Pro/ENGINEER Wildfire(TM) 4.0 [Paperback]

Gary Lamit (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 22, 2008 | ISBN-10: 0495411191 | ISBN-13: 978-0495411192 | Edition: 1

Pro/Engineer Wildfire 4.0 is one of the most widely used CAD/CAM software programs in the world today. Designed for a one or two semester undergraduate course for first or second year engineering students, Pro/engineer Wildfire 4.0 is an extremely beneficial book for both aspiring and newly employed engineers. The text involves creating a new part, an assembly, or drawing, using a set of Pro/E commands, walking you through the process systematically and guiding you through parametric design. While using this text, a student will create individual parts, assemblies, and drawings.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Louis Gary Lamit is the former head of the drafting department and CAD facility manager, and is currently an instructor at De Anza College in Cupertino, California, where he teaches computer-aided design. Mr. Lamit has worked as a drafter, designer, numerical control (NC) programmer, technical illustrator, and engineer in the automotive, aircraft, and piping industries. A majority of his work experience is in the area of mechanical and piping design. He started as a drafter in Detroit (as a job shopper) in the automobile industry, doing tooling, dies, jigs and fixture layout, and detailing at Koltenbar Engineering, Tool Engineering, Time Engineering, and Premier Engineering for Chrysler, Ford, AMC, and Fisher Body. Mr. Lamit has worked at Remington Arms and Pratt and Whitney Aircraft as a designer, and at Boeing Aircraft and Kollmorgan Optics as an NC programmer and aircraft engineer. Mr. Lamit also owns and operates his own consulting firm, and has been involved with advertising and patent illustrating.

Product Details

• Paperback: 720 pages
• Publisher: CL-Engineering; 1 edition (July 22, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0495411191
• ISBN-13: 978-0495411192
• Product Dimensions: 10.8 x 8.1 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.9 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #52,833 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This Book Was Perfect For My Needs..., November 27, 2008

By 

Mad Max Mark (USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Pro/ENGINEER Wildfire(TM) 4.0 (Paperback)

For the past few years, I have desired to learn PTC's Pro/ENGINEER Wildfire mCAD software. Unfortunately, none of my past or present employers spanning 20+ years owned a Pro/E license for me to use or learn with. My interest with Pro/E was purely self-directed (and) extra-curricular ~ not being required by any employer.

After PTC released its latest version of Wildfire 4.0 in 2008, I decided to do what few people ever attempt ~ by purchasing my own license of Pro/E for home use, where I began learning the program from scratch on my personal time & leisure. Prior to this endeavor, I had zero exposure or experience with any past or present version of Pro/E - nor had I ever viewed the Pro/E toolbars or graphics windows. In fact, I was so "green" that I had never witnessed the appearance of Pro/E launching on a computer until AFTER my purchase ~ and had it installed on my home system.

I had no prior knowledge or experience with this software and no one to ask questions or assist learning the elementary basics of Pro/E commands, navigation and use. None of my regional Universities or colleges offered a course in Pro/E either. As any user will attest to, it can be a very daunting and overwhelming feat to self-teach oneself the fundamentals of any CAD program without the help of 2nd or 3rd party guidance. Consequently, I undertook this mission the hard way (flying solo), using my own money, with no prior operating experience ~ and nobody to help. Without a doubt, I was the quintessential Pro/E "Beginner" in its truest definition & most challenging form!

After spending over a month searching for various textbooks and reference information to aid my enormous learning-curve, I eventually purchased this textbook; Pro/ENGINEER Wildfire 4.0 written by Louis Gary Lamit. This textbook proved to be exactly what I needed and I knew within the earliest lessons that I had made an excellent purchasing decision.

