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3D CAD World

Ansys offers a way to protect your Christmas ornaments

December 27, 2021 By Leslie Langnau Leave a Comment

By Spencer Crandall

Around this time each year, families around the world gather to decorate their Christmas trees. Unfortunately, we’ve all lost an ornament to a clumsy family member, a domestic pet, or a sagging tree. In the spirit of protecting the sentimental ornaments in our lives, we’re going to use Ansys to discuss the topic of safely decorating with glass ornaments. We’ll do this by using the Ansys drop test wizard ACT extension to look at a representative glass ornament falling from varying heights. We’ll go over some simple considerations during setup, material models available, and ultimately what height you can safely drop a glass ornament and expect it to survive.

Jumping right into the tools that we’ll need to run this drop test analysis; we can go into our ACT manager and make sure that the Mechanical Drop Test Wizard ACT extension is loaded.

Next up will be finding the proper materials for our model. Thankfully, Ansys includes a library of explicit material models, which we can use in lieu of hunting down the complex, rate-dependent, brittle response, material properties that we will need. We will be using the Floatglass material, which uses the Johnson-Holmquist Strength model. This material model will allow us to show plasticity and damage along with material fracture.

Moving into the explicit module inside of Ansys Workbench, we’ll launch the Drop Test Wizard, which will expedite the setup process. This can be found in the Environment context menu when you have the Explicit Dynamics object selected in the outline.

1. Using the Drop Test Wizard we can complete the following steps:
2. Orientation of the target surface and imported geometry
3. Creation of the target surface
4. Meshing
5. Set initial velocity based on drop height
6. Set analysis end time and analysis preference to Drop Test
7. Establish body interaction contact behavior (frictionless or frictional)

With the setup described, we can iterate on our drop height until our glass ornament experiences a failure as shown in the following GIFs (click on each to play).

 

Our analyses indicate that you can safely hang your glass ornaments no higher than 40 inches. Keeping that height restriction in mind will help you and yours keep safety at the forefront of all your Christmas tree decorating parties.
Spencer Crandall, Simulation Specialist – FEA at Rand Simulation
Spencer is an experienced mechanical engineer with a demonstrated history of leading technical programs in the aerospace industry. He has a strong background in additive manufacturing, mechanical design, value and process engineering, and FEA (ANSYS APDL).

Filed Under: Ansys Tagged With: ANSYS

Renault Group and Dassault Systèmes strengthen partnership

December 22, 2021 By WTWH Editor Leave a Comment

Dassault Systèmes and Renault Group announced they are reinforcing their 20-year collaboration with a new partnership contributing to Renault Group’s strategic plan “Renaulution” focused on value creation.

In a first-of-a-kind deployment for an industrial company of this scale, Renault Group is adopting Dassault Systèmes’ 3DEXPERIENCE platform on the cloud globally, to develop programs for new vehicles and mobility services. This enterprise platform will provide Renault with a new backbone for sharing, in real time, all product-related data throughout the product life cycle, and for managing the virtual twins of its diverse product configurations.

Major trends in the transportation and mobility industry – increasing regulatory constraints, product complexity, electrification, connectivity, sustainability and new mobility services – require accelerating the interconnection of different functions and expertise within an agile and collaborative ecosystem.

Renault Group will deploy its use of the 3DEXPERIENCE platform on the cloud to more than 20,000 employees in vehicle development functions such as Design, Product Engineering, Industrial Process Engineering, Parts and Materials Purchasing, Costing and Quality. Connected to the cloud, the platform will provide access to the same systems and software, 3D modelling and simulations, updated in real time across the world. The large-scale collaboration based on virtual twins will improve data sharing between the different functions and agility within the company, while reducing costs and vehicle development time by around one year. Renault Group will benefit from continuous technological evolutions and functional enrichment of the collaborative 3DEXPERIENCE platform on the cloud.

“Our decision to adopt the 3DEXPERIENCE platform on the cloud demonstrates our belief in the leadership role of engineering and digital in our ‘Renaulution’. Our shift toward becoming a technology, services and energy company must be collaborative,” said Luca de Meo, CEO, Renault Group. “The 3DEXPERIENCE platform connects engineering to all disciplines in one digital company. We will gain agility, speed, and effectiveness to develop new mobility faster than ever.”

“Sustainable innovation is in the DNA of both companies. Renault Group’s transformation will radically change the mobility industry going forward, much like the first virtual development of a commercial passenger airplane did for all industries in 1989. We are fully engaged in this partnership and in supporting Renault Group’s success,” said Bernard Charlès, Vice Chairman and CEO, Dassault Systèmes. “Today’s industrial ecosystems are no longer linear, but circular. Innovating requires new collaborative approaches with virtual twin experiences that address and include the entire evolving value chain. As Renault Group moves to an enterprise platform, our partnership confirms that the 3DEXPERIENCE platform goes beyond vehicle creation and production. It is a lever to drive the industry toward the delivery of new, sustainable mobility experiences.”

Dassault Systèmes
www.3ds.com

Filed Under: Dassault Systemes Tagged With: dassaultsystemes

COMSOL releases Version 6.0 and introduces Model Manager and Uncertainty Quantification module

December 15, 2021 By WTWH Editor Leave a Comment

COMSOL, the leading provider of software solutions for multiphysics modeling has released version 6.0 of the COMSOL Multiphysics software. The release introduces the Model Manager, a new workspace in COMSOL Multiphysics that enables efficient simulation data management and collaboration. Also introduced with version 6.0 is the Uncertainty Quantification Module. This is a new add-on product to COMSOL Multiphysics that uses probabilistic design methods to quantify uncertainty in analyses and predetermined safety margins. Version 6.0 further brings major improvements to the solvers with performance speedup by a factor of 10 in engineering areas such as heat radiation and models subjected to nonlinear structural material behavior. With version 6.0, COMSOL promises to boost the productivity of engineers, their teams, and their enterprises in the areas of product design, process development, and manufacturing.

