2018 - Page 3 of 6 - cad nauseam

AutoCAD, AutoCAD LT, BricsCAD, BricsCAD Shape, Bricsys, DWG, Maintenance, Rental, Subscription

An email exchange with a friend about AutoCAD

By Steve Johnson 27 June 2018, 12:28 pm 27 June 2018 itemprop="discussionURL"7

Here’s an email exchange I just had with a friend. He’s a local person who I don’t normally discuss CAD with. He works for an architect. He has given me permission to use this discussion here. Hi Steve, We are looking to update from 2007 and 2010 versions in the office to more recent versions of Autodesk’s AutoCAD. We don’t need full version but if that’s what is available ok then. Lite version is ok as we use for 2D architectural only. We use other packages when 3D work required. We also have call to open consultants drawings which may …

AutoCAD, BricsCAD, CAD Management, DWG, Performance, Tip

Why every AutoCAD CAD Manager should have a copy of BricsCAD – part 4, efficiency

By Steve Johnson 22 June 2018, 9:05 pm 22 June 2018 itemprop="discussionURL"2

This is the fourth post in this series where I explain why this statement holds true: As a CAD Manager looking after AutoCAD users, or a power user looking after yourself, it’s worth your while to have a copy of BricsCAD handy. This post is about BricsCAD being more efficient than AutoCAD for some of the things a CAD Manager might need to do. What do I mean? BricsCAD starts up and closes down faster than AutoCAD, much faster in some environments. If your AutoCAD starts up slow (e.g. in some secure proxy server environments), pretty much any job you …

Autodesk, Autodesk University, Bricsys Conference

Is anyone going to Autodesk University this year?

By Steve Johnson 22 June 2018, 1:34 pm 22 June 2018 itemprop="discussionURL"8

No, I don’t mean, “Hey, I’m going to Autodesk University this year, let’s hang out!” I mean, is anyone going to Autodesk University this year? Edit: in this post I am referring to AU2018 in Las Vegas, not any other event. Because I’m seeing lots of people saying they’re not going. People who haven’t missed it for many years. When Robert Green announced his forthcoming non-attendance on Facebook, I was amazed to see so many prominent long-term Autodesk loyalists do likewise. Here are a few comments: OUCH! With all the people I know who won’t be there, AU is going …

AutoCAD, BricsCAD, CAD Management, DWG, Tip

Why every AutoCAD CAD Manager should have a copy of BricsCAD – part 3, parts on demand

By Steve Johnson 19 June 2018, 4:11 pm 19 June 2018 itemprop="discussionURL"1

This is the third post in this series where I explain why this statement holds true: As a CAD Manager looking after AutoCAD users, or a power user looking after yourself, it’s worth your while to have a copy of BricsCAD handy. This post is about using BricsCAD as a mechanical and structural parts library for your AutoCAD users. As I mentioned in my last post in this series, I was writing a client-specific AutoCAD 3D training course recently. To demonstrate the concept of revolving profiles, and also to compare and contrast different styles of solid creation, I wanted to …

Autodesk, Autodesk University, Interview, IPoC

IPoC interview – Lynn Allen – part 3

By Steve Johnson 19 June 2018, 1:53 pm 19 June 2018 itemprop="discussionURL"0

This is the third in a series of interviews of Interesting People of CAD (IPoC). Lynn Allen is a legendary figure in the CAD world and really needs no introduction. I’m very happy that she agreed to be interviewed for this series. Here is the third and final part of Lynn’s interview. Learn about Lynn’s departure from Autodesk, people’s reactions to the news, and what Lynn thinks about Heidi Hewett going to Bricsys. Also, Miss Tiffany. Steve: So after all these years, you’re no longer with Autodesk. Was that a shock to the system? Lynn: After 24 years, it is …

AutoCAD, BricsCAD, CAD Management, DWG, Tip

Why every AutoCAD CAD Manager should have a copy of BricsCAD – part 2, 3D operations

By Steve Johnson 13 June 2018, 10:15 am 13 June 2018 itemprop="discussionURL"2

This is the second post in this series where I explain why this statement holds true: As a CAD Manager looking after AutoCAD users, or a power user looking after yourself, it’s worth your while to have a copy of BricsCAD handy. This post is about using BricsCAD to do things to help out your AutoCAD users who are having problems with 3D operations. Why would you bother using BricsCAD to mess with AutoCAD 3D models? Because sometimes AutoCAD can’t do stuff with them, and BricsCAD can. If you have a user who finally asks for help after fighting AutoCAD …

Autodesk, Autodesk University, Interview, IPoC

IPoC interview – Lynn Allen – part 2

By Steve Johnson 8 June 2018, 11:32 am 23 June 2018 itemprop="discussionURL"0

This is the third in a series of interviews of Interesting People of CAD (IPoC). Lynn Allen is a legendary figure in the CAD world and really needs no introduction. I’m very happy that she agreed to be interviewed for this series. Here is the second part of Lynn’s interview, which includes discussion of travel, gender issues and a nasty poster. Steve: As Technology Evangelist for Autodesk for over 20 years, presentation was a big part of your job. You have a comedic, apparently casual approach to your presentations that is very popular. How much preparation do you have to …

