Solid Edge 3D CAD Software

Solid Edge and Femap Apps

2011-08-19T23:29:00.000+07:00

Leading companies use Femap to analyze complex engineering problems and accelerate design. Other simulation tools either don’t offer enough capabilities to simulate real-life engineering problems, or haven’t kept up with the latest technology.

CAD-embedded simulation tools don’t provide analysis capabilities that are broad enough to simulate the real-life, complex engineering problems that you are faced with. Standalone, legacy Unix-based solutions that have been available in the market for a long time are showing signs of neglect, and are long overdue for replacement. Femap provides powerful and deep analysis capabilities in a modern, highly customizable and intuitive framework that is continually updated to keep up with the latest simulation technology. Implementing Femap can help improve overall productivity and simulation accuracy, as well as reduce turnaround times.

Case Study
Fatigue analysis for the rest of us

"Femap’s API enabled efficient integration of stress analysis and fatigue life prediction"

Durability by design

FatigueWizard Ltd. was launched in 1996 to provide the engineering community with a better option for evaluating fatigue life. Traditionally, fatigue analysis software has been very expensive and difficult to use, restricting it to the province of “fatigue gurus,” even though fatigue failures are a serious design concern.

“With the widespread use of FEA it is rare now to see static failures due to instant overload,” explains Julian Holt, FatigueWizard co-founder. “It is more likely that failure will occur because of repeated loading over time. Estimates vary, but it is accepted that between 60 to 90 percent of engineering failures now occur because of some form of fatigue failure.”

Holt, along with FatigueWizard cofounder Mark Swindell, have performed finite element analysis (FEA) and durability analysis for more than 30 years. Being “fatigue gurus” themselves, Holt and Swindell decided to expand the accessibility of fatigue analysis by creating software that the average engineer could use to perform sophisticated and accurate fatigue life predictions. “Our aim is to remove the misunderstanding that fatigue life calculation is the privilege of the few,” Holt adds. “We believe that it should be and can be carried out by any CAE engineer.”

Integrated with Femap

The program they created (also called FatigueWizard) is much more sophisticated than hand calculations but easier to perform. It was designed to be used as a routine step after running a stress analysis. For this reason, FatigueWizard is tightly integrated with existing FEA software such as the Femap® solution from Siemens PLM Software, which is the founders’ preferred FEA pre and post-processor. “We use Femap for all of our consulting work,” Holts adds. “It’s superior for the type of work we do, which is currently a lot of modeling where we’re working with surface models of thin-walled structures. Femap is particularly good at handling that type of data.”

The FatigueWizard program launches from within Femap (users see a button on the Femap screen that says “FatigueWizard”). The Femap data is converted to FatigueWizard data, the fatigue analysis runs, and the results are converted back to Femap and displayed on the Femap screen. All this back-and-forth between the two programs is transparent to the user, of course. Integrating FatigueWizard with Femap was a straight-forward endeavor, says Holt, thanks to Femap’s application programming interface (API). “Femap has a good API. It’s easy to use,” he notes.

Not for specialists only

One of the most important requirements in the on-going development of FatigueWizard is that it is intuitive to use. “What we want is for someone who is skilled at standard linear static analysis to be able to use FatigueWizard without any training. It has to be totally intuitive,” says Holt. Another requirement is a reasonable price. “We want FatigueWizard to be affordable for the one-man consultancy,” he adds.

In this respect, the integration with Femap is a nice fit, since ease of use and affordability are also characteristics of the Femap program. In fact, these are two of the main reasons why Holt and Swindell use Femap on the consulting side of their business. “After switching to Femap we realized we were able to work faster,” Holt says. “One of our main clients also switched to Femap and has noticed the same thing. They tell us Femap paid for itself in just six months by letting them get more work done in a given period of time.”

As a software developer, one of the things Holt appreciates about Femap is the development team behind the program. “It’s like with us and FatigueWizard,” he explains. “Femap is obviously written by people who know and use FEA.With some other systems, you get the feeling the developers are software people who’ve done a little FEA. Femap’s developers really know the field.

“I’ve been doing FEA for 20 years and have used all the high-end programs,” Holt concludes,“Femap is brilliant. It’s a very high-end system and very cost-competitive considering what it can do.”

Faster modeling accelerates Powerwing redesign with Solid Edge 3D CAD Software

2011-05-29T20:58:00.000+07:00

"Two to three times faster than traditional solid modeling, Solid Edge with synchronous technology speeds the conversion of a steel assembly to a molded plastic part."
Razor USA LLC

In only eight years, Razor USA LLC has grown from an upstart company with a single product to an established earner with lineup of more than 30 human and electric-powered toys. The company’s successful diversification can be seen in its revenues. Sales in 2001 were $20 million; sales in 2007 were $200 million. “The struggle for our company in the early years was to capitalize on the popularity of the original scooter while expanding the product line so there was less reliance on a single item,” explains Bob Hadley, the company’s product development manager. “We accomplished that, but our challenge now is to continually upgrade the product line with more items to maintain growth.”

Bringing a new product to market at Razor is a process of considering as many as 100 ideas each year, then narrowing that list down to 15 to 20 to develop more fully. Of those, one, two or possibly three might actually make it to market. “In our industry it’s important to be able to vet out design ideas as quickly as possible,” Hadley says. Today the company has even more advanced technology for doing that – Solid Edge software with synchronous technology.

Better for complex parts

Razor is not new to Solid Edge, having migrated from 2D AutoCAD to Solid Edge in the early 2000s. This was driven by the need for better communication with manufacturers in China. The superior visualization made possible by 3D assembly models, and the fact that the Chinese companies could work directly from Solid Edge geometry, alleviated the errors caused previously by miscommunication. The move to Solid Edge also helped Razor evolve from a one-product phenomenon to the extensive product line it has today.

“By allowing us to do upfront development about 50 percent faster compared to 2D, Solid Edge got us to where we could make faster decisions about which concepts to bring to market,” Hadley says. “With Solid Edge, we were able to introduce at least two or three times as many as new products each year as we could previously.”

When Solid Edge with synchronous technology became available, Razor was one of the first companies to adopt it. “I loaded Solid Edge with synchronous technology and after a few hours of training I was modeling parts,” says Hadley. “If you’re used to 3D, synchronous technology is a different way of thinking at first but once you get used to it, you’re off and running.”

One of the first things Hadley modeled was a complicated structural plastic part for the Razor Powerwing™, a caster-driven scooter that people propel by shifting their weight from side to side. The original part was a welded steel assembly; Hadley was converting it to an injection molded plastic part to lower the cost and improve manufacturability. “A part like this with deep rib sections and multiple drafted faces typically takes at least a week using conventional solid modeling methods. With a traditional 2D CAD package, it would take a month if you could even do it. But I was able to model it in just two days using Solid Edge with synchronous technology.”

Faster design changes

Another advantage of Solid Edge with synchronous technology came later, when Hadley was working with a mold maker to fine-tune the part’s rib structure. He estimates that they went back and forth at least 10 times. Because he had originally modeled the part using synchronous technology, what previously would have been very time-consuming changes were done almost effortlessly. “With structural molded designs, you frequently need to reposition and reestablish your web intersections,” he explains. “With traditional solid modeling, you erase everything and start over, and it can take two to three hours to reposition a rib structure. With synchronous technology you just grab the faces you want and drag them into position and they go there. You can reposition any number of faces or features in about five seconds.

“With synchronous technology, each feature is not dependent on when it was created or where in the model it was created,” Hadley continues. “This will come into play for us on just about every model since changes are the natural order of things.” Overall, Hadley estimates that synchronous technology speeds the design process by a factor of two or three compared to traditional solid modeling.

In addition, he has noticed another, unanticipated benefit of Solid Edge with synchronous technology. It has converted the remaining 2D AutoCAD user at Razor to 3D. “Since there are no complex history rules or modeling strategies to learn, he picked it up very easily,” Hadley notes. “In just a few weeks he’s already cranking out designs left and right. He’s just incredibly excited about finally joining the 3D club!

Source: http://www.plm.automation.siemens.com/en_us/about_us/success/case_study.cfm?Component=30503&ComponentTemplate=1481

Use of 3D CAD Modeling in Mechanical Engineering Design

2011-03-28T20:00:00.000+07:00

The primary focus of 3D CAD Modeling is to develop highly accurate specifications and detailed drawings for manufacturing and construction purposes. The developer needs different 3D computer applications for design, detailing, drawing and manufacturing process. 3D CAD modeling allows for reuse of CAD data which positively impacts productivity, delivery schedules and eventually profitability.

3D CAD techniques have gained significant popularity because design data can often be reused across various stages of the manufacturing life-cycle. Each CAD system comes with proprietary file formats which need to be made compatible with other project software. By and large designers use STEP and IGES files to make 3D solid models compatible with other systems. The disadvantage of this practice is the extensive rework, significant delay, inefficient use of critical human resources and increased costs.

Powerful CAD systems such as AutoCAD 2010, Microstation and SolidWorks provide native 3D models to optimize data exchange effectiveness and quality. This practice results in less rework, better productivity and higher data integrity allowing the designer to save hundreds of man-hours. Further, all these systems come with routine updates to ensure compatibility with latest CAD software releases.

Every CAD platform has a unique way of representing 3D geometry for a given manufacturing design. If you try to open a 3D model in other application then you see some discrepancies in terms of white spaces, gaps, miss-alignment, etc - diluting the actual design intent. AutoCAD 2010 quickly and easily makes adjustments to optimize the models and removes all these differences well before the file get translated.

AutoCAD mechanical interface embeds optimization tools, automated repair modules and compliance with latest industry standards to offer its users easy-to-understand, fast and highly accurate 3D CAD translations. Organizations can purchase main suit and add-ons for a nominal fee to make their systems up-to-date for future use. This kind of scalability results in greater return of investment (ROI) and can win more business for the organization. AutoCAD and SolidWorks has found their extensive use across a wide variety of industries such as manufacturing, automobiles and machineries and helps mechanical designers, product developers and mold makers benefits of low cost and quicker turn around times.

