VW Machine ?

[jmanganelli]

Hello,

I am trying out VW right now. My background is architecture but I work with mechatronic systems. So I am interested in VW in part b/c it looks like VW Designer provides one platform supporting both an architectural BIM package and a mechanical/mech. systems modeler.

There are lots of videos, reviews, etc about VW Architect & Designer. But I have found very little on VW Machine - really practically nothing. No current reviews, no current training videos.

My only experience with a MCAD/CAE tool is Autodesk Inventor. Does anyone have experience with both Inventor (or similar) and VW Machine? How does VW Machine compare?

Thanks.

[AndiACD]

Hi J,

unfortunately NNA don't seem to offer any parralell "Sales Pitch" for MD that compares to that offered for the Achies and don't apear that interested, suggesting that all we need is there in the Archy bit.

Not that helpful for those needing more specific leadership throught the MD Maze.

Requests have offten been made to elighten more completely, both the converted and as yet unconverted, but unfortunately seems, still to fall on deaf ears.

You will however get any "Q's" answered here by the faithful, just ask.

Andi

Edited June 25, 2010 by AndiACD

[GWS]

VW Machine is not really comparable to Inventor or Solidworks or Alibre Design.

It offers no 3D contraints nor 3D dimensions and so the ability to proof a mechanism on screen is not something that VW Machine Design can do.

In fact all it does really offer for the engineer is a series of 'plug in objects' such as bearings, screws, springs, and a whole host of other hardware/fasteners in both 2D and 3D. These are very useful BUT I'm not sure that they are enough to put the 'Machine' in 'Machine Design'

Alot of these are OK but there are basic elements missing, for example 'Flanged bearings'. I am based in the U.K. and PIO's like the washers are never the right size so I end up drawing my own.

I don't have the Architect Module but I have a feeling that alot of what is in Machine Design is in fact in the Architects part.....I may be mistaken though.

The 3D modelling part of VW is very good, you can model some really organic stuff and it is improving all the time.

Overall I would say that VW offers many different things and does alot of them very well, but the Machine Design bit always feels a little left behind.

[AndiACD]

Hit the nail on the head.

The "Almost, But not quite", attitude, isn't enough to get the cigar. I still Love VW for the always, just around the corner potential, but it'll take more to convnice the Big Boys.

[jmanganelli]

Thanks for the responses. That is unfortunate. Not having constraints is a big issue for me.

[DMcD]

I've been doing machine design in VW for 16 years or more. Since MiniCAD 4 or thereabouts.

I've flirted with other options such as ACAD, Rhino etc, but always returned to VW.

The main reasons are:

Speed. The VW environment is a lot faster to work in that others. I've found that you can design nice shapes in Rhino but it's really hard to redesign or reshape them compared with VW.

Output. What's the end purpose of your drawings? Mine is normally to output parts for CNC machines. These are either 5 axis turning or milling centres. In most cases we're not really working in 3D or machining 5 axes continuously. For that reason, having full 3D facilities in VW isn't a drawback.

Being able to simulate mechanisms isn't too much of a drama for us either, especially after watching an ACAD inventor simulation of an aircraft undercarriage at a trade show where the mechanism penetrated the fuselage side! Great video, useless as a working tool.

Yes, it is worrying that NNA steams off into the sunset without a map that we can read, but this is no worse than most other software developers. We're as flies to gods.

D

[AndiACD]

DMcD, sorry to disagree, but the Flies to gods analogy is doesn't hold.

NNA has specialists that write code and you, i am sure, draw objects that have solutions others might not have thought of. We all offer something individually.

As paying Members of the Club we should be offered a little more insight into the VW direction. That way maybe we could join them on the journey into the sunset . . . . .