NOVEDGE blog

An Interview with Jon Banquer, "Enfant Terrible" of CAD/CAM

Jon Banquer is well known in the CAD/CAM community for his daily presence on some of the most popular newsgroups. According to Google Groups, Jon wrote a total of 6,267 posts on the Usenet newsgroups since he began posting in June 1999.  See Jon's old-profile and current-profile.  (The King of CAD/CAM Usenet groups is a guy posting as Cliff with a total of 102,027 contributions.) Jon is strongly opinionated about almost everything related to CAD and CAM, leaving comments on several forums and many blogs. His style is direct, sometimes very explicit, but always honest. His uncompromising and compulsive attitude has made him a sort of "enfant terrible" of the CAD/CAM world: he has been blacklisted on several blogs and forums, and his comments are frequently deleted (some even from the Novedge blog). In order to unveil the real person under the unstoppable torrent of posts and to get a summary of his opinions without reading all six thousand newsgroups' contributions, I asked Jon a few questions.

Jon, can you tell us a bit about yourself and your professional activities?

I currently work in a machining job shop in San Diego, California. We manufacture an extensive product line of after market automotive and motorcycle parts and offer our machining and design services to others as well. Currently I spend most of my time supporting our new horizontal machining center which has 11 pallets and is capable of unattended lights out machining. We make use of modular vises and the owner's custom designed vise jaws which are placed on tombstones.

You are a constant presence on several newsgroups. As a professional CAD/CAM user what are the benefits of being part of a user community?

no one has been able to create a moderated web forum where to read the real truth about a CAD/CAM products weaknesses

The benefit to being part of alt.machines.cnc or comp.cad.solidworks is that they are unmoderated Usenet groups. So far no one has been able to create a moderated web forum where you're going to be able to read to real truth about a CAD/CAM products weaknesses... and all CAD/CAM products have major weaknesses. The Unmoderated Usenet format has it's problems though as you have what amount to Internet stalkers and you have to ignore a lot of off topic nonsense. I hope one day a moderated web forum is setup that is run by those who are experienced enough with CAD/CAM to understand why users have a right to be so angry and let them express that anger. So far almost all the moderated web boards that have been setup are heavily censored and you don't get to read the real truth about a CAD/CAM product. In addition, some web boards are setup with the main focus on making money on advertisers. This type of web board doesn't want posters offending those precious advertisers so when you tell the truth about a product your comments end up being censored or deleted. Usenet doesn't have that drawback and that's very important to someone like me.

Online training and training DVDs are becoming more and more popular, replacing training classes. What is your opinion on this evolution?

what's needed is high quality video training that covers advanced subjects in depth

The way most successful CAD/CAM product have traditionally been sold is to use a VAR network. This has it's good and it's bad points. The good point is that it really helps a software manufacturer sell more product. The bad is that software manufactures need a way to keep their VAR's making money and this means that the documentation that comes with a software product is most often inadequate and very poorly done. If you want quality training you must fork over big bucks to the software manufacturer's VAR to get the proper training. This means taking off work and spending the day(s) at the VAR's offices. This simply doesn't work for many of us. I believe what's needed is high quality video training that covers advanced subjects in depth. I don't believe software manufactures will ever offer this. I do believe it represents a tremendous opportunity for expert CAD/CAM software users who want to start their own business and make good money showing others what they painstakingly have learned... often by trail and error or through years of experience at the school of hard knocks.

Blogs, newsgroups, forums, and mailing lists can provide a lot of feedback to software manufacturers. Are they listening to the users?

Great! An easy question with a simple answer: Absolutely not.

