| Publication Details: | |
|---|---|
| Publication: | “PC Plus”, UK |
| Issue: | 95 |
| Date: | August 1994 |
Feature Review: Mid-Priced Windows CAD
AutoCAD LT has been an immediate success, but it’s not the only mid-priced Windows CAD program available. Tim Baty looks at some of the alternatives
Caddie for Windows 4.1
Cadvance 6.0
DesignView 3.0
At a Glance
These three mid-priced Windows CAD programs are aimed at designers who can’t afford high-end systems, but need more horsepower than budget packages. Caddie and Cadvance are general-purpose draughting programs, competing against the market-leading AutoCAD LT, while DesignView is a more specialised product. It’s difficult to underestimate the impact LT has made – it’s got all the right features, supported by formidable marketing and distribution, and other packages will have difficulty competing against this.
Of the two general-purpose programs, Caddie is in the weaker position. It’s a fully-featured 2D program with well-designed basics like hatching and construction-lines, and powerful advanced features such as patterns and dBase links. However, it’s let down badly by poor documentation and on-line help. Cadvance is stronger, having a well-rounded set of 2D and 3D features which are biased towards architectural applications. It’s well-stocked with tools for networking and groupware, and its dBase and SQL database links are particularly impressive.
DesignView’s excellent design analysis tools will appeal in particular to engineers. Its parametric, formula-based links between dimensions are powerful and easy to use, and outweigh its lightweight general drawing features. Computervision deserve particular praise for supporting design education in schools through this product.
Many professional designers want the convenience and speed of a Computer-Aided Design (CAD) program, but can’t afford the heavy investment in capital expenditure and time required for programs like AutoCAD Release 12 or Intergraph Microstation. AutoCAD LT (PC Plus issue 92) put a professional-standard product within reach of the mass market, but it isn’t the only program available in the £300 to £800 price-band. This month we’re looking at three different mid-priced Windows CAD programs, and asking three questions – are they good enough for serious use, can they compete against AutoCAD LT, and do they have any unusual features which give them an advantage?
CAD Data Exchange
CAD systems benefit more than most when linked to other software. Bills of Materials, data on materials behaviour and direct manufacture using numerically-controlled machines can all be implemented using features present in most current programs.
Two types of data are exchanged with CAD programs – graphics and text. The commonest graphics file-formats are DXF, originally defined by Autodesk and supported by almost everything, and IGES, which is defined in various ANSI standards and popular in the UNIX world. Both DXF and IGES are quite weak when storing advanced 3D features like solids, so the new STEP standard is being developed to address these shortcomings – watch for this in future. Graphics file-formats are typically used to move drawings between different CAD systems.
Although simple ASCII text can be imported to help with writing drawing annotations, the most useful text exchange is in standard database or spreadsheet formats such as dBase or SQL. This offers vast potential for links to Stock Control systems, Bills of Materials, engineering data for components and spreadsheet-based design simulation. The important thing here is to remember that you can’t store a large volume of component data in a drawing, but you can cross-refer a component’s index number to a database operating in parallel. The arrival of Windows has extended the data exchange options beyond explicit import and export to include the fluidity of DDE and OLE.
However, all is not sweetness and light – common problems include mis-translated text, dimensions and 3D objects. A constant bug-bear is the way that many CAD suppliers read only entities which are exactly matched by the program’s own entities, and don’t attempt to map unusual entity-types to the closest internal approximations – this can result in large sections of an incoming drawing not being translated at all.
