Mechanical Desktop Release 4 and Mechanical Desktop 4 Power Pack
Pramod Bangarpet
- In-place reference editing
- Multiple Design Environment
- Unloading external reference files- Streamlined Assembly Catalog Interface
-Change termination types of all features
-Dynamic sketch solver
-Multiple profile support
-Multiple Design Environment
-Right-click “anywhere” to access functions in context
-Thumbnail views of external files
-Improved navigation
-Improved visual UI feedback
-MDT R 4 ships with a robust and enhanced ACIS 5
-Surfaces can be stitched and healed into “quilts” or solids
-Splines can be used in profiles
-Use splines, polylines, part edges as paths in 3D Sweep
-Breakout and radial section views can be defined
-Use External references as toolbodies
-Multiple sheets
-Faster drawing view generation
-Automatic centerlines
-AutoCAD 2000 is the design platform
-Visual Basic Application support
-Time-saving 2D design productivity features
-Time-saving drafting and annotation features for detailing and making changes easily
-Automated production-drawing creation tools
-Assembly creation tools for managing detailed 2D drawings and assemblies
- Includes Standard
- Parts
- Features
- Structural Steel Shapes
- Parts tools
-Shaft calculations
-Fastener calculations
-Bearing calculations
-Beam calculations
-2D and 3D FEA
Questions about AutoCAD Mechanical, contact chris...@autodesk.com
Questions about Mechanical Desktop, contact pramod.b...@autodesk.com
Tim Dougherty
learning that Autodesk had acquired Genius and now are selling the product
as "Power Pack". If that offends the hard working people at Autodesk I
apologize, but try and look at it from my point of view; We spend a good
deal of money for a product that was marketed to us as a 'complete
mechanical design package', we buy into the VIP program which was marketed
to us as an economical way of riding the upgrade wave. We are told that the
quarterly CD's will include 'valuable tools' for us to use, which they don't
(for MDT users') And now we are supposed to pay extra so the program will
work better for us.
After using this product since before its first release (designer) I CAN
say that it has come a long way, I can also say that it is not working for
us in the manner it was marketed. When a user is enticed with new features
in up-coming upgrades, and they wait anxiously......and patiently for those
upgrades, then those features don't work as promised, well its not good. For
example; Lofting and Helical sweep, yes you can do a helical sweep, BUT if
you do more than 10 revolutions your DWGVIEW won't display properly. I've
heard mention of this as "an issue" with MDT3.01. Issue? This is a major bug
for me! Same with lofting, sometimes it works right sometimes not. It
depends on how simple you want your designs. I don't want simple designs,
and I want every mechanical detail included in my models and DWGVIEWS.
I think its time Autodesk re-evaluate its marketing strategy. To continue
to fragment its product line and continually ply its users with add ons and
"Power Packs" is a mistake in my opinion. This type of marketing was, I'm
sure, very effective ten years ago or even five years ago. But as a "VIP"
user, I want all the mechanical functionality that Autodesk can throw at me
included in its' "High-end" mechanical CAD package. I sincerely hope that
Autodesk stops making baby steps with Mechanical Desktop and that one day
VERY soon this package will work the way I need it too. I also hope I get a
chance to evaluate power pack, but as it stands right now I may want to save
that money in my budget to put towards a competitors product instead of
risking another let-down.
Still hoping for the best in Mechanical Desktop,
Tim Dougherty
TERAMed Inc.
M.P.
Kent Keller
My sentiments exactly.
With recent policy changes and features not working or not being included
have really changed my views from "blind faith" to skepticism.
Like most I really don't want to look at changing cad programs but it is
almost like they want us to.
--
Kent Keller
Strobe Data Inc.
www.strobedata.com
Tim Dougherty <ti...@NOSPAMteramed.com> wrote in message
news:7m2t5d$oj...@adesknews2.autodesk.com...
Paul Salvador
>
> As VIP site coordinator, I can't help but feel a little cheated after
> learning that Autodesk had acquired Genius and now are selling the product
Well said, I do not think anyone wouldn't totally concur with you
sentiments.
