convert DWG files to the PDF file format, thus saving money and eliminating time spent learning a new application.
Autodesk, AutoCAD, Autodesk Inventor, DWF, Revit, and 3ds Max are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Autodesk, Inc., in the USA and/or other countries. mental ray is a registered trademark of mental images GbmH & Co. KG licensed for use by Autodesk, Inc. All other brand names, product names, or trademarks belong to their respective holders. Autodesk reserves the right to alter product offerings and specifications at any time without notice, and is not responsible for typographical or graphical errors that may appear in this document.
© 2006 Autodesk, Inc. All rights reserved.
www.autodesk.com/autocad
Autodesk provides a complete set of tools to help designers clearly convey their design vision to clients and then quickly and accurately document those visions so that projects are completed on time and within budget. AutoCAD® 2005 built on the dramatic productivity gains of AutoCAD® 2004 software by adding tools that help designers efficiently manage sets of drawings. AutoCAD® 2006 enabled designers to work even faster and smarter on a wide range of day-to-day tasks with powerful new drafting features such as Dynamic Blocks and Dynamic Input.
Now, AutoCAD 2007 focuses on improving designers’ ability to create, navigate, and edit a conceptual design, clearly present the design to a nontechnical audience, and then easily document the design using all the powerful AutoCAD drafting tools. AutoCAD 2007 provides a huge productivity boost to users who currently do conceptual design in AutoCAD and to users who would like to do so. The common set of underlying technology “engines” and enhanced interface tools mean interoperability and cross-training between AutoCAD and Autodesk® products such as Autodesk® Revit® Building and Autodesk Inventor® software applications has never been better.
From turning thoughts into designs to creating compelling, rich graphical presentations that market your work to documenting that work as an entire set of drawings—AutoCAD helps you realize your ideas.
This Features and Benefits guide outlines the key features of AutoCAD 2007 by presenting the problems designers might currently encounter when creating and presenting conceptual designs, and by outlining the solutions provided in AutoCAD 2007. This guide also details the bottom-line benefits to designers and organizations.
This guide is not intended as an exhaustive list of the new AutoCAD 2007 features. To view a comprehensive list of new features, visit www.autodesk.com/autocad-features.
www.autodesk.com/autocad
AUTOCAD 2007 FEATURES AND BENEFITS
Contents
Design, Visualize, Document, Share...............................................................................1
Design..............................................................................................................................3
Design Environment.....................................................................................................3
Solid and Surface Modeling..........................................................................................4
Model Navigation..........................................................................................................4
Visualize...........................................................................................................................5
Visual Styles.................................................................................................................5
Animations....................................................................................................................6
Lights, Materials, and Rendering..................................................................................6
Document.........................................................................................................................8
Section and Flatten.......................................................................................................8
Dynamic Blocks............................................................................................................8
Tables..........................................................................................................................9
Share................................................................................................................................9
DWF as an Underlay..................................................................................................10
Publishing to the Adobe PDF File Format...................................................................10
www.autodesk.com/autocad 2
AUTOCAD 2007 FEATURES AND BENEFITS
Design
AutoCAD software provides powerful tools for the creation, management, and sharing of design documentation. Companies around the world use these documents and drawings to create buildings, landscapes, sheet metal parts, and much more. There is a key step that precedes the creation of drawings, however. That step is conceptual design. During this phase, designers lay out their vision for how to meet the customer’s requests and solve their problems. It is during this stage that the customer is sold on the abilities of the person or firm that they are discussing doing business with. Large and small firms alike go through this stage, often repeating the process many times during the different phases of a project, from bid to contract signing to project completion.
Currently, small firms commonly use simple tools such as hand sketches or foamcore models to convey their ideas. Larger firms may have a single specialist or a whole department that works only on the presale design process using complex and expensive dedicated software tools. Many firms use AutoCAD software to complete the conceptual design process, but the tools to produce these hand sketches or models in older versions can be difficult to learn and use. Using AutoCAD for the conceptual design process is especially challenging for small firms that cannot dedicate a resource to learning the more complicated tools found in the older AutoCAD versions.
AutoCAD 2007 makes the creation, editing, and navigation of solid and surface models simple and intuitive. It brings the power and flexibility of AutoCAD lines, arcs, and circles to cubes, surfaces, and spheres. It enables even an occasional AutoCAD user to quickly and easily create a model of a design. Designers can explore design alternatives with a client, and then, after the contract has been won, reuse that model data as a basis for the drawings needed to build the design.
