I wanted to drop some links and info on a couple of CAD programs which I think are interesting (and are on sale).
The first is Punch! ViaCAD, which is on version 14 now. I started off with (I think) version 7 and currently run version 12 Pro with the "Power Pack". It is easy to use (which is saying a lot for CAD software), and does the job, though my experience is that it tends to crash every few hours, which is frustrating. Thanks to using ViaCAD for so many years, I am in the habit of saving every 15 minutes or when I reach a point where losing the work would really set me back. So I have a bit of a love, hate relationship with ViaCAD. I guess I fall more on the "love" side though, since I was considering upgrading to version 14 Pro (with the "Power Pack"), when I saw it was on sale today for 30% off (coupon code "PCBFCM30"). However when I searched their forums, it seems they may not have fixed some of the stability issues. I'm sure they will eventually, but if you consider ViaCAD, it should be noted that the entry price is low, but to get some features as simple as a push-pull tool, the Pro version is required, and now we are talking some bucks (about 499 of them to be exact). The "Power Pack" adds more features, which I don't use too often, but are really handy for converting (simple) STL's, so I can work on them, and also for threading. Despite all the wonderful CAD tools out there for free or much less, I've stuck with ViaCAD for many years, since it has a great user interface (in my opinion of course). What it lacks in power, or stability, I've made up for with work-arounds and constant saving. But in a nutshell, I cannot recommend it to a new user unless they are willing to deal with possible stability issues, but hey, it's on sale.
So that brings me to what I'm thinking may be worth diving into next, CAD-wise. I've heard good things in the past about Plasticity, which is a new kid on the block for CAD applications. It's similar to ViaCAD in that it is geared towards direct modeling, and not parametric modeling (think sculpting vs drafting). That's not to say that you cannot make a good production ready model using ViaCAD or Plasticity, it's just how you get there is a bit different than software like Fusion. Something that kind'a blew my mind though with Plasticity, was the xNURBs "library" which is added functionality that can pretty much work magic when creating unusual surfaces that are "watertight" (xNURBs is offered in the "studio version only). Still, even after seeing all the magical and cool stuff that Plasticity offered, I went back to using ViaCAD to resume working on a project. Then it happened, a simple translation operation caused ViaCAD to grind to a stop, and I had to wait, and wait... and wait, with the hope that it was not going to crash (which it didn't). In fairness the slowness was probably related to the complexity of the model, and not the translate operation, but at this point the slowness is a regular and expected, yet very frustrating occurrence. I'm also better than 50% in guessing when a crash will occur after an operation, with the radial blend tool being the odds on favorite for causing one. It seemed like a sign from the CAD gods, so I took the $260 I was gonna spend to upgrade my ViaCAD 12 Pro to 14 Pro (with Power Pack I'd add), and bought the Plasticity "Studio" package (with the magic xNURBs sauce), and had 20 bucks to spare.
I know this is gonna take time to shift over to learning and using Plasticity, and it may end up being something I use when ViaCAD runs out of road. But if it is stable, that will be a huge time savings. I literally spend at least a quarter to third of my time while modeling, waiting for operations, saving (frequently) or recovering from crashes. All those interruptions really mess with the "flow" during modeling. So I figure that if I invest some of that time into learning Plasticity, it will pay dividends in the future. Plasticity also seems to have some buzz around it, and what seems like an active user base. I'm not gonna say that ViaCAD should not be considered though, since I still think it is about the easiest to learn, and my experience with the crashing may be unique. It may also be that there is some underlying problem with my PC that creeps up when I use it (though I've read enough posts in their forums to think it may be more a "them" problem than a "me" problem). If Punch! could really fix the stability issues in ViaCAD, I'd have no problem recommending it, and would probably upgrade too, but for now I'm gonna hedge my bet, and try out Plasticity (on the next project).
The first is Punch! ViaCAD, which is on version 14 now. I started off with (I think) version 7 and currently run version 12 Pro with the "Power Pack". It is easy to use (which is saying a lot for CAD software), and does the job, though my experience is that it tends to crash every few hours, which is frustrating. Thanks to using ViaCAD for so many years, I am in the habit of saving every 15 minutes or when I reach a point where losing the work would really set me back. So I have a bit of a love, hate relationship with ViaCAD. I guess I fall more on the "love" side though, since I was considering upgrading to version 14 Pro (with the "Power Pack"), when I saw it was on sale today for 30% off (coupon code "PCBFCM30"). However when I searched their forums, it seems they may not have fixed some of the stability issues. I'm sure they will eventually, but if you consider ViaCAD, it should be noted that the entry price is low, but to get some features as simple as a push-pull tool, the Pro version is required, and now we are talking some bucks (about 499 of them to be exact). The "Power Pack" adds more features, which I don't use too often, but are really handy for converting (simple) STL's, so I can work on them, and also for threading. Despite all the wonderful CAD tools out there for free or much less, I've stuck with ViaCAD for many years, since it has a great user interface (in my opinion of course). What it lacks in power, or stability, I've made up for with work-arounds and constant saving. But in a nutshell, I cannot recommend it to a new user unless they are willing to deal with possible stability issues, but hey, it's on sale.
So that brings me to what I'm thinking may be worth diving into next, CAD-wise. I've heard good things in the past about Plasticity, which is a new kid on the block for CAD applications. It's similar to ViaCAD in that it is geared towards direct modeling, and not parametric modeling (think sculpting vs drafting). That's not to say that you cannot make a good production ready model using ViaCAD or Plasticity, it's just how you get there is a bit different than software like Fusion. Something that kind'a blew my mind though with Plasticity, was the xNURBs "library" which is added functionality that can pretty much work magic when creating unusual surfaces that are "watertight" (xNURBs is offered in the "studio version only). Still, even after seeing all the magical and cool stuff that Plasticity offered, I went back to using ViaCAD to resume working on a project. Then it happened, a simple translation operation caused ViaCAD to grind to a stop, and I had to wait, and wait... and wait, with the hope that it was not going to crash (which it didn't). In fairness the slowness was probably related to the complexity of the model, and not the translate operation, but at this point the slowness is a regular and expected, yet very frustrating occurrence. I'm also better than 50% in guessing when a crash will occur after an operation, with the radial blend tool being the odds on favorite for causing one. It seemed like a sign from the CAD gods, so I took the $260 I was gonna spend to upgrade my ViaCAD 12 Pro to 14 Pro (with Power Pack I'd add), and bought the Plasticity "Studio" package (with the magic xNURBs sauce), and had 20 bucks to spare.
I know this is gonna take time to shift over to learning and using Plasticity, and it may end up being something I use when ViaCAD runs out of road. But if it is stable, that will be a huge time savings. I literally spend at least a quarter to third of my time while modeling, waiting for operations, saving (frequently) or recovering from crashes. All those interruptions really mess with the "flow" during modeling. So I figure that if I invest some of that time into learning Plasticity, it will pay dividends in the future. Plasticity also seems to have some buzz around it, and what seems like an active user base. I'm not gonna say that ViaCAD should not be considered though, since I still think it is about the easiest to learn, and my experience with the crashing may be unique. It may also be that there is some underlying problem with my PC that creeps up when I use it (though I've read enough posts in their forums to think it may be more a "them" problem than a "me" problem). If Punch! could really fix the stability issues in ViaCAD, I'd have no problem recommending it, and would probably upgrade too, but for now I'm gonna hedge my bet, and try out Plasticity (on the next project).
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