CAD Insider

Changes at Desktop Engineering Magazine

Though nothing official has been released, publishers of Desktop Engineering have confirmed that Anthony (Tony) Lockwood is leaving his post and the magazine is looking for an new editor-in-chief.

Tony, a veteran of DE of 12 years, will be seeking " less stress and a different path," according to Steve Robbins, CEO and acting executive director. He will be employed part time by DE for an unspecified time.

Jonathan Gourlay is currently the top editorial contact for the magazine, but the company expects to announce some new hires within a few days.

Sara Ferris, once editor-in-chief of Cadalyst, joins DE as a "beat writer" covering rapid prototyping, reverse engineering and MCAD. Doug Barney will join in a similar position to cover IT technologies.

CAD '07 Conference

WAIKIKI BEACH, Hawaii (CAD '07), June 28, 2007 - The CAD '07 Conference is in it's 3rd day and in full swing. It is attended by 130 attendees, most of them from academia. In previous years, as many as 200 have attended.

The conference lasts 5 full days. Subjects are split into 3 concurrent tracks and cover not only CAD but also CAM and CAE, including geometric design, machining, rapid prototyping, product modeling, shape modeling, features, virtual reality, kinematics, nanotechnology, tolerance analysis, bio-CAD, and more. Presenters are almost without exception university professors and students and almost all presentations are the result of research done at their respective institutions.

Examples of presentations I've attended so far are:

• A Semantic Blend Definition
  (filleting and blending, inlcuded a method for complex variable filleting that simulates a thumb pressing modeling clay)
• A CAD Modeling System for Heterogeneous Objects
• Part Search Based on Web Based Environment
• State of the Art CAD Visualization by Outsourcing
  (which was actually about modeling engineering data using visualization programs)
• Reconstructing a 3D Model by Extrusion Features from a Single View Sketch
  (Converting a hand drawn isometric sketch into a solid model. Sounds like magic but several methods to do this have existed for years.)
• Computer Aided Tolerance Analysis
  (exposed shortcomings in presently available tolerance analysis programs)
• Programmable Graphics Processors in CAD

The full list of presentation is given here (click on each day for presentations)

Engineering Video Achieves Stardom

9/11 World Trade Center Video Based on CAE

An animation produced by computer scientists and engineers at Purdue University may be the first engineering video ever to achieve platinum status -- viewed over a million times.

What makes it an engineering video -- rather than just game-like animation -- is that the behavior of the airplane and the resulting wreckage and debris was modeled with LS-DYNA, a program that solves inelastic, large displacement problems common to accidents and crash tests.

The director of the research that produced this video, professor Christopher Hoffmann, told us the details during CAD '07 Conference, currently being held in Honolulu, Hawaii.

Strangely, the video existed quietly for years on the Purdue University site. But it was a mention on the Digg.com newsite so overloaded the university's servers that the video (in lower resolution) was uploaded to YouTube.

The video seems to have raised the ire of many who dismiss the prevailing theories of the towers' collapse. See TRUTHERA.com.

For further viewing:

• The video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cddIgb1nGJ8
• September 11, 2001 9/11 Attack Simulations Using LS-DYNA, Christopher Hoffman, Purdue University
• 9/11 Simulation Taxes Purdue Servers, New York Times, June 22, 2007

Maureen Pomeroy Heads Bentley's Training Programs

Maureen Pomeroy heads up Bentley's training programs (known as Bentley Institute). Since only half of you Bentley software users have no formal training (you know who you are), you'd do well to take one of her courses. What you don't know will undoubtedly make you work more efficiently.

I know. I used to teach CAD (AutoCAD at Northampton Community College, PA). I was always amazed how some of my students, many of whom had been CAD operators for years, had gotten by. Even veterans could be taught some tricks.

Maureen found time to talk to me at Bentley's annual user meeting. Maureen has been at Bentley for less than a year. Previously, she was at SAP, where she was in charge of  knowledge management and training for SAP’s 11,000 field services consultants.

Here are some highlights of our discussion.

