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CAD Industry News

Announcing the 2020 LEAP Award winners for Software

October 6, 2020 By Leslie Langnau Leave a Comment

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

 

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

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

 

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

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

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

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

Filed Under: News

Buying into the CAD Consortium

October 2, 2020 By Leslie Langnau Leave a Comment

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

Filed Under: CAD Industry News Tagged With: intellicad

GEA uses Dassault Systèmes’ Simulation Technology to safely reopen its cafeteria for 1,900 employees

September 30, 2020 By WTWH Editor Leave a Comment

Dassault Systèmes announced that GEA, one of the world’s largest technology suppliers for food processing and a wide range of other industries, used SIMULIA applications powered by the 3DEXPERIENCE platform to simulate the airflow in its Oelde, Germany employee cafeteria, which has been closed since March 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and gain insights on how to safely reopen it for 1,900 employees.

Understanding that the coronavirus can spread through droplets in the air, GEA wanted to examine the spread of aerosols in its cafeteria and visualize different safety scenarios as part of its “Back to Work” initiative to fully reopen all sites. It worked with Dassault Systèmes to build a 3D virtual twin of the cafeteria with parameters that included people infected with the virus coughing and sneezing, to simulate particle flow behavior throughout the space. GEA was able to experience how the virus could spread through the air as well as contaminate surfaces like plates, trays and tables. The virtual twin also revealed unexpected areas of high virus concentration.

GEA is now using the simulation results to identify and implement an effective risk management strategy for a safer cafeteria environment. This includes altering entrances, exits and seating layouts, separating the cafeteria’s kitchen from its catering area, modifying the ventilation system, and adopting additional safety measures that protect kitchen staff.

“Simulation provided us with a valuable learning experience and will play a major role in our decision-making as we plan to reopen our cafeteria, which is an important gathering space for all our employees,” said Erich Nitzsche, Vice President Engineering Standards & Services, GEA. “The results from our collaboration with Dassault Systèmes exceeded our expectations and showed a different story from what we were expecting. Thanks to simulation, we can be more purposeful in our thinking as we solve problems to ensure the health and safety of our employees and reduce the negative impacts on our business. Selecting Dassault Systèmes was a winning initiative for us.”

GEA plans to share videos showing the simulation results to employees, to clearly communicate why and how new measures were taken, and technology’s role in this strategy.

“Virtual worlds revolutionize our relationship with knowledge and open up tremendous possibilities,” said Klaus Löckel, Managing Director, EUROCENTRAL, Dassault Systèmes. “Our SIMULIA applications reveal the invisible by representing the time and space of a behavior that evolves in its environment. GEA can understand and act on this behavior in response to the coronavirus crisis with a program that prioritizes employee well-being.”

Dassault Systèmes
www.3ds.com

Filed Under: Dassault Systemes

Shell or Solid Elements for Thin Walled Parts?

September 30, 2020 By Leslie Langnau Leave a Comment

Choosing an element type for a structural Finite Element Analysis

Dr. Jody Muelaner, Ph.D. CEng MIMechE

When performing structural Finite Element Analysis (FEA), it is often advised that thin-walled parts should only be meshed using solid elements if it is possible to use at least three elements through the thickness. When this is not practical, shell elements are advised. What usually isn’t explained is that this advice is based on the use of first-order elements, which are rarely used in modern FEA software. When second, or even higher, order polynomial elements are used, good accuracy can often be obtained using a single solid element through the wall thickness. What is often more important, is the number of elements approximating tightly radiused curved geometry. There are also many cases where shell elements can dangerously underestimate stress in key features. We’re going to use a number of simple parts and mesh convergence studies to illustrate these issues and provide the understanding required to select appropriate element types.

Finite Element Analysis often advises that thin-walled parts should only be meshed using solid elements if it is possible to use at least three elements through the thickness. Otherwise, use shell elements. This advice, however, assumes the use of first-order elements, which are rarely used in modern FEA software.

