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Is Paperless still a Myth?

Thursday, February 25th, 2010

By Darren Hartenstine

With the advent of electronic Data Management applications and digital formats, why are companies still printing on paper? I was reviewing some statistics around the printing industry and found the information alarming.  Here’s just one blurb I feel is noteworthy.

The pulp and paper industry is the single largest consumer of water used in industrial activities in OECD countries and is the third greatest industrial greenhouse gas emitter, after the chemical and steel industries (OECD Environmental Outlook, p. 218)

Green initiatives; sustainable design; these are great concepts, but is anyone actually making the effort to use less paper?  I know that a company cannot go 100% paperless (yet), but I feel that the Engineering Design process is a perfect component for this evolution.  The Autodesk Vault product family has some great tools to facilitate paperless design. 

In the last week as a test, I have tried to cut my paper use out completely and have struggled with it.  I am somewhat old school and use paper for note taking.  It seems to be faster for me up front, but in the long run, I know that it is inefficient and it often becomes difficult to locate past information.  I know it’s funny, but having that piece of paper is like comfort food.

I am interested in opinions, comments, experiences, etc. with companies/individuals that have attempted or successfully implemented a paperless design process.  Feel free to contact me via email or through this blog posting.  My email address is Darren.hartenstine@mastergraphics.com.

Posted in Building / AEC, Civil, General, Manufacturing, Visualization | No Comments »

Top 10 Performance Tips for Autodesk Vault

Thursday, February 25th, 2010

By Darren Hartenstine

When Autodesk Vault is running smoothly, things are great, right?  Designers and Engineers are working on new designs or changes and checking them into Vault.  The rest of the company is consuming this data and parts are being manufactured.

It’s when things go wrong with the Autodesk Data Management Server (ADMS) that a company realizes the catastrophic potential of a dysfunctional Vault.  I am going to write a few blogs on choosing the right computer hardware and implementing correct practices that will hopefully limit or eradicate downtime and improve performance.

#1 - ADMS System Backup

OK, so this isn’t going to make your Vault fast, but if your ADMS server goes down and there’s no Backup, you will lose data and time.

I’ve written about this before in a previous blog called “Is your Vault Safe?”  But I think I need to reiterate the point again….Backup, Backup, Backup, Backup…..and, Backup.  If you’re not backing up your Vault, then there is the potential to suffer from lost work or in extreme situations, you could lose everything.  And when I say backing up your Vault, I mean through the ADMS console or the equivalent command line option that can be run through a batch file. 

#2 - 64bit Windows Operating System

Running a 64bit Windows Server operating system will allow up to utilize more system RAM for the various applications that are running on your Server.  If you have a 32bit Windows Server Operating System, than you can only address 2GB, unless you enable the 3GB switch.

There are many components to the ADMS Server that tend to use as much memory as your server can spare.  Microsoft SQL can become a memory hog and use anywhere from 1GB to 7GB+ (64bit version of SQL) of RAM.  I’ve seen the W3WP.EXE service consume up to 2GB (32bit Application Limitation) of RAM and cause performance issues on the Server.

Even though the ADMS software is still a 32bit application, running it on a 64bit server will allow your system RAM to be shared more efficiently. 

I will discuss how to enable to 3GB switch in the Tips and Techniques posting later on.

#3 - RAM

When it comes to configuring a Server, get at least 4GB of RAM for a 32bit Windows Server OS and a minimum of 8GB of RAM for a 64bit Windows Server OS.  When you are making the purchase of RAM, it is best to get 2GB to 4GB paired sticks to install into the server.  If you get 1GB sticks of RAM, you will run out of slots quickly.  This is also important when initially building your server.  I know that Dell and HP will install 1GB sticks to get you to 8GB, since they’re cheaper.

If you ever decide to upgrade and all slots are full, you will need to pull the RAM and install the new ones.  If you can’t repurpose the RAM, you’ve wasted money.

You’re going to hear this a lot in the next few blogs, but make the initial investment in time and money to get your server configured correctly.  It’s not something I can quantify, but more RAM makes for a faster server, which can equate to faster transactions…and happier Vault users.

#4 – Hard Drives

I am going to talk about Hard Drives in my next blog, since I feel it needs the most attention and will also be a longer posting.

 #5 – Microsoft SQL

#6 – SQL Maintenance

#7 – ADMS Installation

#8 – Tips and Techniques

#9 - Networks / Load Balancing

#10 - What Else is Running on your Server?

 

 

Posted in Building / AEC, Civil, Manufacturing | No Comments »

Inventor and Fusion New Beta Releases

Tuesday, January 26th, 2010

By, Dan Banach

For those of you who want to be on the cutting edge of technology and want to experience what Autodesk has been working on, you can sign up to participate in beta programs for Inventor and Fusion at: http://myfeedback.autodesk.com. Through the beta program you get access to the software and can give Autodesk direct feedback. I believe that you will like what you will see, Autodesk has been very busy.

Enjoy the technology.

Dan

Posted in Manufacturing | No Comments »

Inventor 2010 Service Pack 2

Wednesday, December 30th, 2009

Autodesk has release Service Pack 2 for Inventor 2010.  This Service Pack comes in 4 flavors depending if you have the Subscription Bonus Pack installed or not.

Please follow this link to download the appropriate Service Pack for your installation.

http://usa.autodesk.com/adsk/servlet/ps/dl/item?siteID=123112&id=14275047&linkID=9242019

Thanks,

Thomas Fitzgerald

Posted in Manufacturing | No Comments »

Autodesk Inventor Publisher Technology Preview

Monday, December 14th, 2009

By, Dan Banach

If you or your company creates technical publication for parts book manuals, assembly instructions or operation instructions you will want to check out http://labs.autodesk.com/utilities/inventor_publisher/ and download Autodesk® Inventor® Publisher Technology Preview (in the Manufacturing section).