• Most training is still traditional classroom type, but Bentley also offers live, distance learning courses and streaming, self paced courses.
• Only about 2% of training is currently done as live, distance learning.
• Live, distance learning is growing fast in the in the US, but a little slower to catch on in Europe. "Europeans seem to be able to travel."
• Most distance learning is conducted in English, even in Europe.
• Learning units are given for completing course; these appear on user transcripts. However, as of yet, there are no tests to pass or be graded for any Bentley classes.
• In 2006, Bentley awarded over 420,000 learning units*. 
• Enrollment in Bentley Select (subscription program) entitles uses to 2 free courses, MicroStation v8 User Update and Moving to MicroStation
• The live, distance learning courses were reviewed by TenLinks and got a "CoolTech" award (see link)

*A learning unit equals 1 hour of training

Bentley's Next Big Thing - GenerativeComponents

LONDON (BE Conference Europe), June 13, 2007 - A degree from an architectural school might just entitle you for toilet detail in a big architectural firm for your first few years. One way to accelerate your career, says Robert Aish, director of research at Bentley Systems, is to have studied parametric design technology. Firms are hiring those students to do conceptual design.

Supposedly the distinctive Bishopsgate Tower in London's financial district was created using GenerativeCcomponents, Bentley's name for parametric design technology as used in its building products. The ease with which parameters could be changed allowed for over a hundred design iterations during the massing study, something that would have take forever with conventional CAD.

What are GenerativeComponents exactly? GCs, as they are being called, are ways to make the CAD geometry used for architecture behave parametrically*. In a simple example, lengths of columns can be assigned parametrically so that if the parameter changes, all the column lengths change. In a more complex example, the radius of a curved exterior of an office high rise can be modified, and the façade window panels (if the model is created with GenerativeComponents) will change in size so the glass won't suffer from too much bending.

GenerativeComponents are created from conventional CAD geometry. When this is initiated, a table is shown where values (or parameters) can be placed. Parameters can be simple and self explanatory (like length), formulas, or complex to the point of calling data from files or even running programs written with high level programming languages.

Bentley recommends a user take a course before attempting to use GenerativeComponents. When shipped, it will also come with a 200 page user manual including many practical examples.

GC has been a long time in development (see Generative Components Technology, AEC Magazine, January 18, 2005) but Bentley hopes to ship it this year "in the July timeframe," when it first appears in MicroStation XM 8.9.4.

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*Though it has a different interface, GenerativeComponent technology appears to function much like the parametric modeling that has been popular in mechanical design for about 20 years.

The 3D Jackpot, Part 2: MCAD is Powerful, Easy to Use, Or Cheap (Pick Any Two)

Las Vegas, where entirely too many CAD shows are held, is the only city I can identify by sound. The second I enter the airport I am greeted with the jangling disorienting musical tones of the slot machines, a perpetual background. Every now and then, the sound changes as some lucky player is rewarded and coins spill from machine. Still, the big jackpot, the giant dollar sum in blinking lights above, still taunts and beckons. Players move from one machine to another, but the jackpot stays just out of reach.

For the CAD industry, the jackpot is the conversion of millions of 2D CAD users to 3D. Though there have been some small payoffs as hundreds of thousands have converted, but the big jackpot awaits the player who can convert the millions. That jackpot is worth billions of dollars. CAD companies mill about wondering how to get the jackpot.

Yet, from a user standpoint, the answer is ridiculously easy. All that is needed is 3D software that is powerful, easy to use and cheap.

Currently, you can only get 3D design software that is powerful, easy to use OR cheap. Pick any MCAD software and it will satisfy one or two of the requirements. Nobody's software is at once powerful, easy to use AND cheap.

• Next: Who You Calling Cheap? - a definition of terms.
• Still to come - Where current MCAD programs fall short.

Bentley's Magic Paper

June 11, 2007, LONDON (BE Conference Europe) - What if you could mark up a paper drawings and the CAD drawing would automatically show your markups? Sound like magic? Actually, Bentley is displaying this technology and is calling it "dynamic plots." So instead of having to supply everyone in the field with tablet PCs, you could just supply them this magic paper? Well, not quite... It does take a special pen and paper.

