Next-generation CAD/CAE tools unveiled at AutoFact show.November's AutoFact '93 show in Chicago, sponsored by the Society of Manufacturing Engineers The Society of Manufacturing Engineers [1] (SME) is dedicated to bringing people and information together to advance manufacturing knowledge. SME is internationally recognized by manufacturing practitioners, companies and other organizations as a source for information, , saw the first major display of "virtual reality" visionsystems at an industrial trade show. Show attendees lined up eagerly for a chance to be totally enveloped en·vel·op tr.v. en·vel·oped, en·vel·op·ing, en·vel·ops 1. To enclose or encase completely with or as if with a covering: "Accompanying the darkness, a stillness envelops the city" in an interactive visual environment, accomplishing simulated tasks like changing a tire, and even experiencing the ghostlike ability to pass through surfaces into the interiors of machinery or buildings. These exciting systems evolved out of NASA NASA: see National Aeronautics and Space Administration. NASA in full National Aeronautics and Space Administration Independent U.S. developments for hands-offweapons controls in attack helicopters A helicopter specifically designed to employ various weapons to attack and destroy enemy targets. and for simulating dynamic air flow around space-shuttle engines. Industrial applications may not be that far off: Some show exhibitors say they've had inquiries about possible interactive mold-design systems that allow you to see the mold from the inside--from the point of view of the flowing plastic. New generations of more immediately applicable technology also surfaced at AutoFact. These include significant new releases of flow and cooling analysis software for injection molds, and a number of lower-cost solid-modeling packages. A NEW WAY OF SEEING Four virtual-reality systems were running at the show for visitors to play with.Each one has special headgear headgear, n the apparatus encircling the head or neck and providing attachment for an intraoral appliance in use of extraoral anchorage. headgear, radiologic, n a device that is used to protect the head from injury by radiation. that puts two mini tv screens in front of the viewer's eyes, giving the sensation of complete immersion in the screen image. The experience is like being inside a video game. Some sort of position tracker--ultrasonic, infrared, or radio-frequency--orients the screen image as the viewer's head turns, offering 360 |degrees~ views. A hand-held mouse or joystick (hardware, games) joystick - A device consisting of a hand held stick that pivots about one end and transmits its angle in two dimensions to a computer. Joysticks are often used to control games, and usually have one or more push-buttons whose state can also be read by the computer. allows the user to navigate forward and back and to interact with the virtual environment. Two suppliers were common to almost all the virtual-reality exhibits: Silicon Graphics Inc., Mountain View, Calif., provided the computer workstations, such as its Onix RE2; and Division, Inc., Redwood City Redwood City, city (1990 pop. 66,072), seat of San Mateo co., W Calif., on San Francisco Bay; inc. 1868. Manufactures include commmunications, electrical, electronic, and medical equipment. , Calif., provided the key enabling software, called Virtual Design Environment, priced at $3900. This software creates the virtual environment from CAD data and interfaces the headmounted displays with the computer workstation. Silicon Graphics demonstrated a top-of-the-line virtual-reality system for industrial design, costing $75,000. It uses high-resolution CRT screens Noun 1. CRT screen - the display that is electronically created on the surface of the large end of a cathode-ray tube screen screen background, desktop, background - (computer science) the area of the screen in graphical user interfaces against which icons instead of the flat-panel displays flat-pan·el display n. A thin lightweight video display used in laptop and notebook computers and employing liquid crystals, electroluminescence, or a similar alternative to cathode-ray tubes. Also called flat screen. used in some other systems. Displays showed a CAD model of a video camcorder and an architectural walk-through. The headset was made by n-Vision Inc., Vienna, Va. The pole-mounted head-position tracker was from Polhemus FastTrack in Colchester, Vt. The virtual-reality system shown by CAD/CAM CAD/CAM in full computer-aided design/computer-aided manufacturing. Integration of design and manufacturing into a system under direct control of digital computers. supplier Computervision, Bedford, Mass., was the most affordable (at around $40,000) and the only directly CAD-integrated