3D CAD World

Over 50,000 3D CAD Tips & Tutorials. 3D CAD News by applications and CAD industry news.

3D CAD World

Experience a seamless workflow from CT scan to full statistical analysis

By Leave a Comment

Volume Graphics is extending data export from its non-destructive testing and analysis software based on industrial computed tomography (CT) to the statistics software Q-DAS qs-STAT. This close cooperation between Volume Graphics and Q-DAS, which are now united under the roof of Hexagon,  takes automation to the next level: statistical evaluations can now be fully integrated into a CT scan data analysis workflow.

Many users want to statistically analyze the quality data of their scanned components. This is often a basic requirement for automated applications. Q-DAS solutions, such as the Q-DAS qs-STAT package, are considered to be the de-facto standard for statistical analysis. Volume Graphics had already implemented an option for data export to the Q-DAS software in the earlier Release 3.3 of VGSTUDIO MAX. But now, as an integral part of Hexagon Manufacturing Intelligence, Volume Graphics and Q-DAS are working on making the data exchange between computed tomography and statistics even tighter.

Volume Graphics software transfers not only the measured values, but also an image of the CT-scanned component (in this case a cast part) into the Q-DAS qs-STAT statistics software package. This enables the dimensions to be clearly linked to the corresponding detail in the report. Visual support makes it easy for users to identify critical processes quickly, as well as weak points and deviations; green bars show time-series of measured values for specific features of the object. Summary graphics like those shown here are an essential tool for the definition of corrective actions needed to optimize a manufacturing process.

The first result of this collaboration is the option to also export 3D representations of components or measured features to Q-DAS software. This option was recently introduced with version 3.4.3 of VGSTUDIO MAX, VGMETROLOGY and VGinLINE. In practice, the user simply marks the relevant box in the export mask. The software then adds the corresponding part image to the data to be exported. Users can make their reports, which they define and access with Q-DAS qs-STAT, even more transparent. They can immediately see which measurement series belongs to which detail (see image).

“Currently, it is possible to export 3D component representations from our coordinate measuring module using measurement data,” says Johannes Knopp, Product Manager Automation & Inline at Volume Graphics. “But progress does not stop there. Our development department is already working on including additional results from the array of gray-value-based material analyses, such as defect analyses, in the export functions. The aim is to realize a seamless, fully automated workflow for all CT quality data.”

Tech Soft 3D completes acquisition of Visual Kinematics in continued expansion of CAE offerings

By Leave a Comment

Tech Soft 3D, a leading provider of engineering software development kits (SDKs), announces that it has acquired Visual Kinematics (VKI), maker of DevTools, a suite of component software development kits (SDKs) for computer-aided engineering (CAE) applications. This acquisition continues the company’s growth plans to scale global reach and increase its product offerings.

“The CAE market is exploding and the applications for simulation will only continue to expand,” said Ron Fritz, Chief Executive Officer at Tech Soft 3D. “Analysing how your design will function in the real world offers such massive cost savings that simulation is already well established in the design process. Tech Soft 3D is focused on adapting our tools to address this rapidly growing market space, as well as taking some of the core capabilities available in these technologies to serve the needs of additive manufacturing, AR/VR, IoT, machine learning, AI, etc.”

Based in Saratoga, California, the team at VKI has spent more than 30 years developing a component software product line that addresses a spectrum of CAE simulation technology needs: from mesh generation and interoperability tools to solvers, visualization and graphics. VKI’s tools provide developers with the ability to import/export of the analysis results from the vast majority of the world’s most widely used simulation solutions including those from ANSYS, Siemens and Dassault Systèmes. VKI component tools have been installed in analysis products including mechanical, fluids, electro-magnetic and multiphysics applications. With a reputation for delivering innovative, commercially robust products, VKI is relied upon by the CAE industry’s largest and most respected software companies such as ANSYS, Dassault Systèmes (SolidWorks), Siemens, Autodesk, Hexagon (MSC.Software), PTC, Ceetron and ESI Group to deliver applications for structural analysis, heat transfer, computational fluid dynamics and electromagnetics.

“We have been committed to providing the absolute best solutions to our customers, enabling them to build integrated, customized, end-to-end CAE analysis solutions, and we couldn’t be happier knowing that our customers will now have even more tools at their disposal,” said Gordon Ferguson, Chief Executive Officer at VKI. “The commitment that Tech Soft 3D has to building the strongest suite of CAE development tools in the industry is unmatched, and we are excited to be joining the team.”

Tech Soft 3D has long been a provider of data access and engineering graphics SDKs to the CAE market, working with partners such as ANSYS, Dassault Systèmes (EXA) , Altair, Numeca, MathWorks and Siemens (CD Adapco).

“The VKI portfolio is the perfect complement to our HOOPS toolkits, as well as our recently acquired Ceetron SDKs for visualization of CAE results,” said Gavin Bridgeman, CTO at Tech Soft 3D. “We will be working hard to integrate our tool sets, offering the most complete and robust CAE component technology solution on the market. It’s an exciting time, and I look forward to building the future with our new colleagues.”

Tech Soft 3D intends to continue to maintain and support VKI’s existing customers and partners that are using its market-leading SDK offerings for CAE, and will retain their staff. Details of the acquisition are not disclosed. Tech Soft 3D is backed by investment firm Battery Ventures.

Tech Soft 3D
www.techsoft3d.com

Siemens expands Xcelerator portfolio with enhanced Model Based Definition in latest version of NX software

By Leave a Comment

Siemens Digital Industries Software announces the availability of the latest version of NX software, including capabilities that allow companies to use a rules- and knowledge-based approach to Model Based Definition, which builds in best practices and leverages artificial intelligence to dramatically improve productivity. NX Model Based Definition provides a rich set of data that defines a variety of characteristics beyond size and shape to enable a truly comprehensive digital twin. By including non-geometric data within the CAD model, engineers can now produce a complete digital definition of a product in an annotated and organized manner, creating alignment throughout the production process, from design to production through validation.

This image is showing how a PMI can be authored in NX using rules. The NX MBD solution dramatically simplifies the task of authoring PMI and captures key characteristics and knowledge.

