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Issue #609 : : June 30, 2009 |
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In this issue: The upFront.eZine Tour of Northern Europe
- On Their New CAD Software
Out of the Inbox, and our other regular columns.
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The upFront.eZine Tour of Northern Europe Part II: Visiting Graebert in Berlin, Germany IGraebert GmbH is run from a fiive-story building near Kurfurstendamm in Berlin, the street that hosts the famous Kudamm shopping district. upFront.eZine interviewed founder Wilfried Graebert and son Robert Graebert, who spoke candidly about their new CAD software, their OEM business, and their services business. Later in the week, I also visited one of the sites that their software is involved with.
On Their New CAD Software Some years ago, Graebert began to realize that their PowerCAD software was showing its limitations. The decision was made to write an all-new CAD program that would provide the latest APIs [application programming interfaces] and be independent of operating systems. After five years of development, Ares (pronounced like "aries," and named after the Greek god of war) is due to ship this August for Windows -- with Linux and Mac versions to follow in October, all in 13 languages. After the initial release, Graebert plans four quick releases next year to add more features. Names of their earlier software packages included FelixCAD and PowerCAD, while SiteMaster is based on PowerCAD. Mr Graebert took pains to emphasize that none of their software was ever based on IntelliCAD. "All our code is home-grown, and home-optimized." But it does use the Open Design Alliance's API for reading and writing data from DWG files. Ares uses Qt (pronounced "cute") to provide the GUI, database connections, tie-ins with networks, and an OS abstraction layer. Qt uses native widgets, whether running in Linux, Mac, or Windows. This means there is no need to customize user interfaces for different operating systems. Some 95% of Ares' code is platform-independent. Robert Graebert switched on a Mac computer to show me the OS X version of Ares. Currently, it looks a lot like the Windows version, but it will get its own Mac look, and that's what the software company is currently working on. Robert Graebert then rebooted the Mac computer with a Ubuntu Live CD to show me the Linux version of Ares. It looks just like the Windows version. It runs LISP now, but printers not yet supported. Official support will be provided for the Ubuntu, Suse, and Red Hat dialects of Linux, but it should run on most other flavors as well. The requests Graebert is receiving for Linux CAD come from those city councils who are working to become independent of Microsoft. The company's programmers, all pf whom work in the same building, are investigating Linux speed issues. For example, is Gnome or KDE faster? Is Red Hat faster than Ubuntu? Where are the performance bottlenecks? Wilfried Graebert emphasized: "We only have one chance to go after a customer -- either they like it or they do not. We do not want [to ship] 100,000 features; we want [to ship] a fast and stable engine." He showed the the benchmarking results, where Ares was faster than AutoCAD 2010 in working with very large files (in the tens and hundreds of megabytes), and much faster than a similar-sized competitor I won't name. His company has two types of customers: (1) those who expect an AutoCAD-like experience, and (2) those who do not care about AutoCAD. The latter group is concerned only with speed and customization. So the tough job was to find a way for Ares to satisfy both groups of customers. For example, for the non-AutoCAD user, Ares collects all styles and options into a central Options dialog box, such as point styles, table styles, and dimension styles. At the same time, the PdMode, TableStyle, and DimStyle commands are available for AutoCAD-familiar users. In this day of shrinking computer specs, Graebert has experience that no other CAD vendor can boast. For a decade, they worked with mobile PCs, learning workarounds for each model and its different implementation of Windows CE. As mainstream CAD prepares its move to netbooks, browsers, and the cloud, Graebert's knowledge could well give it the edge.
On Their OEM Business The retail side of their business is not that important to Graebert; it is more of a "We exist in the marketplace" signal. Indeed, they still experience 50 downloads a day of their free version of FelixCAD LT from www.graebert.com/FelixCADlt.html . More important is their relationship with OEMs (their name for third-party developers). OEMs are liking Ares, because it is such a customizable CAD system -- and not just a DWG API, such as available from ODA. Graebert will sell a basic Ares package to OEMs, who can then purchase additional options as they need them: ACIS, VSTA, and so on. Income from OEMs is 60% of Graebert's income, and so they are getting Ares sooner than general customers. OEMs also have access to Graebert bug tracker. OEMs get the Ares software, development licenses, and access to SDKs for no cost. Once you start shipping, however, you are charged licensing fees and a small annual support fee. For instance, OEMs are integrating Ares into survey instruments, so that the external handheld computer is no longer needed. Graebert found that all these hardware companies care about is the file format -- and that someone else writes the software for them. Nevertheless, Graebert depends on ODA for its DWG APIs, and is excited by ODA's recent release of the DWGdirect.net API. They figure it will be more popular than DRX/ARX, because dot.net programming is easier. The ODA implementation of dot.net parallel's that of Autodesk, so porting code should be very easy. Since Graebert is now the engine business, they no longer write vertical applications. They found, however, that some clients didn't want to write their own verticals, so Graebert produced SiteMaster, which is also available as an OEM product.
