Develop3D - Technology for the Product Lifecycle

Print3D offers realtime prototype pricing software

2008-10-09T08:38:00.000-07:00

Providers of rapid prototyping services Print3D have got all excited about their new software release that promises real-time pricing of CAD models before they are sent into production.

Users will apparently receive real-time quotes for plastic or metal prototypes for whatever components they have open in their modeling workspace, and even customise their order to add paint and finish options before sending the request to rapid prototyping facilities from their 3D modeler.

It can be used as a standalone piece of kit or as a plug-in for AutoCAD, Rhinoceros, SolidWorks, SolidEdge, Alibre Design, and SpaceClaim, while users of Pro Engineer, Revit, Maya, and 3DMax will be catered for in the coming months.

"Just from a day-to-day perspective, designers get more sophisticated pricing and greater control over the quality of the orders in far less time than they would exporting and uploading each part to a website," explained Print3D CEO Ron Barranco.

Solid Edge gets 3D Connexion mice

2008-10-09T08:12:00.000-07:00

The three-dimensional mouse from 3D Connexion is now supported by Siemens' Solid Edge, bringing it's useful manipulation of screen navigation to the synchronous technology involved.

Advanced navigation features in Solid Edge Part, SheetMetal, Weldment, Assembly, and Draft documents allowing engineers to move in all three dimensions simultaneously with six degrees of freedom.

The addition brings the total number of 3D software titles supporting this nifty bit of hardware to over 130.

DWG: Do We Give a...

2008-10-09T07:26:00.000-07:00

For anyone trying to keep tabs on the flurry of law suits being undertaken and pending between the major CAD software producers, Autodesk have asked for their action against Dassault Systemes to be suspended.

This move comes after they have already spent a reported $2 million in this case of 'handbags' over the use of the initials DWG.

Having registered DWGgateway and DWGeditor as trademarks, Autodesk went to work on Dassault in the civil courts, being particularly annoyed with this (the same initials as the .dwg file name they feel they have rights over). Autodesk are hoping that the action through the civil courts will be enough to avoid dragging the whole carbuncle up to the US patent office. Not as exciting as OJ, but news nonetheless.

Autodesk get down with the kids... Fo'shizzle

2008-10-06T07:37:00.000-07:00

Fusty old Autodesk have decided to have a shake-up of its student design and engineering community website to make it more like the "popular social networking sites frequented by students."

This could be viewed as an attempt to drag the 350,000 plus members of Audodesk's online student community away from 'poking' each other on Facebook and back into doing some actual studying using their products.

In addition to the new, not-unlike-Facebook interface, users are offered showcases for their work, a careers centre, learning guides, and the opportunity to write their own informative, witty, nothing-like-this blog.

"We created the Student Community to provide students with the vital tools and information they need to learn the design process and be successful in their careers." LOL'd Paul Mailhot, director of worldwide education programs at Autodesk.

Version 7.9 to make light work of rendering

2008-10-01T09:19:00.000-07:00

New Ambient Occlusion functionality has been added to LightWorks' latest release, offering intelligent, predictable realistic lighting for rendering.

Targeted at the AEC sector, with the new lighting settings aimed primarily for interiors, the imaging for product touts it as a universal lighting solution with a wide range of lighting effects. A range of new shaders offer users more realistic effects, allowing the creation of glossy plastics, brushed metals, car paints, varnished surfaces and lacquered finishes. All of which is good news for the users of the 80 software applications that have LightWorks embedded.

A less sluggish SolidWorks for 2009

2008-09-19T06:37:00.000-07:00

Speed was the key selling point at the release of Solidworks 2009, as Dassault Systems were keen to point out a 65 per cent speed increase.

Calculated via productivity gains measured in the creation and modification of large assemblies from real-world customer environments and data, Solidworks 2009 claims that it has become faster without the need for new features and functions, meaning that users do not have to learn new techniques.

260 new enhancements have been made as a result of feedback from user groups, customer analysis and gossip from down the pub.

In addition, a 'Speedpak' should allow for a new approach to large assemblies that use less memory to achieve full graphic detail.

"Given that the point of software solutions is to automate tasks and the point of automation is to make common tasks happen faster, then a significant increase in performance will deeply benefit every designer and engineer," said John MacKrell, senior analyst with CIMdata. "SpeedPak technology increases performance while decreasing resource consumption, providing a double benefit for designers, especially those who work with large assemblies."

