Last I looked, ARX/Photolux cannot perform a convincing raytrace (to
simulate clear or tinted glass, plastic, water etc. by tracing the
refraction/reflection of individual light rays across more than one
bounce.) But I believe they're aware of the problem and are working on
it. At least the maintenance fees we pay for ARX hopes so.
It CAN do solid surfaces fairly well. Still, ultimately it's a fairly
expensive add-on raytracer that doesn't raytrace accurately, and only adds
a few features to the existing Phong rendering capabilities of ProE. We've
given it up for dead, at least for now. Currently we use the raytracer
from an outdated PTC product called Pro/DESIGNER, as well as POV-RAY. The
rendering situation for ProE kind of bites, actually.
-Doug VanOrnum