Anybody beside me wondering when ViaCAD will be "deprecated" officially? Is anybody simultaneously running VC6 and Shark LT/etc and still finds they need VC6? Or that there is something in VC6 they like?

I think so far i've used maybe more than 3/4 the tools in VC6 just on simple things. I know VC Pro 5 has things I sorely want. So, as for VC5 Pro, does anyone simultaneously use VC5 Pro and Shark Lt? What opinions do you have. I know it can be personal preference, but i'm very low-budget, and besides running the demo in my own little world, and watching videos, and reading the forums, does anyone have a "you won't look back once you go Shark (*)" comment?

Thanks!

well done Tim - I think the lounge will prove an excellent idea !!

Paul, although I largely tend agree with you, I'd say that the final price of this software more reflects the technology used and licensed from Dassault Systemes rather than anything else.

Personally I wouldn't have bothered with Shark LT, unless the parametric technology was included. I quickly get frustrated with VC because of the lack of these tools (I'm not a CATIA surfaces kind of person- but it is great that it is there).

I've been very closely following the Wenatchee build of Rhino (Mac), and I like Robert Mcneel's attitude to not releasing the product onto the market until the beta testers and users are 100% satisfied with it. I think that this kind of approach to a product demands far more respect than releasing a product that still has a platitude of bugs that need eliminating.

I'm not convinced that SpaceClaim is going to make it financially. They had to abandon their original leasing plan due to lack of success, and they had a major shakeup of the principals not too long ago. I just don't see that they have had all that much success in the MCAD world to this point and Autodesk is poised to release Inventor LT which would be major price competition.

The real glitch is that the window of opportunity for explicit modeling (as PTC likes to call their similar CoCreate package) is getting competition from SolidEdge/NX and I expect all the majors will have similar capabilities a couple of revs in the future.

the other Tom

I have exchanged email with John in August 08' and there was no mention of dropping LTX then, although I would agree something has happened because it is no longer on their website. As for value LTX can be bought for approx 500 which I think is very good value considering it is supposed to be a partner for Rhino.

Look on Novedge. The license is NOT for twelve months it is a perpetual license.

[URL="http://www.novedge.com/brands/89"]http://www.novedge.com/brands/89[/URL]

Paul while you were exchanging mere emails, I was happily exchanging pints across a bar with Mr Milne- who incidentally lives 1.5 miles from where I work. ;)




And apart from Rhino and ACAD, in LTX, you can't import much else either- so imo, not a very good deal at all.

Really happy for you Tom....



As we know LTX is a partner for Rhino which opens up the importing side of things a little further, that said STEP is quite good.

--

NickB: I take your point on learning another app. Personally, having already got Rhino I feel that VC or Shark will do my job but lately im seeing lots & lots of time wasted waiting for things happen in modeling & MTOS tasks in drawing space....time will tell...hopefully Tim & Ryan get tune it up :p

Nick,

It is true that in SW (and Pro/E for that matter), that you enter/exit a sketch mode to generate geometry, and while you are required to generate references for each sketch, you aren't required to dimension the geometry to create the feature; the feature manager will accept implicit dimensions.

Shark uses a 2D/3D mode via an icon pick vs sketch/part mode of SW and Pro/E, though both SW and Pro/e hide the sketch in the switch to part mode.

Parametrics as you say is blessing and curse, and both SW and Pro/E can turn off dependencies as necessary. On the other hand, one of the nice features of parametrics in an assembly mode would be the example of adding a feature through multiple parts, so that each individual part would retain the feature independently, but would still allow for modification in the assembly mode. An example would be a fastener through hole in a panel and a tapped hole in a frame.

Since I'm assuming that you work for yourself, I can see that an integration of sketch, part, and assembly is something that you can manage in Shark. As you add complexity though, it becomes more difficult to manage all of the layers, and a PDM (Part Data Management) system becomes useful and necessary. Not only does it maintain parts, part variants and assemblies, but it also supports versioning, and supervisory control. Frankly, I am frustrated with the current sketch/part mode of Shark and the current Concept Explorer and I would be happy if Shark supported an Assembly mode with a part library, and I don't see that as being as difficult to implement as a PDM system, an certainly easier to use.

Need Sheetmetal functionality...

I agree with you entirely on prices and subscriptions, and I agree that not only is Shark a bargain, but that I can bring Shark parts into SW, Pro/E, GibbsCAM, or whatever else for that matter. It is also true that there is a heck of a lot of added functionality in higher end systems. If you need it, I guess you can find a way to purchase and maintain it, and

Regarding Sheet to Model, it seems to me that you are demonstrating the limitations of Shark's lack of Assembly management. I have difficulty managing 30 layers in Concept Explorer (I'll blame most of that on fairly old hardware), but even so, I would argue that a board layout of that complexity on a regular and ongoing basis would be best served by PADS or something equivalent, and an IDF to solids translator (Solidworks Premium gives you Circuitworks, and Pro/E has an optional ECAD to MCAD module) if you need a solids model of your pcb assembly.

In conclusion, I would like to see Shark grow to include:

Sheetmetal
Assembly Mode and management
modal Sketch/Part as an option to current 2D/3D
SW / Parasolids translators
3D constraint manager

tom, the other

I last December got my copy of ViaCAD for $99 at the now defunct CompUSA. If it had been $250 or $300 at that time, i would NOT have been able to afford it. Initial entry price is often the make or break item for me.

I am ALL TO HAPPY to buy in at a price, then purchase modules every few months if i become addicted to them, but would first want a 2 or 3-month introduction to each module because i too many distractions to achieve much "trialing" in a 2-3 week time. It could take me 3 or 4 days with only a very few subset of tools.

So, if I could "subscribe" to buy a +$500 CU/Punch! product at say $150 down and pay the rest in modules, i would. But, that is not fashionable for software sales.

here's a link,

http://www.eng-tips.com/viewthread.cfm?qid=212255&page=1
John, the NX evangelist states that NX6 for the mac is still on, but delayed, and not many modules. I got the impression that the delay is due to some issues with MS Office, which they require (don't know why).

tom