AutoCAD, BricsCAD, BricsCAD Shape, CAD Management, DWG, ZWCAD

Why every AutoCAD CAD Manager should have a copy of BricsCAD – part 1, fixing drawings

By Steve Johnson 7 June 2018, 4:50 pm 7 June 2018 itemprop="discussionURL"2

Here’s a mega-tip with a lot of experience behind it: As a CAD Manager looking after AutoCAD users, or a power user looking after yourself, it’s worth your while to have a copy of BricsCAD handy. Why? There are too many reasons to fit in one blog post, so I’m going to do a mini-series. The first post is about using BricsCAD to fix up drawings that are giving your AutoCAD users problems. One of the things that surprised me most when evaluating BricsCAD as a potential replacement for AutoCAD was that my expectations were wrong when it came to …

Autodesk, Autodesk University, Interview, IPoC

IPoC interview – Lynn Allen – part 1

By Steve Johnson 29 May 2018, 10:47 pm 23 June 2018 itemprop="discussionURL"0

This is the third in a series of interviews of Interesting People of CAD (IPoC). Lynn Allen is a legendary figure in the CAD world and really needs no introduction. I’m very happy that she agreed to be interviewed for this series. Here is the first part of Lynn’s interview. Topics include life before Autodesk, that AU wig and user groups, especially AUGI. Steve: Can you tell me a little about your background before you started with Autodesk? Have you always been involved in teaching and training? Lynn: I started using AutoCAD with Version 1.4 at American Honda. I then …

Autodesk, Fun, Maintenance, Rental, Subscription, Video

Frog Rejects Autodesk Subscription Bug

By Steve Johnson 4 May 2018, 2:33 pm 4 May 2018 itemprop="discussionURL"1

I did a silly video. It’s only 10 seconds long. Enjoy.

Source video.

Announcement, BricsCAD, Bricsys, CAD Management, Travel

More details of Bricsys 2018 in London

By Steve Johnson 3 May 2018, 2:11 pm 3 May 2018 itemprop="discussionURL"1

As I mentioned in March, this year’s Bricsys conference will be held in London (yes, the British one) on 23 and 24 October. More details have now been revealed on the Bricsys Conference page and tickets are now on sale. We now know: Venue: The Brewery, 52 Chiswell Street, London EC1Y 4SD, UK. Cost: €150, which is about US$180 (plus taxes in the EU, which you may be able to deduct). This is the early bird rate until 30 June. Speakers: Ten have been named so far, including big-name signing Heidi Hewett. My attendance at the 2016 and 2017 conferences …

AUGI, AutoCAD, Autodesk, Autodesk University, Interview, IPoC, Nostalgia

IPoC interview – David Kingsley – part 3

By Steve Johnson 27 April 2018, 3:20 pm 27 April 2018 itemprop="discussionURL"2

Welcome to the second in this series of interviews of Interesting People of CAD (IPoC). David Kingsley has had a long and interesting career, was present in the early days of CAD adoption, and served as an AUGI board member for years. Here is the third and final part of David’s interview. This was the most interesting part of the interview for me, but unfortunately much of the more hilarious anecdotes and other discussions were off the record so I can’t share them. I hope you enjoy what’s left! Steve: What are you most proud of achieving with AUGI? David: …

AUGI, AutoCAD, Autodesk, Autodesk University, Interview, IPoC, Nostalgia

IPoC interview – David Kingsley – part 2

By Steve Johnson 26 April 2018, 9:11 am 27 April 2018 itemprop="discussionURL"0

Welcome to the second in this series of interviews of Interesting People of CAD (IPoC). David Kingsley has had a long and interesting career, was present in the early days of CAD adoption, and served as an AUGI board member for years. Here is the second part of David’s interview which covers his involvement in AUGI, the controversy over how it was managed, and how that ended his involvement. Steve: What was your first involvement with AUGI or NAAUG? At what stage did you get involved? David: I think it was NAAUG in Philadelphia. Paul Jackson came up to me …

AUGI, AutoCAD, Autodesk, Autodesk University, Interview, IPoC, Nostalgia

IPoC interview – David Kingsley – part 1

By Steve Johnson 24 April 2018, 11:39 pm 28 April 2018 itemprop="discussionURL"1

Welcome to the second in this series of interviews of Interesting People of CAD (IPoC). David Kingsley has had a long and interesting career, was present in the early days of CAD adoption, and served as an AUGI board member for years. Here is the first part of David’s interview, which covers his career. It’s a long career, so this is a loooong post! Strap in tight for a candid discussion of solar plants, a couple of US Presidents, primeval Autodesk University, Autodesk before and after Lynn Allen, a personal opinion of the current CEO, sailing on an America’s Cup …

