Dear Fellow Engineering Professional,

It seems like the good economic news is continuing.  Many of you are reporting that business has increased and you are busy and it shows with increased sales of new CAD/CAM seats, upgrades and hardware. TECH-NET has also had an increase in design, engineering and creating prototype parts. Boeing is now staffing up for the 7E7 and it looks like we are in store for a good run in the Northwest.  If you need to increase your staff or help with design please give us a call.

CADKEY NEWS! Oops! KeyCreator NEWS! KeyCreator beta now available!

We finally got the latest news on CADKEY.  The Kubotek sale is now complete!  They have started the year with a bang with 50% off special on all of its products and an extended grace period for all AUC’s. The product is now called KeyCreator and will basically be the extension of the CADKEY WORKSHOP series.  We now offer KeyCreator-SB the basic package; -ST with direct PRO/E, Unigraphics, Catia 4 (bi-directional) and now Solidworks translators; -SV adds a Catia 5 read only translator.  Also they have added CAM products based on the NC-Matic product that Kubotek purchased.  KeyCreator 1.0 is planned to be released in April, 2004.

KeyCreator 1.0 beta is now available and I have been playing with it.  A few enhancements: Quick dimension, Edit Feature hole, Edit feature blend, Edit feature shell, ACIS 12 and many surface deforming commands. We will report more in our weekly emails. If you are not currently on the list would like to be; send your email address to jb@tecnetinc.com

VX NEWS! –VX 9.0 NOW RELEASED

VX is constantly releasing new releases with bug fixes, new features and enhancements.  Some of the things in VX 9.0 are Enhanced User Interface, New primitive shape creation and Boolean options, More Robust PDM, Refined navigation tools for 2 and 3 axis machining and enhanced 5 axis functionality.

IRONCAD NEWS! – INOVATE provides direct CATIA 4 translation at $795.00

INOVATE provides CATIA 4 compatibility bi-directionally.  At $795 it is by far the most cost effective Catia translation solution available. Don’t let the low price fool you it is a robust solid modeler with direct feature editing that also includes incredible realistic rendering and animation capabilities. Go to www.ironcad.com to try it for yourself.

ROLAND NEWS!! We have a MDX-650 to Demo.

We have been cutting parts for a project and are getting the most incredible results.  Having the ability to have your parts in your hand changes the way you design.  One of the examples is we have a small part that has a cable wrapped around it, as we installed the cable we found that the part flexed when installing the cable and we quickly modified the part to correct the problem. Just think about the money you can save by having that capability.

We will be demonstrating the capabilities of the MDX-650.  We will demonstrate by designing a small part in IRONCAD and the moving it into the Modela CNC software.  It reads .stl files and is very, very easy to operate. We have both the ATC (automatic tool changer) and the rotary axis modules for increased productivity.  See how the MDX-650 brings a new level productivity to your product development!!

The meeting will be at AAI, 6307 Seaview Ave NW, Seattle on March 17^th at 6:30. AAI is located in a building complex behind the West Marine store near Shilshole Bay Marina.  Those familiar with the area may know of Ray's Boat house restaurant at the mouth of the Ship Canal.  The driveway along the north side of West Marine is about 1/2 block north of Ray's.  Take that driveway toward the water, bend left at the end of the building and were you to drive straight on to the south you would run into AAI's downstairs door. Give us a call if you need more directions or go to www.tecnetinc.com.

See you there!!

Joe Brouwer