LEDAS Ships Driving Dimensions Plug-in v1.2 for SketchUp

New update of Driving Dimensions plug-in significantly improves quality, stability, and performance; introduces multi-language support

LEDAS Ltd., an independent provider of variational design tools, technology components and software development services for CAD/CAM/CAE/PLM market, today announced the availability of version 1.2 of its Driving Dimensions plug-in for Google SketchUp software. The Driving Dimensions product line from LEDAS is aimed at making advanced MCAD technology available at an affordable price to all users of popular 3D software.

Version 1.2 contains significant improvements in quality, stability, and performance. This was made possible because it is based on the next generation of LGS 3D geometric constraint solving software component recently released by LEDAS. The new version generates solutions that users would expect to see as outcomes. When users now modify the parameters of driving dimensions, most edges and faces remain unchanged; the only ones to change are those needed to satisfy the new parameter values. In addition, the time to solve constraints has been significantly reduced, with the Driving Dimensions plug-in now up to ten times faster than the previous version on large models.

A new feature in Driving Dimensions version 1.2 is multi-language support. Now all tooltips and system messages can be translated to other languages. Version 1.2 comes with English and Japanese built-in. (Translation into Japanese was performed by EBATECH of Japan, a reseller of LEDAS solutions in Japan.)

LEDAS invites uses of the free version of Driving Dimensions to help translate the plug-in to different languages. As compensation, LEDAS will provide all collaborators with Pro licenses of the Driving Dimensions plug-in for SketchUp at no charge.

"The Driving Dimensions plug-in for SketchUp is our most popular software," said Dmitry Ushakov, Director of Product Management, LEDAS Ltd. "The free version of our plug-in has been downloaded by more than 15,000 SketchUp users worldwide since the first public beta was released a year ago. Significant feedback from users of both the free and Pro versions is allowing us to improve the quality of our software, and is giving us fresh ideas on new functions."

Visit http://www.ledas.com/ for more information.

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Moldex3D Releases Free New Tools to Enhance Collaboration and Productivity

CoreTech System, the true three-dimensional (3-D) CAE simulation solution innovator today announced the official release of its new free software—Moldex3D Viewer and Moldex3D eDesignSYNC.  Moldex3D’s new free software products are designed to strengthen the collaboration with project team members and upgrade overall productivity.

NEW!! Moldex3D Viewer–Strengthen the Collaboration
Moldex3D Viewer is a standalone Moldex3D result visualization tool, and it can be used to visualize Moldex3D analysis projects interactively. With Moldex3D Viewer, benefits or defects of the designs can be shown and discussed visually, and therefore better communication among the project team can be achieved.

For a CAE engineer who utilizes injection molding simulation software to study and optimize his design projects, it is essential for him to share knowledge acquired from simulation results with his team members, including part designers, mold makers, or even customers. Those results are more than often best explained through visualization. Moldex3D Viewer is designed specifically for this need, it is exactly a comprehensive platform to expand the collaboration and strengthen your competitiveness. Both Moldex3D users and non-users will be greatly benefited.

NEW!! Moldex3D eDesignSYNC –Upgrade Overall Productivity
Moldex3D eDesignSYNC is a free interface for Pro/ENGINEER and SolidWorks users to have direct access to the full analysis power of Moldex3D/eDesign. With a simple button embedded inside Pro/ENGINEER or SolidWorks, eDesignSYNC converts CAD models in their native format for direct analysis with Moldex3D/eDesign true 3-D plastic injection simulation software. From now on, there is no need for CAD users to export the model into a neutral format, such as STEP or IGES, or clear up the mess after importing any more. With eDesignSYNC, CAD users can fully concentrate on analysis for part design and manufacturing optimization.

“We believe the release of Moldex3D Viewer can highly strengthen the collaboration with project team members, in the meanwhile the release of Moldex3D eDesignSYNC will highly benefit CAD users to access CAE simulation more easily. Many companies recover rapidly from the severe economy crisis with using Moldex3D to speed-up product cycle and optimize mold design, we hope with the release of Moldex3D Viewer and Moldex3D eDesignSYNC, CAD designers as well as project partners will be benefited from the simulation result of Moldex3D true 3-D injection molding simulation”, said Dr. Venny Yang, President of CoreTech System.

For more information, visit http://www.moldex3d.com/

ArtrA v6.2 Released for Virtual Design, Construction/BIM

ArtrA Ltd has released a new version 6.2 of the two time award winning product ArtrA VDC/BIM. AEC Design Group is proud to introduce this new release to the United States. It contains new, very significant features including:

• New Import/Export functions which allow project data to move from one ArtrA Server to another
• Backing up of ArtrA Data and backup jobs
• Viewable tag histories which give the ability to review tag changes
• Navisworks 2010 compatibility

"You will not completely understand VDC (virtual design & construction)/BIM (building information modeling) until you see what ArtrA can do,” said Peter Moyes managing director at ArtrA Ltd. “With this release, ArtrA is better and more cost effective then ever. If you use NavisWorks than you owe it to yourself to understand how ArtrA takes NavisWorks to the next level.”

