What is the failed promise of parametric CAD? In short, model reuse. It’s a lot more difficult than it ought to be, for a variety of reasons. Several months back, I wrote a series of articles discussing those reasons, as well as some of the solutions that have come up over the years. What was missing […]
3D Master
3D MCAD is not “done.” Not by any means. Well over 40 years after the introduction of commercial 3D MCAD products, and 25 years after the introduction of feature-based solid modeling MCAD, many MCAD programs aren’t totally 3D. They’re 2D/3D. What I mean by this is that their 3D capabilities are inadequate to represent real […]
Hitting the reset button: Building the next generation of SolidWorks
Suppose you were a CAD developer, and you wanted to build a next-generation CAD system. How would you do it? I’ve thought about that question for quite a while. Nearly 30 years, in fact. I’ve watched a bunch of attempts at building next-generation CAD systems. I’ve been involved in a few too. I can tell […]
Why Solid Edge matters, part 2: It’s the best SolidWorks alternative
Solid Edge ST5 is an exceptionally competent CAD system. If you’re looking for a new CAD system, based solely on its merits, Solid Edge should be on your list of tools to consider. Yet, there is one case where Solid Edge is not just an alternative, but is the obvious alternative. And that is if […]
SolidWorks V6 is not SolidWorks
Two years ago, at SolidWorks World (the show) SolidWorks (the company) showed what appeared to be the next generation of SolidWorks (the software): SolidWorks V6 (also software.) SolidWorks (the company) got major flak from bloggers concerned that SolidWorks V6 (the software) would replace SolidWorks (the software.) This year, at SolidWorks World (the show), Dassault Systèmes […]
Michigan Autonomous Aerial Vehicle robots take flight
Danny Ellis was first introduced to CAD in high school with a course in Autodesk Inventor. As he advanced into the engineering program at the University of Michigan, he was introduced to CATIA. “In between my freshman and sophomore years, I became irritated at how cumbersome it was to rotate a model using a traditional […]
Ice Dream: Towing an iceberg for fresh water
“With the world’s water resources projected to diminish by one third in the next two decades, providing pure water to an ever- increasing world population is vital,” Mougin explained. To Mougin and Mauviel, one solution would be to transport icebergs to areas that lack fresh water for drinking and even cooling purposes. The scientific challenges […]
New software slated to change the workplace
CAD software vendors have touted product usability for a long time. However, they haven’t really delivered on that promise until recently. There were a few software debuts in 2011 that changed that premise. True user usability could lead to a broader CAD audience and a bigger market share. The product development team at PTC came […]
Sea monster of a yacht
The Volvo Ocean Race for 2011-2012 includes 70-ft Mar Mosto, the “Monster of the Sea” entry. Designed by Juan Yacht Design of Valencia, Spain and constructed at New England Boatworks in Portsmouth, RI, the mono-hull was created to sail around the world and face extreme conditions. The yacht weighs approximately 15 tons and will reach […]
Software for manufacturing
Sigmasoft simulates the following processes: filling, packing, cooling, venting, shrinkage, warpage, stress, ejection, post molding, hot runners, multi-cycle, multi-component, and insert over-molding. Sigmasoft filling and packing simulation predicts temperatures, pressures, velocities, crystallization, and shearing at any location at any time to determine manufacturability and ensure a balanced mold design. Weld lines, sink marks, voids, and […]
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