Re: Awesome Free 3-D Modeling Application

--- In CAD_CAM_EDM_DRO@yahoogroups.com, "Mark" <bmdawn@m...> wrote:

> A couple of things:
>
> First, I am in no way affiliated with this product. I'm just

passing it on as I can't believe this awesome find.

> Second, I am posting this on a couple of newsgroups I belong to so I

apologize in advance if you see it more than once.

>
> The product is ProDesktop and is made by a company called PTC. I

may be downloaded for free at www.ptc.com. I have been using this app
for a about 2 weeks straight and am still blown away by its abilities.
It is more than a CAD program. I anyone has every heard of Pro/E
this is the free watered down version of it (although I have yet to
find anything it won't do). With this application you start as a
machist would. Basically you design a shape then extude it then
perform 'cuts' on that shape. This is true 3-D design and you are
working on a 3-D part. As you work you can spin the object to see
your effects and such. When completed you can click one button and it
spins in space before. The shading and everything is awesome. I
strongly recommend you check it out. This product is amazing, and
it's free. Oh, I forgot, you can also create 3-D assemblies by
mating, aligning and so on with your parts then spin the assembly
around to check it out. You can also animate your design and create
.avi files.

> For anyone building Jerry Howell's miser I have modeled all of the

pieces and created sub-assemblies for various stages of completion and
a final assembly with it all shown together. If anyone wants to see
these just let me know. I would post some but you have to have the
program to view them. I also have 3 animated avi files I created with
the program. They are about 8M each.

>
> Check this out, this app is awesome. If you do download the product

go through the tutorials in the help section. This is not a normal
CAD app.

>
> Also, I'm enjoying working with it so much I'm considering doing

some modeling of other designs. Right now I'm considering working on
some from my Strictly IC magazine plans. If you have something you
would like to see send me some good, accurate drawing and I'll see
what I can do.

>
> Mark A. Brown
>
> [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Mark,

I've downloaded ProDesktop Express as well, but I haven't done
anything with it yet. PTC is the company that produces ProEngineer and
up until the past summer they also had an educational version of their
ProE package for just S&H of $15 on the CD. The ed version worked just
like the basic commercial version, but was not file compatible with
the commercial version, going either way. You can still get the ed
version, but you must be student or school staff and it will cost you
a few hundred through www.journeyed.com.

The way you describe it I presume that the ProDesktop software is also
a "parametric modeling" software like ProE, which means you need to
plan how you are going make the model before you start, unlike
nonparametric modeling packages like AutoCAD.

Sounds like you made good headway with the program to model up a mill
in two weeks. Congrats. I'd like to see the assembly.

Ivan