My office is shopping around for 3d packages and we came across Freeform by Sensable (http://www.sensable.com)
Has anyone used it? What is your impression of it?
What I have read of their software implies that is for more freeform shapes where dimensional constraints are not as important. THe main customers at this point seem to be designers of McDonalds Happy Meal type figurines, where the sculptural method combined with the draft tools make for a good combination.
had a demo few years back. not impressed. was fun to play with. but alot of $$$ for sculptural shapes you get done cheap in Asia. thought the equipment was cheaply made. may be improved now. maybe toy designers use it. but the ones i know dont.
Yeah, they are fun. I had a demo once too.
They can do all constraints like a [simple] CAD package, including some funky extra stuff (didn’t get a demo of advanced surfacing type features… I guess you can import that kind of thing…). Will probably be a while before thay are good as a sketch modelling CAD package, as still quite complex, but definitely best for toys, animation characters etc…
Definitely good for impressing clients 
I have a good friend who works for a very large corporation who is a freeform wizard- and he doesn’t make toys or any of the other things listed as the ‘realm’ of this tool, he’s making incredibly detailed hand held products. I’ve never used the software/hardware myself, but he has told me that the new version of the software is a momentous step forward- I’d check into it once they release the update.
It is a very good tool to show off to the ceo’s/clients/press as well, it gets them very excited.