The Model Manager Provides Structure, Version Control, and Effective Collaboration
The Model Manager is fully integrated in the COMSOL Multiphysics user interface and is designed for simulation data management, version control, tracking changes, and advanced search functionality within models, CAD data, and other related external files. It provides a structured workspace where colleagues and teams can collaborate within their organizations and even with external parties, putting the focus on effective product design and innovation. Efficient data storage that keeps only changes made to previous versions and the easy setup of branches and merging them for parallel model development, also contribute to an organization’s efficient modeling and simulation workflow.

The COMSOL Model Manager provides version control and common storage for efficient collaboration in simulation projects.

“The Model Manager expands on COMSOL’s cutting-edge multiphysics modeling capabilities and our fast-paced strategy of placing COMSOL Multiphysics as the primary tool for democratizing simulation in the CAE market,” says Svante Littmarck, CEO and president of COMSOL. “We now complement our revolutionary Model Builder and Application Builder, for developing multiphysics models and simulation apps, with the Model Manager for model development and simulation data management. Together, this functionality will facilitate collaboration within engineering groups, across departments and enterprises, and even between countries. This will inevitably lead to better process and manufacturing designs as all competencies of an organization are harnessed effectively.”

To allow full collaboration across enterprises, COMSOL’s floating network license type allows users from anywhere within and outside of the license holder’s organization to access a centralized Model Manager installation. This also includes collaborators across geographical and territorial borders. Additionally, a local Model Manager installation is included with all licenses — even those that are not floating-network based — to provide a platform for building an individual user’s file storage structure, while updating versions and tracking changes of their modeling projects.

Sensitivity and reliability analyses are enhanced through the Uncertainty Quantification Module
While the Model Manager expands COMSOL’s footprint within the world of engineering design and development, the Uncertainty Quantification Module makes it possible to produce more complete, accurate, and useful multiphysics models. Based on probabilistic design methods, users can, with reliability analysis, look at questions such as how manufacturing tolerances affect the intended performance of the final product, to prevent over- and under-designs of devices and processes. Screening and sensitivity analyses reveal which parameters are more important than others, which can be used to efficiently test the validity of basic model assumptions, for example, and uncertainty propagation is used to assign probability distributions to the output quantities of interest.

The Uncertainty Quantification Module reveals how variability of input parameters affects the simulation results.

“A strength of the Uncertainty Quantification Module is that it can be applied to any physical simulation covered by COMSOL Multiphysics,” says Jacob Yström, technology director of numerical analysis at COMSOL. “You are not limited to a certain field or application area, such as structural analysis, but can perform the same types of uncertainty analyses on applications based on acoustics, fluid flow, electromagnetics, and so on, and even when these phenomena are coupled. This makes this product wide-ranging and very powerful.”

COMSOL Multiphysics Version 6.0 improves performance and expands modeling capabilities
COMSOL Multiphysics version 6.0 includes important updates to the software platform and add-on products. This includes performance improvements through speedup and memory consumption by a factor of 10 for certain engineering applications. Feature enhancements include more efficient electromagnetic simulation of PCB designs and a new realm for acoustics modeling: flow-induced noise.

COMSOL version 6.0 delivers performance improvements and simplifies simulation of many important applications, such as printed circuit board (PCB) design (pictured).

Details about new features and improvements across the entire product suite are available in the COMSOL Multiphysics Version 6.0 Release Highlights.

COMSOL
www.comsol.com

 

 

Filed Under: COMSOL Tagged With: COMSOL

Using simulation to ensure multimode pacemakers synchronize communications

December 15, 2021 By Leslie Langnau Leave a Comment

By Dixita Patel

Recent advances for pacemaker technology include improved electronics and smaller batteries, making the development of leadless cardiac pacemakers (LCPs) possible. An LCP is a self-contained (capsule-like) generator and electrode system that eliminates the need for pocket or transvenous leads that often cause malfunctions. The current LCPs on the market pace at a single location of the heart, but for patients who require more than single-chamber stimulation, a multinode LCP system (Figure 1) can be used. Multinode LCP systems require synchronization between all of the implanted devices to function properly. However, the standard communication techniques used may be unsuitable due to constraints in terms of power consumption and size.

To help make the system and communication more efficient, researchers at MicroPort CRM are using simulation to investigate these design challenges using galvanic intrabody communication (IBC). IBC provides a power-optimized solution to facilitate communication between devices, which in turn helps to synchronize multinode LCP systems.

Multinode LCP system with two implanted capsules. The heart figure has been modified and reprinted by permission of Pearson Education, Inc., New York, New York.

Intrabody communication transceivers for LCP applications

Intrabody communication (IBC) is a near-field communication method that uses an electrode pair to send an impulse through body tissue to a second electrode pair that receives the signal. This method works with ultralow power, and no additional antennas are needed because the electrodes used for pacing also provide the electric field for the communication.

Mirko Maldari, an electronic engineer at MicroPort CRM, and his team proposed a new methodology to further characterize these types of communication channels. “With IBC, because electrodes are used to communicate [instead of coils and antennas], we can optimize both power consumption and size,” said Maldari.

