Mike Allen

I tested this with an export to an AutoCAD DWG. Draft mode exports a spline & Precise mode exports a true arc (which is what I would expect.) But with my drawing view set to draft mode, when I export to DWG in precise mode, I see the view flash into facets & back to smooth. The exported file is still a true arc, but it's disconcerting to see the view change momentarily into something that appears less precise. (By the way, I've tried this with both Parasolid & ACIS models & the results appear to be the same.)

Thanks for the suggestions! I changed the surface smoothness to 200 & made a new drawing view - and it turns out that the problem was a combination of surface smoothness precise mode. When I created the view (in the default draft mode), I got a smooth arc. But when I changed the view to precise mode, the arc went to facets. Lowering the surface smoothness in the scene & updating the view in draft mode also brought the facets back. It would be neat if precise mode would display a true arc on the screen & send the arc to the printer (especially send it to the printer - but, I'd also like to be able to see an accurate representation on the screen.)

The print is what matters to me - and it is always as segmented as what I see on the screen.

On occasion, I have to make a 1:1 print of parts with fairly large-radius curves (over 60 inches). The model in the scene looks perfect, but when I generate a drawing view, I can never get a smooth curve. I've tried using Precise mode in the drawing, changing the part from Parasolid to ACIS - even raising the rendering surface smoothness. Does anyone know what I'm doing wrong?

I did a quick search for "3d models" anatomy. For the really high-end models, it looks like you might have to pay. This site has some incredible stuff, but it looks like it ranges in price from about $700 to several thousand dollars - http://www.3dscience.com/ This site has some less expensive models at a much lower level of detail - http://www.turbosquid.com This has 3ds anatomy models - some are free - http://www.the3dstudio.com Another purchase site - http://www.humanbody3d.com/

I didn't realize you were trying to do this in a scene - but I'll tell you what works for us in a drawing (this only works if you have Illustrator - or whatever program owns the file - installed): Instead of selecting "Create from file", select "Create New" and select the program from the list. When the program opens it will show a blank file that is titled "IronCAD 9.0 Sheet 1." Open the file you want to import, copy to the clipboard, return to the blank file & paste. Select File->Exit and return to Sheet 1. Then drag the imported file into your catalog. ********* I just tried this with Illustrator 9 & it doesn't work that way (we use Freehand instead.) Sorry - this method works with many programs, but apparently not Illustrator (at least not version 9.) ********* I just tried Kevin's catalog in a scene & the first object drops as an icon (not an actual Illustrator file) and the second object fails to drop.

Hi Kevin - your second method seems to result (for me, at least) in catalog objects that can't be dragged into a drawing. I've always used your first method & it works fine - but when I try it the other way, I get an icon in the catalog, but am unable to drop it onto a drawing sheet (neither of the items in the catalog you uploaded will drop for me.) I just tested it on a new catalog & with method #1 I can drop the object into a drawing, but with method #2, I can't. Am I missing something?

Here's what Kevin is talking about. I used Edge Surface to make the outside surface of the wall. It took two steps, because the top curve didn't want to merge correctly. Then I selected the inside faces and used Create>Thicken to finish the wall. (The original surface can be discarded.) roofs_heath_b_surface_thicken.ics

"Fixed in Parent" - objects will still be selected, but will not move until they are "unfixed."

You can also assemble & disassemble to change the order of the scene browser. Parts/assemblies will arrange themselves in the order that you pick them to assemble. No dragging necessary, unless you have to move a part from one assembly to another.

I think it has to do with available memory. If you have too much open in IronCAD (I just made it happen with a scene & 7 drawings), the menus can start to behave strangely. I always take that as my cue to close some files, which always fixes the problem - at least long enough to save everything & close IronCAD. I agree with Urban, this has been around since v3.2 (that's also when I started using IronCAD.)

You might try iReader - http://www.syntactica.com/products_ireader.html - it's an extension that works with Firefox & IE. You move your mouse over a link & it evaluates the text on the link.

You might try exporting your model from IronCAD as ACIS (we use version 4 for AutoCAD 2000). Then import the ACIS model into a blank AutoCAD drawing.

We have SP2 installed, 32-bit WinXP Pro. According to our IS guy, who had to get the box working again: "I tried it on a newly Ghosted box on the bench. It did not work but I was able to remove the switch. It appears after the installation of other things (McAfee, Prism Suite, etc.) there are very limited resources available. On Steve’s box, I could get to the edit button of the boot.ini screen but no further. You cannot even remove software after adding the switch to a “fully” configured (extra software, etc.) computer or attempt repair from the console after booting from the XP installer CD." So he couldn't even fix it from the recovery console.

