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Drawing Navigator unveils automatic database creation for legacy CAD drawings

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Drawing Navigator, LLC announces the release of Drawing Navigator version 1.2 with automated database creation. The new update allows users to easily convert legacy CAD PDF drawings from stacks of hard to find parts into an easily searchable database. Drawing Navigator allows a free-flowing experience throughout a drawing structure, providing both bill-of-material and where-used links for quick access.

Drawing Navigator, LLC believes that the inclusion of optical character recognition, OCR, technology will further help companies work effectively with their legacy CAD drawings. The software pairs modern conveniences with legacy drawings including searchability and quick access. As companies grow, the drawings they produce continually accumulate and it becomes more important over time to effectively utilize and access legacy data.

“The new version now allows users to move more easily between related drawings and get the answers they need fast.” – Kyle, Founder.

Monthly pricing starts at $9 per seat.

Drawing Navigator
www.drawnav.com

 

Introducing hyperMILL 2021.1 CAD/CAM software suite

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OPEN MIND Technologies AG, a leading developer of CAD/CAM software solutions, has introduced its latest hyperMILL 2021.1 CAD/CAM software suite which offers users new and enhanced features for efficient 3D, 5-axis and mill/turn machining. Key innovations include a new “Interactive Edit Toolpath” capability which enables toolpath editing after initial toolpath generation. Especially productive for optimizing tool and mold making, the new toolpath editing feature is easy-to-use, and offers programmers the flexibility to adapt toolpaths by trimming and removing sequences accordingly for component conditions.

To streamline access to Product Manufacturing Information (PMI) and metadata, hyperMILL 2021.1 offers a new import function that retrieves face quality information and metadata when importing CAD data from neutral or native formats, and attaches data to the imported faces in hyperCAD-S, making the information available to hyperMILL and its machining processes.

A new 5-axis Radial Machining strategy allows bottle shapes and similar cavities to be easily and efficiently programmed in hyperMILL, resulting in high-quality surface finishes. Using a new radial projection method, toolpaths are calculated quickly so that the most productive machining strategies can be applied. For optimal high precision machining, hyperMILL “High Precision Surface Mode” and “Smooth Overlap” strategies can also be applied when using 5-axis Radial Machining, ensuring the best surface quality and clean transitions.

For high-quality surface finishes and to simplify programming when flank and point milling blades, hyperMILL 2021.1 offers several enhanced Multi-Blade strategies. No longer do blade surfaces need to be ruled for accurate programming results. Using the enhanced strategies, any number of surfaces are permitted for the suction and pressure sides, making it exceptionally easy to extend blade surfaces. Fillets with a variable radius are supported in the latest version of hyperMILL. Also, for high accuracy, the enhanced Multi-Blade flank milling strategies result in smaller deviations on the suction and pressure side, and offer improved tool guidance along the upper boundary in the edge area.

hyperMILL 2021.1 provides a new SIMULATION Center for generic NC data in turning and milling operations. Modeled after the hyperMILL VIRTUAL Machining Center, the new, modern SIMULATION Center is integrated in hyperMILL, and offers an intuitive operating environment for faster simulation, independent collision checking and extensive analysis functions.

Additional new features in hyperMILL 2021.1 include a new, easy-to-use “XY Optimization” command for optimal 3D profile finishing. In the hyperMILL Mill-Turn Module, the high-performance mode has been integrated into a 3-axis simultaneous roughing strategy, combining the advantages of HPC and simultaneous turning. For the simplified alignment of components, hyperCAD-S has a new “Align Best Fit” machining command that allows like-geometry components to be aligned with one another using defined pairs of points.

OPEN MIND Technologies AG
www.openmind-tech.com/en

Experience a seamless workflow from CT scan to full statistical analysis

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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

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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

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

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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

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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

Using SolidWorks to Validate MATLAB Ray Simulation

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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

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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

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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!

Buying into the CAD Consortium

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Much like a food coop, membership in a CAD cooperative comes with perks and some drawbacks.

Jean Thilmany, Senior Editor

ProgeSoft bills itself as a low-cost CAD alternative, similar to other two- and three-dimensional .dwg-file-based software though it is one-tenth the cost. The company’s membership in the IntelliCAD Technology Consortium (ITC) helps keep costs low, says Damiano Croci, ProgeSoft’s chief operating officer.

The 21-year-old consortium functions somewhat like a farm cooperative, only for software. Individual member companies share in the development of a baseline CAD platform that they can then customize to reflect their own needs. Companies build upon the IntelliCAD platform to create CAD applications for surveyors, architects, and engineers, even police officers, says Dave Lorenzo, ITC president.

