Re: Re: Solid Edge Origin as a Design Tool to feed a CAM Program?

> Date: Wed, 3 Oct 2001 17:04:44 -0600
> From: "Tim" <timg@...>
>Subject: RE: Re: Solid Edge Origin as a Design Tool to feed a CAM Program?
>
>Fred,
>
>Which ones are usable for edged or prismatic parts? Might be a useful
>tidbit to include in your chart.
>

I didn't really evaluate any of them for that capability. Those that are marked as traditional CAD for sure. The purpose of the table is to document compatability with StlWork which is a CAM only. The only CAD that is really good for edged parts is Vector. ;-) If I had included all the wireframe and 2D CAD programs that I looked at along the way, the list would have probably been several hundred programs.

With the waterlines in StlWork it is possible to create edged parts, but the traditional(and very efficient) pocketing is not part of that capability. That would mean that you would be limited to zigzag pocket roughing. It would work, but the 3D geometry is usualy more diffficult to create than a simple outline of the edges of the part. StlWork was designed to complement Vector and has very few capabilities that are the same as Vector (at least right now). It does not do hole drilling for example.

There is another class of program that I also ran into that I have not yet decided how to handle. These are programs that create something in 3D, that StlWork can machine, but don't fit my selection that they have to have basic 3D primitives at a minimum, and some boolean operations, and mesh surfaces too. An example of this is Simply 3D from MicroGrafx. It makes the greatest logos and 3D letters, and does have some 3D primitives (actually quite nice ones), but it cannot import ANY 3D formats, except it's own proprietary data. The documentation says it can import 3D dxf but I cannot get it to work. It just doesn't have enough import capability to be called a modeler. It can output VRML, so it is compatible with StlWork, but I cannot honestly list it with the others. It is probably my favorite of all that I tested, and.... I bought a copy on Ebay for $25.00, in a retail box, and was able to download a free update from their website!

Another one is the knots program that creates 3D rope weaves. That's all it does, but StlWork can machine them. There are about a dozen different programs that will create a mesh surface from a bitmap image, but nothing else. I think I found one that will make snail shell type shapes.


Best Regards, Fred Smith- IMService
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