Aspire software

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flytrader
Posts: 20
Joined: Thu Jan 27, 2011 8:10 pm

Aspire software

Post by flytrader »

Hello all,

I am curious...

What is the general thought from all out there of the Aspire software for the shark?

Likes or dis-likes and why?

Ed :ugeek:

jeb2cav
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Re: Aspire software

Post by jeb2cav »

Hi Ed,

I'm a user - and had to to get to true 3D work. The nice thing about the Vectric line though is that you can test drive it to confirm/deny if it's the right stuff for you.

It also certainly simplifies the 2.5D workflow of Cut3D or VA3D then VCarve, but the reason I went to Aspire is the 3D capabilities - and 3D tools.

flytrader
Posts: 20
Joined: Thu Jan 27, 2011 8:10 pm

Re: Aspire software

Post by flytrader »

Joe,

what do you mean by you had to get to true 3d work?

Do you feel it is worth the investment?

Thanks,
Ed :ugeek:

jeb2cav
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Posts: 1524
Joined: Thu Sep 30, 2010 7:04 pm
Location: Kentucky
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Re: Aspire software

Post by jeb2cav »

Hi Ed - for me, the investment was worth while. It's a little hard to explain - but VCarve is advertised and is a 2.5D tool. You can create a project with a 3D object(s) in it, but from there the differences vary from workflow differences to "only" Aspire can do that.

One example, the workflow for a 3D object is to size and position in x/y/z planes your 3D object using Cut3D or VA3D. Then you generate a file and import that into VCarve and typically add other stuff (border, pocket, lettering, profile cutout, etc). You can move that 3D object around, but you can't resize it, or tilt it - let alone merge it with other 3D objects, and smooth out those merged areas, etc. That same workflow in Aspire is import the 3D object, resize to your heart's content inside Aspire, and do all the other stuff.

Another example taking that a step further is let's say you have 4 3D models you want to use to make a new one of a kind project. You're going to overlap a couple of them, and you want to tilt one of the remaining at 30 degree angle like it is leaping out of the material. And for one of the 4 models, you really only want to use the tree that is in the 3D model - not the whole mountain range/eagle flying/deer eating/buffalo roaming. You can relatively quickly open that 4th model, cut out the tree, smooth out the edges, and then use just the tree wherever you want to in your project. You can do all of that in Aspire.

Aspire is the only level of Vectric software that has 3D modeling and sculpting tools. Think of having a set of tools exclusively for 3D work like you have in VCarve for vector work/editing. A good chart that highlights the different Vectric product capabilities is http://www.vectric.com/WebSite/Vectric/ ... rision.htm.

My boss wanted a fancy beehive panel. This picture is the result of a probe scan of a wax honeycomb sheet, different bee wax molds we have, a 3D Banner, and the lettering on this one is actually 3D carved - so made with one of the Aspire 3D tools. I used other 3D tools to position each model, then the 3D sculpting tools to smooth out the seams where the different models met up.
Fancy Bee Hive Panel
Fancy Bee Hive Panel
So if you're finding that there are some things that VCarve isn't enabling you to do, download the free Aspire trial and see if you can do it there. That's what I did to show the boss that this was the tool we needed. You can also thumb through the Vectric site's discussion of Aspire, and go through the tutorial videos for Aspire - without doing it yourself - just to get a sense of the capabilities.

But worth is in the eye of the beholder. I think a cold beer is worth more than a $200 bottle of wine too... but in this case, all I can tell you is that the boss is happy.

flytrader
Posts: 20
Joined: Thu Jan 27, 2011 8:10 pm

Re: Aspire software

Post by flytrader »

Joe,

I thank you for your time.

You have been very informative.

The honeycomb looks very realistic.

Thank you,

Ed :ugeek:

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