In their research, an in vivo study was performed using a system that consisted of two capsules that were implanted in the right atrium and right ventricle of a heart shown in Figure 1. Further analyses involved the COMSOL Multiphysics software to measure the attenuation of the channel and estimate how much power is dissipated in the tissue.

Analyzing IBC pathloss with simulation

The team at MicroPort collaborated with Synopsys Inc., an electronic design automation company, using the Synopsys Simpleware software to develop a model of a human torso that would be importable into the COMSOL Multiphysics software (Figure 3). The model is based on a validated human phantom from IT’IS Foundation Zurich; more specifically, the “Duke” model, which represents a 34-year-old male.

LCP prototype for IBC channel studies.

The geometrical model was created to include organs, muscles, bones, soft tissue, and cartilage. After importing into COMSOL Multiphysics, an approximated version of the heart chambers was built to distinguish heart muscle from blood. Maldari said: “It was important for my application for these features to be included because they have different electrical properties.” The team then designed two identical LCP capsules in COMSOL Multiphysics to estimate the attenuation levels of the intracardiac channel.

Torso CAD model imported into COMSOL Multiphysics; cross-sectional view.

The capsules were studied at two different orientations, both at a channel distance of 9 cm. Simulations were performed with a quasistatic approach using the Electric Currents interface in the AC/DC Module, an add-on product to COMSOL Multiphysics, to calculate the channel attenuation in a frequency range between 40 KHz and 20 MHz. The results in Figure 4 show the positions of the right atrium (RA) capsule of the worst-case scenario (perpendicular) and the best-case scenario (parallel). The best-case scenario shows a higher differential voltage across the receiving dipole. The attenuation levels of both scenarios can be seen in Figure 5, where the difference is ~11 dB. From 40 kHz to 20 MHz, the attenuation decreases by ~5 dB for both cases. From the results, Maldari and his team were able to verify that relative position and orientation of the capsules strongly impacts the channel attenuation.

RA capsule positions for worst-case (left) and best-case (right) scenarios.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

For MicroPort, it was important to estimate the attenuation levels before preparing the prototype. “As researchers and scientists, we try to reduce the amount of animal trials, and simulation has allowed that,” said Maldari. “It is a powerful tool to estimate the behavior of the signals within biological tissues before investigating them experimentally.” The use of simulation allowed the team to define accurate models for galvanic IBC communication and optimize transceivers for LCP systems.

Attenuation levels of the intracardiac channel for both scenarios.

Future plans for IBC

MicroPort’s future plans involve further studies, where the effect of certain input parameters — such as the electrode size and dipole lengths — on a more complete set of electric field parameters will be investigated. This would help them point out the attenuation difference between diastolic and systolic periods. As of now, the researchers are working on the design of an ultralow-power receiver for LCP synchronization purposes. The new receiver could potentially mark groundbreaking innovation for dual-chamber pacemakers.

COMSOL
www.comsol.com

Reference
Maldari, Mirko, et al. “Wide frequency characterization of Intra-Body Communication for Leadless Pacemakers”, IEEE Transactions on Biomedical Engineering, vol. 67, no. 11, pp. 3223–3233, 2020.

Synopsys and Simpleware are trademarks and/or registered trademarks of Synopsys, Inc. in the U.S. and/or other countries. COMSOL Multiphysics is a registered trademark of COMSOL AB.

Filed Under: COMSOL Tagged With: COMSOL

Designing out loud

December 15, 2021 By Leslie Langnau Leave a Comment

Voice and haptic feedback could ease CAD complexity speed design but is slow-to-market due to that very CAD complexity.

By Jean Thilmany, Senior Editor

“Computer, draw me a circle.”

You won’t be saying that to your computer-aided design system anytime soon. Even as Alexa and other speech-recognition systems have become ubiquitous over the past decade, voice-controlled CAD remains elusive.

Developers say design software that responds to verbal commands could cut the learning curve, make it easier to work with a system, and slash design time.

Perhaps it’s no surprise that voice-controlled CAD isn’t here. CAD is vastly more complex than the speech recognition tools we use today. Asking Alexa to turn up the thermostat or dictating a text message is very different than verbally controlling geometries, parts, and mechanical forces on a screen.

When will voice-controlled CAD be commonly available? It’s difficult to know.

Yet CAD systems that “hear” and follow commands could allow design teams to zoom in on the specifics of a CAD model and to make changes during a meeting. Designers could quickly add, remove, or update information in design databases and could quickly make routine requests, like opening a screen or drawing a circle. Down the line, they may be able to do away with keyboard and mouse and to design a model via voice command.

The concept of voice-controlled CAD is not new, but getting there is difficult.

In 2009, researchers at the University of Hong Kong proposed a method for voice-controlled CAD. A decade later, scientists at Purdue University and at two Spanish universities set out a method for using voice to capture design intent and annotation. Throughout the years, other systems have been proposed but they remain expensive to realize and implement.

Meanwhile, designers still rely on their keyboard and mouse.

Is voice practical?

An AutoCAD LT user echoed this frustration, asking in mid-2020 in the software’s community forum why voice-command wasn’t a feature on the CAD program.

While an AutoCAD image is depicted here, you can’t verbally ask any CAD system today to draw you a circle, much less to create and combine parts for the complicated assemblies used for heavy equipment. Credit: Autodesk

“Voice command could result in titanic time savings. Consider the chains of actions that could be bypassed by a single voice command,” the user wrote. “Just stating a sketch sometimes requires moving your cursor to change from the manufacturing environment to design.

Why not just double mouse click and say ‘concentric circle’ or whatever your first sketch move is to be?”

Answers varied, several suggesting the user learn keyboard shortcuts and write macros to speed drafting time. Some point out the time spent voicing the words “concentric circle” could quickly be spent hitting a key for a macro to make the circle.