A new 'Simulation Advisor' helps users analyze designs for hidden flaws through every stage of a simulation, and even back in the 2D world users get new improvements and add-ons.

Finally, the addition of Photoview360 should mean for easier progressive rendering on the new version. However, the increased figures for speed will probably be enough to warrant the upgrade.

Spare $2bn? Why not buy PTC?

2008-09-08T08:36:00.000-07:00

Parametric Technologies is apparently taking steps toward selling itself to the tune of $2bn having apparently hired Goldman Sachs in a move to attract potential buyers, according to the Financial Times.

The manufacturer of Pro Engineer, based in Massachusetts and founded in 1987, has seen its growth continue following four acquisitions last year as leading to forecasted revenues of $1.07bn for fiscal 2008. Expect a bidding frenzy; despite the credit crunch disturbing markets elsewhere, nothing seems to be effecting the trade in CAD companies.

Majenta get turbo charged to the tune of $1m

2008-09-08T08:10:00.000-07:00

A $1 million contract has been struck by Majenta PLM to supply Napier Turbochargers Ltd. with product design, simulation and data management software.

As a result, the firm, which manufactures turbochargers for diesel and heavy fuel engines from its base in Lincoln, will be using Siemens PLM software. Solid Edge drafting software and multiple licenses of NX 3D solid modeling software, including advanced sheet metal design and advanced finite element modeling software for 3D CAD model engineering analysis are included in the deal.

In addition, the firm, famous for its series of land, water and air speed world records in its early years, will be using NX computer-aided manufacturing (CAM) software for turning and for mill-turn and multi-axis milling will be available for Napier's future large axial turbocharger product design and engineering projects.
"The PLM solution that Majenta PLM is supplying and is helping us to implement will help to ensure that the right product information is at the right place at the right time," said Andy Thacker, managing director, Napier Turbochargers Limited. "I am pleased that the business has been acquired by a shareholder that is committed to investing further in R&D to maintain its technology and in the expansion of the business to meet customer demand."

Reach out and touch it...

2008-09-03T02:38:00.000-07:00

Researchers at the University of Tokyo have unveiled their latest haptics prototype that allows it's user to 'touch' objects on the screen using ultrasonic technology.

By setting up an array of ultrasonic transducers that emit sound waves that create a 'solid' object where the wave interfere with each other. It is hoped that this technology will become commercially available for 3D designers and gamers after the team were approached about the technology by several industrial companies last month.

Currently there is only scope for resistance in one direction, and there are underlying fears that the ultrasound used could scatter, causing damage to nearby eardrums. However, work is underway to combat the possible deafness, while increased power and direction should bring more 'feel' and 'stiffness' to geometry, and raises questions over its compatibility with hologram technology.

Create your own factory "playlist"

2008-09-02T08:18:00.000-07:00

A new release from Visual Components now accepts data from 3D CAD for factory simulation, offering playlist libraries of robot models and components, and updated compatibility with Microsoft Vista.

The eCatalogue library used to select equipment components now features a similar concept to the playlists on your iPod. Using search and filter commands different component lists can be generated and selected for different types of layout projects.

The library itself boasts over 100 of the major robot models, material handling libraries, and streamlined tools to take 3D CAD data into realistic production scenarios.

Making better use of this data, it should also provide more effective when developing equipment control programmes. The Visual Components PLC Add-on, boasts increased speed for control engineers connecting their Programmable Logic Controller test benches.

Worry not; 'warehouse experts' are on hand

2008-08-22T06:12:00.000-07:00

Organising a busy warehouse should become a lot easier with the deployment of Hyster's new generation of 3D simulation technology.

The software allows firms to plan out their storehouses virtually and assemble theoretical plans to get the most from their distribution points, creating everything from their shelving units, to the paths used by forklift trucks and even staff.

Robert O'Donoghue, general manager for Hyster's warehouse products, explains: "Simulation is not an exact science, however it can provide a realistic indication of the viability of various fleet options. Warehouse managers will be able to consider different fleet mix scenarios and develop a good idea of potential pallet throughputs and related costs."

