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Volume Graphics releases new generation of CT Software

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–Volume Graphics announced the latest generation of its software solutions for non-destructive quality assurance with industrial computed tomography (CT): Version 3.3 of VGSTUDIO MAX, VGSTUDIO, VGMETROLOGY, and VGinLINE.

VGSTUDIO MAX software is used for the analysis and visualization of industrial computed tomography (CT) data and covers all requirements related to metrology, defect detection and assessment, material properties, and simulation.

Using the new version, customers can determine the surfaces of multi-material components, export measurement and analysis results to store them centrally in quality-management software, automate inspection processes more flexibly based on text recognition, and translate real CT data into volume meshes for simulation.

To further support their customers, Volume Graphics has also added a Technical Consulting unit that provides professional consulting and evaluation services.

“With version 3.3 of our software solutions, we are once again laying the foundation for customers to make their processes smarter,” says Christof Reinhart, CEO and co-founder of Volume Graphics GmbH.

“For example, using the new data export, metrology data derived with the tremendous measurement capabilities of our software can be seamlessly shared with QA systems, where the values can then be combined and checked over time. More than ever before, this new feature enables customers to better integrate leading-edge CT technology into their existing software landscape. The new export feature is based on the native support of the widely used Q-DAS format, which makes using results in third-party statistical or analysis software especially easy.”

An overview of the innovations in VGSTUDIO MAX 3.3: Multi-material surface determination

–A new mode of the local-adaptive-surface determination enables the simultaneous determination of the surfaces of each material within a volume in one go
–This significantly simplifies the geometric dimensioning and tolerancing of multi-material objects, e.g., the position of metal pins of a connector relative to the plastic housing
–The new mode also facilitates segmentation of multi-material objects

Support of native data export in Q-DAS format

–There is now native support for data export in Q-DAS format for both VGSTUDIO MAX and the VGMETROLOGY metrology solution, as well as the VGinLINE solution for automated CT inspection
–Companies that still work with traditional measurement systems can switch to this comprehensive CT measurement technology without encountering software hurdles or having to forego their established processes for further statistical evaluation
–Export of detailed, CT-based measurement and analysis results (coordinate measurement, nominal/actual comparison, wall thickness analysis, porosity/inclusion analysis, fiber composite material analysis) is now enabled in the common Q-DAS data exchange format

OCR-based automation
–New optical character recognition (OCR) allows customers to read out text in CT scans, such as object identifiers, and store the recognized text in their meta information
–In automated inspection workflows, cavity markers in CT scans of injection molded or cast components can be recognized and the right reference object or the appropriate analysis in VGinLINE jobs can then be selected depending on the respective cavity
–At the same time, the recognized text improves the traceability of the results, since the information about the cavities can be included in the reports

 

Volume meshing for simulations
–With the new Volume Meshing Module, users can create accurate and high-quality tetrahedral volume meshes from their CT scans for use in mechanical, fluid, thermal, electrical, and other FEM simulations in third party software
–This is based directly on the subvoxel-accurate surface determination for scanned parts or material samples consisting of one or more materials
–The individual components of multi-material objects are translated into volume meshes with congruent tetrahedron faces and shared nodes at material interfaces
–The complete workflow from CT scan to volume mesh is covered
–Generated volume meshes can be exported in common .pat and .inp file formats
–Each cell of the generated volume mesh can be loaded with additional information required for simulation, such as fiber orientations, fiber volume fractions, porosity volume fractions, or gray values

Backed by 20 years’ experience in industrial CT, the new Technical Consulting unit analyzes the specific requirements of each customer’s application(s), creates optimal software configurations and general CT hardware specifications, and offers complete evaluations as a contract service

Volume Graphics
www.volumegraphics.com

COMSOL News 2019 success stories: Simulation applications enable collaboration in developing new products

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COMSOL Inc. published its annual compilation of customer success stories featured in the latest edition of COMSOL News. This year’s issue features a variety of academic and commercial examples from engineers who push the limits of technology using COMSOL Multiphysics® for innovative modeling, simulation, and application design.

Collaboration is key when designing products that will change our future in unforeseeable ways. In this year’s issue of COMSOL News we find that everyone from students to professionals are working together. Both with each other and their customers to uncover the next development in their design work.

