Re: [CAD_CAM_EDM_DRO] Re: Re: Is anyone using Pro Desktop Express?

IMService wrote:

>
> > Date: Sun, 20 Jan 2002 01:19:40 +1100
> > From: Russell Shaw <rjshaw@...>
> >Subject: Re: Is anyone using Pro Desktop Express?
> >
> >After trying it out more, i found that simple commands like
> >placing a dimension constraint can crash the program. Because
> >there's no support, i think i'll buy something and get the
> >support i can afford.
> >
> >Has anyone used turbocad-3D or designcad-3D?
>
> I have been using DesignCad 3D for a long time and it is not close to the useful tool that ProDesktop is. Beyond the simplest geometric modeling it cannot cope. You will probably find that Turbocad3D has the same crash problems that you found with ProDesktop. There is a user support forum for ProDesktop at http://www.prodesktop.net Probably better than commercial support anyway. ;-)

I've put a message on there for a couple of days, and there has been no
views and no replies.

I don't think they'll rush to fix any bugs reported by a free-user.
And even if they did, there maintence users would get the benefit
and i'd probably have to wait another 6 months.

I've got 128Megs of ram (win2k) and i was only a short way in to a very
basic exercise to get the freeze. PDT keeps the cpu going at %100, and i
have to kill it in task manager. I can reproduce the crash doing the same
thing in multiple ways, yet i've done all the basic->advanced tutorials
without problem, so it seems definitely nothing to do with hardware/bios.

> 1) Make sure you have twice as much memory for these programs as you think you need.
>
> 2) Don't try to run them on a homebuilt computer that you have installed 2 or 3 generations of Windows with upgrades. Put them on a box that came with the operating system that is presently in use and download all the significant updates. If you do use an updated machine, make sure your Bios is updated too!
>
> 3) Number one problem that I have found with 32 bit applications that causes crashes are the older HP printer drivers. Number 2 is the video drivers. These can all be updated over the web, so do it.
>
> I have never crashed Prodesktop lite and have been using it for about 4-6 months.... not full time. If you want to use a model with StlWork, make sure to save it as a binary stl format. My scaling was correct from ProDesktop to StlWork in inches. I really liked the ability to control the surface tessellation so that the triangles were placed at the surface approximation that was useful to me. You can make coarse models for quick concept pictures(with small files) or use finely toleranced ones for superb machining surfaces.