Mark up a paper drawing and the markups appear on the proper MicroStation CAD drawing with this special pen and paper. (click for larger picture)

I had Mark Smith, Director of Bentley's new Applied Research Labs, explain the magic to me.

The secret is a pattern of dots that is printed on the paper and a miniature camera on the pen that can see the dots. The dots are arranged in a special pattern. The pen can interpret the dots to determine not only the location and motion of the pen as it writes but also to identify the paper and hence, the CAD drawing that was printed on it. You see, when the design was printed on "dynamic plot," Bentley's ProjectWise stored the dynamic plot ID.

The pen is wireless and can be used away from a computer. But when the user gets back to a computer, the pen is docked and the information is transmitted to the appropriate CAD drawing. Alternatively, it can use a Bluetooth equipped phone. The pen uses regular ink but unlike a normal pen, it has a camera and memory. "No trouble holding a weeks worth of markups" says Mark. But don't misplace it -- it costs something less than 400 Euros (over $500) .

The technology is on loan from Anoto (www.anoto.com), a Swedish company. Bentley is seriously looking into licensing the technology for use in future versions of their software.

The dots on the paper are small but visible to the naked eye. They make the sheet of paper look a medium shade of gray but the plot and markups are still easily visible. Still, I wondered why the the dots could not be printed in infrared as the pen uses infrared technology. The dot pattern printed each time is not unique but is probably unique enough -- it would take a vast number of prints (the say enough to cover Europe and Asia combined) before the dot pattern was duplicated.

PTC - Process Design Corporation?

PTC hopes that its study of process will help its CAD customers -- and lead them to buy its non-CAD products

The "P" in PTC stands for "parametric" For now. But after 2 days of presentations (at the recently held press event in Tampa) I heard "process" a thousand times and "parametric" not once, I figure it's a matter of time before PTC changes its name to Process Design Corporation.

In the Beginning...

Parametrics, of course, is how PTC got famous. In the mid 1980s, it introduced Pro/ENGINEER, a parametric, feature-based solid modeler that revolutionized  mechanical design. However, these days the parametric label seems too confining. Selling individual design productivity is so last year. The company has decided that in order to grow, it must transcend the confines of engineering and manufacturing divisions, places where the CAD, CAM and CAE game has already been played out.

Growth Through Acquisition

Through acquisition (ten in the last three years), PTC has grown its range of products far beyond its original reason for existence. Many of the acquisitions have added products outside of its core of design, engineering and manufacturing software. For example, the Arbortext acquisition in 2005 gave PTC technical publication software. ITEDO, purchased last year, strengthened its tech pubs offerings. Mathsoft diversified PTC's portfolio even further. PTC also bought Numeta and Aptavis, whoever they are. The list goes on.

Currently, no other major CAD company has as diversified portfolio of products as PTC.

It's All About the Process

How does it propose to sell all these products to customers that may only know about PTC's core products? You guessed it: Process.

You see, mechanical design is just one part of the Process that big manufacturing companies need to be successful. There is calculation, electronic design, data management, technical publication, and so on. And wouldn't you know it, PTC happens to have a product for each part of the Process.

PTC has spent considerable effort to make itself an expert on Process. I was introduced to PTC's Process Road Map at a trade show about 2 years ago. It is a big poster with very small print and lots of boxes and arrows. I had hardly enough time to digest it but it looked like it painstakingly mapped out in the most minute detail how a company should operate. The Process Road Map is close to the company's heart -- literally. One executive carries it folded up in his suit jacket.

During the press event, PTC banged away at the Process drum. We were read the dictionary definition of process--in case we had missed that vital day in elementary school. We were told that no less of an expert than the late W. Edwards Deming had declared "if you can't describe what you are doing as a process, you don't know what you are doing." Yikes.

PTC is betting that once it has sold the chef the knives, he'll buy your skillet, your silverware, and maybe even your stove.

Results?