Element types
Before getting into the examples, let’s take a moment to review a few basics of FEA element types. FEA can be used to simulate a range of physics-based problems including heat transfer, fluid flow, and electromagnetics, but structural analysis is the most common application and this is what we will focus on.

Problems can be represented in either two or three dimensions. One example of a two-dimensional problem is a plate loaded in plane stress, perhaps with a stress raiser such as a hole. In such a case, differences in the stress through the thickness of the plate can be ignored and it doesn’t actually matter how thick the plate is, provided the load per unit thickness is correct. Another example of a two-dimensional problem might be an axisymmetric pressure vessel. We won’t consider one dimensional problems since the issues are very different to those of three dimensional problems. For most designers, running simulations directly from CAD models, a three-dimensional analysis will be carried out.

For a three-dimensional analysis, the elements themselves may be one-dimensional, two-dimensional or three-dimensional. Beams and bars are examples of one-dimensional elements, these elements are represented as a line. Although they may have a cross section associated with them, this is only used to determine their cross-sectional area and, in the case of beams, their second moments of area. Although the element itself is one-dimensional, it exists within a three-dimensional model meaning that the element can connect to other elements, or have forces acting on it, from the x, y or z direction.

The two types of elements considered in this article are shells and solids. Although a first order shell element is two dimensional, it can transmit bending forces as well as plane stress, allowing multiple shell elements to approximate three-dimensional structures, it should not be confused with the planar elements used in a two-dimensional analysis. Shell elements can be triangular or quadrilateral. Solid elements can be either tetrahedral or brick shaped.

Elements are represented mathematically as a polynomial and therefore have an order corresponding to the order of the polynomial. A first order triangular shell element has three nodes, one at each corner, and stress and strain can only be linearly interpolated between the nodes. A second order shell element has midpoint nodes on each side, giving a total of six nodes. Second order elements are also known as quadratic elements and allow stress and strain to be approximated using a quadratic function. A second order shell element does not have to be flat, its geometry can also approximate a curved surface using this quadratic function. It is also possible to use higher order polynomials to more accurately approximate curved geometry or changes in stress through the element.

Elements are represented mathematically as a polynomial and have an order corresponding to the order of the polynomial. A first order triangular shell element has three nodes, one at each corner, and stress and strain can only be linearly interpolated between the nodes. A second order shell element has midpoint nodes on each side, giving a total of six nodes.

Example 1: Flat rectangular plate loaded in bending
The first example used to compare the results from solid and shell elements is a simple rectangular plate loaded in bending. This simple model enables the plotting of simulation accuracy against mesh size. The rectangular plate is modelled with an elastic support at one end, a roller support at the other end and a distributed load over the entire upper surface. These boundary conditions avoid singularities and put the maximum stress in the middle of the plate, away from the supports. The image below shows the plate meshed with shell elements, one with a very course mesh and the other with a very fine mesh. The plate was flat in its unloaded condition and the curvature shown is a scaled representation of the deformation under load.

This image shows the plate meshed with shell elements, one with a very course mesh and the other with a very fine mesh. The plate was flat in its unloaded condition and the curvature shown is a scaled representation of the deformation under load.

The simulation was run with second order triangular shell elements, with first order tetrahedrons and with second order tetrahedrons. These are referred to as simply shells and solids. A baseline simulation with five second order solid elements through the thickness was taken as the reference value. Each result was compared with this reference to see the percentage error in maximum von Mises stress and maximum deformation. These results are plotted against the mesh size, as a multiple of the plate thickness, in the charts below.

A simulation was run with second order triangular shell elements, with first order tetrahedrons, and with second order tetrahedrons. Each result was compared with this reference to see the percentage error in maximum von Mises stress and maximum deformation. These results are plotted against the mesh size, as a multiple of the plate thickness, in the charts.