Source : http://goarticles.com/article/Use-of-3D-CAD-Modeling-in-Mechanical-Engineering-Design/3946802/

CNC And CAD - Computer Aided Design

2011-03-16T16:23:00.002+07:00

CAD stands for Computer Aided Design or Computer Aided Drafting. CAD was developed in the early 60s. Today it is the premier way to design, develop and optimized products. People use CAD every day to design virtually every product you see. Generally, designers use CAD to design a product, and then produce prints to manufacture that product. A print is a picture of a part or assembly that is very exact. It includes the dimensions and a parts list used to manufacture a product.

CAD is the use of computer based software packages that assist engineers, architects and other design professionals in their designs. CAD is the part of the main designing process and involves both software and sometimes hardware. Current software packages range from 2D vector based drafting systems to 3D solid and surface modelers.

Computer Aided Drafting software packages can generally be broken into two groups. The groups are 2-D drafting packages or 3-D drafting packages. Most all software packages are moving to 3-D design. 3-D design is really the next generation of CAD. Utilizing 3-D design, engineers can make a model of their product. They can then look over this model for any apparent defects before it is ever made.

CAD is used to design, develop and optimize products. CAD is mainly used for the engineering of models and/or drawings of components. It is also used throughout the engineering process from concept to design of products. These products can be used by end consumers or used in other products. For example, you can design a bolt in CAD, and then use it in a Sub-Assembly in a planetary, which is a part of an earth-moving machine. CAD is also used in the design of tools and machinery. Finally, it is used in the design of all types of buildings from sheds to shopping malls.

CNC And CAD Software - How Do I Choose The Right CAD Program For Me?

2011-03-15T15:20:00.002+07:00

There are multiple CAD programs available for design. Generally people become familiar with one and stick with it. As far as selecting the right one, my advice is this. Most software companies have a free trial. Thirty-day trials are common. Take advantage of these trial periods and test the software out. Then at the end, decide if you want to try another software or stick with your best one. I would advise you try out at least three different packages.

The one you select will probably have to do with you liking the interface or finding it intuitive. Keep in mind it may work for you now. A simple to use and understand interface probably has some limitations for your designs. The very best programs are complex with many tools that give you the most control. I have found that I start with a simple program and outgrow it. At some point I move up to the next level of software. This usually means a higher price as well.

Types of CAD

There are different types of CAD out there. These are the ones I deal with from time to time. 2D CAD, 2.5D CAD, and 3D CAD. Here are some quick explanations of each type.

2D CAD

2D CAD is generally on the low end of CAD software packages. 2D CAD is most often vector based. The design consists on the X and Y-axis only. The designs are made up of lines, circles, ovals, slots, curves, etc. There is no “depth” to the design. Only the outline of the part is visible, to put it in a different way.

2.5D CAD

All of the same descriptions above apply, but the design is prismatic. By that I mean it has the depth of the material. There are Z levels, but they are on singular planes.

3D CAD

3D CAD is on the high end of CAD software packages. 3D CAD can be solid based, wire frame based or nurbs based. The design consists on the X, Y and Z-axis. The designs are made up of lines, circles, ovals, slots, curves, etc, but can also include Spheres, Pyramids, Torrids, Cubes, etc. There is depth to the design. The design can be rotated around 360 degrees. The design is an accurate description of what the part would look like if produced in the real world.

CAD Services in a better way

2011-03-14T15:16:00.002+07:00

First of all, let’s have a brief introduction of CAD Services. Computer Aided Design (CAD) service is a type of computer-based tool, which can be used for drafting and designing related services. CAD is used in a wide range of designing fields such as architecture, mechanics and electronics. These CAD services enable a user to prepare faster and accurate drawings with flexibility in the drawing process. It also allows a user to modify dimensions with least efforts.

CAD has many built-in features and helps in giving simple and easy accessibility to the user. CAD can be identified as a user friendly computer based services used for all 2D and 3D modeling purposes. Some of the services from CAD are: AutoCad drafting, cad drafting services, CAD Outsourcing, 2D modeling, 3d modeling, animation, CAD Conversion, mechanical drafting and design, architectural cad drafting and design. These services can also be utilized to design machinery and various other tools. This is useful for engineers, architects, advertising designers and 2D as well as 3D animation professionals. Architectural CAD Drafting and design would literally mean architectural drawing on Computer and getting your architectural drawing done in Digitized format. When it comes to designing of buildings, CAD is used in architecture as an efficient tool for designing all types of buildings. CAD can also be used by consumers in designing and developing various products. It can also be used as a mediator in other products. It is very useful in engineering processes to create conceptual designs and layout analyses of components in manufacturing methods.

Now when talking about CAD drafting software, CAD drafting software is used mostly for developing architectural and complex machine designs or drawings. CAD drafting software has all the primary features available in commonly used engineering CAD software. The most eminent characteristic of this type of software is that it allows users to differentiate components that is, to mark different components of a design with different color combination provided with the software.

This helps in reducing product design time and improves the effectiveness of the designed products. Nowadays, the most advanced CAD drafting software available in the industry can support up to sixteen million color variations. Moreover the graphic user interface (GUI) provided with the software continuously prompts the user to color each and every new component that is added to the design products.

CAD Design Process - CNC Process

2011-03-13T19:14:00.000+07:00

CAD Design Process

When designing something complex in CAD you will find there is a bit of a process. First you design parts. Then you build the parts into Sub-Assemblies. Next you build sub-assemblies into Groups. Then you build the groups into the machine. It is a logical pyramid process. You can also think of it like a file structure inside of a computer.

Designing Parts

Parts are your building blocks. Without this level, nothing could be produced. The part level breaks the entire “thing” down to its simplest form. You also manufacture at the part level. You make parts, and then assemble them into other things. Parts are generally made out of raw materials.

Think of a differential on the rear axle of a car. The differential is made up of gears and a housing. Each of these are parts of the differential and the differential is the assembly of these parts.

Designing Sub Assemblies

Sub Assemblies are the next level up and I am guessing you are getting the idea. You first design parts, then put them together into sub assemblies. In the car example above the differential is a sub assembly in the axle “Group” of the car. Sub Assemblies are put together to form groups.

Designing Groups

Moving up the design chain, groups are usually things you can identify with. It could be a door, engine, transmission, or cooling package on a car. Above we used the example of an Axle as a Group. Groups are put together into machines. Our example is a car, which is at the machine level.

Designing the Machine

Finally, the top level of all your designing, the machine. The machine could be built for the end user or be sold to another manufacturer. That manufacturer could use your “machine” as a sub assembly or group. You can see all this is just a matter of viewpoint. You can consider just about anything a sub assembly, group or final machine. It is all just semantics and what you are using the item for.

6 Things to Look For While Shopping CAD-CAM Software

2011-03-07T21:59:00.000+07:00

CAD/CAM software is not needed by everyone. Only the specialized people can use it and it is used for special purposes only. Generally the manufacturing industry is the user of CAD/CAM products and the designers who design the products produced by these industries use CAD. When going for such software, the buyers often get attracted by the various new tools, objects, etc and in the process they lose their objective about what they need the software for.

You should also see that you do not need to change your existing set up for the software. The best software is that which fits into your existing set up without disturbing your production and business. This is especially true for the CAM software. The software must have the ability to match with your existing software and all the software that you may procure in the future. This means that your new CAD/CAM software should be able to handle all the incoming data and match the outgoing data with your existing software.

Next the question is how flexible is the software in relation to further development. Remember that this software is costly one. You do not intend to restrict your business just because you do not have the money to buy new products. So you should be able to incorporate new modules at negligible cost. Your software must grow with your business as and when necessary.

You should also be able to upgrade the software without any glitches and with minimum cost if not free. If you are not sure, then ask your vendor to get the terms regarding upgrade. Make sure that you get software where there are no hidden costs in the post purchase stage. The support should be very efficient and any bugs must be fixed at once.

Most of the times, the software is bought from the resellers. So the responsibility starts from here but often the resellers pass the buck to the developers and this causes delay and confusion. So you should get your software from a well known reseller who has the reputation of acting as a bridge between the developer and the customer. Since the software is costly, you can shop for financing or a lease. They may sound new to you but it is getting popular.

10 Tips For Choosing Software and Software Leasing Solutions

There is software available for all types of jobs and purposes. So it will not be very difficult to find software for the job you do. There is software for tax calculation and managing businesses, financing software, accounting software, designing software and many more uses, one for almost any job you can think of.

So when choosing software, see if the following tips help you.

1. First determine the purpose for getting the software and the volume and nature of work that you want to do with it.

2. The next thing that should determine the acceptability of the software is the ease of use. Get information about its user friendliness before deciding upon any software.

3. But user friendly software may not always be pocket friendly. Actually the software is priced on the number of users who are supposed to use it. So get one according to your volume of work.

4. Sometimes some software is costly because they carry many facilities. In such cases you will have to decide whether you want so many features or the basics will do.

5. Ask whether the software can be customized to greater demands in case your business needs them as it grows and the cost of such improvements.

6. If you have to pay a good amount for software then you should also get after sales services including on-site and off-site services. When you choose software, read the fine print and see what you are getting in the package. Sometimes the companies charge extra for customization. If your package includes that then make sure to compare the prices and facilities of similar software in the market.

7. After installation you will find bugs in the software and you will have to make sure that you do not waste time on them. Get the assurance of the turnaround time for fixing such bugs.

8. You should also get assurance from the developer about the updates and regular notifications on them.

9. Regarding support, you should get to know the hours of business and the promptness of service. Since most of the times software is used for business or important work, going without it can cause loss of valuable time.

10. Finally, you will have to decide whether you want to go for outright purchase of the software or software leasing.

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3D Modeling A to Z – What is It? How it is Done? Different Techniques Involved

2011-02-23T00:30:00.000+07:00

In this article we will look into what the 3D modeling is all about. We will see the subject in general, and then dig into the details and inspect the various techniques employed in the modeling process.

