Copyright (C) 1986-2008 by Daniel H. Hudgins, All Rights Reserved.

No part of "This Web Site" (HTML document), including associated files, may be: distributed, sublicensed, transmitted, copied, archived, mirrored, modified, bundled, embedded, sold, given away, rented, loaned, or shared in any form without express written permission in a formal Vendor agreement contract dated and signed in ink obtained directly from Daniel H. Hudgins by registered postal mail. All agreements for permission to distribute expire after a period no greater than one year from the date of the signing of the agreement by Daniel H. Hudgins. See the current "EULA" for information regarding limited copying and storage for the purpose of "Beta Testing" "This Web Site."

To view or use the current version of this Web page you may need to reload or refresh the display of this page by your browser. Just clicking on the browser's [Reload] or [Refresh] icon may not be enough to insure that all of the page's most current contents have been cached and displayed. Some browsers may have additional commands to help display the page's most current contents such as: holding down the [Shift] key and clicking on the [Reload] icon, holding down the [Control] key and clicking on the [Refresh] icon, holding down the [Control] and [Shift] keys and clicking on the [Refresh] icon, pressing the [Control] and [F5] keys, pressing [Control] and the [R] key, or some other combination of keys or clicks. Check to see which commands your HTML browser uses to load the most current page contents into its cache and then to display them onto the screen.

This Web site is dedicated to the thousands of "users" of my programs, those who have helped test my programs over the last 22 or so years, and especially those who shared their experiences with me.

You must read this notice: This is a licensed Web site (HTML document and associated files). You must read and agree to be legally bound in contract by the Terms of Use and conditions given in the End User License Agreement ("EULA"), Legal Notices, Instructions, Warnings, Disclaimers, and all other text in "SECTION: 0" of "This Web Site" (HTML document and associated files) before reading or using any of the information, software programs, and or files, contained in, linked to, and or associated with, "This Web Site" (HTML document and associated files). Any use or "Beta Testing" of "This Web Site" constitutes your acknowledgment of your full agreement with the current End User License Agreement ("EULA") and your decision to have this current license supersede all prior and contemporaneous agreements and understandings. Information and files in "This Web Site" (HTML document and associated files) have been placed here so that long time users of "The Author's" programs DANCAD3D.COM (tm) , DANCAM.EXE (tm) , or DANPLOT.EXE (tm) could help proofread the text of the documentation files or screens displayed, and also help test data files, example files, and or any software programs that might be made available from time to time, to aid "The Author" in finding mistakes, bugs, and other errors, omissions, defects, mistakes, and faults. Everything in "This Web Site" (HTML document and associated files) is "Beta Test", "Beta Code", Experimental, Preliminary, requires proofreading, or is being evaluated for possible revision, and is NOT warranted to be free of defect. To help "The Author" report any bugs, foul-ups, defects, or mistakes that you find, see "SECTION: 8" for instructions. "This Web Site" (HTML document and associated files) and all other files and programs by Daniel H. Hudgins are made available "AS IS" without warranty of any kind express, expressed, or implied. All offers and specifications are subject to change or discontinuation without notice of any kind. Please read "SECTION: 8" of "This Web Site" (HTML document and associated files) before trying to contact "The Author."

SECTION: 1 has some "general" information about my CAD and CAM programs, information about this Web site (HTML document), and "news" relating to the aforementioned. See also the program files in your distribution of my programs and the other parts of this HTML documentation (Web site) for information more specifically about how my programs operate and their commands.

See the abstract and index below for a general discussion about how my programs came into existence, what is their current state of development in released distributions, and general information about this HTML document (Web site).

If you are not already familiar with my programs this abstract should give you an overview of what they do and if they might be of possible interest to you in working on your projects.

This HTML document (Web site) contains information about a low cost software based Computer Aided Drafting, i.e. CAD, and Computer Aided Manufacturing, i.e. CAM, system that I have been developing since around 1986. My programs are currently a set of experimental, i.e. "Beta Test," programs that might be used by some technically skilled personal computer hobbyist: to make detailed drawings, to make computer animation of mechanical mechanisms with the parts moving, and to automatically manufacture parts from metal, plastic, or other materials by having the computer send signals to turn motors attached to a machine tool the user has built, or modified from an existing lathe or vertical mill. The programs run under DOS and do not require any other software for basic operations (some hardware, such as a mouse will require its own drivers and applications, a ZIP utility may be needed to unzip distribution archive files, and a HTML browser may be desirable to read and view the documentation). The CAD software, DANCAD3D.COM (tm) can be used to draw lines between points in 3D space in any direction. Quasi curves and other paths that are not straight lines can be drawn by making short line segments, e.g. 0.001 inch long or less, that are consecutive. 2D drawings are a sub-set of the 3D drawings and are identical except Z axis values are all zero for the line segment end points. Tool paths drawn with DANCAD3D.COM (tm) are saved to disk for use by the CAM programs DANCAM.EXE (tm) or DANPLOT.EXE (tm) which act as machine controllers by sending signals from the computer's parallel port to generally available non-proprietary control electronics that drive the motion control motors and relays that operate the automated machine tool. DANCAM.EXE (tm) like DANCAD3D.COM (tm) is fully 3D and can make the tool move in three axis (X, Y, Z) motion in any direction. DANPLOT.EXE (tm) is a 2D plotting program for operation of specialized machines with two, three, or four motions. Various associated tasks such as printing 3D drawings, 3D computer animation, and "Jog to Teach" motions are incorporated into the programs. Version v2.7 of my programs may be able to be used on XT/AT computers with: DOS 2.1 to 6.22, 8088 4.7MHz to PIII 733MHz processor, 640KB of DOS RAM memory, a 20MB or bigger harddisk, parallel port, and CGA, EGA, VGA, SVGA, or Hercules (tm) monochrome graphics. A computer faster than 733MHz might also work, but you will need to test the programs to find out. A mouse, a Joy-stick port, an incremental encoder, a scanning probe, a digitizer tablet, a larger harddisk, and more RAM memory may be required for some tasks with v2.7. To build your automated machine you will need a machine, motors, motor drivers, switches, wires, power supplies, and related components. Other versions may have somewhat different requirements.

SECTION: 1.10.0.0 History of my programs, the DANCAD3D (tm) story.

SECTION: 1.20.0.0 What's new with this Web site (HTML document).

SECTION: 1.30.0.0 The On-Line DANCAD3D.COM (tm) Newsletter.

SECTION: 1.40.0.0 Introduction to this Web site for newcomers.

SECTION: 1.50.0.0 About the files that make up this Web site (HTML document).