The results show that, when second order solid elements are used, a single solid element through the thickness is just as accurate as a shell element. Even solid elements which are considerably larger than the plate thickness give good results, in these cases there was a single element through the thickness but it had a larger aspect ratio so its plane dimensions were larger than the plate thickness. For solid elements which were three or more times the plate thickness the accuracy started to decline. Shell elements only give a significant advantage when the mesh is very course, with elements much larger than the plate thickness. First order solid elements are considerably less accurate, even with a very fine mesh, and for course meshes with only a single element through the thickness they give completely unreliable results.

This simple example seems to indicate that using higher order elements, as is standard with modern FEA software, it is not necessary to have multiple elements through the thickness. A 2-mm mesh will give very good results for a 1-mm wall thickness.

Example 2: Bent plate demonstrating element size relative to radius
The second example uses a rectangular plate which is bent in the middle with a radius at the bend. It was modelled with a symmetry plane. One end has an elastic support and the other end has a tensile force applied. Because the plate is bent this tensile loading attempts to straighten the plate resulting in a peak stress at the bend. Only second order solid (tetrahedral) elements were used in this example.

Here’s an example of a rectangular plate that is bent in the middle with a radius at the bend. It was modelled with a symmetry plane. One end has an elastic support and the other end has a tensile force applied. Because the plate is bent this tensile loading attempts to straighten the plate resulting in a peak stress at the bend. Only second order solid (tetrahedral) elements were used in this example.

This scenario was simulated with a range of parameter values. The plate thickness was maintained consistently at 1-mm but the radius was simulated at values ranging between 1-mm and 40-mm. For each radius a reference simulation was run with four second order solid elements through the thickness and further refinement so that in the region of the bend, the elements were no more than 1/20th of the bend radius. Results were compared for global mesh sizes varying from 0.25 wall thickness (four cubic elements through the thickness) to three times the wall thickness.

The below chart shows the accuracy of each simulation plotted against the mesh size as a multiple of the wall thickness. It is clear that there is no correlation between mesh size and wall thickness. This remains true for elements up to three times larger than the wall thickness.

The chart shows the accuracy of each simulation plotted against the mesh size as a multiple of the wall thickness. There is no correlation between mesh size and wall thickness. This remains true for elements up to three times larger than the wall thickness.

The next chart shows the accuracy of each simulation plotted against the mesh size as a multiple of the radius. In this case there is a clear trend. When the mesh size is 1/20th of the radius the errors were never more than 1%, however, when the elements were larger than the radius the errors were always more than 10%. For meshes that are 1/10th of the radius then errors are never more than 6% and typically much better than that.

The next chart shows the accuracy of each simulation plotted against the mesh size as a multiple of the radius. When the mesh size is 1/20th of the radius the errors were never more than 1%. When the elements were larger than the radius the errors were always more than 10%. For meshes that are 1/10th of the radius then errors are never more than 6% and typically much better than that.

Conclusions
The conventional advice for the meshing of thin walled structures is that shell elements should be used unless a solid mesh is able to achieve several elements through the wall thickness. With modern higher-order polynomial elements this advice is no longer relevant. A single solid element through the thickness will achieve results that are just as accurate as a shell element. This means that the considerable effort required to prepare geometry for shell meshing can be avoided. A more important consideration seems to be achieving a fine mesh to accurately model tightly curved sections of a thin walled structure, especially if high stress occurs at these areas. This indicates that curvature based meshing is a very useful tool for thin walled structures. Using higher-order solid elements together with a curvature based meshing algorithm, modern FEA software is able to achieve highly accurate results with very little pre-processing of geometry. However, caution must always be observed as there are many other ways that FEA can produce spurious results. Verification by physical testing remains highly advisable.

