PR, Marketing and the Business of CAD

Bob McNeel Starts a Blog

Okay, so this might sound like a 'no news' piece at first glance, but this is something that we call PROGRESS! After years of shuddering whenever I (or anyone) mentioned the word 'blog' to Bob, he has finally caved and started one that deals with all things Rhino.

Dealing with current news, Rhino software upgrades, cool things designed in Rhino, this blog tackles a lot of announcements that typically have been only available in the company's user forums.

Before Bob gets too offended, I have had a message out to many clients for several years now - use the tools available to get the word out, especially blogs, that create links back to your corporate and partner web sites, that then raise your Search Engine popularity. Blogs are an easy tool to start with, and a great way to communicate with existing, and future users.

Do check it out. It is at: http://rhino3dnews.blogspot.com/

Rach

Ken Feitz Takes Position at TransMagic

Ken Feitz, an industry long-timer who has served at companies such as Intergraph, Spatial and (of course) Strategic Reach, this week took a new position at TransMagic, a CAD interoperability company.

TransMagic was founded in 2001 by Todd Reade, and has made a name for itself by selling affordable CAD interoperability tools. Reade's prior background at Spatial Corporation allowed him to be able to leverage the Spatial interop technologies into some pretty neat products.

According to Ken, his first job is to work on the web site (hooray!) and to move TransMagic into a more prominent role in the industry reflective of its industry success. Admittedly, as a company that now has about 20 employees, in a market sector that is definitely challenging, TransMagic has seemed to be a well-kept industry secret. We applaud the move and wish Ken all the best at his new position.

r

Amy Rowell Announced as Editorial Director of Desktop Engineering

Amy Rowell, a well known editor and analyst in the CAD and PLM industries, has been announced as the editorial director of Desktop Engineering magazine. This is a great fit for both sides, given Amy's lengthy experience and qualifications in mechanical engineering, and with 20 or so years editorializing and analyzing the industry at publications such as Cadence Magazine, Computer Graphics World, Innovate Forum and as an analyst for Cyon Research.

This probably brings a lot of relief to the Desktop Engineering team who, we think, has been very hard pressed to compensate for the retirement/sabbatical of Tony Lockwood last year. They still did a bang up job, but the loss of that kind of expertise is always hard on the remaining team.

Since the birth of Amy's first child last year, from which she took some time off from the day-to-day hassle of squeezing news out of the industry, we are also glad to see her back in the market, and look forward to pestering the hell out of her for ed. opps.

Desktop Engineering is, as always, an excellent publication and we are continually keen to see the CAD industry publications grow and develop.

Autodesk Gets the Press Thinking

I was in Paris last week as a member of the press....okay, so I'm a PR chick, right? So here's why. In my complex whirlwind life, I also happen to be publisher of some publications and blogs as a part-owner of another company - something which confuses many. I am fortunate to have an editor-in-chief who fully understands the meaning of conflicts and has a hard-written policy to avoid them. My role in the publications is money and infrastructure...something that takes a lot more of my night-time hours than it should. I write the occasional article but am banned from referring to clients, both past and present, without disclosure.

As part of CADCAMNETtv, I was at the Autodesk Manufacturing Media Summit, which was a nice tangle of US and European press in a single location. That location just happened to be on the doorstep of another major CAD vendor, Dassault Systemes. During the event, Autodesk expanded on its recently announced 'Digital Prototyping' strategy for its MCAD users.

Digital Prototyping is the word Autodesk has coined as the non-PLM person's PLM. Something that has a granularity of function targeted at 'the other 80%'. It is presented as a way to prove a new product, prototype it digitally, fully simulate it digitally and manufacture it digitally, prior to committing to the production line. Attached to that is enhanced versions of its ProductStream product for managing the data and documents around the product.

But the reason I am writing about this, is that Autodesk is doing what it has always been good at - taking a technology idea and giving it the top 80% functionality at 20% of the price. Digital Prototyping is no different. It takes the idea of 'expensive' out of PLM and brings it down to all those other users.

What the event did do is get the editors' tongues wagging. Many, but not all, agreed that Digital Prototyping has a chance of succeeding. More importantly, it started discussions going as to why PLM works, why it does not, and what the alternative is.

Caption: Ralph Grabowski, Randall Newton and (far right,) Martyn Day, look thoughtful during the Autodesk event.

