Between the Lines

How to Trick Get Your Boss to Buy You an iPad (Tablet)

Guest Post by Brian Benton of the ‘CAD-a-Blog’

If you are a design professional (or just a CAD Geek in general) you may already have purchased an Apple iPad (or Android Tablet.) Perhaps you haven’t but you would like one. Here is a method that you can use to get your boss to purchase you one.

Step one is to ask nicely. When you are turned down make an argument as to why you need a tablet to do your job. Go with the obvious “it’s a small investment to increase efficiency which will increase profits.” The key here is to do more than mention it or to merely state that you will be more productive. This is your boss and he/she didn’t become boss by being a pushover. Through some real hard irrefutable data.

A tablet has the typical mobile document editors, email, calendar, etc. But your boss knows that any mobile device can do that. But tablets are unique in that Autodesk has created tablet specific programs for you to use. Add these programs (apps) to the mobile and user friendly format of a tablet and it’s a win-win situation. Here are some of the major (and free) apps from Autodesk.

AutoCAD WS is a mobile CAD program that can read and edit DWG files. Store your DWG files in Autodesk 360 (Autodesk’s free cloud system) and you will have access to your drawings while in the field, at home, at a client’s office, or anywhere you can connect to the internet. Using AutoCAD WS means that you can also collaborate with clients more effectively reduce costs by eliminating misunderstandings or confusion.

Do you ever need to red line drawings? You do? Well Autodesk has the free app called Autodesk Design Review Mobile App. It can read, view, and mark up DWF files. Access those files easily through Autodesk 360 while in the office, in a meeting with a client, while on the job site, or with a colleague. The tablet form factor makes redlining a drawing with others very easy to do. Since you are reviewing the mark up and discussing it at the same time there is less confusion (if any) and no question as to what is needed. Plus there is now a digital copy of the mark ups that are easily reproduced and archived.

What’s that? You don’t use AutoCAD. You use Inventor? Great. There is also the Autodesk Inventor Publisher Mobile Viewer where you can view and interact with animated 3D assembly instructions made with Inventor.

In your designs, do you need to calculate force? How about while you are in the field? Do you use pencil, paper and a calculator to do your design concepts? Autodesk ForceEffect can do all of this for you on your iPad. It allows for freehand sketching of design elements, can include joints, supports, calc loads, compute reactions and more! The files created can be saved and loaded to/from the cloud. It even comes with its own tutorials.

Perhaps you need to go to the field and conduct and conduct an as-built survey of a location. You can use 123D Catch to take pictures of the location and collect real 3D point data in order to recreate a 3D model of the area. 123D Catch can also be used on objects to help in reverse engineering or for reproducing them in a 3D printer.

How much would you, or your boss, have to pay to get any of these services done for a project? A lot less than the cost of a tablet that’s for certain. Did I mention that all of the above apps are free?

Now that you are armed with this useful information it should be no problem to get your boss to purchase you an iPad.

Here is a list of Autodesk’s mobile apps.
http://usa.autodesk.com/adsk/servlet/pc/index?siteID=123112&id=16953811

Capturing Ancient Remains in Kenya with a Remote Octo-Copter

Jambo!
Gonzalo Martinez and myself (Shaan Hurley) are currently in the extremely remote Turkana Basin of Kenya where many of the hominin fossils (our human ancestors) were found along with a great deal of other fossils and tools. We are researching aerial video and photo capture with Louise Leakey using a state of the art eight bladed remote copter mounted with lots of high tech equipment and cameras that we have named the Autodesk Octo-Copter for many exciting potential uses.

We hiked with all our copter and camera equipment to the Logatham Circle and Pillar site located to the West of Lake Turkana in Northern Kenya.

From the ground these ancient cycles constructed of stone look nice but from the air they take on a new dimension.

Preparing for flight.

And from the air!

Some of the other research flights we are trying to research how well we can see the rich fossils on the ground.

 

Here is a photo of the copter in a region today with several eroding faces with fossils. Here is a close up of a ancient crocodile jaw fragment.The fossils can be from the very small rodent, hominids, to giant hippo and elephant over 1 million years old.

Here are some more photos from this Kenya research trip.
  