Filed Under: News

Elysium to launch 3DxSUITE in Spring 2021

September 30, 2020 By WTWH Editor Leave a Comment

Global interoperability solutions provider, Elysium, is developing a new consolidated interoperability platform scheduled for release in the spring of 2021. The 3DxSUITE will enable users to customize and integrate Elysium’s data solutions into automated quality and compliance-checking systems best suited to their operational needs.

Flexibility and openness support digital end-to-end processes for MBE and the 3D-Master
“For almost 30 years, we have been creating a variety of packaged software products based on our unique 3D data-processing technology,” says Atsuto Soma, CTO of Elysium. “Now, we are transforming our existing technology into a new platform that can more flexibly meet the demand for greater industry automation and inter-connectivity between CAD data resources and downstream manufacturing processes.

“3DxSUITE truly embodies the ‘interoperability’ that Elysium has set as its business concept since its foundation,” says Soma. “Companies that use 3D to design and manufacture products should not be tied to a specific authoring system or set of tools, but rather transcend the barriers between companies and organizations, creating the ideal manufacturing processes that connect all kinds of information, systems, equipment and people.”

Accelerating the digital transformation of manufacturing
In recent years, as digital transformation has progressed across many industries, manufacturing companies have increasingly relied on streamlined 3D data to optimize their supply chains.
“With advanced IT solutions now available, such as cloud applications and web-based portal communications, manufacturers using a variety of CAD software and PLM (Product Lifecycle Management) systems will be able to more broadly and deeply employ Elysium’s new platform to fully utilize their 3D digital engineering data,” Soma says. “This will facilitate the transformational changes now taking place globally and promote business growth.”

Modularity, usability and mobility
Elysium has developed a full spectrum of digital technologies—such as data translation, verification including PDQ (Product Data Quality), validation, optimization including geometry simplification and data repurposing, and even packaging of 3D and supplemental data—and incorporated these into the desktop application CADdoctor; the enterprise solution, ASFALIS; and the foundational data-translation tool, DirectTranslator.

On the upcoming interoperability platform, 3DxSUITE, users will not be limited to any specific configuration of Elysium products, or any particular CAD system or data format. They will be free to pick the manual or automated data solutions that best fit their individual needs with regard to design tools, manufacturing processes, operational systems, etc.

Companies can use the new platform to construct a centralized system that allows them to easily select, combine and integrate modularized functions and usage. This ability will save companies handling 3D engineering data significant time and costs in their model-based and digitalization efforts, and improve supply-chain integration and productivity.

Supporting the evolution of the digital environment
“One of the greatest advantages of this software consolidation is the ease by which customers can start incorporating their first priorities, whether small-scale or large-scale,” says Annalise Suzuki, North American VP of Technology & Engagement for Elysium. “When it comes to MBE initiatives, it’s not reasonable to seek a radical change overnight. MBD/MBE is a long-term, evolving roadmap as cultures, tools, standards and processes improve. The 3DxSUITE is most accommodating when it comes to supporting such an evolving shift—whether it be adding capabilities over time, expanding use cases, or changing out 3D formats.

“From a value perspective, 3DxSUITE is a single-point solution—a single architecture for upgrading a CAD system and outgoing data across multiple vendors and into set production and delivery schedules. It maximizes throughputs, but minimizes overhead for implementation, integration, configuration, upgrades, and long-term support,” says Suzuki.

Elysium
www.elysium-global.com/en/

Filed Under: Company News Tagged With: Elysium

Dassault Systèmes unveils 3DEXPERIENCE Edu, driving a new era of experience-based learning for the workforce of the future

September 29, 2020 By WTWH Editor Leave a Comment

Dassault Systèmes today unveiled 3DEXPERIENCE Edu, its new ambition to help students and professionals thrive in the workplace with in-demand industry skills for sustainable innovation. With 3DEXPERIENCE Edu, Dassault Systèmes will drive its key role in building the workforce of the future by opening up new possibilities on the 3DEXPERIENCE platform for lifelong learning and for connecting academic institutions with industry to foster employability.