Is presenting an alternative view of life a workable strategy? Absolutely. And Autodesk pulled it off well with confident presentations, great demos and a workable flow of good french wine to bring the feeling back to one's legs after a day of sitting. I am betting that the volume on this issue has not even started to get loud, and that after this event you will see 'Digital prototyping' everywhere in the CAD editorial columns.

rach

Pretty Cool Software Product Comparison

Just today, Thomas Publishers, owners of Managing Automation Magazine, started promoting its Product Comparison tool.

Being a cynic, I immediately visited to check out if they had fouled up the CAD and PLM products. And it would appear not - well not much anyway! The system, available from the home page, provides multiple listings for enterprise software, RFID software, networking, computers and platforms and more.

I clicked on 'enterprise software' and it drives down through CRM, enterprise asset management, ERP, Finance, HR and PLM - among others. Click on PLM and there are multiple categories for specialist and general CAD design tools, design data management, CAM, configuration and the like.

For each sub-category, it gives a listing and you can click on two products and the system will bring up a comparison chart, as per below. Registration, which is free, is needed to access this data.

Now this is pretty cool. It gives a fast comparison of features side-by-side for the products selected. And there are a lot of products.

The only problem i see is that whoever filled out the forms for the data, which I assume, perhaps incorrectly, is done by the vendors, that you have some anomalous entries: an example being Proficy by GE Fanuc listed under the Sheetmetal manufacture Functions under CAM. This product, although it looks pretty good for keeping equipment backed up and running, is clearly not a CAM product!

However, correct software products seem to be well represented in there and give a nice, easy-understood comparison sheet. Go check it out!

Rach

Global warming - what's a CAD person to do?

As I sit, almost-freezing, in Denver, in May, worrying about frostbite on my recently planted roses, I start to think about global warming, and, more alarmingly for the 7-seater SUV-driving, 6 litre pickup-truck (with 4 wheels at the back, I ask you!) handling, US citizenry, we now have gasoline costing more than $3 per gallon.

(These two facts have to be related, I think, in a Kevin Bacon-style 6-degrees of separation that I will leave to Martyn, Al and Randall to work out one day in a bar.)

I think even the worst right-winger, yes, even my husband, has accepted that global warming just might be a fact, rather than an opinion. And there are things that individuals can do to make them feel like they can contribute to reducing the effects - less driving, more walking, more recycling etc. By way of validation, our office has now set up a schedule where we work 3 days in the office, 2 days at home. But that has more to do with the $3 per gallon issue than the side effects that less driving may have on the environment!

But what, as designers, engineers etc. could the CAD community do? Not much if my Google search on 'CAD and global warming' is anything to go by.

But it did get me thinking that there is maybe something that can be done. Firstly, the growth in 'sustainable buildings' by architects, and the obvious increase in recycled materials for building is self-evident in Google searches and editorial opportunities about the subject. The building industry seems to have embraced the 'green' issues very quickly and there is evidence of a global movement and acceptance of this.

But manufacturing seems to be more resistant...and probably for good reason given that capital equipment has to depreciate to allow for new, and hopefully 'greener', capital equipment. But regardless of the fiscal restrictions that hold manufacturers in place, there must be things that product designers, engineers and manufacturers can do. And technology may have some of the answers.

Well, straight off the bat, I know that manufacturers can reduce waste by planning better during engineering, using sheetmetal technology to reduce the amount of scrap metal created, and so on. Maybe more detailed simulation and analysis of 3D models would mean less production mistakes? Maybe a rising financial and environmental cost of using paper will force more manufacturers to use automated 3D Publishing and direct to NC tools for shop-floor production (an area that is woefully behind in using modern 3D-CAD based production processes). Maybe with the threat of global warming, we may finally see the adoption of the mythical paperless office?

But don't forget the biggest asset - engineers. The 'problem solvers' of the world. Almost all of whom use CAD in some way. Those who could probably find true innovations to tackle global warming rather than the 'stop-gap' measures listed above.

Now then, where's a good engineer when you need one?
(In the meantime, I have formed the hypothesis that the english weather has finally found me in Colorado and decided to form a charlie Brown - Linus style cloud over my head. Maybe next week the weather will cheer up.)

Rach

Martyn Day Gets His Blog Going...finally

Martyn Day, general grumbler and bright editorial spark, is finally getting his Martyn Day Blog going.