By inputting key data into the system, with the help of a real-life Hyster 'warehouse expert', a series of algorithms based on the known performance parameters of each truck will then illustrate how the warehouse would actually work.

Developing the software with Incontrol Simulation Software BV, it aims to provide the most accurate representation of warehousing operations available. O'Donoghue continues: "We developed the software based on our significant experience of what actually happens in warehouse operations. It was important to make sure that we included all available information to provide an accurate picture of how a materials handling fleet would perform."

'Flexible Software Delivery' becomes Autodesk's buzzword of the week

2008-08-21T02:44:00.000-07:00

Cleverly upgrading their subscriber services in the same week that Solidworks have managed to anger some of their customers, AutoCAD's new two-pronged delivery system should have software updates into the eager hands of designers quicker and with less fuss.

In the same way that Microsoft Office gives you the option to upgrade when new feature packs are available, AutoCAD products now promise customers earlier access to new features, delivered on demand.

Subscription bonus packs containing new software features are currently available through the AutoCAD subscription centre, and are to be released on a regular basis. Meanwhile product updates will be automatically delivered to all licensed users, giving access to updated patches and fixes.

Subscription accounts for around three-quarters of AutoCAD users, and with this easier way of picking and choosing the upgrades you want it should make the most of Autodesk’s vision of a truly customisable software.

Photoview 360 gets competitive

2008-08-21T01:41:00.000-07:00

As the Solidworks marketing machine for Photoview 360 continues to build up steam, having already announced a preview version available for download, a new contest for early users has opened.

The competition, which closes on September 5, offers the lucky winner not only "the fame and recognition of having your image posted to our gallery," but they will also, "send you an item from our catalog of Solidworks promotional items." Yes, you too could be the darling of the Solidworks user forums as you sip coffee from your official Solidworks mug.

On a brighter note, the contest rules allow entrants to stamp their entry with their name, products used or a company logo. All types of images are welcome, from architectural renderings, product shots, and engineering visualizations, to graphic design, game development, broadcast or film.

Entries must be posted onto the Photoview discussion thread and created using Photoview 360 only.

Plastic fantastic

2008-08-18T05:28:00.000-07:00

A nifty preview of Inventor's Plastic Features Technology has been offered up on Autodesk Labs, giving users the chance to experiment with new technologies for simpler plastic product design.

Designers and engineers alike will be able to create thin-walled plastic parts as design tools simplify the addition of features like grills, bosses, snaps, and lips to a design.

The release comes as a result of Autodesk's work over the last few years to strengthen their position in plastics, what Robert "Buzz" Kross, senior vice president of Autodesk Manufacturing Solutions, has called "one of the fastest-growing engineering materials."

By acquiring PlassoTech last year Autodesk have added advanced product simulation technology and Moldflow injection moulding simulation technology to Inventor's armoury.

NVIDIA launches GPU based ray tracing at Siggraph

2008-08-14T11:25:00.000-07:00

NVIDIA has announced that it can calculate ray traced imagery on the fly using its GPUs, claiming an industry first. Based purely on NVIDIA GPU technology, the ray tracer shows "linear scaling rendering of a highly complex, two-million polygon, anti-aliased automotive styling application." if you want to get down and dirty, then the image shown here was displayed at three bounces, performance was demonstrated at up to 30 frames per second (fps) at HD resolutions of 1920x1080 for an image-based lighting paint shader, ray traced shadows, and reflections and refractions running on four next-generation Quadro GPUs in an NVIDIA Quadro Plex 2100 D4 Visual Computing System (VCS).

Now, I know ray tracing is incredibly complex and calc heavy, but, really, if this is an industry first, shouldn't these images look better? I guess my point is that whether its full ray tracing, or fudged (some systems, like Autodesk Showcase, have some tricks to get over the calc hurdle), I think today's users expect more in terms of depth of realism.

2008-08-14T08:18:00.000-07:00

AMD rebrands while Nvidia gears up for extravaganza

AMD's legendary ATI Fire GL brand, which was made famous by Diamond Multimedia ten years ago, is no more. AMD has rebranded its professionalgraphics card family to ATI FirePro and at the same time launched two newcards, the FirePro V3700 and FirePro V5700.

