MasterGraphics Weblog
Archive for January, 2008
TIFF Image Problems in Civil 3D 2008 SP2
Friday, January 25th, 2008
If you use Civil 3D 2008, hopefully you have installed Service Pack 2. However, if you frequently work with TIFF images you may have noticed the “scrambled” look that occurs periodically. There are several quick fixes to this problem, but each has its downside.
- Reload the image. To do this go to the Insert menu and select Image Manager. right-click on the name of the raster image and select Reload. The downside to this method is that a large TIFF image can take several minutes to reload.
- Convert the images to a different format. JPG’s tend to not have this problem, however they don’t contain spatial information as TIFFs can.
- Use brute force in the form of this document. This document walks you through replacing the new DLL with the old DLL.
Please let us know if you try this. I’d love to hear how it works for you!
Getting Started
Thursday, January 17th, 2008
By Dan Banach - Jan 17, 2008
To get started my background in CAD started as a mechanical designer with AutoCAD R9. Since then I’ve been training and consulting for the past 15 years at MasterGraphics where I’m currently the Director of Professional Learning.
During the last 15 years I also wrote / co-wrote 12 books; 3 on Mechanical Desktop and 9 on Inventor. I’ve been involved with Autodesk’s Inventor Certification program and helped to create video tutorials for 4D Technologies on Inventor. I’ve also been a speaker at Autodesk University for the past 11 years. The CAD industry is going through a huge period of change. With the new operating systems removing the RAM limitations and the software programs maturing many barriers are being removed to why CAD hasn’t reached its potential. Some of the topics I’m thinking about writing about are:
- Preview technologies on Autodesk Labs
- DWF - What is it and how could it be used
- Digital Prototyping - What does it really mean
- 2D to 3D - Can I / should I make the change
- How to deal with multiple CAD platforms
Let me know if there are other topics that you would like to discuss.
Dan Banach
Director Professional Learning
MasterGraphics Inc.
January 2008 - Happy New Year
Wednesday, January 9th, 2008
This is my first blog entry for the year (ever), so I thought I would start out introducing myself. My name is Darren Hartenstine and I have been with MasterGraphics for a little more than three years. Before MG, I was an industry professional for more than 16 years specializing in Manufacturing. During that time, I’ve worn many hats….I’ve been a CAD/UNIX Administrator, Mechanical Designer, IT and Engineering Consultant and even spent some time working as a webmaster for a large website. So, I’ve been around the block. I’ve had the pleasure of working with many renowned manufacturers, like Ford, Maytag, Newport News Shipbuilding, St. Jude Medical, Medtronic, Starkey Laboratories, Pampered Chef, Tyco Valves and Controls and Turck; just to name a few.
My role at MasterGraphics is specializing in Data Management. My primary focus is on Autodesk Vault and Productstream and its integration with the Manufacturing products we sell, like Inventor, AutoCAD, AutoCAD Electrical, etc.
December and January are a fun time of year. This is when Autodesk releases its Beta versions of software and we get to play with all the new features. Unfortunately, I can’t discuss what’s coming in the 2009 software releases; I’d probably lose my job. I can tell you that there are some great enhancements and new features that will improve productivity and reduce that time-to-market thing.
We’ve just finished a major project writing a Data Management test drive for anyone that wants to play with the software. It’s a hand’s on process that mimics what typical users go through in designing products and the challenges they face managing their data. It’s broken into two parts; one section for Inventor Users and another for AutoCAD Electrical Users. Each of these products interfaces with Autodesk Vault and Productstream and the many features that will help improve productivity.
Mass Haul and Civil 3D 2008
Friday, January 4th, 2008
If you have Civil 3D 2008 and a spreadsheet program, you are closer than you think to a fantastic-looking mass-haul diagram.
This document takes you from Generating the Volume report to producing the diagram in Excel.
Enjoy!