Product Facts
| Caddie for Windows Version 4.1 | Cadvance 6.0 for Windows | DesignView Version 3.0 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Price | £495 | £495 | £800 (Single User) £170 (Universities) Free (Schools) |
| Vendor | Vector Graphic Systems Ltd. | FastCAD Europe Ltd. | Computervision Ltd. |
| Telephone | (0727) 830551 | (0923) 246427 | (0203) 417718 |
| 2D/3D | 2D | 3D + Rendering | 2D |
| Layers | 255 (numbered only) | 255 (nameable) | 20 (numbered only) |
| Dimensioning | Associative | Static | Parametric |
| Library Shapes | Externally-referenced | Externally-referenced | Internal, loadable from external files |
| Fonts | Internal | Internal & TrueType | TrueType |
| Macro language | CCL | Cadvance BASIC | DVX |
| Import | ASCII text, DXF, DWG, dBase III | ASCII text, DXF, DWG, TIFF, BMP, DIB, dBase III, SQL | ASCII text, WMF, DDE, DXF, IGES, DVX |
| Export | ACII text, WMF, BMP, DXF, DWG, dBase III | ASCII text, DXF, DWG, DIB, dBase III, SQL | ASCII text, WMF, DDE, DXF, IGES, DVX, CADDS 4X, CADDS 5 |
| Display | W | W | W |
| Issue Disks | 3 1/2″ (HD) | 3 1/2″ (HD) | Dual Media (HD) |
| Minimum System | 386 387 Co-processor Mouse MS-DOS 3.3 + Windows 3.1 + | 386 Hard disk (5Mb free) 4Mb RAM Mouse MS-DOS 3.3 + Windows 3.1 + | 386 Hard disk (2.5Mb free) 2Mb RAM Mouse MS-DOS 3.1 + Windows 3.0 + |
| Optional Hardware | Additional RAM Printer or plotter | Additional RAM Printer or plotter Graphics Tablet | 387 Co-processor Additional RAM Printer or plotter |
| For | Reads AutoCAD DWG files Extensive customising tools Patterns | 3D with Rendering Good groupware features Strong database links | Excellent Parametric design tools Educational support Modest hardware requirements |
| Against | Dongle Poor documentation & Help No UNDO command | Fragile display handling Static dimensioning No STRETCH command | Limited general purpose drawing tools 2D only |
| Range of features | * * * * | * * * * * | * * * * |
| Overall speed | * * * * | * * * * | * * * * |
| Ease of use | * * | * * * * | * * * * * |
| Documentation | * | * * * * | * * * * |
| Value verdict | * * * | * * * * | * * * * |
The Competition
| Price: | £495 |
| Publisher: | Autodesk Ltd. |
| Contact: | (01483) 303322 |
Although it’s the new kid on the block, AutoCAD LT has been an immediate success. Essentially it’s AutoCAD Release 12 for Windows without advanced features like the AutoLISP macro language or 3D modelling, but otherwise LT looks and feels identical to Release 12. AutoCAD LT is a serious workhorse at a bargain price, and is currently the package to beat.
| Reviewed: | 92 |
| Verdict: | 8/10 |
Drafix Windows CAD 2.1
| Price: | £395 |
| Publisher: | The Roderick Manhattan Group |
| Contact: | (0171) 978 1727 |
Available in different guises for some time, Drafix Windows CAD is a 2D program with some well thought-out features. Entity properties are presented in text boxes near the menu bar, and can be edited directly in text mode. The program also has a strong collection of database links, which are similar in character to AutoCAD’s ‘attributes’.
CADKEY Drafter 6
| Price: | £995 |
| Publisher: | Merit Computer Solutions |
| Contact: | (01495) 301303 |
Another well-established competitor to AutoCAD, CADKey has a simple, well-designed user interface fronting a thoroughly competent 2D program. CADKey performs particularly well with its display handling, boosting speed just where it matters – Zooms, Pans and Redraws are stunningly quick thanks to its internal Display-List driver.
Our Verdict
All these programs are capable of finding a useful function in busy design offices, and it’s encouraging that there’s such a diversity of program types. Of the three, Caddie presents the greatest dilemma. At heart, it’s a versatile and competent 2D program which is quite well designed and has some interesting features for advanced users. However, the poor documentation and badly structured on-line help seriously damages its potential – in its present form, new users face a climb up the learning-curve that’s so steep it’s akin to mountaineering. Re-written manuals and tutorials would transform Caddie into an attractive and competitive product.
Cadvance aims squarely at the professional user, and is the closest direct competitor here to AutoCAD LT. It has a slightly different spread of features, the balance of which favour applications such as architecture. Its corporate and groupware facilities are particularly impressive at the price, as are its links to industry-standard dBase and SQL databases. It’s a well-rounded general-purpose program, and is capable of serious work at a favourable price.
In this context, DesignView is the radical option. It’s fundamentally different from the other programs in the assumptions it makes about what designers want from a CAD program, placing a strong emphasis on the design process rather than just producing drawings. In comparison with Caddie and Cadvance its drawing and editing tools are rather lightweight, but it was never intended to compete directly with general-purpose draughting programs. However, its excellent parametric dimensioning features make it almost unbeatable for serious mechanical or structural design, and it should be on every engineer’s shortlist of essential software.
Tim Baty