Concepts:

If you have seen a sculpture ever in your life, you already know quite a little about 3D Modeling. 3D Modeling is nothing but the creation of a character or a model having three dimensions (as in real world) using the techniques and tools provided by a computer software. The software we use for the purpose will be a 3D Modeling and animation tool like 3DS Max, Maya, SoftImage etc. The tool will provide a set of tools that a 3D artist can use to sculpt or model, an object in his imagination, into a 3d computer representation. This 3D model can be altered, animated or rendered into a movie in accordance to the artists need. This is what 3D modeling is, if we look it from a broad top view.

Lets dig a bit deeper:

Every 3D Model in computer representation is composed of polygons. The polygons may have three or more vertices and such hundreds or thousands or even millions of polygons may comprise a 3D Model. So is it like, a 3D artist draws each and every polygon as such? Fortunately, no! Here comes the softwares like 3DS Max and Maya to our rescue. These 3d modeling packages provide a wide variety of modeling tools that an artist can use for creating a polygonal model. The artist will usually draw the outlines that define the models shape in three dimensions, and the software will tesselate that into a polygonal mesh. All that an artist has to do is define the 3 dimensional profile of the character he has in his imagination. There are a number of modeling techniques that are widely used. Lets go through them one by one:

. Primitive Modeling: This is a very basic modeling technique and hence has several draw backs too. The software tool like 3DS Max, Maya etc provides a set of 3D primitives like spheres, boxes etc. The artist alters these shapes to suit his/her character modeling needs, using lattices, deformers etc. For example, a human head can be modeled using an altered sphere, a neck using an altered cylinder etc. This modeling technique is more suitable for building objects like houses, furniture etc rather than, for live organic modeling, since the shapes appear distinct and the blend of various body parts will not be seamless.

· NURBS Modeling: NURBS stands for Non Uniform Rational Bspline. Dont get scared by the name. In the nutshell, it is nothing but a mathematical curve, represented using a set of equations. If we see this modeling technique from an outer view, all we see is a set of simple curves that we call NURBS. How the 3d tool implemented it we dont need to care much (too much mathematics). These curves are very flexible and have control points on them which we can use to change its shape.

Suppose you want to model a human head using NURBS modeling, you will start with an outline shape and then draw a number of curves extending from one side of the profile shape to the other end, separated by spaces. These curves define the shape of the figure. These NURBS curves can be joined to form a 3D NURBS surface. The NURBS modeling has its advantages and disadvantages. It is an easy to model approach, since the NURBS curves are easy to manipulate. But this modeling technique has very limited extensibility. Suppose you want to add an extra limb to your alien creature after the modeling is complete, it will become extremely difficult, if you choose NURBS modeling.

· Surface Modeling: This is a widely adopted modeling technique used primarily for organic modeling. In this modeling technique, the 3D artist creates a spline cage profile for the 3D character. The splines intersect between each other, creating a completely closed profile of the character, unlike the NURBS technique. Once the spline cage is complete, the 3D artist can apply a surface modifier on this spline cage, which creates a 3D filling surface out of the 2D splines. This method has the advantage that it can be extended to adapt to varied requirements, during any stage of the modeling process. This offers a lot of flexibility to the artist. This technique is used widely in 3D animation softwares like 3DS Max.

· Polygonal Modeling: This is one of the very few modeling techniques that can be used for various modeling scenarios. This modeling technique is used both in organic and inorganic modeling. The basic principle behind this modeling technique is as follows. The 3D artist draws the shape of the model he wants to create using the polygon tool. Then the polygon will get subdivided and extruded, so that the model gets the 3D form. This process of subdividing and extruding continues until the whole model is completed. In this modeling technique the artist in fact creates a polygonal mesh himself. But this polygonal model will have the minimal number of polygons only, and it will be far from a smooth and perfect figure. After this stage, the artist would apply a smoothing modifier on this polygon model, which converts the model into a realistic and smooth looking character.

· Sub-division Modeling: This is a hybrid modeling technique, which inherits the merits of both NURBS modeling and Polygonal Modeling. It also offers a host of other enhancements. In sub-divisional modeling, the artist usually starts with a polygonal model itself. The polygonal model that has been already created is converted into a sub-divisional model. The sub-divisional model has control points and lattices that can be pulled and moved, to alter the original polygonal model that lies beneath. This modeling technique also permits the artist to select the level of refinement to be done in a particular area. Hence those areas requiring higher detail can be assigned with more control points and higher no: of vertices, whereas the other areas will remain with a base vertex density. This gives significant performance boost.

Conclusion:

The above discussed modeling techniques are used by the 3d artist to create a model that he has in his imagination. The model obtained through these modeling techniques will be dependent on that specific modeling technique. Such a model is converted into a pure polygonal mesh and is rigged and animated based on the requirements. During the stage called rendering, the scene which contains many such polygonal models, gets converted to a two dimensional image or a movie by the 3D animation softwares rendering engine.

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Simple, Easy CAD Software Home Design - A Look at Some of the Best in the Biz

2011-01-02T10:33:00.000+07:00

There is definitely a lot of CAD software in the market today that can be very effective in home design. What remains to be the industry leader today is AutoCAD and the latest release, AutoCAD 2009, is truly one of the best in the business. It has hundreds of different features on board that all aim to increase productivity, as well as make the entire drafting process a breeze. It also happens to be compatible with Windows Vista as it takes advantage of some of the capabilities of this latest Microsoft operating system.

However, there are more CAD software available out there. In fact, some of them might even provide better functions than AutoCAD. It all depends on a user's needs, as well as his specific situation. Nevertheless, here are three of the more popular CAD software home design programs that are both simple and easy to use.

SolidWorks 3D CAD

SolidWorkds 3d CAD is a program that is part of the SolidWorks Office Professional software. It offers a full range of CAD production tools, as well as full 3D MCAD support. Also included in the kit is a handy product data management feature called PDMWorks which is a unique solution for all product data tasks, may it be for an individual or the workgroup. Two other main features of this particular CAD program are MotionManager (timeline that controls springs, gravity, and motors based on time) and CommandManager (an embedded layout menu that facilitates advanced customization).

TurboCAD Pro 14 Platinum Edition

Another handy CAD software is TurboCAD Pro 14 Platinum Edition. This is probably one of the best applications in the market in terms of design productivity and power. It also makes use of the most advanced tools for both architectural and mechanical designs. Aside from 2D drafting, ACIS solid modeling and 3D surface support is also on board this program. The photorealistic rendering provided by LightWorks is a great addition as it provides visual results that are like no other. TurboCAD Pro 14's expansive library of architectural object types are almost limitless as it includes hundreds of different types of railings, stairs, windows, and doors.

Solid Edge

One powerful CAD program that works well for all types of manufacturing companies is Solid Edge. What makes this particular product stand out is its ability to convert the complexity of design into a very manageable and fully integrated discipline. In fact, Solid Edge is the only modern home design software that integrates various design management functions to the everyday CAD tools used in the industry. This is truly an excellent choice for designers of all skill levels.

Find out more info at Home Design Software Guide to buy software visit Home Design Software.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Robert_Diarioti

Solid Edge ST3

2010-12-18T10:47:00.000+07:00

Synchronous Technology: Fulfilling the Vision with Solid Edge ST3

Synchronous technology is the only solution that can accelerate design creation by eliminating design pre-planning, speed engineering change orders (ECOs) by eliminating model regeneration, and improve reuse by editing imported computer-aided design (CAD) data like native models.

Solid Edge ST3 brings all assembly applications − such as piping, frames, wiring and assembly features − to synchronous users. Synchronous assembly designs with part-to-part associativity can be established before, during, or after the modeling process, even to imported parts. With these enhancements, complete synchronous-based digital prototypes can be created, all without design pre-planning.

Solid Edge ST3 integrates synchronous and ordered features into a single environment. Designers can use the synchronous features for accelerated design, flexible edits and improved imported design reuse, but add ordered features (traditional) for designing process-type parts such as cast/machine. Ordered features in existing models can be selectively moved to synchronous, letting designers preserve workflows but leverage the power of synchronous technology easier than ever.

Solid Edge ST3 users can now make better use of imported 3D models. Manufacturing dimensions on 2D drawings − such as distance between holes and overall height − can be automatically transferred to the 3D model. The resulting 3D dimensions are editable and let designers change what's important. This new enhancement is ideal when moving entire 3D data to Solid Edge using the built-in bulk migration tools.

Engineering Simulation for More Real-World Conditions with Solid Edge ST3 Engineering Simulation

Solid Edge Simulation includes more enhanced load and constraint types, model simplification for faster simulations, and synchronous technology for speeding design iterations.

Today’s designers are always looking for ways to design successful products without having to build and test prototypes. Solid Edge Simulation is a built-in analysis tool that lets engineers define and test designs as digital prototypes before production. From Solid Edge Simulation Express to Solid Edge Simulation to Femap, Solid Edge ST3 further reduces the need for physical prototypes by providing more engineering simulation capabilities for both existing and synchronous-based designs.

New digital prototyping capabilities let designers simulate torque, bearings, and how parts are bolted together. Solid Edge ST3 lets designers simulate parts faster with model simplification that hides unnecessary features such as rounds, holes, fillets, etc. When design refinements are needed, synchronous technology allows fast, flexible change.

Integrated CAD Data Management with Solid Edge ST3 Integrated Data Management Solution

Improved collaboration, through Solid Edge Insight™ on Microsoft SharePoint 2010 and Teamcenter Express integrated CAD data management solutions, provides transparent task and data management and integrates design data and processes with key business processes for a wider range of users.