   

Autodesk has been working with Louise Leakey, Turkana Basin Institute, and the National Museums of Kenya to document an amazing collection of fossils in 3D using Autodesk 123D Catch for display online at http://www.africanfossils.org. 
We are now exploring several more ways in which to capture data with the latest technology to help preserve ancient sites and fossils. In remote locations around the world sites, structures, and fossils records are being lost and finding ways to capture them digitally would change everything. Imagine all the downstream possibilities after you capture these one of a kind objects, you could share the digital geometry with a remote researcher to study across the world or even create a cardboard pattern or 3D print so school children could have a copy in their classroom rather than a picture in a book.

Introduction Video narrated by Louise Leakey:
Welcome to AfricanFossils.org

We have been living and working off the grid for quite sometime with only solar & wind power, rain water or wells and mostly local food and an Internet or cell phone connection occasional as a treat although some AC would be a really nice treat in the intense heat of the day. Finding a cold Tusker Lager is equally amazing when chilled to freezing and taking a deep breath and looking at the scenery and reflecting on the busy day. One of my favorite and necessary pieces of equipment in my backpack has been my GoalZero solar panels and batteries which give me plenty of juice for the laptops, receivers, cell phones, cameras, as well as last night using the GoalZero invertor we were able to use a soldering gun to repair connections on the copter. I charge the panels during the day with the abundant sun.

 

The people and region is absolutely stunning and add to that the capturing of ancient ruins and fossils from a location of the earliest human evolution where hominid fossils are being found. I am really trying to stay awake and doing something every single minute so I do not waste a minute in this amazing and remote part of Kenya.

As I am writing this blog post taking advantage of an Internet connection being available (rare), it is so hot today my machine has shutdown several times so now I have my laptop comfortably resting on an ice pack.

I leave you with a photo of my hat which had been snatched off my head by a thorny tree.Apparently the tree wanted me or the hat to stick around a little longer.

 

Amazing!

Cheers,
Shaan

Autodesk SketchBook Ink for iPad

The long awaited app Autodesk SketchBook Ink for the iPad has just launched in the Apple App store at an introductory price of $1.99. It took a couple weeks longer than we had expected, but we took the time to make sure it was the best possible experience rather than just shipping it end of April as it was announced and shown on the Apple iPad 3 main stage launch.
Like good wine, you do not want to ship it until it is ready.

  

“Unlike traditional vector drawing apps, SketchBook Ink enables users to produce very fine detail in their artwork, independent of resolution, building on the intuitive freehand-drawing Autodesk SketchBook Pro platform. This new technology also supports the ability to export and print large, high-quality images right from the iPad. Final artwork can be exported at optimal sizes to the photo library on iPad, email, Dropbox, or iTunes file sharing. Images exported to Dropbox or iTunes file sharing can exceed 100 megapixels.“

Go Get It! http://itunes.apple.com/gb/app/sketchbook-ink/id526422908?mt=8

Autodesk® SketchBook® Ink is an intuitive pen & ink drawing app. Built on a new resolution independent engine, SketchBook Ink lets you create beautiful line work and export high resolution images directly from your iPad.

Features:
✓ Introductory Tour Guide to help get your started
✓ Full Screen work space with support for any device orientation
✓ Retina Display on 3rd Gen iPad
✓Multi-Touch Interface:
• Two finger pan & zoom navigation

✓Preset Ink-styles:
• 7 different presets each with different line weight and behaviors
• 2 eraser types

✓Colors
• Color Editor & Color Picker
• Tap-hold customizable Color palette

✓Import a background image from the Photo Library as a reference

✓Export options
• Save up to 12.6 MP PNG images to Photo Library or e-mail.
• Save up to 101.5 MP PNG images to iTunes File Sharing or Dropbox
• Option to export as transparent PNG

✓Gallery:
• Store work-in-progress

✓Stay Current:
• Link to SketchBook News Blog
*Not recommended for 1st Gen iPad

I am currently in extremely remote Northern Kenya without my iPad so I am unable to download and test it  but I will definitely be adding it when I return home in over a week.

Hakuna Matata!
Shaan

Moving AutoCAD Architecture Projects, even if Windows objects

Guest Post by Robin Capper of the ‘RobiNZ CAD Blog’

AutoCAD Architecture projects are best moved via the Project Browser interface (below). It’s usually a simple matter of selecting the Project, Right Click > Move Project… (1) and selecting the destination. AutoCAD Architecture moves the entire folder structure (even non-ACA folders) and initiates a re-path to update project file links.