On Their Services Business The second side of the CAD business is www.graebert-isurvey.com/eng/index.htm , which represents 40% of revenues. This division has a staff of 12 "surveyors" who measure buildings on behalf of clients that own airports, government offices, and other large collections of buildings. This division came about after Graebert marketing said to surveyors, "Buy our stuff, and you will be 10x faster." But the surveyors said, "No, we already have our own stuff." The surveying industry is a cottage industry, and it does not have the capital to spend on new methods. So, Graebert created its own survey division that competes against surveyors. For instance, in one bidding process, five companies were asked to bid by measuring 20 buildings; one team consisted of a single person using Graebert's software/hardware solution; he beat out two-man teams using standard surveying equipment. This win let firms see the benefit of the Graebert solution. The Graebert hardware/software solution consists of a small form factor PC running their SiteMaster CAD software, which communicates with laser measuring devices over Bluetooth. Over the years, they tried different types of small formfactor computers. In the early years, it was the HP PocketPC; when upFront.eZine met with the company three years ago in Frankfurt, Robert Graebert enthusiastically showed me the latest UMPC, Microsoft's now-failed ultra mobile PC. The PocketPC was too small, the UMPC too large, but just right was the... ...Ameo from HTC, a Windows Mobile PC with a large 5" touchscreen -- the largest size that fits comfortably Velcro'ed to the wrist. It has GSM, GPS, 3-megapixel camera, video camera, WiFi, BlueTooth, cell phone, and a small optional keyboard that clicks into place with a strong magnet. As the laser measuring device sends distances via BlueTooth to the SiteMaster software running on the Ameo, the drawing is built up by the operator. At the end of the day, drawings are sent by email (using the built-in cell phone) to the server at head office in Berlin. Staff in the office finalize the drawings by touching them up. The staff in this division now have two years experience. "It helps to eat one's own dog food," said Mr Graebert. The experience helped the company optimize its UI for small screens, as well as add enhancements to SiteMaster for handling large projects. The system is used to survey damage, determine asbestos removal, check for disability accesses, database the conditions of windows and doors in schools, and produce as-builts. Grabert recently completed measurements of 5,000 buildings for the German Catholic Church, and 1,500 for the German Anglican Church -- which then found it had 10% more buildings than thought; next step for the churches is to get a handle on energy use. A good surveyor measures about 500 square meters [5000 sq ft] a day. For truly rectilinear buildings, a surveyor can accomplish up to 6000 sq m a day; but most buildings are not square and so churches and other unusually shaped buildings take longer. The job is not just drafting, but also data collection. For the church jobs, each room had 120 attributes. The surveyors entered the condition of ceiling, the kinds of glass in windows, the floor types, and so on. In Berlin, the division is measuring city halls and schools; the challenge is working among noisy kids. A courthouse in London was an even tougher assignment: four basements were filled with jail cells, junk, and were partially underwater. At a zoo, the challenge was avoiding dangerous animals. Graebert sees their system useful for building-supply companies who want to finally become more efficient. For example, a window manufacturer could send reps to building sites, and then make sales on the spot. "We are a partner to customers to help them do big jobs; we are not a surveying office." Areas of growth include roofs and heating systems (energy consumption), and on-the-spot energy certificates (uploading data to agencies with the smartphone). (BlueTooth, however, is a pain, Robert Graebert admitted to me. His company's software only uses it as a serial port, replacing the cable. But the problem is that new software stacks get released, which changes how communications are set up. And, stacks differ in different devices.) Still, Graebert's biggest problem is the lack of competition; a competitor would validate the Windows CE CAD market. Graebert launched its first product in 2000, and today have no competitor. "No one believes us that it works in practice," complains Mr Graebert. And so they created their own services division to prove that their solution works outside under harsh conditions. (There is a third part to the business, Graebert Software Engineering at www.graebert-gse.de. It specializes in archiving, paperless offices, office communication, fax servers, and the like.) The primary market is not architects and engineers in the office, but communicating with drawings in the field -- allowing anyone to use CAD drawings in the field. The key to future growth is the corporate market -- something no ITC [IntelliCAD Technical Consortium] vendor has cracked yet. Large corporations have preferred vendor lists -- for which IntelliCAD and similar software simply was not good enough in the past. PS: In case you were wondering, yes, the lawsuits between Autodesk and Graebert carry on.