ArtrA is a unique BIM solutions platform independent interface that links 3D CAD models, design data, and documentation. The ability to extract graphics and associated design data from leading 3D CAD packages makes ArtrA the most flexible program in its field. With ArtrA you can interrogate and link documents to your models without the need for CAD software.

To learn more about ArtrA BIM, please visit www.artra.co.uk/index.html or www.cadpipe.com

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SolidACE Ships BuiltWorks 2010 for SolidWorks

SolidACE announces today the launch of the first commercial release of BuiltWorks 2010, a computer aided structural design and engineering software suite for use in the SolidWorks environment.

“With so many years of experience in structural engineering, we are excited to bring the benefits of the SolidWorks’ 3D modeling and design environment to our particular field of use with this great product.” commenting on the commercial launch of BuiltWorks said Dr. Vladimir Popov, the CEO of SolidACE, “Users will greatly benefit from the integrated workspace BuiltWorks provides in seamlessly combining various engineering analysis applications and industry standard drawing formats within the SolidWorks modeling environment. We are engineers proudly developing tools for our fellow engineers, based on our in depth knowledge and experience.”

BuiltWorks was developed to meet the Architectural, Engineering, Construction and Plant industries requirements for flexible and versatile tools, while being able to integrate with leading engineering analysis and design software. Customers throughout the structural engineering industry will benefit from the fully integrated workspace that BuiltWorks provides, particularly those who are familiar with the SolidWorks design environment. BuiltWorks provides intelligent modeling tools that facilitate the creation of a 3D parametric model of a steel structure under design. The use of both SolidWorks Weldment and BuiltWorks Structural members, either as Part or/and Assembly, seamlessly integrates solid physical model to leading analysis and design engineering application STAAD.Pro.

BuiltWorks also includes functions for component modeling using international standard libraries of steel shapes as well as connection detailing by setting relations like alignment, joining and cutting structural members at intersections and placing endplates. Drawing generation and calculated bills of quantities are fully available. Full SDNF import/export functionality allows for flexible and efficient workflow with third party Structural and Plant applications.

Visit http://www.solidace.com/ for more information.

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ODA Announces First Production Release of DGNdirect

The Open Design Alliance (ODA) today announced the first production release of DGNdirect available to ODA members globally. DGNdirect includes a comprehensive feature set for DGN files, including the ability to load V7 and V8 files, convert V7 to V8 files, save V8 files, access data, edit data, render data, and export to PDF and SVG file formats.

Early work on DGNdirect began in 2003 as an independent project. As the ODA platform expanded and matured, the decision was made in 2007 to restart DGNdirect development as an integrated part of the platform. Integrating DGNdirect into the ODA platform provided a number of key benefits: consolidation of common functionality such as geometry and rendering, consistent API styles between DWGdirect and DGNdirect, and clean support for features which utilize both formats such as mixed external references (DWG files referenced from DGN files and vice versa). The new DGNdirect was released for testing in March 2008, and during the past year and a half the feature set and overall quality have grown steadily.

Chief Technical Officer of the ODA, Neil Peterson, stated, “Delivering DGNdirect to ODA members is an enormous success for our development teams and for the ODA platform. Beta versions of DGNdirect have seen heavy use among ODA members for more than a year now, which has helped greatly to stabilize core functionality. DGNdirect builds on the success of our beta releases and contains support for a number of key features including dimensions, True Colors, and improved support for text.”

Arnold van der Weide, ODA President, added, “The ODA platform was originally developed to work with the DWG file format. Later the core platform was expanded to include ADTdirect, a vertical application which supports custom architectural objects, but still within the DWG file format. The release of DGNdirect marks a new level of achievement for our organization—it is a tangible example of how the ODA platform can be used to provide comprehensive support for new file formats. It clearly demonstrates the strength and versatility of the platform, and we expect this type of usage to increase in the future.”

For more information, visit http://www.opendesign.com/

iCADsales Offer progeCAD 2010 Pro Free Upgrade

iCADsales.com has announced that those purchasing progeCAD 2009 Professional will receive a free upgrade to the next release, progeCAD 2010 Professional, coming soon.

New Features

Some of the features of progeCAD 2010 Professional will include read/write and create DWG 2010 drawings and new improved Adobe PDF printing, which will take advantage of the PDF layering capabilities designed for CAD. Other compelling features included in the upcoming release are described on http://www.icadsales.com/index.pl/progeCAD-2010.