Others suggested training already available commercial voice-recognition technology to open the macros.

“Voice commands regarding drafting are just not practical,” one community member responded. “The only way I see voice commands being used is ‘Alexa, make a PDF and send this drawing to Gavin with subject: project voice.’”

Moving beyond today’s speech recognition systems isn’t yet practical, but would be necessary for CAD’s complexity, says Natalie Hutchins, an engineer and writer at IndiaCAD, which provides outsourcing services.

While your Amazon Echo Dot may carry out your commands, don’t expect your CAD system to respond to sound of your voice. Credit: Wikicommons

Hutchins created a table that compared the features of the voice-recognition programs from Nuance, Microsoft, and Google. None of the three could interpret spoken words in the correct context with complete accuracy, she found.

Not too long ago—though a lifetime ago by technology standards, so about 30 years—the mouse and the graphical display were huge engineering design breakthroughs. CAD came along at the same time as computer graphics programs. Both technologies allowed shapes to be depicted on the computer screen that had been dominated until then by blinking letters and numbers.

For the first time, engineers could depict images in on-screen and make quick changes to the dimensions and shapes when needed.

CAD advancements have continued apace. Three-dimensional CAD became commonplace. Analysis software is now tied too CAD so engineers can immediately analyze their designs and make changes where needed.

Ironically, continued CAD updates keep the systems from being compatible with voice technology.

Today’s designers often browse among hundreds of CAD icons and menu scripts and switch between various command panels in order to do a modeling task, write the University of Hong Kong researchers. Ascribing voice commands to each or these actions is impossible and would make the designer’s life harder, not easier.

The researchers’ paper, “Natural Voice-Enabled CAD: Modeling Via Natural Discourse” appeared in the January 2009 edition of the journal Computer-Aided Design and Applications. Sukui Xue was lead author; the paper was his mechanical engineering postdoctoral thesis.

While voice-driven CAD commands would be of “tremendous benefit,” the technical challenge of creating and implementing the technology means it likely won’t be available in the near future, Hutchins says.

Speaking in CAD talk

That hasn’t held CAD companies back from trying.

The CADmaker think3 met with some success with a 2000 software update that included a speech-enabled graphical user interface, which allowed the user to issue commands without scrolling through icons and pull-down menu trees. This reduced the clutter of dialog boxes, saved time, and increased productivity, according to the company’s marketing materials of the time.

Voice input provides designers with a third option, along with the mouse and the keyboard, for entering commands or numerical inputs. The software was able to recognize several hundred voice commands, including basics like draw, zoom, redraw, fit view, and line. The software also recognized numerical values.

Because of technology’s inevitable march forward, engineers will one day be able to design via commands spoken aloud. Credit: Wikicommons

The feature used Microsoft’s Speech Application Programming Interface version 5.0, an interface for third-party application developers, according to think3.

But as it added functionality to the new release, think3 had to steer a careful path between complex CAD and ease-of-use, since the company cites simplicity as a major selling point, the University of Hong Kong researchers say.

The California CADmaker closed its doors in 2011, though the move had nothing to do with its system’s voice-recognition capabilities.

In 2005, Enact Technologies introduced Speak4CAD, compatible with AutoCAD software. During beta-testing, the software doubled CAD productivity, as measured by comparing manual drawings to those created by spoken drawing commands and dimensions, said Bruce Swan at the time. He was Enact Technology senior partner at the time.

The technology was specifically written for AutoCAD commands to make it faster than standard speech-recognition software that must search for terms, Enact wrote in its marketing materials at the time. The user would dictate commands and numbers as they move the mouse, to eliminate the use of the keyboard.

Enact Technologies is no longer around. It’s not clear whether the business folded or was purchased by another company.

The think3 and Speak4CAD systems relied on predefined, targeted words and phrases, which allowed users to use relatively complicated expressions such as “view from left” and “add a circle,” Xue writes.
“However, this method still restricts the user’s expressive style by all of pre-defined rules,” he and his teammates write in the paper. Users must also remember all the fixed words and expressions.

“This impedes the freedom that might have been brought by speech, because too many restrictions have been added to the users’ expressions,” the researchers say.

They put forward a verb-based semantic search approach that would extract useful information from voice-issued sentence commands. Users would say: “draw me a circle that has a radius of 2.5 inches.” Rather than “circle; radius; 2.5 inches.”

“Natural voice-enabled CAD frees CAD users from the buttons and menu by allowing natural discourse as the input. Natural discourse is also less restricted than the previous voice-based systems,” the researchers state in their paper.

Despite these merits, their system has limitations, they acknowledge. Because it doesn’t eliminate the mouse, those with paralysis or other types of disabilities can’t use it. Also, it should recognize more natural phrasing and should be able to be used without training, the researchers say.

Their proposed system isn’t yet included within commercially available CAD software.

Annotation while speaking

In the face of technical limitations of using voice for design, some researchers are looking at voice-driven 3-D annotation to aid collaborative design, as voice-annotation may be easier to develop and implement than voice-driven design.

Annotation enables the exchange of design intent and rationale with other users directly through the 3-D model, says a research team of mechanical and construction engineering professors from Purdue University in Lafayette, In., and from Jaume I University and the Valencia Polytechnic University in Spain.

Their paper, “A voice-based annotation system for computer-aided design” appeared in the April 2021 edition of the Journal of Computational Design and Engineering.

Much of the information generated during the product design process is unstructured, writes Raquel Plumed, lead author and mechanical engineering professor at Jaume I University. That is, much of the design information is exchanged verbally and isn’t captured within the CAD system.

