form·Z
e-news
June 1, 2006
Welcome to form·Z e-news. AutoDesSys is happy
to share news and information with you in this free monthly e-mail publication.
Today's news center on the release of form.Z 6.0.
form·Z 6.0 is being released mid June
AutoDesSys is happy to announce the release of form·Z 6.0
in mid June. Users who have tested it so far, are quite excited about
the new tools and features. The biggest excitement is over animation
and 3D printing with color and textures, for practical reasons, but
these developments should not overshadow other very important new capabilities
that extend form·Z's modeling power. Some basics about form·Z
6.0 follow. The best news is saved for last! Please read till the
end.
Object-centric Animation
What this means is that the object retains its integrity and remains
the "king" during the animation process. Rather than animating images
or decomposed entities, form·Z animates well defined objects
complete with their parameters and attributes, that can also be freely
animated. This potentially makes the animation process a modeling venue
that can generate forms beyond what is possible with conventional means.
At any stage during the animation process, models can even be captured
as different types of objects, including some of the special types,
such as nurbz and metaformz. form·Z 6.0 offers a seamlessly
integrated animation environment, where objects, lights, and cameras
can be animated and transformed over time. To see sample animations
go to /downloads/samples/sample_animations.html
Animations can be generated either by key framing or relative to paths,
each method offering specific advantages. Animations can also be created
by simply dragging the name of an object, light, or view from the respective
palette into an animation palette. The parameters of an entity can be
animated at the same time its motion and/or size may be animated, which
offers extensive possibilities in manipulating forms. Also, surface
styles can be animated, which offers the ability to play movies within
movies. Once animations have been set and refined, they can be played
back in preview mode from within form·Z then rendered, saved,
and played in their final form. Animation settings can be developed
in form·Z or imported from other programs.
3D Printing With Color and Textures
It is particularly exciting for AutoDesSys to be the only software
company to offer its customers a venue to prototype their objects not
only in color but with textures as well. Thanks to Z Corp's new ZPR
file format (http://www.zcorp.com) which is optimized to support geometry
and color capabilities of modern 3DP systems, engineers from the two
companies were able to work together to deliver a first to all those
who deal with the articulation of 3D forms and shapes and need a tangible
example of their projects in color and with textures. form·Z
takes the process a step further by offering a new 3D print preparation
tool and helps users prepare an object for 3D printing by identifying
parts of a model that will not print properly, and a complete suite
of tools for resolving issues that prepares a model for printing. You
can see an example of this at /products/versions/version_6_0/version_6_0.html
More modeling power
Skinned lofting is an operation that combines skinning and lofting,
by using explicit or implicit paths, as it threads sets of selected
profile shapes. The most notable among the variety of shapes it can
generate are objects that branch.
The capping operation creates a surface from a set of edges
that form a closed loop in 3D space. These edges can be either free
(open) or edges common to two neighboring faces and you can optionally
instruct the program to generate surfaces that extend the curvatures
of neighboring surfaces. This results in immense possibilities for form
generation.
Morphing allows you to pick two objects, the source and the
destination, and have the shape of the former change to the shape of
the other by a certain percent. The operation can be executed dynamically
or in one step. It can be used as part of an animation or by itself.
The deformations have been drastically extended and have become
controlled operations that allow multiple types of deformations to be
applied simultaneously. These can be subsequently edited and revised
thus offering great opportunities for experimentation and design explorations.
The new deformations can be used independently or as parts of an animation
sequence.
The Reconstruct Curve and Reconstruct Nurbz tools can
display the differences between the original and the new curves and
surfaces if so desired.
Existing text strings can be replaced after searching either
all objects in a project or only selected objects and matching a specified
string. When matches are found, they are replaced by a replacement string,
which may be a completely different string or the same one in a different
format, including font, size, and style.
A number of operations have been extended and now also work with smooth
objects, rather than polygonal only. This includes transformations of
points, edges, and faces, hole filling, attaching, and edge extending.
Visit /products/versions/version_6_0/version_6_0.html
to see examples of the new features and tools.
Automatic updates
A new automatic update option has been added to keep your form·Z
installation up to date with the latest adjustments and corrections.
form·Z checks for new versions based on a preference setting
and automatically downloads and updates itself.
Best news at last!
The best news is that AutoDesSys is offering the new animation as
well as all the rest of the features as part of form·Z and
at no additional cost. We are so confident our users will appreciate
this, that we want as many of you as possible to have the opportunity
to try it out and experience the difference form·Z 6.0
will make in your workflow. Pre-orders are now being accepted. Please
contact your local dealer or our sales staff to place your order at
sales@formz.com.
Check it out at the AIA Expo
AutoDesSys will be at the AIA Expo in Los Angeles from June 8-10, 2006
where it will also introduce form·Z 6.0 . It will be our
pleasure to see you at booth 3611. Stop by to say hello and check out
all the cool new features and tools. Z Corp will be demonstrating 3D
color printing live in the same booth.
in·form·Z
The annual newsletter, in·form·Z, has just arrived from the
printer. All Family Plan subscribers will receive it automatically within
a week or two. It will also be sent out to quite a few others. If you
do not get one and would like to receive it, please contact sales@formz.com
and we'll be happy to send one.