So how's that been working out? After a few years of acquiring diversified products, I was hoping that PTC would reveal how many many existing CAD customers had purchased ancillary products such as Arbortext or Mathcad. There was nothing about that in the presentations so I asked. PTC declined to answer, saying the company does not release that information but that "products are performing above expectations."

Michael Hawley Tells PTC Users of a Better Light Bulb

"Have you been replacing all your light bulbs with those things that look like melting Dairy Queen ice cream?" asks Michael Hawley. "Well stop, it!" Hawley was a keynote speaker at the recently held Pro/ENGINEER users meeting in Tampa He is founder of Friendly Planet, and more*.  Those light  bulb replacements contain mercury. Not very ecological at all, he says. Besides, you're just adapting Thomas Edison's archaic invention. What is the answer? LEDs, he says. They may not be commercially available now, but buy stock in LED companies. They're riding Moore's Law. Did you know 1/4 of our countries energy is spent on lighting?

As Michael Hawley is a MIT professor, I guess I ought to take him seriously.

Some other highlights of his talk.

• Switzerland is a depressing place. Every problem has been solved. If you blow your nose, there will be a trash can within 5 feet. It has a high rate of suicide.
• "When you are finished changing, you're finished," Ben Franklin
• "If you are going through hell, keep going," Winston Churchill
• "The future may require not so much having a new idea as stopping with old ideas," Edwin Land (inventor of the Polaroid camera).
• Marketing is what you do when your product sucks
• Last year there were more people in cities than in rural areas.
• Bhutan measures Gross National Happiness and has made smoking illegal. His picture book on Bhutan measures 5 ft by 7 ft and is the largest book sold by Amazon.

*More information on Michael Hawley on his home page at http://web.media.mit.edu/~mike/

Pro/ENGINEER Experts Answer User Questions

TAMPA BAY, Florida (PTC/USER) June 6, 2007 - Didn't get to go to the annual Pro/ENGINEER user meeting? You are not alone -- over 99% of users don't attend the giant user meetings and conferences most CAD vendors host every year. A pity, considering the incredible education a user would receive at such conferences, which are usally brimming with dozens of experts and can have hundreds of courses.

(click to see larger picture)

On the last day of PTC/USER recently concluded in Tampa, Mike Campbell, PTC's VP of Product Management (3rd from left above) allowed himself and his team of experts to be grilled by the Pro/E users in attendance. I've recorded the Q&A in the hopes that questions that may have been on your mind were also on minds of the attendees.

By the way, Wildfire 4.0 is expected in January 2008 and Wildfire 5.0 is already in development. "We have given our list to Santa and he will see how good we have been," says Mike. "All told, we have defined 85 'capability packages.' The product definition team will tell us how much it will cost. There's 3 rounds of this."

First, a couple of disclaimers. I'm not a stenographer so the following account of the Q&A is as good as my typing and memory allow. My apologies in advance to those whose words I botch. Also, although the panel may give its best answer based on present information, they cannot guarantee what will actually appear in a specific release.

When can I expect right click customization for my mouse?
Wildfire 5.0 will have better customization. It may have right mouse functionality. The main problem is making the right mouse menu context sensitive.

My top level model has 150 assemblies but it crashes all the time. What's the best way to assemble a top level model?
You have a 32-bit system, right? That's why it is crashing. XP has a switch to allow it to access 3GB if RAM. I've already done that. So, you must take better advantage of Pro/E’s Assembly Management tools, or move to 64-bit system

I'm from a small company. Is there a way to improve our tech support?
You should discuss this with the service people. We are just product people.

When will user interface for manufacturing products be similar to Wildfire?
80% of the manufacturing applications should be "Wildfire-ized" by the next release.

Will Wildfire support multiple processors?
We have been taking advantage of multiple processors since the 2000i Release. Every release we move more and more of Pro/E’s capabilities to take advantage of multiple processors.  In Wildfire 4.0, there has been another 3-5% improvement in regeneration, due to multi-threading -- not as much as we had hoped. But if you are considering a multi-core machine, we encourage you to choose one, as you will see a benefit just in the speed it will handle multiple applications running at one time.