We have just found that using the 3GB boot switch on a Dell Optiplex 745 w/Core 2 Duo will render the machine unable to boot (Windows XP Pro.) If you are going to try the switch, be sure to add it as an additional boot option - not the only option. ************* I notice that model is optimized for Windows Vista - which may be why the boot switch doesn't work. From the Dell website: Available DIMM Slots: Four Memory slots offering up to 4GB^2 ^2 The total amount of available memory will be less than 4GB. The amount less depends on the actual system configuration. To fully utilize 4GB or more of memory requires a 64-bit enabled processor and 64-bit operating system. So I'm thinking we'll be limited to 2GB on our brand new machines with Windows XP Pro installed.

I see from the Support section of the the 3D Connexion website that their Space Navigator has a Mac OS-X driver. Their other products all seem to have Unix & Linux drivers, which (hypothetically) should work for OS-X (since OS-X is basically a version of Unix.) When I switched to a Mac at home, all of my peripherals transferred without problem. I was also pleasantly surprised at the volume of freeware drivers, utilities & programs available for OS-X - many of which were written for Unix/Linux, but would install & run perfectly in OS-X (look for *.pkg files.)

I found the Open Design Aliance's response to AutoDesk's request for a temporary restraining order. This may shed some light on the subject. ODA_Response.pdf

As much as I really love my Mac and wouldn't give it up for anything (but a newer Mac) - in my experience, Photoshop runs exactly the same on a Mac or a PC. But it does use up a LOT of memory (& doesn't give it up until you exit the program.) Extra drive "scratch" space also really comes in handy. I suggest you buy as much RAM as you can afford - 4GB would be a reasonable amount, if you are a power-user in both IronCAD & Photoshop. Both programs run happier if they have lots of RAM (especially if you need to use them at the same time.)

This problem has been around for years - it involves "Update all Views" and saving when not looking at the BOM. 1) Create a new scene. Add parts. 2) Create a new drawing. Add at least one sheet. 3) Create a General view from your scene on Sheet 1 (this may also work with standard views, but I haven't tested it.) 4) Create a BOM from your scene on Sheet 2 5) Go to Sheet 1 & Update all Views 6) Save the drawing. 7) Priint - Page Range=All The BOM either prints out about 10x too big or 10x too small. Here's the workaround: After doing Update All Views, go to each sheet that contains a BOM, double-click the BOM & hit the "Zoom to current sheet scale" button. Then print & save. I know I've reported this behavior to IronCAD tech support several times over the years - and at least once to this forum. Strangely enough, I can't turn up any topics by searching for BOM. bom_test.icd bom_test.ics bom_test.pdf

Here's an athletic shoe - don't know where the model originated, or I would give proper credit. shoe.ics

We are also split here between PCs & Macs (probably 80/20, in favor of PCs - 90/10 if you count our IT & accounting departments). Mac users are either doing art, or 3D modeling/rendering. One of the two biggest barriers to getting the Mac users to try IronCAD for 3D modeling is that they would have to use Windows (the other is the artistic features of their rendering software.) They might be convinced to sacrifice some degree of artistry for the speed, ease & utility of IronCAD (they can't even take measurement from their models) - but probably not.

I found that same problem back with IC6 or 7 (whenever we first got the nVidia cards on our systems.) Have not used the nView Desktop Manager since. I haven't noticed any speed-related issues with IronCAD 9. As far as I can tell, it performs all operations at the same speed as in IronCAD 8. I normally work on extremely large models (on a scale of about 900 square feet or bigger), with a moderate level of detail (we don't show fasteners, or any internal detail for most parts - but we have a lot of curved surfaces, so there are lots of facets.)

Try the "Catalog Downloads" section of this website: http://www.ironcad.com.au There are also some catalogs (in the IronCAD folder) here: http://www.ironcad.com/download/

Wow, I was just looking for a common frame of reference for similar situations that currently have different sets of symbols. I didn't realize that it might upset the aircraft industry. I do understand that L = distance along a part's X axis - and am capable of remembering that relationship for minutes at a time. I suppose I could just make a conversion chart & tape it to my monitor - but the fact that I could make a conversion chart for all coordinate systems that use three perpendicular axes tells me that it would be possible to add some helpers to the IronCAD dialog boxes to do the same thing. Then I wouldn't get my monitor all sticky.

X' Y' Z' sounds good to me. I'm pretty good at decoding different symbolic systems - but given a choice, I would always prefer to not introduce a new set of symbols to signify the same basic concept as the old set of symbols. Instead, why not just relate everything to the global XYZ? X', Y', Z' would work fine for local coordinates, rX, rY, rZ would work for rotations relative to global, rX', rY', rZ' would work for rotations relative to local. When it comes down to it, you can choose whatever set of symbols you want - as long as you give me a Rosetta Stone. But it seems as though it would be less work for the end user if the decoding system were embedded within the symbols.