Mike Allen

OK, that's good to know. I notice that the color doesn't show up on the catalog tabs until you actually access the catalog, which is why we don't all show the same catalogs as read-only. Thanks for clearing that up!

What determines the read-only state of catalogs? I notice that my coworkers and I all have different catalogs shown as read-only. The default catalogs all have read-only attributes, but none of our user catalogs do. So why do each of us have different user catalogs showing as read-only? Also, I notice that at least one of the catalogs that was read-only yesterday isn't today.

Just because IronCAD is easy to learn and easy to use doesn't mean that any of the functionality has been "watered down." The simplicity of IronCAD's user interface is really what makes it such a powerful program. IronCAD allows you to be a professional designer, rather than forcing you to be a professional CAD operator. Too many CAD programs seem to be purposely designed to only be used effectively after months or years of training. But with IronCAD, the user can focus on creating rather than on how to constrain two parts together. It took me a few hours to get comfortable with the basics of the TriBall in IronCAD - and within a week I felt proficient with most of the rest of the program. Even assuming that Inventor's output appears equal to that of IronCAD, consider the time it takes to achieve that output and I think it will become instantly clear that IronCAD is the better program.

Try http://www.cadregister.com - the PartSpec/Thomas Register web site. It's free and they have quite a few 3D models. At the very least, they have detailed 2D drawings for most things. It's worth a look.

I agree that this would be an amazing tool, if the resolution were higher. The output is grainy because IronCAD is apparently rendering the embedded file as a graphic at 72 pixels/inch. I have mentioned this to tech support as a concern, since it also affects shaded rendering views. It would be really great if there were settings for PDF output, so that we could select the best rendering resolution. As it is, we still have to use Distiller if we want a decent output for shaded views and embedded files.

You might also try cylindrical mapping. Sometimes natural and automatic mapping don't give you exactly what you want. The other mapping styles (in this case, cylindrical) have more options for tweaking the texture map and also allow you to use the move texture tool to visually position your graphic.

Facet parts are really only useful as visual representations. You can't snap to them and you can't dimension them. They are good for "window dressing" in the scene (potted plants, etc.), since they take up little memory. They help you cut down on overhead in the scene, so most of your processing power can go to your actual parts. To make a facet part, check the box in Options, create the part, drag it into a temporary catalog, and drag it back into the scene (IronCAD converts it to a facet part.) When you're done, remember to un-check the box. The next section has a pretty good description in the IronCAD online Help file: **** ·When saving parts, also save. The following options determine the type of information stored when a part is saved. If neither option is selected, only information necessary for recreating a part is stored. Although the resulting file is small, the process of creating the part takes longer than with the selection of one of the two options below. ·Approximate surface description (facets). Select this option to store a simplified version of a part. This one-piece facet part is displayed faster than a full IntelliShape version. To work with individual IntelliShapes within the part, it must first be regenerated by selecting a shape within it. ·Exact surface description (boundary rep.). Select this option to store the full IntelliShape version of the part. It takes longer to display the part, but it is not necessary to regenerate it to work with its Individual IntelliShapes. **** Finally, the last box (When loading a part:) if checked, IronCAD will compute all of the surfaces of the part when you load it, otherwise it will use the interaction of part geometry to render the part. Except for the facet part, the other options allow you to decide when IronCAD will spend extra time and processing power to completely evaluate a part. Either do it up front ("Exact surface description" on save and load) or do it on demand. Hope this helps. -Mike

I don't think so. Lindows doesn't profess to be able to run more than the most basic Windows applications. They have revised their marketing plan to position themselves to be a viable option to replace Windows. So they want to make Windows users comfortable, but they are downplaying the Windows compatibility issue. After using WINE on my SuSE Linux installation, I can attest that there are very few Windows applications that will actually run in Linux.

Try this: take a screw and create a 2D circle, slightly bigger than the diameter of the screw (I used .27 for a .25 screw.) Link the circle for the number of threads per inch. You could then assemble & drop it into a catalog. screw.ics

Here is a workaround. I blended the edges and then dropped an H block onto the top face. I stretched the H block to the edges of the blends on the sides and bottom. Then I shelled the resulting part, removing all of the inside faces. Shell-workaround.ics

You may want to check Machinery's Handbook, or your sheet metal supplier.

If you have Microsoft Photo Editor, at the "Insert Object" dialog box in the IronCAD drawing, select "Create New" and highlight "Microsoft Photo Editor 3.0 Photo" as the object type. When Microsoft Photo Editor starts, select "Open an existing photo" and browse to find your jpeg. When the photo opens, go to File>Exit and Return to Sheet 1. Photo Editor will close and your picture should be in your drawing. I have noticed that not all OLEs are created equal, where IronCAD is concerned. Excel worksheets work best with "Create from File," but other filetypes work better with "Create New" (where the file is opened in the associated program, then close the program to return to IronCAD.) "Create New" also works differently between Photo Editor and Macromedia Freehand. When inserting a Freehand illustration into IronCAD, "Create New" starts a blank Freehand file. I then have to open the illustration I want, copy it into the blank file and close Freehand to insert the illustration into IronCAD. The trick is in finding the right method of inserting the OLE. We use jpegs, Freehand Illustrations, AutoCAD drawings and Excel worksheets within our IronCAD drawings and all can be inserted correctly, but all require a slightly different insertion method. Hope this helps. -Mike

Excellent tip! I find that you can add a seam on the ends before changing the bend angle. The two ends don't line up correctly for the seam, but it gets close enough. I tried entering 360 for the angle and when I checked the result, it was 359.994 - which must be the maximum angle. -Mike