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CAD drawing

Vladyslav Kurta

Dear all, I'm really interested in purchasing an e ink tablet for work.

My main aim is organization and note taking, so calendar, multiplatform sync and note  taking and organizing for projects I'm working on is crucial.

Additionally I'm wondering about the capabilities of the devices you offer for working with CAD designing. 

More precisely, what I'm interested is in using OnShape on an e ink device for starting/sketching new designs on a cloud based parametric solid modeler like OnShape.

I'm not expecting anything close to working on a computer or a substitute for it, but it would be really interesting for me to be able to start some basic sketching a CAD design on a tablet from Boox, for example, and also to view the documents and .dwg files I already have on my OnShape account. 

I suspect that probably the high-end devices from Boox are able of doing this, but for that price it has more sense to buy directly an iPad (what I don't want to do).

Any idea if the note series or mid range devices are able of doing what I described?

 

Thank you very much

 

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Comments

4 comments

Date Votes
  • Richard Lees
    • Edited

    I've never used this app but I downloaded it to give it a test run.  It loads quickly and seems quite responsive.  I opened a few public parts and assemblies and they opened quickly and manipulation was responsive even for relatively large assemblies.  Files rotate, pan & zoom smoothly.

    A tablet seems like an awkward interface for actual CAD design work, but the interface is exactly like any other android device so if you know that works for whatever you want to do then should be fully functional.

    I'll just warn you that an e-ink device is NOT perfect for this kind of work if you're expecting something at all similar to an ipad.  The colours are nowhere near as bright and distinct.  Although the models spin smoothly the e-ink display does not refresh anywhere the same as LCD/OLED screen so you will be sorely disappointed with smoothness of animation.  Probably most significantly, the ghosting of e-ink screens for applications like this is VERY noticeable (ghosts of previous views after moving the model, etc.)

    I would probably recommend that you find a physical device to look at to make sure that it meets your expectations.

     

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  • Richard Lees

    Figured I might as well post a video of what this looks like so you can take a 1st look at it.
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nGKaJnYSrJk

     

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  • Vladyslav Kurta

    Richard, thank you very much for your answer and the time you took for checking such a specific question.
    Answering your suggestions, I'm not looking for developing complex projects on the device, but more for making small corrections on running designs or sketching for later continue working on the desktop.
    With your video I think it should work just fine for what I'm looking for.
    On which device did you test it?
    Thank you so much for the effort

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  • Richard Lees

    Note Air 3c (as title of the youtube video). 
    I suspect that the colour would make a big difference in the usability of that program.
    The colours are "muted pastel" and definitely a far cry from a real colour tablet -- but in that application I suspect there are critical UI features that rely on colour.

    I agonized over whether to spend the extra money on a "c" and almost decided against it because of the reduced ambient light readability and the reduced battery life because of the near-essential use of back lighting to get reasonable brightness -- but I 100% don't regret my decision.  I still get multiple days of typical usage (day planner, meeting notes, to do lists, etc.) and the backlight looks great.  The colours probably aren't essential but I find that I use them all the time and they really make the overall experience much nicer.  Definitely love my tablet!

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