Occasionally this process strikes a hitch as AutoCAD Architecture warns about project file(s) being “in use”.

The first step is to check nobody is actually working in the project! Having eliminated that you may still get this warning, It appears to be related to Windows file locking rather than AutoCAD Architecture itself. I wonder if a bad application exit, or Windows logoff, leaves the file locked and apparently “in use”?

I’ve found one way to overcome this and re-establish control is to edit, alter, every file in the project under your own logon. A quick way to achieve that is to view the folder in explorer, easy via Project Browser Right Click > Show in Windows Explorer (2), and toggle a file attribute like Read Only. You will be prompted to apply the to the folder, sub-folder and files. Then change the attribute back and you should find the “Files in use” warning does not occur when AutoCAD Architecture attempts the move.

Five ways to use Autodesk Inventor’s End of Part Marker in your Daily Workflow

Guest Post by Paul Munford of the ‘CAD Setter Out’ Blog

The ‘End of Part Marker’, or ‘EOP’ sits at the end of Inventor’s feature browser to let us know that there are no more features.

But that isn’t all it does! The End of Part Marker can be used as a productivity tool in its own right. Here are five great tips for making use of the EOP.

Five EOP Productivity Tips.

There are five ways to use the EOP:

• You can step through the feature tree to see how the part was created.
• You can use the EOP to place features at the correct place in the tree.
• You can use the EOP to help repair broken features.
• You can delete all the features below the EOP.
• You can roll the EOP up to make the part file smaller.

Stepping through the tree

This technique is pretty simple. Grab the EOP and drag it all the way to the top of the browser. Now drag it down, one feature at a time. You will see the inner workings of the part revealed before you!

This is great if you are working your way through someone else’s part and you want to see how it was put together.

Placing features at the right spot

Any new feature that you create will automatically be placed just above the EOP. Just roll the EOP up to the point that you want to insert your new feature and go for it.

New in Inventor 2013, you can now right click on any feature and chose ‘Move EOP [To Here]’ to slide the EOP up under your chosen feature.

You can also right click on the EOP itself and choose ‘Move EOP to Top’ or ‘Move EOP to End’ to send the EOP to either end of the tree.

Repair broken features

Occasionally you might change a feature at the beginning of the model tree which causes errors as features further up the tree fail to build (we’ve all done it!)

A good tactic is to roll the EOP up to underneath the first failed feature before you fix it. Now roll the EOP down one feature at a time. Nine times out of ten the rest of the failed features will now build successfully.

Delete all the features below the EOP

If there are features under the End of Part marker, you will find that you can delete them all in an instant simply by right clicking on the End of Part Marker and choosing ‘Delete all features below EOP’.

Shrinking part file size
Rolling the End of Part Marker up to the top of the feature browser will make the size of the part file much smaller.

This is a great tip if you need to send a part file via Email or if you want to upload a part to a forum.

I hope that you found these tips useful, and that they help you work more productively.

About the CAD Setter Out.

Paul Munford is a Joinery draughtsman (a ‘Setter Out’) for Beck Interiors; a UK based international Interior Fit out contactor which specializes in Museum Interiors.

Paul uses AutoCAD and Autodesk Inventor to create manufacturing ‘Workshop’ drawings day in – day out.

Paul also writes for the ‘CAD Setter Out’ Blog, concentrating on Autodesk Inventor tips tricks & tutorials for Architectural Fabricators.

Flying the Autodesk Octo-Copter in a very very very remote region of East Africa.

 

If you go to the middle of nowhere in East Africa, go North, and turn right, then drive another couple hours in the blazing heat, you will be where I am. Gonzalo Martinez and myself of Autodesk are capturing some of the most remote geography in Africa using a remote controlled eight bladed Octo-Copter. The photos and video are amazing as are the reaction from local nomadic tribe members when they see the copter fly by and they run to the river to see it and wonder what it is. It was an interesting language barrier experience to try to explain what it was, and what it does and that we can actually see like a bird from the copter. I am pretty sure they are convinced I am some sort of space alien. The Autodesk Octo-Copter is doing very well but heat and rough transport did cause a great deal of extra effort in repairs and adjustments and no way to get to a location to get repair parts as we had to solve the problems right here in the first field site.