The dropping of the 'GL' from the 'ATI Fire' brand is significant as itsname was originally inspired by OpenGL, which has been the standard for 3D graphics in CAD applications since the early nineties. However, in recentyears OpenGL has been losing ground to Microsoft's Direct3D technology with a number of software vendors, notably Autodesk, going down this route.

It would appear the rebranding is a direct result of this trend.In terms of the new cards, the ATI Fire Pro V5700 features 512MB of memory, dual link DVI and DisplayPort connections, and its true 30-bit display engine produces more than one billion colours at any given time.

This will be of particular interest to product designers for the most accurate colour reproduction, as long as they are using a compatible 30-bit monitor. For the Fire Pro V3700 ATI has followed the lead of Nvidia by introducing a professional card with an aggressive price point of below $99. The cardfeatures 256 MB of frame buffer memory, two dual-link DVI connectors.

Meanwhile, Nvidia is gearing up for its inaugural NVISION event in August,which will offer nearly 80 hours of technical and industry sessions forprofessionals in areas including automotive, high performance computing, andprofessional visualisation.

Among the bizarre array of celebrities atending the event (including Astronaut Buzz Aldrin and Battlestar Galactica actress Tricia Helfer) Bernard Charles, president and CEO of DassaultSystemes, will give a presentation, offering insights into 'what's next' for creative professionals.

Rendering tech fires up - big style

2008-08-12T13:02:00.000-07:00

It seem that it isn't enough and once again, things are hotting up in the rendering world. Last year Bunkspeed's HyperShot rewrote the book on rendering for product design. HyperShot is quick, easy and dirty. Load model, add materials, choose lighting and background and you're pretty much ready to rock and roll. If only all renders were like that. If you look at what most users face in terms of pain points, it gets a long way to solving many of them.

But it seems things are moving on.

Siggraph is the place to be it seems. Yesterday, Bunkspeed and SpaceClaim announced a partnership that sees HyperShot integrated with SpaceClaim (similar to the work they've already done with SolidWorks and Aesthetica). Today they accounced prerelease details of the next product in their portfolio - HyperMove, an animation tool that looks to do the same as HyperShot for the animation world. it seems that the web-site isn't up and running yet http://www.bunkspeed.com/hypermove

Then as if this wasn't enough, I start to hear about a new Rendering tool from SolidWorks. Rob Rodriguez broke the news of the product name, PhotoView 360, even though I believe an NDA is in place and the product isn't going to be officially launched until September along with the rest of the 2009 release. Then Luxology (developers of Modo) issue a press release talking about the partnership with SolidWorks and the mysts starts to clear.

SolidWorks has licensed Luxology's Nexus 4 rendering engine for PhotoView 360, but as a couple of people have pondered, Nexus 4 includes a variety of modeling, sculpting, rendering, painting and animation capabilities. Are we going to see the sub-divisional modelling tools that have seen rapid adoption of Modo in the CGI industry move into SolidWorks? Time will tell.

What have Bunkspeed got coming up next?

2008-08-09T12:32:00.001-07:00

First there's a teasing press release, then there's hints on the Bunkspeed web-site about its new animation tool, which I believe is called HyperMove.. I'm excited. Really way more excited that I should be. Damn, I wish I was at Siggraph. If anyone's out there, take a look and see what you can find out, because Teger's not telling me anything.

RIP: Andrea Pininfarina

2008-08-07T09:07:00.000-07:00

Andrea Pininfarina with the Ferrari P4/5

Word is just hitting the wires that Andrea Pininfarina, CEO of legendary (if that word does them justice) Italian car styling and design house, Pininfarina, was killed instantly this morning following a collision whilst he was riding his Vespa to the company HQ just outside of Turin.

Spangly new SpaceClaim website - sloppy marketing 101

2008-08-01T12:11:00.000-07:00

Motorola RAZR - probably not designed in SpaceClaim

Looks like SpaceClaim has been spending some more of that VC cash with the web-designers again and there's a brand new SpaceClaim web-site on the block. I like it, its shiny and has lots of nice things in there.

There are a couple of bits and bobs that aren't quite right. I love it when people tag that annoying little TM trademark thing after something that really doesn't need it. Particularly when the company in question, according to a USPTO search, doesn't even own the trademark (I'd love to stand corrected) or its been owned and abandoned by someone else.

