Math Does. Not. Lie!! (and I love Pi Day)

One of my favorite days of the year is March 14th.  March 14th, in the United States is known as Pi Day (π Day).  The number Pi (π), 3.14159, is a mathematical constant that is the ratio of a circle’s circumference to its diameter.  Pi (π) is used to help calculate many areas and volumes involving circles and arcs.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pi
http://www.wolframalpha.com/input/?i=pi

3DConnexion’s SpacePilot™ Pro

3Dconnexion has been providing 3D mice for a long time now and I had the privilege of taking a look at their SpacePilot™ Pro.  A 3D mouse is an additional mouse that provides three dimensional interaction while working in CAD.  They allow easy access to different views through additional navigational tools.  Depending on the models features they can rotate your views, zoom in or out, pan, switch to saved views with the push of a button and provide a greater range of navigational tools than a standard mouse.  They do not replace a standard mouse but work with one.

3DConnexion’s SpacePilot™ Pro is their top of the line fully featured 3D mouse.  This product has all of the bells and whistles.  The SpacePilot™ Pro features six-degrees-of-freedom (6DoF) sensor technology, second generation Quickview Navigation Keys (providing 32 standard views), an LCD screen, multiple function keys, keyboard modifiers, and an ergonomic wrist rest design platform.

AUGI March HotNews

The AUGI HotNews March edition is now available.

The Feature Story (written by me, Brian Benton) entitled “CAD on the GO” takes a look at several mobile applications available from Autodesk.

Melanie Perry talks about the recent AUGI Home Page Poll “What Version of AutoCAD Are You Using?”

Mark Kiker’s CAD Management article, entitled, “Get It In Gear” discusses methods of motivating your CAD People.

And don’t forget AUGI President David Harrington’s monthly letter to all AUGI members.

This month’s Sponsor Spotlight is brought to us by HP Monitors.  Check them out.

Autodesk Updates AutoCAD WS – now in 3D!!!

Autodesk updated it’s free mobile CAD application AutoCAD WS.  Here are the new features:

• 3D Support
• GPS Support
• Plot from Mobile

These three new features in AutoCAD WS are great.  The 3D support should probably have been there the entire time, but that’s ok because it is here now.  Users can now go between 2D and 3D views.  There is no 3D editing so those features are turned off during a 3D session.  You can view the 3D model with a series of preset views.  There are ten preset viewing angles as well as the ability to rotate your view as needed.  You can also view the model in Wireframe mode or Solid mode.  These views only have two visibility states, Grayscale and not Grayscale.

The GPS support lets you locate yourself in your file.  It uses the GPS abilities of your mobile device so accuracy is limited to what the mobile hardware can do.  Don’t use it to create survey points but it will get you close to where you need to be.  The GPS functionality does work with AutoCAD WS’s Google Maps functionality.  Tag your location the file and then load a Google Map image of where you are.  This is good to create a map, or to quickly identify where your project is located.

The ability to plot from your mobile device via AutoCAD WS is limited to HP Printers that have ePrinter abilities but it’s a start.  It can print to PDF or DWF which is really nice.

What I would like to see in the next update.

• It would be nice if all visibility (or at least more) were available. 
• The ability to use other cloud based printing services/apps. Google Cloud Printing or my PrinterShare app integration for example.  I don’t have access to an HP ePrinter (HP if you are reading this I would love to test some out for you and blog about them) but I do have access to a Google Cloud Printer and other wifi printers.  For now I have to print to PDF and print that file from my device. 
• The ability to create a new drawing.  Please add this.

What would you like to see in the next update of AutoCAD WS?

(shhh! Don’t tell anyone but I am hearing rumors of AutoCAD WS future abilities will soon include some cool things. Stay tuned.)

IMSI Design has released TurboViewer Pro for Android

IMSI Design has three versions of their TurboViewer mobile app.  The free version is TurboViewer.  The midrange version is TurboViewer X ($3.99 U.S.D.). The TurboViewer Pro version goes for $9.99 (U.S.D.) Each version adds functionality to the next. (See our post on TurboViewer and TurboViewer X.)
TurboViewer Pro has all of the abilities of TurboViewer X and more.

TurboViewer Pro adds:

• Model Space Viewing
• Visual Styles: wireframe, hidden, x-ray, shaded, shaded with edges
• Layer Display Controls (on/off/invert/all visible/invisible)
• Autosenses 2D or 3D drawings
• Online Wiki Help
• Send DWG and DXF files via email
• View DWG and DXF files from the web, FTP, Dropbox and WebDAV
• Instant full screen preview while drawing is still loading
• Save time with the ability to cancel a file during load
• Restore saved AutoCAD® Views to quickly display the best visions of your design
• Supports AutoCAD linetypes to maintain visual fidelity as intended

These additional functions make the Pro version of TurboViewer for Android more appealing than the lower end versions.  The ability to send files and open files via the web is kind of the point to mobile devices.  Add on to that the ability to view 3D files with different visual styles and it makes the price worth it.  The app works well and is easy to use.

CAD-a-Blog.com recommends this app.