 

Dealing with overheating equipment, tons of bugs of all shapes and sizes including malaria carrying mosquitos, absolutely amazing bird life, venomous scorpions and snakes like the small cobra found yesterday, sand, lack of much if any Internet access or a cell phone signal and only ~106 F. degrees and some humidity. Not getting much sleep with all the travel, work and heat. Living off the grid with solar energy and rain water. And Yes, I am loving it!

Now we have another sunset flight to prepare for as being located on the equator the sunset goes so very fast and the flood of bugs soon. The bugs can be so this it is raining bugs and your computer screen becomes unusable as it is quickly covered in bugs. 

Cheers,
Shaan

PS:
Was just told by my boss that Autodesk has a company policy to cover a single hump camel as transportation, not a double hump camel as I would have to cover the extra hump charge model..

CAD notes Blog Most Popular 2009-2012

Edwin Prakoso’s blog CAD notes http://cad-notes.com/ published a list of the the his blogs most popular posts from 2009 to 2012.

 

Check it out, perhaps something on his most popular list is something you have been searching for.
http://cad-notes.com/2012/05/cad-notes-most-popular-articles-2009-2012/

Bones of Turkana Documentary

For my US readers; please tune in for Bones of Turkana on PBS Wednesday May 16th, 2012. This is a new documentary about the Leakey's human origins research in Kenya's Turkana Basin http://t.co/si59ckRu.

The Turkana Basin of Kenya is where many of the hominin fossils (our human ancestors) were found along with a great deal of other fossils and tools. Autodesk has been working with Louise Leakey, Turkana Basin Institute, and the National Museums of Kenya to document many in the collection in 3D using Autodesk 123D Catch for display online at http://www.africanfossils.org. 

Introduction Video narrated by Louise Leakey:
Welcome to AfricanFossils.org

More on how this video was created using 123D Catch and 3ds Max:
3D Fossil Exploration in a Virtual Laboratory

If in the US be sure to watch the Bones of Turkana Documentary! http://t.co/si59ckRu

-Shaan

Saved From Being Eaten By Wild Animals

Jambo!
(That’s “Hello” in Swahili)

I have posted to this blog regularly for over 8 years and even found remote connections to post to the blog even while in the deepest of the Brazilian Amazon rainforest. Over the next couple of weeks I will be in a extremely remote region without any real connections other than voice satellite phone. To save me from having to stand in the middle of an open area to try to post a message at a very slow speed oer a satellite phone and looking like a fat juicy meal to a large carnivore, a few bloggers have graciously provided guest posts.The guest posts will go live over the time I am traveling.

A huge thank you to:

Brian Benton http://CAD-a-Blog.com
Robin Capper http://rcd.typepad.com/rcd/
RK McSwain http://cadpanacea.com/
Paul Munford http://cadsetterout.com/

I am traveling with a friend and decided that I don't really need to be fast enough to outrun a hyena, lion, or leopard, just be able outrun my friend.

There will be a great deal of stories and photos once I return.

Hakuna Matata!

(Hungry Lioness photo credit Flickr user digitalwallpapers)

Autodesk 123D Make Available – Make 3D Models Real

In the first release of Autodesk 123D Make it was available for only the Mac and took imported 3D models and sliced them into patterns so that you could create a real 3D object. Now there is not only a new version of 123D Make for the Mac but also for Windows as well as a web hosted version.

Now you can take a 3D model from the community gallery or one you captured or created and create the pattern to create a cardboard 3D sculpture. You can select several methods and materials as well as get a nice animated assembly sequence. The generated pattern or plan can be exported and printed as an EPS or PDF with each piece mark on the plans for easy assembly. The numbers come in handy when you have a huge sculpture.

Here is a 3D shark model sliced up into a cardboard pattern. This a Maker version of sushi!

 
Autodesk 123D Make Assembly Animation

Here is the web hosted version that runs on the Google Chrome browser or with the Chrome frame extension in IE.
http://apps.123dapp.com/make/

 

 

I know of a person who used the generated pattern to print on school children's cardboard lunchboxes in Africa. After the children ate their lunch they were able to cut out and glue the pattern to create a skull of a 3 million year old human ancestor and learn a great deal about science as well as a cool 3D model to take with them.

The 123D products are free so go Design, Capture, Make, and Share!

Cheers,
Shaan

New 123D Catch for Windows, Web Hosted, and Apple iPad Available and FREE

Capture the world in 3D using your Camera using 123D Catch on your desktop, web or iPad!

