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I purchased ViaCad12 2d/3d about a month ago. This was to replace Version 5 purchased many years ago. I didn't use ViaCad much because I had access to Solidworks, Inventor etc. I no longer have those options. Since my V5 is 14 years old, I purchased V12. I find fundamental operations that do not work right. For example, it won't trim. I select the boundary and then the segment to trim and it does nothing. When trying to extrude, it detects gaps even though the sketch was done endpoint to endpoint. Connect curve won't recognize two curves to connect. I sometimes get a "not planar" error as well. This leads me to believe that it recognizes the sketch as being on different Z coordinates yet each line or point shows Z a zero coordinate. I tried sketching in 2d, which should eliminate Z' and the same thing. Is it me or the software? Incidentally, I have none of these issues if I use the old V5. I can do that, but what a waste to have purchased V12.
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Yep it's still full of problems. I, today just had a issue with a sketch showing up gaps, but then right clicking and selecting chain worked fine. So I get that error as well, never had it before though. You tend to find this, doing certain things seems to mess up other stuff. 3 face rad makes a mess of your parts as well. Literally can not modify anything with one of those in the model. I've sent loads of problems in and reported them. No answers to any of it.
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Doesn’t encouraging. Thanks for info.
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Its a shame, it really is. I started with version 6 or 8, went through 10, 11 and now 12. 11 was literally the worst thing I've ever experienced. They didn't fix anything, the fix was to buy v12. Don't think any build release has been an official one. All seem to be BETA. Suppose that's how they get away with not caring
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I constantly get these same errors and gaps all the time. Certain lines won't trim. The gaps thing is the most frustrating thing I have ever dealt with. I know moast of the ways to fix the gaps. But when I snap lines endpoint to endpoint and still get gaps. The repair tool hardly ever fixes anything. I go on the punchcad youtube channel and draw and follow along on many of Tims tutorials. Some of them I can never finish because I spend so much time trying to fix these gaps. Everything I ever mention to Todd or any one else they just act like we are just making this up. They never bother to actually fix anything. Reading posts from users that hav ethe exact same problems as me. Bums me out. I will tell ya ZW3D 2022 smokes this Viacad. Just wish It wasn't so expensive.
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If you ever get frustrated with Viacad. That ZW3D 2022 uses this kernal called an overdrive Kernal. 1st time I tried it I was instantly so impressed. It is quite easy to figure out. You can test it for 30 days. Then you can still use it without any saves or imports. But it is really worth checking out. It's about 3,000$ But then you own it. I know I will eventually get that program. I really hope Viacad can fix these problems. I would use Viacad forever if it just worked better. Todd in sales has told me that no one really has any problems with Viacad. That to me is kind of lame.
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This is the technique that snags up Viacad many times. If I draw up a model just like in Tims Cover surface modeling tutorial from 2015. Sometimes I can get it to work. But i will draw up a part exactly like the video shows. endpoint to endpoint. All line's are connected. Then as soon as you try to do the cover surface function. You have gaps that just are such a challenge to figure out. I zoom way in and the lines are connected. Run the repair tool, Gaps all over. Then I right click chain select,or join curves function.That will connect the lines. But then you can't select the seperate lines and curves to get the cover to work. Somtimes I can get it to work quite easy. But most of the time. I just get so frustrated trying to fix these gaps. I have found that just overlapping my lines in certain places. Then selecting all the lines and curves. And then trimming works. But what a pain in the butt method. I was just reading some info about how certain function's will not work if you are not on the correct plane. What a joke.
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Todd needs to check his emails to see how many problems I've reported! Not to mention everyone else. Suppose if you don't acknowledge the problems then they don't exist! People on here have been asking for stuff for 5, 10 years plus and they still haven't been fixed! I've looked at zwcad. Something I may go too, but I think these guys owe it to their customers to provide something that FULLY WORKS! I've opened files from a week ago to mod and all history has gone, it's just a blank solid file. Scrap it and start again. Trouble is if they can't replicate it they don't care. Even when they can they don't but you know.... whatever! Even when you send them files with the problems in they don't care. I'm now bored of sending them problems. I'll probably move on at some point. They put a post on this forum asking for what features people wanted. What a complete joke that was. I bet the next version will come out with the same buggy problems. It's like having an intermittent problem on a car. No one cares, no one is interested in putting any effort into finding the problems. Same applies here.
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I think the question still remains when the level of frustrations reaches the status to jump ship: what are real alternatives, is it Ashlar Cobalt, Solid Edge, Spaceclaim, Rhino3D....ZWCAD..etc ???