“I’ve been in the CAD/PLM game my entire career, over 35 years. Rarely have I been as impressed by a big leap forward as we saw today,” said Tom Gill, Senior Consultant at CIMData, after reviewing the technology. “Siemens continues to innovate and reimagine CAD design in a way that truly looks to the future of design.”

This image is showing the NX PMI Advisor, a fully integrated PMI validation solution that provides notification verifying whether PMI is compliant with industry and company standards. The NX PMI Advisor removes the dependency on highly trained GD&T experts and produces higher quality parts in less time.

A first to the industry, patented technology, NX Model Based Definition answers many of the challenges companies face when digitalizing the design process and transitioning from 2D to 3D. In trying to replicate a drawing-based workflow in the context of 3D CAD design, many companies are ending up with a 3D drawing, which does not have the tools to capture the true business intelligence needed to take advantage of the digital twin and digital thread. Using NX Model Based Definition, designers and engineers can automatically create and reuse data, adding more intelligence to the model, and subsequently leverage the data to inform other products and decisions — moving to a model-based enterprise. Avoiding the manual process of data validation and correction can help enterprises leverage their designs in a new and innovative way, enhancing productivity across the business.

Siemens Digital Industries Software
www.sw.siemens.com

Kubotek announces Keycreator 2021

By Leave a Comment

Kubotek3D, a leading supply chain software provider, today announced the availability of a new major release of KeyCreator 3D CAD software. The 2021 release provides improvements to Model-based Definition capabilities, productivity enhancements to various functions, and updates to CAD translators.

Model-Based Definition (MBD): Face colors supporting the digital thread
KeyCreator MfgCAD software has been designed to maximize productive re-use of CAD data. In the 2021 release the materials system has been enhanced in numerous ways to better support definition of what each face color means and quickly apply or copy those colors to appropriate faces.


For complex tooling design, face color attributes on the 3D model are commonly used as a form of MBD to signify manufacturing information such as surface tolerance and hole type. These colors are later converted to cycle parameters in the NC program. When this process can be automated, it follows the strategy called preserving the digital thread. This increasing popular concept saves time and errors over a human reading a drawing and re-typing the details into manufacturing software.

“The color tools available in the 2021 release of KeyCreator are a game changer.” said Bill Bechard, Designer, Superior Tool and Mold in Windsor, Ontario. “I have used premium CAD software that can’t deliver this automated face color manipulation. Our CNC cutting automation is reliant on face colors, so these tools will save many hours on every job we process. I am eager to start using the software.”

Since specific colors have different meaning for different shops, KeyCreator 2021 now stores material definitions in design and template files and allows loading and saving sets of materials from configuration files. An update to the selection filtering system allows quick access to faces with a specific material from any function. To extend support for design data from any source, KeyCreator 2021 recognizes unique face colors on imported models and automatically creates matching material definitions. This feature speeds up the process of defining a standard set of colors to be used on future jobs headed to a specific shop.



STEP AP 242
Kubotek proprietary readers for STEP (ISO 10303) files have been expanded to cover AP 242 to support customers using a full, standard-based MBD approach. STEP AP 242 defines critical manufacturing annotations including Geometric Dimensioning and Tolerancing (GD&T) and their relationship to the faces of the 3D model. These annotations and the nominal size and position of the precise geometric model provide an unambiguous part definition. This form of MBD can provide process efficiency by eliminating the need to translate the design into detail drawings and better support automation of downstream activities such as NC machining and inspection.

A second STEP enhancement has added to the 2021 release to open and export compressed ASCII STEP files which use the extension “.stpZ”. Compressed STEP files are around 20% of the size of uncompressed STEP files. The stpZ format has been gaining in popularity since originally released in 2013, especially in the aerospace and automotive industries.

Productivity improvements
KeyCreator 2021 also provides several other user-driven time-saving enhancements.
• Auxiliary drawing views defined perpendicular to a line/edge
• Significant speed improvement re-opening the Detail Style Editor
• Axis indicators selectable for vector direction or position
• Create 2D section slice geometry from part reference geometry

Updated CAD translators
Interoperability with other CAD software has been updated with the latest versions of two major CAD file formats:
• Autodesk Inventor 2021
• PTC Creo 7.0
Select this Data Exchange link for a complete list of translation features in KeyCreator 2021.

Kubotek3D
www.kubotek3d.com

CoreTechnologie presents a new 3D printing software version at Formnext Connect

By Leave a Comment

The German-French software manufacturer CT CoreTechnologie will present a comprehensively revised version of the 4D_Additive software at the virtual Formnext Connect tradeshow from 10th to 12th of November 2020.

Since the trade fair this year is taking place online only, interested parties can get a demonstration of the software on the virtual booth of CT and ask questions directly to the software specialists. By this means, the concentrated know-how of CoreTechnologie for solving the tasks and challenges of additive manufacturing is available to the visitor.

On 10th and 11th November 2020 each day at 10am and 2pm, Expert Sessions will be held, in which an overview of the software will be presented and the extensive innovations of the software will be explained in detail. New tools for the creation of 3D surface textures as well as structures for lightweight components and for saving the models in high-precision step-format will be explained and shown live. The Expert Sessions will also be available as video in the Formnext media library.

CoreTechnologie
www.coretechnologie.com/products/4d-additive

Radica Software partners with Onshape to bring 3D drawings and electrical CAD on one platform

By Leave a Comment

Radica Software, a developer of cloud-based electrical computer-aided design software (ECAD), announced it has partnered with Onshape Inc. Both companies have agreed to integrate their technologies to provide end-to-end drawing solutions for engineers around the globe. The integration makes it easy and efficient for engineers to complete product designs using 3D CAD software together with Electra Cloud’s 2D electrical, pneumatic, and hydraulic drawings, in real-time, all within a single online platform on Onshape. This offering is already available, and users can now subscribe to Electra Cloud directly from Onshape’s app store.

Users may share parts, designs, and symbols so they can be reused throughout the entire company. This eliminates tedious repetitive tasks and frees up engineers’ time so they can focus on important priorities to improve bottom line.

