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The New Year is well underway, but it's never too late for a new introduction I think will interest you. I am pleased to share with you a special project of mine. Nemetschek North America has just published Images of CAD. This book is first and foremost a tribute to the artistry our software users demonstrate every day in the work they do. Yet it is also a tribute to the amazing capabilities a software application such as VectorWorks can offer users like you to make your visions reality. And we are excited to share this body of work with you, who, as fellow VectorWorks users, will appreciate its contents.
Users like you provided the content, representing some of their greatest accomplishments. They have poured their passion into these projects, and we're honored that they've consented to share these works with the international audience who will be receiving this book.
Our distributors have also played a key role in the process, and for that we are also very thankful. They identified appropriate contributors and suitable works to include in this book. They helped us gather all the information we needed from each contributor. They facilitated the translation of text into foreign languages and helped us finalize each submission.
We sincerely appreciate the contributions of everyone involved, as, again, many long hours and much effort has been poured into this book.
We hope you enjoy the book and share it with your colleagues, family and friends as a testament to the outstanding work VectorWorks users like you do.
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Sincerely,
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Richard Diehl
CEO, Nemetschek North America
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Skilled Systems, Inc.
Columbia, MD
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VectorWorks helps aerospace engineering firm design a spacecraft for NASA to study stars |
When NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center commissioned Maryland-based aerospace engineering firm Skilled Systems, Inc. to design a system to study stars, engineer Josh Skillman enlisted the help of VectorWorks.
The task was to develop a low-cost attitude control system for small spacecraft--or stellar observer, for those whose heads aren't in the stars. In order to test and demonstrate the system without being in space, Skilled Systems developed a simulator. This simulates the space environment: orbital information, spacecraft orientation, stellar locations, and much more. It enables all the system's sensors to be active, from the GPS antennas to the stellar camera that takes images of the stars.
The difficulty was to convey all the complex numbers that completely describe the system's operational state to everyone involved in the project. But VectorWorks came to the rescue.
Quick to pick up
The first challenge was to learn VectorWorks. Skillman had never used the program before. But he understood the benefits of presenting visualizations and physical 3D models of this spacecraft to his clients.
"I'd never used VectorWorks or any other CAD software before," Skillman says. "But it was very easy to learn and use. I took the Introduction to VectorWorks and RenderWorks training seminars, which enabled me to learn the program even more quickly."
Not so lost in space
With a complete 3D model of the spacecraft in VectorWorks, Skillman needed some way to animate the model based on the current state of the system. So the second challenge was to somehow translate the quaternions--or mathematical data--that represent the spacecraft's movement in space into something that would allow his clients to visualize the spacecraft's movement.
After a call to the VectorWorks technical support team asking if such a thing could be done, Skillman was off and running using VectorScript to connect the model to the simulator-thus allowing any change in the roll, pitch, or yaw to be visualized by the movement of the 3D model of the spacecraft.
Mission possible
The third challenge was to create a physical 3D model. By exporting the model in STL or IGES format and sending it to a 3D printing facility, Skillman was able to easily and quickly get a quarter-scale model of the spacecraft. Skillman uses the model at tradeshows, for presentations and for general discussions with engineers about the spacecraft, its features, subsystems and functionality.
A universe of options
According to Skillman, there are many aspects involved in spacecraft development and space exploration-from concept, design and launch to deployment and operation of spacecraft in space. And VectorWorks has opened up a whole new universe of options to help him do his job more effectively.
Read more about how Skillman used VectorWorks to create a stellar observer for the Goddard Space Flight Center in "Mission Possible: VectorWorks helps Design Stellar Observer for NASA" on the Case Studies page of Nemetschek North America's Web site.
For more information about Skilled Systems, visit their Web site (www.skilledsystems.com), send an E-mail to info@skilledsystems.com or call 410-290-5662.
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Why does my viewport have a red and white stripe around it? |
A red and white striped border around a viewport indicates that the viewport needs updating.
Changes that affect the appearance of a wireframe viewport are automatically updated. However, changes that affect the appearance of a rendered viewport require the viewport to be rendered again. For example, layers and classes may have changed, or additional objects might have been added to the design layer. See Image 1-1
To update a selected viewport, click Update in the Object Info palette, or select View > Update Selected Viewports. You can also update all viewports in the file at once by selecting View > Update All Viewports. See Image 1-2, Image 1-3 |
How can I print my drawing in only black and white? |
If your printer doesn’t allow for a black and white only option, you can still print black and white only drawings. You can temporarily change the document settings in VectorWorks to black and white without affecting the actual drawing colors.
To change the VectorWorks settings to black and white, select File > Preferences > Document Preferences. On the Display tab, select Black and White Only. See Image 2-1
Click OK, and then print the drawing in black and white. Follow these same steps to turn this setting off and return the drawing to full color.