Inventor Publisher allows you to fully leverage your Inventor data by importing 3D data from Inventor or a DWF file. The models cannot be edited in Inventor Publisher and no previous Autodesk Inventor experience is required. Once the data is imported you manipulate and annotate the design. Lastly you publish the data to programs such as Word, PowerPoint or create a movie file. Your documentation will always be up to date. If the original Inventor models change you can update the Inventor files in Inventor Publisher.

To learn more you can watch how to videos at:  http://labs.autodesk.com/utilities/inventor_publisher/getting_started/

Enjoy,

Dan

Posted in General, Manufacturing, Visualization | No Comments »

Inventor User Group Meeting of Milwaukee 12-10-09

Monday, December 7th, 2009

By, Dan banach

If you are in the Milwaukee area you are invited to our Inventor User Group meeting on Thursday 12/10/09 starting at 8:30 AM at the MasterGraphics Waukesha office http://www.mastergraphics.com/locations. Our meetings are free and everyone is encouraged to participate.

At this meeting we will be sharing “Inventor Tips”.

For those of you who wish to stay after the meeting we will be bringing in pizzas. For those of you who are interest in iLogic, the iLogic User Group meeting will start at 1:00 and will be covering “Best Practices”.

Posted in Manufacturing | No Comments »

ImageModeler and MatchMover

Tuesday, December 1st, 2009

By Stephen Gabriel

The Autodesk subscription program has frequently been viewed as nothing but a way to get the latest version when it comes out, but for 3ds Max users, it is actually far more.  In the last two years, we have seen significant software enhancements and additional tools available to subscription customers, such as CAT and the Connection Extension.  Both of these added significant tools to our palettes.

This year, Autodesk subscription customers also gained access to ImageModeler and MatchMover.  Each of these applications serves a specific function within the visualization process rather than adding a specific tool set into 3ds Max.

ImageModeler can best be thought of as a set creation tool.  ImageModeler allows you to take a series of images of a location and build a 3D model be selecting common points within the images.  The model accuracy is dependent upon the size of the images, the number of images and the number of points used to coordinate the images.  This can help you create a 3D model that can be used as a setting for your visualization project, whether is it putting a building on the street or placing a product like a car in the environment.  Because the model is 3D, you are no longer constrained to matching the camera position of the original image and can position it where it produces the most compelling shot.

MatchMover is a powerful utility that creates a camera from recorded video.  MatchMover allows you to create tracking points that the software uses to determine the motion of the camera that was used to create video footage.  The camera and it’s motion path can then be exported to 3ds Max to create the animation of your scene.  The process is very quick and painless and you can even composite your model back into MatchMover to check the accuracy of the camera path.  The result is a more precise camera match for animated shots.

Combined, these two tools represent a lot of value to visualization artists and they are free for download from the Autodesk subscription website for all subscription customers.

Posted in Building / AEC, Civil, General, Manufacturing, Visualization | No Comments »

Interesting Business Strategies

Wednesday, November 25th, 2009

By Mark Hechel

Those of you who know me on a personal level know that I’m a motorcycle enthusiast.  As such, I usually look forward to reading Motorcycle Daily on a, well, daily basis.

Today’s MD post was about the new electric motorcycle from Brammo.  It wasn’t so much the bike that interested me, but rather the supply chain and distribution processes.  Brammo is doing the sort of innovative things that may help them become successful where so many others have failed.

When sourcing parts for their product, Brammo chose to use as many from the USA as possible.  Not because American parts are superior, but because the American suppliers are closer and easier to work with.  They wanted “a flexible and agile supply chain” instead of lowest price.  Maybe the pendulum is starting to swing?

A manufacturer needs a place to sell its products, and Brammo chose to sell their bikes through Best Buy!  While doing market research, Brammo discovered that many of their customers are not traditional motorcycle buyers and viewed the bike more like an appliance than a vehicle.  Best Buy is adept at brining new electronics to consumers and has a large service staff, so they were a natural fit for Brammo.  Interesting “out of the box” thinking in my opinion.

I hope that Brammo is successful and that they help inspire many more American manufacturers to explore such innovative strategies.  You can read the original Motorcycle Daily article here: http://www.motorcycledaily.com/24november09_brammocutsprice.htm

Posted in General, Manufacturing | No Comments »

AU Virtual on Your PC

Monday, November 23rd, 2009

By, Dan Banach
If you cannot attend Autodesk University in Las Vegas on December 1 - 3, 2009 you may want to look into attending “Autodesk University (AU) Virtual”. The virtual event is free for Autodesk Subscription customers or $99 for a Premier Pass which gets you access to four days of streaming classes, clinics, keynote  address and mainstage presentations. You can learn more about Virtual AU at: http://au.autodesk.com/?nd=virtual_home&pre=1.

Dan

Posted in Building / AEC, Civil, General, Manufacturing, Visualization | No Comments »

AutoDesk “See the Difference Tour” Virtual

Thursday, November 5th, 2009

Haven’t decided if the Autodesk 2010 products are for you?

November 17th, Autodesk takes its 2010 roadshow into the cyberwebs.

Register for this online event now. There will even be a virtual trade show area - where you can chat live with MasterGraphics’ software experts.. The web interface for the virtual event is more fun and interactive than your average webcast.

View informative sessions including:

  • AutoCAD 2010 Tips & Techniques with Lynn Allen
  • The AutoCAD Family of Products with Shaan Hurley
  • The World of 3D Modeling with Heidi Hewett

Be sure to stop by the MasterGraphics booth and say “Hi!”.

See you there!

Lou

 

Posted in Building / AEC, Civil, General, Manufacturing, Visualization | No Comments »

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