Wildfire 2: Any reactions?

Wildfire 2 has been out now for a few months. I've been expecting to hear more
reactions ~ comments, complaints, compliments, anything. I'm certainly curious how
far PTC got in migrating functions to the Dashboard, whether those things which
got migrated actually got improved, as I've seen with the draft function and
variable sections sweeps. Have detailing and sheet metal been migrated? Mechanica?
Is Mechanica Motion still in tact or was the rumor true about phasing it out?

David Janes

 

Hi Dave

I only played with it a bit, the first thing I did was a rotational
blend, exactly the same as Pro 2001, menu manager etc!. Maybe wildfire
3?

Geoff

 

out?

Hi,

I've just tried some basic stuff. When creating a protrusion/cut they have
moved the sketch definition so you first have to press 'Placement' and then
'Define' before you can start to sketch. An extra mouse click every time.
In WF you had the 'Define' directly as an icon when you where going to
create a protrusion/cut.

This is great. NOT!

/Bjorn

 

Hi David,

I work for a PTC VAR in California and I came across your posting
while posting an announcement about our new training facility. Here
is the address for the microsite for Wildfire 2.0. Perhaps it will
address some of your inquiries. Should you have any more questions
please feel free to contact me via e-mail () or phone
(408-986-0200 x10)

Good luck on your search! Megan Kundert

 

I've just tried some basic stuff. When creating a protrusion/cut they have

Bjorn,

Actually, creating a sketch is easier. After you select the icon for
a protrusion/cut, just right click in the model window and select
'Define Internal Sketch'. Same number of clicks as before, but you
don't have to move the mouse from upper right to lower left and back
to upper right again - lots of reduced motion.

Incidentally, according to PTC the now-recommended method for creating
sketch-based features to create the sketch via the new Sketch feature
and then select the finished sketch and hit the Extrude Tool icon.

Regards.

 

: "David Janes" <> skrev i meddelandet
: : > Wildfire 2 has been out now for a few months. I've been expecting to hear
: more
: > reactions ~ comments, complaints, compliments, anything. I'm certainly
: curious how
: > far PTC got in migrating functions to the Dashboard, whether those things
: which
: > got migrated actually got improved, as I've seen with the draft function
: and
: > variable sections sweeps. Have detailing and sheet metal been migrated?
: Mechanica?
: > Is Mechanica Motion still in tact or was the rumor true about phasing it
: out?
:
: Hi,
:
: I've just tried some basic stuff. When creating a protrusion/cut they have
: moved the sketch definition so you first have to press 'Placement' and then
: 'Define' before you can start to sketch. An extra mouse click every time.
: In WF you had the 'Define' directly as an icon when you where going to
: create a protrusion/cut.
:
Let me see if I get what you're saying. You click the extrusion icon and go into
Dashboard as before. Is there still an icon that you have to press to get to
sketcher? Then there's something for 'placement' which sounds like just another
name for selecting sketcher references. And then 'Define'? But 'Define' was a
button on Menu Manager, there's no 'Define' button in Wildfire. Are you sure
you're not talking about the icon for sketcher to create a new or redefine an old
sketch?. In WF, when you picked this icon you'd get two dialogues before you got
to sketcher: placement references and sketcher references. I'm not sure how you
counted mouse clicks in that case, but often the default selections
(pre-selections?) were okay, so you just MMB/OK'd to the sketcher. But there were
*two* steps (and however many mouse clicks) after clicking the 'create a
section..' icon. So, where are the extra steps? Don't get it.

DJ

 

: > I've just tried some basic stuff. When creating a protrusion/cut they have
: > moved the sketch definition so you first have to press 'Placement' and then
: > 'Define' before you can start to sketch. An extra mouse click every time.
: > In WF you had the 'Define' directly as an icon when you where going to
: > create a protrusion/cut.
: >
: > This is great. NOT!
: >
: > /Bjorn
:
: Bjorn,
:
: new Sketch feature
: and then select the finished sketch and hit the Extrude Tool icon.
:
New sketch feature? That should be interesting. And, yeah, easier, maybe. Depends
on how much monkeying around you have to do to create the sketch feature, doesn't
it? Could just be borrowing trouble.