“Every year we feature some of our most innovative customers in COMSOL News. This year’s edition is no exception,” says Bernt Nilsson, Senior VP of Marketing, COMSOL Inc. “What stands out now is the expanding use of simulation, far beyond the R&D departments. Custom simulation applications are taking off. We’re thrilled to report on companies such as Viega who is bringing simulation to their sales team to design cooling and heating systems.”

COMSOL News 2019 features more than a dozen articles discussing a wide variety of projects using multiphysics modeling and simulation applications. Featured topics include: radiant heating and cooling, simulation applications, digital twins, hyperloop pod design, optical antenna design, battery design, and smart cities among others.

Availability
COMSOL News 2019 is available as an online magazine and can be viewed or downloaded in PDF format at: www.comsol.com/offers/comsol-news-2019.

COMSOL

Simcenter 3D accelerates electromagnetics simulation processes

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The latest version of Simcenter 3D software includes enhancements for low- and high-frequency electromagnetic solutions to help accelerate electromagnetics simulation processes. This version advances simulation capabilities with increased multidisciplinary integration capabilities, faster CAE process, increased openness and scalability, and enhanced capabilities to integrate with the digital thread.

Including electromagnetic simulation into Simcenter 3D enables engineers to perform electromagnetic simulation faster than with traditional simulation tools and streamline multiphysics workflows between electromagnetic and other physical simulations.

Additional enhancements to Simcenter 3D include:
• Faster CAE Processes: A new immersed boundary method helps engineers spend less time modeling for computational fluid dynamics (CFD) analysis. Engineers can also instantaneously compute new configurations for flexible hoses and pipes after a design configuration change.
• Open and Scalable Environment: Engineers can use calculated vibrations from common third-party finite element (FE) solvers, ANSYS and Abaqus, and apply those vibrations as loading in a structural or vibro-acoustic solution in Simcenter 3D, which can lead to a better understanding of how vibrations will impact perceived sound by end-customers.
• Tied to the Digital Thread: An enhanced interface between Simcenter 3D and Simcenter Testlab software helps engineers better collaborate with colleagues in the test group. New capabilities available in Teamcenter Simulation help engineers quickly identify which simulations are impacted after a design change.

Siemens Digital Industries Software
new.siemens.com/global/en/

ThingWorx 8.5 coming in late summer 2019

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ThingWorx 8.5 combines new capabilities with domain-specific solutions to serve the digital transformation needs of industrial enterprises worldwide.

Among the new and enhanced capabilities are tools that simplify the composition and deployment of solutions. Customers will be able to configure applications faster and deploy them across multiple sites and geographies. For those who want more readymade solutions, ThingWorx also offers pre-built, pre-configured capabilities for engineering, manufacturing, and service. This latest version of ThingWorx brings enhanced integration with Microsoft Azure IoT and includes additional tools for rolling out solutions at an enterprise scale.

The new ThingWorx Navigate Digital Change Management Application enables internal and external users to actively participate in change management. The series of ThingWorx Navigate Contribute Apps will expand on NavigateView suite, which makes information easily available and facilitates collaboration across the enterprise. Powered by the digital thread, engineers have real-time access to connected product data in ThingWorx to drive the design of next-generation products.

Manufacturing
ThingWorx 8.5 is now compatible with Rockwell Automation’s FactoryTalk Analytics. Additionally, PTC will be releasing ThingWorx Kepware Edge to provide flexible deployment of reliable and secure connectivity for dispersed equipment.

Service
PTC’s service solution suite enables service organizations to transform from cost centers to profit centers and drive product and service innovation through new IIoT-enabled business models. The service optimization solution allows companies to improve margins by minimizing truck rolls and increasing first time-fix rates. With ThingWorx 8.5, digital
service delivery is enhanced through a deepened integration with Microsoft Azure,
enabling manufacturers to now use the ThingWorx Software Content Management App
with the Azure IoT Hub and Azure IoT Edge.

PTC
ptc.com

PTC announces initiatives for its AR business

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PTC announced  initiatives to fuel its AR business and strengthen the Vuforia Augmented Reality (AR) platform. These initiatives include enhanced 3D AR model targets, leveraging Azure Spatial Anchor Services, a collaboration with Matterport to further the PTC enterprise reach into factories and other spaces, and the acquisition of an AR services agency, TWNKLS.

