CompuServe Thread

#Architectural Front end

7 messages in this thread
#81416From: David HoganFeb 4, 1994 9:42 PM
I don't know if you're taking wish-list items for Facade, but one feature I would like, would be the ability to "unfold" or "flatten" all or part of the 3D model for plotting and assembling into a cardboard model. Its great to be able to take a model into 3DS or to create a walkthru, but there's nothing like a real model to convey the real form. I've been looking for something like this for months. There was such a package back in R10 days, called "ACAD Makette", but its no longer available. If one is going to take the time to create a 3D CAD model, it would be great to use that to cut down on the time-consuming model building process. It seems as though many of the tools for this are already in Facade.
#81506From: David Cohn, CADalystFeb 5, 1994 1:13 PM
David: That's an interesting idea. We'll kick it around and see what the rest of the design team thinks. The architect in me kinda likes it. David
#81512From: Dave Byrnes [AEC TM]Feb 5, 1994 2:08 PM
David > That's an interesting idea. We'll kick it around and see what the rest of > the design team thinks. The architect in me kinda likes it. I hope you do a better job of it than A CAD Group did! Dave
#81612From: David HoganFeb 6, 1994 10:23 AM
> > That's an interesting idea. We'll kick it around and see what the rest of > the design team thinks. The architect in me kinda likes it. I hope you do a better job of it than A CAD Group did!< I never saw Makette, so I don't know its capabilities, but in all fairness, its a considerable programming problem. It seems to me it would have to be implemented at the core of any modeling procedure, used for preliminary modeling, then set apart for more complex modeling. The masses would have to be fairly simple and discreet. It seems to me something more suited to AME or another solids modeler, since much of the info needed is already there, and the forms tend to start out simpler. It would be great if it can be implemented in Facade, but I only hope they determine the market is there to support it. of course any additional cost would be far less than any CNC milled output, and more architects would buy Facade if they could use the 3D geometry for presentation models as well as for renderings/walkthroughs. It would be more feasible to use 3D if design and production tools were built in. I don't think the architectural model will ever loose its importance, although I'll be pleasantly surprised if hardware/software come together to generate rendered holograms and casual VR use. BTW, do you have an old copy of Makette lying around unused for sale? I'll try anything since my need is immediate.
#81686From: Dave Byrnes [AEC TM]Feb 6, 1994 6:18 PM
David – I had a copy of it to review for CADalyst a couple of years back. In spite of numerous calls to Atlanta and a supposed bug fix, I never could make the thing work. We ended up scrapping the review.
#81625From: David Cohn, CADalystFeb 6, 1994 12:52 PM
Dave: Have you had a chance to play with Facade 2.0? I guarantee that if we were to include that feature in a future release, it would only be included if it worked as flawlessly as the rest of the product. While I've already compiled quite a list of features that users and I want to see included in the next release of Facade, what it is already capable of doing is quite amazing, especially for a program with an SRP of $189. Needless to say, we're selling lots of them. <G> David [Eclipse Software]
#81687From: Dave Byrnes [AEC TM]Feb 6, 1994 6:18 PM
David – > Have you had a chance to play with Facade 2.0? Why, no, I haven't <hint, hint>. But I'd really like to! It sounds pretty slick from Michael's review. Dave