Design data management inside Solid Edge is more than searching and vaulting; it includes project management and business reporting. Solid Edge Insight™, now on Microsoft® SharePoint™ 2010, links computer-aided design (CAD) data to business processes. Released in 2001, Insight was the first Microsoft SharePoint-based CAD data management tool, and today is successfully used by thousands of customers. In this release, Solid Edge Insight takes advantage of the latest technology in Microsoft SharePoint, such as task and project management, built-in collaboration tools, and business reporting. Users can collaborate better with customers and suppliers, manage tasks using CAD data, and estimate costs and analyze product makeup with PowerPivot.

Addressing Thousands of Customer Requests with Solid Edge ST3 Customer Requests

Solid Edge ST3 is designed by engineers for engineers, so we have improved the depth and robustness of the entire application including design, applications, drafting and usability.

With each Solid Edge release, we listen and respond to our customers’ needs. Delivered in Solid Edge ST3 are thousands of enhancements to modeling, assembly applications, the user interface (UI), draft, and CAD data management. Customers get the benefit of increased productivity across the entire product. The list below highlights just a few of the enhancements in Solid Edge ST3.

Source: http://www.plm.automation.siemens.com/en_us/products/velocity/solidedge/solidedge-st3/index.shtml

What Makes CAD Services So Popular?

2010-12-12T22:12:00.000+07:00

Computer Aided Drafting and Design (CAD) has created a revolutionary stir in the Engineering Industry. CAD Services is a very wide term and can be any domain in the field of Engineering. CAD can perform Design, Model or Detailing of any commodity, Building, Infrastructure or Industrial Equipment quickly with less turnaround time.

Today many companies specialize in providing CAD Outsourcing Services to countries off shore. Today CAD Outsourcing Services has made its worth renowned owing to its compatibility, robustness, cost effectiveness and longevity throughout the Engineering Service market. These days various companies provide Quick and Cost Effective Cad Services to global clients. Some of the CAD Services that are highly used by today's Engineering Industry are 2D Drafting Services, Building Information Modeling, 3D Modeling and Rendering Services, Animation and Walkthrough, Steel Detailing, Construction Documentation Services etc. There are a wide range of applications of Cad Services in the real estate and construction industry. CAD helps reducing time and efforts along with high precision drawings and error free designs

Apart from creation of these models using software, they can be given a photorealistic effect. We can texture and render these models to give them a photorealistic effect using textures and lighting techniques. In short CAD acts as a tool to integrate and speed up various Drafting, Designing and Detailing Processes. We can create 2D Drawings, 3D Models, and Virtual Construction Models etc using CAD software.

To sum it up, with CAD services a lot of manual labor like drafting and detailing of Building P Machinery, Electrical Equipments, Steel Structures etc, has been replaced by automated software like Auto CAD, Tekla, Revit, 3D Max, Microstation, PRO E, Inventor and many more. CAD has moved miles ahead by creating drawings and detailing, then modeling them using 3d modeling software like AutoCAD 3d, 3D Max and further REVIT(BIM) which can give us a using practical visualization of how a building will look and function after it is constructed.

Distance, Language Barrier and lack of knowledge in international standards may pose as a major hurdle in development of CAD Services. A lot of countries are not able to provide Services in the field of CAD due to these barriers. However, India has got highly skilled and experienced CAD Professionals who possess expertise in latest CAD Software like AutoCAD, Revit (Modeling and BIM) 3D Max etc along with knowledge of International CAD Standards and powerful language skills. A lot of Companies in India provide cost effective and time bound CAD Services across the world. India also is a very cost effective destination for construction companies, Architectural Firms and Fabricators based overseas.

For any query related 3D & 2D Drafting Services, CAD Services or Building Information Modeling Services email us at info@caddoutsourcingservices.com

Mark Gourge is CAD Specialist at Cad Outsourcing Services provides CAD Services, Architectural, Structural, Steel Detailing Services, CAD Drafting Services at competitive rates across the globe.

To view project samples & for free quote please visit http://www.caddoutsourcingservices.com

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Mark_Gourge

Reverse Engineering Software For CAD Reverse Engineering

2010-12-11T20:54:00.000+07:00

The reverse engineering software is used to create complete CAD (Computer Aided Designs) models directly from the scanned data. There are various reverse engineering software available which facilitate the users to generate complex parametric models from the scanned data with ease. These software have a set of featured tools designed specifically to address the unique requirements of reverse engineering, ensuring that the finished redesigned model is built within user-defined requirements. These software include:-

Rapidform XOR2
It is used for designing parametric CAD models from 3D (Dimensional) scan data. It is used to create fully editable solid & surface models directly from 3D scan data. This scanned data can be opened in SolidWorks, Pro/E and Unigraphics NX with complete feature tree data intact (with CATIA V5 interfaces on the way). Rapidform XOR2 also offers quick auto-surfacing for converting polygon mesh models into NURBS surface models.

Geomagic Studio 10
It provides the industries easiest and most instinctive interface to generate NURBS (Non-uniform rational B-spline) models from the scanned data. The advantage of using the software is that it generates CAD data of free form shapes and non parametric models. It also provides quick conversion of scanned data to CAD. It is versatile in nature and is user friendly.

Metris Focus
It allows the artists to convert the scanned physical models into CAD models & digital forms. It provides Real-time update of mesh, curves or surfaces while modification is done. It also has advance feature detection tools. It provides the creation of curves over the missing data.

The advantages of these Reverse Engineering Software can be taken to provide highly finished design models.

EMS USA supplier of 3D scanners, 3D Printers, Reverse Engineering Software and 3D scanner software offers reverse engineering services, high-quality 3D laser scanning and rapid prototyping services, and rapid manufacturing systems.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Jon_T_Smith

Design With 3D CAD Models

2010-12-04T09:09:00.000+07:00

Designing products with 3D CAD data has many benefits compared to previous designs in 2D format. Advances in technology, and interfacing the data with other processes allow the following benefits:-

(1) There are many different programs that can be used when designing in 3D. Some of these programs such as solidworks, autocad and pro-engineer are formatted such that they can read and use each others data to create there own files. This is beneficial as the different programs have strengths and weakness with their processing and manipulation of the data.

(2) Design data can be imported into machining centres that enables direct part manufacture so that the designs can be evaluated, or used in full production process. It also allows for tooling cavities to be machined for tooling dies to be used in die casting or plastics moulding.

(3) Design data can also be used to manufacture rapid prototypes or 3D prints. These rapid prototypes can then be used to evaluate the design, by checking clearances in assemblies, the functionality and full movements, and the aesthetics of the design. Once the design has been proven, tooling can then be machined from the data

(4) Significant cost savings can be achieved from evaluating a design in 3D. Once the design has been evaluated and proven, tooling can be machined from the data, which will give the correct sizes post manufacture. With older technology, tooling would require modification to achieve correct sizing, and repeatability of sizing for multiple cavitation could not be guaranteed. This all added cost to the final design of the product.

3D CAD design has become essential for companies to remain competitive in industry, especially with continual technology advances.

Discover more information about 3D CAD design, mechanical design, and plastic product design by visiting, http://www.3dplasticdesign.com

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Stuart_Grigsby

3D Designer

2010-11-26T08:00:00.000+07:00

A 3D Designer uses special CAD computer software to develop 3D designs. CAD or computer aided drafting is the primary way drafters create 3D models. This is done by reading a set of 2D blueprints and transferring the information with special tools within the CAD software. This task is known as CAD conversion because it converts 2D lines into 3D models. It takes a CAD drafting service to render these 3D drawings. They can cover such fields as architecture, mechanical drafting, civil drafting, and more.

The 3D designer must be fluent with CAD software, and that is why most of them have had education provided by college. This software must be operated by someone who has had training in the drafting field whether an architect or mechanical engineer. If your in the design industry more than likely you learned to operate CAD, and create 3D designs. The days of slaving over drafting boards is over, and the days of technology making our designs more accurate and precise is here. This new technology with CAD software allows designs to be less costly when manufacturing, and more safe to consumers purchasing a product.

The 3D designer is a new breed of drafter who uses special computer software to design 3D models. CAD conversion from 2D blueprints to 3D models is the design standard within the drafting field. This can be done with a CAD drafting service who can be found online or locally. All you need to do is type CAD drafting into your search engine online, and you should get plenty of results. If you would like to learn more about CAD drafting services please visit http://www.elinedesign.com

Christopher Clay Bowling - Website- http://www.elinedesign.com. The only website online dedicated to quick, accurate, and low priced drafting on the web. There is no project too small or to big and complex for my company, we'll work with you under any situation. So for your chance to be exposed to this newest and exciting technology please visit my site.

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Working With Advanced 3D CAD Software

2010-11-13T00:30:00.000+07:00

3D CAD is the most efficient, comprehensive construction design drafting software. It's unequaled for dealing with the realities of massive design specification requirements and can handle workloads requiring extreme accuracy in all stages of construction. Top of the range CAD drafting software is the best, most efficient and reliable option for any form of construction design.

3D CAD and organizing major workloads

One of the greatest advantages of 3D drafting software is its sheer computing power and flexibility. This highly advanced software has evolved as a direct result of a very healthy practical interaction between software developers and construction engineering professionals.

The result has been a fully integrated, highly efficient software design approach that can handle the huge data inputs in some construction design projects, in depth and in detail. The software also automatically provides comprehensive organization of data and the ability to work with multiple requirements in terms of reporting functions.

Integrated management of designs

On major jobs, integration of designs can be a big issue for managers. A big project may involve integration of hundreds of design elements, all separate plans and designs created to specifications. It's essential to have all design elements organized and accessible at management level. Every aspect of a major project can be integrated efficiently, even on the extremely demanding formal design basis.

Computer aided drafting software

The drafting stage is the most vital part of formal design. There are no margins for error when these plans come under expert scrutiny from construction professionals. This is also a very labor-intensive and time-consuming process, where efficiency and accuracy are the primary drivers.

Structural drafting and engineering software must be able to produce high quality work at top professional standards. (Tekla structures are a good example for reference regarding the quality requirements of this work. You can see why it's so important to ensure this standard at a glance.)