Architectural 3D Awards Competition
form·Z users may want to consider entering their projects
in a competition. CGarchitect.com is hosting the 3rd annual Architectural
3D Awards to be awarded at this year's VisMasters Design Visualization
Conference on August 4th, 2006 in Boston. The Awards Competition is
open to everyone in the Architectural Visualization industry to highlight
the best imagery and animations done in 2005/2006.
Factoid
The sequence of events at the release of form·Z 6.0:
Subscribers to the form·Z Family Plan will receive their
updates first. They do not need to do anything to get it. Then AutoDesSys
will fulfill the pre-orders in the order they were received. It is not
too late to subscribe to the form·Z Family Plan to get all
the support you want for a one year period, in addition to any updates
that are released during this period. Contact sales@formz.com
to set up your Family Plan before version 6.0 is released.
form·Z e-news
April 19, 2006
To 2D or 3D?
This is a good question and a trend under consideration lately by quite
a few good companies. Have we run out of 2D improvements to sell and thus
migrate to the power of 3D? Or is the realization of 3D as a representation
of the real world finally here to stay? AutoDesSys has been rooting for
this since the inception of form·Z over 15 years ago.
3D has been very powerful at the conceptual stages of design and as
a visualization tool. But an increasing number of professionals are
starting to take a second look at it to replace the construction drawings,
citing the usefulness of depicting the actual object by simulating it
virtually, as opposed to the 2D drawings that deconstruct reality, and
force one to work with symbols and unnatural representations.
Once again, form·Z has been at the forefront of this trend
since its inception. It was developed as a 3D modeling program. It is
not 2D software trying to adapt to 3D. Through the years, the development
team, which still has the core group since the beginning, has added
features and built on it, to hand out a truly exceptional piece of software
that can deliver any imaginable form and shape.
In addition to the object centric animation and a number of new features
and tools, form·Z 6.0 will give the user the ability to
discover and create forms that develop in the modeling process and that
one may not have thought of. form·Z 6.0 is due to be release
in mid May. Watch for an e-mail announcing it in the near future.
3D Color Printing
A growing number of design professionals have a need to prototype their
objects in a fast and cost effective way. These may range from a ring
to a building to a product like a medical apparatus. Anyone who has
tried prototyping has a story about their trials and tribulations, success
and failure. form·Z has an uncanny ability to translate
3D files and send them to a variety of 3D printers or milling machines
with the STL translator. A good example of the latter use is the application
of form·Z to create the wooden curtain like wall in the
Patina Restaurant at Disney Hall in Los Angeles. "To make them, the
designers [Belzberg Architects] created 3D models in form·Z,
then used the digital models to drive a CNC machine that carved tem
from 800 pound blocks of laminated walnut two-by-fours. Each block was
3 to 4 feet wide and 8 feet tall." Architectural Record 12.03.
The soon to be released form·Z 6.0 will also be able to
do 3d printing in color with textures. A close collaboration
with ZCorp has produced magnificent results. During the beta testing
process real projects were prototyped using the color method.
Chris Yessios, President and CEO of AutoDesSys
honored by the CAD Society
Chris Yessios, President and CEO of AutoDesSys, will be recognized at
COFES2006 and presented with CAD Society 2006 Joe Greco Community Award.
This award is presented each year to one individual who has distinguished
themselves by improving communication and developing community within
the CAD industry. More details can be found on this announcement at
http://www10.mcadcafe.com/nbc/articles/view_article.php?
section=CorpNews&articleid=260487
form.Z user Giorgio Borruso featured in
Apple's site
Renowned form·Z user, Giorgio Borruso - architect, retail
desinger, sculptor, theater designer - is prominently featured in Apple's
business profiles. You can read the article at http://www.apple.com/business/profiles/borruso/
The Joint Study Report
For the past 15 years years AutoDesSys has supported the 3D education
of students at roughly three hundred universities worldwide. At the
end of each academic year it collects the projects that were created
during the course of studies, hands out juried awards to deserving students,
and also publishes the Joint Study Report. This is a collection of articles
about CAD and 3D modeling education as well as student projects, in
print and on CD, documented by students and faculty. The Joint Study
Report may be obtained from AutoDesSys free of charge, while supplies
last. Drop a line to sales@formz.com
if you would like one sent to you. You may also view the report at http://formz.com/jointstudy/current_report.html
form·Z Extensions Exchange
If you have not visited the form·Z Extensions Exchange yet,
you will find quite a few user posted extensions that allow form·Z
users to extend its capabilities through free scripts and plug-ins.
You are also welcome to post your own if you are willing to share them
with others. One fact is certain, the The form·Z Extensions
Exchange has grown steadily with over 20 extensions now available for
download. It can be accessed at /downloads/extensions.html
form·Z Family Plan
This is an annual maintenance plan whose primary function is to provide
unlimited technical support and updates as they are produced. It does
have fringe benefits as well besides these two very important elements.