J.P.Seebo
Kent Keller <ke...@strobedata.com> wrote in message
news:7m2u4u$oj...@adesknews2.autodesk.com...
> Tim
>
> My sentiments exactly.
>
> With recent policy changes and features not working or not being included
> have really changed my views from "blind faith" to skepticism.
>
> Like most I really don't want to look at changing cad programs but it is
> almost like they want us to.
>
Well put. I hope the folks at Autodesk read this one. I have waited nearly
patiently for a year now. I have made my decision. I will not spend another
dime on Autodesk software. I am going to wait a short period of time to see
if SolidWorks offers a competitive upgrade from Autodesk products. NOW IS
THE TIME!!! If SolidWorks does not offer a competitive upgrade, I will
conform to the standard where I work and switch to the PTC solution.
Jeff
>
> --
> Kent Keller
> Strobe Data Inc.
> www.strobedata.com
> Tim Dougherty <ti...@NOSPAMteramed.com> wrote in message
> news:7m2t5d$oj...@adesknews2.autodesk.com...
> > As VIP site coordinator, I can't help but feel a little cheated after
> > learning that Autodesk had acquired Genius and now are selling the
product
Dale Dunn
This is just what I think. I'm not out to bash on MDT, I'm just going
to list what I'm thinking. I just have a few things to say in response
to this marketing document.
>
> Mechanical Desktop Release 4
>
> Save time and experience increased productivity by working "top down"
> with large assemblies and edit-in-place all within the context of the
> assembly. Functionality enhancements in this area include:
>
> - In-place reference editing
> - Multiple Design Environment
These are good, long awaited features.
> - Unloading external reference files
Will this cause as "useful" as demand loading?
> - Streamlined Assembly Catalog Interface
Why wasn't it streamlined two releases ago?
Notice the quotation marks around "top Down" Top down design is barely
possible in MDT, and these new features do not make MDT a top down
design package in my opinion. We must have feature-to-feature
relationships among parts, regardless of location in the assembly tree
or directory tree. Global variables just don't cut it. (Not that I have
anything against global variables.)
>
> Realize increased productivity using design enhancements and workflow
> menus:
>
> -Change termination types of all features
Huzzah! will this be reflected in array-children?
> -Dynamic sketch solver
This could be cool, if the new solver can handle arc tangencies better.
Or maybe dyanmicism will bypass that issue. I dunno. I'd better get out
my money so I can find out.
> -Multiple profile support
Very cool.
> -Multiple Design Environment
So I can crash all my drawings at once? Cool. I hear Word 2000 opens new
documents in multiple sessions now to prevent this sort of thing.
Amusing. The decrease in overhead and load times might be kinda nice.
> -Right-click “anywhere” to access functions in
> context
I seem to have a mail translation problem here. What does that line say?
> -Thumbnail views of external files
More long-awaited functionality. Will we have to open them and save
them first?
> -Improved navigation
How so?
> -Improved visual UI feedback
That was needed. How far does it go, I wonder?
Increased productivity would mean not spending so much time hunting
workarounds and rebuilding corrupted drawings. Oh yes, not entering
data more than once would be nice (tapped hole data, among others).
>
> Develop and document more complex parts with new modeling and drawing
> enhancements:
>
> -MDT R 4 ships with a robust and enhanced ACIS 5
> -Surfaces can be stitched and healed into
> “quilts” or solids
More text problems, but I heard about these before. More very cool,
long-awaited functionality.
> -Splines can be used in profiles
Nifty. Do we constrain the spline control points? Are spline entities
now supported in drawing views?
> -Use splines, polylines, part edges as paths in 3D Sweep
This could be useful, if it works better than the helix.
> -Breakout and radial section views can be defined
So, only the material at the cutting line will be visible now, like a
any normal idiot with a pencil might do? Will hidden lines
automatically be hidden in section views? (like a normal idiot with a
pencil would do?)
> -Use External references as toolbodies
This will be good.
>
> Save time by finishing up your documentation and drawings production
> faster:
>
> -Multiple sheets
This needed doing. Big time.