Working with multiple design elements

"Multiple design elements" is almost a euphemism for the complex interaction of design elements in construction. The interface between design elements is crucial to construction design. These elements must interact perfectly for construction purposes. Even minor errors can become expensive problems, if they don't.

3D CAD naturally operates to prevent design element conflicts. Working with an integrated 3D CAD design permits absolute control of design elements. Element A and Element B can be designed separately, but put together as integrated elements using the same software and ensuring exact matches between elements. The error factor is completely and systematically eliminated.

Management solutions with 3D CAD

3D CAD is a working solution to the realities of complex construction design issues. 3D drafting software has huge advantages in this regard. Working with integrated 3D software can provide individual elements, design interfaces, and complete details of each design element with a click.

Managers have full direct access and control of each part of the project, from a fully integrated plan right down to component level. It's a winning combination.

Pacific Computing is the exclusive distributor in Aust and NZ of Tekla Structures 3D modelling construction software for structural detailing and drafting. For more information and to view our range of products, visit Construction Software.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Paul_P_McLeod

3D CAD Models

2010-10-31T00:17:00.000+07:00

3D CAD models are created by CAD drafting services that specialize in 3D Modeling. These companies more times than most are in the mechanical drawing field because they deal with mechanical parts that must be 3D modeled with special software. Architect's are now starting to use CAD software that is extremely similar in quite a few ways. For instance, you can create 3D walls and door's by selecting which dimensions you want and inserting them into the CAD drafting software. It will instantly create a wall with an exact width, length, and height.

Technology is really starting to catch on when it comes to design and designing 3D CAD models. You can actually design something on CAD like a gear for instance. Send the drawing file to a special shop that has CNC machines made specifically for machine parts, and have it created in an instant. This could be used for any number of things like parts on the space shuttle, or what about a bicycle frame. The limitations to 3D CAD models are basically limitless. Anything the mind can imagine, can be designed with this CAD drafting tool, and nothing is out of reach. The only thing holding someone back from designing any 3D CAD model they want is their imagination.

3D CAD modeling has taken over the days of the ordinary draftsmen and his drafting table. With an array of tools at the fingertips of the CAD drafter the drafting board doesn't have a chance. Believe me though I'm not extremely excited or anything, I actually grew up using one of these and that's the reason why I'm in the drafting field now. Technology with 3D CAD models is just going to get more advanced, and user friendly as time goes on, and more sophisticated designs will be produced at the same time. If you would like to learn more about CAD drafting services visit eLine Design.

Christopher Clay Bowling
Website- http://www.elinedesign.com
E-mail thearchitectsolution@yahoo.com

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Benefits of Using 3D CAD Design & 3D Modeling Compared to 2D Method

2010-10-16T19:06:00.000+07:00

There are several key benefits of using 3D CAD design and CAD 3D modeling in Civil, Mechanical and Architectural industry. Key benefits include simplicity, automation and interactive analysis. Integrating CAD systems with Enterprise Resource Planning systems create highly efficient design process across organization.
Using 3D CAD modeling engineer can greatly improve design quality because it is far more comprehensive process than 2D design. Hence, many human errors that can occur with conventional 2D design methods are avoided. The designer who uses 2D method has to hold much of the information mentally. With 3D environment he/she can visualize whole structure or product with real-life simulation and can avoid errors such as member collisions and incorrect quantities. Reducing human errors minimizes the need for re-work, improves overall design quality and saves costs.

With 2D views, projections might show a specific member in several different views while other members might be completely omitted to maintain drawing precision. This results in poor quantity estimation. With 3D design modeling material estimation process becomes simple because items are represented as they occur in the design. As long as a CAD 3D design is created as a true to life model, designer gets quantities with exact accuracy.

Communication of design intent among different departments is greatly improved by using 3D CAD modeling. With 2D method, non technical people have to wait for a prototype design before they can clearly understand the project. Since CAD 3D modeling generates pictorial views along with conventional projections, the design intent can clearly be understood by anyone. This helps in effectively communicate 3D modeling design and improve inter-departmental understanding earlier in the project cycle, thus saving time and minimize human errors. Customer presentations, manufacturing and technical publications all benefit from this.

A very substantial and up-to-date approach can be realized by using 3D AutoCAD modeling - particularly in the eyes of client. 3D models are increasingly being used by Manufactures, fabricators and contractors for getting accurate drawings and renderings of product/architecture/structure design.

Outsourcing 3D CAD modeling services offer many advantages such as less infrastructure, competitive edge, less cost, leverage expert help, reliability and security. That is why 3D CAD design outsourcing is the most common among AEC industry today.

Email us at info@cadoutsourcingservices.com to help you in best possible way for CAD 3D Design and Modeling related needs.

For more information visit http://www.cadoutsourcingservices.com/3d.php
Richard Bothom is member of 3D CAD Modeling team at COS - an established offshore firm offering wide range of Civil, Architectural, Mechanical modeling/design/drawings services at affordable rates. To get answers of your queries email us at info@cadoutsourcingservices.com

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Further Reading:

CAD Cam Machinery

2009-05-23T23:49:00.000+07:00

The Cad Cam machinery is based on CAD and CAM, the short of Computer Aided Design and Computer Aided Manufacturing respectively. As the term means, it simply means that the computer remote machines that can be used for the designing and the controlling of manufacturing processes purposes. The CAD and CAM machinery has its own value, it is so heavy and well equipped that it is used for the engineering and architectural purposes for drawing and sketching a really form of image making it more compatible for the technical usage. This can be explained easily that once the design is made by the CAD component, the design itself will control the machines involved in constructing that part, on the format.

Making it simple this can be explained in portions, let us first discus what does the CAD means and what machines do with CAD, as it is the short of computer aided designing, it directly signals that those machines are helpful in designing aspects, for the professionals, the engineers and for the architectural purposes. These machines are composed of special type of software and often hardware that includes the main geometry-authoring tool within the PLM process. As the CAD is the main type, according to its utility it has some different titles as well like the CADD and CAID, which defines as the computer aided designing and drafting, as the CAD is often termed as the drafting tool as well, and the computer aided industrial design and also the CAAD which means the computer aided architectural designs, these all titles tend to be similar but minor differences in the work manner have given it new names.

The new packages of CAD include the 2D vector based drafting system and the 3D parametric surface and solid design modelers. The CAD is a very useful tool for which it means a lot, it is not just a designing tool but it is high full-bodied designing tool. It is the power of computer designing sources that is merged with the heavy machinery to make it more compatible for the advanced functioning in the thermal processes, fluid flow analysis, stress analysis and shear analysis. The meaning of advanced designing is fulfilled with the use of CAD tool. It is simple to use and is highly effective, thus saving time and profiting the person who owe it. It is drastic software that is used in many purposes of work fields where time is less like CAD and CAM is used for the food processing as well to secure the speed of the production line. When it comes to the CAM, it simply means that it is helpful tools regarding manufacturing processes in definite time. It the tool that is aided by the computer in the robotic form so as to make the manufacturing purpose more enhanced. The CAM is used to make the procedure more easy and quick to make the yield in less time and less complex method.

The use of CAD and CAM together is very authentic and together they are used in different working areas to make the designing and manufacturing processes highly well suited. The CNC program is created with the CAM tool, the combination of CAD and CAM tools create a CNC program, the CAM usually comes wit the machine called lathe or chisel, the two if comes together costs very expensive that is more than $1 million. The two together offers great advantages because its accurate and focused functioning on the major and minor objects for correction, realigning and adjusting geometric positioning and aligning metric systems within it.

The CAD CAM machinery is used worldwide in schools and many organizations that create, invent or manufacture new products.

Published At: Isnare Free Articles Directory http://www.isnare.com
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CNC And CAD Software - How Do I Choose The Right CAD Program For Me?

2009-05-23T09:10:00.000+07:00

The one you select will probably have to do with you liking the interface or finding it intuitive. Keep in mind it may work for you now. A simple to use and understand interface probably has some limitations for your designs. The very best programs are complex with many tools that give you the most control. I have found that I start with a simple program and outgrow it. At some point I move up to the next level of software. This usually means a higher price as well.

Types of CAD

There are different types of CAD out there. These are the ones I deal with from time to time. 2D CAD, 2.5D CAD, and 3D CAD. Here are some quick explanations of each type.

2D CAD

2D CAD is generally on the low end of CAD software packages. 2D CAD is most often vector based. The design consists on the X and Y-axis only. The designs are made up of lines, circles, ovals, slots, curves, etc. There is no “depth” to the design. Only the outline of the part is visible, to put it in a different way.

2.5D CAD

All of the same descriptions above apply, but the design is prismatic. By that I mean it has the depth of the material. There are Z levels, but they are on singular planes.

3D CAD

3D CAD is on the high end of CAD software packages. 3D CAD can be solid based, wire frame based or nurbs based. The design consists on the X, Y and Z-axis. The designs are made up of lines, circles, ovals, slots, curves, etc, but can also include Spheres, Pyramids, Torrids, Cubes, etc. There is depth to the design. The design can be rotated around 360 degrees. The design is an accurate description of what the part would look like if produced in the real world.

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Permanent Link: http://www.isnare.com/?aid=186832&ca=Computers+and+Technology

CAD Softwares

2009-05-14T23:18:00.001+07:00

There are firms that sell products as well as services to help run a business successfully.
Computer-Aided Design or CAD meets the design requirements of speedy revisions and accurate geometry, making the process of designing very easy. CAD was first used to design and manufacture aeroplanes and now has been developed to suit the needs of any kind of designers in any field of design and have user-friendly interfaces.

Types of CAD Software:
Software developers have benefited immensely by developing various CAD software. Various CAD software offer two-dimensional designs, as well as those offer three-dimensional designs. CAD has made it possible for two people in two remote corners of the world to design and create new products using CAD software as well as the Internet. Artists, mechanical, electronics and civil engineers, architects and interior decorators use CAD software to aid in their designing process.