3DEXPERIENCE Edu will deliver skills-related publications, establish global partnerships and educational centers, and engage students in sustainability challenges and competitions, as well as offer a new portfolio of learning experiences and certifications for professionals on the 3DEXPERIENCE platform. These programs and resources aim to foster collective intelligence on key emerging roles and skills, redefine the way academic institutions and businesses collaborate to accelerate the adoption of new methods in industry, and transform education through experience-based learning.

While studies have already revealed a disconnect between the skills needed to fill today’s job vacancies and academic curricula, the COVID-19 pandemic revealed needs for reskilling, upskilling and training to help companies and academic institutions accelerate their transformation. Hybrid learning is becoming the new norm in education. Whether online or in class, learning is about people engagement. Experience-based learning is the solution for learners to actively grow their skills by creating projects and collaborating actively with their peers, experts and mentors.

“To foster industry growth in the COVID-19 era, people must be able to adapt to new ways of working, businesses must equip workers for fast-evolving roles and find workers that have the right skills, and industry must work with educators to reduce the gap between their needs and what is taught in classes,” said Florence Verzelen, Executive Vice President, Industry, Marketing, Global Affairs, Workforce of the Future, Dassault Systèmes. “We have long been a strategic partner for industry, which puts us in a unique position to know what skills jobs require and how to prepare them. 3DEXPERIENCE Edu offers a new world that empowers the workforce of the future with knowledge and know-how. We can engage people and transform how they learn, teach, make and share to imagine sustainable innovations.”

3DEXPERIENCE Edu builds upon Dassault Systèmes’ decades of experience in 11 industries, to support five million students of all ages every year as well as academic institutions, companies, and professionals seeking to improve their knowledge, expertise or employability. This includes providing educational packages to organizations worldwide during COVID-19 lockdowns, and partnerships with Re-Engineering Australia Foundation, Arts et Métiers ParisTech, Illinois Institute of Technology on life sciences, and the World Economic Forum on advanced manufacturing skills.

Dassault Systèmes
www.3ds.com

Filed Under: Dassault Systemes Tagged With: Dassault Systemes

Dassault Systèmes joins the Global Enabling Sustainability Initiative (GeSI)

September 23, 2020 By WTWH Editor Leave a Comment

Dassault Systèmes announced it has joined the Global Enabling Sustainability Initiative (GeSI), a global organization focused on enabling digital sustainability. Becoming a member of GeSI means that Dassault Systèmes is adding its name to a growing number of major information, communication, and technology (ICT) companies and organizations from around the world that are seeking to enable social and environmental sustainability through technology.

“An innovation can’t be sustainable if its impacts on the environment and on people haven’t been thought through. Modeling these impacts in virtual universes can dramatically accelerate a more sustainable future and our collective ability to deliver on the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals,” said Alice Steenland, Chief Sustainability Officer, Dassault Systèmes. “We are a purpose-driven company with the ambition to be the catalyst and enabler of a sustainable world, working constantly to improve people’s lives by addressing major sustainability challenges with our customers. We look forward to driving solutions in collaboration with other sustainability leaders as a part of GeSI.”

Luis Neves, Managing Director and CEO of GeSI, said that the organization welcomes a member like Dassault Systèmes with its vast experience in 3D digital technology.

“GeSI’s mission is to help create a smarter, more sustainable world with digital solutions at its core,” Neves said. “We are thrilled to have a company like Dassault Systèmes, a leader in its industry sector, join us as a Member. Their engagement reinforces GeSI’s work to harness innovative digital solutions as a force for good as we commit to the 2030 Agenda. We look forward to a long partnership with Dassault Systèmes.”

Through its 3DEXPERIENCE platform and digital applications, Dassault Systèmes provides business and people with collaborative 3D virtual environments to imagine sustainable innovations. Recognizing that sustainability is the primary driver of innovation in all sectors of the economy and progress in all domains of society, Dassault Systèmes is focused on helping its customers achieve sustainable growth, on creating a better world for people, and on empowering the workforce of the future.

