This is just my humble opinion of one good valued 3rd Party addition to Mechanical Desktop 4

Drew's Rating: 
3D PowerTools & 3D PowerTools Viz

Download 3DPowerTools
Download 3DPowerToolsViz

There are 2 similar but separate products, the Viz suite has no creation tools and is a subset of the 3DPowerTools. The Viz (cheaper) product is better suited to Mechanical Desktop 4 whereas the regular 3DPowerTools is better suited for AutoCAD 2000 or AutoCAD Mechanical 2000.

I must admit, when I first downloaded and tried 3DPowertools, I was very skeptical as to its claims to be as useful as it is. My opinion changed drastically after using it and I was astonished on how well it seamlessly integrated into Autodesk's Products. I learned later that the author was a former Autodesk developer and that was all I needed to know.

For the Mechanical Desktop 4 user standpoint I find the tools in the Viz package a valuable asset to using MDT 4 effectively. Similarly for an AutoCAD 2000 only user or AutoCAD Mechanical 2000 user using 3D, the benefit would be two-fold with its solids creation tools in 3D PowerTools.

Here are 2 key reasons why I give this a 5 star rating for MDT use:

#1 - Transparent 3D orbit. This means exactly that! Rotate your model transparent to most any command. If real-time Zoom or real-time Pan would work, then transparent orbit will work too.  Imagine running a fillet command while in shaded mode, you select the edges that face you, you then transparently rotate the model and then select the edges that were not visible. This function alone makes it worth it. Very cool!

#2 - 3D rotate as one would expect. Rotate your parts in the context of the assembly and see it real-time. This function again is a huge time-saver come assembly time and the ease of use was very impressive. This tool also adds easy move functionality to position parts for assembling. Works in shaded mode to boot!

Drew's Wish list... To be able to assign the transparent 3D orbit function to a hot key. Maybe next version ?

3DPowerToolsViz, Price**  $US 95.00
3DPowerTools, Price**  $US 195.00
** Introductory prices

Available on-line from my MCAD Store

Installation: Piece of cake!
Authorization process: Worked like a charm!
More info: http://www.3dpowertools.com/
I highly recommend it! Say you saw it here at Drew's MCAD Connection