Which of the several innovations introduced by CAD/CAM systems have the strongest impact on the end-user? Which one would you say has a marginal impact on your daily activities?

the division between design engineers and manufacturing people is probably greater than it ever has been

Machining job shops often have to work with non-native data. High level tools for modifying a “dumb” solid will have a strong impact because Feature Recognition and editing a history tree take way too much time. Machining job shops have been hard hit by the Chinese. Most successful machining job shops are run way too lean so they can make a profit for their owners. The lack of talented labor as well as just having enough labor will continue to be a major problem for machining job shops. Also, it needs to be easier to create tool-path on solid models. Having to extract wire-frame geometry from the solid model seems like a major waste of time to me.
Things like-real time rendering have a marginal impact for me but I can understand why others need better and easier rendering. It's too bad most engineers and many software manufactures could careless about the tools that hands-on manufacturing people really need especially when I'm sensitive to the tools they need.
The division between design engineers and hands on manufacturing people (those who know how to use their hands and can actually make something) is probably greater than it ever has been despite the advances in technology.

Based on your experience, can you give new users some recommendations on how to choose a CAD/CAM software?

(when choosing a CAD/CAM) you had better do your homework and know what compromises you will have to make

Very, very carefully. You had better do your homework and know what compromises you will have to make. Suggest new users make use of Usenet and discover what users in an uncensored format really think of the software they're thinking of purchasing.

I would like to thank Jon Banquer for accepting my challenge of being interviewed for this blog. If you have any questions for Jon or for Novedge, please leave a comment below and we will be glad to answer.

Franco Folini

UPDATE -- July 8, 2007 -- I had to close this blog post to further comments and to remove the personal attacks between Jon and some other newsgroups readers. Before the interview, I made an agreement with Jon about the style of the interview and the way to handle it. Jon didn’t respect our agreement, posting comments under fake names. Jon’s authentic and fake comments are all posted from the same IP address, 72.199.251.224. I can now see that my trust in Jon was misplaced.

An Interview with Roopinder Tara, CEO of TenLinks

Roopinder Tara is the President, CEO, editor and founder of TenLinks.com, the popular website that is a reference for the online CAD, CAM and CAE community. In the ever changing Internet world TenLinks has been a reliable source of information for many years. Roopinder is the man behind TenLinks. If you are curious to know more about Roopinder and how he provides such an important service to all of us, enjoy the interview below.

Roopinder, can you tell us a bit about yourself and your company?

TenLinks is an online media company specializing in CAD, CAM and CAE. I am the editor and founder. I have been somehow involved in CAD since I graduated with an engineering degree, having worked as an engineer, FEA analyst, CAD manager, CAD professor, editor of CAD magazine, CAD software manager (TurboCAD) and my latest adventure as CAD editor for TenLinks.

TenLinks has grown from a simple collection of links to becoming the reference website for the online CAD/CAM community. What are the key features that keep attracting thousands of visitors every day?

no search engine can determine the best AutoCAD shareware sites

TenLinks.com is based on the simple principle that ten links found by a subject expert are more valuable than ten thousand found by a search engine. No search engine can determine the best AutoCAD shareware sites, for example. It takes someone who is interested in CAD to do that. Also, our news service (including our newsletter TenLinks Daily) has been the most popular and reliable source of information – which refers thousands of viewers to our sites.

TenLinks is the most visible of your CAD/CAM connected websites. What is the role of each website in the TenLinks constellation, and what are the relationships among them?

we started a CAD service called Innovate3D to make 3D parts and online catalogs

TenLinks.com was our first site and is our cornerstone. TenLinks, Inc. went on to buy CADdepot.com, which is about AutoCAD shareware. We created CADdigest.com to find and organize tutorials, tips and reviews for almost every CAD, CAM and CAE software. I have a personal blog called CAD Insider. Most recently we started a CAD service called Innovate3D to make 3D parts and online catalogs.

You wrote several interesting reports about user conventions and other events that gather CAD users and experts. In a time where everything seems to happen online, some traditional live events are still very popular. What do you bring home with you from attending those events that you can’t get online?

less than 1% of CAD users ever attend these (traditional live) events

I get most of my information online as do our readers. However, when a major software product is being introduced or updated, I like to take a more active role, ask questions, discuss it with users, or use it myself. I can’t do that from the office. Less than 1% of CAD users ever attend these events, so I can go and bring back that information for them.

You are a blogger yourself, and you witness the growth of blogs in the CAD community. In your opinion, are blogs and bloggers merely spectators of the game or are they starting to have some influence on CAD users and companies?