“By sharing the cost of development for complex projects, ITC members can develop solutions at far less cost than a single company could do on its own,” he says.

Consortium members came together in 1999 to create ITC and to upgrade its IntelliCAD engine. IntelliCAD—based on the .dwg direct library from the Open Design Alliance—reads and writes the .dwg data file format widely used in CAD applications to store graphic and text information.

Essentially, IntelliCAD is a CAD package run by committee.

As a founding ITC member, ProgeSoft, of Chiasso, Switzerland, has backed the project from the consortium’s inception. The company recognized that by foregoing basic platform development and relying on IntelliCAD, it could focus on the bells and whistles that make ProgeSoft unique, Croci says.

ProgeSoft has built its ProgeCAD 3-D CAD software on the IntelliCAD engine. The low-cost, customized CAD system can be used for a number of design and modeling options.

“Joining ITC was a hazardous, fascinating, and rewarding experience, all at the same time,” he says. “IntelliCAD gave us an excellent CAD product. After putting the finishing touches to it, we brought progeCAD to the cutting-edge of low-cost CAD technology.

Architects, engineers, drafters, artists, and designers who use an AutoCAD download to create precision drawings or technical illustrations can do the same with ProgeCAD, he says.

The ITC offers two membership levels. The royalty-free commercial membership is $69,000 the first year and $62,000 subsequent years; the royalty-based commercial membership fee is $39,000 the first year and $32,000 subsequent years with a $15-per-copy fee for new licenses.

The fees help employ programmers to update the software. In exchange, members get the code and sell it as they wish: as a straight CAD package, as part of a vertical application, or for in-home use, Lorenzo says. IntelliCAD is updated annually.

Today, the consortium has around 50 members located in more than 130 countries.

A timely alternative
To understand IntelliCAD’s role in the industry, know that in 1999—when ITC came into existence—the CAD landscape looked quite a bit different than it does today. Only a few, strong players dominated the industry.

“IntelliCAD was originally created to stop Autodesk from a complete CAD monopoly, freeing millions of users to edit billions of engineering data files outside of Autodesk products,” Lorenzo says.

“Today, IntelliCAD DNA runs through every major AutoCAD alternative,” he says, including popular programs such as ZWCAD, BricsCAD, ActCAD, FrameCAD, Trimble, and MicroSurvey.

ITC members choose to work with the cooperatively created CAD platform to keep costs low. But they also become members to ensure a safe spot in the marketplace. Member companies know that by controlling their CAD platform they need not rely on another software maker for survival, Lorenzo says.

“Many of our members came to the ITC after Autodesk decided to compete with them,” he says. “Imagine being an Autodesk partner for decades and then suddenly they decide to compete with you. You spend years creating a valid market only to have the platform you built your business on decide that it’s time for you to go. But how else can Autodesk grow its revenue?” Because ITC is a non-profit cooperative it has no shareholders to demand continued revenue growth, Lorenzo says.

“The ITC also has no end-user products that might compete with members, as our only funding comes from members who also direct our mission,” he says. “This keeps the ITC focused on creating core technology and services. We can’t compete with our members because we literally work for our members.”

The ITC offers tools and expertise that members can integrate slowly into their business to improve their development processes over time, he adds.
“Looking back to when I was a small, third-party developer, the insights from a consortium like ITC would have been invaluable,” he says. “I didn’t really learn large-scale development processes until I worked for larger companies like Visio and Microsoft.”

Drawbacks include the time members must spend customizing the ITC software for their own use and the need to translate it into non-English languages.

A run-in with the FTC
IntelliCAD itself has a complex history that winds its way through Softdesk, Autodesk, Boomerang, Visio, and, finally, the ITC, according to Ralph Grabowski, a longtime writer covering the CAD community. In 2004, Grabowski was editor at upfrontzine.com and was asked to contribute his thoughts at the first IntelliCAD Technical Consortium’s user conference, held in September of that year.

In 1994, a company called Softdesk held the rights to IntelliCAD. Then, in December 1996, Autodesk moved to acquire Softdesk. This came as no surprise because Autodesk usually bought out its competitors or started its own competing product, Grabowski writes.

The surprise in this case was that Autodesk didn’t know Softdesk had developed its own AutoCAD clone, perhaps to keep Autodesk at bay or to have its own software in the hopper. That clone was IntelliCAD.

The matter triggered a Federal Trade Commission (FTC) investigation into the status of AutoCAD as a potential monopoly. In 1997, AutoCAD accounted for 70% of the installed base of about 1.4 million users, according the FTC statement.

In March 1997, the FTC announced an antitrust settlement with Autodesk over the Softdesk and IntelliCAD acquisition, according to FTC filings. The move gave the go-ahead for Autodesk’s $90 million stock-swap merger, but IntelliCAD could no longer be part of the deal.

