Coming in right under the wire in 2013 was the announcement that PTC had acquired ThingWorx, a tech developer of an application platform designed to rapidly build Internet of Things and Machine-to-Machine (M2M) applications. Your first question might be “what’s ThingWorx?” The Chester County, PA-based company develops what it calls the “1st Application Platform for […]
7 New Year’s Resolutions for CAD Users
As we approach year’s end and begin looking towards a brand-spanking new year, many of us will make New Year’s resolutions. These are often health-related (eat less, exercise more, drop a few pounds, quit an unhealthy habit or two) or family-related (yell at my kids less, be more considerate of my significant other, walk the […]
GrabCAD Adds Cloud-Based Rendering to its Workbench
It’s becoming more and more important for engineers and designers to have a way to easily render their 3D models. These renderings are used for design reviews as well as by downstream folks for sales and marketing and product documentation. For years, high-end rendering software was available but it was expensive, required high-end computing horsepower […]
Dassault Systemes Acquires Visualization Software Provider RTT
In a strategic move to perhaps gain market market share in the automotive industry, Dassault Systemes, announces today that it has inked a deal to acquire controlling interest (85%) of German visualization software developer, RTT. Munich-based RTT develops high-end visualization and rendering software, such as DeltaGen, PictureBook, POS Configurator, among others. The acquisition will include […]
Autodesk Debuts CAM 360 Cloud-based CAM Solution
Las Vegas has always been a city where you’ll find plenty of action: bright lights, loud and lively casinos and tons of excitement. If you’re a CAD geek, Las Vegas is also the place to be for this year’s Autodesk University. Amid the disco lighting and dancing robots, several big announcements are taking place that […]
Siemens and CADENAS Partner to Provide Free Real-World Productivity Tool for STEM Students
Encouraging young students to study engineering and science is a pursuit that will benefit all of us as we move into the future. The world we live in today is driven by technology and the need for creating scientists and engineers who will be empowered to steer that technology in beneficial directions is vital to […]
COMSOL Multiphysics 4.4 Adds Multiphysics Coupling and New Ribbon User Interface
COMSOL Inc. announces the release of the latest version of its Multiphysics 4.4 software for modeling and simulation of electrical, mechanical, fluid and chemical applications. New Interface Enhances User Productivity The new version offers a new ribbon design user interface that groups commands and displays them as needed, making it easier for users to find […]
Is CAD Becoming More Portable?
For years now I’ve been writing on the topic of CAD software running on mobile devices. As more and more of engineering and manufacturing tasks become distributed among various partners and suppliers in ever-expanding supply chains, having a way to access drawings and models on mobile devices (tablets, smartphones, etc.) has become more important. Obstacles […]
KeyShot-IronCAD Integration Delivers Faster Photorealistic Rendering of CAD Models
It sounds like IronCAD has several irons in the fire lately. First, it announced the newest version of its 2014 IronCAD Design Collaboration Suite (see previous post). Next up, the company announces the integration of its IronCAD CAD software with KeyShot, a real-time ray tracing and lighting software. This integration will enable the single-click transfer […]
Corel Rolls out CorelCAD 2014 Affordable CAD Software
Aimed at CAD users in search of an affordable CAD software that offers industry-standard CAD features along with .DWG support, Corel introduces CorelCAD 2014. The software, which runs on both Windows and Mac platforms, now features a new Windows ribbon user interface, enhanced layering tools, new design resources and CorelDRAW graphics support for Windows that […]
Intergraph Consolidates its Plant Design, Shipbuilding and Material Handling Software into Smart 3D 2014
Intergraph announced today that it has consolidated its SmartPlant 3D, SmartMarine3D and SmartPlant 3D Materials Handling solutions into a new offering: Smart 3D, touted to be the world’s first and only 3D design software specifically designed for plant, offshore, shipbuilding metals, mining and bulk material handling industries. The software employs a unique engineering approach that […]
New Tools In GrabCAD Workbench Reduce File Management Woes
A common headache among engineers—especially at small to mid-size companies—is finding the right way to safely and efficiently manage, share and view CAD models. At larger companies, PDM and/or PLM systems are often in place to control the file management process, but a staggering 60% of engineers don’t have access to PDM/PLM systems. The end […]
Siemens Extends Monthly Subscription Options with 3D Editing Tool
After 20 years of covering the CAD industry, I’ve seen many changes and advances in the technology offered in the various systems. One thing that has remained constant, however, is that CAD is expensive. For many years, even so-called “mid-range” CAD systems would set an engineer back $5,000, and that’s just to get started and […]