Onshape and Radica Software already have plans for deeper integration within the coming months. For example, users will be able to customize Electra Cloud with a plugin that will extract information from Onshape and automatically populate electrical drawings. Conversely, electrical drawings made on Electra Cloud can also insert parts into 3D Onshape drawings, for workflow management or even simulations.

The partnership with Onshape is the first for Electra Cloud since its launch in early 2020. Radica Software is also looking to widen its market reach through partnerships with other industry players around the world.

Radica Software
radicasoftware.com

Beyond additive manufacturing–generative design shapes for milling too

By Leave a Comment

Generative designs don’t have to be 3D printed. Other manufacturing methods enter the fray.

by Jean Thilmany, Senior Editor

There are those that say generative design ensures the best product design possible. Engineers enter the specifications a product needs to meet, and the tool responds by creating a number of potential designs that fit the bill. It even recommends potential materials to be used.

Now, the resulting designs can be manufactured in a number of ways.

Increasingly, CAD software makers, such as Autodesk, are building manufacturing preferences into their topology optimization and generative design tools, meaning generative design can take into account a particular manufacturing method. The engineer enters the manufacturing method as one of the design constraints. The resulting generatively created designs depict products that can be made according to that method and that meet other desired specifications, says Kim Losey, Autodesk’s head of marketing for Fusion 360.

Two years ago, Autodesk released generative design to subscribers of its Fusion 360 Ultimate product development software. Autodesk moved to marry generative design with manufacturing methods when it announced late last year that PowerMill, PowerShape, and PowerInspect would become part of the company’s Fusion 360 solution.

Now, Autodesk says, CAD and CAM reside on the same Fusion 360 platform.

The inclusion of CAM brings manufacturing considerations to the front of the generative engineering process, saving engineers and manufacturers time and money.

The generative technique is a completely different approach to design. The design concept allows engineers to define design parameters: such as material, size, weight, strength, and cost constraints–before they begin to design. Then, using artificial-intelligence-based algorithms, the software presents an array of design options that meet the predetermined criteria, Losey says.

MJK recently turned to generative because weight, strength, and style were all necessary considerations for the triple clamps it makes for motorcycles. On motorcycles, stanchions from the telescopic fork are attached to the triple clamp, and sliders at the other end are attached to the front-wheel spindle. The clamps are part of the fork that connects the motorcycle’s handlebars, steering stem, and shock absorbers.

By calling upon advanced software and computing power the generative system runs through many possibilities, each meeting the engineers’ design specifications. It presents the best designs to engineers, allowing them to pick the optimal design. Engineers are involved at the beginning and at the end of the design process. If they don’t feel any of the returned designs meet their standards, they can tinker with inputs and cue the generative-design system to start again.

The computer-generated (“generative”) designs might be unorthodox, new, and unexpected, with geometries that wouldn’t naturally occur to the designer. No matter how different, if the design is shown to work, it can be created by additive manufacturing, also called 3D printing, Losey says.

In the past, the design software often created shapes that could be produced only by 3D printing because the resulting organic, nature-like forms that were commonly created did not lend themselves well to processes such as machining, casting or fabrication, she adds.

But that led many people to assume the designs could be produced only through additive-manufacturing techniques.

Now, the scope of generative-design automation is expanding to include traditional manufacturing processes, such as milling, die casting, and even water milling.

Today, you can input traditional manufacturing constraints into Autodesk Fusion 360 and use its generative-design functionality to produce optimal design solutions that can be manufactured according to one of several predetermined methods, she adds.

Autodesk’s generative design software, part of its Fusion 360 platform, includes capabilities to sort through the design possibilities reflected by particular manufacturability considerations. This enables engineers to compare how easily, quickly and cost-effectively components can be produced via different manufacturing methods, Losey says.

By applying constraints that sort design possibilities according to selected processes, design options can be evaluated in a new light. Both engineers and manufacturers are often surprised at the results, she says. Multi-axis machining might be the best choice, as it turns out, even for a very elaborate part, when certain constraints are in place.

And bringing manufacturing to the front of the decision-making process underscores the role generative design has to play in the choice of product, Losey adds.

Estimating manufacturing costs
PowerMill 5-axis CAM software provides expert CNC programming strategies for complex 3- and 5-axis subtractive, high-rate additive, and hybrid manufacturing. Meanwhile, PowerShape is CAD software that creates complex 3D geometry to better control CAM software such as PowerMill. It works with any combination of surface, solid, or mesh data and quickly creates damage and collision-free toolpaths for large, complex parts, Losey says.

A recent video from Autodesk, in reference to questions to keep in mind while populating a prospective generative design, asks: “Will you deviate from the traditional design scope to include manufacturing constraints? Will you use 5-axis, 3-axis or even 2.5-axis milling? What about die casting? Can your design be water milled? Or does additive manufacturing provide the best value and performance?”

Clearly, the manufacturing process is a big influence on the type of geometry produced, Losey says.

While generative design can provide results optimized for your manufacturing method of choice, how do you evaluate the tradeoffs between performance and the cost to make your part?

Autodesk includes software—the aPriori Cost Insight Engine—as part of its generative design package. It generates a manufacturing cost estimate for each design alternative created.

“It interrogates a model for features or tolerances that would be costly based on certain manufacturing methods,” she says. “It allows engineers to fully explore costs and to strike balance between performance and cost.”

Another way generative design reduces manufacturing costs: the generative process can result in a single, solid-mesh body that can replace multibody components, such as a welded assembly. This reduces a manufacturer’s need to spend money on jigs, fixtures, welders, and welding material. And single-body parts can be made via additive manufacturing, which also reduces the need to design and manufacture tooling.

Also, generative design allows engineers to replace small assemblies with a single component to reduce manufacturing costs and bill-of-materials complexity.

Milled motorcycle parts
MJK Performance had shied away from the generative design method because Phil Butterworth, MJK designer and co-owner, felt the visual style evoked through generative design wouldn’t fit his company’s style. The company, of Calgary, Canada, produces aftermarket parts for Harley Davidson motorcycles.