GeSI is a globally recognized thought leader, partner of choice and proactive driver of the ICT sustainability agenda as measured by the development and use of its tools, broad member base and contributions to relevant policies. Its vision is to create a sustainable world through responsible, ICT-enabled transformation. Its members and partners use their collective knowledge and experience to identify opportunities and develop effective solutions in a number of critical areas including: climate change, energy/resource efficiency, e-waste management, responsible supply chain practices, labor rights and public policy.

Dassault Systèmes
www.3ds.com

Filed Under: Dassault Systemes Tagged With: dassaultsystemes

MSBAI awarded SBIR contract for GURU, its AI-driven simulation software assistant

September 8, 2020 By Leslie Langnau Leave a Comment

Bruce Jenkins | Ora Research

“Air Force Awards Contract for GURU to Put the Simple in Simulation” was the headline of a news release issued by software developer MSBAI announcing it was awarded an AFWERX Small Business Innovation (SBIR) Phase 1 contract to examine integrating its GURU technology with U.S. Air Force applications.

“Engineers use computer simulations for anything from airflow over wings to thermal analysis of the hot section in gas turbines,” the company notes, citing typical defense-related uses. “The problem is the simulation software is too complicated to learn so they’re not getting the most out of it”—a familiar complaint heard from highly skilled engineers and discipline leads who are not however specialists trained in the arcana of CAE.

Air Force awards contract to GURU by MSBAI

 

MSBAI is a privately held small business located in Los Angeles, CA, focused on development and deployment of its GURU cognitive AI assistant for engineering, and is now an Air Force Techstars 2020 company. The Air Force says this program, formally known as Air Force Accelerator Powered by Techstars, “focuses on the next generation of technologies for unmanned systems, human-machine interfaces, and immersive training.”

AFWERX describes itself as a “community of Air Force innovators who strive to connect Airmen to solutions across the force: whether that be funding, collaborating with industry, or simply receiving guidance on a project. We were established in 2017 by the Secretary of the Air Force, report to the Vice Chief of Staff of the Air Force, and are comprised of active duty, Air National Guard, Air Force Reserve, Air Force Civilian Service, and contractor personnel.”

GURU: “AI-driven assistant that learns to run the complicated software itself so you don’t have to”

MSBAI characterizes GURU as an “AI-driven assistant that learns to run the complicated software itself so you don’t have to—minimizing the human workload needed to translate engineering questions into computational workflows. With cloud systems already offering the compute power of government supercomputers from not long ago, it takes more time to set up a structural/thermal/fluid/trajectory analysis than it does for the computers to run them. The newest exascale and coming quantum systems will require this kind of AI layer for humans to be able to keep up.”

According to MSBAI, “there are numerous dual-use applications that come from enabling more engineers to use the best design and analysis software and deploy it at high-performance computing scale: manufacturers stand to gain a 500-to-1 return on investment, and the DoD will save billions of dollars in aircraft sustainment and gain advantages in rapid reaction.” Also, especially relevant in context of the COVID-19 pandemic, “GURU’s commercial deployment is SaaS B2B, and it will be a game-changer for remote work.”

Techstars director KATZ: “Will enable engineers throughout the DoD…to make many more trials per day and enable many more engineers to use these impossibly complex tools”

Warren Katz, managing director of the Air Force Accelerator Powered by Techstars program, remarked, “As an engineer who struggled with these overly complicated simulation software packages myself, I felt the pain that GURU relieves. The award of this Phase 1 SBIR to MSBAI will ultimately enable engineers throughout the DoD that are working on our toughest problems in hypersonics, quantum computing, heat transfer, optics, electromagnetics, fluid mechanics, etc. to make many more trials per day and enable many more engineers to use these impossibly complex tools.”

