Kubotek KeyCreator

KeyCreator
1

I started my CAD career using HP Me10 on the original proprietary HP operating system (I can’t remember what it was called). Great (best ever) 2D system.

I changed jobs and started using Baystate CadKey. Pretty good.
Kubotek bought Cadkey and renamed it KeyCreator.
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KeyCreator is a non-parametric, non-history based, “direct” 2D/3D solid modeling CAD program. Originally known as CADKEY,[2] it was first released in 1984, running on DOS, UNIX and Microsoft Windows operating systems. It was among the first CAD programs[3] with 3D capabilities for personal computers. Besides solid modeling, KeyCreator is also capable of wire-frame and surface modeling, as well as drafting.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/KeyCreator

I use Keycreator as my 2D DXF software of choice. I design using SolidWorks. Our CAM machines are programmed using MasterCam and giving the programmers a “clean” DXF with the origin set, duplicate lines removed/merged, everything flattened to Z-zero, and a custom color code really lessens errors and speeds design intent. I honestly can’t find anything that handles DXF files better I would be lost (or severely hampered) if I couldn’t use KeyCreator.

I offer this story as a solution if you are having trouble or finding it time consuming to get DXF files to the manufacturing floor.

Let me know if you use KeyCreator. We could start a club!

2

I use it almost daily, started with it in 1997. It was our primary software prior to SW, so a majority of our legacy tool designs are in CadKey \ KeyCreator
format. It was a gradual transition to SW, as some things were just quicker \ easier with Cadkey. The push to full SW came when the boss at the time became the boss he didn’t know how to use CadKey. We also use Mastercam but just export a .xmt file to the floor. Our guys work straight off the geometry, the only time we do a print for anything is if we have to send something outside.

Nobody has come up with the silver bullet of CAD software yet so it’s a nice option to have another tool in the tool box to use when needed.

3

My very first CAD program was Cadkey. Then I learned AutoCAD and everything was backwards.

For a while I used the ME10/ME30 combination. Both of which were very powerful.

The only time I’ve used KeyCreator was for an article I wrote on a comparitor function it had. It’s direct edit, correct?

4

Correct. Non-History based full 3D capability.
Kinda nice changing a solid and knowing exactly what the change will look like with no tree to light-up light it’s Christmas on 5th Avenue.

5

KeyCreator is one of the softwares we use here as well as Solidworks. We had it as are main engineering software when is was still called CadKey until we switched to Solidworks in 2008.