Upgrades offered with Discounts

To celebrate this milestone release, iCADsales.com is offering upgrades from progeCAD 2009 Professional to the new release for its customers at 2009 Pro pricing, and an additional 10% discount.

50% Off Discounts for Selected Products

Both New Customers, and those who already own licenses of progeCAD Professional, can take advantage of special 50% discounts on progeCAD companion products available when they purchase either new licenses of progeCAD, or place a pre-order for the 2010 upgrade before it is released.

Updates and Upgrades

As always, progeSOFT gives its clients free updates to minor releases through a notification system built into the software. progeSOFT only charges an upgrade fee when changing major versions, such as moving from progeCAD 2009 to progeCAD 2010. The software will continue to function normally regardless of the users decision to upgrade or not.

Compatible with Windows 7

progeCAD 2010 Professional has been designed to be compatible with the new Windows 7 Operating system from Microsoft. Users planning to migrate to the new operating system are encouraged to upgrade to progeCAD 2010 Professional soon to ensure compatibility and secure progeCAD 2009 Pricing on their upgrade to progeCAD 2010 Professional. Those with older operating system will not suffer from any issues due to the new release running on the new Windows 7.

Industry Specific Add-on Products

iCADsales.com also offers the progeBILLD series, architectural building services design software add-ons, progeEARTH, a civil survey design software add-on, and the progeCAD Viewer DWG, which allows viewing, markup, and printing of DWG files. 30-day evaluations of these products are available for free download on our website.

Visit http://www.icadsales.com/ for more information.

Carlson Construction 2010 Designed to Make 3D Models from PDF, AutoCAD, MicroStation & more

Just introduced with the release of Carlson 2010 office software, Carlson Construction 2010 is an integrated design and 3D surface modeling software solution designed for site and road construction, offering powerful inspection and 3D viewing tools for elevating 2D designs to 3D model files.

With Carlson Construction 2010, land surveyors, civil engineers, construction professionals, and 3D model builders will be able to import a PDF or MicroStation® design file, open an AutoCAD® drawing, and utilize many other file formats. After edits are made, then the newly created 3D surfaces can be exported to 3D machine control system formats including Carlson, Trimble, Accugrade, Topcon and Leica.

“Carlson Construction 2010 provides the powerful editing tools for 3D data prep that Carlson is known for,” says Bruce Carlson, president of Carlson Software. “And Construction 2010 also serves as an open ‘hub’ or bridge supporting data from most sources and then exporting to most all machine control systems.”

This is a product designed specifically for the model-building needs of the land development professional. Carlson Construction gives users the ability to create a surface from data – points and contours – within a CAD drawing. Moving “break-lines” or “grade-lines” from the wrong elevation and slope to the correct position can be done with ease.

It “cleans up” both AutoCAD and MicroStation files as it prepares them for 3D Data Prep and creating models. The 3D viewing tools for Graphics and Surfaces allow users to validate the changes they make. The robust surveying tools are designed specifically for a wide variety of Total Station and GPS equipment. 

“Today there are companies estimating jobs by hand or with some program they may already own,” notes Randy Noland, V.P. of Carlson Machine Control Division. “If the next step is developing 3D models for machine control or to reverse engineer a project for stakeout, this is a product they must have.

“Carlson Construction 2010 was developed to meet the growing demand for 3D surface modeling,” he adds. “We listened to the end-user, tapped Carlson’s long-standing and widely recognized elevation routines to lift the drawing to 3D at the end, and, therefore, have given users a powerful toolbox.”

For more information, visit http://www.carlsonsw.com/

 

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City of Phoenix, Ariz., Acquires Bentley’s SewerGEMS to Enhance Analysis, Design, & Operation of Wastewater Infrastructure

The city of Phoenix, Ariz., has acquired Bentley’s SewerGEMS multiplatform software for sanitary sewer systems to enhance its ability to analyze, design, and operate its extensive wastewater infrastructure. The infrastructure serves approximately 1.5 million residents and includes about 5,000 miles of sewer mains and 92,000 sewer manholes. Through their use of SewerGEMS, engineers with the city’s Water Services Department will be able to create a dependable wastewater model that will facilitate flexible master planning, rehabilitation sequencing, development capacity allocation, and sanitary sewer overflow warnings, while improving the efficiency of daily operations.

Over the last few years, the water department’s wastewater planning efforts have been moving away from a “predict and plan” approach to the more proactive practice of “anticipate and prepare.” The problem is, predictions of future growth areas and likely growth rates, changing weather patterns, water appliance efficiencies, and customer behavior are highly unreliable, offering little insight into conditions for which the water department must prepare.