Design Environment
ProblemThe solid and surface tools in previous versions of AutoCAD are not integrated, making creation of these objects more difficult. There is no single place that users go to create a solid or surface model. Instead, they are forced to jump around and “discover” features as they move through the AutoCAD application. In addition, the tools used to edit a model are completely different from the tools used to edit drawing geometry. This lack of integration makes editing difficult. As a result, users sometimes delete their work and start over rather than trying to remember how to edit a solid model.
Solution
AutoCAD 2007 introduces the new design “dashboard.” This interface element consolidates all solid and surface modeling tools into a single place and enables users to see at a glance the tools and workflow available in AutoCAD. AutoCAD 2007 also takes the intuitive, grip-based editing features introduced for drafting in previous AutoCAD versions—such as Dynamic Input, ortho, and
www.autodesk.com/autocad 3
AUTOCAD 2007 FEATURES AND BENEFITS
tracking—and integrates them into solid and surface modeling.
Benefit
Quickly create and edit solid and surface models without the extended learning and relearning time necessary in older versions of AutoCAD software. A common set of editing tools means that no retraining is required to edit solids as opposed to lines, arcs, and circles. This capability increases speed and decreases the training time required to be productive with solid and surface modeling in AutoCAD.
Solid and Surface Modeling
Problem
To perform common conceptual design tasks, such as massing studies, mechanical prototypes, or landscape design, users must be able to quickly and easily place and manipulate multiple, basic solid shapes. They also must have the ability to create complex surfaces from both simple profiles and complex linear data.
Solution
New tools in AutoCAD 2007 make it much easier to create solid and surface models. The redesigned interface uses a single, easy-to-learn environment for creating both solids and surfaces. Creation and editing of surfaces (as opposed to mesh objects) have been added, and users can now create solid objects that have faces defined by more complex surfaces.
Benefit
Using solids and surfaces in AutoCAD enables designers to avoid the use of expensive, third-party software tools and to bypass the use hand sketches and physical models that can be difficult to update or modify.
Model Navigation
Problem
Navigation is another common problem when working with models in previous versions of AutoCAD. Designers must use the Pan and Zoom commands repeatedly as they create, edit, and examine 2D drawings. Basic 3D navigation tools are difficult to use. It is not possible to pan and zoom in a perspecitve mode. In addition, rotating the model to the correct orientation can be challenging, a nd users cannot edit models during use of the Rotate or Orbit command. These tools need to be more closely integrated with the AutoCAD user’s working habits.
Solution
AutoCAD 2007 software expands existing tools by allowing transparent pan or zoom while in perspective mode and by allowing www.autodesk.com/autocad 4
AUTOCAD 2007 FEATURES AND BENEFITS
editing during use of the Orbit command. It also introduces several new tools such as “walk” mode, which enables designers to walk through a model in the intuitive manner used in computer games. A new camera function enables designers to take a quick “snapshot” of how their design will look from a specific point of view in the design.
Benefit
These improved navigation tools make designers more productive because they encourage interaction with models during creation and editing. They also enable designers to more easily explore and understand their own designs. Designers can more easily evaluate design alternatives, uncover flaws early in the design process, and explain design choices quickly and efficiently during and after the design process.
Visualize
During conceptual design, designers often need to convey their design vision to someone who is not accustomed to looking at drawings. This process happens at multiple stages of the project lifecycle, for instance, presenting a preliminary concept to a client to make sure that the design is proceeding in the right direction. During this phase a sketch may be best because it indicates visually to the client that the design is fluid and unfinished and encourages detailed feedback. At another stage in the process, for instance, in the final bid package, the designer may want to put in a rendered image so beautiful that it looks like a photograph of the completed project. This type of image can pull an entire sales presentation together and create the excitement necessary to close the deal.
Previous versions of AutoCAD have tools that address some of these problems (for instance, the ability to create a rendered image), but they are time consuming to learn and use. In addition, because earlier versions lack common visualization tools (such as a selection of screen display methods), designers are forced to use third-party products if they want to achieve this type of look in their presentations.
AutoCAD 2007 solves these problems by significantly enhancing existing visualization tools, making them much easier to both learn and use. This release also simplifies the process of modifying images after they have been created. In addition, several new tools that complete the suite of AutoCAD visualization tools, have been added. These improvements make it unnecessary for AutoCAD users to spend extra time and money to learn additional software tools.
Visual Styles
ProblemA designer using AutoCAD may need to pull a design idea together quickly, performing the preliminary work in AutoCAD to take advantage of the software’s documentation features. At this stage, the design idea is an abstract thought, and the AutoCAD shade modes—wireframe, flat shading, and Gouraud shading—are too formal to convey the fluid nature of the design.
Popular conceptual design tools use display modes to give the model a “sketchy” or unfinished look while the designer is working. The resulting effect is deliberate, so that the model resembles a hand-drawn sketch.