CAD companies are definitely paying attention (to blogs)

< p>The ease of blogging and the accessibility of blogs (many are free and are easy to set up) have created an information revolution. All the rules are changing. Now everybody can publish -- not just a few authors or editors. CAD companies are definitely paying attention. Every CAD company I know has people who read CAD blogs – I think some are even addicted to them. I’ve had CAD executives remark upon a blog entry in a meeting which I had posted only minutes before in my hotel room. Of course, the quality of blogs varies – even day to day. Some are set up and abandoned. It’s created a challenge for us at TenLinks – we now have hundreds more places to look every day for news and information.

The way Internet users access and consume content (news, comments, tutorials, reviews, etc.) is rapidly changing. How does TenLinks adapt to these changes?

we now have a team of editors that actively monitor hundreds of sites

From the start, TenLinks was built around the Internet and how information flows on it. We have always tried to find and sort that information and then present it in a clear and concise way. Our ongoing challenge is that the amount of information is growing rapidly. Blogs, mentioned above, are just one area of expansion. In the beginning, we had one person (me) who scanned a few dozen sites for news and information. We now have a team of editors that actively monitor hundreds of sites as well as receive news from a variety of sources. And those resources are likely to grow. Still, I like to think nothing about CAD, CAM and CAE escapes our notice.

You witness the evolution of CAD systems from a privileged position as a journalist and editor. What do you see as the more interesting trends in the CAD/CAM world that are more likely to affect CAD users?

I think I have the best job in the world

I think I have the best job in the world -- I get to see the latest greatest technologies and meet the people who create them. As far as CAD, CAM and CAE software, the most important trend has been the migration to 3D, an idea that has finally gained traction.

How does your writing style and approach change when you write as a blogger compared to when you write as a journalist or an editor?

the most readable blogs are more casual and conversational in style

I think the most readable blogs are more casual and conversational in style so I try to pattern CAD Insider that way. I’m less likely to agonize about a typo in blog, for example, as often my goal is to post something quickly, get it out of my head and onto the Internet. A news or feature article that would appear in a magazine may be better researched and more considered, and there is certainly a place for that, but with blogs the advantage is speed at which information can be made available.

I would like to thank Roopinder Tara for the interview today. If you have any questions for Roopinder or for Novedge, please leave a comment below and we will be glad to answer.

Franco Folini

An Interview with Joe Anand, CEO of MecSoft (VisualMill and RhinoCAM)

Joe Anand is the CEO of MecSoft, the company that makes the famous CAM products VisualMill and RhinoCAM.

we have been the first to use the OpenNurbs technology and to write a full-fledged CAM plug-in for Rhino

The CAM market is fragmented with several small players. Many of them are selling good technologies but having problems creating a friendly user interface and delivering a product that doesn't require the assistance of an expert in training and deployment. In this CAM world MecSoft is a bit of an exception: VisualMill and RhinoCAM are great products with an easy-to-use interface and one doesn't need to share a cubicle with Joe Anand for two weeks just to start working with them. In order to learn the secret behind MecSoft and its products, I invited Joe Anand for an interview.

Joe, can you tell us a bit about yourself and your company?

Sure, let’s see - I got out of college with a masters degree in mechanical engineering with an emphasis on computer science. I remember the first computer program that I wrote was a design program for a rotary cam follower mechanism. This was early in the days of programming but that is when the CAD/CAM bug first bit me. After graduation, I got my first taste of commercial CAD/CAM with GE/Calma a company that pioneered 3D graphics systems in the early 80s in San Diego, CA.  After working with their Robot Simulation software, I moved on to work for a company in Denver called Auto-trol Technologies. I initially wrote a product for the AEC (Architecture, Engineering and Construction) industry for them and later worked on their CAM product.

