I am glad that you get a new PC. As far as contacting Birmingham, I
am afraid to say that you must be wrong here. You need to contact
Romain, our Application Engineer. I have trained Romain myself when
he joined Vision numeric UK. So I can’t see why this network card was
the end of the discussion.
Perhaps that you already had tried 3Design before and that you want
to try again, therefore it is not anymore a question of network card
or PC, but a question of license file that Vision numeric is prepared
to renew or not. 3Design has been downloaded thousands of time in
2005, so I can’t understand why it does not run on Richard’s PC.
Please contact Romain so he get you sorted, and come back on this
forum to say how much you are happy with your 3Design trial. Kind
Regards
If you have broadband you have a network card in your computer.
Not necessarily there are some broadband devices that use a USB
connection from the DSL or Cable modem to the computer in place of
using an Ethernet connection,.
I have ordered a new PC which I should receive soon. It’s not so
much the job of installing a network card which only takes a few
minutes, but the need for the card in the first place.
My second comment is about the need for a CAD programme for
designing jewellery. Is it help or a hindrance? Obviously we all like
to have the latest gadgets. If you are hooking the CAD programme up
to a CNC machine for making casting patterns. I don’t know any top
flight jewellers in the UK who use CAD to design jewellery. It seems
that it could slow down designing and realisation.
In many ways I think it could be like paint programmes that people
got thrown in with their new computer. Suddenly they could draw
without any previous experience or knowledge?
Obviously I am being provocative here to stimulate discussion!
Even so, if you have whatever connected to your computer that is
giving you broadband access, then you will have a MAC address for
that network device. That is the number they are looking at for
licensing.
I have ordered a new PC which I should receive soon. It's not so
much the job of installing a network card which only takes a few
minutes, but the need for the card in the first place. My second
comment is about the need for a CAD programme for designing
jewellery. Is it help or a hindrance?
Most of the new PCs have built-in Ethernet ports already. You may
check it out and perhaps no need to buy an extra network card.
CAD program is a great tool for designing and model making. You can
use it to build 3D models and then send rendered pictures to your
customers for preview. You can also use RP machine or milling machine
to make as many models as you want. Similar to other computer
software (i.e. paint programs), you can copy, cut and paste the
parts. So if you have one side of earring ready, you will have
another side mirrored by just one click. There is no way to compare
if you do the model by hands. But if you’re not familiar with
program, it takes long time to build the CAD models and to make wax
models from machines. Another disadvantage is the cost, each program
costs several thousand dollars, and a RP machine can easily cost 100
thousand bucks. Plus maintenance fee, material fee, it’s absolutely
more costly.
As a professional model maker company, we do both hand carved and
CAD/CAM. So we can take benefits from both ways. We will decide to
use which way or hybrid way base on customer’s design and requests.
They run very cheap (I paid 80 for a four day course) courses the
first one is an introduction to CADCAM using Deskartes and a Roland
mill, the second using Artcam.
They are not exclusively for jewellers but they give you a good
introduction.
No connection except a satisfied customer, they inspired me to go
out and buy a mill, I am still playing around with software since I
can’t afford (or justify the cost of) high end software, have a look
at what is on the free discs of CGI magazines such as 3D World, you
can learn a lot for free if you have time and no money.