“AR redefines how the enterprise works. Across all industrial use cases including
manufacturing, engineering, service and training, AR is improving productivity, reducing
waste, and increasing worker safety and compliance. AR empowers organizations to
digitally transform their products, processes, and people,” said Jim Heppelmann, president
and CEO, PTC. “Our strategic alliances, acquisitions, and groundbreaking technology
highlight PTC’s commitment to helping industrial companies succeed with their digital
transformation initiatives.”

Create step-by-step AR instructions with Vuforia Expert Capture
Industrial customers can use Vuforia Expert Capture to quickly and easily create step-by-step instructions when and where they do their work, leveraging Microsoft HoloLens’ location-aware capabilities enabled by Azure Spatial Anchor Services. Front-line workers can then be safely and effectively guided through procedures by digital content presented at relevant locations in the physical environment. This feature improves the accuracy and speed of educating workers, and reduces training costs.

Vuforia Engine 8.3 enhanced with AI
In addition to providing intuitive AR user interactions, Vuforia Engine 8.3 offers robust AR experiences by harnessing the power of deep learning to provide target recognition capabilities based on the customer’s 3D CAD model. AI-powered, model-based recognition enables a product or machine to be recognized from difficult angles, even in poor lighting environments – enabling easier, faster, and more accurate user experiences.

PTC invests in Matterport to visualize factories
PTC has invested in and partnered with Matterport, a company that offers immersive 3D
technology and spatial capture solutions. By partnering with Matterport, PTC is offering the first AR solution with a focus on factories, plants, and other spaces – and the people who operate them. PTC’s enhanced Vuforia offerings give customers the ability to unify
their factory data and allow them to visualize and interact with a digital twin. The
collaborative solution provides customers an easy way to scan their facility and convert it
into a usable 3D mesh using a Matterport compatible camera.

PTC acquires TWNKLS to help customers deploy and adopt augmented reality
The Netherlands-based TWNKLS is a specialized AR company that develops tailor-made AR applications and experiences and provides AR services to solve the specific challenges faced by enterprise companies. The acquisition will accelerate PTC’s AR strategy as well as enable customers to realize faster time-to-value.

PTC’s Vuforia Experience Platform has been adopted by hundreds of companies
worldwide, including Aggreko, Fujitsu, Global Foundries, Howden, and Volvo.

PTC
ptc.com

More features for Solid Edge 2020, including augmented reality

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The latest version of Solid Edge software has many enhancements, including augmented reality, expanded validation tools, model-based definition and 2D Nesting. Solid Edge 2020 provides next generation technologies to enhance collaboration and fully digitalize the design-to-manufacturing process.

Solid Edge 2020 delivers augmented reality capabilities that enable users to visualize design intent in new ways, enabling enhanced collaboration internally, as well as with suppliers and customers during the design process. New validation tools have been integrated for conducting motion and vibration simulation, which can help customers reduce costly prototypes. The addition of Model Based Definition enables users to completely define parts, assemblies and manufacturing instruction digitally from their 3D model. 2D Nesting capabilities have also been added to optimize cutting patterns, reduce waste and costs, and accelerate manufacturing processes. Solid Edge 2020 also delivers hundreds of core CAD enhancements such as new sheet metal capabilities, 3-10x faster large assembly performance, new data migration tools, and others across the portfolio.

Siemens Digital Industries Software
www.siemens.com/plm

Altair releases HyperWorks 2019, unifying design, engineering, and manufacturing

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Altair, a global technology company providing solutions in product development, high-performance computing and data intelligence, announced the release of Altair HyperWorks 2019, the latest version of its simulation- and AI-driven product development platform. The release expands on the number of solutions available for designers and engineers, under a single, open-architecture platform, to speed decision-making and time to market.
“We want to help our customers explore more ideas, better understand their designs, and improve profitability,” said James Scapa, Altair’s chief executive officer and founder. “Our development focus for HyperWorks 2019 was to increase the solve speed and functionality across our solutions for every stage of product development with optimization and multi-physics workflows for all manufacturing methods.”

Highlights of this release include:

Fast simulation of complex assemblies
Altair SimSolid makes designers and engineers more productive by performing structural analysis on original, un-simplified CAD assemblies in seconds to minutes. SimSolid can analyze complex parts and large assemblies that would take hours or days using traditional structural simulation tools.

Easy-to-learn fatigue life prediction
Altair HyperLife enables customers to quickly understand potential durability issues through an easy-to-learn solution for fatigue life under static, transient and vibrational loading. The intuitive user experience enables test engineers to perform simulations with little or no training. HyperLife helps customers to confidently predict product durability in hours, complementing physical testing, which can take months.