I'm specifically thinking about "Natural 3D design" which was previously owned by Metatools and "Design the way you think" which was owned and abandoned by Ceira Technologies in 2005.

What's also often interesting is the models that CAD vendors choose to illustrate their web-site, brouchures and such. Perfect example of this are two of the images featured there.

A Motorola RAZR and an Aston Martin. The RAZR is pretty fair game, model something up and use it as a demo. What's really... Ummm.. what's the word? Irritating, is the Aston Martin image.

Aston Martin: Not designed by Pininfarina and not designed with SpaceClaim - allegedly

It reads Credit: Bunkspeed/Pininfarina. Unless I'm very much mistaken, Pininfarina had nothing to do with the design of any Aston Martin and certainly not the model shown - and I'd bet the house on the fact that SpaceClaim wasn't involved. Could it be that this the 3D model that appears in this Youtube video?

A model that was created in SolidWorks, at the turn of the century. And modelling by the talented Mark Biasotti, who was working at IDEO at the time I seem to recall. Guess where he works now? Yes, he works for a company based on Baker Avenue, Concorde, Mass - but it ain't SpaceClaim.

Movie on ID - now I'm excited

2008-07-31T13:59:00.000-07:00

Dieter Rams - if you don't know who he is, you should be ashamed of yourself ;)

When someone (ralph G) points you at a movie on industrial design, I tend to get excited. When you look at the web-page and there is a movie coming with production stills featuring Dieter Rams, Jonathan Ive and a Marc Newson, I have to sit down and have a very hasty cup of tea.

According to the web-site, Objectified is a feature-length independent documentary about industrial design. It's a look at the creativity at work behind everything from toothbrushes to tech gadgets. It's about the people who re-examine, re-evaluate and re-invent our manufactured environment on a daily basis. It's about personal expression, identity, consumerism, and sustainability. It's about our relationship to mass-produced objects and, by extension, the people who design them.

Through verite footage and in-depth conversations, the film documents the creative processes of some of the world's most influential designers, and looks at how the things they make impact our lives. What can we learn about who we are, and who we want to be, from the objects with which we surround ourselves?

A quick look at the participants and its a good roll call of who's who - Rams, Ive and Newson as we've mentioned, but also the teams at IDEO, Karim Rashid, Naoto Fukasawa - I just hope someone like Kenya Hara makes it through to the final cut too.

Unlike Ralph I couldn't give two shits whether or not there's any software featured. It's a MOVIE about INDUSTRIAL DESIGN - it doesn't get better than that. Now how do I convince Greg and Martyn to sponsor the movie so I can go to the London screenings? Any ideas peeps?

Where's the Future of 3D interaction?

2008-07-28T09:52:00.000-07:00

3Dconnexion has just released details of research they've been doing into the return on investment, commercial pay back that can be gained from using its 3d motion control devices. According to the research those using 3D mouse devices users noted that they were comfortable using the 3D mouse within two days from the time they began using it (80% of them in fact) and 70% felt proficient within the first week.

The report (available at www.3Dconnexion.com/productivity) brings many more facts to light about the time that can be saved by adopting a tool that's designed specifically for the job. It is really worth a read.

The question this raises for me is that that for decades now, many of us have been using 3D based design tools to develop new products on a daily basis, but still many of us are using the same keyboard and mouse combo that we have had since time immemorial. Let's not forget that the QWERTY keyboard was designed to slow down typists on mechanical typewriters so they wouldn't jam up - is that really the optimum way of interacting with 3D data?

Users are now becoming much more familiar with 3D based working practices, particularly in the professional design related sphere of influence - but I do wonder where we're headed next?

The last few events I've attended have seen references to how Nintendo have changed the 3D interaction world with the Wii and specifically, the WiiMote device.

Dassault demonstrated how the WiiMote device can interact with CAD-related data at the recent DEVCON event in Paris. Of course, Dassault has an interest in Gaming technology because of its Virtools technology (which now supports the Wii platform) and has a head start on many of the CAD company's not involved in the industry. Dassault's Bernard Charles also hinted at the same event that their development team is currently working on a hardware-based device for Catia and Enovia users. A chat with the head of their Research and Development team confirmed that this might be in the offing.

