Archway Recent News Page

Synchronous Technology
Reports from mechanical designers who are early users of Solid Edge ST show productivity gains of 10 to 1 or more when compared to conventional, history-based solid modeling. Archway is offering special pricing for users of competitive software. Call Rick Plummer, 714 374 0440, for a free demo or quote. Training available at Archway Nov 10-13

Upcoming Events:
Oct 2 GC Workshop— Online
Oct 14 Civil software update—
San Bernardino Hilton Hotel
Nov 3 GC Workshop— Online
Nov 13-15 Land Development West—
Los Angeles

Bentley's New Athens Release
The new Athens release is due out in October or November. This will be a concurrent release meaning that MicroStation and all the applications will be released at one time. Bentley did that once before, with release 8.1. It takes a lot of work and coordination on Bentley’s part, but the results are well worth it. Athens will offer many new features and benefits. A large part of the work is in 3D. For example, dynamic sections allow cutting a model, sliding the cutting plane dynamically and seeing the model cut complete with pattern fill and hatching, all dynamically. Also, dynamic views so the model and the drawing cut from the model are in synch dynamically. In simple terms, the drawing cut from the model and the model are updated concurrently rather than a static drawing cut from the model, and then updated later on request. Many more advances, but, you have to see them to believe them. See Athens at the San Bernardino update or call for an online demo.

Need Additional MicroStation Seats?
The Competitive Upgrade has been extended for a short time. Give us a call for prices. This is a great time to “stock up” if you are seeing a workload increase coming.

MicroStation Users Meetings
Please be sure to attend the next LA, Orange County or San Diego users meeting. Enjoy snacks, networking with colleagues and a technology update on the latest in MicroStation. Click on this link for dates, location, and agenda www.la-ocmug.com.
Oct 7 at NTD/Stichler Glendora
Oct 9 at Archway Huntington Beach

Did You Know?
The longest pedestrian bridge without intermediate supports was drawn using VersaCAD. The bridge between Weil-am-Rhein and Huningue in Germany was finished in 2007. It was designed using VersaCAD software.

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Evolving CAD & Education

The nature of computer aided design (CAD) has certainly evolved over the past several years, and along with it, the demands on educators. There was a time, not so very long ago, when CAD meant replacing the drafting board with a computer. Then, we got all excited about creating 3D models on the computer and cutting drawings from the model.

Now, CAD is evolving to so much more: civil engineers convert surveys to computer models of terrains where they semi-automate the design of roads, parking lots, highways, bridges and more. Structural engineers take a 3D model of a structure, calculate loads and moments and come up with optimal designs of the structure. Water Resource engineers take the 2D or 3D model of a distribution network and calculate all sorts of things such as design of changes necessary to support a new tract, tracing impurities, or analyzing fire flow.

And, the things being designed have improved considerably with the ongoing improvements in CAD. Look at the amazing buildings designed by Morphosis , NBBJ, KPF, ARUP and others using Generative Components. Morphosis won the Pritzker award for design plus LEED Silver award for San Francisco Federal Building.

How can our education system keep up with all these changes, to the benefit of employers, students and the school itself? The software vendors are doing what they can to help. Archway offers free VersaCAD through Sagamore Publishers including free course material plus some free applications such as automated design of concrete parking structures. Siemans offers free download of Solid Edge Draft. Bentley offers free download of MicroStation PowerDraft which includes course material. Archway offers free orientation videos, www.mycadvideos.com Using this free software, some middle schools are picking up 2D, 2.5D and even some 3D CAD in 7th or 8th grade which is great. Move the technology education down.

The CAD Academy offers a variety of software for high schools. Their newest offering is PowerCivil for budding civil engineers. Their training manual includes a discussion of what civil engineering is about plus the math that civils need as a background before launching into the operation of PowerCivil to convert surveys into digital terrain models and design of sites including buildings, parking lots, ponds, roads and more. Students learn math faster because there is a clear and immediate reason. Who benefits from all this CAD education? Schools position themselves as leaders and are able to attract the brightest students, students get higher paying jobs on graduation, and employers save by not having to train new recruits.

