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Subject: 
Re: LDD vs LDraw
Newsgroups: 
lugnet.cad
Date: 
Wed, 13 Dec 2006 16:56:43 GMT
Viewed: 
1609 times
  
Hi Chris,

Some of what you ask for in MLCad can already be done...

   I have used LDD (a little) and MLcad (occasionally over several years) and had already given this topic some thought, so here goes. If I were writing a new CAD program, it would do everything MLcad can do today, plus:
  • I like the way that LDD knows how pieces connect, and “snaps” them into place. OTOH, I have found MLcad to be difficult to consistently place parts at “integral” locations, regardless of the snap resolution. I need flexibility sometimes, but not nearly as often as I need the parts to line up correctly.

This surprises me. I’ve never had a problem.

  
  • Easier manipulation of hinged or axled sub-assemblies? Would be nice to be able to “play with” a model and have gears mesh, or tweak a hinge and have all of the affected pieces rotate in space. (I know that’s a tall order, but MLcad is soooo good already that there’s not much else missing.)

You can sort of do this with submodels

  
  • I love LDView’s rendering, zoom and rotation capabilities for inspecting models. Would like to see that level of realism and ease-of-use built right into the CAD program itself.

Apart from looking nicer I don’t think there’s any viewing that LDView can do that MLCad can’t.

  
  • LDD does a better job of categorizing parts by default than MLcad. Would be nice if there was an easy way to find basic bricks, plate, tile, Technic, etc. without having to dig through a million “brick with xxxx pattern” items. The Favorites folder in MLcad helps, but could be refined to improve the initial “out-of-box” experience.

This can be done by setting up your part filters properly. I can’t remember the details but I’m sure some other .cad denizen will.

  
  • Easier hierarchical model editing. If I need to edit a sub-assembly in MLcad, must move it somewhere, un-group, edit, re-group, then replace. This becomes a nightmare with nested group hierarchies. Would be nice if I could easily edit a group in its own window without having to temporarily disband the group or use multiple DAT files.

Submodels do all this. Using groups instead of submodels seems like asking for problems.

Tim



Message has 2 Replies:
  Re: LDD vs LDraw
 
(...) That doesn't surprise me; most of what I know about MLcad was learned by trial-and-error. (...) I must be doing something wrong, but whenever I place a new part it seems to appear in an arbitrary location in one plane, and doesn't "snap" to an (...) (18 years ago, 13-Dec-06, to lugnet.cad, FTX)
  Re: LDD vs LDraw
 
(...) While mostly true, I think you're minimizing the utility that a really good 3D view could provide to MLCad. (Note that this isn't meant as a put-down of MLCad; implementing a really good 3D view requires effort that might best be used for (...) (18 years ago, 13-Dec-06, to lugnet.cad, FTX)

Message is in Reply To:
  Re: LDD vs LDraw
 
(...) I have used LDD (a little) and MLcad (occasionally over several years) and had already given this topic some thought, so here goes. If I were writing a new CAD program, it would do everything MLcad can do today, plus: I like the way that LDD (...) (18 years ago, 13-Dec-06, to lugnet.cad, FTX)

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