CONCURRENT ENGINEERING FOR THE 90 ' S CE Solution DWG files and CADKEY High Pe MONI DRAF Prod uctivity CADKEY at Work HOT CARS Scaled Down "ADURA "ARK M DURA STUDIOS Permit No . 4 332 NEWBURY ST . Spokane. WA 2ND fLOOR BOSTON MA 02115 Easy Does It. Introducing the Kurta XLP": .. Another Kurta Original Draw on the best name for quality and reliability with Kurta's new XLP graphics ta!ile for IBM® pes and c les. Th y-t res S . ketch® compati virtually all softwar; sophis d CAD. The price is compatible too . .. just $395 for the entire package, including: • 12 "x12 " high-accuracy tablet • 2-switch pen and program­ mable 4-button cursor • An integrated mouse/AD!'" driver with auto-toggle between mouse and ADI modes and a WindoWS® driver in absolute mode • Test, Set-mode and Reset utilities • Since the XLP draws its power from the serial port, no power supply is needed • Unlimited free technical support • Lifetime W-lrranty! Get a total performance package, with the award-winning qualities you've come to expect in reliable Kurta products ... from the value-leading XLP to the high-end, feature-rich IS /ONE® and large format XLC ~ It's the easy way to better graphics for greater productivity: ® s. 1-800-44-KURfA WURTR® 3007 East Chambers Phoenix, Arizona 85040 (602) 2765533 Kurtl, cok.x swdSh;ux1 XLP are registered u-dderrr.u'ks of Kurta Corp Wtr\duY.Is 1<; .. regisIenrl tr.tdematk of Mia'nsofi Corp ADI is .. regisIt:n=d tradem:uk of Autodesk Inc. 1(1\1 is a registered tr.Kbnark of InlCmOltional Business Machines. Surnrnagrdpllics S~ is a rcgi<;tered tr<ldemark ofSurnmagrdphics Cop CIRCLE CARD NO. 238 Introducing a new evolution in product design, Digitize single points or polylines. Measure very large reverse engineering, and coordinate measuring objects with our unique IIleap frogll technique. machines... The Metrecom is portable, durable, and gives you The Metrecom by FARO Technologies Inc. convenient, affordable precision in an instant! today and discover this amazing device for The Metrecom's articulated arm measures points and orientations of objects in complete 3D for direct serial port input to AutoCAD, CAD KEY and other leading software packages. Custom interfaces are available. Simply connect the Metrecom to your system like another mouse! APRIL I MAY 1993 Vol. 2, No. 2 Surfaci ng Advances Scale Model Des ign by Jack Bilderback 14 CONCURRENT Hobby Kits with CADK EY and FastSURF ENGINEERING SOLUTIONS OMS Doss ier by Martin van der Roest 24 Analysis of Document Management System Issues CAD KEY an d AutoCAD in Mixed CAD En vi ro nmen ts by Frank Simpson 33 Bi-directional DWG and DXF file translation in CADKEY 6 MACROS / CADL/CDES by Craig Storms and 44 An Introduction to CADKEY's customization tools Usman Rashid Concurrent Engineering Workshop - Part Two by Craig Storms 52 Stress Analys is wi th CADKEY ANALYSIS and Ken Fortier ISSUES Rev iewing the Reviewers by Dana Seera 18 S.O.S. - Save Our Schools by Robert Martin 57 PRODUCT Monitors for CAD by Claudia Martin 26 F 0 C U S High Performance - More than High Re solution Monitors for CAD - Features 30 Product ivity Tools by Robert Martin 38 Software Tools for Enhancing CAD KEY drafting and design ReVIEWPORT A brief look at hardware and software productivity tools COLUMNS KeyTalk 5 AND KeyNotes 6 Cad key Forum 8 DEPART MENTS New Products 10 CADKEY Co rn er 50 CADL Toolbox 54 Advertiser Index 56 Solution Mart 58 Use r Group News I KeyMail 60 SOME OF OUR CONTRIBUTORS Knf.1·) 'I) it·) ~ ~1 Concurrent Engineering for the 90's EDITORIAL Jack Bilderback, Business Manager with Value 509/928-5169 Managing Editor Engineering Associates, has been a materials profes­ Claudia Martin sional for 17 years in high-tech and AerospacelDefense contract environments. His positions have included Technical Editor Production and Inventory Control Manager at Output Dr. Robert Martin Technology Corp. and Director of Materials at Key Tronic Corp. He is a member and certified practitio­ Cadk.ey / KEYSoLUTIONS Relations Frank Simpson, Manager ner ofProduction and Inventory Management with the American Production and Inventory Control Society. CONTRIBUTING EDITORS Jack Bilderback, Charles Kyle, Ron Shea, Frank Simpson, Craig Storms, AI Torizzo Chavdar Popov has been involved in the develop­ ment of CAD KEY applications software since 1986. He DESIGN Art Director currently works for Merit Computer Solutions Ltd., the Melissa Clark CADKEY distributor in the UK. He is the author of the CAMLight CAM system, written in CADL, used in PRODUCTION several colleges and schools in the UK. He has also 509/928-5169 been a researcher at the Bulgarian Academy ofScience, Production Manager Institute of Cybernetics and Robotics, where he worked Gayle Simpson on the integration of CAD and numerical control systems. ADMINISTRATION 509/928-5169 Business Manager/CEO Steve Radford Martin van der Roest is president and founder of ADVERTISING SALES WESTERN REGION - Jamie Bohn The