I made a proposal to Tony Affuso to create a CAM for the PC. This was summarily dismissed and so I decided to do this on my own

My big break came when I was with Intergraph Corporation in the 90s when I somehow ended up to be in-charge of rewriting their entire surface milling product called MaxMill.  Maybe it was that nobody else wanted to touch this! 
Those were the heady days of new technical advances in both CAD and CAM. NURBS, Parametrics and a whole host of other advances made life quite exciting if you were a CAD/CAM techie then. In any case it was the right time to try new approaches to the problem of surface milling and we were able to produce a robust and fast surface milling product that emerged as one of their top selling product. After Intergraph started focusing on Solid Edge and moving resources away from their Unix based EMS product I moved back to the west coast to work for Unigraphics Solutions.  After 4 years of exciting work with one of the best CAM systems in the world, I saw an opportunity to create a workstation class CAM product on the then lowly PC. I made a proposal to Tony Affuso, who was then the VP of Development (who by the way is now, the President of Unigraphics Solutions) to create such a product. This was quickly and summarily dismissed for various reasons and so I decided to do this on my own. Armed with nothing more than a second mortgage, a supporting wife (I better say this or I will get into trouble) and a belief that there was a definite need for a high quality and yet affordable product on the PC and, I launched MecSoft in December of 1998.  It has been a fun ride since then - not much different from a roller coaster, I should say.

CAM software is traditionally expensive, difficult to use, and requires the support of a local reseller. MecSoft seems to be working to change that. Can you us tell how?

CAM systems can be treated as shrink-wrapped software and sold and supported as such

Interesting that you ask this question. This view of the CAM market is really something we have striven to change. I recall a conversation I had a few years ago with a CEO from another “traditional” CAM company. His view of the CAM market was that it was a “service software” market and that he required an extensive infrastructure to deliver, train and support customers on his CAM system. Our view at MecSoft is quite the opposite. We believe that if we designed the product, the delivery and the distribution systems correctly then CAM systems can be treated as “shrink-wrapped” software and sold and supported as such. This optimizes the entire supply chain in ways that a traditional CAM company simply cannot.

MecSoft is one of the few companies successfully selling CAM software through the online channel. Do you attribute this to the user friendliness of your products or to a better attitude of your customers?

the web is such a natural medium for software distribution, sale and support

This really goes back again to our view of the CAM market. The web is such a natural medium for software distribution, sale and support that we as CAM vendors would be foolish not to take advantage of it. We saw the value of this early on and have built our company around this opportunity. Any success we are seeing now is because it is indeed a very effective way of selling and supporting CAM systems - despite what some older stalwarts of the industry think!
And of course without customer acceptance of this model it would never work. Our first customers were early adopters who shared the same vision as us. But now with the advent of Web 2.0 this model is becoming the mainstream model and we are enjoying the benefits of perceiving this and acting on this before most others.

Your approach is not to implement CAD features but to facilitate the integration with CAD systems, for example, with the partnership with Alibre and the RhinoCAM product line. Do you have plans for further integrations?

our intent has always been to focus on our core-competency: creating world-class CAM solutions

We believe that there is a place for standalone CAM systems as well as fully integrated CAD/CAM systems. While we recognize a need for both such systems, our intent at MecSoft has always been to focus on our core-competency – that is – creating world-class CAM solutions. There are so many wonderful and talented CAD companies out there that it just does not make sense for us to try to compete with them. It is much better for our customers if we can leverage the synergies of best of breed organizations to create truly best of breed solutions. In the end the customer benefits and that really is our primary driver.

Rapid Prototyping technologies are becoming more affordable and therefore more commonly used. What will be the impact of those technologies on your products?

This is an interesting question. We are seeing some industries, which have traditionally used CNC machining for manufacturing parts, migrating towards these technologies. Jewelry manufacturing is a prime example. Various sources estimate that about 80-90% of all jewelry made in the world is manufactured using RP technologies today.   
However these technologies come with their own set of problems and so are not a panacea or the right technologies for all manufacturing applications. We see these technologies co-existing with more traditional machining technologies and methods. We at MecSoft view the emergence of these technologies as opportunities. A case in point - we recently released a product called RhinoART, which utilizes non-traditional modeling techniques to complement the powerful traditional modeling capabilities of Rhino. Models produced with this product can then be manufactured using such RP technologies.