Now I love him dearly but the lazy bastard has had that blog space ready for more than a year and done nothing with it...finally, he is starting to stretch his editorial legs across its open, empty space.

April posting is about SpaceClaim with some very good commentary on the SpaceClaim product as well as some insight into the future of interoperability.

Nice one Martyn.

Solidworks Blogs: Company Finds its edge in User Blogs

It's been two years since i really complained about the lack of blogs that compete with the juggernaut of Autodesk blogs. Maybe my complaining had some effect, but I suspect i flatter only myself.

However, in the last two years, SolidWorks has found its power in generating Solidworks User Blogs, headed by the Solidworks user groups - most notably that of Richard Doyle, who heads the SolidWorks User Group Community. At SolidWorks World in Febuary, 07, a lot of those bloggers were in attendance, and all of them rushing out news from the event for their readers.

Under Richard's guidance and encouragement, and with the able assistance of some other SolidWorks staff, (he assures me that he is not solely responsible for the additional blogs) there are now at least 13 SolidWorks User blogs that i can count, alongside Richard's, that report on SolidWorks, the User Community and just simply how they work with the software.

This is pretty cool and is just what the industry needs. What i find fascinating, however, is the sheer politeness of discussions on Doyle's blog. For example, he posted a comment last week after the COFES 2007 Conference regarding how CAD was perhaps too hard or too easy for people to use. Across 13 comments this posting has so far generated, all of them were a highly polite discussion: something that would have been a knock-down-drag-out on Randall's AECnews blog (believe me, he's been reduced to editing to remove the insults and slights posted) instead generated an intelligent, pleasant discussion.

But even with the success of the user-based blogs, i still think that the CAD Junky site (http://www.cadjunky.com/) still offers the most refreshing area for the industry right now - CAD videos, by users, of all types and varieties. Pretty cool stuff guys.

r

COFES 2007. Great event. Photos now available

COFES 2007 happened and it went with a bang! While most of the event management team are still dealing with PTSD, there are now the first selection of photos available at http://cofes.com/Photos.aspx.

Event highlights:

Buzz Cross of Autodesk receiving the CAD Society award on behalf of Dean Kamen.

Bruce Sterling, sci-fi writer and contributor to multiple publications including Wired, enthralls with his keynote.

Sean Dotson, pictured below alongside Dick Morley, is the winner of the CAD Society Joe Greco award for Community.

R

COFES 2007 - gonna be memorable

Me and my team are deeply involved in the organization of COFES, on behalf of Cyon Research. The 2007 event is next week. (So if anyone calls the office, don't expect an answer!)

Now, I am biased: This event is a phenomenon. I have seen this event grow from a simple idea in the minds of Brad Holtz, Joel Orr and Evan Yares, into a standard for the industry. This year is the eighth annual event. Kudos goes mostly to Brad for this whose tireless efforts have consistently paid off. But that does not discount the support and inspiration of Joel and Evan, please note!

And I feel I have to mention it, even though I am involved. The event grows every year, even the year after 9/11, attendance crept up. Now it is topping out towards 300 attendees - which for this 'small', 'personal' event is a lot.

Here are some interesting figures:

Attendance overall has increased by at least 25% every year.

End-user attendance has jumped by about 30% this year. It has never been well attended by end-users, but now we are seeing more and more interested and wanting to attend.

Under-40 attendance has also jumped: again by about 25%. Some years back COFES started to get the label that it is populated by the 'old guys' of the industry. That is changing, correspondingly, as the industry evolves. Noiceably more of the younger 'experts' are attending this year, although Chris Kelley from UGS, who has got to be one of the youngest VPs in the 'CAD Big 4', will be sorely missed at the 2007 event.

Sponsorship and Technology Suite attendance is on the rise: something for which Brad is very appreciative given rising costs of the event location.

But while we work to attract a suitable cross-section of the indiustry, we cannot discount the effect of the older people in attendance: among them; they were at MIT, Syracuse and University of Utah back in the 1960s; one invented NURBs; others developed the CAD programs we see in front of us now. Back then, they all did the impossible. There is lots of be learned on how 'the impossible' can continue to be created.

COFES is worthwhile of attention and attendance. If you think you should be there email Cyon Research ASAP. It is an invitation-only event, and can make a difference.

rach