3D CAD NEWS

• Maintain, enhance and further develop all CoCreate products indefinitely, including OneSpace Modeling, OneSpace Drafting, OneSpace Model Manager, OneSpace Drawing Manager, OneSpace Live! and OneSpace.net;
• Continue to offer all CoCreate solutions as stand-alone offerings.
• Integrate CoCreate solutions with complementary PTC solutions (such as the earlier acquisitions from MathCAD, ITEDO, and Arbortext, as well as existing PTC products including Windchill).
• Drop the term “dynamic modeling;” from now on, PTC will refer to CoCreate’s history-free approach as “explicit modeling.”

Also today, a note from Ulrich Mahle, VP Marketing and R&D for the CoCreate division, says that OneSpace 2008 will go to product stabilization and QA after Christmas. He promises the 2008 edition will offer a new approach to creating patterns of user-defined form features, such as sets of faces building a boss or a pocket. Once defined, a form feature can be applied to the model repeatedly. For example, Mahle says, a user could position several instances equally in a circular arrangement. It will also be possible to unshare features from the pattern for individual modifications, and a feature can also be modified and the modification used in other features shared in the pattern definition.

In today’s marketplace, if you want to buy a top-selling mid-market MCAD product, you can choose from a variety of constraint-driven, history-based products. SolidWorks, Inventor, SolidEdge, and several others all work on the same principle. The geometry on the screen is a reflection of the steps listed in the history (or structure) tree. Every modeling step is recorded, in order, in the tree.

A typical history-based modeler, relentless in its ability to log every piddling detail of how the model came to be; just don’t suggest changes at the last minute.

History-based models have been leading the market for more than a decade, and to a large degree they have defined MCAD. But in recent years 3D modelers that do not rely on a history tree, but allow users to directly define and edit geometry, have been gaining momentum. These products are described by various terms. Rhino uses the phrase “free form modeling;” KeyCreator says “geometry-based design;” and CoCreate says it is “dynamic modeling.”

A typical history-free modeler, a tireless crusader for free geometry. History tree? We don’t need no stinkin’ history tree.

In editing the CCN series, I realized I have a personal bias in this matter. I understand the importance of locking down design intent with a structure tree, but it still comes across to me as control-freak behavior. Give me a free form modeler any day. Unless I’m designing a brake assembly. Or a motor. Or a 10’ mining auger. Or a jet.

Good CAD? Bad CAD? It never ends.

See the problem. It doesn’t matter if I have a personal bias, there is no one tool for the job. No wonder Black Spy and White Spy fought for years, and there was no clear winner. They must have worked for enemy CAD companies.

In a move that took nobody by surprise, CoCreate Software commuted the death sentence of CoCreate OneSpace Modeling Personal Edition, AKA Junior CoCreate. Instead of being executied for participating in a short-term marketing campaign, Junior will serve a life sentence of delivering history-free 3D modeling at no cost for assemblies of up to 60 parts, in English, German, Italian, and Japanese.

The clemency move was greeted by puzzled looks inside the halls of the big Four MCAD Vendors, who are still working out how to get their history untangled from their geometry without getting thrown in jail for it.

More information: http://www.cocreate.com/free

Junior CoCreate was all smiles when removed from Death Row.  

Cocreate announced just this morning that it releasing OneSpace Designer modeling (it's mid range 3D product) for free for 2 months. Calling it Personal Edition, the features and functions are not restricted, except for only being able to draw or load up to 60 parts.

The product is available for free, (for ever we think) if you download it between today and March 31, 2007. It means that you can experience the 'Cocreate way' - that is Dynamic Modeling, as opposed to history-based modeling. Having eschwed history-trees, OneSpace Designer Modeling purports more flexibility in design by not having the restriction of history-based 3D. It can be a pretty cool product and well worth a try.

However, whatever marketing idiot formed the name of...OneSpace Designer Modeling...for a CAD package should be shot. The name has been around some 5-6 years and is the biggest turn-off of them all...no wonder Cocreate has had challengesin sales! It is nothing to do with the functionality (good) and all to do with marketing.

The free download is available at: http://www.cocreate.com/free