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Domain: punchcad.com

Stories and comments across the archive that link to punchcad.com.

Comments · 8

  1. Re:Smart Move by davidsyes · · Score: 1 · on Design Software Giants Target the Unemployed

    http://www.bricsys.com/en_INTL/bricscad/features.jsp

    http://www.boatdesign.net/forums/

    http://www.touchcad.com/tc3features.html

    http://www.touchcad.com/tc3news351.html

    See 3/4 of the way down on this for OpenGL rendering
    http://www.touchcad.com/tc3news35.html

    Possibly dated review:

    http://software.techrepublic.com.com/abstract.aspx?docid=599221

    This one:

    ProgeCAD, is kinda interesting. It has a layer management system that is different from but kinda similar to ACAD. I tried it last year, but then it timed out on me. It's free for academic use, otherwise, starts about $250 depending on the version, IIRC. It's one of those that seems to be an ACAD knock-off, but kinda updated or less crufted than ACAD 2007/2008 maybe due to a cleaner, newer codebase (as opposed to, say, accumulating decades of in-fighting over code functions, (my ACAD course instructor in 07 said ACAD))

    http://www.progecad.co.uk/Downloads/

    Also, consider ViaCAD

    http://www.punchcad.com/products/viacad2d3d.htm

    Their prices are pretty good, and if you're not needing the overkill of ACAD and not working with clients who DEMAND ACAD, and who live with DXF/ACIS formats that contain the info, then why get addicted to a product that costs a fortune to use legitimately. You have rake in some serious dough to justify paying $4k+ on software which can take years to get proficient with. ViaCAD is GREAT for me for lofting/surfacing & solids-making.

    Right now, the ship design industry (maybe, based on the economy now, compared to last year) is short on designers/drafters who are GOOD at CAD. If you're designing real or model boats for sale as kits (or ships & boats to be built) check out the combination of delftship and Punch ViaCAD...

    Also, see boatdesign.net

    http://www.boatdesign.net/forums/design-software/

    and...

    http://www.polycad.co.uk/links.htm

    GOOD LUCK!

  2. Re:Yes, there is room left for small time innovato by davidsyes · · Score: 1 · on Tapping the Web's Collective Wisdom For Patents

    One way to increase one's chances of creating clear, usable, patentable drawings is to consider using Punch! ViaCAD. I do. I love it. It's WAY cheaper than AutoCAD, tho it has a Mac-ish interface. But, once one spends some time getting used to the sparse interface, it's features, and staying on top of or involved with the forums, ViaCAD could be a GODSEND. For me, the graphics are much more soothing to my eye, and less cluttered than AutoCAD. AC for certain has thousands of features, but for many struggling, new entrepreneurs, AC is nothing less than an absolute overkill, comparing $98 vs ~$6,000. Even AC Lite, inventor and any Inventor Lite products won't be low enough in price for law-abiding entrepreneurs (people with very little money or next to NO money).

    http://www.punchcad.com/products/viacad2d3dV6.htm

    http://www.punchcad.com/full_store.html

    Since my manual drafting skills are wanting and my handwriting is horrid, and ViaCAD runs fine in VirtualBox (in, sigh, vista) in my PCLinuxOS-based laptop, ViaCAD is a blessing for me, having paid $98 retail (at CompUSA, when they were still around), then only $15 for the upgrade and access to periodic patches. The ViaCAD product may be going away, being replaced by ViaCAD Pro, which used to cost over or around $500, which is being replaced by Shark. So, for the capabilities of ViaCAD and ViaCAD Pro (which I gather will price around $250-ish), it's hard to beat, if one is not looking for pure AutoCAD or cheap AC clones (which Autodesk *seems* to not be running out of business)

    But, the main thing is, if you can IMAGINE it, use CAD, ANY CAD you can legally obtain, and design your work. Be novel, be neat, and try to use a 3-D printing shop if you can afford it. Beats going to a manufacture or representative of one that might force you to pay for expensive dies and molds for parts or parts of ideas that might never go into production.

    Look around. Reenvision a product that has annoyed the hell out of you and left you with that feeling of "I can improve upon THAT". Sketch it on paper, measure it, think about it, then model it in 3D. I am someone who tries to model in 3D, using 2D as a base point. I don't like (generally) modeling non-simple things in 2D first. ViaCAD (or any decent 3D tool) will let a drafter start in 2D or 3D and extend/extrapolate the model iteratively to avoid matters of constant re-measuring.

    Yeh, purists will say "LEARN 2D FIRST!", but some of us are simply, unabashedly wired to think in 3D and struggle or chafe being forced to do in 2D what modern tools permit in 3D (modeling, flattening, obtaining centers of gravity, weight/mass, materials information assignment, trimming, translating/moving, spinning/rotating) that are a ROYAL PITA in 2D-centric drafting.