Bentley’s BE Careers is now offering what they call “Blended Learning”. It includes a package of software, course material and video lectures. It is intended to help solve the problem that many instructors run into, that is, they just don’t have time to learn the number of software packages that are available for their discipline, let alone the time to keep up with the relatively frequent updates to the software. The Blended Learning videos provide the instructor with video lectures that the students can watch which helps them learn the software. The instructor then serves as a facilitator.

There are lots of innovative ways for a school to offer the top software. A good example would be Cal Poly Pomona’s school of architecture. They now require each student to purchase a computer and have completely eliminated all their computer labs. Cal Poly purchased a 10 seat lab license (list price $2000 per year) which includes 1000 student licenses. The cost per student can be less than $5 per year for the leading software for parametric building design, automated building design, finite element, and more. Quite the opposite approach, Cal State Long Beach purchased a few lab licenses and then uses Terminal Server to make the software available to all their students in all branches of civil engineering, plus construction management. CSULB’s idea is that the student only needs a small laptop with a browser. Then, all the software is available from a central computer, saving the student from having to purchase dozens of software packages.

Far thinking employers are stepping up to the plate by “adopting a school”, donating money so their primary feeder school can teach what they use. To the benefit of all.

Training Class Schedule
Archway offers a variety of training classes using the latest of each software. All classes use certified materials and are held from 8:30AM to 5PM. Locations: Huntington Beach training center (HB) and S.F. Bay area (BA). Plus, some open enrollment classes are now taught at the training centers at LADWP and at the Port of Long Beach. Classes can be delivered on-site and online.
Call or email Archway for the latest class schedule.
For the latest Bentley courses, see also: http://www.bentley.com/en-us/training/
Upcoming open enrollment classes:
• MicroStation Essentials XM-All the basics of MicroStation V8 XM Edition. This 4-day class is basic for new users. Cost is $1440. HB: 9/30 to 10/3;11/4 to 11/7. BA: 10/14 to 10/17; 11/17 to 11/20, 12/8 to 12/11 at LADWP: 9/29 to 10/2; 10/20 to 10/23; 10/27 to 10/30
• InRoads Survey XM-This is a Bentley certified, 2-day class using Bentley’s InRoads 8.9 training manual. Cost is $900, which includes course book and instruction. HB: 12/4 to 12/5
• InRoads Site Basics-This is a Bentley certified, 3-day class using Bentley’s InRoads 8.9 training manual. Cost is $1360, which includes course book and instruction. HB: 10/7 to 10/9
• InRoads Fundamentals XM-This is a Bentley certified, 3-day class using Bentley’s InRoads 8.9 training manual. Cost is $1350, which includes course book and instruction. HB: 12/29 to 12/31
• STAAD.Pro Standard-Introduction to FEM. Cost is $1500. HB: TBDSTADD.Pro Standard-Introduction to FEM. Cost is $1500. HB: TBD
• Bentley Architecture-Introduction to 3D building modeling with Bentley Architecture Cost $1000 HB: 10/21 to 10/22; 12/16 to 12/17
• Everything 3D-Learn how to design in 3D using MicroStation’s surface and solid modeling capability. Cost is $1350. HB: 10/14 to 10/16
• Bentley MAP-Covers the fundamentals of setting up a map database, mapping tools and more. Cost and time TBD.
• Rhino Level I-Learn to make 3D NURBs models. Cost is $695 (Discounts available for educators). HB: TBD
• Dealing with Caltrans-Learn Caltrans standards. Includes Iplot, workplaces and more. 2-day class. Cost is $1500. HB: TBD BA: TBD
• Generative Components- Learn elements of parametric design with GC. HB: Cost $1550 11/11 to 11/13
• Water Modeling Hec-RAS-Fundamentals of water modeling using Hec-RAS. Cost is $2500. HB: 11/17-11/21
• Solid Edge ST-Fundamentals. Cost is $1600 11/10-13

