MC TOOLS - 2015.1

Within Inventor, MC Tools is an add in available to all our Support subscribers. A New version is now released and is available for download from the Support section of our website:

http://www.microconcepts.co.uk/members/downloads/

One of many useful functions in MC Tools is the Open Explorer tab. This button allows the user to browse straight to the windows folder where the model or drawing is saved without having to locate it - a much quicker and easier method if you're looking to get back to the same folder!

GrabCAD - over 100k models to download

We posted a couple of years back about the launch of the GrabCAD community, where you can share and download models of everything from cars to gears, and animals to aliens.  Their library now holds over 100k+  models in total across various CAD formats.

While not everything is useful for engineering, there are still some good reasons to use the community.
You can:

• View the model browser of a part you need to design and get tips on methods and technique 
• Supplement an animation with extra background models (remember to give credit)
• Test out your new 3D printer with something quick and easy
• Use test geometry to run through your simulation package
• Test the import functionality of your CAD application by downloading non-native models

Inserting Inventor DWG views into AutoCAD

When you open an Inventor DWG in AutoCAD, it opens in Layout view.  If you would like to work on it in Model space, you can do so with the DDINSERT command.

1) Open the Inventor DWG in AutoCAD.  It will open in Layout view.

2) From Model space, type DDINSERT.  The Inventor drawing should automatically be selected.

3) Choose which view from the drawing you would like to insert from the drop-down Name menu.

4) Adjust your insertion and scale settings

LABS - DesignScript for AutoCAD 2013

DesignScript is a unique language. It is intended to help designers build and analyse complex geometric models that would be difficult to model with interactive techniques. This type of exploratory design is best served by a scripting language that is designed for exploratory programming. Additionally DesignScript is intended to be used by designers with little previous programming experience. It is much less rigid than conventional programming languages, and it is completely integrated into the host geometry application (currently 64-bit AutoCAD).

DesignScript introduces the distinction between a generative description of a design (as a script) and the resulting generated model. The designer no longer directly models the resulting design: instead he develops a script whose execution generates the model. This enables a completely different kind of design model to be created. The design process is also different. An apparently minor edit to the script could have a profound effect on the generated model, and this enables the exploration of a vast array of alternatives, with much less effort than manual interactive modelling.

The free technology preview of DesignScript application includes:

• the language,
• an IDE (interactive development environment) for editing, debugging and executing scripts,
• a geometry library to generate geometry, initially within AutoCAD,
• analysis and simulation tools.

Availability:

The technology preview will operate until March 31, 2013.

You can find the download on Autodesk Labs at:

http://labs.autodesk.com/utilities/designscript

Autodesk 123D Catch Released

Turn ordinary photos into extraordinary 3D models with Autodesk 123D Catch. Take photos of your favorite people, places and things and let the power of the cloud magically transform them into detailed 3D models.

123D Catch is free beta software. Try it out and share your projects with us in our gallery.

How it works:

• Snap - Take multiple digital photos of stationary people, places or things with any standard digital point-and-shoot camera.
• Submit - Powerful photo stitching technology operates in the cloud, generating high-quality 3D models. Add or remove photos to adjust the results.
• Share - Save your project as a movie and share it via email or post it to YouTube. Export the model to .obj or .dwg to use it in other 3D tools.

Visit the 123D Catch website to find out more, or download to try for yourself.

Create Model Space Geometry from a Layout

There is a little feature in AutoCAD which allows you to create Model space geometry in a new DWG from a Layout. This might be useful to create a new version of a file, or perhaps copying detail from a Layout which has been sent to you.

Either way, if this seems like a useful tool, then read on to learn more.

• Whilst in your Layout, right click on the active Layout TAB. Select Export Layout to Model... from the flyout menu.

GrabCAD - New 3D model sharing website

 

GrabCAD is a free CAD library with an engineering marketplace

• Download thousands of free CAD models
• Share your work, get feedback

Visit the GrabCAD website for more information: http://grabcad.com/

LABS - Project Photofly

Project Photofly is a Technology Preview to automatically convert photographs shot around an object or a scene into Photo Scenes using the power of cloud computing. The photographs can be shot with any standard digital camera, as long as you follow some shooting guidelines.