    As for your ideas, don't sit in a coffee shop where a sensitive idea you work on gets stolen from behind your back. Document your ideas. Share with NO ONE you don't trust. If you practice, in the open, do it on stuff of no consequence. Guard you backpack or laptop. If you cannot afford to patent, then BE SURE to consider visiting a Small Business Administration office, a SCORE advisor, industry trade shows, learning about non-disclosure agreements, intellectual property, and ALSO consider -- if all else fails -- publishing your ideas as prior art measures. Publish no only on the web (if you feel you cannot afford the risk of those late-night inventor informercials), but at a public place, in print, and distribute to put (voluntarily or involuntarily) others that YOUR idea might be of interest to them, but that YOU have copyright on it. For damages protection, register with the US Copyright Office/Library of Congress.

    If you are a student, working on a project, consider affixing copyright notices on your drawings so your instructors and classmates cannot lay claim to your ORIGINAL work or your novel modifications. If it's a team project,

  3. Re:Yes, there is room left for small time innovato by davidsyes · · Score: 1 · on Tapping the Web's Collective Wisdom For Patents

    One way to increase one's chances of creating clear, usable, patentable drawings is to consider using Punch! ViaCAD. I do. I love it. It's WAY cheaper than AutoCAD, tho it has a Mac-ish interface. But, once one spends some time getting used to the sparse interface, it's features, and staying on top of or involved with the forums, ViaCAD could be a GODSEND. For me, the graphics are much more soothing to my eye, and less cluttered than AutoCAD. AC for certain has thousands of features, but for many struggling, new entrepreneurs, AC is nothing less than an absolute overkill, comparing $98 vs ~$6,000. Even AC Lite, inventor and any Inventor Lite products won't be low enough in price for law-abiding entrepreneurs (people with very little money or next to NO money).

    http://www.punchcad.com/products/viacad2d3dV6.htm

    http://www.punchcad.com/full_store.html

    Since my manual drafting skills are wanting and my handwriting is horrid, and ViaCAD runs fine in VirtualBox (in, sigh, vista) in my PCLinuxOS-based laptop, ViaCAD is a blessing for me, having paid $98 retail (at CompUSA, when they were still around), then only $15 for the upgrade and access to periodic patches. The ViaCAD product may be going away, being replaced by ViaCAD Pro, which used to cost over or around $500, which is being replaced by Shark. So, for the capabilities of ViaCAD and ViaCAD Pro (which I gather will price around $250-ish), it's hard to beat, if one is not looking for pure AutoCAD or cheap AC clones (which Autodesk *seems* to not be running out of business)

    But, the main thing is, if you can IMAGINE it, use CAD, ANY CAD you can legally obtain, and design your work. Be novel, be neat, and try to use a 3-D printing shop if you can afford it. Beats going to a manufacture or representative of one that might force you to pay for expensive dies and molds for parts or parts of ideas that might never go into production.

    Look around. Reenvision a product that has annoyed the hell out of you and left you with that feeling of "I can improve upon THAT". Sketch it on paper, measure it, think about it, then model it in 3D. I am someone who tries to model in 3D, using 2D as a base point. I don't like (generally) modeling non-simple things in 2D first. ViaCAD (or any decent 3D tool) will let a drafter start in 2D or 3D and extend/extrapolate the model iteratively to avoid matters of constant re-measuring.

    Yeh, purists will say "LEARN 2D FIRST!", but some of us are simply, unabashedly wired to think in 3D and struggle or chafe being forced to do in 2D what modern tools permit in 3D (modeling, flattening, obtaining centers of gravity, weight/mass, materials information assignment, trimming, translating/moving, spinning/rotating) that are a ROYAL PITA in 2D-centric drafting.

    As for your ideas, don't sit in a coffee shop where a sensitive idea you work on gets stolen from behind your back. Document your ideas. Share with NO ONE you don't trust. If you practice, in the open, do it on stuff of no consequence. Guard you backpack or laptop. If you cannot afford to patent, then BE SURE to consider visiting a Small Business Administration office, a SCORE advisor, industry trade shows, learning about non-disclosure agreements, intellectual property, and ALSO consider -- if all else fails -- publishing your ideas as prior art measures. Publish no only on the web (if you feel you cannot afford the risk of those late-night inventor informercials), but at a public place, in print, and distribute to put (voluntarily or involuntarily) others that YOUR idea might be of interest to them, but that YOU have copyright on it. For damages protection, register with the US Copyright Office/Library of Congress.

    If you are a student, working on a project, consider affixing copyright notices on your drawings so your instructors and classmates cannot lay claim to your ORIGINAL work or your novel modifications. If it's a team project,

  4. Re:Then STOP releasing the product! CAD? by davidsyes · · Score: 1 · on Bill Gates Chews Out Microsoft

    "of CAD without having to use an unsupported intermediary (wine)."