DJ

 

:
: Hi Dave
:
: I only played with it a bit, the first thing I did was a rotational
: blend, exactly the same as Pro 2001, menu manager etc!. Maybe wildfire
: 3?
:

Or 4? or never? Problem is we're not dealing with a Pro/e interface but with
several interfaces and with a couple conflicting directions in interface
development. Dashboard represents one direction and a remarkably new departure for
Pro/e because it evinces some conception of the use of screen regions in interface
design. The other is the old standby of windows on top of windows, everything's a
window, popping, slopping, slipping, sliding, hiding windows as the other
direction. Just as an example of how bizarre Pro/e's interface development is,
consider the fact that it was only a few revs ago that they abandonded the command
line interface in Pro/e. Still, there must be, in residual, half a dozen
interfaces embedded in Pro/e. Getting it all into Dashboard is a monster of a job
and doing it so that functionality improves at the same time!?! I hope Pro/e
survives that long.

DJ

 

: > Wildfire 2 has been out now for a few months. I've been expecting to hear more
: > reactions ~ comments, complaints, compliments, anything. I'm certainly curious
how
: > far PTC got in migrating functions to the Dashboard, whether those things
which
: > got migrated actually got improved, as I've seen with the draft function and
: > variable sections sweeps. Have detailing and sheet metal been migrated?
Mechanica?
: > Is Mechanica Motion still in tact or was the rumor true about phasing it out?
: >
: > David Janes
:
: Hi David,
:
: I work for a PTC VAR in California and I came across your posting
: while posting an announcement about our new training facility. Here
: is the address for the microsite for Wildfire 2.0. Perhaps it will
: address some of your inquiries.

Would have been preferable if you had addressed some of our inquiries. This is a
community of Pro/e users. We help each other out, hopefully, someone is making
some money along the way. But we're not here picking each other's pockets, we're
sharing what we know. If you'd like to be part of that community and show us that
you actually know something about Pro/e, which you have so far not demonstrated
with any useful knowledge, start answering some questions. Think of it as a
marketing ploy: the simple questions you answer are just teasers, just a modest
intro to the wonders that await, a way to convince us that your services are worth
paying for.

For those who would like to check out Ms. Kundert's claims, here is the website
she failed to mention:
http://www.nxrev.com/base.html

David Janes

 

Ugh! Besides the fact that Flash drives me nuts and their site intro is
WAY too long, they misspelled "suppliers"! Ahhhh the missing "l",
nothing like a little sloppy proofing to instill confidence!

Rant Over,
Ron

 

: Ugh! Besides the fact that Flash drives me nuts and their site intro is
: WAY too long, they misspelled "suppliers"! Ahhhh the missing "l",
: nothing like a little sloppy proofing to instill confidence!
:

My favorite was the section under NxTools called 'Free!!! Parts Library'... with
nothing in it. That seems to sum up their contribution to the Pro/e user
community.

DJ

 

David - The hotline told me directly that Motion is still there. I think
they said WF3, it'll be gone... (Same hotline told me it'd be gone by
2004 about a year ago) I've heard that computed measures and very nearly
everything that Motion could do is in MDO. I'd love to confirm this
but... I can't run Wildfire 2.0 yet due to the fact that it won't run on
the version of Solaris that we still have on our license server.

Still, I think you are being WAY too negative about Wildfire. Of course,
seemingly unlike you, I never LIKED the incredible number of clicks that
you used to have to use to get a part on the screen. Once you move the
dashboard to the top of the screen and write a mapkey to get into the
sketcher via a key click, I find the mouse travel to be WAY better than
older Pro/E and a lot of other CAD systems. This new sketch thing sounds
neat. An undo inside Pro/E will make us Mechanica guys happy... anyone
have the details on the Undo - How many commands deep is it? is that
settable? Does it not work on some commands? Is there a redo?

I agree that site sent below was a bit weak. It also had Pro/E 2001 in
the splash intro!?? I'd think time would be better spent on the real PTC
site. I do hand it to someone in the business of selling software to
even attempt to write back to a group like us!