> -Faster drawing view generation
Does this include updating the drawing view only when something has
actually CHANGED? Will switching from a scene to an active assembly
still cause 32 drawing view updates but not the scene based views (which
I changed)?
> -Automatic centerlines
Automatically put center marks on holes? Nifty. A real time saver. Will
they automatically all be the same size, or will they still be scaled
with the drawing view? (And just what exactly does "parametric sizing
of extension lines" mean? The on-line help says "sizes extension lines
parametrically." Parametrically tied to what?) Will I be able string a
centerline from one hole to the next, like a normal idiot with a pencil
might do? Or maybe a bolt circle for a polar array of holes. woo-hoo.
How about hole notes detecting arrayed holes and calling out the number
of holes of that type?
>
> Communicate designs with your collaborators and suppliers faster and
> more effectively:
>
> -AutoCAD 2000 is the design platform
We have two customers with MDT. One doesn't have the VIP, so they won't
have ACAD2K. The other just got Pro-e. Just my personal experience.
Certainly not a valid statistical sample.
> -Visual Basic Application support
Can it record macros like a normal idiot with a pencil might? Oh,
wait....I mean, like every other program in the world with VBA that
costs more than a couple hundred bucks?
>
>
> Mechanical Desktop 4 Power Pack
>
> Includes AutoCAD Mechanical 2000:
>
> -Time-saving 2D design productivity features
Will we finally be able to select more than two positions for dimension
numbers on leaders? Will we be able to rotate a diameter dimension
instead of just stretching the leader? Will hole notes convey thread
pitch data? Will angular dimensions stay put during drawing view
updates? Will ordinate dimensions work on centerlines? Will we be able
to dimension to the quadrant of a circle or arc or tangent to a circle
or arc? Will horizontal and vertical dimensions align themselves to
auxiliary views, or will we still have to rotate the UCS, use old ACAD
dims, and make an annotation out of them, hoping the part never changes?
> -Time-saving drafting and annotation features for detailing
> and making changes easily
Like maybe a hole table? Is this where AMDIMV will finally show up in
functional (or documented) form?
> -Automated production-drawing creation tools
And these are?
Maybe a tabulated part? Ok, so I could do this by inserting the excel
spreadsheet. It's be nice though.
> -Assembly creation tools for managing detailed 2D drawings
> and assemblies
The BOM will WORK? Will it be faster and easier than maintaining a bill
of materials with arrayed DTEXT?
>
> Includes over One Million 2D and 3D standard parts. Save time and
> eliminate errors by reusing rather than redrawing !
>
> - Includes Standard
>
> * Parts
> * Features
> * Structural Steel Shapes
> * Parts tools
>
> Includes a 3D Shaft generator wizard. Save time and design machinery
> systems with ease !
Shaft generator. Is this available in a VIP license? Or do we all get
the [obvious joke].
>
> Improve engineering accuracy and check your designs to capture
> failures early in design using the following features:
>
> -Shaft calculations
> -Fastener calculations
> -Bearing calculations
> -Beam calculations
> -2D and 3D FEA
Groovy. What's it gonna cost me? Don't make me call a salesman. I
won't listen to a sales pitch, except for direct answers to my questions
like "Whatsit cost?" and when will it ship? No, really. Any Earthly
idea? Is there any guarantee that I'll get anything out of my
subscription?
These are the thoughts that go through my head in response to MDT
marketing documents. If I sound cynical and belligerent, well, I'm not
the only one. Am I alone here, or am I out on a limb? Speaking of out
os a limb, I've been using this since R1.0, and it has improved vastly.
But it has such a long way to go to catch up, never mind excelling.
--
Dale Dunn
Design Engineer
www.jamestool.com
D. Short
R or I or whatever it's called.
Tim Dougherty wrote:
> <snip>
>
> user, I want all the mechanical functionality that Autodesk can throw at me
> included in its' "High-end" mechanical CAD package. I sincerely hope that
> Autodesk stops making baby steps with Mechanical Desktop and that one day
> VERY soon this package will work the way I need it too. I also hope I get a
> chance to evaluate power pack, but as it stands right now I may want to save
> that money in my budget to put towards a competitors product instead of
> risking another let-down.
