8080 digitizers

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3D geometry Romulus is a software package for the geometric modelling of 3D parts. Version 3 handles spherical, conical and toroidal surfaces in addltion to the planes and cylinders previously available. Romulus provides interference checking, to detect if two bodies intersect. Boolean operations (union, intersection and difference) may be performed on two solid bodies. Interfaces to other application systems are possible (eg FEMGEN, GNC). Romulus has been incorporated into three turnkey CAD/CAD systems: Feranti-Cetec's CAM-X, Contraves AG of Zurich's CONCAD and Cambridge Interactive Systems' Medusa (as an option). (ShapeData Limited, 5 Jesus

Lane, Cambridge CB5 UK. Tel: (0223) 68153. North A merican distributors: Evansand Sutherland Computer Corporation, 580 A rapeen Drive, Salt Lake City, UT84108, USA)

Drafting system Comdraw IV is a drafting system produced by Manufacturing Data Systems Incorporated. The system is designed for the production of mechanical engineering drawings. It comprises a 16 bit minicomputer, Winchester disc, 500-line graphics terminal plus separate alphanumeric terminal, keyboard and 11 x 11 in digitizer. A D size digital plotter is available as an option. Up to three workstations may be connected.

(Manufacturing Data Systems Incorporated, 4251 Plymouth Road, PO Box 986, Ann Arbor, MI 48106. Tel: (313) 995-6000)

RIBA survey According to a Royal Institute of British Architects survey of UK practices, 19 per cent of the 804 respondents have some computer technology highest in the South East (28 per -

volume 13 number 4 july 1981

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cent) and lowest in Northern Ireland (12 per cent). Almost 81 per cent of installations have been made in the past five years and two thirds of the equipment in use is owned. Wordprocessing systems account for 19 per cent of installations. No figures were given for CAD systems. As a result of the survey, RI BA has compiled a catalogue of 17 microcomputer programs, which are now on sale through RIBA Services. They cost from £55 for lighting programs DAYLT and LUMEN to £495 for job management package ARCOS. (RIBA Services,

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tape made. The Racal-Redac system will allow the production of artwork for the etched board version using the data already available from the punchtape database. The Racal-Redac Colour CAD system runs on a DEC PDPI 1/34. The system includes three automatic placement routines, automatic routing, schematic functions and circuit emulation. Output includes pen plots and machine drive

tapes. (Cavac Systems Limited, 612 Reading Road, Winnersh, Wokingham RGll 5HE, UK. Tel: (0734) 781322)

66 Portland Place, London WIN 4AD. Tel: 01-637 8991)

8080 digitizers Lexidata OS The Extended Graphics Operating System from Lax/data is a PROMresident operating system for the System 3400 family of raster display processors. EGOS allows chained vector storage, arc generation and polygon-fill. Four write modes are offered: normal (for vector generation), set (for overlapping vectors with priority assignment), clear (for advanced selective vector erase) and complement (for dragging and software cursor manipulation). (Lexidata Corporation,

755 Middlesex Turnpike, Billerica, MA 01865, USA. Tel." (617) 663-

8550)

The Micro-pad series of digitizers incorporate an 8080-based microcomputer. Functions available include metric conversion; length, area and volume accumulation and multiplier; normalizing; scaling; rotation; axis offset; chart shifting and event counters. The user can also create and edit reports with column headings and print them on an optional printer, or send the data via telephone for further processing. Six digitizing modes'are provided: point, freeze, continuous, incremental, vector incremental, and grid roundoff. The digitizers have a resolution of 0.001 in. Two sizes are available: 11 x 1 1 i n a n d l l x 1 7 i n . Singlequantity US prices are $3080 and $3565. OEM discounts are available.

(GTCO Corporation, 1055 First Street, Rocky/lie, MD 20850. Tel (301) 279-9550)

PCB prototypes C E Automation Limited/Carat Systems Limited have bought the first RacalI-Redac Colour Max/CAD System in the UK. They will use the system to expand their existing prototyping PCB service to include the CAD of production quality etched boards. Currently the company will take a logic diagram and produce a wirewrapped version of the board which has been checked for errors. This process is much quicker than producing an etched board. The board can then be tested and any alterations to the NC

More colour Hewlett-Packard's range of A3 singlesheet flatbed plotters now take twice as many pens: up to eight may be used, in different colours and line widths. Special-purpose pens in ten colours and two linewidths are available. The pens are sealed when not actually drawing. The price of the plotters ranges from £2830 to £3980.

(Hewlett-Packard Limited, King Street Lane, Winnersh, Wokingham, Berks, UK. Tel: (0734) 784774) 235