This textbook begins with the first 25 pages explaining the fundamentals of parametric modeling techniques, terminology, appropriate design protocols (and) a series of example screen command operations & nomenclature that the student will be instructed to execute throughout the lesson book. As with any textbook, the student should [seriously] apply themselves during each chapter, to make sure its contents are adequately absorbed & memorized. Each lesson tends to build upon commands taught from the prior. No author or textbook can compensate for a student's lackadaisical effort or attitude. I found it fun and desirable to repeat each modeling lesson multiple times beyond the initial, merely to help memorize various command execution steps before commencing to the next lesson.

On a personal note... if a potential student of any engineering field does not have an "eye for detail", or fails to notice & appreciate the "detail" offered by others... perhaps they are in the wrong field and should consider a different career before its too late.

This author (with the support of his technical associates) has given a tremendous amount of time to detail; showing command execution steps for Pro/ENGINEER software. All necessary commands are clearly illustrated throughout the textbook. During modeling lessons, each necessary click of the mouse button has been meticulously published to ensure the student's project models are successful, resulting in their work identically matching the illustrated models shown in the text. Typographical errors of this textbook seem to be non-existent. In fact, the only two problems I encountered turned out to be a glitch in my Pro/E software license, which the manufacturer [PTC] immediately supported me on ~ with favorable resolution within 24 hours. To date, I have not found any mistakes attributable to the author of this book.

This textbook contains a total of 18 modeling lessons including a concise & useful table of contents. The first lesson begins by teaching the student the basic steps using sketcher mode to create two simple extruded/protruded parts. It then shows the student the basics of attaching the two parts using assembly mode - then instructs how to create simplified drawings & blueprints of those parts. The next half-dozen lessons focus on teaching the student the various (most common) software tools needed to create various geometric features and shapes. As the student progresses through the book, the lessons continue to grow in complexity while introducing new software features & toolbar functionality to the student.

Throughout the book, this author strikes a perfect balance between "showing"... and "explaining". As with any technical subject in life, sometimes a learning curve can be advanced quicker when a student patiently follows all instructions to learn "how to"... while allowing the teacher's logical (and intentional) order of information (the "why's") to be forthcoming around the next lesson corner, as this author effectively does. Any teacher that introduces too much information at the wrong time - can defeat his/her own intent and merely confuse the student. This author's approach is perfect, and he also shows the student alternative methods, keystrokes & mouse/menu clicks to execute identical commands throughout the lessons.

This author also supports what he publishes. In the beginning of the book and elsewhere throughout, he advertises a website address where additional support, assistance and lesson information is offered to the student if needed. During the above examples mentioned when I encountered a software glitch with my Pro/E license, I sent the author several emails with questions. Though my specific support needs were ultimately the responsibility of (and) needed to be rectified by the manufacturer PTC, I always received prompt and courteous replies from this author - often within hours of sending. I rate his "service after the sale" an A+.

Also available by this author, are a series of videos which are optional to purchase for a small added sum of money. The miniscule price is a small pittance compared to the voluminous illustrations and information presented to the pupil. I purchased his videos, which can be used with - or without the textbook. The videos are copyright material and are designed to correspond with each of the 18 textbook lessons. The videos are available on DVD and each video lesson is individually filed on disc according to the textbook lesson number. This DVD contains over 20 hours of visual instructions which show the author's computer screen and his mouse cursor as he navigates through the various Pro/E menus, lesson commands and instructions. In the optional DVD, the student hears the author's voice as he explains what to do - and why. The complimenting video lessons are especially valuable because each averages an hour in length and contains much "value added" software tips, hints and explanations that cannot be captured in any text. Any content missed can be reversed and replayed over & over. Though the student can easily learn how to use Pro/E Wildfire 4 using this author's textbook alone... purchasing the optional DVD lessons on video enable the learner to possess a remarkable asset and resource from which to benefit. Nothing beats hearing someone verbally explain "how", "where"... and "why". Put the two packages together... and the student now has a "bullet proof" learning arsenal.