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AUTOCAD 2007 FEATURES AND BENEFITS
Solution
The AutoCAD 2007 visual styles tools relate to all elements of the 3D display, including the creation of new face styles, edge line effects, materials display, shadow display, lighting display, perspective, and parallel/orthographic views. Designers can use these new tools to easily create a visual style that fits their needs.
Benefit
Designers can use a visual style that best represents the current stage of the project to most clearly communicate the design. They can do this effortlessly in the familiar AutoCAD environment without having to learn or puchase additional software tools.
Animations
Problem
Earlier versions of AutoCAD include tools to create informative static images, but clients are demanding more. They want video effects that dynamically display the features of the proposed design. They want to be able to virtually walk through or around the design so that they are not constrained by a single framed image. Earlier versions of AutoCAD do not include tools that enable a designer to take a client on an interactive tour of the design or to create a recorded animation of the design to send to a client for review.
Solution
Using the AutoCAD 2007 Walk and Path animation tools, a designer can identify points of interest in a model, and then create a path or simply walk past the points of interest to create an animation file for distribution. Designers can use different visual styles for the animation to get just the right visual effect. The designer can also use these tools dynamically to take the client on an “over the shoulder” tour of the design.
Benefit
These new interactive walk and animation tools mean that designers can effectively review their designs and expose any flaws early in the design process, before problems occur in the final product.
Lights, Materials, and Rendering
Problem
Proper lighting can dramatically affect a rendered image, completely changing the look and feel of a design. In previous versions of AutoCAD software, it is difficult to accurately place a light in a drawing and understand how it will affect the scene before rendering it. Designers must go through several iterations of placing and adjusting the lights and then rendering the design—a time-consuming and tedious process.
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AUTOCAD 2007 FEATURES AND BENEFITS
Proper display of materials is crucial to making a rendered image accurately reflect what the completed design will look like. The texture of stone or wood, the different looks of brushed aluminum or stainless steel can “make or break” a design when it is presented to a client. In previous versions of AutoCAD materials were difficult to create, apply and render making the use of matierals in AutoCAD difficult and time consuming.
Even after the lights and materials have been properly applied, adjusting the parameters associated with a sucessful rendering can be a complex process. Renderings are effective tools for both investigating design alternatives and showing a client or regulatory group (such as a planning commission) the effect of the design on its surroundings. However, the technology can be so complex that many smaller organizations cannot use it effectively, and even large organizations need a dedicated specialist who focuses only on using specialized rendering tools.
Solution
The new interactive light tool in AutoCAD 2007 enables users to quickly and accurately place distance, point, and spot lights in a drawing. After the light has been placed, designers can use the light target grips to shine the light precisely where they need it. By placing the lights, designers can see the effect of lights on shadows in real time, with no need to render the image first.
In AutoCAD 2007, applying materials to a model is as easy as applying hatch patterns in 2D. Users drag materials from a predefined library onto any solid face or surface defined in their model. The material then scales automatically; there’s no need to manually adjust scaling parameters based on the size of the model. If the material library does not have the proper materials, designers can use the new materials editor to edit the material and create a customized library.
AutoCAD 2007 incorporates the latest in rendering technology, the mental ray® rendering engine. This powerful technology (incorporated into other Autodesk products such as Autodesk® 3ds Max®) has been integrated into a new user interface that makes accurate and realistic renderings as easy as possible. Capabilities include a slider control that graphically displays the trade-off between time and rendering quality.
Benefit
Rendering, materials, and lighting enhancements make highly accurate rendered images available for any AutoCAD user. Use these images to win contracts, meet planning requirements, or study the effects of changes on the design. Because AutoCAD 2007 focuses on ease of use and simplicity, learning time for these powerful tools is short, and the final image is both accurate and beautiful. Design professionals who use AutoCAD can now achieve these effects without hiring a special consultant or having to purchase and learn additional software tools.
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AUTOCAD 2007 FEATURES AND BENEFITS
Document
After the project has been won and the design reviews completed, designers need to quickly and easily turn AutoCAD design models into clear and accurate construction documents. AutoCAD 2007 has tools that enable designers to work directly from the design model to create sections and elevations that can then be incorporated into the drawings. AutoCAD 2007 also has the powerful drafting tools introduced in AutoCAD 2005 and 2006, such as Dynamic Blocks and the Table capabilities, that make the creation of drawings productive and efficient.
Section and Flatten
Problem
Once the conceptual design phase of a project has been completed, the designer needs to reuse the data from that design to drive the creation of construction documents. If the conceptual design is done using hand drawings, physical models, or a third-party software package, most of the model information must be thrown away and the drawings started from scratch.