RhinoCAM is a very successful product. What has been your experience so far in selling a product to the Rhino community?

we have been involved with the Rhino community from the early days of Rhino

We have been involved with the Rhino community from the early days of Rhino – even before the first version of Rhino was released. In fact we were the first company to create a data transfer plug-in for Rhino, the first to use the OpenNurbs technology and also the first CAM vendor to write a full-fledged CAM plug-in for Rhino. We find that Rhino users are passionate about the products they use and are early but discerning adopters of new technologies. It is always an interactive experience dealing with them, typically characterized by a spirit of openness and cooperation. This makes working with and serving them a truly satisfactory and gratifying experience. It has been a great ride so far!

I would like to thank Joe Anand for sharing his thoughts with me today. If you have any questions for Joe or for Novedge, please leave a comment below and we will be glad to answer.

Franco Folini

Do's and Don'ts for Selling CAD CAM Software in the US

In the last few years several companies from around the world have entered the market in the development and commercialization of CAD, CAM, and graphic software. Some are from countries that have a long tradition of software production, such as France with Dassault. Others, from countries such as India -- with a background in outsourcing software services, are now developing and selling their own products. The list of countries selling software in the US grows every day. From a mere glance at the Novedge catalog, I see companies from France, Russia, Italy, India, China, Spain, Germany, Czech Republic, and Sweden.

Some companies have difficulties approaching the US market from abroad. In many cases they don't have the experience to approach a global market and to interact with as large and mature a market as the US.

Based on my experience with Novedge, I made a list of the top 10 things non-US companies should do to have a better chance to succeed in the US market.

1. Think big! The US market includes more than 300 million people. They all speak one single language and they all share the same culture. It's a very big opportunity for your business.
2. Spread the word! Again, this is a huge country. In order to reach your potential customers you will have to invest in marketing, wisely but heavily. Let people know that you are here and you have a product for them. The rule is simple: no marketing, no business.
3. Speak English! Before approaching the American market, be sure you have a fantastic English version of your website, and professionally written English documentation for all of your products. Double check that the English throughout your product is perfect. Also have your sales people and technical people prepared to speak English well and to work according to the US time zones.
4. Keep it simple! Americans are used to simple and fast purchasing processes. This is the country where you can go to a car dealer and leave in 15 minutes driving your brand new car! Americans expect the same level of service from you and your resellers. Because of the Internet, expectations for software products are even higher than for a car. Forget USB keys, computer-IDs and activation codes exchanged by e-mail. Always go for a simple software activation, avoiding complex procedures. Don't invest in excessive piracy protection. Americans are mostly honest people and they like to be respected as such.
5. Adapt to the local culture! Always remember that you are coming here to sell, not to teach your country's ways or impress people with your local culture. When selling in the US, try to think and act like an American. Even if you believe you have a better practice, never question the American way. Blend in with the way Americans do business, and focus on excelling at what Americans believe is important.
6. Be local! Prospects, customers, and resellers will expect you to have a US toll free number, and a US e-mail address. You can keep your local domain for your local business, but get a .com domain for the US. Be ready!
7. Be fast! Don't even think about shipping your products from your country! If you want to sell in the US, you must ship from a US location. Immediately send tracking numbers to your customer or reseller. Shipping from the US will give you the opportunity to offer overnight shipping, a magic word that Americans love, along with a tracking numbers.
8. Always be nice! Americans are always very polite and nice. This is the country where the lady at the cash register always ask "How are you?" and the only possible answer is "Great!". Prepare your people to be courteous all the time: when they answer the phone, when they write e-mails, and when they send a fax. Believe me, this is really important.
9. Accept Credit Cards! Be prepared to accept payments by all major credit cards. Never complain about credit card fees with your customers and resellers. Credit cards are an essential tool for US businesses, whether you like them or not.
10. Follow up, follow up, and follow up again! In order to succeed always follow-up with everyone you do business with and keep each communication short and simple. Americans are used to receiving follow ups as reminders, and expect them. Without follow ups, very little happens.

Franco Folini

P.S. This post is based on a short article I posted on the blog of BAIA (Business Association Italy Ameirca) on November 20, 2006.