Engineers at the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) Information Directorate in Rome, N.Y., have reduced drafting time by switching to VectorWorks, an intuitive cross-platform computer aided design (CAD) software from Diehl Graphsoft in Columbia, Md.
AFRL engineers had used a Macintosh CAD program to produce their drawings until its developer discontinued the software, AFRL officials say. They chose VectorWorks because it uses gray scales and color to highlight and distinguish between different areas of components, they say.
One of the key features of VectorWorks is a SmartCursor, which automatically identifies relationships such as endpoints, midpoints, center points, tangencies, and real and extended intersections. If an engineer wants to connect a line to the midpoint of another line, he simply moves the cursor in the general vicinity of the midpoint. When a midpoint cue appears, he clicks the mouse. — J.M.
For more information on VectorWorks contact Diehl Graphsoft by phone at 410-290-5114, by fax at 410-290-8050, by mail at Diehl Graphsoft, 10270 Old Columbia Road, Columbia, MD. 21046, or on the World Wide Web at http://www. diehlgraphsoft.com.
