William D. Richards wrote:
>
> Well! My face is sure red over this one!
>
Dear List,
I've been hesitating to get into the observations over form z. Its kind
of silly when people defend the program they are using as superior in
all respects. The fact is, different tools for different purposes. Form
Z is an excellent modeler as are many of the other programs available.
Some general observations.
1. a modeling only version of form z (limited rendering) can be had for
around $1500. Full ray trace radiosity rendering for around $2400.
2. Several bureaus and 2 rp manufacturers have commented to me about how
clear and clean form z's stl files are. William Richards comments are
pertinent here. If he had minded his p's and q's the file wouldn't have
those problems. This isn't the fault of the program.
3. form Z is a solids surface hybrid modeler. This has pros and cons.
The pros are that you have precision capabilities that are generally
associated with manufacturing while combining surfacing capabilities
generally associated with high style design and animation. All wrapped
up into one. And at the above mentioned price, there isn't another
program on the market that can match this performance price ratio. And
the upgrades cost around $200.
4. The major negative for the mechanical industrial design industry is
the lack of an editable hierarchy of construction. There are parametric
features in form z, but they are limited compared to solid works or pro
e.
4. currently form z is a facet based modeler(although v.3.0 which is in
beta has introduced the Acis kernel and nurbs modeling). This also has
pros and cons. The pros are that this is exactly what your model will
look like, every single facet. The cons are that the redraws are long.
As well, in the example of the nut and bolt, if you want a smooth bolt
you have to bump up the facets, which are user defineable. Form Z will
make a bolt as smooth as a baby's behind at the cost of lots of facets
and lots of time in the booleans. As with most programs, the pros and
cons have to be weighed to your application.
5. Form Z is responsive to its customer base. A while back I complained
about the speed of saving a stl file to Form Z. A programmer called me
and within the week they had a patch for the stl save that made it
lightning fast. I also suggested that they implement shaped displacement
shading in their modeling, which they did in the next version.
6. A program such as this offering so many potential applications is a
difficult and deep program to learn. Its not a walk in the park. I have
found out over 4 years of using this program that it continues to offer
new ways to work a model. Its nearest competitor in the price range is
Rhino and imho Form Z kicks rhino into the next time zone in terms of
speed, stability, and useability.
7. It is also important to note the context within which the program has
developed. Originally Z was designed with architecture in mind. It soon
became a valueable modeler for the animation industry. It is not unusual
to see people who work in lightwave and alias, modeling in Form Z. And
now it is expanding its base into the mechanical/industrial design
arena.
8. The last double edge pro con relationship is that doing so many
things in a single program has led to a mixed bag of entity types within
form z. For example, until v. 3.0, an iges file didn't save the nurbs
entities in tact and made it almost impossible to import into a cam
package. The three solutions to this are to import to a package which
can handle stl files, import into a second program like alias studio, or
wait for v. 3.0. This mixed bag makes for incredible flexibility and
import export difficulties.
If you are interested to try a demo version of form z, you can get it
from their web site at www.formz.com. I am a sometimes reseller of form
z. I do not offer support. They have a mac version, a win 95 and 98
version, a win NT version and an alpah nt version.
best,
-- michael rees SCULPTOR http://www.sound.net/~zedand00/ 1212 w 8th St. Bldg B #2, 816 753 3020 voice zedand00@sound.net KC, Mo 64101 816 753 1542 faxFor more information about the rp-ml, see http://ltk.hut.fi/rp-ml/
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