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go3d  
#1 Posted : Wednesday, September 1, 2010 7:47:43 PM(UTC)
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Jean-Francois Jacques  
#2 Posted : Thursday, September 2, 2010 9:39:25 AM(UTC)
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Thanks for the YouTube. I am not an AutoCad user (or a potential user) but is a good news for the Mac Community!!
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Remmi  
#3 Posted : Thursday, September 2, 2010 10:40:56 AM(UTC)
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I would prefer a good 3D mobile App, to demonstrate designs (exploded view, and measurement tools). I would prefer something like a Sketchup mobile app.... but this is what Autodesk will have to offer.

http://butterfly.autodesk.com/mobile/
Tem  
#4 Posted : Thursday, September 2, 2010 12:01:55 PM(UTC)
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Autocad on Mac might be better for Architecture and a few specialties where 3rd parties (plug-in/add-on makers) have really made Autocad useful over the years. For me it is archaic. I used Rhino for a while at my last employer. The engineers there would always go on about how cool the autocad-like CLI was, where one could drive features numerically or by keyboard input. Sorry, I found it to be a massive distraction, going from text and numbers at the prompt, sometimes icons, and finally beautiful flowing surfaces (sometimes). The only thing I liked about it is that the prompt was always in the same location for feedback/errors/gibberish/etc.
jol  
#5 Posted : Thursday, September 2, 2010 2:10:19 PM(UTC)
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i reckon it's a pile of old pants - but as suggested - it should be good for the Mac platform

I should qualify that I have tried repeatedly to use ACAD on PC - but it found no love with me

Each to their own I guess : )
Kevin Quigley  
#6 Posted : Thursday, September 2, 2010 5:23:47 PM(UTC)
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Ditto here. Autodesk launched this with the statement "the return to professional CAD on the Mac".....at least Al dean at Develop3D recognised the astounding nonsense of that statement.

Personally I'm not sure why they have done this at all. Sure some mixed architects use VectorWorks on macs and Autocad on Windows but they won't all the be switching to Macs and Autocad. Architects are notoriously tight when it comes to spending cash on software :)

Besides I was under the misguided impression that Revit was the future for architecture ;)

The best thing that can happen for the Mac platform will be when somebody like SolidWorks or Pro/E offers a native version and Apple decide to take the 3D people seriously and start offering some decent lower cost graphics cards that can be certified.
go3d  
#7 Posted : Thursday, September 2, 2010 6:18:39 PM(UTC)
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I agree with all the comments posted so far.

The only use I would find for it would be to ensure I could read DWG files in without losing anything in the translation and to be able to resave drawings in another format if required. Although not flawless, VC/Shark does a very respectable job of handling DWG/DXF.

If it was the right price I may just consider it. Unfortunately it will probably be 10 or 20 times more expensive than I could justify.

If anyone needs an excellent AutoCAD clone that runs native on the Mac I would suggest looking at ARES Commander. Available as a trial here:

http://new.graebert.com/index.p...d=103&Itemid=107&lang=en

Personally I am looking forward to the Mac version of DraftSight from Dassault due out by the end of this year. This will be FREE.
Details of PC version here:

http://www.3ds.com/products/dra...raftsight-overview/#vid1

Thank you AutoCAD, I'm sure it will be a hit with some, but i'll pass.
Tem  
#8 Posted : Friday, September 3, 2010 12:36:09 AM(UTC)
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@ Kevin Quigley: painfully true.
SW is the most Mac-like PC app I've ever used.
The two-fold catastrophe of low performing GPU's and high prices for yester-years tech is disappointing. I would like to run a medium performance FireGl or whatever pro-card, but there are no drivers for these on the Mac right now.
go3d  
#9 Posted : Friday, September 3, 2010 4:01:17 AM(UTC)
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Originally Posted by: Kevin Quigley Go to Quoted Post

The best thing that can happen for the Mac platform will be when somebody like SolidWorks or Pro/E offers a native version and Apple decide to take the 3D people seriously and start offering some decent lower cost graphics cards that can be certified.


What about Siemens NX ? (a.k.a Unigraphics to a lot of us). It's been out on the Mac for about 4 years now. NX is a big gun in the CAD market and I havn't heard any talk from them of needing to wait for Mac graphic card certification etc?
Having said that, I haven't met an NX owner who doesn't run it on some form of PC Workstation either!
NickB  
#10 Posted : Friday, September 3, 2010 10:31:20 AM(UTC)
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NX runs under X11 on a OS X, so its not quiet a Mac program, but better than running a CAD app under virtulization. NX is also expensive, at (last time I enquired) $5000 per seat. My guess is that those that can afford the cost of a seat, can also afford the high end MacPro required to run the program, that, or they sell so few seats that they just don't bother to validate hardware.

My hope is that SolidWorks eventually gets to OS-X, even if it does not support all the fancy PhotoView features due to Apples inability to take graphics card selection seriously. I built the Hackintosh I am using because Apples choice of graphics cards is so limited, and to get anything decent they force you to invest in a $2500 MacPro.
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ttrw  
#11 Posted : Saturday, September 4, 2010 9:30:21 AM(UTC)
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Originally Posted by: go3d Go to Quoted Post
I agree with all the comments posted so far.

If anyone needs an excellent AutoCAD clone that runs native on the Mac I would suggest looking at ARES Commander. Available as a trial here:



I'm afraid, I disagree. Where is Solidworks? A year ago Dassault were saying that SW would be available for the both the cloud and on the Mac. Now that Fielder Hiss fellow is saying that OS's are irrelevant. Having AutoCAD on Mac is going to do a lot for the Mac, especially within the architecture circles, many of whom actively share the DWG format.