Autodesk 123D Catch is a technology where you take photos with your digital camera and then using cloud computing it constructs a textured 3D mesh model. There are three new flavors of this delicious 3D treat - one for the Windows desktop, one for the Apple iPad, and one web hosted version you run in a browser.

The desktop version of Autodesk 123D Catch contains some changes from the previous version such as a new My Corner where your projects are stored and the Gallery feature where you can share and explore other peoples creations.

There is now a mobile version for the iPad version named 123D Catch Mobile and available free in the Apple App store (http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/123d-catch/id513913018?mt=8). Autodesk 123D Catch Mobile currently supports the iPad 2 & 3 as they both have a camera. You launch 123D Catch Mobile and then simply tap the screen to take a picture in series around the object you wish to capture. It takes only about 20-30 photos for most objects and then uploads those to the server to process.
Update: This mobile app is currently restricted to the North American Apple App store. We have launched first in North America and plan to roll out to the rest of the world as we learn how people are using the apps and the cloud service so we can be sure everyone has the best possible experience and we can scale up to meet the demand.

Here is a photo of me on 123D Catch Mobile on my iPad 3 capturing some 3D textured models of ancient rock art sites in Southern Utah. I climbed up the rock wall like a mountain goat holding an iPad and stood precariously on the ledge to capture the petroglyphs.

Capturing a 3D model of a special decorated VW bug.

One of my favorite features of 123D Catch Mobile besides it being on my mobile device is that once your 3D models are created you can use the built in iPad gyro combined with your fingers pinching to orbit and view the object.

For more complex and higher resolution model captures I would suggest using a standard digital camera and the desktop version of 123D Catch but having a mobile version of 123D Catch is very convenient and fun.

There is now a web hosted version of 123D Catch so that almost anyone that can get on the web can use 123D Catch. This is really useful for those on a Mac as there is no current Mac native version of 123D Catch. The web hosted version of 123D Catch requires that you use the Google Chrome browser or the Chrome frame extension for IE. http://apps.123dapp.com/catch 

You can also take the 3D models you create and use them in animations in 3ds max or Maya or other 3D software, make a 3D print on a MakerBot or even send them to Autodesk 123D Make (also free) and create a pattern to build a real object from cardboard, acrylic or plywood. Yes imagine your own head as a 6 foot tall cardboard sculpture.
 

See my post today on 123D Make  http://bit.ly/KLSCxU 

Spread the word and capture the world around you!

Happy Capturing!
Shaan

The Avengers Movie Visual Fx

I must be one of the few that did not run out to the movie theaters last weekend to see the new Avengers movie. The movie blew away box office records and at least 3 of my family has seen it but I was unfortunately buried under a long list of things to do before some upcoming overseas travel. After all the buzz about the movie from those that have seen it, I need to make it a priority to see the movie this week.

Behind the scenes it was a who's who of visual effects companies, many are also using Autodesk software to use the power of visual effects to compliment the storytelling and dazzle moviegoers retinas and cause a flood of squealing endorphins in the brain.

Check out this detailed article on the visual effects process for the Avengers movie.

VFX roll call for The Avengers by fxguide
http://autode.sk/JkmiFk 

AutoCAD 2012 for Mac Service Pack 2

In an effort to continue to improve the quality of our products we are releasing a free update that resolves compatibility issues that have been reported while using the software on the latest versions of Mac OS X Snow Leopard (10.6.8) and Mac OS X Lion. It also resolves problems reported by the Customer Error Reporting (CER) utility and other general problems.

http://autode.sk/ILTBAi

• AutoCAD2012ForMacSP2.dmg (dmg - 98505Kb)
• Readme English (pdf - 140Kb)

Do You Want Early Access to Autodesk Products?

If you want early access and input on Autodesk products and technologies there are a couple of great and free methods.

If you want to get early access and participate in the feedback process of a beta program for existing products such as AutoCAD, Revit, Autodesk Inventor, 3ds Max, Maya etc. then you should definitely get involved in the Autodesk Customer Feedback Programs https://beta.autodesk.com/.

If you want to test and provide feedback on early technology previews like the new Autodesk Inventor Fusion for Mac and PC or Project Vasari then Autodesk Labs is the place.

Both of these programs rely on your feedback and active participation so go ahead get involved and help shape the future of Autodesk products and technologies to be the best tools for you.

Cheers,
Shaan