What is the cost of Pro/TOOLMAKER? [formerly known as NC Graphics, recently acquired by PTC]
That has not been decided yet. Market research is being done. I expect it will be around $10,000.

If I am already a Pro/E Manufacturing customer. Will I be charged for this new application?
[some hesitancy] Not the full price... We are considering a time limited offer for Pro/NC customers.

What exactly will you be gaining with Pro/TOOLMAKER?
Faster removal of large volumes of material, toolpaths optimized for high-speed machining, web based tutorials, library of tools...

The ribbon cable design is pretty exciting. Can you handle flex circuits?
There will be increased capability for that in Wildfire 5

We make plates with 300 holes. It would be natural for the holes to be included in table. When can i expect this?
Wildfire 3 should allow all types of holes to be automatically inserted into a table. Stick around and we'll look at your case

When is PTC going have software for administrators?
We have a usage tracking utility which analyzes trail files and helps identify frequently used and little used commands. We use it internally. We're thinking of putting an interface on it and making this available to users. But currently there is no boxed solution.

Interoperability with CATIA: can Wildfire 3 read R16 and save to a newer version?
Wildfire 3 can export CATIA R10-R16 and recently introduced R17 support (unofficially). We have thought about adding a tag to identify the version of data but the data is usually upwardy compatible. Build M090 build officially supports R16.

Is there a way to save the part layer status in the context of an assembly without saving [modifying] the parts?
Yes, this capability is new in Pro/E Wildfire 4.0.

How long before the Mechanica postprocessor can interact with with Mathcad or Excel?
Wildfire 3 and Wildfire 4 can handle loads as Mathcad variables. Larger data set handling is under consideration.

Going back to the multi-CPU question, when will PTC take better advantage of multiple cores for Pro/E, specifically for assembly regeneration?
I share your frustration. We are continuing to research greater utilization of multiple CPUs, and certainly recognize that assembly regeneration is an area that you would like to see impacted.  We will keep the pressure on development to show improvement here. We want Pro/ENGINEER to be to be waiting for you, but we know you are waiting for it. However, we do consider ourselves to be a leader in this [large assembly] category.

What is the compatibility roadmap for PDMLink and Wildfire 4?
Because Windchill 9.0 will be released before Pro/E Wildfire 4.0, there will be no compatibility between Windchill 9.0 and Wildfire 4.0 at Wildfire 4.0 FCS [first customer ship]. However, Windchill 9.1, to be released in early 2008 will fix that. Pro/INTRALINK is at its end of life, so there will be no support for that with Wildfire 4.0.

A lot of companies have invested in family tables. Why is PTC killing them?
We are not killing family tables. In fact, there are lot of improvements in both Wildfire 3.0 and 4.0. We recognize these are very useful tools in Pro/E, but we could do a better job of managing them with our Data Management solutions.

I have to bring in models into SolidWorks so I can use them in Pro/ENGINEER. Can interoperability be improved?
I am surprised by the question. [list of interoperability enhancements named]. It must be a particular data set that is giving you problems. I'll speak with you afterward.

We want to be able to calculate paintable surface areas (which does not include mating area but does include exposed surfaces, edges, exposed parts of welds...) Will Pro/E be able to do that?
Yes, you can use Shrinkwrap technology to collect all of the external surfaces, and the Pro/E’s Bulk Items can be used to compute necessary volumes of paint required.

PTC announced a partnership with Autodesk? What are the results of that?
We announced a interoperability agreement with Autodesk, we are proponents of openness. We've had a longstanding relationship with UGS. The Autodesk agreement will give us better access to AutoCAD and to Inventor. We are pursuing a interface for those products.

Dean Kamen Talks to PTC Users About South Pointing Engine

TAMPA BAY, Florida (PTC Media and Analyst Event) June 5, 2007 - Dean Kamen, best known as the inventor of the Segway scooter, was the keynote speaker for the PTC/User conference. Kamen did actually use Pro/E to design the Segway and continues to use it for his work at his company, DEKA (http://www.dekaresearch.com/), something he neglected to mention when he spoke at Autodesk University years ago where I saw him last.

