Ochsner Cancer Center Treatment Room

Here are some SketchUp and Kerkythea images for this project.

MS Live writer test

Seems to be OK

Picture

Smoothing 3D models in AutoCAD

AutoCAD is a great 3D modeler but out of the box they standard display setting may not give the end result that you want. Here I have created a simple solid model. It is basic enough but it does have some curves on it.

Now while in wire-frame it looks like we have nice smooth lines. But if we run a "Hide" command we will get a different view of the model.

There are 2 system variables that we can edit to smooth out the hidden display of our model.
The 1st one is FACETRES. From the AutoCAD Help section we learn that FACETRES, "Adjusts the smoothness of shaded objects and objects with hidden lines removed. Valid values are from 0.01 to 10.0.". The initial value is ".5" so type FACETRES and set the value to say "2". Do a hide again and we get a slightly different image.
The 2nd system variable we will edit is DISPSILH. From the Help menu we learn that this "Controls display of silhouette edges of 3D solid objects in a 2D wireframe or 3D wireframe visual style". The default value is "0". Type this command and then change the value to "1". Type HIDE again and we get this.
As you can see we have improved the model in "hidden" mode by changing these 2 system variables.
Good luck :)

Freeware PDF printer

OK, I am always seeing CAD users ask about "saving to PDF files" on several different CAD forums. First off you print to a PDF file, you don't save to one. You will also need to have a PDF printer/writer installed to do this. Now if funds are not a problem just go and buy Adobe Arcobat Pro. It works great. If funds are a problem then give this one a try. It is called CutePDF Writer. It is 100% free with no ads or spy ware. It works great with AutoCAD. Now AutoCAD 2007 and up come with a PDF printer but I have found them to be lacking in quality. Anyway give this one a try and see if it will work for you.

CutePDF Writer

Free MS Paint replacement - Paint.net

Here is a nice MS Paint replacement. It has layer support and all of the most standard editing tools. It also supports special effects, history and has a huge user base. One can even write their own plug-ins. Sure it's not PhotoShop but for the normal user it's very nice.

Paint.net

CAD on a USB drive/stick

Well long time no post but I have recently discovered a light weight CAD application that can run from a USB flash drive - LiteCAD . It is not completely ready as I found a few commands that don't work or are simply not there (yet I hope). What it does do is open 2007 format DWG files and does give you the ability to edit them. No small task from such a light weight program. Well worth watching. Oh I forgot to mention that it is FREE! :)

SketchUp

What is SketchUp (www.sketchup.com) ? Well it is the world's best and easiest 3D application. It was supposed to be a conceptual application to get your ideas down on and then to develop in other more robust programs but it has evolved into a very nice design program. Started by the @Last company in Boulder, Colorado and recently bought by Google. Currently it is on version 6 and has recently released a free version for non professionals. There are plenty of tutorials and movies to watch to help you learn it. So download it and get going :)