Efficient workflows for multi-physics
Altair SimLab is an intuitive workflow platform for simulating multi-physics problems. Automatic feature and part recognition can make simulation cycles more than five times faster. Design exploration is easier with synching to popular CAD tools. The multi-physics workflows feature deeply embedded solvers; including statics, dynamics, heat transfer, fluid flow, electromagnetics analysis, fluid-structure interaction, and electromagnetic-thermal coupling.

Superior high-fidelity modeling
HyperWorks 2019 includes the most robust Altair HyperMesh version yet. New features enable the generation of the largest, most complex finite element models. The model build and assembly tools in HyperMesh make managing large, complex assemblies easier than ever. This allows CAE to keep pace with design changes by rapidly swapping new parts and assemblies into existing models, managing multiple configurations, mesh variants and part instances. The direct mid-mesh generation makes it possible to create shell meshes straight from solid geometry of complex castings and injection molded parts.

Enhanced user experience for fast concept modeling
The HyperWorks platform already includes Altair Inspire, Altair Activate and SimLab delivering class-leading solutions with intuitive and consistent user-interfaces. In this release Altair HyperWorks X is included with a new set of workflows for geometry creation, editing, morphing and meshing employing this same user experience. The easy-to-learn mesh morphing features of HyperWorks X will bring efficiency to teams working on simulation models early in product development. These workflows enable concept level changes to be made directly on an existing FEA model bypassing CAD generation and accelerating decision-making.

Expanded non-linear solver functionality
Analysis with Altair OptiStruct is increasing at companies performing stiffness, strength and fatigue-life simulations; fueled by the significant process improvement it provides. The single-model, multi-attribute workflow enabled by OptiStruct delivers time and cost savings. Design decisions can be made faster by engineers performing linear, non-linear, and durability analysis – using one optimization-ready model.

Altair
www.altair.com
altair.com/HW2019

Virtalis uses HOOPS Exchange to create rich data

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Tech Soft 3D, a leading provider of software development toolkits to engineering software companies, announced that Virtalis is using HOOPS Exchange to create rich data sets that fuel enterprise data models that serve as the visualization backbone for multiple types of applications across the enterprise. Virtalis is a pioneer in the AR/VR industry and provider of immersive visualization solutions that cover the full lifecycle of the product, from conceptual design to distribution.

Visionary Render is Virtalis’ flagship platform for importing and visualizing large datasets from a range of sources, while maintaining all the geometry, naming hierarchies, metadata, and product & manufacturing information (PMI). Virtalis is focused on supporting industrial applications and manufacturers creating large complex products for aerospace, defense and automotive, as well as construction, geoscience, consumer goods, and more. Accurately supporting the formats used in this wide range of industries is critical because companies need to visualize large amounts of data from diverse sources. Being able to review the data in an immersive environment on a one-to-one scale, rather than seeing a 2D view of a 3D object is effective for communicating to people who aren’t skilled in CAD.

“When we import CAD data with HOOPS Exchange, we get the data that we expect,” said Barry King, Product Owner at Virtalis. “Our customers expect to see reliable data when they’re making important decisions based on visualizations and having reliable and dependable data is one of the most important things for them. What’s great about HOOPS is that it supports almost all the formats, including VRML. Our customers have legacy data, and we rely on the fact that HOOPS Exchange supports those formats. Often our customers will challenge us with data and we can say, ‘no problem.’ We can support this wide variety of formats because we have HOOPS behind us.”

Virtalis goes beyond visualizing CAD data from an external view by immersing users in the environment where the model may live, allowing them to experience the product.

“We’re looking at products in the context of where they sit,” said Gavin England, Product Marketing Manager at Virtalis. “We could be looking at a product installed inside a factory, or a building structure coming from building information modeling (BIM) data. In addition to the core formats, being able to bring in data like Revit is key as well.”

HOOPS Exchange provides access to a broad range of data including B-Rep geometry, metadata, PMI, model tree, views, persistent IDs, styles, construction geometry, visualization and more – all without depending on any CAD system. This wide-ranging access proved to be an important element in Virtalis’ decision-making process.

