We are excited to roll out an update for our mobile app! We have redesigned our app from the ground up. In this release we have included support for iPhone as well as iPad. Now you will be able to browse the latest and most popular models in the GrabCAD library from your mobile device. You can view renderings in the project and see project details. In projects we have added the ability to participate in conversations while you are on the go with easy-to-post comments. What else can you do?
Last September I had the opportunity to attend the launch of Solidworks 2013 and see a few things coming down the pipe. One thing that throughly impressed me was their augmented reality app for mobile devices or tablets. Presented by one of the original developers of eDrawings, Rick Chin, the AR app generated some audible gasps in the room. Still in the preliminary stages, the quality of the app was pretty clear. And now it’s available for download.
If you’re a professional Designer or Engineer, GrabCAD Workbench Beta is for you. GrabCADr Extraordinaire Tommy Mueller has been a tremendous asset to us by actively working with actual clients to bring their products to market quicker than before. Like what you see below, the first phase of creation of a new revolutionary shoe called Adaptive Footware™.
Edit: Tommy just made it public! You can see this project right here
Collaboration always makes us happy – we were really excited about the partnership between Geomagic and Spaceclaim to create Geomagic Spark, a Scan-to-CAD software program that many in the CAD scene are excited about. For a long time, taking a object and turning it into a CAD model was a long, arduous process of either physically measuring the dimensions and modelling them or laser-scanning and cleaning up the point cloud and editing the mesh. That is, until now. Watch this video.
Features
Direct scanning into Geomagic Spark using hardware plug-ins for Faro, Hexagon and Creaform (others to be announced)
CAD Modelling/Sketching (via the Spaceclaim API)
Accurate extraction of surfaces, solids and sketches from the mesh
Point cloud editing – Deletion, sampling, noise reduction, etc.
Scan and process directly in a CAD application import point clouds, meshes and CAD formats
Complete 3D models from incomplete scan data
Push/pull geometry modification tools
Create and edit large assemblies
Quickly create annotated 2D technical drawing and 3D dimensions
Interoperable with a range of CAD and PLM tools
Interoperable with a range of CAD and PLM tools in addition to neutral file formats (IGES, STEP, OBJ, ACIS, and PDF)
Compatible with a collection of powerful third-party add-ins for SpaceClaim, e.g., photorealistic visualization, PDM, analysis and CAM
For all of these features, there is a CAD program for it. But no one has managed to turn it into a singular product for MCAD users. This is particularly exciting for GrabCAD – digitizing and sharing has become a lot easier. Using Spaceclaim’s API, the steep learning curve is diminished, allowing millions of Engineers and Designers with few CAD skills to be able to scan-and-model any part or product faster than before. One simple use could be repairing a broken part by scanning then stitching them together, creating a CAD file that is ready to be manufactured. Another is quick reverse engineering of discontinued or hard-to-find parts – a tremendous asset for extending the life of expensive machinery or equipment.
As of today, you can download a free trail here. Geomagic Spark is starting at $10,000.
Back in October 2012, former Microsoft CTO and alleged patent troll Nathan Myhrvold and his group, Intellectual Ventures released a patent for a Digital Rights Management system for CAD models. If you buy music or videos online, often there are little tidbits of code that limit your ability to share it freely. That’s DRM, and it’s been heavily criticized by all, mostly because it doesn’t work. Once a file is cracked, it can roam freely in the wilds of the Internet. Same rules apply to CAD files. It’s probably harder than most music or video formats to accomplish, but it can be done. But why treat everyone like a criminal? Is there a way to combine the benefits of Open Engineering with DRM?
Over the past few days I’ve been exploring a new website called Modelab. It was such a good resource I thought it’d be a good idea to share it. Modelab is tilted towards those into CAD and Architecture/Design, with highly detailed webinars, software/hardware/tools resource pages and workshops.
GrabCAD has friends in the CAD Cloud, companies with great ideas to solve big problems. One problem is how to answer that question every Engineer and Designer asks – can I 3D print my model? Will it be what I see on my computer screen? Every time we’ve run design challenges for 3D printable items we get that difficult question a lot. But now, there is a solution: Will it 3DPrint.