This information takes the form of facts, suggestions, informal conversations, discussions, and opinions.

Such information—communicated during informal conversations or even formal meetings—can be critically important for data integration, collaboration, process efficiency, productivity, and error reduction, she and her colleagues write.

“But the knowledge is often not captured or archived for future use because the process is time consuming, inefficient, and not cost efficient,” they say.

The researchers give the example of design rationale, which aims to capture information about the reasoning, motivation, and justification for design decisions and to describe their relation to other decisions.

Much of this might take place during a quiet conversation between two engineers. But it’s time-consuming to write down and store verbal conversations and then to find them again.

“Furthermore, engineers and designers often used vague expressions in their verbalizations of a problem or a design approach, particularly during the early stages of the design process, which makes it difficult to establish semantics in CAD models,” they say.

They put forward a voice-based software to annotate 3-D models directly within CAD software.
Their method automatically captures audio signals and transcribes them to a 3-D note, which is attached to the geometry in the right spot and is available to other product information and business processes across the enterprise, such as a product management system.

These researchers join others in describing how CAD systems could best incorporate voice commands. Still, voice-activated CAD remains out of reach, likely due to cost and complexity.

Or, as one user put it in the AutoCAD LT forum: “Unless commercial CAD systems adopt voice technology, we won’t be seeing it anytime soon.”

AutoDesk
www.autodesk.com

Filed Under: Autodesk Tagged With: Autodesk

Hexagon showcases advanced CAD/CAM software at WESTEC 2021

November 16, 2021 By WTWH Editor Leave a Comment

Hexagon’s Manufacturing Intelligence division announced it is exhibiting the newest releases of EDGECAM and WORKNC at WESTEC 2021, Long Beach Convention Center, Long Beach, CA, from November 16 -18, 2021. In Hexagon Booth #945, attendees will find CAD/CAM software technologies offering future-ready features for trending advancements in manufacturing. EDGECAM 2022’s newly-added support for 6-axis milling and turning machines enables programming of the cutter head into positions previously out of reach in just one set-up, which in the past required a series of sequences. The software also supports 3+2 machining and complex 5-axis simultaneous milling in all configurations. Also integrated with EDGECAM is a new component called NCSIMUL Essential providing full simulation of 3-axis milling parts. NCSIMUL is Hexagon’s high-end CNC simulation software for G-code verification. Users can dynamically interact with a toolpath and pinpoint exactly which line of code is being simulated. WESTEC visitors can see these late-breaking EDGECAM features and more demonstrated at regular intervals during the show.

Hexagon will also highlight the latest version of WORKNC computer-aided manufacturing (CAM) software designed for mold and die makers. The software’s newest enhancement is the integration of a ‘manufacturing aware’ computer-aided design (CAD) application called DESIGNER. All WORKNC users now have on-demand access to CAD functionality to heal missing faces, extend surfaces, and cap holes and pockets in preparation for manufacturing. Users can also employ a hybrid design approach combining surface and solid entities using direct modeling techniques. A one-click transfer of completed designs directly into the CAM software makes the entire process even faster for efficient production. Also notable are the new advances in WORKNC’s programming capabilities that reduce the time spent calculating toolpaths and help to generate faster, more efficient code for reduced cycle times.

During WESTEC, Hexagon will also feature several other technologies including the new-to-market reverse engineering software REcreate which enables users to move from a point cloud to mesh to solid in order to create manufacturing-ready formats. For visitors interested in metrology solutions, the new generation Inspire inspection software will be shown interfacing with Absolute Arms, a Leica Absolute Tracker, and the latest in ultra high-speed laser scanners – the Absolute Scanner AS1. The TEMPO part loading system will be demonstrated with a TIGO coordinate measuring machine (CMM), which facilitates innovative autonomous measurement and lights out quality control. The latest m&h probing systems for machine tool measurement will also make their debut at WESTEC.

Hexagon
hexagonMI.com

Filed Under: Hexagon software Tagged With: hexagonsoftware

3D design platform makes collaboration easy

November 9, 2021 By WTWH Editor Leave a Comment

Gravity Sketch, the spatial 3D design platform, announced the launch of its virtual collaboration space, LandingPad Collab, making it available to designers and their teams, anywhere in the world.

LandingPad Collab, which is free to use, gives design teams the ability to create a personal collaboration room in which they can invite team members to easily communicate, collaborate and design at scale in 3D. Designers can immerse themselves virtually to create life-size models and review products such as a pair of trainers, a new car or a bike, which can then be viewed, modified and commented on from any location.

LandingPad Collab allows up to four people to collaborate on a design at the same time, breaking down geographical barriers by bringing teams together in a virtual space and rapidly accelerating workflows. During the pandemic, this enabled teams to continue working on 3D products without the need to travel and meet in person.

Gravity Sketch enables designers to break down the barriers of the computer screen to design and model naturally using their hands. Wearing a VR headset, they are transported into a virtual workspace, where with the use of a remote controller, they can create end-to-end 3D designs. LandingPad Collab provides industrial designers with the ability to make unlimited adjustments, as well as to present final designs virtually before going through the manufacturing process.

Gravity Sketch has made the feature free in response to unprecedented demand from the design community who are increasingly eager to share virtual spaces and communicate their ideas more effectively. It also allows the company to further its mission to democratise digital 3D design. The first step towards this was when the Gravity Sketch platform was made free to everyone at the start of the year.

LandingPad Collab features include the ability to create or import 3D models, have real-time voice conversations with people in the virtual room, edit each other’s work, move around at scale or zoom in and out. Users also gain access to 1GB of cloud-saves through the company’s accompanying free LandingPad platform.

