Editor’s Pick: Virtual 3D Book Teaches CAD & CAM

By Anthony J. Lockwood

Dear Desktop Engineering Reader:

A funny thing happened to VX Corporation when they demo’ed a new version of their Show-n-Tell digital communications tool at the recent IMTS trade show: People were awed by its onscreen, 3D book tutorials. Not that they were indifferent to Show-n-Tell’s authoring tools for design review / markup,  assembly instructions, and process / setup sheets, or its free, complementary viewer for sharing designs with collaborators and clients. It was even more than just the Wow-Factor.

No, people were blown away by the clear, concise, and definitive way Show-n-Tell reduced the CAD/CAM learning curve to a mere bump in the road. And Show-n-Tell also revealed a crazy hunger out there for a powerful, high-level CAD/CAM system that lets engineers do their work without — gasp! — mandating that they open a joint-checking account with the developer to pay forever and ever for training to run software.

Truth be told, Show-n-Tell has been a part of the VX CAD/CAM system for a while. But the latest version notches it up to a new level by leveraging all that sort of technology stuff that never seems to make it into engineering software, such as that 3D book thing. Not only can you get professionally produced demos from VX Corporation (free downloads), but — this is good — you can capture what you’re doing and build your Show-n-Tells. So,  depending on how your 401(k) emerges from all of that fussiness on Wall Street,  you grouchy old boomers can capture all your “how I did it”  knowledge, Show-n-Tell the whippersnappers, and then tell the owner to take this job and, um, let you retire.

Let me switch gears here. So, what about the VX CAD/CAM system? Is it any good? Well, a couple of years ago, frequent DE contributor and career designer Mike Hudspeth had this to say about VX Corporation in a review of VX 12: “Some companies make a lot of noise but deliver hot air. Others, like VX Corporation ... deliver the goods.” And last year, in a review of VX 13, Mike said that “I have been keeping my eye on VX for several years now and I really like what I see. ... Check it out. You’ll be glad you did.”

We’ve linked Mike’s two reviews of earlier versions of VX CAM/CAD at the end of today’s Pick of the Week write-up so that you can see more of that for yourself. You’ll also find we included links to register for live demos, a sign-up for a free evaluation, and, of course, links to more on Show-n-Tell.

If you’re hungry for a powerful CAD/CAM system that works for you rather than you for it, I recommend that you take the time to check out Show-n-Tell and VX CAD/CAM. As Mike advised, you’ll be glad that you did.

Thanks, pal. — Lockwood

Anthony J. Lockwood

Editor at Large, Desktop Engineering Magazine