    If you haven't heard of VariCAD...

    http://www.varicad.com/en/home/

    It's not AutoCAD, but if you have a machine shop, or are adept with generic CAD tools...

    Check out their demonstration...

    http://www.varicad.com/en/home/products/demo-videos/

    Another is CAD Schroer...

    http://www.cad-schroer.com/

    BOTH of these have Linux and Window's clients. Both are powerful, and both are out of my price range for full products, but CAD Schroer offers a free-use personal license.

    If you've got Apple Computers, but need parametric capabilities and don't want to pay TONS of money you can check out Punch! ViaCAD:

    http://www.punchcad.com/products/viacadpro.htm

    They have a non-pro version (ViaCAD 2D/3D 6), for about $99, and also have decent range of architectural/residential CAD apps, too, with .exe and Universal Binaries. The 3D solids tools for ad-hoc and precision work are giddiness-inducing, at least for me.

    And, if you need 3D Digital Prototyping...:

    http://www.punchcad.com/index.htm

    http://www.punchcad.com/index_pro.htm

    http://www.punchcad.com/products/shark.htm

    http://www.punchcad.com/products/sharkfx.htm

    Now, if the Linux/Open Source community would seriously hit up ViaCAD and also IMSI:

    http://www.turbocad.com/

    http://www.imsisoft.com/Products/3DModelingCategory/tabid/470/Default.aspx

    and IMPLORE them with real solid conversion opportunities, they *might* feel inclined to explore porting options, ESPECIALLY if business-minded programmers can induce them to look at QT/Trolltech and other technologies that might help them port or even rebuild their apps. But, for that to happen, we probably need to see a SIGNIFICANT curtailment or reduction of seats held by some major incumbents.

    And, we need to get MORE

  5. Re:Then STOP releasing the product! CAD? by davidsyes · · Score: 1 · on Bill Gates Chews Out Microsoft

    "of CAD without having to use an unsupported intermediary (wine)."

    If you haven't heard of VariCAD...

    http://www.varicad.com/en/home/

    It's not AutoCAD, but if you have a machine shop, or are adept with generic CAD tools...

    Check out their demonstration...

    http://www.varicad.com/en/home/products/demo-videos/

    Another is CAD Schroer...

    http://www.cad-schroer.com/

    BOTH of these have Linux and Window's clients. Both are powerful, and both are out of my price range for full products, but CAD Schroer offers a free-use personal license.

    If you've got Apple Computers, but need parametric capabilities and don't want to pay TONS of money you can check out Punch! ViaCAD:

    http://www.punchcad.com/products/viacadpro.htm

    They have a non-pro version (ViaCAD 2D/3D 6), for about $99, and also have decent range of architectural/residential CAD apps, too, with .exe and Universal Binaries. The 3D solids tools for ad-hoc and precision work are giddiness-inducing, at least for me.

    And, if you need 3D Digital Prototyping...:

    http://www.punchcad.com/index.htm

    http://www.punchcad.com/index_pro.htm

    http://www.punchcad.com/products/shark.htm

    http://www.punchcad.com/products/sharkfx.htm

    Now, if the Linux/Open Source community would seriously hit up ViaCAD and also IMSI:

    http://www.turbocad.com/

    http://www.imsisoft.com/Products/3DModelingCategory/tabid/470/Default.aspx

    and IMPLORE them with real solid conversion opportunities, they *might* feel inclined to explore porting options, ESPECIALLY if business-minded programmers can induce them to look at QT/Trolltech and other technologies that might help them port or even rebuild their apps. But, for that to happen, we probably need to see a SIGNIFICANT curtailment or reduction of seats held by some major incumbents.

    And, we need to get MORE

  6. Re:Then STOP releasing the product! CAD? by davidsyes · · Score: 1 · on Bill Gates Chews Out Microsoft

    "of CAD without having to use an unsupported intermediary (wine)."

    If you haven't heard of VariCAD...

    http://www.varicad.com/en/home/

    It's not AutoCAD, but if you have a machine shop, or are adept with generic CAD tools...

    Check out their demonstration...

    http://www.varicad.com/en/home/products/demo-videos/

    Another is CAD Schroer...

    http://www.cad-schroer.com/

    BOTH of these have Linux and Window's clients. Both are powerful, and both are out of my price range for full products, but CAD Schroer offers a free-use personal license.

    If you've got Apple Computers, but need parametric capabilities and don't want to pay TONS of money you can check out Punch! ViaCAD:

    http://www.punchcad.com/products/viacadpro.htm

    They have a non-pro version (ViaCAD 2D/3D 6), for about $99, and also have decent range of architectural/residential CAD apps, too, with .exe and Universal Binaries. The 3D solids tools for ad-hoc and precision work are giddiness-inducing, at least for me.