“It always made me think of those spiderlike, organic, alien models,” he says. “I just thought it’d give us the same style only blockier, covered in intricate little pieces and looking silly.”

Autodesk’s generative design technology developed parts for conventional 2.5- and 3-axis milling and set Fusion 360 to design parts that could be made exclusively through those methods. Using that input, the CAD and CAM product quickly returned a range of designs that are lightweight and fully machinable.

But MJK recently turned to generative because weight, strength, and style were all necessary considerations for the triple clamps it makes for motorcycles and Butterworth knew the method could help with weight reduction.

On motorcycles, stanchions from the telescopic fork are attached to the triple clamp, and sliders at the other end are attached to the front-wheel spindle. The clamps are part of the fork that connects the motorcycle’s handlebars, steering stem, and shock absorbers.

“Our clients want the look of a 200-pound race bike for their 1,000-pound Harley,” Butterworth says. “As a result, we need to make our parts as light and strong as possible but also stylish. Every part has to look like it belongs on a hundred-thousand-dollar bike.”

But the triple clamps are large and bulky, leading Butterworth and his fellow designers to attempt to reduce their weight. With an additional factor: The clamps had to be fully machinable on a 2.5-axis mill because the company makes all its parts at its small, four-machine shop.

Butterworth says he was surprised to learn that generative design might be the answer to his needs. He’d assumed generative design was mostly limited to additive manufacturing.
He soon discovered that Autodesk’s generative design technology could develop parts for conventional 2.5- and 3-axis milling and set Fusion 360 to design parts that could be made exclusively through those methods. Using that input, the CAD and CAM product quickly returned a range of designs that are lightweight and fully machinable, Butterworth says.

Not only that, “when the model came back, it looked like something I would buy immediately. I was blown away. It looks racy; it’s got all the cool geometry. It has all the cool stuff generative does but in a style people understand and recognize,” he says.
After studying the potential designs, Butterworth selected one and then spent approximately 20 minutes editing it to suit the characteristic MJK Parts style.

Through use of generative design, engineers went from computer model to a prototype within a few hours. And the weight of the triple clamp was reduced by 23% compared to a similar triple clamp designed by an engineer rather than the generative program. Nor did the generative design sacrifice safety, Butterworth says.

Normally, this process would take one or two days to complete. But with generative design MJK was able to accelerate this process. They went from a computer model to a prototype in a few hours. Fusion 360 can easily be set to produce designs for 2.5-axis milling, he says.

Within JPL, its Atelier division is the team charged with trying new approaches and processes, and its recommendations are passed on to teams working on specific missions. This division is collaborating with Autodesk to evaluate generative design for the proposed lander.

Topology optimization joins in
Capabilities are also changing fast in topology optimization, which differs from generative design. When using topological optimization, an engineer defines loads within a 3-D space and the program removes material to attain a shape that uses the least amount of material while still retaining required stiffness and density. The method also creates parts with odd shapes, though it typically gives fewer results than does generative design.

Additive manufacturing, with its capability to create never-before-seen shapes, seemed a natural for both.

But, to give you an example of the move to find methods beyond additive has quickened, take the example of the following two engineering journal submissions.

An October 2016 paper in the journal “Advances of Engineering Software” stated that: “Despite being an effective and a general method to obtain optimal solutions, topology optimization generates solutions with complex geometries, which are neither cost-effective nor practical from a manufacturing perspective.” That paper was written by Sandro Vatanabe and his coauthors.

In it, Vatanabe, now an engineering professor at the FEI University Center in São Paulo, Brazil, and his colleagues proposed techniques to restrict the range of solutions for the optimization problem. The paper was entitled Topology optimization with manufacturing constraints: A unified projection-based approach.

Three years later, a paper entitled “Topology optimization for multi-axis machining” presented a topology-optimization approach that incorporates restrictions of multi-axis machining processes. In it, author Matthijs Langelaar posits that particular cutting tool shapes and maximum insertion lengths can be included in topology optimization without much additional computational effort. He then shows examples of how to generate optimized, machinable, three-dimensional parts. Langelaar is an associate professor of structural optimization and mechanics at Delft University of Technology in the Netherlands.

Langelaar set out a formulation developed for 5-axis processes, though the technique also covers other multi-axis milling configurations, 2.5-axis milling and 4-axis machining by including the appropriate machining directions. In addition to various tool orientations, user-specified tool length and tool shape constraints can also be incorporated in the filter.

So, while a generative design or topology optimization study can result in interesting new designs, perhaps previously unfathomable designs, engineers needn’t limit themselves to 3-D printing to manufacturing the design of their choosing.

Butterworth says generative design has opened up countless new avenues at his company.

“Before I even start programming a mill, I know my part is going to pass any performance test,” he says. “Whatever the weight optimization in the simulation does, the 2.5-axis generative design just gave us a solid model right away.”

Autodesk
www.autodesk.com

Using SolidWorks to Validate MATLAB Ray Simulation

By Leave a Comment

Another use for geometric constraints and 3D sketches

Dr. Jody Muelaner, PhD CEng MIMechE

I recently wrote about some of the less well-known uses for sketches in parametric CAD software such as SolidWorks. The geometric constraint solvers that the sketch function is based on does some really clever optimization to solve very complex geometry problems in a highly intuitive graphical way. This functionality is included so that model dimensions can be easily changed and part geometry then automatically updated, preserving design intent. However, the geometry solving capability can be repurposed in many ways to create extremely powerful and intuitive models and optimizations. My previous article looked at how geometric constraints can be used to optimize linkage lengths and pivot positions to synthesize mechanisms that produce specified types of motion. In this article, I detail a case study where 3D sketches in SolidWorks were used to validate a complete ray path simulation being used to design an interferometer in MATLAB.

The Interferometer Design
The simulation was for a new laser measurement technique that would allow highly accurate and dynamic measurements between steel spheres. Steel spheres can be manufactured with a very accurately defined radius, allowing measurements from multiple directions to reference a common point at the center of the sphere. It would therefore be possible to measure multiple 3D coordinates with very high accuracy and full traceability to fundamental length standards. The novel interferometer which allows these measurements has been designed by researchers at the University of Oxford, University of Bath and the National Physical Laboratory (NPL).