Gravity Sketch is an intuitive 3D design platform that allows cross-disciplinary teams to express ideas, create, collaborate and review spatially. For the first time, Industrial designers can design in 3D from start to finish, rapidly improving the speed to market of products, from cars to footwear. For businesses, adopting the technology also helps to attract new design talent in an increasingly competitive market. In addition to Adidas, other brands already using the platform include Ford, Nissan and Volkswagen.

Gravity Sketch
www.gravitysketch.com

Filed Under: Simulation Software Tagged With: gravitysketch

3D CAD & CAE manufacturer catalogs powered by CADENAS now available in SOLIDWORKS Electrical 3D

October 29, 2021 By WTWH Editor Leave a Comment

Good news for all electrical engineers and component manufacturers: SOLIDWORKS Electrical 3D joins the long list of software solutions for CAD, CAE, PLM and simulation that offer direct access to thousands of digital manufacturer catalogs powered by CADENAS. Millions of manufacturer-verified 3D CAD and CAE data are now directly integrated into the popular solution for electromechanical design. By integrating the Strategic Parts Management PARTsolutions, users have access to not only the countless 3D CAD models. They also benefit from an extensive selection of standards as well as intelligent functions for managing and finding proprietary, purchased and standard parts.

Optimized cooperation between MCAD and ECAD divisions
The electrical design situation is different from mechanical design, where not only, but above all, the geometries of the digital components are decisive. Electrical engineers need information about circuit diagram symbols, connections, component types (connector, cable, standard component, terminal, etc.) or parent-child relationships when selecting the appropriate component. The product models must also provide information on which connectors are compatible or how the installed components are to be correctly dimensioned in relation to each other. If this data is not stored within the CAD model, it must be compiled in a time-consuming process from various sources. Multi CAD capable product data based on CADENAS technology enables seamless collaboration between ECAD and MCAD, as component information can easily be transferred between mechanical and electrical design – without loss of information.

SOLIDWORKS Electrical 3D by Dassault Systèmes provides additional support for smooth electromechanical collaboration. With the software module, design data of circuit diagrams can be integrated bidirectionally into the 3D model of a machine or assembly. ECAD components such as wires, cables and harnesses can be easily positioned and automatically routed in the 3D MCAD model. Design and bill of materials are also synchronized in real time, minimizing sources of error.

The software indicates which connectors are compatible or how the installed components are to be correctly dimensioned in relation to each other. If this data is not stored within the CAD model, it must be compiled in a time-consuming process from various sources. Multi CAD capable product data based on CADENAS technology enables seamless collaboration between ECAD and MCAD, as component information can easily be transferred between mechanical and electrical design – without loss of information.

Dassault Systèmes
www.3ds.com

Filed Under: Dassault Systemes, SolidWorks Tagged With: dassaultsystemes

Waste Not

October 28, 2021 By Leslie Langnau Leave a Comment

Engineering software helps products get greener.

Jean Thilmany, Senior Editor

For at least the past decade, the makers of design software have been touting the role their products play in sustainable design. New United States’ environmental regulations mean that conversation isn’t ending anytime soon. In fact, designers have found software can help them cut waste, aid sustainable design efforts, and boost budgets all at once, something they’d once thought impossible.

In August, Oregon passed the nation’s second extended producer responsibility law (EPR) law for packaging. Maine had voted in favor of an EPR law one month earlier. Under these laws, most product manufacturers must reduce packaging waste and become a member of a producer responsibility organization. In Oregon, PROs will need to submit an EPR plan to the state’s department of environmental quality by March 2024 and begin implementation of the plan the following July.

While environmental design—also called sustainable design—is driven by much more than rules and regulations, environmental design considerations will continue to grow, say the makers of computer-aided design and other types of engineering software. In response, they’ve added more sustainable design features to their systems.

But will the makers of products that range in size and complexity from refrigerators down to button batteries change their designs in light of new laws and increased public emphasis on environmental design? Possibly finds past research from the Resources for the Future, a Washington D.C. nonprofit with the mission to improve the environment, energy, and natural resource decisions. Cause and effect—law and design changes—are hard to link, the report found.

But even without legislation, manufacturers are heeding customers’ cries for greener goods.

Alice is a zero-emission, all-electric aircraft under development at Eviation Aircraft, which expects the plan to make regional flights more affordable. (Eviation Aircraft.)

“The extent to which EPR policies lead to design for the environment is an open question,” wrote Margaret Walls, then a researcher at Resources for the Future, in a 2006 report. The term “extended producer responsibility” was coined when the original German packaging take-back law was passed in the early 1990s, Walls wrote. “Although EPR means slightly different things to different people, a core characteristic of any EPR policy is that it places some responsibility for a product’s end-of-life environmental impacts on the original producer and seller of that product.

“The thinking behind this approach is that it will provide incentives for producers to make design changes to products that would reduce waste management costs. Those changes should include improving product recyclability and reusability, reducing material usage, downsizing products, and engaging in a host of other so-called design for environment activities,” she wrote.

Her report set out to find whether the early EPR laws had led to design changes. At the time, documentation was sparse on “real-world changes made in response to policies.”

Walls found that, in Germany, packaging volumes and materials use had declined after the EPR regulations went into effect. In Japan, Honda increased the proportion of materials within their vehicles that can be recycled in response to a law mandating auto shredder residue—the mixed material left over for disposal after vehicle parts have been recycled—meet specified recycling rate targets.