    And, if you need 3D Digital Prototyping...:

    http://www.punchcad.com/index.htm

    http://www.punchcad.com/index_pro.htm

    http://www.punchcad.com/products/shark.htm

    http://www.punchcad.com/products/sharkfx.htm

    Now, if the Linux/Open Source community would seriously hit up ViaCAD and also IMSI:

    http://www.turbocad.com/

    http://www.imsisoft.com/Products/3DModelingCategory/tabid/470/Default.aspx

    and IMPLORE them with real solid conversion opportunities, they *might* feel inclined to explore porting options, ESPECIALLY if business-minded programmers can induce them to look at QT/Trolltech and other technologies that might help them port or even rebuild their apps. But, for that to happen, we probably need to see a SIGNIFICANT curtailment or reduction of seats held by some major incumbents.

    And, we need to get MORE

  7. Re:Then STOP releasing the product! CAD? by davidsyes · · Score: 1 · on Bill Gates Chews Out Microsoft

    "of CAD without having to use an unsupported intermediary (wine)."

    If you haven't heard of VariCAD...

    http://www.varicad.com/en/home/

    It's not AutoCAD, but if you have a machine shop, or are adept with generic CAD tools...

    Check out their demonstration...

    http://www.varicad.com/en/home/products/demo-videos/

    Another is CAD Schroer...

    http://www.cad-schroer.com/

    BOTH of these have Linux and Window's clients. Both are powerful, and both are out of my price range for full products, but CAD Schroer offers a free-use personal license.

    If you've got Apple Computers, but need parametric capabilities and don't want to pay TONS of money you can check out Punch! ViaCAD:

    http://www.punchcad.com/products/viacadpro.htm

    They have a non-pro version (ViaCAD 2D/3D 6), for about $99, and also have decent range of architectural/residential CAD apps, too, with .exe and Universal Binaries. The 3D solids tools for ad-hoc and precision work are giddiness-inducing, at least for me.

    And, if you need 3D Digital Prototyping...:

    http://www.punchcad.com/index.htm

    http://www.punchcad.com/index_pro.htm

    http://www.punchcad.com/products/shark.htm

    http://www.punchcad.com/products/sharkfx.htm

    Now, if the Linux/Open Source community would seriously hit up ViaCAD and also IMSI:

    http://www.turbocad.com/

    http://www.imsisoft.com/Products/3DModelingCategory/tabid/470/Default.aspx

    and IMPLORE them with real solid conversion opportunities, they *might* feel inclined to explore porting options, ESPECIALLY if business-minded programmers can induce them to look at QT/Trolltech and other technologies that might help them port or even rebuild their apps. But, for that to happen, we probably need to see a SIGNIFICANT curtailment or reduction of seats held by some major incumbents.

    And, we need to get MORE

  8. Re:Then STOP releasing the product! CAD? by davidsyes · · Score: 1 · on Bill Gates Chews Out Microsoft

    "of CAD without having to use an unsupported intermediary (wine)."

    If you haven't heard of VariCAD...

    http://www.varicad.com/en/home/

    It's not AutoCAD, but if you have a machine shop, or are adept with generic CAD tools...

    Check out their demonstration...

    http://www.varicad.com/en/home/products/demo-videos/

    Another is CAD Schroer...

    http://www.cad-schroer.com/

    BOTH of these have Linux and Window's clients. Both are powerful, and both are out of my price range for full products, but CAD Schroer offers a free-use personal license.

    If you've got Apple Computers, but need parametric capabilities and don't want to pay TONS of money you can check out Punch! ViaCAD:

    http://www.punchcad.com/products/viacadpro.htm

    They have a non-pro version (ViaCAD 2D/3D 6), for about $99, and also have decent range of architectural/residential CAD apps, too, with .exe and Universal Binaries. The 3D solids tools for ad-hoc and precision work are giddiness-inducing, at least for me.

    And, if you need 3D Digital Prototyping...:

    http://www.punchcad.com/index.htm

    http://www.punchcad.com/index_pro.htm

    http://www.punchcad.com/products/shark.htm

    http://www.punchcad.com/products/sharkfx.htm

    Now, if the Linux/Open Source community would seriously hit up ViaCAD and also IMSI:

    http://www.turbocad.com/

    http://www.imsisoft.com/Products/3DModelingCategory/tabid/470/Default.aspx

    and IMPLORE them with real solid conversion opportunities, they *might* feel inclined to explore porting options, ESPECIALLY if business-minded programmers can induce them to look at QT/Trolltech and other technologies that might help them port or even rebuild their apps. But, for that to happen, we probably need to see a SIGNIFICANT curtailment or reduction of seats held by some major incumbents.

    And, we need to get MORE