I also disagree strongly with the second above comment. If you're going to spend that kind of money, PowerCADD 8 is a far better pedigree of 2D package. If you want 3D, get Rhino. Both these are Cocoa native (unlike ARES which is not- as that has been developed on the horrible QT development framework- same as QCAD). Shark LT too, although not Cocoa (but it feels like it does have a lot of Mac technology in there), is a better buy than ARES.

Originally Posted by: Tem Go to Quoted Post

SW is the most Mac-like PC app I've ever used.


Apart from that gawd-awful ribbon across the top! ;) (That also applies to Acad. I believe there is no ribbon on the Mac version? :) ) Have you tried 3D Studio Max too? That (albiet the ribbon) is very Mac-like too.

The bottom line is that any new and half decent CAD system on Mac is a great addition. :)

Tom
go3d  
#12 Posted : Saturday, September 4, 2010 7:45:45 PM(UTC)
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Originally Posted by: ttrw Go to Quoted Post

I also disagree strongly with the second above comment. If you're going to spend that kind of money, PowerCADD 8 is a far better pedigree of 2D package. If you want 3D, get Rhino. Both these are Cocoa native (unlike ARES which is not- as that has been developed on the horrible QT development framework- same as QCAD). Shark LT too, although not Cocoa (but it feels like it does have a lot of Mac technology in there), is a better buy than ARES.

Tom


I deal with architects and builders who usually send in 2D DWG Auto CAD files, my point is that if you need a good clone of AutoCAD that runs on the Mac then ARES should be looked at before slapping down $4000 for AC.

I always thought PowerCADD was just an overpriced MacDraft, perhaps I might take another look, thanks for the heads up... the good thing is that there are demos to download for us to try.

With a 2D version of ARES Commander about to be released for free as DraftSight Mac from Dassault, it's going to make all other 2D CAD look expensive, though.

Quote:
If you want 3D, get Rhino.


Rhino for Mac is still in beta (has been for years) and is not yet commercially available.
ttrw  
#13 Posted : Sunday, September 5, 2010 7:35:22 AM(UTC)
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Originally Posted by: go3d Go to Quoted Post
I deal with architects and builders who usually send in 2D DWG Auto CAD files, my point is that if you need a good clone of AutoCAD that runs on the Mac then ARES should be looked at before slapping down $4000 for AC.


Well yes, that's a good point, but there are alternatives which are much better. I believe Bricsys is also coming to Mac.

Originally Posted by: go3d Go to Quoted Post
I always thought PowerCADD was just an overpriced MacDraft, perhaps I might take another look, thanks for the heads up... the good thing is that there are demos to download for us to try.


I own a seat of MacDraft. MacDraft is nowhere near PowerCADD in terms of power, configuration and ease of use. MacDraft is actually quite difficult to use, especially when setting up paper sizes and layers. PowerCADD is very underrated imho.

Originally Posted by: go3d Go to Quoted Post
With a 2D version of ARES Commander about to be released for free as DraftSight Mac from Dassault, it's going to make all other 2D CAD look expensive, though.


I use the 13 Ribbonsoft QCad (also built in QT). It's interface is simple to use, is a lot easier to use than MacDraft (if you like for eg, Acad LT), but Qcad's file management is a dog, and QCad works more like a PC/Linux app than a Mac app. For eg, it won't let you search using Spotlight among other OSX OS niceties.

Don't get me wrong, I certainly will be downloading DraftSight once it's ready, but I do really like the whole interface and workflow thing of Mac OSX compared to Windows, and being built on QT, I'm not holding out on DraftSight.

Originally Posted by: go3d Go to Quoted Post
Rhino for Mac is still in beta (has been for years) and is not yet commercially available.


Yes it is true, Rhino is still in beta, however it is very easy to join the beta team, and Bob is very keen that Rhino, until it is released, is free for all to use. Rhino's existing DWG translators are excellent, and can handle complex 3D DWG AutoCAD files with ease.
jol  
#14 Posted : Friday, October 15, 2010 12:42:49 PM(UTC)
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I just read Acad Mac is $K4 - can this be right ?
NickB  
#15 Posted : Friday, October 15, 2010 3:34:10 PM(UTC)
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$4K sounds more than resonable if you look at the quality of the tool icons.;)
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ttrw  
#16 Posted : Sunday, October 17, 2010 7:03:01 AM(UTC)
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The last time I enquired about a seat of Solidworks (this was a couple of years back whilst I was working as a technician for a company based at Warwick University- oddly also the home of Dassault UK!), the cheapest seat of SW was just over 5000. That's pounds and not dollars. I enquired about a seat of NX 5 years ago or so, and was quoted 12,000!!!

If NX is $5000 now, then it is now a bargain(!) and we should all be using it on our Macs. Then there is Rhino, and I really hope that Shark FX holds out on the bargain price too, this will do Tim a lot of favours. :)

Tom.
ttrw  
#17 Posted : Sunday, October 17, 2010 7:07:32 AM(UTC)
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Yes, the tool icons are rubbish. I can't make head or tail of them. Which brings me on to another thing, why can't developers (and this includes Tim), allow for text below tools? Text, which to be fair is available in both the MS ribbon and the Cocoa title bar, would make tool recognition so much quicker and easier. :)
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