Dean is quite popular with the crowd. He talks of his (admittedly few) successes and his (many) failures. He scatters bon mots and inspirational quotes and quips along with his token irreverence for management (example "the stone age did not end because they ran out of stone"). He has been doing this for some time and cyberspace is now full of recordings of his talks. My favorite story, however, is his story of the south pointing chariot.

Though no original south pointing chariots exist today, models of it abound, such as this one on www.karauri.info.

This very complex machine was created by the ancient Chinese to help guide their armies on long treks. No matter what direction was taken, the figure always pointed in the same direction.

The irony (pun intended...wait for it) of this engine is that the Chinese already had the technology for a simpler solution. For centuries they had known that lodestone (magnetic mineral with iron) in water always drifted to the same direction, a property used by others to make a magenetic compass.

This makes the south pointing chariot less an example of innovation and more an example of a defense contractor (big laugh here).

See more about the south pointing chariot at wikipedia.

PTC to Buy Back $40M of Stock

TAMPA BAY, Florida (PTC Media and Analyst Event) June 4, 2007 -- Neil Moses, EVP and CFO of PTC, announced today that the company expects to embark on a stock buyback program and will purchase  $40 million of PTC stock in the second half of 2007.

"We believe our own stock is an attractive investment opportunity for PTC," said Moses.

This estimation may be adjusted against acquisitions, should such opportunities arise.

When asked why the amount of stock buyback was not higher since PTC has positive cash flow and cash in reserve, CEO C. Richard Harrison responded with "It is more important for us to grow into a $2B company," he said, indicating a corporate bias towards using cash for growth [by acquisition] rather than for buyback.

PTC Will Be a $1.5B Company by 2010, Says CEO

TAMPA BAY, Florida (PTC Media and Analyst Event) June 4, 2007 -- CEO C. Richard Harrison is addressing the gathered press and analysts. Dick, as he is known, is still high from addressing the users earlier, as the annual user meeting is occurring simultaneously.

PTC claims its products are being bought at a much higher rate than the market at large. (click for larger picture)

Highlights of DIck's presentation include:

• Long term goal: $1.5 billion and 22% operating margin by 2010
• PTC claims it is growing its "desktop solutions" (Pro/ENGINEER and similar) at 3 times industry rate.
• Its "enterprise solutions" (Windchill) is growing at 2 times industry rate.
• PTC has been on a bit of a buying spree with 10 acquisitions in last 3 years. It recently announced buying NC Graphics (see press release). Dick mentions others, too: Arbortext, Matchcad..., which are cited as "best in class solutions."
• The market is going through changes, which Dick cites as opportunity for PTC. Specifically, he is talking about changes in the Dassault/IBM relationship, Unigraphics being acquired by Siemens, MatrixOne, Agile. "Our competitors are in a state of flux."
• Organic growth [as opposed to growth by acquisition] of 10-12% per year is forecasted. "Our organic growth rate is better than any of our competitors." Dick feels like this is sustainable.
• More acquisitions are being planned
• There are 800,000 users of PTC software
• Record maintenance revenue of $400M in FY07. It is now 43% of annual revenue.
• PTC #1 share in China, sales there were up 52% last year

The 3D Jackpot Part 1 -- the Perfect Storm

TUnder the perfect blue skies of Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, Bob McNeel wonders if a perfect storm is brewing. He is speaking figuratively: the perfect storm being the confluence of conditions that would support a 3D design world, a universal acceptance of 3D design software.

Bob is founder and CEO of Robert McNeel & Associates, makers of Rhino. Rhino 3D modeling software is the beloved choice of 150,000 industrial designers, boatmakers, jewelers and so on. But that is the tip of the iceberg. Why isn't that 1.5 million users?

If you know Bob, you know this is not just corporate greed talking. If Bob was just after the filthy lucre, he could have sold his company many times by now and retired. He could be sailing one of the many yachts that ply the warm waters just past the smooth sandy beach and swaying palms under which we sit and chat.