“When we initially were getting to grips and integrating it, Tech Soft 3D was really responsive and collaborated with us to get the results that we needed,” said King. “When we communicate an issue, we always get it fixed in the next release, and the releases come out steadily and reliably.” That’s very important and a real benefit for us. Whether they’re working with engineering or science data, a lot of customers are learning how much time and money they can save by leveraging immersive visualization and not having to build physical prototypes. This helps them make better business decisions – and Tech Soft 3D plays a critical role in supporting those workflows.”

Tech Soft 3D
www.techsoft3d.com

COMSOL Multiphysics includes tools to support 5G, IoT design

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COMSOL announced the latest advances in its COMSOL Multiphysics software to support microwave and RF engineers working on 5G, IoT, automotive radars and satellite communications. With these tools, designers can model different PCB materials and study how they affect the performance of microwave and millimeter wave circuits. Several of the application examples to guide designers will be introduced at the International Microwave Symposium (IMS) 2019.

“We are particularly excited to demonstrate how to set up and run a simulation to design and evaluate a Grounded Coplanar Waveguide (GCPW) line,” said Jiyoun Munn, technical product manager of the RF Module at COMSOL. “Connectors and low loss materials are the key components across all electronic devices and systems. Their reliability is critical in circuits that transmit and receive information.”

The use of simulation to achieve low insertion loss and reliable circuit performance in a design, requires choosing accurate material properties such as relative dielectric constant and loss tangent, while also considering surface roughness effects in the computer model.
“As the frequency increases, maintaining the impedance become more complex, as small quirks arising from the geometry or selected materials can be magnified,” explains Bill Rosas, Cofounder of Signal Microwave. “Simulation allows us to ensure that these critical pieces of RF infrastructure are optimized for 5G communications.”

Designing components ready for 5G, IoT, automotive radars and satellite communications will require multiphysics modeling. Using COMSOL Multiphysics microwave and RF designers can couple electromagnetic simulations with heat transfer, structural mechanics, fluid flow, and other physical phenomena, allowing them to represent coupled physics effects as they would occur in the real world. That means being able to accurately investigate designs and fully benefit from the virtual prototyping capabilities multiphysics simulation offers.

COMSOL
www.comsol.com/rf-module

MapleSim 2019 improves performance, increases modeling scope

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Maplesoft announced a new release of MapleSim, the advanced system-level modeling tool. From digital twins for virtual commissioning to system-level models for complex engineering design projects, MapleSim helps organizations reduce development risk, lower costs, and enable innovation. The latest release provides improved performance, increased modeling scope, and more ways to connect to an existing toolchain.

Simulation is faster for all customers in MapleSim 2019 due to more efficient handling of constraints when preparing the model, resulting in more compact, faster simulation code without any loss of fidelity. These results mean that MapleSim’s industry-leading speeds have gotten even better, saving time and enabling more real-time applications. In addition, models developed in MapleSim and then exported for use in other tools also run faster in the target applications.

New built-in and add-on components and expanded support for external libraries means that engineers can create more models, faster, in MapleSim 2019. The new release expands the scope of models that can be created using pre-existing components, with additions to hydraulics, electrical, multibody, and more. As well, the MapleSim Engine Dynamics Library from Modelon is a new add-on library that provides specialized tools for modeling, simulating, and analyzing the performance of combustion engines. This component library is especially useful for representing transient engine responses, and can be used for analyzing engine performance, performing emission studies, controls development, hardware-in-the-loop verification of vehicle electronic control units, and more.

Toolchain connectivity is essential to many MapleSim customers, and MapleSim 2019 offers important advances in toolchain integration. Improvements include additional options for FMI connectivity, including support for variable-step solvers, as well as fixed-step, for running imported models in MapleSim and exporting models to other tools. In addition, the new B&R MapleSim Connector add-on gives automation projects a powerful, model-based ability to test and visualize control strategies from within B&R Automation Studio, and to export simulation data for motor, servo, and gearbox sizing within SERVOsoft®.

“System level modeling has proven to be an invaluable tool for companies embarking on challenging engineering design projects, especially in the areas of automation and the creation of digital twins. Models can be used to both verify a design, as well as act as a virtual test bench for the machine’s control software – all before prototypes are built,” said Chad Schmitke, Senior Director, Product Development, Maplesoft. “Whether an organization wishes to develop their own models or work in partnership with the Maplesoft Engineering Solutions team, the improvements in performance, scope, and connectivity in MapleSim 2019 offer benefits to everyone.”

MapleSim is available in English, Japanese, and French.

Maplesoft
www.maplesoft.com