Erich Lais, P.E., city of Phoenix civil engineer III, said, “By developing and analyzing our wastewater model with SewerGEMS’ built-in hydraulic and hydrology tools, wet-weather calibration methods, Scenario Control Center, and many other capabilities, we will be able to explore a broad range of possible future factors and develop a plan to prepare for each. As a result, we will be better able to adapt to changing conditions and consequent wastewater system requirements, enabling us to continue to meet our customers’ needs.”

The city of Phoenix acquired SewerGEMS to complement the WaterGEMS license it acquired in 2007 to model and analyze its water distribution system. Because SewerGEMS includes the same model management tools and has a user interface very similar to that of WaterGEMS, it will be very easy for the city’s project teams to use this new software.

For more information, visit http://www.bentley.com/

Autodesk Ships Free AutoCAD Civil 3D Importer for Trimble Business Center-HCE

Autodesk and Trimble Create AutoCAD Civil 3D Data Exchange Tool to Help Break Down Barrier Between Engineering and Construction. Extension Enables Automated Data Exchange Between AutoCAD Civil 3D Model and Trimble Construction Solutions.

Autodesk, Inc. & Trimble announced that they have collaborated to develop a fully automated data exchange tool enabling information from an AutoCAD Civil 3D model to be directly imported into the Trimble Business Center-HCE (Heavy Construction Edition) data management software. 

The new, free*, Web-downloadable software extension, called the AutoCAD Civil 3D Importer for Trimble Business Center-HCE, provides the ability to import DWG files that contain AutoCAD Civil 3D native design objects into the Trimble Business Center-HCE software. The AutoCAD Civil 3D model information is then used by the Trimble Business Center-HCE to prepare, manage and distribute data for use with Trimble's range of site positioning and grade control products for earthmoving, grading and finishing operations. Using the extension, contractors can realize a number of benefits, including:

• Reduced data preparation time and costs: Minimizing the need to recreate design information helps reduce data preparation time and supports the faster delivery of updated design information to the field as a result of design changes, which is especially beneficial on highways projects where design revisions occur frequently.
• Rich, first-hand information to the field: The ability to retain the intelligence of the Civil 3D source model incorporating corridor model sections, alignments, station equations, profiles, feature lines, finished grade and subgrade surface information and advanced point objects provides more detailed information and higher precision; the construction-ready 3D models can be more quickly leveraged by Trimble machine control and site positioning systems.
• Full DWG compatibility: Improved DWG file format support (including Real DWG) allows for extraction of both native CAD data and Civil 3D model data (which would previously have been lost) delivering enhanced compatibility with the Autodesk DWG file standards.
• More simplified workflow: Now instead of using intermediary and often less comprehensive file formats such as LandXML or basic CAD files for exchange of information between the engineer and contractor, the engineer can simply save the project and deliver the native design file without needing to think about saving the file out to an alternative format, which is immediately detached from the source design.

To download the free* AutoCAD Civil 3D Importer for Trimble Business Center-HCE import software extension visit: www.autodesk.com/civil3d-trimble or www.trimble.com/tbc-hce.

For more information on the Trimble Business Center-HCE data management software visit: http://www.trimble.com/tbc-hce.shtml. For more information on Autodesk Civil 3D visit:  www.autodesk.com/civil3d.

Viewpoint v6.2.0 Released for Construction Software Built In The .NET Framework.

Viewpoint Construction Software just released the 6.2.0 version of Viewpoint V6 Software, featuring more than 300 solid enhancements. Through a continuous feedback loop with General Contractors, Heavy / Highway Contractors and Specialty/Sub Contractors, Viewpoint keeps pace with the rapid changes facing the way each does business.

Features highlights in the 6.2 release include:

• Time savings and reduced paper flow with the ability to email payroll direct deposits to employees and EFT payments to vendors;
• Enhanced integration with point and click exporting of data to Microsoft Excel;
• Increased productivity by automating tasks through simple customization allows users to run reports and routines, and link directly to other areas of the application with the click of a button;
• Workflow and document management just got easier with the ability to upload and view PDFs. Collaborate on  documents with the ability to annotate and mark-up attachments;
• Reduced time searching for key information with the ability to attach transaction documents directly to the associated data.

Considered by customers to have the industry’s most mature data architecture, Viewpoint V6 Software is easy to implement and configure. Along with release 6.2 Viewpoint has added a suite of Consulting and Technical Services that ensure data is converted and customers are implemented – sometimes in as little as 51 days. Many customers talk about how they’re used to multiplying implementation budgets by 2 – 3 times, but find with Viewpoint that it often comes in under budget.

For more information, visit http://www.viewpointcs.com/