I may be reading too much into what I've seen in the "CAD University"
thread recently but it was starting to taste like, "CAD/CAM would be easy
if I just had the right software."
I encounter this mind-set over and over in many of the companies that I've
consulted with or done training for. My suspicions are that it stems from
managers being able to crank out a document within a half hour of
installing MS Word. Or even being able to modify a digital image within
an hour or so of installing a program like Adobe Photoshop. This is
unfortunate for a variety of obvious reasons.
Interestingly, I also tend to get contacted by these same people on a
fairly regular basis with problems that, although not trivial, just aren't
that difficult for an experienced modeler to solve.
The notion that your design/engineering staff is going to be more
productive if only someone would come out with the right 3d software is
like saying this same team could also create really good music if they
just had the right midi interface.
Good modeling tools are a necessity. There are plenty of good packages to
choose from and as with all purchasable items, you'll pretty much get what
you pay for. But keep in mind that the skills required to be useful with
whatever 3d tools you choose are difficult to obtain and it's not going to
happen quickly.
One last thing.
Orchestras don't hire people with music degrees and then hand
them a violin along with The Idiot's Guide to Fiddlin'. They
seek out people who can already play those things very well.
Thanks for your time and with that . . . . my soapbox and I are outta'
here.
Steven Craig Beck | beck@galt.iaf.uiowa.edu
73 EMRB Image Analysis Facility | http://www.uiowa.edu/~image
University of Iowa | 319.335.6713 (phone)
Iowa City, IA 52242 | 319.335.6710 (fax)
For more information about the rp-ml, see http://ltk.hut.fi/rp-ml/
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