Solution
Use the new Section and Flatten tools In AutoCAD 2007 to quickly and easily extract drawing information from the conceptual model. The Section tool allows the movement of a dynamic, adjustable plane through the solid or surface model. Use this cutting plane to create an elevation or plan view that is ready to be dimensioned and annotated as part of the drawing creation process. Use the Flatten tool to represent the 3D model as a 2D illustration.
Benefit
Save time and money by avoiding the need to re-create model information for construction documents. In addition, this feature helps to avoid errors caused by the manual re-creation step.
Dynamic Blocks
Problem
Drawings that use a great number of AutoCAD blocks can be difficult to manage and manipulate. Often, users must sift through thousands of blocks to find those that meet their needs. In addition, designers want to be able to use existing libraries easily, as well as enhance them to make them simpler to manage.
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AUTOCAD 2007 FEATURES AND BENEFITS
Solution
With AutoCAD software, blocks are dynamic. With the block authoring tools, designers can add dynamic behavior to existing block libraries—simplifying use of block libraries and reducing time spent manipulating blocks in a drawing.
The Dynamic Block authoring environment provides an easy, graphical way to create Dynamic Blocks from existing block libraries. It does not require any programming experience. The new Block Authoring palette enables designers to add parameters and actions by dragging them directly onto the block. To help realize the power of Dynamic Blocks, AutoCAD includes sample Dynamic Blocks with tutorials that show how to create and use them.
Benefit
The Dynamic Block feature makes blocks more flexible. Combining multiple blocks into a single block makes block libraries much easier to work with—saving time and increasing productivity.
Tables
Problem
Tabular data such as lists, schedules, and legends, is fundamental to many drawings. Currently, this table data is created using basic AutoCAD objects such as lines and text. Manually creating or updating table data requires focused attention to detail as well as many time-consuming steps. In addition, the risk of error increases as the project progresses.
Solution
The Table command in AutoCAD 2007 streamlines the process of creating tables and controlling their properties so designers can focus on content. Predefined table styles control elements such as border properties (grid visibility, lineweight, and color), cell properties (text style, height, color alignment, and background fill), location of headings, and more. Use existing table styles to create new tables that inherit all the defined style properties. Change any property of any table element or apply a new table style in seconds.
Benefit
AutoCAD 2007 makes it easy to change any table property and to create table data with a variety of formatting options. Designers can easily import a table or schedule, or quickly create a new table using predefined table styles and a single command.
Share
As the document set is being created, or during the bidding and construction process, the extended design team must be able to share information. The entire design group can exchange DWG files, but depending on the audience and the business requirements other file and data types may be required. AutoCAD provides tools that make data exchange
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AUTOCAD 2007 FEATURES AND BENEFITS
simple. These include tools to export current DWG files to older versions of the DWG specification, tools for exporting and importing DWF™ files with redline and markup information, and a complete suite of flexible printing and plotting capabilites.
AutoCAD 2007 expands these powerful tools to include support for the PDF file format as well as improvements in the ability to work with DWF files.
DWF as an Underlay
Problem
DWF technology enables designers to control their design information and protect it from accidental or intentional modification. For several releases, AutoCAD users have been able to export DWF files. For the last two releases, AutoCAD users have been able to import and export DWF files that contain redline and markup information. Although these are important capabilities, designers often want to send a DWF file to a partner or subcontactor to be used as the basis to create their own drawings.
Solution
AutoCAD 2007 introduces the ability to reference a DWF file as an underlay. The information can then be used as the basis for creating new drawing information, but the information in the DWF underlay cannot be altered.
Benefit
The use of a DWF file as an underlay enables designers to maintain the visual and data fidelity of their drawings when working with other members of their design team.
Publishing to the Adobe PDF File Format
Problem
Many companies have standardized on PDF format as their corporate document viewing tool. Many government agencies also mandate submittals in PDF.
Solution
AutoCAD 2007 now has the ability to write drawings in the Adobe® PDF file format.
Benefit
Organizations no longer have to purchase a third-party application to convert DWG files to the PDF file format, thus saving money and eliminating time spent learning a new application.
Autodesk, AutoCAD, Autodesk Inventor, DWF, Revit, and 3ds Max are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Autodesk, Inc., in the USA and/or other countries. mental ray is a registered trademark of mental images GbmH & Co. KG licensed for use by Autodesk, Inc. All other brand names, product names, or trademarks belong to their respective holders. Autodesk reserves the right to alter product offerings and specifications at any time without notice, and is not responsible for typographical or graphical errors that may appear in this document.
© 2006 Autodesk, Inc. All rights reserved.
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