AutoCADder

The current issue of Ralph Grabowski's upFront.eZine informs about the Autodesk's Grand Unification Plan aiming to go into deeper unification of the user interfaces and file formats in Autodesk software applications.

So maybe the new versions (2009?) of AutoCAD, Inventor or 3ds max will share a similar user interface (which may or may be not good) and it probably will be easier to share their data (which is definitely good). I suppose the new UI will go the way Microsoft goes - i.e. expect ribbons and adaptive user interfaces. So prepare large monitors and graphics resolutions...

But it is not only AutoCAD, Inventor and 3ds max. Autodesk has now 76 different products and with the latest acquisitions there will be probably even more of them. So data sharing and a grand unification plan is more and more important.

Labels: 3ds max, AutoCAD 2009, Inventor 2009, UI

I am not an expert in 3ds max and I have to admit I cannot make a convincing visualization or animation. But - like most of us - I like the nice photorealistic pictures coming from 3D AutoCAD scenes, from 3ds max, VIZ, Inventor or Revit. To make these pictures even nicer and more convincing, there are lots of add-on effect plugins available for 3ds max and VIZ. You can find a list e.g. on www.maxplugins.de .

Using one of such add-on tools, the CAD Forum tip Creeping plants explains how to add creepers rambling over building walls and other 3D objects loaded from CAD applications. The Ivy Generator looks like a nice tool for architects, exterior designers and garden architects. If you are working with 3ds max or Maya, try it - finally, it is free.

Labels: 3D model, 3ds max, plugin, rendering