LAS VEGAS, NV (Autodesk University) - Risersoft was showing UnitCAD and PowerBOM at AU.
UnitCAD for AutoCAD and Inventor allows users to create drawings or part using rules. In that way, it is similar to Rulestream, now part of Siemens PLM. According to Abhishek Singhal, who is showing it to me, UnitCAD distinguishes itself by recognizing the parameters in an existing part, whereas most rules-based geometry creation is done from scratch. In a simple example, UnitCAD let's you click on an existing a circle and will let you call out its center and radius, which will then be available to modify to create a different circle. That might seem trivial, but apply that to a family of parts, say linear actuators, a UnitCAD ought to allow various sizes of actuators to be created just by filling in some numerical fields, like diameter, rod lengtht, extended length, etc.). That is always the dream of rules-based software, to be so easy, even a salesperson taking an order from a customer could make CAD drawings .
UnitCAD claims to work without programming knowledge though the language it uses seems to be its own and is not exactly English, and therefore not quite as easy to use. I am reminded of Excel formulas, which may not be programming, but still intimidate most users. Let's say the limits of a short visit do not allow a full understanding of UnitCAD's rule creation --at least for this editor.
UnitCAD is not cheap (the "Designer" version sells for $4K, but I suppose if it saves having to draw huge assemblies, it could pay off.
PowerBOM is a bill of material application that aims to reduce the redundancy and waste in BOM creation. Rather than have every user create a separate BOM for each drawing, PowerBOM will store items in a database for retrieval. When you are ready to create a BOM, you call up items from the database. Each item will be consistent among all drawing in which it used. Also, data can be stores with each item (weight, for example) to allow calculations. PowerBOM is listed at $599.
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