Designers have two kinds of CAD software to choose, either use the existing 2-D CAD software or go for more advanced 3-D CAD software. Some applications are inherently 2-D based. AutoCAD, Cadkey, CADDS 5, Medusa, and CATIA v4 are examples of 2D CAD software.

Pro/Engineer, Unigraphics NX, SolidWorks, Solid Edge, Autodesk Inventor, CoCreate Solid Designer, and VX CAD are popular 3D CAD software.

3D views are not very clear and are hard to visualize in 2D based CAD software. Hence, designers some times used a physical scaled down model of the product to make corrections and changes if necessary. This is not the case in 3D CAD software where a clear view of the product can be got aiding and quickening the design process. Making changes and corrections using 3D CAD software is easy as the design is automatically corrected, where as in 2D software the drawing may have to be recreated after changing or making corrections. 3D CAD software make it easier to identify mistakes, inaccuracy in dimensions, interferences etc. Hence, save time, energy and money. 3D CAD software designed products are reliable, fit and well designed. The time taken to design and finalize designs is significantly reduced when companies use 3D CAD software. Some software such as SolidWorks collaboration edition, 3D TeamWorks, is designed to help multiple people in different locations to work on one design using secure connections. Only a web browser and an internet connection is necessary making it possible to review designs and finalize them in real time.

It is essential for companies to analyze if they really need to upgrade to 3D CAD software, as they can be a costly and time-consuming process. While companies choose to upgrade to 3D CAD software it is essential to train personnel or hire new qualified and experienced personnel as it may take time to train existing personnel. However, it has to be acknowledged that designing industry has been helped immensely by using CAD software.

Alexander Gordon is a writer for http://www.smallbusinessconsulting.com - The Small Business Consulting Community. Sign-up for the free success steps newsletter and get our booklet valued at $24.95 for free as a special bonus. The newsletter provides daily strategies on starting and significantly growing a business.

Business Owners all across the country are joining "The Community of Small Business Owners” to receive and provide strategies, insight, tips, support and more on starting, managing, growing, and selling their businesses. As a member, you will have access to true Millionaire Business Owners who will provide strategies and tips from their real-life experiences.

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CAD for Beginners

2009-05-10T11:40:00.000+07:00

In the 21st century technology has expanded its wings in almost every sphere of knowledge and life style. Hence with the enhancement of technology has empowered Engineers and Designers to get the power to excel with CAD.

Due to the advancement of CAD (computer aided design) there is no painstaking workout of the engineers and draughts-men standing near the drawing board with a huge drafter and trying to draw their concepts.

Recreation of designs & drawings has become so easy today that it takes only an unimaginable fraction of a second. Sharing of a single platform helps the draughts man to divide the time consumption and hence increases the productivity.

A completely new drawing can be created with a base drawing and slight modification of some part of it and unlike in paper drawings where a draughts man has to redraw again the whole drawing which, consumes not only his time but also reduces productivity and interest in work.

Once converted to CAD format, the drawings can be copied any number of times, any part can be added/removed to a drawing without disturbing the original one. Various engineering data can be retrieved as well from the drawings without doing any further calculations manually.

What is CAD?

CAD is the short term for "Computer Aided Designing" or sometimes spelled as "CADD" which refers to "Computer Aided Designing and Draughting". It’s the process of conversion of design data into digital format that enable the data handling easier, quicker and safer. Through CAD technology, almost any type of designs and drawings can be done. Designers from various fields such as Engineering, Architecture, Fashion, Textile, and Graphics are now days highly dependent on CAD technologies.

CAD is a computer-assisted technology, used for making various types of graphics designs. It has inherited its base technology from Co-ordinate Geometry and Mathematics. Further developments have been made to suit different domains and their related design requirements. The basic entities used in any CAD environment are point, line, polygon and text. These entities have been further modified to create circle, ellipse, parabola, hyperbola, mesh and 3D objects like Sphere, rhombus, cube, cylinder and so on.

Software in Use

Based on the concept of CAD technology, many CAD software have been developed by software giants like Auto-desk Inc, Bentley, Dassult Systemes, Some of the leading software in the industry are Auto-CAD, Micro-station, CATIA, Pro-Engineer, Uni-graphics, Solid-Edge, STAAD Pro, Auto-Civil, Auto-desk Inventor and the list goes on and on.

It is frequently seen in use for engineering fields, although it is also applied for other vector graphics designs in no fewer manners. Due to CAD facilities, the repetition of work are minimized, exact accuracy can be achieved; reproduction is not a problem now days. After conversion into digital format it can also be sent through electronic mail to any part of the world as an editable file. Due to availability of a lot of file formats, the same file can be opened and used in a variety of CAD software.

Computer aided design (CAD) Process:

In CAD, generally the drawings are done according to the dimensions given either in a hard copy like paper or it may have been mentioned in a raster or image file, which is a scanned copy of the paper drawing. If the source drawing is a hard copy, then putting the hard copy by the side and referring to the same does the drawings. But this is a cumbersome process. So another process has been developed in which, the hard copy is scanned and the same is attached into the drawing platform say, Auto CAD. Then it becomes easier to draw the elements. This type of draughting is called as on-line draughting.

Area of Use:

As it is easy to work with cad software the authorities, engineers, draughts-men in many part of the world have already begun to work with the most advanced facilities and technologies like CAD (Computer Aided Designing) for creation, modification, reproduction, safely store and enhancement of dynamism in their drawings, such as: Civil Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Electronics, Engineering, Architectural Engineering, Aerospace, Automobile, Manufacturing, Production, Plumbing, Piping, HVAC and Fashion Design etc...

Prospects:

From this inception, it has been human nature to innovate, discover, invent new things and so has been his creation. Design may be pronounced as the synonym for creation. So there is no end to man’s creation, design and hence CAD. By passage of time it’ll be even smarter, quicker and sophisticated.

This article was provided courtesy of orisysinfotech.co.uk Specializing in CAD services SEO, E-commerce website design and development

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Motion Simulation in Solid Edge using sketches together with Microsoft Excel VBA Programming Part III

2008-09-03T23:31:00.004+07:00

In previous example, I showed how to control variables in Solid Edge sketch using direct link to excel spreadsheet. In this example, I am going to show how to use VBA (Visual Basic for Application) in excel to control the variables in Solid Edge sketch.

1) Create new file in Microsoft Excel

2) Press Alt+F11 to enter Microsoft Visual Basic windows as shown below

3) Right click in Project Explorer at new file name (in this example, new excel file name = Book2) > Insert > Module

4) To make Solid Edge type libraries available to the Visual Basic Object Browser, click References on the Project menu. On the References dialog box, select the Solid Edge libraries you want to access.

All variable automation is accessed through the Variables collection and Variable objects. The Variables collection serves two purposes: it allows you to create and access variable objects, and it allows you to work with dimensions as variables.

Note: When debugging programs that interact with the Variable Table, it helps to have the Variable Table displayed while stepping through the program. The Variable Table shows the results as they are executed.

5) Write the following code into VBA code area as shown below,

You can copy & paste the following code to your excel VBA.

' =================================================================
' Example of using VBA code to control variables in Solid Edge document
' By AkeBlogger
' http://mechanical-design-handbook.blogspot.com/
' =================================================================

Sub Simulate()
On Error Resume Next

'Declare the program variables.
Dim iAngle As Single
Dim objApp As Object
Dim objVariables As Object
Dim objVariable As Object

'------------------------------------------------------------------
' Checking for the active document
Set objApp = GetObject(, "SolidEdge.Application")
If Err Then
MsgBox "You must open Solid Edge before executing this module!!", vbOKOnly + vbExclamation, "Error"
Exit Sub
Else
'Connect to a running instance of Solid Edge.
Set objApp = GetObject(, "SolidEdge.Application")
'Access the Variables collection.
Set objVariables = objApp.ActiveDocument.Variables
End If

'SIMULATION STARTS!
For iAngle = 0 To 360 Step 2
' Changing Cam_angle from 0, 2, 4, ..., 360 deg.
Call objVariables.Edit("Cam_angle", iAngle)

Next iAngle

End Sub

6) Open Solid Edge file from previous example and delete formula in Variables Table as shown below, because in this example we will control the variable (dimension) using VBA code directly.

7) We are now ready for simulation. Resize VBA Windows as shown below then click run to see the result.

Watch the following video for the actual result!

Read more info about Mechanical Engineering Design Handbook

Motion Simulation in Solid Edge using sketches together with Microsoft Excel VBA Programming Part II

2008-09-03T23:16:00.001+07:00

To link solid edge variables to Microsoft excel, we can do by enter formula in the variables table or use VBA code.

In this post, I would like to show how easy to make it using variables table.You can use the Variable Table to define and edit functional relationships between the dimensions of a design in a familiar spreadsheet format. The Variable Table is accessed with the Variables command on the Tools menu. There are two types of variables: dimensions displayed in the design and variables you create directly in the Variable Table. Dimension variables directly control elements of a design. Variables that you create cannot directly control the design. A user variable must be set equal to a value or mathematical expression; for example, PI = 3.14159. Variables can control dimensional relationships by setting the dimensional relationship equal to the variable.Let's begin...

1) Open Solid Edge and make a sketch as shown below.

Mechanism in this example consists of cam, lever, pull rod and four bar linkage. What we have to do is to make sure that when the dimension of cam angle is changed, the entire mechanism is changed accordingly. You can simply check this by clicking at the dimension of cam angle and rotate your mouse wheel to see if entire mechanism is moving or not.

2) To set the name of variables
When you place the dimensions for a design, variables for these dimensions are placed into the variable table automatically. If the Variable Table is open, any dimension that is placed by you or the software will display in the Variable Table after the dimension is placed. Working with the variable table open allows you to change the dimension's name that is generated by the software to a more logical name as you work. When you rename variables, the variable names should contain only letters, numbers, and the underscore character. You should not use punctuation characters.In Solid Edge: select Tools > Variables > Variables
and click at the dimension you want to change the name, for this case select the dimension of cam angle and change "Name" to cam_angle and select "Expose" to show this variable name to other application as shown below.