Ya know... PTC does try to improve their product... Maybe we all should
write more enhancement requests, instead of just bitching in this here
newsgroup!!?? We DO know where that site is right?

-meld

 

Whats with all the negativity?, she was just beeng friendly.

Nerds!!

 

The Sketch feature replaces the Sketched Datum Curve. It is similar,
but has a few important differences. First, it autohides after you
use it to create a feature. Also, it disappears from the model tree
after you create a feature with it so you don't have a cluttered mess
of 'Sketch' followed by 'Extrude' all the way down the tree (if you
set the tree filter correctly) - it reappears if you delete the
feature so you can re-use it. It remains associative to the feature
unlike WF 1 (this association can be broken if desired).


As for creation, it is just like a sketched datum curve. Pick a
plane, orient it and add the necessary references.

Regards

 

: Whats with all the negativity?, she was just beeng friendly.
:
: Nerds!!

<SMACK> OWW, ooo, thanks, I needed that. Ahem, yup, just a nice, friendly girl.
Drops by about once every 3 months (like it in her organizer to do so) and flits
off again. I just wish she'd stick around and liven the place up a little. What
harm could it do to have someone from the Olympic heights of Santa Clara/Palo
Alto/Mountain View/Sunnvale around to wise us up. That's all I'm saying.

DJ

 

: David - The hotline told me directly that Motion is still there. I think
: they said WF3, it'll be gone... (Same hotline told me it'd be gone by
: 2004 about a year ago) I've heard that computed measures and very nearly
: everything that Motion could do is in MDO. I'd love to confirm this
: but... I can't run Wildfire 2.0 yet due to the fact that it won't run on
: the version of Solaris that we still have on our license server.
:
Oh, shoot, and I was hoping you'd be one of the guys to have it. I know you'd give
it a good onceover and have stuff to say about it. Which I'd like to hear which is
why I started this thread which is turning out pretty lively, don't you think!?!

: Still, I think you are being WAY too negative about Wildfire. Of course,
: seemingly unlike you, I never LIKED the incredible number of clicks that
: you used to have to use to get a part on the screen.

Where do you get crap like this, I'm way too negative about WF? When have I said
one thing against the software except that wherever it's going, it's not getting
there fast enough. I love the changes they are making but is it going to take
another leap? two more? is there a timetable and when is it scheduled to be
finished. I'd love to see everything go Dashboard, or at least some *consistent*
interface. Is *that* even going to happen!?! I hope so, even if their only
motivation is that SW is spankin' their fannies pretty good. But, I haven't found
anyone yet who knows if and when. I don't want to rush them, just to get some kind
of ideas what's going on. But, I'm sure the migration to the Dashboard is taking
some time, it's a huge undertaking and more so because they're actually improving
functionality as they migrate. For instance, the draft function has been vastly
improved. So has the rib function. If you haven't tried these in WF, do so,
they're a treat. I've created drafted ribs in WF that I wouldn't have given a
snowballs chance in hell of succeeding in an earlier version. Variable section
sweeps, the same. And if you're at all familiar with SW, I'm sure you'll agree
that the WF VSS beats the pants of their 'Sweep with guide curves': it's easier,
faster and produces a better surface. Is that un-negative enough for ya, huh?

: Once you move the dashboard to the top of the screen and write a mapkey to get
into the
: sketcher via a key click, I find the mouse travel to be WAY better than
: older Pro/E and a lot of other CAD systems.

I agree, 100%. I took a course on SW this past semester at San Diego City College,
all day Saturday deal. It struck me that the sketcher in SW (a heavily used piece
of equipment) was awkward, clumsy, slow compared to the Pro/e sketcher, like going
back before Intent Manager and doing most of the constraining by hand (and by the
way, I'm the only one in the universe who's never turned off Intent Manager,
that's how much I love it).

:This new sketch thing sounds
: neat. An undo inside Pro/E will make us Mechanica guys happy... anyone
: have the details on the Undo - How many commands deep is it? is that
: settable? Does it not work on some commands? Is there a redo?
:
Supposed to be infite undo/redo. Hey, that's why I started this thread, to find
stuff like that out! Seriously, I expected that to be one of the first things out
of anyone's mouth. Okay, guys, now once more, *with feeling* 'Hey, this Undo/Redo
is GREAT'. Yeah, something like that.