[Disclosure: Graebert provided a restaurant meal in Berlin.] Open Design Alliance announces DWGdirect.NET for use with .NET frameworks. It reads and writes DWG/DXF files, renders drawings, edits entity-level properties, and more. Works with C++, ActiveX, C#, VB.NET, J#, and ASP.NET. www.opendesign.com/The_ODA_Platform ODA also releases DWGdirect and DGNdirect v.2.7.3 with these features:
General CADD Pro v7 add these features:
www.generalcadd.com/downloads.htm - - - New OrthoGraph Survey and Architect versions creates reports of measured areas, perimeters, and wall, door and window surfaces on-site. Now half-price ($659) until August 31. www.orthograph.net JTB FlexReport 5.0 reports on FLEXnet license usage of applications to manage and forecast license usage. www.jtbworld.com/jtbflexreport/index.htm The Wilcox Associates division of Hexagon Metrology ships PC-DMIS Reshaper standlone software for processing 3D point clouds for CAD, CAM, and rapid prototyping. www.PC-DMIS.com Lattice Technology offers free trials of its XVL Studio Pro software, its XVL authoring tool for performing mathematically correct interference and clearance checks on 3D assembly data, manipulating parts lists, creating process designs, delivering 3D work and assembly instructions and illustrations direct from 3D design data. www.lattice3d.com/solutions/design_review_offer.html (requires registration). Pointwise's new release of its Gridgen v15.14 software handles larger and higher quality hybrid meshes for computational fluid dynamics using anisotropic tetrahedral extrusions. www.pointwise.com ANSYS releases SIwave v4.0 for electromagnetic simulation with new signal-integrity, power-integrity, and electromagnetic compatibility testing features. www.ansys.com SoftGold ships of ABViewer v7 (e49), a CAD viewer that also performs editing: mirror, rotate, move, match properties, and so on. www.cadsofttools.com Microspot announces Microspot Interiors Professional ($250) for the Mac, with new wall and vertex editing, and cuboids with chamfered and rounded edges. www.microspot.com Intergraph's new SmartPlant 3D Materials Handling Edition automates the design and modeling of bulk materials handling systems for the mining, port, power, pulp and paper industries. www.intergraph.com - - - These were some of the news items that were posted during the last week at the WorldCAD Access blog < worldcadaccess.typepad.com >:
And at the Gizmos Grabowski blog < worldcadaccess.typepad.com/gizmos/ >:
People/Companies on the Move Excitech form its new Excitech Structural Solutions business unit for the UK structural engineering market, headed up by Nigel Rees. Mr Reese is the former director of Robobat (UK), now owned by Autodesk. Rand Worldwide becomes a Siemens PLM Software Solutions Partner. www.rand.com Tacton Systems appoints Tom Francke as chief business officer. Mr Francke is the former ceo of XCounter AB. WorthWhile Web http://www.renesys.com/blog/2009/06/the-proxy-fight-for-iranian-de.shtml
http://www.newyorker.com/arts/critics/books/2009/07/06/090706crbo_books_gladwell?printable=true
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/magazine/8117619.stm
Letters to the Editor "Re: Visiting Bricsys in Ghent, Belgium "Several years ago when we were looking at an AutoCAD alternative, I tested a number of programs to see what could do what we needed with the minimum of relearning and bugs. Bricscad stood out not only for its compatibility with AutoCAD but also because it had fewer bugs. Your article confirms what I had guessed from a few-week trial: they put in extra effort to make it right. "I am glad to see they are continuing to me proactive. However, it is my hope that these changes do not bring us too far away from our AutoCAD familiarity." "Thanks for very interesting news from Bricsys." "I think you mean 'woo' developers, not 'woe' developers. Developers probably have enough woes already." "Oh, woo is me! You used woe when you meant something else. Sorry about that! Couldn’t resist giving you a bit of a hard time." The editor replies: "I have no excuse, not even that I wrote the article on the train in Germany. The archived edition on my Web site corrects that -- well, it's not a typo. Freudian slip? " - - - "Always enjoy reading your ezine. You might note that Edward Middleton, a new subscriber, is actually Dr Edward Middleton. Previously, chief engineer for the US Army Corps of Engineers, Jacksonville Division."
Spin Doctor of the Moment "I'm a guy who doesn't see anything good having come from the Internet."
Notable Quotable "If everyone runs in one direction, it creates a niche market in the other."
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