Paul;

http://www.engadget.com/2008/12...-simpsons-mocks-m-apple/


LOL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


Zumer, thanks for the apology. I appreciate it :)

It's good!

To be honest, I've spent many hours swearing at the bend tool, just trying to get it either to bend the selected face, or bend in the right direction!!

It's got to be easier than that? Tim? Nick??

Paul, it's a nice suggestion, but there's really not any point, because the designs are mostly done now (or more to the point I am at home and the SW's PC is at work, and my 'copy' of SW's on this Mac is kaput and refuses to boot up because of some file in Windows has become corrupt etc- which means I'm going to have to reinstall windows (again)).

I don't know about you guys, but CAD is only 1% of my job and because of the joys of parametric modelling in Solidworks, VC rarely gets used these days (hence me not really contributing to the beta testing much lately either). I'd say 20% is writing reports and another 40% involves sitting in an anechoic chamber blasting Measured Length Sequences though an FFT analyser and Oscilloscope, and then further analysing the data in MATLAB. The other 30% is dedicated to doing sketch models, or working with the factories and representatives who manufacture parts for our company's products.

The remaining 9%? Secretarial duties and continually brewing up copious amounts of coffee!

I think Jol once described SW's as very 'step-minded' (or something similar), and designing ceiling tiles is as uncreative as it gets- remember these things are up there, not to be seen! Having a system that goes "click-click, there done" is very useful- a bit like my Mac workflow, so I spend less time on computers and more doing other things. Windows I find rather counter-productive, I'm always having to run virus checks or cleaning out the damn regestry- things that I don't have to worry about on Apple products at all. In fact my boss was amazed that I never have to do this, he spends hours each week getting his PC to be stable. Why does anyone have put up with that?

BTW, I've got the flu at the moment- so I have an excuse to lounge in front of my computer chatting away, at least for now. ;)

Tom

Not to second guess your skillz, but the fellow demoed that project in less than 10 minutes, and without compromising the parametric functionality. Pretty fast I think.

Pro/e has mostly shifted to a pallette style similar in concept to SW (though some of the modules still retain the old menu system) so I would argue that there probably isn't any performance penalty to one over the other albeit Solidworks is quite a bit easier to learn.

One thing that you will notice in the demo, is that he was using a 3D connexion device; a must have for Shark as well.

the other tom

I think that was helped by the excellent tutor SW's has built into it (the 'Online tutorial'?). But even SW's foxed the hell out of me to start with. I was trying to draw with it as if it were photoshop or something- ala layers.

Yes SW's is good- but at 6000 a pop, it should be!!!

You've probably guessed, I have a love/hate relationship with CAD. Most packages insist that they are easy to use, but this ease of use is largely dictated to us by the developers, and by the fans. There are undoubtedly people out there who don't get Macs, I am a self-confessed Mac fanboy- and at 42 years of age too- probably less 'boy', more 'man' :D

And yes Paul, although I find your Mancurian tone rather aggressive at the best of times ("mate"), I wholeheartedly agree with Jol's idea of a 'lounge'. It would be a good place to hang. :)



Actually Paul, it's a little more complicated than that. It states clearly in my contract that I am liable to prosecution and dismissal if I am to publish any work that I do which is in progress for the company. I'm a little surprised that you haven't already guessed that, being a key player in a family business? Anyway, what was wrong with the file that I uploaded earlier?

Here you go Norbert (Mac and PC too!);

http://sketchuptips.blogspot.co.../08/plugin-unfoldrb.html

I know that VC will open up in SU too.

It's worth looking at this whole site. There are some fabulous plugins here. I also recommend OhYeahCAD;

http://www.ohyeahcad.com/download/index.php

SU Podium is a really nice renderer I think.


You gotta love Google Sketchup eh? :cool:

Hi Martin.

I think you misunderstood me. The example I uploaded here wasn't done with the bend tool I don't think. It was done rather a long while back (6 weeks or so)- therefore I can't remember.

Your example was good. But did you use the bend tool? I found that the type of shape I was trying to bend, failed to bend properly, as the 'metal' on the opposite side of the tear, was also bending too (see pic).

If anyone can shed light on how the bend tool works, I would be very grateful. I can't seem to get it to behave logically at all.

Interesting. Thanks Nick :)

Incidentally, I did actually try this method you described as a possible workaround, but then decided not to pursue it any further, probably through want of wanting VC to behave again like SW's. Why? I don't know. Probably because I think when one gets used to a certain way of doing things, like Jol has pointed out before, it's as hard as hell to move to another (ie VC's)- later on.

Funny actually, because doing it this way is also the way one would do it in SpaceClaim- kind of.

Tom,
Unfolding is a completely different story, wasn't that the point of this topic ?

VC / Shark needs an unfold tool to compliment the fold tool. The two have different uses and it doesn't follow that if you fold you will unfold or vice versa.

Hi Tom (ttrw)

Is your metal part supposed to sit flat, only one face seems to be a bit off. I mean one face looks like it has been bent from a different crease line?

I would agree with NickB that a Flatten/Unfold command should also be available in the Shark software.....and hopefully VC :p