I've got a question. A friend wants us to do some work for him, he's got Photoworks and is outputting some models for us.
Can you set it up to output with an alpha channel? (32-bit image)

thanks,
sean

I use Discreet's MAX and AutoDesk Viz.

Usually I output to a targa (.tga) file. This gives you the option to save out an alpha channel, split alpha, pre-multiplied alpha, etc.

Probably works the same in other applications.

dr

I got VERY familiar with solidworks at UW in the Engineering program there..before I changed my major to doing nothing, with a minor in sitting around..
I've never known anyone to have a computer capable of running solidworks, let alone be able to afford the $45,000 private license.
The whole engineering dept would crash if more than 6 or 7 people were solid rendering at once.
Usually reserved for Educational institutions or larger industrial manufacturers..
If you have it I wanna come over!!
-Bob O

BobO,

I think you're confusing Solidworks with perhaps other high end solid modelling programs like ProE. I have bought several licenses of Solidworks over the years at 1/10th the cost that you suggest. Solidworks can and will run on some not very sofisticated hardware; I have 12 network seats and four single seats at the office. About 10 years ago, I watched a Solidworks presentation and was sold right away. Great program for the money.

Andy

i run solidworks on my computer all the time (engineering at CSUS) and you have to have a nice video card, but nothing spectacular. ProE on the other hand is out of the question, rendering on that takes tons of space.

Mmm...it was definitely solidworks..I spent 9 hours a day in the lab trying to design an Ice-Crusher.
My assigned project.
There's a fruit packer/sorter/industrial contractor (Van Doren)over here in wenatchee that has the same version of solidworks on their system.
I was building a trade show booth and we had some sheet steel laser cut- they let me build the dies for the steel in solidworks over there- then send it to the laser.
2 engineers work there, and the accounting dept has to shut down while they're doing the "solid extrusions" (3d modeling..?) they said...not enough CPU to run it all.
They told me they didn't even buy the damn program because it cost too much! They got a commercial lease on it.
I'm going to look into it, I remember wanting the program for fun at home but my dad (Computer Scientist for the Navy) said he couldn't make a reasonable desktop computer to run it...
wow...I htink I'm talking to myself...
-Bob O

CSU, Chico's Engineering dept. runs it as well. Until this semester we had old clunker machines, they worked but it was not fun if you had to change something in a complex drawing. With the new machines it's great. I just finished doing a drawing on my 1.6ghz laptop -- no problems. It is a bit of a memory hog, but any half way decent machine can run it with out problems.

Here's a little exploded view of a project we are working on with solid works



-Kevin

nobody answered your question yet. Didn't realize there were so many engineer types here.

anyway, in my world this is what and alpha channel looks like in a 32bit targa file. Lets me cut in the background real easy.

dr

dv,
thanks,
I know an alpha channel, but I was hoping one of the engineer types that use this program would know if it could create one. I've got to composite a bunch of animations created on in PhotoWorks. Our friend needed to rerender anyway, so I was hoping I could find out if it did it and talk him through it. He's not much of a video or computer guy. I'll just do it all in after effects and either create my own matte or use their color key if he sends me something usable.