The FTC found that the purchase of Softdesk’s IntelliCAD software would have created an uncompetitive environment. Autodesk agreed to divest the CAD technology without a formal request from the FTC.

The investigation was unusual for the time. Before the Autodesk investigation, FTC and Department of Justice had challenged only a handful of mergers with hardware and software companies, according to Howard Morse, an FTC spokesperson at the time.

“There may be numerous mergers in this industry, but only a handful are thought to lessen competition,” he said after the investigation.

Softdesk, as part of the agreement, transferred all rights for IntelliCAD to Boomerang Technology, which in turn sold the rights to Visio, according to a March 31, 1997 CNET article.

IntelliCAD depends on the ODA Platform for its core database to open, visualize, edit, and save .dwg and .dgn files such as this one.

The divestiture to Boomerang occurred because the FTC wanted more information on the Softdesk acquisition and looked at IntelliCAD as potentially being anticompetitive, according to the article.

Grabowski notes that Visio, which made a diagramming and vector graphics application, first sold IntelliCAD for 10 percent of the price of AutoCAD and eventually gave it away free in the early days of the ITC.

In July 1999, Visio set up the ITC to be run by an independent board of directors, Lorenzo says.

IntelliCAD went on to be used as more than an AutoCAD clone. In 2004, the ITC announced its IntelliCAD technology was a critical component of the DWGEditor functionality incorporated into the 2004 release of SolidWorks CAD software.

The SolidWorks DWGEditor gives users the ability to edit 2D DWG files in their native format without conversion or data loss. The tool is ideal for design engineers who use 3D design software but still need to edit and maintain legacy DWG data, according to a 2004 ITC statement.

“When a user of SolidWorks 2005 opens a DWG-based drawing, the IntelliCAD technology is invoked to provide editing capabilities in an AutoCAD-like interface,” according to the statement.

Beyond typical
While some members of the ITC members don’t come as a surprise, others take something of a mental leap to understand. ZWSoft, a Chinese maker of 2-D and 3-D CAD technology, definitely falls into the first category, using the IntelliCAD platform to develop its ZWCAD and ZW3D technology.

Companies like Quality Life Tech in Dongguan, China, use ZWCAD for design. Quality Life Tech makes a variety of medical products including motorized wheelchairs, nebulizers, and aspirators. It calls on ZW3D to create CAD models for the mechanical and electrical parts it designs.

QLT engineers often need to modify history- or the third-party data. To do that, they use ZW3D’s translator, which can read the internal or external data in different mainstream formats, Lorenzo says.

On the other hand, Leica Map360 is “not your typical CAD application,” he adds. The IntelliCAD-based product is used to reconstruct accident and forensic-crime scenes. Investigators use the tool to map data they’ve collected from a range of mapping devices onto the same scene. Data can include aerial and point cloud imagery as well as information from global navigation satellite systems (GNSS).

Leica Map360, an IntelliCAD-based product, is used by police and other investigators to to reconstruct accident and forensic-crime scenes. Investigators use the tool to map data they’ve collected from a range of devices, such as laser-based point clouds. One of the new updates was the capability to attach digital signatures to .dwg files and to validate them. Another was the Block Editor that makes it easier to create and edit blocks.

In that way, investigators can digitize, analyze and visually communicate the details of a scene with details, diagrams, and courtroom exhibits.
Map360 turns data into a diagram, Lorenzo says. “It’s a way to make efficient use of all the data captured at the scene and a way to give visual guidance to those studying the evidence.”

The analysis software is from Leica Geosystems and was designed and developed by ITC member MicroSurvey Software Inc. Both Leica Geosystems and MicroSurvey are part of parent company Hexagon.

Lorenzo points to the tool as an example of the way ITC members can bundle IntelliCAD with their own solutions so their customers don’t have to purchase AutoCAD separately.

“Do you think police officers want to purchase and learn AutoCAD?” Lorenzo asks.

What’s next?

Over the last few years, the consortium has evolved to meet additional member needs, Lorenzo says.

“And why not? Members are in control so why not change the consortium to better meet their evolving needs?” he asks.

The ITC has funded special interest groups to tackle new emerging technologies that stray from its typical .dwg roots.

“We’ve also expanded our services to provide offshore contract developers for member’s proprietary development,” Lorenzo adds.

“As a nonprofit, cooperative platform, which is directed by our members, our job is to make members successful. And they create the definition for success,” he says. “They set our vision, our membership pricing structure, and determine our services and components. They provide vision and funding and we implement.”

IntelliCAD Technology Consortium
www.intellicad.org