>
> Still hoping for the best in Mechanical Desktop,
> Tim Dougherty
> TERAMed Inc.
--
David Short
__________________________________________________________________
admin@loopback $LOGIN@localhost $LOGNAME@localhost $USER@localhost
$USER@$HOST -h1024@localhost ro...@mailloop.com
Ron Crain
> context
I seem to have a mail translation problem here. What does that line say?
<<
-Right-click "anywhere" to access functions in context
--
| Ron Crain
John Swirsky
I have the same feelings as Tim Dougherty.
Most of my concerns usually crop up when using the assembly modeler part
of the MDT software. I also have to ask about the 6-9 month upgrade release
cycle that Autodesk was promising for MDT. It seems to me that it is
approaching
the 11 month time mark since 3.0 was released (Aug 98), unless Autodesk is
counting 3.01
as an upgrade. Now it appears we will get to test a beta release and then a
few months later
the upgrade will be released. I want software that works! So if it takes
longer to make it work properly, I guess that is life. However, when I
purchased the VIP program I was told
to expect at least one upgrade and possibly two upgrades during my annual
subscription.
This was a feature I used to convince my superiors to purchase the VIP
subscription.
It gets very hard at times to defend my decision to go with MDT and VIP when
Autodesk
continuely misleads it's customers with promiseware.
I don't believe I am alone with this situation.
Just my 2 cents
John Swirsky
David West
Yes
Yes
Yes, I am.
Can't believe I willing traded a small chance at lead poisoning
for a good shot at corpal(sp?)tunnel.
Get a DRAFTSMAN on board!!!
David West
Dale Dunn wrote in message <37853B32...@twave.net>...
Dale Dunn
David West wrote in message <7m55oe$sv...@adesknews2.autodesk.com>...
>I am an old idiot with a pencil.
>
>Yes
>Yes
>Yes, I am.
>
>Can't believe I willing traded a small chance at lead poisoning
>for a good shot at corpal(sp?)tunnel.
>
>Get a DRAFTSMAN on board!!!
>
>David West
It occurs to me now that the sarcasm of "normal idiot with a pencil" may
have been mis-understood. What I mean to say in those instances is that
MDT's lack of ability to do normal things is very frustrating and I can do
them better with a pencil. No disrespect was intended towards those who
have the skill to design with lead. (Although I can't imagine designing
without CAD myself).
I got the phrase "normal idiot" from an old parody of spaghetti westerns.
Two brothers were riding across the desert, on normally, and the
other...abnormally. He had built a chair back onto his saddle, and was
slouching with his legs crossed on the horse's neck. His brother turned to
him with a disgusted look on his face and asked, "Can't you sit in the
saddle like a normal idiot?"
VASILE
unacceptable that Autodesk want's us to pay for PowerPack.
Vasile
J.P.Seebo wrote in message <7m2up5$oj...@adesknews2.autodesk.com>...
David West
Believe me, there was no offence taken.
My point was that of the two systems I've used,
MDT and ProE, the primary concern was for the
engineers and designers. Drafting aspects were
secondary at best. The fact is that an engineer or designer,
other than those who have to make their own drawings, does
not have to worry about how best to convey enough information
from a drawing to whoever is making the part. BTW, I am
strictly electro-mechanical type, no civil or arch.
Getting input on how the drawing mode of these systems should
work should come from drafters.
David West
Dale Dunn wrote in message <7m56bh$sv...@adesknews2.autodesk.com>...
>
>David West wrote in message <7m55oe$sv...@adesknews2.autodesk.com>...
>>I am an old idiot with a pencil.
>>
>>Yes
>>Yes
>>Yes, I am.
>>
>>Can't believe I willing traded a small chance at lead poisoning
>>for a good shot at corpal(sp?)tunnel.
>>
>>Get a DRAFTSMAN on board!!!
