AutoCAD WS Changes its name to AutoCAD 360 and goes PRO!

Autodesk has released a new version of AutoCAD WS and has implemented several changes to their mobile CAD product.  First off, AutoCAD WS has a new name.  From henceforth it shall be called “AUTOCAD 360”!!  That makes sense.  It goes along with the rest of Autodesk’s cloud based 360 branding.  The WS, according to Autodesk, never actually stood for anything anyway.  (I always suspected it either stood for Web Service or that the URL was available so they went with it.)  The other big change is that there are now three versions of AutoCAD 360; free, Pro, and Pro Plus.  The free version will essentially look and feel like what we have been using these past few years.  The Pro and Pro Plus versions will require a monthly subscription but provide more storage space, more tools and better support.

3Dconnexion wins “red dot award: product design 2013” - SpaceMouse Pro Wins

SpaceMouse Pro stands apart among more than 4,500 products for its superior design quality.

3Dconnexion’s SpaceMouse Pro 3D mouse has received a red dot award: product design 2013, one of the largest and most prestigious design contests in the world. The SpaceMouse Pro, 3Dconnexion’s newest 3D mouse, impressed the 37-strong jury, which reviewed more than 4,500 products in 19 categories.

This year’s red dot awards will be presented at the annual red dot gala on 1 July 2013 at Essen’s opera house, the Aalto theatre. The SpaceMouse Pro will then be exhibited in Essen's red dot design museum from 2-28 July, where visitors can learn about the latest product design trends and experience prize-winning products first-hand.

SWFAP May 2013 Meeting Notes

I was fortunate enough to have been the speaker at the May 2013 user group meeting of SWFAP.org a few days ago.  I promised to make my Power Point notes available.  Here is a link to the file.

How to Reverse Your Polyline When Text-Based Linetypes Are Upside Down

Many AutoCAD users have custom linetypes with embedded text.  We use these lietypes to help visually identify what the line represents.  Here is an example of an existing water main with a linetype having the text “EX-WM” in it.

Figure 1: An example of a custom linetype going the wrong way.

You can easily tell which lines represent the existing water main.  In this example we have a situation where two lines meet but the linetype text is oriented differently.  It is upside down.  We want the text to “flow” just like we want the water in these pipes to “flow”.  The issue lies in the direction of the line.  These two lines are LINE objects.  They are not joined polylines.

Bike Manufacturer Duratec Wants to Build You a Flying Bicycle

In an iconic scene from the Star Wars movies, hero Luke Skywalker out-races the evil Empire’s agents by riding flying speeder bikes through a dense forest. Needless to say, the bad guys get up close and personal with some bark and our heroes live to fight on.