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If you really wanted to just wait for discounts on the likes of solidworks. It's an investment for sure but it's not got the issues this has. Plus the support is better. I know people who use it. The amount I've put into the versions of this software, plus reworks of corrupt files and bodging drawings to look right (ie time wasted) I probably could've bought a nx or solidworks license.....
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Originally Posted by: GARLIC I think the question still remains when the level of frustrations reaches the status to jump ship: what are real alternatives, is it Ashlar Cobalt, .......etc ???
Ashlar Software was last updated 3 years ago. Do they still exist? :-)
On the other hand it works fine on Macs with 10.14.6
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The real question is.... Will OSX13 come out before Shark V12 is anywhere near fixed?
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Originally Posted by: gebhardt Originally Posted by: GARLIC I think the question still remains when the level of frustrations reaches the status to jump ship: what are real alternatives, is it Ashlar Cobalt, .......etc ???
Ashlar Software was last updated 3 years ago. Do they still exist? :-)
On the other hand it works fine on Macs with 10.14.6
They have beta versions out for OSX 12 now. I played around with it and it seems more mature than Shark V12
Edited by user Monday, February 28, 2022 6:13:39 PM(UTC)
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Originally Posted by: Albatrossflyer The real question is.... Will OSX13 come out before Shark V12 is anywhere near fixed?
It won't be fixed. Talking from experience, it will stay like it is, the next version will no doubt be the same.
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Originally Posted by: Skyhawk join curves function
Never use this, this make splines and your model will be to complex after extruding it or making cover surfaces.
Maybe in Windows are no so much problems with gaps or in v.9 build 1162 the problem do not exist. My last problems with gaps was with a Beta version of v.10......... The higher the version number, the more bugs.
Edited by user Tuesday, March 1, 2022 10:28:20 AM(UTC)
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OS: Windows 10 | CPU: AMD Ryzen 7 2700 | RAM: 32 GB | Graphic: AMD Radeon RX Vega 56 | Shark FX 9 Build 1162 | Unit: mm
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Originally Posted by: UGMENTALCASE Its a shame, it really is. I started with version 6 or 8, went through 10, 11 and now 12. 11 was literally the worst thing I've ever experienced. They didn't fix anything, the fix was to buy v12. Don't think any build release has been an official one. All seem to be BETA. Suppose that's how they get away with not caring
Same here, but I stopped on VC Pro 11 without the powerpack.
v11 has it's own problems.
I don't see much activity here on the forums, guessing people have moved along to other CAD software at this point. I wanted to like & learn PunchCAD, was even looking into full Shark Pro upgrade, but I am not confident enough in the product to spend that much on it.
Maybe one day when the product is clear from bugs and the price is right, I look to upgrade.
VCpro v11-1417 Win10Pro 32GB Xeon E3-1270-v3 3.5GHz Asrock Extreme 9ac Samsung SSD RAID5 nvidia GTX760
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Originally Posted by: Albatrossflyer Originally Posted by: gebhardt Originally Posted by: GARLIC I think the question still remains when the level of frustrations reaches the status to jump ship: what are real alternatives, is it Ashlar Cobalt, .......etc ???
Ashlar Software was last updated 3 years ago. Do they still exist? :-)
On the other hand it works fine on Macs with 10.14.6
They have beta versions out for OSX 12 now. I played around with it and it seems more mature than Shark V12
Hello, Thanks for the info,
I downloaded Cobalt Beta and tried to use it :
1) the interface is nicely vintage. A pleasant trip in the past, because it's very similar to what it was when I used it daily... 20 years ago.
2) it doesn't work at all on my M1 max Powerbook : no action of the tools in the main window. Impossible to draw a line or build a block ...
JL
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I tried beta, half the stuff is missing. Got the last release of v11 and you know its not half bad. Flows better, you can actually see the snap text, nice 2d sketch environment instead of just constraints.
It's all very familiar, but at same time I've got zw3d. So far, blows any of these out the water. It's basically solidworks, assembly constraints, separate drawing files, proper threaded hole features, sketching, did a quick 3d to 2d and its great, sections work great, unlike Shark.
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There's a glib assertion on ZW3D's site that it's a simple workflow from point cloud to mesh and a mesh to NURBS conversion. Have you tried that?
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I think it goes direct from point cloud to nurbs, or at least in a quick try it looked that way. That's included in like the full version, there is standard and lite as well.
Its pretty impressive!
Yep just checked it's called face fit and it goes from point cloud to surface
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