>>
>>David West
>
>
Toma
I work with a file about 1.8MB and a get about 5 fatal errors a day and once
in a while a get no error but I cannot open a file anymore (Pentium III 450
/ 256 MB RAM / Windows NT 4.0 SP 4).
Did Autodesk do something in this regard? If not I will go for Pro/E
(http://www.ptc.com/) or Solid Works (http://www.solidworks.com/). They have
very good prices.
Not to mention that Mechanical Desktop is the only software in his price
range that doesn't have transparent dynamic rotation - a very basic feature.
AMRECOVER never, never, never, never worked.
Did Autodesk do a special routine to recover Mechanical Desktop files that
cannot be opened? If yes, I think everybody would like an answer with
technical details.
Toma
Bill Wallace
Most of the Genius product has been incorporated into the base MechanicaL
Desktop R4 product. The PowerPack version adds the standard parts (fasteners,
bearings, etc) and some engineering system generators (shaft generator, chain
and sprocket) and some calculators (bearing calculator, etc).
Therefore a huge list of enhancements (probably about 1/3 of those mentioned in
the original posting) come from the Genius product. So you do not need to pay
for the standard parts if you are a mold designer or part designer. Only those
doing assemblies requiring fasteners or one of the specific calculators need to
get the PowerPack version. Relative to the price you would pay for similar
functionality from other vendors or for other systems (if it's even available),
PowerPack is a true value.
Bill Wallace
Autodesk, Inc.
Mike Oletzke
<bill.w...@autodesk.com> wrote:
>get the PowerPack version. Relative to the price you would pay for similar
>functionality from other vendors or for other systems (if it's even available),
>PowerPack is a true value.
Ok, I'll bite. How much more is the PowerPack version than the
regular MDT version. As a VIP member, which version do you get if you
now have regular MDT?
Tim Dougherty
In the Demo I saw, the demonstrator was using "power dimensions". I
understood these were part of the power pack as well, and I thought they
could be very usefull. In addition, the FEA functionality is something I
would wish for in "standard" MDT.
Just to make my original point a little clearer, let me put it this way;
just because I don't do sheet metal design, doesn't mean I wouldn't want the
ability to unfold an object. Or just because I don't design axles for a
living, doesn't mean I wouldn't want a shaft generator. These kinds of tools
can be very handy for generating more complex models for many different
applications. (Mine happens to be medical devices) The desicion to include
or not include features like this makes me feel like Autodesk is trying to
keyhole us with their marketing.
Now if you take your statement about the functionalities of Genius being
incorporated into the standard product, and now turn it around a bit, how do
you think that would make me feel about just having purchased the Genius
add-on? I know, I know, I want it all and I want it now...........
Thanks for taking the time and have a great weekend,
Tim Dougherty
TERAMed Inc.
Bill Wallace
We have not finalized pricing therefore I cannot answer the price question right
now. If I had to guess I would say the PowerPack version will be $500-$1000 more
than the standard version.
Current Desktop VIP members will get the standard Desktop R4 when it ships. If you
have Mechanical Desktop and Genius Desktop on VIP you will get the PowerPack.
If you are on MDT VIP you will receive the Desktop R4 PowerPack Beta II. It should
have shipped already. This will give you the opportunity to try PowerPack and see if
it is something you need to purchase.
Bill Wallace
Tim Miley
<bill.w...@autodesk.com> wrote:
>Mike,
>
>We have not finalized pricing therefore I cannot answer the price question right
>now. If I had to guess I would say the PowerPack version will be $500-$1000 more
>than the standard version.
Unfortunately Bill my management just approved the VIP renewal on our
31 seats of Mcad.
I have two users just falling all over themselves with the Mcad 4 Beta
2 with power Pack. I have no idea how to tell them the money has been
spent and we didn't know we had to include possibly an additional
$31,000 for this extra functionality.
Boy is my behind gonna be in deep kaka.
Tim
James A. Bish
Robert Davis <norj...@earthlink.net> wrote in message
news:378650FE...@earthlink.net...