Manufacturing makes the mix

Today’s sustainable design practices go beyond the actual products themselves to encompass manufacturing methods. CAD helps here because manufacturing decisions begin with product design, researchers say.

The term environmentally conscious manufacturing process (ECMP) refers to the integration of environmental thinking into new product development, say researchers at institutions in France and Tunisia.

“ECMP has become an obligation to the environment and to the society itself, enforced primarily by governmental regulations and customer perspective on environmental issues,” writes Raoudha Gaha in a 2015 paper published in the International Journal of Advanced Manufacturing Technology. “This is especially true in the CAD phase, which is the last phase in the design process. At this stage more than 80% of (manufacturing) choices are made.”

Designers at Bresslergroup Innovation, literally designed a better (at least from an environmental standpoint) Victor Mousetrap from the Woodstream company. Woodstream

Gaha is a mechanical engineering professor at the University of Technology of Compiègne in Compiègne, France. He teamed with researchers at the National Engineering School of Monastir in Tunisia and at Ecole Centrale in Paris on the study.

Engineers should take a product’s geometry and machining information into consideration as they work within CAD software, Gaha writes. The researchers propose an ECMP approach to eco-design that calls upon CAD technology.

 Will it fly in Earth-friendly style?

Elsewhere, engineering technology providers have introduced solutions intended to aid with the design of products that are themselves specifically billed as environmentally friendly.

Take the example of the zero-emission, all-electric aircraft under development at Eviation Aircraft of Israel, which introduced a prototype of the plane, named Alice, in 2019. With a proposed cruising speed of 280 miles per hour, the nine-passenger airliner will be an affordable and sustainable option for air travel, says Omer Bar-Yohay, Eviation Air chief executive officer. Because electric engines offer higher propulsion efficiencies and lower maintenance costs, the plane’s flight costs are reduced by around 90% as compared to similar, traditionally made aircraft “which makes flying regional distances affordable,” Bar-Yohay says. Because the plane is electric, it’s quieter than a traditional plane.

Once commercialized, Alice will be capable of carrying two crew members and nine passengers on a single charge for 650 miles at 10,000 feet, he adds.

Engineers at Eviation Air where able to create the Alice prototype in two years with the help of “Reinvent the Sky” engineering software, which sits on the cloud-based 3DExperience platform from Dassault Systèmes, Bar-Yohay says. The platform integrates 3D design, composite design, and flow simulation.

More than 160 suppliers and partners located all over the world collaborated on the project.

“The propellers are made in the US, the plane’s molds in Indonesia, the landing gear in Italy, other components in France,” Bar-Yohay says. “The engineering technology allowed us to collaborate and go from concept to prototype very quickly.”

Sustainable by choice

Environmentally friendly needn’t be the size of an airplane.

The new era of innovation will come from sustainable solutions, proudly declares a director of innovation at a company that could be said to manufacture a rather fusty, noninnovative product.

While the door locks and access controls Assa Abloy makes are not quite as alluring as an electric aircraft, they’re of even greater necessity.

Recently, the manufacturer sought to introduce sustainable design practices for its products. In order for these systems to be included on green-building designs, the company needed to provide an Environmental Product Declaration to its customers.  Builders need the EPD information to attain environmental certification, says Markus Bade, Assa Abloy’s director of innovation for central Europe.

Yakima engineers redesigned their company’s ForkLift roof-rack bike with the help of software that alerted them to areas of material waste they could trim. Yakima

For the first step toward gathering the information, the manufacturer conducted a baseline sustainable engineering study on an existing product. This was done to assess and compare the environmental impacts of existing and modified designs. For the study, the company’s engineering team in the Netherlands used the sustainability solution that can be included with SolidWorks 3D CAD software, Bade says.

Although SolidWorks Sustainability estimates the carbon footprint, energy consumption, and water and air impacts associated with a particular design, the construction industry requires additional environmental data for an EPD. Nevertheless, by providing these figures, the software gave engineers a trusted starting point for sustainable design, Bade says.

The Assa Abloy designers then used the environmental impact assessment tools within SolidWorks to design a new door-locking mechanism that cut the existing product’s environmental impact and also reduced manufacturing costs by 15%, Bade says. In fact, those two results were connected on one another, he adds.

The re-designed product proved the “traditional business view of sustainable design” wrong, he says. Sustainable design practices can improve processes and save money.

“We were pleasantly surprised to learn that by evaluating the environmental impact of a product, we can cut costs and protect the environment,” he says.

Analysis of the existing product found it to be overly strong, so engineers felt confident enough to go ahead with changes to material weight and thickness, Bade adds. The team cut the number of materials used and replaced custom nickel- and chrome-plated materials with stainless steel, and redesigned the latch tail.

Other changes included closing the lock case, riveting the cover, and screwing on the front plate.

“The material savings are quite dramatic,” Bade says. “When you cast nearly a million metal parts each year, every gram that you can cut from each part means less impact on the environment and lower cost.

Another developer, Sustainable Minds, makes software intended to give engineers pertinent supplier and material information, which allows them to weigh each design decision from an environmental standpoint.

Take Yakima. The customers who buy a ForkLift roof-rack bike mount made by the company are, for the most part, already environmentally conscious. The fork-style roof rack bike mount fits nearly every bicycle crossbar right out of the box without adjustment. To make the product even more environmentally appealing, Yakima used the Sustainable Minds software to find places environmental improvements could be made to its forklifts, says Chris Sautter, advanced development manager at the company.

The sustainability software highlighted the areas where engineers could make material substitutions that significantly improved sustainability and also improved cost and performance, Sautter says.

Reduce the wrappings

When it comes to retail products, sustainable packaging and manufacturing processes don’t necessarily need to be separate, designers have discovered.