3) To Link variable in Solid Edge to Microsoft Excel
You can use Microsoft Excel or other spreadsheet software to link Solid Edge variables to a spreadsheet. Before you can link variables to a spreadsheet, you must first create the variables you want in the Solid Edge document. When you link Solid Edge variables to a spreadsheet, the document names and folder path for the spreadsheet and the Solid Edge document should contain only letters, numbers, and the underscore character. You should not use punctuation characters. To successfully edit the linked Solid Edge variables from the spreadsheet later, you must open the Solid Edge and spreadsheet documents in a specific order:

You can open the spreadsheet document first, then open the linked Solid Edge document.
You can open the Solid Edge document first, then click the Edit Links command on the shortcut menu when a linked formula is selected within the variable table. You can then use the Open Source option on the Links dialog box to open the spreadsheet document.

Create new Microsoft Excel workbook and save it.
In this example, the excel file is saved at E:\Online Biz\Web\Blog\Mechanical-Design-Handbook\

File name: ex-solid-edge1.xls
and this is the content of the excel file...

In Solid edge: select Tools > Variables > Variables and select the variable named "cam_angle" as you created in previous step. And enter the following formula into "Formula" column,

@'E:\Online Biz\Web\Blog\Mechanical-Design-Handbook\ex-solid-edge1.xls'!'Sheet1!R2C2'

You can see that to link to another excel workbook, just put "@" at the first position then follows by the path and file name of excel file, sheet name and cell.

R2C2 means row 2 and column 2 which is cell B2

Now solid edge variable is linked and control by cell value in excel.
If you change value in cell B2, you will see the movement of cam mechanism.

Watch the result in the following video clip.

Read more info about Mechanical Engineering Design Handbook

Motion Simulation in Solid Edge using sketches together with Microsoft Excel VBA Programming Part I

2008-05-17T19:56:00.007+07:00

Solid Edge has a very useful application called "Motion" which allows a user to simulate the movement of mechanical parts. This enables the machine designers to test and make sure that the movement of their mechanism is the same as they expect before manufacturing parts. This helps save a lot of money.

However, instead of using "Motion" application, I would like to show you how to simulate the motion of mechanical parts using a sketch in Solid Edge together with Microsoft Excel.

Why?

Most of the time, I started my mechanical design with the concept and layout using sketches. If we could simulate the motion of mechanical parts in a sketch, it would help me a lot.

I got this idea when I was playing with sketches and constraints in Solid Edge. Solid Edge allows us to change the dimensions easily by just rotating the mouse wheel.

Watch the following video to see how easy to make the motion in sketch.

So what I have to do is just to have Microsoft Excel VBA changes the dimensional values in Solid Edge sketch.

Here is the results of this idea ...

Let's see how to do this in the next post...

Read more info about Mechanical Engineering Design Handbook

Solid Edge Version 19

2007-01-03T22:47:00.001+07:00

Now a cornerstone of the UGS' Velocity series offering, Solid Edge's profile within the market has gained a huge boost over the course of the past nine months since the last release. So, what does version 19 bring to the table for the mainstream modeling system?

The Transition from 2D
If you take a look at the typical Solid Edge user, they're most likely to have come from a 2D background and, aside from those ME10 users out there, that is always going to mean AutoCAD. As with all the mainstream modeling tools, Solid Edge has always had tools that allow AutoCAD users to make the most of their data. With version 19, Solid Edge gives the transitioning user the ability to import AutoCAD DWG data and interact with it in a familiar manner.

In Solid Edge V19, PMI data can be stored with 3D models and assemblies.

When you open a DWG file in V19, you're presented with a number of options that allow you to work with the data in a way that will be immediately familiar to any AutoCAD user. You can use display options (such as white text, black background), select layers for importing, line mapping, etc. What's interesting is that once you import the data, it's then held within the Solid Edge environment and you have to adhere to the system's

Core Design Tools
Moving onto core product definition tools and updates to that core technology, the biggest news for V19 is the introduction of motion simulation and a completely redone Explode, Render, Animate toolset. This enables new gear-relationship types and motion drivers (motors) to be added to the assembly environment, which allows more efficient mechanism representation.

Figure 1: V19's new gear relationship functionality reduces system overhead and enables real-time solving of complex gear simulations.

Gears allow you to define a relationship of both circular (such as chain or belt driven, gears, cams, etc.) and linear (such as hydraulics/pneumatics) or indeed, a mix of both (such as a rack and pinion). Motors are used to put gears into motion, which allows you to define a rotary or linear input to drive a mechanism or system and use that to drive the motion simulation (see Figures 1 above and 2 below).Following on from this, UGS reworked the Explode, Render, and Animate tools, creating a brand new environment. The new environment uses a keyframe/timeline-based approach to create animations. Everything within a dataset can be animated, from the parts and subassemblies, through lights, camera, and such.

Figure 2: In Solid Edge 19 gear relationships provide a complete set of gear types (rotation to rotation, linear to rotation, and linear to linear). This example shows a rack and pinion steering mechanism.

The Animation environment includes a number of effects that can be integrated into the work quickly, such as fades. You can also take advantage of geometry-based path (using geometry) or keyframe interpolation (where the camera moves between user-defined positions) to quickly create product animations, whether that's a simple turntable, a complex fly-through, or an assembly/disassembly.All of this leads me rather nicely onto the next big update for Solid Edge 19: Exploded views. UGS has also overhauled these, particularly in terms of the intelligence the system can extract from the model (such as how it handles subassemblies) up through to the ease with which you can dive in and create the explosion sequence exactly how you want it.

source: http://www.deskeng.com

Design For Six Sigma (DFSS)

2007-01-03T22:32:00.000+07:00

Product Overview

Sigmund ABA for Solid Edge is an assembly build analysis tool that, for parts and assemblies defined in Solid Edge, allows engineers to evaluate the 3-D effects of component tolerances on the quality of manufactured products. Sigmund provides engineers with an easy to use Solid Edge-Sigmund interface to evaluate the capability of their Solid Edge designs, ensuring that assemblies go together 100 percent of the time, while meeting all the assembly performance criteria. Sigmund ABA is integrated with Solid Edge v12 and above.

Benefits

Sigmund ABA for SolidEdge can be used to resolve complex assembly problems for rigid bodies, evaluate design improvements, identify important design characteristics and determine optimal tolerances for parts and assemblies created in Solid Edge. Using Sigmund from design concept through production will improve quality, reduce costs, and cut development cycle times.
Development of a Sigmund assembly build analysis model follows an intuitive, step-by-step methodology that includes the following stages:

Component Geometry Creation: Model geometry can be exported from Solid Edge as a Solid Edge Part/Assembly data (wire frame or surface) or IGES, STEP data (wire frame or surface). The entities that can be exported to Sigmund are: CAD geometry (wire frame or surface), planes, lines, points, axis, and coordinate systems.

GD&T or Tolerance Emulation: This step defines the component variation to be modeled. Solid Edge input tolerance information including the component GD&T datum structures and geometric tolerances must be reapplied to the relevant features using the functionality provided in Sigmund. Simple, menu-driven commands are used to define the datum reference frames, and tolerance feature control frames are simply filled as shown on the drawing. The capability also exists to emulate dimensional or tolerances if GD&T has not been used.

Optimize: Using the output from the Sigmund model, the Solid Edge design can be evaluated, optimized and validated before a single part is manufactured. At this stage, different design concepts, locating schemes and assembly methods can be evaluated. Potential manufacturing processes and the resulting capabilities can be assessed. Tolerances can be tightened, if necessary, to meet the requirements or loosened if they are found to have little impact on the requirements.

source: http://www.varatech.com/

MITCalc for Solid Edge, Pinned Couplings (EP05)

2007-01-02T20:26:00.000+07:00

Decin, Czech Republic, 20.09.2005

MITCalc engineering calculations have been extended with a new module and connected to the Solid Edge CAD system.

MITCalc for Solid Edge
It is a standalone installation. In addition to “MITCalc” calculations, it includes the appropriate parametric models and an interface between Excel and the Solid Edge CAD system (ver. 15, 16, 17). In addition to individual parts, the link of MITCalc for Solid Edge and the Solid Edge CAD system makes it possible to also input groups of parts (subassembly) into assembly. For example, it is possible to input a complete belt gear solution at once; it is fully associative and the dimensions of the inserted part (subassembly) change according to the changes in calculation parameters.

Pinned Couplings (Extension Pack EP05)
The calculation is intended for the geometric design and strength check of couplings using pins and clevis pins. The program is used to solve the following tasks: design of pin for spring attachment, design of couplings with securing pins, design of cross pin in rod and sleeve, design of radial pin for shaft-hub connection, design of longitudinal pin for shaft-hub connection, design of clevis pin for rotating rod-clevis connection, strength check of designed couplings. The program includes dimensional tables for pins and clevis pins according to ANSI, ISO, DIN, BS, JIS and CSN and support of 2D CAD systems.

Extension pack EP05 and MITCalc for Solid Edge is available for download here.

About MITCalc
MITCalc is a multi-language mechanical and technical calculation package. It includes solutions for gear, belt and chain drives, bearings, springs, bearings, beam, shaft, bolt connection, shaft connection, tolerances and many other mechanical parts. The calculations are compatible with most types of 2D and 3D CAD systems (AutoCAD®, AutoCAD LT®, IntelliCAD®, Ashlar Graphite®, TurboCAD®, Autodesk Inventor®, SolidWorks®, Solid Edge®, Pro/ENGINEER®...) , support both Imperial and Metric units, and are processed according to ANSI, ISO, DIN, BS, Japanese and other common standards.

source: http://www.mitcalc.com

Validate Your Design Inside Solid Edge

2007-01-02T19:26:00.000+07:00

Solid Edge gives you world-class capabilities to design and build realistic 3D solid models representing the form of your parts. Solid Edge also allows you to create assemblies of the 3D solid parts in order to allow you to clearly understand whether the parts will properly together as an assembly. What Solid Edge will not do is provide you with the ability to know if your design will actually meet it's intended (and sometimes unintended) performance criteria? To determine if a design will perform as expected, the physical assembly is produced and a series of costly lab or field tests are done. This testing usually produces several design changes and the process continues until all production performance criteria are met. The problem with this is that design validation is done too late in the process.