The more I talk to Bob, the more I think he is the real thing. The DIMe conference, which Bob's company is sponsoring here in Mexico, is for college students learning industrial design. It’s more a labor of love than a commercial enterprise, entry is a mere $100US. Sure, Bob's Rhino software is being demoed on stage but it's not a hard sell. Besides, many of the kids seem to already be users of the Rhino. I asked Bob how he would advise younger kids seeking a profession. "Solve someone’s problem. They can do it through architecture, industrial design, whatever..."

Current wisdom would indicate the correct tool to use in order to solve the customer problem is 3D design software. Still, millions cling to 2D design software.

Perplexed, Bob asks me what I think.

Oh, Bob, don't get me started....

Next: The 3D Jackpot, Part 2: Powerful, Easy to Use Or Cheap (Pick Any Two)

Mexico Wants In

Mexico design conference raises the possibility of outsourcing  much closer to home

PUERTO VALLARTA, Mexico, June 1, 2007 - Mexico may not be the first country that jumps to mind when one thinks of outsourcing industrial design and styling. But if the government and schools of Mexico have their wish, their design students (hundreds of them flocked to the first ever DIMe v1.0, Diseno Industrial Mexico conference), should soon be able to take on outsourcing powerhouses of India and China.

Over 400 design students gather for DIMe in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico

Mexico had received considerable US investment after NAFTA. Most Americans are aware of US companies with factories clustered just over the border that churn out cheap goods. It's meant a lot of manufacturing jobs for Mexicans. Now, it seems that Mexico is setting its sights on exporting its intellectual assets, too.

To tell the story, Robert McNeel & Associates, a major sponsor of the event, invited four of us from the CAD press: Ralph Grabowski (see his blog postings about the event), Randall Newton, Al Dean and me.

The state of Jalisco, in which Puerto Vallarta is located, claims a large share of Mexico's foreign investment. It is proudest of Intel's Design Center in Guadalajara. Guadalajara is Jalisco's biggest city, and second biggest in Mexico (only Mexico City is bigger).

So why would a US company consider Mexico for outsourcing? Well, Puerto Vallarta is a world class resort. My hotel had a swim-up bar....  But forget that for a moment. Mexico neighbors the US, for God's sake! Your overseas office, design center, sweat shop -- call it what you will -- is just a short flight away. Puerta Vallarta was a 3.5 hour direct flight from San Francisco. A multi-stop flight to India will take two days on each end (actual flight time can be over 20 hours). A quick check shows Guadalajara to have one of Mexico's largest universities -- hence it's probably a good source of designers, engineers and other technical professionals.

Lost in Translation

The chief impediment to Mexico entering the international information/IT/outsourcing market is language. I am lucky to have some of the conference proceedings being translated but my lack of Spanish puts me at considerable disadvantage here and almost everywhere else. Even in Puerto Vallarta, a favorite vacation and retirement destination of many Americans, English is rare. Though spoken by many of the hotel's front line staff, it was only Spanish with taxi-drivers, waiters, shop keepers, etc.

Where's the Wi-Fi?

Though I stayed at a 5-star hotel, our rooms had no broadband Internet connection, a service that can now be considered standard in business hotels. Even after a company was contracted to set up wireless connection for us, my colleagues found themselves scrambling to connect. I suspect that if a 5-star hotel has this much trouble connecting its guests, coverage across the country may be spotty at best.

Also somewhat of a problem is "Mexico time," often offered as an explanation for being late. The conference itself was scheduled for 9am but started at 10:30. Or maybe the problem was the final schedule wasn't available till the morning of the conference. None in the milling crowd of attendees seemed to be surprised or bothered by this, but a lack of punctuality and planning would be maddening for American managers.

Still, many US companies could benefit from tapping into a labor force that is cheap, close and sounds eager to get started. By contrast, parts of the world currently associated with outsourcing are already feeling negative effects as superheated economies have caused rapidly escalating wages and rents, employee churn, inflation, etc.

Maybe it's finally time to take the Spanish course you had been thinking about.