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New user interface makes powerful capabilities more accessible.
WAY BACK IN 1994, I RAN Pro/ENGINEER on a DEC high-performance Alpha workstation-I can't remember what the specs were-under some flavor of UNIX. On one hand, I was impressed with the program's features and what it could do, but on the other hand I felt overwhelmed and frustrated by the sheer number of options and the strict rules that I had follow to design anything remotely complex. At that time, it was a one-way street-the design engineer was forced to adapt to the design tool, not the other way around. I wondered then if Pro/ENGINEER would ever become a design tool for mere mortals.
Ten years later, the product is called Pro/ENGINEER Wildfire and it's well on its way to being an approachable program for all designers. We thought it was time to see if today's Wildfire is treading water or spreading its wings with regard to its features, capabilities, and future. The product I review here is the Pro/ENGINEER Wildfire 2.0 Foundation Advantage package.
Before we get into the nuts and bolts of Pro/ENGINEER Wildfire 2.0, I must say that the installation procedure is more difficult than is necessary. Before you install the software, you have to obtain a license pack that permits installation and loads a setup utility. I installed Pro/ENGINEER Wildfire 2.0 and a couple of other modules on a stand-alone machine and was somewhat taken aback at the number of codes, IDs, and numbers I had to supply for installation. I can understand PTC's concern with piracy, but this procedure took me hours instead of the minutes I've become accustomed to with most other MCAD products. I'd almost prefer a hardware dongle. Once installed, the program said my license was lost whenever I left it idle for a few minutes. It hiccupped the first couple of times during simple procedures when sketching and adding features. And it automatically shut down and rebooted my machine. Fortunately, this didn't occur too often. Although they were a bit disconcerting, once these few glitches were resolved, I was able get down to business and build some parts.
What's New With The Interface?
In the past, one of the most intimidating aspects of learning and using Pro/ENGINEER...