form·Z 5.5 and 6.0

June 16, 2005

AutoDesSys is pleased to announce the release of versions 5.5 and 6.0 this summer. For details and content please link to:

form·Z 5.5 »
form·Z 6.0 »

form·Z 5.0.4

May 18, 2005

form·Z 5.0 has been updated to v5.0.4. If you are a licensed v5.0 user you may update to v5.0.4 using the following patch. This patch corrects a number of irregularities.

Download the 5.0.4 Patch »

form·Z 5.0 receives 4.5 stars from COMPUTER arts

May 6, 2005

"Professionals requiring precision 3D visualisation - architects, industrial designers, CAD designers and illustrators, for example - have long depended on form·Z's arsenal of sophisticated solid and surface modelling tools. ... It has often been said that with form·Z 'if you can imagine it, you can model it.' The package bristles with just about every modelling tool imaginable. A true hybrid solid and surface modeller, the application's copious tools list includes a comprehensive assortment of parametric primitives, Nurbz (NURBS), patches, Metaformz, Booleans, 2D-drawing tools, drafting tools, 3D solids, mesh objects, extrusions, enclosures, sweeps, lofts, skinning and subdivisions.Ê While the additions will please old hands, newcomers will need to approach form·Z either with caution or with an open mind Ð after all, the new technology has a pretty steep learning curve. That said, spend a little time mastering the basics and form·Z is a genuine pleasure to use." The unidentified reviewer continues withÊa discussion of the new features in v. 5.0 and makes a few comparisons with other applications.

form·Z 5.0 gets an A from Cadalyst

May 6, 2005

"The modeling program form·Z occupies a useful niche between industrial modeling tools and conventional CAD... What's it like being in the middle? Delightful. form·Z has always been a joy to draw solids with. And what solids! Users can design a faucet, a detailed space, a robot or something fluid and flowing, such as a lithe cat. It's almost impossible to create a model that looks good but has unseen imperfections. ... Despite its amazing tools for visualization and animation, however, form·Z is not designed to create production drawings for the assembly line or construction crew. It's best to use mainstream CAD for that. I know many designers and animators for the decorative and theater arts who use form·Z as their main tool. But in many offices, form·Z is the tool that pops out of the box for difficult design tasks or for initial blocking studies, after which its files are exported to the likes of AutoCAD." The reviewer, Steven S. Ross, proceeds with a discussion of the new features in v. 5.0 and concludes: "Bottom Line: For modeling small, detailed objects, even lifelike ones, form·Z is hard to beat, especially at the price."

2003-2004 Joint Study Report

March 14, 2005

The 12th form·Z Joint Study Report has been published and sent to all member schools as well as to the form·Z family plan members. It contains the creative 3D modeling work of many students from all over the world and also displays last year's JS Awards to deserving students. To request a copy call AutoDesSys at 614-488-8838 while supplies last.

form·Z 5.0.2

March 10, 2005

form·Z 5.0 has been updated to v5.0.2. If you are a licensed v5.0 user you may update to v5.0.2 using the following patch. This patch corrects a number of irregularities.

Download the 5.0.2 Patch »

Grievings for Kenth Agurell, victim of Tsunami

March 1, 2005

It is with great sadness that auto·des·sys announces to the form·Z community the loss of one of its dearest friends and most valuable members. Regretfully, the Tsunami claimed the life of Kenth Agurell, author of the form·Z Desktop Companion.

Kenth's contribution to form·Z users around the world has been immense. One of his close friends and collaborators, Ingvar Ericson, the form·Z distributor in Sweden, had the following words for him: "... [it is] still hard for us to grasp that we will never see him again. The positive thing we like to think about is the importance that the form·Z Desktop Companion meant to Kenth and to his personal development. Kenth was a very low key person but the form·Z Desktop Companion forced him to make a lot of new contacts and in that process he grew as an individual... it was a source of great joy and satisfaction to him. The appreciative feedback he received from auto·des·sys as well as from countless form·Z customers around the world meant a lot to him." We only hope he too realized how much he meant to all of us and how much satisfaction he spread around through his work.

Our condolences and deepest sympathy go out to his grieving parents for his untimely loss under such unforeseen and cataclysmic conditions.

Note: It is not clear at this time what will happen to Kenth's books, but auto·des·sys intends to make every effort to see that their publication continues.

form·Z 5.0.1

January 27, 2005

form·Z 5.0 has been updated to v5.0.1. If you are a licensed v5.0 user you may update to v5.0.1 using the following patch. This patch corrects a number of irregularities.

Download the 5.0.1 Patch »