The product development firm Bresslergroup Innovation, headquartered in Philadelphia literally designed a better mousetrap—and its packaging—with help from Susainable Minds software. When Woodstream learned its Victor Mousetrap may have a place in the aisle at Walmart, the supplier knew a high score on the retailer’s environmental scorecard would further the mousetrap’s chance of acceptance.

To boost the rating, Woodstream called in Bresslergroup Innovation, which kicked off redesign using the Sustainable Minds evaluation process, says Mathieu Turpault, director of design and managing partner at Bresslergroup.

“The software enabled us to create a benchmark, a starting point that we could iterate around and improve upon. We could quickly test assumptions, evaluate how shipping environmental impact compared to material environmental impact, and figure out where our design time and effort should be spent,” Turpault says.

After improving on the product’s design, Bresslergroup turned its attention to packaging. Designers were able to eliminate the plastic blister pack and minimize the amount of cardboard the mousetrap had been packaged in.

The designers discovered early that the environmental impact of shipping the mousetrap to retail locations was fairly minimal. Material selection was a more important element for sustainable packaging.

“It became clear that removing material from the packaging design would yield significant environmental gains,” Turpault says. “Sustainable Minds helped guide our design process throughout.”

Maybe the mousetrap maker is leading the way, showing manufacturers in Oregon and Maine that they can reduce packaging waste to meet the new environmental legislation in those states. It may also demonstrate that sustainable design practices don’t need to increase costs while raising the changes the product could appear on retailers’ shelves or as a construction material within certified green buildings.

And the practices will give the environment a break as well.

Filed Under: Aerospace, CAD modeling

XVL on 3DEXPERIENCE is released after a three-year joint development project

October 25, 2021 By WTWH Editor Leave a Comment

After a three-year joint development project between Dassault Systèmes and Lattice Technology Co. Ltd, working with Toyota Motor Corporation, native XVL on the 3DEXPERIENCE platform for Japan is available now (worldwide release is planned for 2022). The inclusion of native XVL with the platform enables increased usability downstream of product design in areas such as production engineering and service.

“Users can instantly and directly access XVL data on 3DEXPERIENCE. The members of design and production engineering feel that they have reached a new level of 3D utilization. The timeliness achieved in this project is very important in terms of accumulating the reduction of one small operation and not disturbing designers’ thinking“, said Hiroshi Kawazoe, Director/Toyota Systems Corp.

The source for this press release was a live interview between Hiroshi Kawazoe, Director/Toyota Systems Corp., Stephane Declee, ENOVIA CEO/Dassault Systèmes and Hiroshi Toriya, CEO/Lattice Technology Co. Ltd.
Toyota Systems: Different Needs for Design, Production Engineering & Services

“In Toyota, CATIA is widely used in the design area, and XVL is widely used in the production engineering and service document areas. When these two solutions are closely linked on 3DEXPERIENCE, I think Toyota might have bigger benefit from them,” said Hiroshi Toriya, CEO/Lattice Technology Co., Ltd.

“We need both the technical role of creating content, and a simple mechanism that many people can use for taking advantage of the content,” said Hiroshi Kawazoe/Toyota.

“Toyota uses CATIA for the former and XVL for the latter. It has great meaning that the technical department creates detailed data and people in production site or factory, suppliers can use lightweight 3D and simple tools even from places where IT infrastructure is not sufficient”, said Kawazoe.

“Also, such a situation greatly expands the range of 3D utilization. In particular, Lattice, a purely Japanese-like company, has been very effective developing applications that meet the specific needs of the Toyota production process”, Kawazoe went on to say.
Dassault: Need for Agility & Resiliency

“Agility and resiliency will become even more important in the future. Many manufacturing companies are considering how they can change the way of work according to these goals. The way of work in design and production will surely change”, said Stephane Declee, ENOVIA CEO/Dassault Systèmes“. It is necessary to reform the way of working so that we can provide appropriate information to people and collaborate with each other wherever they are. This also leads to remote work and to work anywhere. This is true not only for Dassault and its customers, but also for partners. In addition, “Cloud” will become a keyword in new measures for the design and production fields”, said Declee/ENOVIA.

”Global collaboration is also very important for the themes we are working on with Toyota Motor Corporation. Not only online but also offline collaboration is essential. That means delivering correct information based on 3D data. With 3D, various members can have a common understanding intuitively and without misunderstandings. Such aspects of 3D data will become so important as to be called indispensable”, said Kawazoe/Toyota.
XVL & The 3DEXPERIENCE Platform

XVL is an important addition as a native format available on the 3DEXPERIENCE platform for purposes other than design because it is extremely lightweight (about 1/100th the CAD file size) and maintains CAD level accuracy.

XVL can also accommodate all major CAD formats in a single representation, meaning SOLIDWORKS® models, CATIA® models, and models from other CAD systems can be combined into a single model, that is accurate for performing work outside of the design department from manufacturing planning, to assembly simulation, creating work/service instructions, and any technical documentation that needs the 3D model.

The process is seamless. Users can download any model in XVL format, regardless of its origin.

“Now XVL and CATIA data exist in a 1-to-1 state on 3DEXPERIENCE. Non-CAD users can get their job done while sharing the correct 3D data globally, both online and offline.”, said Toriya/Lattice.

“As a result of this strong partnership and great efforts by all three companies, I believe that the best collaborative solution has been achieved. XVL can be managed as a native format on the 3DEXPERIENCE platform, said Declee, ENOVIA

Filed Under: Dassault Systemes Tagged With: dassaultsystemes

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