Yep, got the same t-shirt. But given a choice, I will use a non-M$ based products!
tomp wrote: > Kent A. Reed wrote: > >> Gentle persons: >> >> I quite understand the desire to find CAD software that (1) is free as >> in beer and (2) runs directly in Linux. I yield to no one in my ardor >> for open source in general and GNU/Linux in particular. As I grow older, >> however, I find that pragmatism is overtaking idealism. With respect to >> CAD, two other characteristics are becoming paramount: (1) how easy is >> it for me to use a particular program without fuss and bother to design >> precise mechanical parts and (2) how easy is it for me to extract the >> design in a usable format. With respect to these characteristics, and >> especially the latter, I have blown hot and cold over various >> open-source CAD applications. >> >> Let me discuss a alternative that is not open source but can be free to >> the user. >> >> In the MS Windows domain, there is a very competent commercial 3D solid >> modeller called Alibre Design, for which there is a free lite version >> called Alibre Design Express (see http://www.alibre.com for details). In >> the years before I retired, I was an early adopter of Alibre Design to >> create some mechanical parts and assemblies in an underfunded project >> because the package was much less expensive than its competitors like >> SolidWorks, SolidEdge, ProEngineer, or Autodesk Inventor for similar >> features. The free Alibre Design Express has some restrictions, of >> course, but it retains the good user interface and the ability to export >> 3D models in well-known formats like IGES, SAT, and STEP that can be >> post-processed easily. (For that matter, if you've got the $$, Alibre >> has recently released a companion CAM package and also a woodworking >> package. They also have various offers for "at home" use of their >> non-free packages that I haven't explored.) >> >> I run Alibre Design Express on a Windows XP box to design parts. I >> haven't tried to run it over WINE on a Linux box, but then the el-cheapo >> boxes I have running Linux have neither the horsepower or the graphics >> capability needed anyway. Although my Windows XP box is reasonably well >> equipped and set up to dual boot into several different Linux >> distributions, it seems pointless to try running Alibre Design Express >> within a virtual Windows XP environment in Linux for the obvious reason >> that it's already running fine in Windows XP. Naturally, your situation >> may be entirely different but if you haven't tried this product I think >> you should. >> >> Regards, >> Kent >> >> >> PS - Leaving aside its user interface, SALOME GEOM has very good data >> import/export capability because it was intended to support >> "interoperability between CAD modeling and computation software," its >> internal geometry functions are excellent, and, wonder of wonders, it >> exposes all its functions via a Python API, so I'm thinking seriously >> about how I could use it for script-driven as opposed to gui-driven >> design. Alibre Design and its commercial competitors expose a good deal >> of their functionality using MS Windows technologies such as COM and >> .NET, so one could drive them via Python as well, but somehow that's not >> as alluring to me. >> >> PPS - FreeCAD (no, not that one, the other one; see >> http://juergen-riegel.net/FreeCAD/Docu/index.php?title=Main_Page) might >> become the open-source 3D modeling application of choice, but it's still >> very early in its development and many claimed features appear to be >> planned rather than actual. The home page is peppered with phrases like >> "will have..." and "will be...." >> >> PPPS - I have no connection with Alibre or any other CAD-application >> provider. >> >> ------------------------------------------------------------------------- >> This SF.Net email is sponsored by the Moblin Your Move Developer's challenge >> Build the coolest Linux based applications with Moblin SDK & win great prizes >> Grand prize is a trip for two to an Open Source event anywhere in the world >> http://moblin-contest.org/redirect.php?banner_id=100&url=/ >> _______________________________________________ >> Emc-users mailing list >> [email protected] >> https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/emc-users >> >> >> > haha > > "I find that pragmatism is overtaking idealism." > > i wear a button that says > > "My karma ran over my dogma" > > (pushing 60 and not so idealistic now) > > regards > TomP > > craigslist.com.tw/apa/882357191.html > > > > ------------------------------------------------------------------------- > This SF.Net email is sponsored by the Moblin Your Move Developer's challenge > Build the coolest Linux based applications with Moblin SDK & win great prizes > Grand prize is a trip for two to an Open Source event anywhere in the world > http://moblin-contest.org/redirect.php?banner_id=100&url=/ > _______________________________________________ > Emc-users mailing list > [email protected] > https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/emc-users > > ------------------------------------------------------------------------- This SF.Net email is sponsored by the Moblin Your Move Developer's challenge Build the coolest Linux based applications with Moblin SDK & win great prizes Grand prize is a trip for two to an Open Source event anywhere in the world http://moblin-contest.org/redirect.php?banner_id=100&url=/ _______________________________________________ Emc-users mailing list [email protected] https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/emc-users
