#Shall I buy LW on SGI?
6 messages in this thread
Hi everybody,
am a designer seeking a way to make better models as fast as possible. Toys,
furniture… in order to be realized as goods. 3D-modelling and rendering is
one of the most exciting things I can think of. And I also believe this
technique can save time in the process of development too.
As I need to improve my equipment soon, I am searching for the right hard- and
software. I think of something which can do object morphing or surface
blending, as I also need to create smooth, "organic" objects. The system needs
to be sturdy, fast and flexible.
All this and even some other reasons let me think of getting something much
better than a PC.
So, what kind of HW and SW would you choose if you had a smart partner with
deadlines to design new consumer goods but a relatively small budget (<20K$)
for the equipment? Lightwave on a INDY R4600PC 133MHZ?
BTW, I am used to work in 3D. I am also using DesignCad3D from ASBC which I
like, but it has too small modelling power for my needs.
Every serious hint which does not say: "take another $$-partner", but could
lead me to a right direction is highly apreciated.
Regards, Norbert.
I doubt that Lightwave is an appropriate modeller for building things that will
be manufactured. There are geometry issues that affect manufacturability that
require a CAD modeler. Alias Studio has the required tools (and unfortunately,
an extremely high price tag) the lower priced package (Alias Designer) may have
the necessary tools, but you should talk to Alias about it directly. There are
a number of other capable modellers on SGI, but I'm really only familiar with
Alias.
Don't buy SGI equipment until you know which software you're going to use (it's
not like buying a PC/Mac) and don't get any machine with a 4600 in it (nothing
but trouble for my friends that have them) The 4400 is very reliable (and
faster) and the R10000 which is coming next year blows away any PowerPC or P5/6
chip- lets just see if they price it that way. SGI is due for some major price
cutting in the immediate future, and with their merger with Alias, it is
possible that there will be a bundle that will fit into your budget.
OTOH, things may get very interesting on the Mac in the fall.
Alan,
thanks a lot for your suggestions. Things become more and more precisely. It
turns out I will get a second PC (pentium120?) with a better modeller I have at
the moment. And I will get the DTP my customers are using (corel and
quarkexpress) first; then an Indy.
The prospectives and customers I have, who want me to develop products to be
manufactured, won`t take my CAD-datas to use them in their manufacturing
systems at the moment (quite use a 3D-Cad). So I need to bring them renderings
and blueprints. If I could bring them raw CAD-models in addition (e.g.
wireframes, meshes or faces) the better it were. But they are always
responsible for their moulds and the productionprocess etc.
The first priority for me is to get the most advanced modeller on which
platform ever. Needs to be reiable, fast (to use if you once get familiar with
it) and at lowest prize as possible. In addition it should run on PC and Indy,
I guess; because similiar userinterfaces on different platforms is good. And
for me there even some other reasons to have an Indy. For instance lightwave
runs on the pentium and on Indy. Or am I wrong?
Keep in contact.
Norbert
Norbert…
You'd have to eliminate Alias Studio, which may be the fastest modler and maybe
the easiest to use… because of price. I suggest you wait until SIGGRAPH and
try all the software on Macs, SGIs and PCs.
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…if I ever get that far…
You are right, before having seen how the SW will fit into my needs (and
budget), I do not decide. I will analytically proove SW and then choose the
Hardware. What the whole thing becomes more difficult is this: need a
parametric modeller and a DTP-prog. and a renderer with raytracing. Good and
fast support for all of them is of great evidence either. Quite see a path to
follow…
Regards,
Norbert.
Norbert,
If you are looking at manufacturing needs, you may want to consider a
CAD product as opposed to a rendering/animation product. If you prefer a
rendering/animation product, even if it breaks your budget, at least look at
Designer from Alias–it should give you an idea of what *can* be done. If you
find Alias to be overkill (or over budget), you might find happiness with a
combination of several PC products.
I've used a number of PC based products, and have been very happy using
Cadkey ( an excellent 3D CAD program ) with FastSURF ( a 3rd party add-on that
gives full surfacing capabilities to Cadkey, including IGES type 114 128 and
144 surfaces (true trimmed surfaces, etc.)) for your modelling, and then
exporting into something like trueSpace or Renderize Live for your
photo-realistic rendering (FastSURF does support internal PHONG-based shading).
You would be able to work in a familiar environment (3D CAD) and deal
with just about everybody. I know of quite a number of mold shops and toy
designers that use the Cadkey/FastSURF combination quite happily, and you can
import/export to just about everybody. It's the one product I know of that
won't choke on an IGES file from Pro-Engineer, and will *import* as well as
*export* SLA models for rapid prototyping.
One of the FastSURF authors often hangs out in the CAD/CAM area–you
may want to give him an e-mail: David F. Reyburn 73113,2703. He'd be happy to
discuss FastSURF with you.
Hope this helps!
Paul