The technique, known as Absolute Multilateration between Spheres (AMS), could one day allow the measurement of coordinates to within a few micrometers, over distances of tens of meters and with no environmental controls. Because the laser path is contained in a tube, environmental parameters can be controlled and measured for the beam path without controlling the entire environment. This could enable the next generation of aerospace structures to achieve natural laminar flow and part-to-part interchangeability.

Figure 1: Proposed applications for AMS, a fully traceable CMM and a highly accurate snake arm robot.

The diagram below shows the interferometer arrangement which allows an absolute distance measurement between steel spheres. It uses a fiber channeled laser source which can be shared between many individual distance measurements. The laser passes through a number of wave plates, changing its polarization plane and therefore allowing a polarization-dependent beam splitter to either reflect or pass the beam, depending on where it is in its path. The measurement beam, therefore, goes from the splitter to a collimating lens A, it then reflects off the beam splitter at B, reflects off the first sphere C, passes through the beam splitter, reflects off the second sphere D, reflects off the beam splitter at E and finally hits the detector at F. At the same time, a reference beam goes straight from A to F.

Figure 2: Interferometer arrangement for AMS.

Due to the convex nature of the spheres, the laser beam diverges when it is reflected, fanning out the rays into a cone shape. This means that only a small fraction of the measurement beam will reach the detector.

The MATLAB Simulation
A MATLAB simulation was developed which included a mathematical function for the path of a single ray ABCDEF. This function used vector geometry and had variables to represent the position of the ray in the beam at A and for the alignments of the components in the system. A numerical integration was then carried out which simulated a number of discrete rays within the beam to determine the laser power at the detector, the error of distance measurement and the ability to clearly resolve fringes.

With alignment errors, the path ABCDEF becomes A’B’C’D’E’F’. A ray on the reference path travels from point Ar to interfere with the measurement path ray at point F’. The coordinate system was centered at point B with the x-axis on path BA and the y-axis on path BC.

Figure 3: Beam Path Model.

Vector geometry can be used to find each of the points in the path in turn. For example, the direction of vector A’B’ is given by applying rotation matrices to the nominal direction vector:

The intersection of this vector with the plane of the beam splitter gives the position of B and the direction of B’C’ can be found by reflecting A’B’ about a vector normal to the beam splitter (Nx):

The intersection of the first sphere with vector B’C’ gives two possible positions for C. The one with the minimum y-coordinate is the correct one. The direction of C’D’ is then found by reflecting B’C’ about the surface normal to the sphere at point C’. The surface normal has the direction from the center of the sphere to the point C’. A similar process is carried out to model the rest of the ray path.

Because of the highly divergent nature of the beam, it was necessary to only simulate the very small part which would actually reach the detector. Simulating the entire beam with sufficient resolution to give meaningful results at the detector would have taken many years of computational solve time. However, due to alignment errors, it was not possible to determine which part of the beam would reach the detector without simulating the ray path. Therefore, an initial search had to be carried out to find the edges of the detector. These capabilities are not available in standard ray tracing software and therefore a bespoke MATLAB simulation was required.

Validating the Model in SolidWorks
A vector geometry model for a ray path with nominal geometry was relatively straight forward. However, when the alignment errors of each component were also included the model became somewhat complex and very difficult to directly verify. SolidWorks was used to validate the ray path model. A geometric constraint-based sketch provided a really useful and intuitive way to do this.

The first stage in creating the SolidWorks validation model was to create geometric elements for the spheres, beam splitter, laser source and detector. The spheres were modeled as solids, the beam splitter and detector were modeled as reference planes.

Figure 4: Fixed geometry elements in SolidWorks model.

The next stage was to model the actual ray path. Each straight line section of the ray path was modeled using a 3D sketch containing a line to represent the path. The surface normal for each surface of reflection was also included in the sketch as another straight line.

The first straight-line section of the ray path is AB. It originates from and in the direction of the laser source. Dimensions were included to represent the alignment errors. The endpoint of this line is set to be coincident with the beam splitter plane to find the position of point B.

Figure 5: Model of first straight-line section of ray path, AB.

The reflection of AB on the beam splitter was then modeled by finding the surface normal direction and reflecting on this vector. Within SolidWorks, the surface normal vector was modeled as an axis which is coincident with the endpoint of line AB and which is perpendicular to the plane of the beam splitter. Next, a reference plane was created for the plane of reflection, this is coincident with both the surface normal vector and the other endpoint of the line AB, at point A. Sketching on this plane, the direction vector for BC is a line that is symmetrical with the line AB about a centerline along the surface normal axis.

Figure 6: Constructing a surface normal vector and reflection plane to find the direction of BC.

Once the direction vector was established with a 2D sketch on the reflection plane, a 3D sketch was then used to find the actual path BC, ending at point C on the surface of the first sphere. The 3D sketch contains a single line with one endpoint coincident with B and collinear with the direction vector just created. The final unconstrained endpoint of the 3D sketch is coincident with the surface of the first sphere, determining the point of intersection between the ray and the sphere.

Figure 7: Determining the point of intersection between the ray and the sphere using a 3D sketch.

In order to reflect the beam off the surface of the sphere it is first necessary to find the surface normal at the point of reflection. There are two ways of achieving this, both using a 3D sketch containing a single line. One end of the line must be coincident with point C, the endpoint of BC on the surface of the sphere. It can then be set to be normal to the surface of the sphere, at this point, in one of two ways. Its other endpoint could be constrained to the center of the sphere, or alternatively the line could be constrained to be perpendicular to the surface of the sphere.

The reflection was then simulated as for the previous reflection. The plane of reflection was fully defined as coincident with the surface normal vector and the point at the other end of the incoming ray, B. The direction of CD was then found using a 2D sketch on the reflection plane, with a line that is symmetric to the incoming ray, about a centerline on the surface normal vector. Finally, a 3D sketch containing a single line was used to find the actual path CD with the point D coincident with the surface of the second sphere.