Our sales team will be happy to assist you with your inquiries. Just
ask sales@formz.com.
Factoid
Did you know that when you call AutoDesSys you are greeted by a person
and not a recording? (and yes whoever answers the phone does smile!)
form·Z e-news
March 13, 2006
Technical Support
form·Z boasts one of the best technical support teams in the
industry. Take advantage of it.
• New user licenses come with four months of free technical support
over the phone or e-mail.
• You have the option to subscribe to the form·Z Family
Plan, an annual maintenance plan that provides unlimited technical support,
updates sent to you as they are released and more.
• If you are not a new user or do not wish to join the Family Plan,
you may pay as you get technical support. Our sales team will be happy
to explain to you how this works.
Solid, Surface Modeling and more
There are a few good 3D modelers on the market, each based on a particular
mode of representation, such as solids or surfaces, faceted or continuous
boundaries, NURBS, patches, implicit surfaces, etc. Not only does form·Z
have all these, it also allows conversions from one to another and their
use in conjunction with one another. All this leads to some amazing
modeling power.
It may be safe to assume that most users, on the average, only need
one of the representations to rely on for their daily work. But it is
also not a secret that those who make use of more than one, acquire
additional modeling power and "dexterity". Each representation has its
own repertoire of possibilities relative to the generation and manipulation
of 3D forms, thus multiplying the range of shapes that can be obtained
when more than one representational schemes complement each other.
Whether one or more representations are used, ultimately they all serve
the object, which remains the king and makes form·Z a fully
object oriented application. You are able to manipulate a virtual object
as if it were real, but soft and fluid. Even the new animation procedures
that will soon be introduced in form·Z are completely object
centric, which distinguishes them from other animation applications
currently on the market. More on this subject matter in a future communication...
Featured Tool: The Boolean Operation
Simply said, the Booleans are the royalty of 3D solid modeling.
They let you subtract and add volume to objects. They provide the basis
of sculpting, and give the ability to reshape digital forms in ways
comparable to those used with real objects. As a matter of fact, it
is the Booleans that allow the virtual solids to behave exactly like
their counterparts in the physical world. This is a major reason why
3D solid modeling has gained so much popularity in recent years. form·Z
has been at the forefront of these trends having offered Booleans that
have always worked since its introduction to the industry fifteen years
ago. Improvements, especially in the areas of speed and accuracy, have
added to their functionality and indispensability of actual 3D representations.
The form·Z User Gallery
The form·Z web site hosts a user gallery that can
be accessed at /gallery/gallery.html.
AutoDesSys is always looking for additional form·Z users
to include in the gallery as well as to update existing users's pages
with their latest projects. There are directions on how to submit your
work at this link. Keep in mind that for AutoDesSys, one of the best
rewards is to see what form·Z users create with the software
it develops for you. Even if you do not want to get your work published,
you can show and tell to the team that stands behind your 3D, and promises
not to show or tell if you don't want us to.
Factoid
Ever wondered what the "Z" in form·Z stands for? Your guess
is correct if you answered: the third dimension on the x-y-z axis.
form·Z e-news
February 14, 2006
Happy Valentine's Day
Welcome to form·Z e-news. AutoDesSys is happy to share information
with you and invite your feedback, ideas and suggestions to make this
communication more interesting and meaningful for you.
form·Z Extensions Exchange
If you are a form·Z user who likes to extend its
capabilities through scripts and plug-ins, or merely one who would rather
use ready made extensions by others, you now have a place to post your
free extensions or use what others have made available to you. The form·Z
Extensions Exchange is the latest addition to the form·Z
web site and can be accessed from the downloads page /downloads/downloads.html.
There are currently over 15 extensions available for download.
form·Z 5.5.2 available for download
The latest free download for all form·Z 5.5 users
is available at formz.com. If you have not done so, please patch your
software to take advantage of this latest update at /downloads/patches/patches.html
form·Z 6.0
Work is progressing well on form·Z 6.0. It is currently
in its second round of beta testing and the developers are hard at work
to deliver it to your desktop soon. All new licenses bought at version
5.5 will receive this release free of charge.
form·Z 6.0 adds object centric animation as part of 3D
modeling. Some animations may already be viewed on the web at /downloads/samples/sample_animations.html
, along with more details about the new tools and features in this release.
Keep in mind that version 6.0 is not just about animation. More details
are available at /products/versionsversion_6_0/version_6_0.html
Featured Tool: Sketch Rendering
This is a very useful tool for the generation of images that look like
they were done by free hand. That is, a variety of effects can be applied
to rendered images, to post-process a rendering and apply a variety
of expressionistic effects that may make an image appear as if it were
done by free hand sketching. Available as a plug-in. Samples can be
viewed at /products/plugins/Sketch_Rendering.html
Factoid
AutoDesSys released form·Z 1.0 15 years ago today, February
14, 1991
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