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Troubleshooting Dongle Tip from Tech Support |
If you are using a dongle with VectorWorks running on Windows XP, you may notice that the dongle no longer works after updating to Service Pack 2, or other service updates provided by Microsoft®. Aladdin has released a new dongle driver; however, it is command line based. Updating to the latest dongle driver (version 4.96) with the command line installer will alleviate the problem.
- Go to the following Web site to download the latest driver: http://aladdin.com/support/hasp/hasp4/enduser.asp
- Unplug the dongle from your computer and extract the downloaded driver.
- Move the two following files to your Desktop: hinstall.exe and haspds_windows.dll
- From the Start menu, select Run.
- Click the Browse button and locate the hinstall.exe file. Select this file.
- Move the cursor to the end of the file path, add a space, and then type –i . Click OK to start the installer and install the driver.
- Plug the dongle back in and restart the computer.
- VectorWorks should now work without any dongle problems
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Nemetschek North America Unveils Images of CAD
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Nemetschek North America announced that it has published Images of CAD, the first coffee-table book to celebrate computer-aided design as an art form. The 200-page full-color book features 2D drawings, wireframes, renderings, and photographs of finished projects depicting the works of VectorWorks users from 23 countries worldwide. Project descriptions have been translated into the native language of the submitter, representing six different languages.
A 3D model of Castle Neuschwanstein, or "The Fairy Tale Castle," near Fussen, Germany, created by Marcus Schmidt, a concert stage design for UK pop star Kylie Minogue, designed by Vince Foster, and 2D plans of the YMCA headquarters, in New York City, generated by Elliot Newcomb, are among the more prominent projects featured.
Richard Diehl, chief executive officer of Nemetschek North America, conceived the idea for the 200-page full color book to acknowledge CAD as an emerging form of art.
"Some of the greatest architects and designers we have known used pencil and parchment, and their drawings are showcased in museums as works of art," said Diehl. "Models of Bernini's great sculptures and sketches of his columns that enclose the piazza before St. Peter's Basilica at the Vatican in Rome are museum fixtures, as are sketches and plans of Frank Lloyd Wright's designs. Now we're seeing computer-generated designs grace the walls of some contemporary art museums. While we can't predict the future, we can surely assume that the CAD drawings, plans and models of today's leading architects and designers will be tomorrow's art. And this book celebrates this art form."
If you'd like to purchase a copy, visit Nemetschek North America's (https://secure.nemetschek.net/vw11/index.php) e-store.
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New Tech Support Database Offers Wealth of Technical Information |
A brand new Knowledge Base of commonly asked tech support questions and valuable step-by-step tutorials is now available to all VectorWorks users around the clock at no cost. When the tech support team isn't available to answer questions after hours, you can visit the Knowledge Base page on the Nemetschek North America Web site for help.
Users can submit their own tech tips. If your tech tip gets published, you'll get a free VectorWorks latte mug. This database will be updated regularly, so check back frequently for more information.
If you would like to submit a tech tip to the Knowledge Base, please E-mail marketing@nemetschek.net.
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DATES
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EVENT
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LOCATION
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Feb 15-17 |
LCA Winter Workshop |
Ellicott City, MD |
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Feb 28 |
VectorWorks Architect Presentation |
Santa Monica, CA (Apple Store) |
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March 10-12 |
Computer Using Educators |
Palm Springs, CA (Booth #115) |
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March 16-18 |
NCCE |
Seattle, WA (Booth #122) |
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March 17-19 |
USITT Stage Expo 2005 |
Toronto, ON (Booth #385) |
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March 18-19 |
JLC Live New England |
Providence, RI (Booth #237) |
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TRAINING DATES
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LOCATION
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CLASS
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February 8-11 |
Columbia, MD |
• Intro to VectorWorks
• VectorWorks Fundamentals
• RenderWorks Fundamentals |
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February 15-18 |
New York, NY |
• Intro to VectorWorks
• VectorWorks Fundamentals
• RenderWorks Fundamentals |
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February 15-18 |
Vancouver, BC |
• Intro to VectorWorks
• Architect Fundamentals
• RenderWorks Fundamentals |
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March 8-11 |
New York, NY |
• Intro to VectorWorks
• Architect Fundamentals
• RenderWorks Fundamentals |
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March 14-17 |
Columbia, MD |
• Intro to VectorWorks
• Architect Fundamentals
• RenderWorks Fundamentals |
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March 22-25 |
MIami, FL |
• Intro to VectorWorks
• VectorWorks Fundamentals
• RenderWorks Fundamentals |
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AIA Accreditation
NNA is pleased to offer AIA Continuing Education credit for our
seminars. The VectorWorks ARCHITECT course is AIA CES certified, so attendees can earn up to 32 CES learning units. For additional information, contact marketing@nemetschek.net.
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