Generative Components
Still the hottest product in the world of architecture. See www.bentley.com/gc . Generative Components workshops have now been given to over two dozen of the leading architectural schools in the U.S., Canada and around the world. In addition, there will be a three day workshop leading in to ACADIA, The workshop is scheduled for Oct 13-15 and will be lead by Rob Woodbury, Professor and early contributor to GC. If you would like to attend, send an email to laura.meier@bentley.com
If you can’t make it to the three day workshop, you may want to signup for one of Archway’s half day, online GC workshops. Cost is only $300 (educators free). You receive a CD with all necessary software, a tutorial pamphlet, and four hours of online instruction. You will have worked two fairly comprehensive exercises when the workshop is done and you will be positioned to continue learning on your own as you gain experience using GC. Next two online classes:, October 2 and Nov 3.

Autodesk/Bentley Agreement
No doubt by now you have read the press release or at least heard about the agreement between Bentley and Autodesk to exchange file formats and API’s (application programmer interface). Industry pundits are pretty much in agreement that this is a tremendous breakthrough for interoperability between MicroStation and AutoCAD and between applications written to run on top of either package. A little known fact is that Bentley is the largest, third party developer for AutoCAD. For example all of Bentley’s Haestad products, STAAD.Pro, RAM, and InRoads can run on a base of AutoCAD as well as on MicroStation. Surprisingly, Bentley’s tremendously popular plant design software: AutoPLANT runs only on AutoCAD. Up to now, programming staffs of both companies spent lots of resources trying to figure out the database of the other in order to make translators and allow applications to run. That work will be greatly reduced freeing up programmers for more innovative work which means there are two benefits: greater interoperability and more feature production. Of course, so far, it is just a signed piece of paper. It will probably take a year or so before we see a lot of the benefits.

PowerCivil and TCA
The CAD Academy, out of Surprise AZ, is a supplier of academic software, primarily to K12. They recently have taken on Bentley’s PowerCivil as their product for introducing civil engineering. Archway just completed writing a text book for them including chapters on categories of civil engineering, math used by civil engineers and how to use PowerCivil.

Archway's Product Line
Archway is a full service provider of technical software serving the Academic, Architectural, Civil and Mechanical Engineering markets.

DESIGN & ENGINEERING SOFTWARE:
• MicroStation, ProjectWise and applications
• VersaCAD Win & Mac
• Bentley Architecture & Generative Components
• InRoads, PowerCivil & Geopak Civil Software
• Haestad Hydraulic Analysis Software
• Solid Edge and applications
• TransMagic-translation software

3D GRAPHICS & ANIMATION SOFTWARE:
• Rhino 3D, Flamingo, Penguin & Bongo
• Softimage
• Bentley ProjectWise Navigator
• ArchVision libraries

COMPUTER PERIPHERALS:
• Z Corp 3D Printers
• SERVICES:
• Training
• Phone support
• On-site support
• 3D Printing
• Customizing
• Consulting
• Contract software development
• CAD file translation

Archway Training Center
Checkout the training classes here. Classes for every need for MicroStation, Haestad, InRoads, STAAD.Pro, RAM, Rhino, Solid Edge and VersaCAD. Increase your design productivity.

MyCADvideos.com
Checkout this site for free introductory videos and one hour webinars on the latest in CAD, FEM, and more.

Project Data Control
Industry studies show that engineers, designer, architects and others spend over 30% of their time looking for things or correcting wrong revision-level submissions. In the last few years, implementation of network-wide software to solve the problem has flourished. Archway handles Bentley’s ProjectWise for AEC projects and Siemen’s TeamCenter for manufacturing projects. Contact us for more information.

ARCHWAY NEWSLETTER - October 2008

In This Issue . . .

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Evolving CAD & Education