Announcement, AutoCAD, BLADE, Blowing my own horn, BricsCAD, CAD Management, Development, Interoperability, LISP, Video

Steve’s BLADE presentation at the BricsCAD New Zealand and Australia Roadshow

By Steve Johnson 23 April 2018, 9:11 pm 23 April 2018 itemprop="discussionURL"3

Sofoco (Australia) and CAD Concepts (New Zealand) recently ran a series of seminars throughout Australasia demonstrating BricsCAD. I attended the last of these in Brisbane on April 19 and gave a presentation about BricsCAD’s LISP, with reference to AutoCAD compatibility and the tools available to CAD Managers and developers, including BLADE. The talk was aimed at anybody who is writing or maintaining LISP code for AutoCAD or BricsCAD. I had the just-before-lunch slot, which is never desirable for a presenter. People are dozing off and/or bursting to go to the toilet, and time adjustments have to be made if earlier …

AutoCAD 2018, AutoCAD 2019, Autodesk, Bug, CAD Management, Customer Service, Fail, Rental, Subscription

Autodesk remotely killswitches AutoCAD licenses – again

By Steve Johnson 21 April 2018, 1:16 pm 21 April 2018 itemprop="discussionURL"6

Following the AutoCAD 2019 rollout disaster, where subscription users found their AutoCAD 2018s were broken by an Autodesk licensing system meltdown, Autodesk CEO Andrew Anagnost issued an apology. He also assured customers on Twitter that it wouldn’t happen again: While I welcomed that, I did have this to say at the time: I don’t think such a guarantee is realistic, given that the nature of subscription software is to only work when it knows you’ve paid up. At least it demonstrates that the desire is there right at the top to try to prevent such debacles from occurring in future. …

Announcement, AutoCAD, Autodesk, BricsCAD, Bricsys, CAD Management, Cadalyst, Customer Service, Customisation, Thoughts, Win

The game has changed – Robert Green migrates to BricsCAD

By Steve Johnson 17 April 2018, 9:53 pm 17 April 2018 itemprop="discussionURL"10

Is anybody left who still thinks BricsCAD isn’t a serious replacement for AutoCAD? If that’s you, perhaps the latest news might make you take it seriously. No, not the Heidi Hewett news. Even more recent news than that! Robert Green, CAD Management guru, Cadalyst writer and consultant (not to mention a rather good guitarist) has been announced as the first Bricsys Certified Migration Consultant. Read all about what Robert has to say on this Bricsys blog post. Anybody who has been reading this blog for the last few years will be surprised by none of what Robert has to say …

3D, Apple, BricsCAD, BricsCAD Shape, Bricsys, DWG, Linux

BricsCAD Shape for Mac

By Steve Johnson 16 April 2018, 9:29 pm 16 April 2018 itemprop="discussionURL"0

BricsCAD Shape, the free DWG-based 3D direct modeling application from Bricsys, has now been released for macOS (formerly OS X). See my previous post on Shape for details of what it’s all about. This is the same, just on a different OS. That’s because unlike Autodesk’s versions of its DWG products, the Bricsys versions are not cynically watered down for Apple users. Those users can now do full 3D conceptual modeling as part of a workflow that leads to full BIM (or simply view and edit DWG files if you’re not that ambitious), and without paying for the privilege. It’s …

Autodesk, Bricsys, Interview, IPoC

IPoC interview – Heidi Hewett – part 3

By Steve Johnson 15 April 2018, 12:03 pm 16 April 2018 itemprop="discussionURL"2

Welcome to the first in this new series of interviews of Interesting People of CAD (IPoC). First up, Heidi Hewett. Heidi has a long CAD history and is well known for being outstandingly good at her job. She made big news recently by shifting camps from Autodesk to Bricsys. Here is the third and final part of Heidi’s interview. Steve: Did you go to Gent? What were your impressions of the people at Bricsys? Heidi: Yes. After my initial discussion with Don Strimbu, he invited me to Gent to visit Bricsys headquarters and meet the team. While I wasn’t yet …

Autodesk, Bricsys, Interview, IPoC

IPoC interview – Heidi Hewett – part 2

By Steve Johnson 13 April 2018, 12:02 pm 16 April 2018 itemprop="discussionURL"0

Welcome to the first in this new series of interviews of Interesting People of CAD (IPoC). First up, Heidi Hewett. Heidi has a long CAD history and is well known for being outstandingly good at her job. She made big news recently by shifting camps from Autodesk to Bricsys. Here is the second part of Heidi’s interview. Steve: Did you have much involvement with AUGI? Heidi: I haven’t had a lot of involvement with AUGI aside from presenting at CAD Camps they hosted almost a decade ago. I thought they were great events and was sorry to see them fade …