Punch! Viacad 2D/3D for Mac From:Punch Software , Punch! Software ,
| 
See larger picture. | | Amazon Sales Rank:# 4524 User Rating: Customer Reviews List Price:$99.00 Amazon.com's Price:$84.99 Prices subject to change. You Save:$14.01 (14.15%) Availability:Usually ships in 24 hours |
|
|
Binding: CD-ROM
Brand: Punch Software
EAN: 0664446921000
Format: CD-ROM
Weight: 180 hundredths-pounds
Label: Punch! Software
Manufacturer: Punch! Software
Model: 92100
Packaged Height: 300 hundredths-inches
Packaged Length: 970 hundredths-inches
Packaged Weight: 180 hundredths-pounds
Packaged Width: 820 hundredths-inches
Platform: Mac OS X Intel
Platform: Mac OS X
Publisher: Punch! Software
Studio: Punch! Software
Feature:
- Complete set of line, arc, circle, polygon, ellipse and spline tools
- The ability to create tangential lines, fillets, chamfers, bosses, shells, variable radius blends
- Boolean operations in solids, extrusions, healing and repair, parametric features and associativity at high precision
- Parts Libraries with up to 26,000 parts -- create 2D and 3D designs using drag-and-drop functions and dynamic positioning
- Ready-to-use models of HVAC networks, kitchen elements, posed figures, office furniture, mechanical parts, home elements and more
Product Description:
ViaCAD will change they way you think about 3D design. In ViaCAD, 3D designs automatically create 2D details, plans and elevations with a single mouse click. The new release creates section and detail views, Bill of Materials lists, and includes complete 3D editing tools, annotation, and dimensions, among many other practical features. The software also delivers industry standard interoperability including Google SketchUp, AutoCAD 2007, Adobe Illustrator and other common 3D formats. It's full-powered 2D and 3D design at a price everyone can afford! Easy 3D rendering with options for lighting from ambient, point, distant and spot locations Supprts multiple tools & formats - SketchUp (.skp), AutoCAD 2007, Adobe Illustrator, DXF/DWG, ACIS SAT, IGES, Rhinoceros, STL, 3DS Max, TurboCAD for Mac, Punch Objects and more
Customer Reviews:
10 of 10 customers found the following review helpful:
 You Get What You Pay For., 2008-01-02
Punch! Viacad 2D/3D for Mac
Let me first say that I realize that this is a sub $100 'CAD' program and that I may have had my sights set too high from the start, but that still doesn't account for the drawbacks of this package.
I am a Mechanical Engineer and am very used to fully featured 3D Cad programs such as Solidworks. I have existed in the PC world for most of this software use, but several years ago I ditched my PC and purchased a G4 powerbook for video production use at home and have never looked back. I wanted to get a cheap CAD program for my MAC to work on some basic design projects at home. Solidworks is a $4k+ program and this is $90, so I was a bit skeptical from the start, but $90 wasn't a bad gamble.
Performance wise, this software runs very well on my G5 powermac tower (I have a decent graphics card, but also run with 4GB of system RAM). Even with my massive system memory, there are some performance slowdowns with more complex shapes and shading in the 3D mode.
My biggest complaint about this package is the lack of parametric modelling features. I wanted to use this package for some side projects to design some very simple sheet metal parts and the very first operation I wanted to model was a slot in a part. Making the slot was easy enough in the 2D mode. The problem came when I wanted to define the spatial position of this slot on my part. I tried to add a dimension to show the offset of the slot from the 2 edges of my basic part, but this is not possible, since dimensions are just dumb text with no real driving relation to the geometry.
I've tried many different ways of accomplishing this BASIC function without success. I even tried to pack up my files and send them to ViaCAD technical support to get some assistance to see if I was just missing something. I didn't hear a response from them for over a MONTH! Even then, it wasn't until I re-submitted my question that I finally got a response (6 weeks after my original inquiry) saying that I shouldn't compare Solidworks to ViaCAD. Ha. They also told me that I could use the 'nudge' feature and create my geometry and move it in to the position that I need using the nudge command with edited properties to nudge it the distance that I wanted it offset. Ok, that's fine for a simple linear relation, but what about radii, curve offsets, etc. It might work, but it seems to be a bit more trouble that I was hoping for.
What this boils down to is this, if you are buying this package because you want a cheap CAD package, but are used to much more powerful programs, you will most likely be disappointed. I honestly cannot understand how they could possibly model some of the example items on the package without the functionality that is lacking in this program. Maybe you could really spend a lot of time to dig in and find work-arounds to accomplish everything that I want to do, but I don't have the time for that and would rather come in on the weekend and use Solidworks at my office for 10 minutes to create the geometry I need.
If you are just looking for play around with making some very simple 3D geometry and have never used more advanced CAD software, then this package will entertain you for a little while, but might begin to frustrate you if you try to get too advanced. Then again, maybe if you've never had the features of the more expensive packages, you won't miss them...
|
|
|