Elsewhere, a CAD user has built a drive to allow the use of the WiiMote within Autodesk's Design Review and the same tool has been made available on the Autodesk Labs website.

I'm reminded of a chat I had with Bill Buxton, the then Chief Scientist of Applied Sciences at Alias Wavefront, who, ten years ago, talked about many of the things that are only now coming to light. If you take a look at his personal web-site, then you can see many of the devices that his team worked on back then. And if you want a further interesting read, get hold of his Sketching User Experiences book. It's honestly one of the best books on subject I've ever read and should be on every designers bookshelf.

Bringing us back to 3Dconnexion and its research, I'm amazed that the company still is the only vendor actively pursuing this area. The potential to do really interesting things has been there for some time. Many have come and gone.

The Dimentor Inspector - combined a trackball and optical mouse - and had around the same lifespan as the average rodent.

There was the Dimentor Inspector device from Sweden, which combined a mouse with a trackball to navigate in 3D (I've still got one sat in a box in the loft). It only really worked with SolidWorks and the company was only around for a year or so.

Others have had a crack at it with limited success and I find it strange that its only 3Dconnexion that has managed to actually achieve any form of market penetration - and I take my hat off to them. They took some time to develop truly usable products and made a few mistakes on the way. I still use a prototype of the original, but short lived, SpaceNavigator device, which saw the integration of a SpaceMouse with a Logitech Keyboard (3Dconnexion's parent company) - and promptly got canned.

I'm off to interview the guys in charge of SpaceMouse products in a couple of weeks and if anyone has any questions, ideas or information they'd like me to ask, to find out, then I'd be more than happy to ask and report back on the response I get.

And don't get me started on MultiTouch - that's stuff is coming - its an exciting new world and as professional users of 3D, we're looking to get the most out of it.

Autodesk Subs get real

2008-07-24T08:47:00.000-07:00

Autodesk's Subscription to date, has been little more than paying for the next release, which has settled into a yearly cycle around the March time-frame. One would hope that in the concept of a yearly subscription you would get more than one update. Looking at Bentley's SELECT subscription it's hard to tell what the feature set of MicroStation is, as it changes every month and quarter. Autodesk started out by streaming features and updates randomly through the year but this didn't work and so fell back on paying for the next release. The company also monkied with the upgrade fees making Autodesk Subscription the most cost effective way of owning any Autodesk product.

It's hard to generate good customer spirit if updates are sold on cost of ownership and you are literally paying for the next release - which they may or may not even use. While Autodesk has benefitted greatly from the increase in regular revenue, Autodesk Subscription has been suffering from a little complacency.

The good news is that Autodesk's AutoCAD product team has launched 'Flexible Software Delivery', which harks back to a more traditional concept, where updates and new features are added when they are ready, as opposed to when the next major release comes around. this means the software is delivered on demand. No more boxes hanging around and you can select what features you want.

So in addition to the yearly update, there will be Subscription Bonus packs which will include early releases of upcoming features. the first one is scheduled for July 24th and will include several AUGi wish-list items. These will only be available to subscribers. Also Product updates, for all customers, will replace service packs, to fix bugs and drivers.

One wonders if this will be copied across Autodesk's many Divisions? The complexity of non-synchronized change across Autodesk's products was the downfall at the first attempt, we will have to wait to see as to how this invigoration of Subscription works out.

Dell Precision R5400 rack mounted workstation review

2008-07-22T04:24:00.000-07:00

In May HP rolled out its long awaited MCAD-focussed Blade Workstation solution. Drawing inspiration from traditional client/server models HP's Blades are housed in a densely populated rack locked away in a secure data centre. Each workstation is controlled remotely by a thin client that sits on an engineer's or designer's desk, but rather than sending 'CAD' data to the client, the Blade transmits live pixel data frame by frame to the client using a high-bandwidth, low latency network. And with mouse and keyboard actions being sent back to the Blade this gives the user a real time experience just as if they had the workstation sat underneath their desk.

Today, Dell unveiled its own Rack mounted workstation, the Precision R5400. This is essentially a standard desktop workstation put into a 2U Rack form factor, and not a Blade server kitted out with workstation graphics as is the case with HP's solution. The template for the R5400 is the Dell Precision 5400 and features virtually identical components as its desktop counterpart. According to Dell, this meant that certification from all the leading CAD/CAM/CAE vendors was incredibly easy as it had already done it for the Precision 5400.

