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MCAD Modeling Methods: Mechanical CAD Today
1 Oct, 2004 By: Don LaCourse CadalystSoftware innovations accelerate the mechanical design process.
When I was asked to write about the state of the mechanical CAD industry, I was more than a little reluctant to parade the usual charts and graphs that show statistics and market growth for the well-known CAD developers. Such reporting is better left to industry analysts such as Daratech (www.daratech.com), who do it so well and so often. However, I did check in with many mechanical CAD developers, and all report double-digit percentage increases in sales from this time last year. There is a clear consensus that the economy has completed its rebound and is on the rise.
 Figure 1. The Object Editor in VX Corps VX CAD/CAM (www.vx.com) provides a quick and easy way to perform many common editing tasks. Simply move the cursor over an object to highlight it and right-click to display a popup menu that contains context sensitive commands. Pick filters are provided for complex displays to filter the object type to highlight. You can also double-click on an object such as a sketch to activate it for editing. Context sensitivity extends to menus managers and options forms. |
If you follow my columns, you know that I write from the perspective of those using and managing the mechanical CAD application. Don't get me wrong—charts and graphs serve a very important purpose, but you don't need them to know that mechanical CAD is alive, well, and better than ever. Just look at the applications today and remember what it was like even a few short years ago. Here are some things that clearly make mechanical CAD what it is today—I bet you're already taking them for granted.
Object-based Context Sensitivity
Not too long ago, you wasted a lot of time locating commands buried deep within the menu hierarchy. You needed to know and understand what menu selection to make to perform a given task, such as applying draft to a face. Today, object editing removes the guesswork by displaying only the applicable commands when you select or highlight an object such as Offset, Draft, and Extend when you select a face. Figure 2. SolidWorks (www.solidworks.com) employs what the company refers to as Heads-Up interactions that speed user throughput. The most apparent Heads-Up component is context-sensitive Property Managers. These replace the Feature Manager Design Tree automatically when appropriate and let you change properties or options of objects in SolidWorks. Property Managers anticipate your needs and supply a common interface to make changes. |
This object-based context sensitivity is now widely used in mouse-driven pop-up menus, pull-down menus, and all dialog boxes. Today's mechanical CAD applications understand what you need at any given time and even try to anticipate what you will or may need soon. In many instances, you can bypass the menu structure, saving precious design time.
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AutoCAD Tips!
Autodesk Technical Evangelist Lynn Allen guides you through a different AutoCAD feature in every edition of her popular "Circles and Lines" tutorial series. For even more AutoCAD how-to, check out Lynn's quick tips in the Cadalyst Video Gallery. Subscribe to Cadalyst's Tips & Tricks Tuesdays free e-newsletter and we'll notify you every time a new video tip is available. All exclusively from Cadalyst! |
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