Hello Mrdon, Mobile memory requirements vary greatly depending on the size of your drawing file. In general we have found that a mobile device with 1GB of system RAM (not to be confused with storage memory) can open a file up to 30MB. Our research indicates average file size for drawings at 3-12 mb. If your file is larger than that or your device has less memory, this may restrict the size of file that can be open. We are looking at other methods to help solve this mobile memory limitation problem and expect to have a solution this year.
@mrdon: That's certainly a good point, and I don't know off hand. I can tell you that memory issues have never come up in all the reporting I've done on design tool apps, but it's worth a circle back with the vendors to push them on that issue. I will get back with some feedback.
Beth, as of now most of the tools and design software are designed for big screen having high computational power. When it moves from big screen to low screen devices like tablet or smartphones, normally companies used to release a light weight image of the tool. This light weight tools have limited features and facilities, with minimum system/resource requirements.
Laptops and ultrabooks are definitely increasingly light and powerful, but the keyboard and mouse isn't always the best fit for some of these on-the-go type use cases. That's where the idea of the stylus and human gesture interface have particular appeal on a tablet--again, not necessarily to create or even modify the geometry on site, but rather to make comments and explore the model for possible problems/improvements etc. At least that's the use case scenario I'm hearing from the vendors and those engineers who have bought into the paradigm shift.
Hi Beth,
Although I use Android apps to do circuit design analysis on my smartphone or tablet, I have reservations on high end applications like the one described in your article because of device memory requirements. I see memory capacity being a concern for a smartphone or tablet device in using apps to markup MCAD drawings and 3D modules because of the high demand for memory capacity. What's the memory requirements for markup apps and MCAD packages on smartphones and tablets?
Current Ultra Books are so light that I can't imagine someone leaving one in their hotel room while they visit a vendor. I guess if you are elderly and cannot carry a 4 lb laptop, yes, but really!
Seriously, though, laptops are not only getting lighter but also more powerful. The link between them and a phone may very well be the Surface Pro which will have enough power to run fairly large programs. And at 2 lbs in weight, why leave it at home or hotel?
I agree that the traditional laptop may not be appropriate, everywhere but I have used my laptop in production floor environments, quite a few times.
I remember years ago when I was so happy to have a 17 inch monitor for CAD work. I now have a 25.5 inch monitor and it really helps when designing components and assemblies. SolidWorks does have a manifying feature that comes in handy for smaller screen use but I cringe when even thinking about using a 4 inch phone screen to look at CAD models.
@Dave: I think the thinking is that many people (engineers included) travel with a laptop AND a mobile device, phone or tablet. That said, the laptop might stay in the hotel room or remote office for hard core design work, but a visit to a customer or factory site where you might want to mark a note on a design or compare a 3D model of a part to tooling or equipment on the shop floor wouldn't be the right environment for carrying around a laptop and using a mouse--therefore, better suited for a tablet and stylus. (I think the idea of these things working well in the limited screen real estate of a smart phone is a totally different story). In that vein, does the strategy make more sense?
Does anyone here who designs using MCAD and who travels extensively NOT bring along a laptop? I do and cannot imagine using a cell phone to mark up solid models. And at the present time, no popular tablet is powerful enough to replace a laptop. (although that will change when the Surface Pro is released in a couple of months.)
I can understand a salesperson having a powerful tablet with this type of markup program but not a design engineer who has to have a laptop as a traveling companion.
Andrew Morris designed a circuit that could detect a stroke victim's groan and convert the sound into a signal so caregivers would know when help was needed.
New disc magnet motors fit into the design trend of stepping up to closed loop performance while maintaining the cost advantage of stepper motor technology.
At the Design News webinar on June 27, learn all about aluminum extrusion: designing the right shape so it costs the least, is simplest to manufacture, and best fits the application's structural requirements.
On April 21, NASA launched a novel project, putting into orbit three satellites that employ an off-the-shelf commercial smartphone as the control system.
From Dell / Intel® New Paradigms in Design Work Scott Hamilton, vertical market strategist for Dell Precision workstations, 5/2/2013 5
Early in my career, I worked as a draftsman and remember the days of drawing on vellum with numbered pencils and Mylar with plastic lead. This was a fun experience in the sense that I ...
I've been using workstations for more than 10 years and love finding ways to get more performance from my system. With demanding professional applications that require more power each ...
A lasting memory from my first job as an engineer in an auto assembly plant is standing on hard concrete at six in the morning, vending-machine coffee clutched in hand, listening to ...
For industrial control applications, or even a simple assembly line, that machine can go almost 24/7 without a break. But what happens when the task is a little more complex? That’s where the “smart” machine would come in. The smart machine is one that has some simple (or complex in some cases) processing capability to be able to adapt to changing conditions. Such machines are suited for a host of applications, including automotive, aerospace, defense, medical, computers and electronics, telecommunications, consumer goods, and so on. This radio show will show what’s possible with smart machines, and what tradeoffs need to be made to implement such a solution.
To save this item to your list of favorite Design News content so you can find it later in your Profile page, click the "Save It" button next to the item.
If you found this interesting or useful, please use the links to the services below to share it with other readers. You will need a free account with each service to share an item via that service.
Tweet This
0 
