Tidbits: Maher on Mac CAD, Scia and more news

Maher on Mac CAD – Growing Up and Going Pro

Kathleen Maher of Jon Peddie Research has written a good summary article on the recent state of developments within the CAD community concerning the Mac OS X platform. Though her article title “The Mac World Goes Pro – CAD Space Growing on the Mac” is a subtle slight to companies like Ashlar, Graphisoft, Nemetschek and others–who have been doing professional, industry-innovative professional CAD for decades–it is likely more an accidental consequence of looking at the CAD world from a PC-centric perspective.

Maher does acknowledge both Graphisoft and Nemetschek Vectorworks (formerly Nemetschek North America) under the umbrella name and company that controls both–Nemetschek back in Germany–but only after touching down on recent developments concerning Solidworks, Siemens and Autodesk. Which brings us to the next point. The article does do an excellent job of rounding out news concerning these companies relative to Mac-developments–all of which have been touched upon here on Architosh, but Maher’s summary is brief and effective.

However, there is one note that we would be remiss in not pointing out in the article that needs correction. Maher, in writing about formZ (aka Form Z) makes note that the company’s users are “natural Mac users” but also says that the company has not always kept up with the times. This somehow suggest that formZ is no longer leading edge or that AutoDesSys, its developer, is no longer leading edge. The latter in particular is simply not true. AutoDesSys’ formZ is still arguably the strongest advanced NURBS modeler and combined integrated renderer on the Mac platform. Its closest rival is undoubtedly McNeel’s Rhino which as of this writing is still in beta form and without many of the features already found in formZ.

We should also point out that AutoDesSys has spent the past few years dedicating a lot of its development resources to its newest product Bonzai 3D, now at version 2.2. This product is aimed squarely at Google’s SketchUp and for a version 2 product competes very well with the popular SketchUp.

To read the full article go here.

Nemetschek Scia and Tilt-Up Concrete System

Tilt-Up Design Systems, LLC, and Nemetschek Scia announced in late September at the Tilt-Up Concrete Association’s 2010 Annual Conference the availability of a new software bundle that provides design-build firms, architects, engineers and contractors with an integrated whole-building solution for site-cast precast (tilt-up) construction.

The new software bundle links Nemetschek Scia’s Scia Engineer, one of the world’s premier 3D structural software packages with TDS’s Tilt-Werks. To learn more about this bundle and integration visit this website here: www.TiltupBIM.com

T-Splines and Architecture

Designer Mahsa Adib has won 3rd Place for a Wellness Center he designed using T-Splines with Rhino. The design is a superb example of the power, value and benefit of using T-Splines software, as can be attested by the image below

Wellness Center design by Mahsa Adib, courtesy of TSplines website.

To learn more about T-Splines and using it with Rhino read the full story and visit the T-Spline website here.