van der Roest Group, Inc., a software publisher/ Ph: 818/543-0206 developer and consulting firm. He formed the Corpo­ Fx: 818/240-3234 rate Partners in Development program which investi­ gates solutions for the management, access and con­ MIDWEST REGION - Ed Krukowski trol of documents and drawings in distributed envi­ Ph: 708/806-1600 ronments. He has authored a book on this subject to Fx: 708/806-1604 be released by Prentice Hall later this year. EASTERN REGION - Susan Barbash Ph: 914/941-0195 Fx: 914/941-8659 SOLUTION MART / CUSTOMER SERVICE Usman Rashid is currently Manager of Applications Development at Jo Schmidt Ph: 5091928-5169 Cadkey, Inc. He is also the technical liaison for CADKEY 3rd Party Fx: 509/928-4937 Developers, and supervises the CAD KEY Software Developer's Kit (SDK) EDITORIALPOUCY: KrtSownONS is an independent for developing add-on applications using the CDE technology. He joined publication without obligation to any software or Cadkey in 1988 as a trainer for CADL and wrote the first CADKEY Tutor, hardware dealer, vendor or distributor, except 88 indicated. Articles noted 88 news or features are an interactive on-line tutorial that guides the user through 2D and 3D written without knowledgeable bi88. Articles noted 88 editorial represent the opinion of the author. design and layout exercises. Technical articles repreeent the opinion of the author and are selected by virtue of their educational value. SUBSCRIPl'ION CORRESPONDENCE: (orders, change of address, etc.) should be directed to KEY SownONS, P.O. Box 11978,Spokane, WA99211-1978. Allow sis: weeks for processing. EDITORIAL CORRESPONDENCE should be di­ rected to Managing Editor, KrtSownONS, P.O. Box 11978, Spokane, WA 99211-1978. KrtSownONS en­ courages readers to submitarticles,letters, questions and technical tips. KEYSoLtmONS, Copyright 01993, (ISSN 1064-2146)is published bi-monthly by Value Engineering Associ­ ates. Microsoft; and Windows are registered trade­ marks of Microsoft; Corporation. IBM is the regis­ tered trademark of the International Business Ma­ chinesCorporation. CADKEY is the registered trade­ mark of Cadkey, Inc. AutoCAD is the registered trademark of Autodesk, Inc. 4 • KEY Solutions. April/May 1993 ACCORD Technology, Incorporated P.O... 651 L.., IIA 01238 fAX 41l-24J.2101 KEY TALK -Performance Produds for Professionals- 1-800-622-3373 S o many things are happening that this is a "mixed bag" - a little of this PLOTTERS and a little of that. First topic - KEVSOLUTIONS. This is the fourth issue and ROLAND DIY 1100/12OO/1lOO •••• • ••••••. 5799/995/1350 response has been superb. We appreciate your letters and calls. You're CAMM 1 'II..,t c-~ _ PrIat" •••••.•• . CAll telling us you're satisfied with the publication, but as our own severest critics, PIle 1100 24" ~ e-~ ............ CAll SKETCHfllAT£ I.SIa _/e- . .......... CAll we continually analyze and critique ou r output and strive for perfection. Our STIKA _/e- ............ .... CAll attitude towards our product probably reflects our engineering, quality, and ENCAD SPlSOO AID I,. Sopor QuIet • • • • • • • • • • • • • $2499 manufacturing backgrounds. We want KEVSOLUTIONS to address customer SP2SOO AlE 8 ,. •••.•.•••• • . • • • .. • $3079 needs and surpass the highest standards for professional publications. Housto. Instruments lIMP 160 s.n. NEW .. fAST ••••• . •.••••• CAll Hewlett Pilcbrcl DESIGNJ£T •••••••ull To this end, we have added some new columns. One is called KeyMail and ulcoAip DallinMiite A-D, IPe. .. $1992 lollDe •••••••••• • •••.••.ull features reader letters. If you have any issues, ideas or questions you think Mural 1000 AID. I Pe. ••.•.•• $2195 other readers would be interested in , or if you want to help us critique and Padftc Dab ProTrllCer M Inkjet 5Mb $1647 analyze our work, be sure to write. We will print as many letters as possible DlGrnZERS and respond to all. The other is a column on document and drawing CALCOMP 33120 12112 , 4 or 16 l1li, Cor..... ....•.... S299 management issues. This area is often taken for granted and/or allowed to 33360 2m6, 16 a.a... '-PIN . .. ........ S1523 33480 36U8, 16 _ , C-...... .... ... ... S1610 develop haphazardly, but deserves concentrated attention in a true concur­ 33600 4U6O, 16 IIuttoo, '-PIN . $1929 rent engineering environment. SUMMAGRAPHICS s.-sutdI " 12112, 4 Ib/SIr . S299 __ " 12112, 16II1II • .• .•. • .•..• • • $310 Second topic. We are delving into CADKEY®6 seriously and are especially 50-'-111211&, 4 ao.;s., .. 16. •••••. 5595 KURlA impressed with its ability to read competitive drawings directly in their native XU' IUIZ, 41b\1StJ. SPECJAl PIIIC£II • • ••• • •5245 format. It's a mystery to me why this simple concept took so long. Spread­ XU' lUll, 4 1b\IStJ, SPECJAl PIIICEII ... ....$483 IS/ONE 12112, 4 BIn/S", .. 12 II1II . • . • . • • . • . • $34S sheets have done it for a long time, but Cadkey's first in the CAD world! We IS/ONE 12111, 4 BIIo/SIJ" 12II1II •••.