This morning was the first time revisiting the Amazon page for this book since I made my purchase. I was surprised to read the previous user's "disappointing" review. I am a serious user of this manual that has virtually digested every word and punctuation mark within and I believe the previous assessment is "unfair" at best. As with any software program... especially a high-end engineering program such as Pro/E, it is essentially impossible to expound on every conceivable keystroke, option or function that a program contains, within the context of one publishing... especially if attempting to include (or) expound upon advanced or somewhat exotic functionality.

This textbook was not advertized or marketed as an "advanced" user handbook. Also, readers must keep in mind that PTC offers a plethora of very "specialized & optional" software modules which can cost thousands of dollars extra. The optional modules enable the basic Pro/E Wildfire 4 software to expand to virtually limitless technical capabilities - each requiring extra training and instruction to learn the added functionality. This author's book is primarily meant to teach the new user "Basic Pro/E" platform functionality without the augmented software modules which many companies and corporations purchase differently due to varying internal requirements.

In conclusion, I can honestly say the information this textbook has provided, paid for itself within the first 1/3 of the lessons in terms of showing me what I needed to become a Pro/E user. The book has brought me from a true beginner, through intermediate user status, and I still have more chapters to finish! Given where I've come from... and where I currently stand, this is a sizeable achievement, especially given the fact I have arrived thus far without ever speaking with another "live human" to ask Pro/E questions ~ much less, not having the benefit of knowing other Pro/E users to engage "in-person" with concerning functional inquiries.

Given my satisfaction and what I've learned, I would be remiss by not submitting this review. If my road sounds similar to anyone else out there who wishes to learn how to use Pro/ENGINEER Wildfire 4 ~ then follow in my footsteps. I make the highest recommendation for this book and optional DVDs authored by Mr. Louis Gary Lamit and his support staff.

Over the years, some... Read more ›

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Good in the quantity of information provided but not in career development., May 15, 2009

By 

Andres J. Irizarry (El Segundo, CA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Pro/ENGINEER Wildfire(TM) 4.0 (Paperback)

I've read three introductory textbooks on Pro/Engineer and while this book was one of the better ones that I've read as far as quantity of information, I couldn't help but be annoyed at times by its lack of industry perspective.

There are times when I ask myself why certain commands that are useful to engineers or drafters are omitted. For instance, the book uses some GD&T call-outs but the GD&T is not correct. This leads to setting up the datums in a way that would never be done in industry. Nowhere in the book do you find out how to attach a dimension to a Datum (which is important to a GD&T user). Instead, the book asks you to repeatedly add datums to planes even though the end result is something that you would never use in industry and is not useful. You can make the same argument to the improper design of a plastic part in the book.

At times, the book will direct you to do the same tasks 3 different ways and at others it will ask you to do the same task the same way multiple times. While the first of these two situations is helpful to the user, the latter makes the book become boring. It is written in a "follow me" format that literally tells you every click you need to make.

If you are BRAND NEW to Pro/E, this is undoubtedly your book. It may be boring, but it does help you to understand every button click. If you are a more advanced user and are looking for a "bible" type book consider "Pro/Engineer Wildfire 4.0 for Designers " by Sham Tickoo.

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A very good job with a problematic subject., August 21, 2008

By 

Jeff "[e-mail]" (Sunnyvale, CA, United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Pro/ENGINEER Wildfire(TM) 4.0 (Paperback)

Concise and well presented with a strong approach on appropriate parametric modeling techniques that are not usually covered in other CAD books. This is without a doubt the best-written introduction book on Pro/Enginner I have ever worked with. It is also quite good as an upgrade book. Limit's propensity for writing textbooks throughout the years truly comes out in this new Wildfire 4.0 version. I could not ask for a better manual to instruct my students with. Not only does it cover parametric modeling with a step-by-step approach were one learned technique builds on another, but it also covers assembles and detailing as well. It comprehensively covers the new Wildfire 4.0 interface and includes links to his personal webpage with free Tryout Edition of Pro/ENGINEER as well as complimentary projects that add hundreds of free pages for the user to access. What a deal...If you find a better Pro/E book I will eat this one!