Just as with HP's Blade solution, Dell's R5400 Rack workstation transmits pixel data across a high-bandwidth, low latency network. However, whereas HP uses in-house software compression technology to do this, Dell has opted for third-party hardware acceleration courtesy of Teradici. This is in the form of a dedicated PCIe card that sits inside each Rack Mounted workstation and pixel data is compressed, encrypted, sent out over CAT5 and decompressed client side.

While I say client, Dell says Remote Access Device and was keen to emphasise that its FX100 Remote Access Device, which provides the desktop element to the Rack Workstation solution, does not run an Operating system, and does not require any drivers. It's simply connected to the Rack Workstation across a network, and unlike HP's Blade client has no CPU, RAM or solid state memory.

Inside the R5400
Component for component the Precision R5400 is virtually identical to the desktop Precision 5400. Dual socket Dual Core (up to 3.33GHz) or Quad Core (up to 3.0GHz) Xeon processors provide plenty of processing power for CAD, simulation and rendering applications; it can house up to two 7,200RPM SATA 3GB/s hard drives (Raid 1 or 0 for performance or redundancy), and most interestingly it has capacity for two high-performance graphics cards, which it supports in its 2U chassis with riser cards.

Dell offers a full range of professional graphics cards inside the R5400 from the entry-level Nvidia Quadro FX 570, right up to the high-end Quadro FX 4600. This gives the R5400 a serious amount of graphics power, and while two high-performance graphics cards will be of limited benefit to most users, this could be an extremely interesting proposition for the future as momentum grows for offloading highly parallel simulation and rendering compute tasks from CPU to GPGPU (General Purpose Graphic Processing Unit).

Memory inside the R5400 is restricted to 4 DIMM slots. This means a maximum of 32GB of RAM when 8GB DIMMS become available or more importantly affordable, but for now a capacity of 8 or 16GB is more realistic.

Conclusion
A cynic might say that Dell only threw its Rack Mounted workstation together in response to HP's Blade workstation, but that is probably way off the mark for a solution that is as highly flexible, scalable and powerful as the R5400. It's impossible not to draw comparisons between the two solutions and while Dell loses out to HP in terms of compute density by using a 2U Rack it certainly has a clear advantage when it comes to graphics. Dell's R5400 not only offers significantly more 3D power than the mobile Quadro FX 1600M inside HP's Blade but the potential to re-route this power to augment or replace traditional CPU operations should not be underestimated, particularly with simulation and design visualisation growing in all areas of product development.

In terms of the way in which the two solutions transmit their pixel data I’m not going to be drawn into the debate over whether hardware compression is better than software compression, simply because I haven't tested out both systems alongside each other. But what the Dell may gain in terms of taking some of the load off the CPU with its dedicated PCIe card, it loses in flexibility by having to have dedicated hardware at the client side.

What is clear is that both 'remote' workstations offer a compelling solution for those wishing to centralise IT support of their machines, to keep confidential data secure and easier to manage, to make the most of their workstation investment by using it as a ready-made cluster for performing overnight ocompute tasks , and to offer workstation performance in inhospitable areas such as the shop floor where dust 'kills' workstations. And now with high-end graphics inside the Dell Precision R5400, as long as you have a capable dedicated network in place there is very little a desktop workstation can do that Remote workstation can't. It's going to be an interesting few years to see how things pan out.

www.dell.com/precision

Essentials for the mobile generation

2008-07-20T12:36:00.000-07:00

As more and more of us work from home, from Starbucks, the greasy spoon around the corner from the office (to get some peace) or from economy class lounge (biz class is for the over paid, under worked), then we all will resonate with the simple fact that squeezing your laptop into the present space is a royalpaininthearse. I doubt we'll see them at D3D's service stations* of choice soon, but its clever thinking (note, I'm not using the I word).

According to designer Robin Carpenter JUST is made of an inner metal frame construction defining the form which is upholstered for comfort. The chair is covered with a washable textile and the stand allows 360 horizontal rotation. His IRO lamp is pretty slick too.

*Oxford M40 and M6 Toll - covered outdoors areas, good coffee and a 3G signal