First of all, they named it Bootcamp because that’s what it is – very little rest here in Dallas. Tomorrow’s schedule starts at 8 AM and is over at 5:30 – a long day by most standards. They’re pretty serious about this training.

Now, with that being said, it’s time for a report of today’s training. They were gentle with us at first, starting today at 1 PM for classes. Today was the same for almost everyone – AutoCAD 2007 update training. At first, I thought “meh”, but it was a very fun class. OK, the first part was fun. We learned about the new 3D drawing environment in AutoCAD 2007, and how to draw using new 3D primitives. We discussed many new/improved commands, like how to loft, the new PUSHPULL command, how to draw a helix, and how to sweep a part. Now, let’s throw in a disclaimer – I’m NOT a 3D Drawing and Modeling guru, even though the crew at
ALACAD seems to think so. I have learned enough about it to be able to teach the class, but anything advanced makes me have to consult outside help. With that being said, I had FUN with the 3D modeling features in AutoCAD 2007 today. I created a few nice models, including this nice goblet:

That was fun, and surprisingly easy. I created it in about 2 minutes, which should show you just how easy it was.

The next thing I created was my very own convention center. I tried to act like an architect would and make it as difficult as possible. 😉 I also used some of the new Visual Styles in AutoCAD 2007 to give it that “just sketched” look that architects like so much, and even threw in a sun study to show where the shadows would be on a given date in a given location at a given time. VERY nice, and (like everything else I’m talking about here) is new to 2007. Here it is – try not to be too critical. Oh, and total time from blank drawing to the print screen that you’re seeing was way less than 5 minutes:

(ok, this one won’t upload – I’ll try to post it in a different post)

Tomorrow will be spent learning all about Civil 3D 2007 Implementation and Network Licensing. I’ve been through this recently in the Civil 3D Implentation Certified Expert class, so maybe it will be more of a refresher than totally new. Hopefully, I’ll be able to post tomorrow the ins and outs of the new Cascading Network License.

Have fun!