AFRL and AFWERX have partnered to streamline the Small Business Innovation Research process in an attempt to speed up the experience, broaden the pool of potential applicants, and decrease bureaucratic overhead. Beginning in SBIR 18.2, and now in 20.1, the Air Force has begun offering “Special” SBIR topics that are faster, leaner and open to a broader range of innovations than before.

MSBAI

Air Force Accelerator Powered by Techstars

AFWERX

Filed Under: Simulation Software

AutomationDirect unveils 3D CAD files for product design

August 18, 2020 By WTWH Editor Leave a Comment

AutomationDirect now offers native CAD files downloadable directly from their Web store to assist system designers in developing or updating their designs. Available in over 60 formats, the CAD files save designers time, provide more accurate vendor specifications from vendors, and allow better assessment of product fit within a design.

At the product item level on the Store, visitors can use the new 3D viewer to see and rotate the product in any direction. Downloadable native CAD file formats include Pro-E, Inventor and SOLIDWORKS; several generic 3D formats, such as STL, Parasolid and STEP are also available, as well as many 2D options. These formats allow a user to create project documentation and help with BOM generation.

“At AutomationDirect, we believe in helping our current and future customers make the best

decisions they can with as much information as we can provide, and it’s free,” said Jamie Hipple, Team Lead/Creative Director of the Focused Image Team at AutomationDirect. “Before, during and after purchase, users can download CAD, manuals, technical specifications and even complete catalogs in order to make an informed decision.”

All the information needed to make product design decisions is included in the new 3D CAD native files. They also include basic product and purchasing information in the model metadata to make it easy for a user to purchase the part directly from within their design system if needed.

View an example of the 3D CAD viewer and file download capability at: http://go2adc.com/3DCAD.

AutomationDirect
www.automationdirect.com

Filed Under: News Tagged With: automationdirect

Tech Soft 3D and OPEN MIND collaborate on CAM solutions

August 17, 2020 By WTWH Editor Leave a Comment

OPEN MIND Technologies AG, a leading developer of CAD/CAM software solutions worldwide, and Tech Soft 3D, a leading provider of engineering software development toolkits, announced that HOOPS Exchange, a CAD data access and reuse technology for manufacturing and architecture, engineering and construction (AEC) workflows, will be integrated into hyperCAD-S and hyperMILL to ensure that all CAD and Product Manufacturing Information (PMI) data are transferred seamlessly between applications.

“Tech Soft 3D is a trusted, reliable development partner who helps us implement specific requirements and accommodate customer requests,” said Dr. Josef Koch, CTO at OPEN MIND Technologies, AG. “This kind of responsiveness is critical in our industry, as well as interoperability with multiple CAD formats ‒ HOOPS Exchange is the leading product in this area and was an easy choice for us. We are very happy to be able to offer our customers the ability to work with any CAD file type now, without any loss of data integrity when sharing files.”

hyperMILL is a modular complete CAM solution for 2.5D, 3D, 5-axis, HSC/HPC, and mill-turning processes, and also includes special applications and highly efficient automation solutions. The CAM software provides technology-leading geometry analysis and tool path calculations. There are specialized routines designed for efficient programming and machining of these components on 5-axis milling or mill-turn machines. Robust CNC postprocessors are also provided to assure strong communication to machine tool controllers.

“Digital transformation is happening at lightning speed within the manufacturing industry and we are committed to helping our partners, such as OPEN MIND, keep pace with this rapid momentum,” said Lionel Vieilly, Product Manager at Tech Soft 3D. “Fast access to the full integrity of data, being able to use that data without the need for an additional translator, extreme performance with low memory usage – these are all paramount to quickly building robust, sophisticated 3D applications and we are proud to be the ones our partners look to as the gold standard.”

OPEN MIND Technologies AG
www.openmind-tech.com

Tech Soft 3D
www.techsoft3d.com

Filed Under: CAM, News Tagged With: openmind

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