I can’t remember if it was the PowerCADD side or the Wildtools side but one of those had the best revision cloud tool. I definitely like PC/WT’s way compared to Vectorworks way of doing a revision cloud.
PC/WT’s implementation was simple yet it produced the best looking clouds by far. I was able to make PC/WT‘s cloud fit into any little nook and cranny and those clouds looked great
It’s a tool I’m going to miss
Life after/beyond PowerCadd?
Re: Life after/beyond PowerCadd?
+1 for Vectorworks.
I've been working on the transition for over a year now, and am still learning new tricks. Setting up a robust template file is key!
You can do dumb drawings, or you can do smart drawings. It's up to you. But the first time drawing lists, window schedules, door schedules, and room area reports are automatically generated (and updated), you'll never go back. And the keynote manager is out of this world! I modeled my last project and was able to include renderings and elevations in the CD set automatically. However, the automatic sections are garbage... or PEBCAK. Drawings look just as good as PCADD (but any good tool user will be able to maximize capabilities).
It's not perfect (no software is). The move / copy command is frustrating. Basic word processing formatting does not exist. I would be hard-pressed to call the interface intuitive, but it's an incredibly complex program.
I have reached the point where the cost and time investment are starting to produce workflow efficiencies. I'll have to raise my hourly rate.
I've been working on the transition for over a year now, and am still learning new tricks. Setting up a robust template file is key!
You can do dumb drawings, or you can do smart drawings. It's up to you. But the first time drawing lists, window schedules, door schedules, and room area reports are automatically generated (and updated), you'll never go back. And the keynote manager is out of this world! I modeled my last project and was able to include renderings and elevations in the CD set automatically. However, the automatic sections are garbage... or PEBCAK. Drawings look just as good as PCADD (but any good tool user will be able to maximize capabilities).
It's not perfect (no software is). The move / copy command is frustrating. Basic word processing formatting does not exist. I would be hard-pressed to call the interface intuitive, but it's an incredibly complex program.
I have reached the point where the cost and time investment are starting to produce workflow efficiencies. I'll have to raise my hourly rate.
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fred johnson
- Posts: 65
- Joined: Wed Sep 11, 2019 6:31 pm
Re: Life after/beyond PowerCadd?
I have never found the simple 2D hatching capabilities in VW to be very good, even after many years of use through various upgrades.
Re: Life after/beyond PowerCadd?
A bit tricky to end up with all pavers the same LENGTH at the center of this run’s length. Happy Vectorworks could do this, even if I had to use a workaround
.
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- 899DC648-DD73-43B1-BCD4-CF4A45916F4F.jpeg (288.12 KiB) Viewed 22147 times
Re: Life after/beyond PowerCadd?
More Vectorworks —
With regards to the above particular shaped walkway, here’s what happens if you try to do the entire length in one operation
In the middle section, where it changes from clockwise to counterclockwise, the pavers are not the same length as the others, and you get this unwanted line radiating out from the change of direction
.
.
But if you break it down into a three-step operation of making the left arc first, and then copying and rotating to make the right pavers, and then adding the border, then all the pavers will be the same length. and there are no unwanted lines
.
With regards to the above particular shaped walkway, here’s what happens if you try to do the entire length in one operation
In the middle section, where it changes from clockwise to counterclockwise, the pavers are not the same length as the others, and you get this unwanted line radiating out from the change of direction
.
- 9CA49E21-097C-4101-9E01-A5B3A1BFD792.jpeg (287.2 KiB) Viewed 22087 times
But if you break it down into a three-step operation of making the left arc first, and then copying and rotating to make the right pavers, and then adding the border, then all the pavers will be the same length. and there are no unwanted lines
.
- 77751DDB-647A-41B7-9E70-C294E53F47CD.gif (253.41 KiB) Viewed 22087 times
- 5133930F-B41C-4794-AD12-0BF584660745.gif (72.37 KiB) Viewed 22087 times
Re: Life after/beyond PowerCadd?
Custom hatches in VW are the worst, but I can make custom tiles all day long and get exactly what I want. ...right tool for the right job.fred johnson wrote: ↑Fri Aug 13, 2021 3:46 pmI have never found the simple 2D hatching capabilities in VW to be very good, even after many years of use through various upgrades.
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chip.clark
- Posts: 17
- Joined: Tue Oct 08, 2019 5:36 pm
- Location: Grand Rapids, MI
Re: Life after/beyond PowerCadd?
Since positing the question of "what else" for a CAD platform, we are now painfully stumbling through testing workflows in Rhinoceros and Archicad. Both offerings run natively on MacOS and Windows, which gives us options into the future regarding hardware. Graphisoft is preparing a personalized demo and some strategic phone calls with us to demonstrate their product based on sample work I have provided them. They are particularly interested in what is happening (or not happening) with PowerCADD and seem keen to develop some material specifically for courting Powercadd users. I will report back in the next 2 weeks to give an assessment.
The transition of our office assets into Rhino files, properly scaled and tuned, is tedious and exhausting, but necessary to commit to for truly testing out the workflow start-finish on a simple project. Not how we want to be spending time... non-billable hours never are. Not sure if anyone on here is considering or already using Rhino, but I would love to communicate more directly to share successes and headaches. I am Rhino user dating back to its earliest days, but never for production of architectural prints; this is a new adventure in an old familiar pair of shoes, replete with much frustration to get something even resembling our Powercadd output.
As we continue into the unknown, I decided to start the morning with a eulogizing haiku to PowerCADD and the muscle-memory it has imparted:
Efficient drafting
Your elegance sorely missed
Like a phantom limb
The transition of our office assets into Rhino files, properly scaled and tuned, is tedious and exhausting, but necessary to commit to for truly testing out the workflow start-finish on a simple project. Not how we want to be spending time... non-billable hours never are. Not sure if anyone on here is considering or already using Rhino, but I would love to communicate more directly to share successes and headaches. I am Rhino user dating back to its earliest days, but never for production of architectural prints; this is a new adventure in an old familiar pair of shoes, replete with much frustration to get something even resembling our Powercadd output.
As we continue into the unknown, I decided to start the morning with a eulogizing haiku to PowerCADD and the muscle-memory it has imparted:
Efficient drafting
Your elegance sorely missed
Like a phantom limb
Chip Clark
Re: Life after/beyond PowerCadd?
Why Rhino?
ArchiCAD has 3d. Or you could use SketchUp if Rhino is so painful.
ArchiCAD has 3d. Or you could use SketchUp if Rhino is so painful.
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SteveMouzon
- Posts: 33
- Joined: Sun Aug 11, 2019 6:39 pm
Re: Life after/beyond PowerCadd?
Are there any updates on the supposed collaboration discussed a couple years ago?
Re: Life after/beyond PowerCadd?
Which collaboration is that, Steve?