Don't Wait to Validate!

Dynamic Designer allows you understand the true dynamic function of your design inside the Solid Edge environment before your produce or assembly physical hardware. Design Validation with Dynamic Designer allows you to build, test and refine the function of your CAD models and output the same performance information typically gathered physically (e.g. part interference, motor size, cam performance, gear and linkage layout, etc.). Using Dynamic Designer you will understand the mechanics of your design before you cut metal or mold plastic, all within the familiar Solid Edge environment. Design revisions are easier and less costly if motion problems are identified before you build and test a physical assembly. If you have questions about how a design works or performs, Dynamic Designer can help you.

Download your evaluation version today!

http://ddm.design-simulation.com/DDM/demo_pre.php

source: http://ddm.design-simulation.com

Suppress IntelliSketch

2007-01-02T19:07:00.000+07:00

Working in the sketch / 2D environment of Solid Edge you can set the ‘snap’ of the cursor when clicking a line. For example an endpoint or a midpoint. The point you will snap to is show next to the cursor.

The points the cursor is sensitive to can be set with the IntelliSketch options. (Tools/IntelliSketch…)

Sometimes the intelligence of IntelliSketch is not handy at all. Fortunately you can suppress all IntelliSketch options together by pressing ALT while sketching. Upon releasing the ALT key IntelliSketch will be reactivated.
Remark: it is possible that after releasing the ALT key the screen does not refresh itself. Just press ALT shortly again to resume sketching.

source: http://www.solid-tools.com

Solid Edge - Overview

2007-01-02T10:31:00.000+07:00

Solid Edge is powerful 3D CAD software that allows manufacturing companies to transform their process of innovation and achieve competitive advantage. A fundamental component of the UGS Velocity™ Series portfolio, Solid Edge delivers an exceptional return on investment for a low total cost of ownership. With a unique 4-step process for evolving to the productive world of 3D, superior core modeling, embedded design management, built in finite element analysis, and process workflows, Solid Edge delivers the benefits of a fully integrated and managed design discipline that eases the growing complexity of product design.

Comments from Ake Blogger:
If you like Auto CAD, Pro/Engineer, Catia, Unigraphics, Solid Works, you'll like Solid Edge as well because it's more easier for you to create and/or modify your design without disturbance to your drafting file

source: http://www.solidedge.com

System Requirements

2007-01-02T10:00:00.000+07:00

Prior to using Solid Edge software you must know the system requirements (hardware/OS). The following details are the recommended requirements from official Solid Edge website.

The most recent release of Solid Edge has been certified to run on the following:

Windows XP Professional® operating system (32 bit or 64 bit)
Internet Explorer 6.0 or higher

Solid Edge requires these versions (or later) to install due to system files delivered with these versions that Solid Edge relies on for proper operation.
Solid Edge stops certifying new releases against an operating system shortly after Microsoft drops mainstream support for it. Windows ME, Windows 98, Windows NT 4.0, and Windows 2000 are unsupported operating systems. Solid Edge will not install on these operating systems. It is not recommended that you run Solid Edge on Server operating systems.
Solid Edge will not install on machines without Internet Explorer 6.0 or higher. Internet Explorer is not required to be the default browser.
Solid Edge is not supported on Intel Itanium processors.

Hardware System Requirements
Recommended System Configuration:
Intel Xeon or AMD Opteron processor
Windows XP Professional Service Pack 2
1 GB or more RAM
True Color (32-bit) or 16 million colors (24-bit)
Screen resolution of 1280x1024

Minimum System Configuration:
Intel Pentium, Intel Xeon, AMD Athlon, or AMD Opteron
Windows XP Professional
512 MB RAM
65K colors
Minimum Resolution: 1024x768
Disk space required for installation: 1.3 GB
The 64-bit version of Solid Edge requires Microsoft Windows XP Professional x64 Edition with Intel EM64T or AMD64 processors. Beginning with Solid Edge Version 19, we deliver the product on a single DVD. For more details on this corporate-wide direction, please refer to http://support.ugs.com/DVD/.
Display System Requirements and Information
Solid Edge will run on any graphics driver that supports Windows XP. Contact your graphics driver manufacturer to determine whether their graphics adapter/driver supports this operating system.
For optimal performance, it is recommended to use a professional graphics card that is designed for CAD applications. For information about cards used in testing Solid Edge and results, refer to http://www.solidedge.com/graphics/default.htm.
Note that running with extremely high screen resolution and color depth increases the memory requirements on the system and may result in apparent performance degradation. If experienced, reconfigure the display system to the recommended resolution and color depth for improved performance.
When running Solid Edge, if you experience an abnormally high abort rate, parts disappearing, or other graphic anomalies you may not be using the appropriate graphics driver.
For more details, visit http://www.solidedge.com/graphics/driver.testing.htm

source: http://www.solidedge.com

Graphic Card Testing

2007-01-02T09:50:00.000+07:00

Solid Edge will run on any graphic card that supports Windows 2000® or Windows XP®. Contact your card manufacturer to determine whether their graphics adapter or driver supports these operating systems.The list of graphic cards and associated drivers provided were specifically tested at the request of the card manufacturer. These cards were run through a series of standard display tests. This list should not be interpreted as the only cards on which Solid Edge will successfully run.

The information herein is provided solely as a service to Solid Edge customers. No warranties or commitments are expressed or implied. Inquiries regarding specific graphics card features should be directed to the respective vendors.

source: http://www.solidedge.com

Industry Solutions: Machinery and Equipment

2007-01-02T09:40:00.000+07:00

As a machine designer today you are constantly facing one very clear but difficult issue: the ever increasing complexity of your product designs. Driven by market demand for new and innovative products with an increasing array of options, product complexity has multiplied exponentially in the last decade. Add the need to apply new technologies before your competitors do, customer demand for faster delivery – and the need to fit more and more capability into smaller and smaller spaces while delivering increasingly functional shapes with optimized material costs – and product complexity becomes almost impossible to manage.

source: http://www.solidedge.com

Try Solid Edge Viewer Today !!

2007-01-02T09:30:00.000+07:00

Want to evaluate it first? Then try this!!

The Solid Edge Viewer is easy to download and install, and will allow you to view Solid Edge assembly, part, sheet metal and draft files, as well as DXF and AutoCAD DWG files.
Fill out the registration form at the following URL to get your FREE Solid Edge Viewer!

Download Solid Edge Viewer Now

If you are looking for the XpressReview instead of the Solid Edge viewer - Click here.
The V19 and V18 Viewers are available in Chinese-Simplified, Chinese-Traditional, English, French, German, Italian, Korean, Russian and Spanish.

source: http://www.solidedge.com

The challenge of complexity in product design and engineering

2007-01-02T09:20:00.000+07:00

- by Brian Gott with Cambashi Limited

New design methods are required in order to head off a growing complexity crisis in product design and engineering. A recent survey identified product and process complexity as the most important issue for designers and engineers, well ahead of time to market and cost pressures.
Driven by markets that demand ever-increasing product value and functionality, manufacturers have embarked on continuous product improvement, delivering more features, more innovation and better looking products. In the fight to control markets and maintain market share the leading manufacturers increase the size of their product ranges, offer more options and release new and better products more frequently, incorporating new technology, more automation and better value for money at an accelerating rate. Coping with the resulting design complexity while maintaining time to market and profitability is the latest challenge to hit the engineering industry.
This white paper analyses the proposition that modern 3D CAD systems can be successfully deployed to cope with design complexity and create the kind of product design environment that positively promotes innovation, while raising design productivity yet again in order to increase design throughput.
Our analysis deals with three main topics:
how and why complexity arises
how modern 3D solid modeling CAD technology can be deployed to meet the challenges that complexity presents and to turn them to competitive advantage
the particular characteristics of modern mainstream 3D CAD systems that impact the complexity issue.
A detailed review is given of all the areas throughout the product development work flow cycle that are impacted by a fully implemented 3D CAD system, and the gains to be expected.The findings are derived from our on-going research programs, from speaking to companies currently considering a move to 3D solid modeling, and to others who have already made the move, drawn from the machinery, electro-mechanical, and consumer products sectors of industry.

source: http://www.solidedge.com

Free Trial Solid Edge

2007-01-01T18:10:00.000+07:00

You can get a free 30-day evaluation copy of Solid Edge software just by clicking at the following link/picture.

Solid Edge Free 2D Drafting

2007-01-01T18:00:00.000+07:00

Production proven 2D.

Edit and maintain multiple CAD formats.

No more forced upgrades.Standardize and save money.

Did we mention its FREE?

Solid Edge 2D drafting demonstrates UGS’ commitment to helping companies control costs. Whether you are using 2D company-wide or for specific 2D design processes, you will benefit from Solid Edge 2D Drafting. Solid Edge 2D Drafting capitalizes on 10 years of production-proven capabilities developed for Solid Edge, and offers excellent drawing layout, diagramming, annotation and dimensioning controls that automatically comply with a wide range of drafting standards – including ISO, ANSI, BSI, DIN, JIS and UNI. And it is absolutely FREE to download and use.
Solid Edge 2D Drafting includes a wealth of tools designed to ease the transition of 2D AutoCAD users updating to Solid Edge, including import wizards, WYSIWYG of imported files (matching of AutoCAD fonts and color schemes) and many other capabilities that make it a compelling application for AutoCAD 2D users looking for more value and productivity from their 2D CAD seats

You can simply download this free version of Solid Edge Free 2D Drafting by clicking here