The process was repeated for the remaining sections of the ray path. In general, the process has four steps:

  1. Create a surface normal vector on the reflection surface, using a 3D sketch containing a single line.
  2. Create a reflection plane which is coincident with the surface normal vector and a point at the other end of the incoming ray.
  3. Create a direction vector for the outgoing ray, using a 2D sketch on the reflection plane with a centerline on the surface normal vector and a line, which is symmetrical to the incoming ray about the surface normal vector.
  4. Find the point of intersection for the ray path, using a 3D sketch which is coincident with the direction vector and has an endpoint coincident with the geometry representing the surface of reflection.

The geometric constraint-based sketches in parametric CAD programs such as SolidWorks can be adapted for use in many ways. This tool is a powerful and intuitive way to solve many engineering problems, which often have nothing to do with modeling part geometry.

 

 

COMSOL Multiphysics Version 5.6 to be released in Fall 2020

By Leave a Comment

COMSOL, Inc., provider of software solutions for multiphysics modeling and application design, is offering a preview of the upcoming release of COMSOL Multiphysics version 5.6 at the COMSOL Conference 2020 North America, October 7–8.   COMSOL 5.6, to be released in fall 2020, brings faster and more memory-efficient solvers, better CAD assembly handling, application layout templates, and a range of new graphics features including clip planes, realistic material rendering, and partial transparency. Four new products expand the modeling power of COMSOL Multiphysics for the simulation of fuel cells, electrolyzers, polymer flow, and control systems.

Clip planes, solver efficiency for multicore and cluster computations, and improved handling of CAD assemblies
Clip planes are one of several foundational upgrades to the COMSOL graphics rendering engine and enable easier selection of boundaries and domains inside of complex CAD models. Other graphics news in the new version include visualizations that are partly opaque and partly transparent; realistic material rendering of, for example, steel, glass, and water; and the ability to make imported images part of a visualization.

An electric motor simulation in COMSOL Multiphysics version 5.6 where a clip plane is used for easier access to the inside of the model for assigning material properties and loads.

The solution time has decreased by 30% or more for many types of simulations. The solvers are significantly more efficient with respect to computation time and memory usage for multicore and cluster computations. Handling of larger CAD assemblies has improved with more robust solid operations and easier detection of gaps and overlaps in assemblies.

Application templates and control knobs
New application templates, available in the Application Builder, which is integrated in COMSOL Multiphysics, provide standardized layouts that include input fields, buttons, ribbon tabs, and graphics windows with options for desktop, tablet, and smartphone layouts. A template wizard guides the user to create an organized user interface based on any COMSOL Multiphysics model. In the Application Builder, the suite of user interface elements, or form objects, has been extended with knobs that can be controlled by dragging and rotating with the mouse pointer or touch input.

An app for analyzing a truck-mounted crane with realistic material rendering and control knobs.

Introducing the Fuel Cell & Electrolyzer Module
The new Fuel Cell & Electrolyzer Module provides engineers with state-of-the-art modeling and simulation tools for hydrogen fuel cells and water electrolyzers, along with general-purpose tools for realistic fluid flow and electrochemical simulations based on COMSOL’s multiphysics technology. Using the new module, engineers can include charge transport, electrode reactions, thermodynamics, gas-phase diffusion, porous media flow, and two-phase flow when analyzing and optimizing technology for hydrogen vehicles and energy storage.

Gas volume fraction in a polymer electrolyte membrane water electrolyzer analyzed with the new Fuel Cell & Electrolyzer Module.

Introducing the Polymer Flow Module
With the new Polymer Flow Module, modeling and simulation can be used to design and optimize processes involving non-Newtonian fluids, ensuring the quality of these fluids within the polymer, food, pharmaceutical, cosmetics, household, and fine chemicals industries. The new module can account for a multitude of multiphysics effects. Examples include when the properties of a fluid vary as a function of temperature and composition, to model curing and polymerization, or when a non-Newtonian fluid affects a mechanical structure, such as for a biological fluid moving through a peristaltic pump.

Model of a slot die coating with a shear thinning fluid. The injection speed and the speed of the die are very important in order to obtain a coating of uniform thickness.

Introducing LiveLink for Simulink
Control systems engineers can use the new LiveLink for Simulink product for co-simulation of COMSOL Multiphysics and Simulink from the MathWorks. LiveLink for Simulink makes it possible to insert a COMSOL Multiphysics block into a Simulink model for running nonlinear COMSOL Multiphysics simulations in the time domain driven by Simulink. This product is useful for automotive and aerospace industries, including battery simulations and digital twins.

Introducing the Liquid & Gas Properties Module
The new Liquid & Gas Properties Module is used to compute properties for gases, liquids, and mixtures such as density, viscosity, thermal conductivity, and heat capacity as functions of composition, pressure, and temperature. Having high-quality fluid and fluid mixture properties allows for more realistic acoustics, CFD, chemical, and heat transfer simulations.

Faster and more memory-efficient solvers for a range of applications
Users working with large models having millions of degrees of freedom have seen great improvements in solver performance over the last few versions of COMSOL Multiphysics. In version 5.6, the general performance improvements give around a 50% decrease in assembly and solution time for midsized benchmark models. For performance on clusters, the finite element assembly and solution time has decreased by 30% for many types of analyses. Another improvement for users running on clusters includes an upgraded domain decomposition method that can now be used for a wider range of simulations. For acoustics simulations, a new boundary element method formulation enables analyses of an order of magnitude larger acoustic volumes. For CFD simulations, the solution time on clusters has decreased by about 30% using iterative solvers and about 50% using domain decomposition. A new eigenvalue solver called FEAST, well suited for parallel computations, has several important uses, including mode analysis for optical waveguides and laser cavities. In the Optimization Module, a new general-purpose, gradient-based solver called IPOPT has important applications in, for example, shape optimization.