: I agree that site sent below was a bit weak. It also had Pro/E 2001 in
: the splash intro!?? I'd think time would be better spent on the real PTC
: site. I do hand it to someone in the business of selling software to
: even attempt to write back to a group like us!
:
Ya know, I got no problem whatsoever with people coming here, lending a hand,
being part of the community, doin' the Usenet thing, and then every once in a
while, when the occasion arises, plugging their business. I'm not a purist, a
Usenet fanatic. What I do object to is someone coming around *only* to drum up
business, making no contribution whatsoever. And, on top of that, implying that
the Newsgroup approach to sharing information and mutual help is trivial, second
rate and inadequate and we'd be much better off going to them and paying them for
the answers. Maybe that's right but it still comes down to 'show me what you got',
caveat emptor.

: Ya know... PTC does try to improve their product... Maybe we all should
: write more enhancement requests, instead of just bitching in this here
: newsgroup!!?? We DO know where that site is right?
:
My browser window in Wildfire takes me right there. Menu Mapper has been extremely
useful and even that has been improved. I've also used the site to check out PTC's
hardware recommendations and to run through some of the online tutorials.
Unfortunately, I don't know anything about making enhancement requests and it's
turned into a little bit of a vicious circle: don't know because I haven't tried
it, haven't tried it because I'm unfamiliar with it. At the same time, I keep
thinking that if I were in the business of writing software, I'd be everywhere
that people were discussing it or try to be. I'd open all the doors and windows,
let a fresh breeze in. People bitching in a NG is definitely something I'd pay
attention to. I don't think that's outside of the process of getting problems
fixed, it just may not be the most direct route.

Hey, nice to hear from you again. Everyone seems to be pretty busy using hte
software, that's excellent.

DJ

 

Hmmm... funny. I switched from SW to ProE and I find I prefer the SW
sketcher. Intent manager is always adding stuff I don't want and
sometmes it fails to delete the proper weak constraint when I add
another costraint.

SW sketches can be tweaked by dragging the underconstrained elements.
In ProE, dragging will override both weak and strong dimensions...you
can lock dims, but they don't stay locked.

SW sketcher does automatically infer constraints as you are sketching,
like ProE, but you don't need to worry about weak and strong relations.
(However, SW does not add mirrored or equal constrains automatically,
you must add these manually).

Sketch state feedback in better in SW IMO; blue-underconstrained, black-
fully defined, red-overconstrained/not solved. (Granted, ProE sketches
are always fully defined because ProE always adds enough weak
constraints to keep the sketch fully defined).

In the end, I admit there are strengths and weaknesses of both. (I do
like the way sketch entities can reference planes in ProE, something SW
has more trouble with.)
In the end, however, I prefer SW sketcher, perhaps simply because I am
most familiar with it (SW - 5 years, ProE - 1.5 years).

 

<snip>
: In the end, however, I prefer SW sketcher, perhaps simply because I am
: most familiar with it (SW - 5 years, ProE - 1.5 years).

Yeah, first loves! At least they ain't ACRUD 2-D!!!!

DJ

 

Meld,
Undo-Redo is unlimited per session; if you re-open the model after
dumping memory the Undo is erased. It works for everything as far as
I am aware, including Detail.

In my estimation, WF2 is much more coherent that WF1.

Regards

 

Hmmm... funny. I switched from SW to ProE and I find I prefer the SW

If it's any help....
You can ctrl or shift RMB to pre-approve (not a real good term, but...) or
disallow a constraint before it's placed (as you "rubber band" around).

Believe you can also modify the constraint 'selection set' in an environment
dialog.

DOES ANYONE KNOW if the "dims won't stay locked" has been fixed in WF2 (or
is there an option setting I'm missing, it supposed to be that way, etc.)?
This one bothers me.

------

Generally, I think I like the sketcher better than any of the D-Cubed
implementations I've seen, but that's just a matter of personal preference
and it did take some time before I got used to it.

===================================