Laminated iron cores, parasitic inductance, and ferroelectric materials
The material library included with the AC/DC Module has been extended to include 322 magnetic materials from Bomatec. The material data includes several types of permanent magnets, such as NdFeB, SmCo, and AlNiCo, with electromagnetic- and temperature-dependent properties. The AC/DC Module now provides specialized tools for the extraction of parasitic inductance with L-matrix computations, which is essential to printed circuit board design. For nonlinear magnetic analysis, laminated iron core losses in electric motors and transformers can now be accurately represented using a new set of nonlinear material models. A new option for resonance frequency computations makes this important functionality available in the AC/DC Module with functionality for coupled finite element and electrical circuits eigenfrequency computations. This enables computation of low to medium resonance frequencies of coils and other inductive devices. A new advanced ferroelectric material model for electrostatics makes it possible to analyze dielectric materials with polarization saturation and hysteresis, with applications for ferroelectric capacitors and energy harvesting devices.

Fast port sweeps and scattering
The RF Module and Wave Optics Module provide a new option for port sweeps, enabling faster computations of full S-parameters or transmission, and reflection coefficient matrices. This functionality can be applied to the analysis of passive 5G components such as microwave filters with a large number of ports. A new modeling tool for approximate asymptotic scattering allows for quick far-field and radar cross-section (RCS) analysis for convex-shaped objects. A new set of postprocessing tools makes it easier to visualize and analyze polarization, with important applications for a variety of periodic structures including metamaterials for optics and microwaves. The new version of the Ray Optics Module includes faster ray tracing and specialized tools for scattering from surfaces and within volumetric domains.

 

multiphysics model of a cascaded cavity filter operating in the millimeter-wave 5G band, including temperature changes and thermal stress. The visualization demonstrates the new functionality for partial transparency.

Transient contact, wear and crack modeling, and poroelasticity in composite shells
The mechanical contact functionality available in the Structural Mechanics Module and MEMS Module can now be used for simulating transient impact events. For users of the Structural Mechanics Module, contact analysis additionally features new functionality for analyzing mechanical wear with dynamic removal of material. Further news in the Structural Mechanics Module includes new tools for crack modeling, providing J-integral and stress intensity factor computations as well as crack propagation based on a phase-field method. Lower-dimensional elements can now be placed inside solids. Uses include the modeling of reinforcements for anchors, rebars, and wire meshes.

For fluid flow in porous structures, the pore pressure causes mechanical stresses and the volume changes may affect the flow in a strongly coupled fashion. In the Composite Materials Module, the functionality for analyzing such poroelastic effects has been expanded to include composite shells. Applications include the simulation of layered soil, paperboard, fiber-reinforced plastic, laminated plates, and sandwich panels.

The suite of nonlinear multiphysics material models in the MEMS Module now includes ferroelectric elasticity, which can be used for modeling nonlinear effects in piezoelectric materials such as hysteresis and polarization saturation. This functionality is also available by combining the AC/DC Module with either the Structural Mechanics Module or the Acoustics Module.

A transient contact simulation of striking a golf ball with an iron.

Nonlinear acoustics, mechanical ports, and improved room acoustics analysis
With the addition of nonlinear acoustics capabilities, users of the Acoustics Module can simulate high-intensity focused ultrasound for use in non-invasive therapeutic medical applications as well as ultrasound imaging. The new version also allows for analysis of sound distortion in mobile device loudspeakers that may be caused by nonlinear thermoviscous effects. New mechanical port conditions, available in the Structural Mechanics Module, Acoustics Module, and MEMS Module, make it easier to analyze vibration paths and mechanical feedback in applications having propagation of ultrasonic elastic waves, such as ultrasonic sensing and nondestructive evaluation.

Engineers working with improving the sound quality of rooms and concert halls will appreciate the new room acoustics metrics available in the Acoustics Module, including reverberation time, definition, and clarity based on ray acoustics simulations. In addition, the new version provides faster impulse response for ray acoustics. A new boundary element method formulation enables analyses of an order of magnitude larger acoustic volumes with applications within, for example, sonar research and development.

Submarine target strength visualization using the new boundary element method (BEM) formulation suitable for large simulations. The scattered field sound pressure level is here computed for 1.5 kHz in water 100 m from the submarine. In the figure, the acoustic wave, from the sonar ping, is incident on the submarine from the left.

Shallow water equations and directional surface properties for heat radiation
Researchers and engineers working with hydrological applications will benefit from the new option for simulating the shallow water equations now available in the CFD Module. The new functionality solves for water depth and momentum with an option to use a digital elevation map (DEM) to specify the seafloor topography. In all add-on products with support for porous media flow, new centralized handling of porous media properties gives users a much better user experience for multiphysics simulations of porous media. The Particle Tracing Module has new functionality for droplet evaporation, which is important for understanding the spread of contagions as well as a range of industrial processes. In the Heat Transfer Module, new functionality for surface-to-surface radiation enables defining surface properties that are sensitive to the direction of heat radiation. Applications include radiation simulations involving surfaces that have a texture or pattern that is reflecting and absorbing heat radiation differently in different directions; for example, the passive cooling of solar panels. A new modeling tool for phase change interfaces makes it possible to simulate freeze-drying processes.

Material Library for corrosion and automatic reaction balancing
The Corrosion Module now includes a material library with more than 270 instances of polarization data used to predict where there is risk for corrosion or hydrogen embrittlement due to hydrogen evolution in a structure. The Chemical Reaction Engineering Module features a new tool for automatic reaction balancing with stoichiometric coefficient calculations as well as three predefined thermodynamic systems. The predefined systems have a wide range of applications including dry air, moist air, and water-steam mixtures. In the Chemical Reaction Engineering Module, a new reactive pellet bed modeling tool enables multiscale modeling of pellet beds with macroscale mass transport in pores and microscale transport in spherical pellets. The new reactive pellet bed functionality supports a variety of diffusion models and arbitrary reaction kinetics with applications in, for example, catalytic converters in auto exhausts used to break down polluting gases such as nitrogen oxides (NOx).

Highlights in Version 5.6
• General updates
o Clip plane, box, sphere, and cylinder for easier selection inside complex CAD models
o Solution time decreased by 30% or more for many types of simulations
o Improved cluster performance and scalability
o New IPOPT optimization solver
o Templates for standardized application layouts for desktops, tablets, and smartphones
o Control knob form objects
o Realistic material rendering of plastics, metals, and organic materials
o Partial transparency in visualizations
• New products
o Fuel Cell & Electrolyzer Module for accurate simulation of hydrogen fuel cells and water electrolyzers
o Polymer Flow Module for analyzing non-Newtonian fluids
o LiveLink for Simulink for co-simulation of COMSOL Multiphysics and Simulink
o Liquid & Gas Properties Module for realistic fluid and fluid mixture properties
• Electromagnetics
o Parasitic inductance computations with L-matrix extraction
o Material models for laminated iron cores used in motors and transformers
o Ferroelectric material model for electrostatics
o 322 magnetic materials from Bomatec
o Coupled RF, thermal, and stress analysis tutorial for 5G applications
o Faster ray tracing, scattering in domains and from surfaces for ray optics
• Structural mechanics
o Mechanical contact: transient contact and wear modeling
o Crack modeling with J-integral and stress intensity factor computations and phase-field-based damage simulation
o Poroelasticity in composite shells
o Embedded reinforcements for anchors, rebars, and wire meshes
o Automatic generation of joints for multibody dynamics
o Rigid body contact
o Active magnetic bearings for rotordynamics
o Ferroelectric elasticity including nonlinear piezoelectricity with hysteresis and polarization saturation
• Acoustics
o Nonlinear acoustics for high-intensity ultrasound
o Sound distortion in mobile device loudspeakers due to nonlinear thermoviscous effects
o Mechanical port conditions for analyzing vibration paths and mechanical feedback
o New boundary element method (BEM) formulation for large scattering volumes including sonar applications
o Room acoustics metrics including reverberation time, definition, and clarity using ray acoustics
o Faster impulse response for ray acoustics
o Waveform Audio File (.wav) export
• Fluid & heat
o Shallow water equations interface
o Faster and more memory-efficient CFD solving
o Droplet evaporation for particle tracing
o Directional surface properties for heat radiation
o Phase change interfaces
• Chemical & electrochemical
o Material library for corrosion
o Realistic fluid models for dry air, moist air, and steam
o Automatic reaction balancing
o Reactive pellet beds for concentrated solutions
• CAD Import Module, Design Module, and LiveLink products for CAD
o Easier detection of gaps and overlaps in assemblies
o More robust solid operations for imported CAD models and CAD assemblies
o Measuring dimensions and automatic parameter creation for the constraints and dimensions functionality
o Faster and more robust ECAD import

COMSOL
www.comsol.com

Announcing the 2020 LEAP Award winners for Software

By Leave a Comment

The votes are in and the winners of the 2020 LEAP Awards (Leadership in Engineering Achievement Program) were announced in a digital ceremony with products across 12 categories, including the category of software.

Critical to LEAP’s success is the involvement of the engineering community. No one at WTWH Media selected the winners. Instead, our editorial team did the arduous work of assembling a top-notch independent judging panel, comprised of a cross-section of OEM design engineers and academics — 14 professionals in total. This judging team was solely responsible for the final results.

The Bronze went to Mentor, a Siemens Business Unit, for its Observation Scan.

ICs for safety critical applications need in-system test to detect faults and monitor circuit aging. Scan-based Logic Built-In-Self-Test (LBIST) is the technique used for in-system test, but traditional LBIST often can’t meet the coverage goals within the required diagnostic test time interval (DTTI). A new LBIST technology called LBIST-OST (Logic BIST with Observation Scan Technology) dramatically improves the efficiency of in-system test.

Traditional LBIST poses two challenges: it often cannot meet the 90% coverage goal required for Automotive Safety Integrity Level (ASIL) D certification and fault detection happens only during the capture phase of the LBIST cycle. Each LBIST cycle has two phases—shift and capture. There are as many shift cycles as the length of the longest scan chain. The capture phase uses the values written into the scan chain to drive the combinational logic and capture potential faults. That means all the time spent on the shift phase is time faults are not being detected.

Tessent LBIST-OST employs control and observe test points with a new scan cell functionality that essentially connects the observe points in separate chains. This allows them to capture circuit responses not just during a capture cycle, but also during the shift cycles.

Tessent LBIST-OST delivers up to 10x faster in-system test than traditional LBIST and reduces the number of test patterns needed.

 

The Silver went to CADENAS, for 3Dfindit.com, a visual 3D search engine for manufacturer components.

3DfindIT helps engineers, architects, and designers quickly find, configure and download manufacturer-certified CAD and BIM models. With eight different ways to search millions of 3D CAD & BIM models, from 2300+ manufacturer catalogs, 3DfindIT transforms how designers’ source and specify components for their designs. Once the desired component is found, users can configure and download in more than 150 native and neutral CAD and BIM formats, ensuring the model works seamlessly with their specific deign application. Since all content is provided directly by the manufacturers, the user can be confident the data is accurate and up-to-date.

 

And the Gold went to Lattice Semiconductor for its Lattice Propel software.

Lattice Propel is software designed to accelerate development of applications based on low power, small form factor Lattice FPGAs. The design environment empowers developers of any skill level to quickly and easily design Lattice FPGA-based applications by enabling the easy assembly of components from a robust IP library that includes a RISC-V processor core and numerous peripherals. The Propel design environment automates application development for developers serving the communications, computing, industrial, automotive, and consumer markets.

Propel combines two tools, Lattice Propel Builder (for IP system integration) and Lattice Propel SDK (for application software development). An easy to use system IP integration environment, Propel Builder provides tools to integrate processors and peripheral IP. The graphical integration environment features an easy to use drag-and-drop, correct by construction methodology. All commands are Tcl scriptable. A seamless software development environment, Propel SDK is a software development kit (SDK) with an integrated industry standard IDE and toolchain. The SDK features SW/HW debugging capabilities along with software libraries and board support packages (BSP) for Propel Builder defined systems.

The judges commented: “Lattice structures create enormous potential in the area of design for additive manufacturing.” Congratulations!