virtual-reality package, though its resolution at 100 pixels/in. wasn't very sharp. The headset Headphones combined with a microphone. Used in call centers and by people in telephone-intensive jobs, headsets provide the equivalent functionality of a telephone handset with hands-free operation. Many people use headsets at the computer so they can converse and type comfortably. was made by Virtual Research, San Jose, Calif. Via a mouse, the user manipulates the image of a three-fingered yellow "hand," which passes ghostlike right through objects on the screen. With a click of the trigger on the mouse, the "hand" can push or pull on-screen objects. That ability to pass inside solid objects in the CAD file attracted moldmakers, automakers and engine manufacturers at the show with the idea that they could see inside molds, engines and fuel systems. Computervision is already collaborating with several European automakers, says CADDS5 graphics manager Jeff MacMann. Deneb Robotics Inc., Auburn Hills, Mich., displayed a third reality-simulation approach for engineering or shop-floor use. Deneb adapted the software from its robotic visualization software. In this case, the viewer doesn't wear a headset,but watches small screens mounted on a cantilevered boom. This lets more than one viewer share the virtual-reality environment. The miniature stereo-display screens were made by Fakespace Inc., Menlo Park Menlo Park. 1 Residential city (1990 pop. 28,040), San Mateo co., W Calif.; inc. 1874. Electronic equipment and aerospace products are manufactured in the city. Menlo College and a Stanford Univ. research institute are there. 2 Uninc. , Calif., which has offered this simulation product since 1989. A two-color system The two-color system of projection is a name given to a variety of methods of projecting a full-color image using (only) two different single-color projectors. James Clerk Maxwell first suggested he had discovered such a projection system, but it was not reproduced until the 1950s, costs $74,000, full color runs$95,000. StereoGraphics Corp., San Rafael San Rafael (săn rəfĕl`), residential city (1990 pop. 48,404), seat of Marin co., W Calif., a suburb of San Francisco on the northern shore of San Francisco Bay; inc. 1913. , Calif., showed the fourth and perhaps least cumbersome approach. Its CrystalEyes CAD, CrystalEyes PC and CrystalEyes VR products utilize "stereo" eyeglasses eyeglasses or spectacles, instrument or device for aiding and correcting defective sight. Eyeglasses usually consist of a pair of lenses mounted in a frame to hold them in position before the eyes. to give simulated 3-D viewing of screen images. As previously reported (see PT, Dec. '91, p. 10), the CrystalEyes systemalternately projects right- and left-eye perspectives of an object on a CRT screen. At the same time, liquid-crystal "shutters" in the eyeglasses alternately block the view of one eye while letting the other see the appropriate perspective. (Infrared emitter/trackers in the eyewear coordinate with the screen display.) It all happens fast enough to give a 3-D illusion. Multiple viewers can view the same 3-D scene simultaneously. At AutoFact, StereoGraphics introduced CrystalEyes CAD software, which allows any AutoCAD drawing to be viewed in simulated 3-D depth. It costs $1695. Also brand-new is CrystalEyes PC to make "stereo" 3-D CAD viewing possible on PCs, ata price of $985. And the company's CrystalEyes VR virtual-reality software is now supported by Division, Inc.'s software. This allows stereo images to be manipulated by a mouse. Previously, CrystalEyes VR used only head-tracking software to change the screen image as the viewer moved closer to or farther away from the screen or to either side, allowing the viewer to "peer around" thescreen image. CrystalEyes VR alone costs $1995. MOLD ANALYSIS Moldflow Pty., Shelton, Conn., concurrently announced at AutoFact and two other trade shows (Interplas '93 in Birmingham, England, and Plastics Fair Atlanta) the launch of several new products and a major new thrust for its mold-filling, cooling, warpage, and stress analysis programs. The just-introduced Moldflow Dynamic Series is the first of three major releases planned for the next 18 months on the theme of designing and producing plastic parts "Faster, Better, Cheaper." This first release is aimed at making Moldflow software tasks faster and easier to accomplish. The next releases will focus on reducing the cost of plastic parts through optimizing wall thickness, material usage, cycle time, andso on. The third phase will use artificial intelligence aids to optimize part and mold designs rather than merely solving problems. One key element of the new Dynamic Series is MF/Solid, a solid modeler developedin a strategic partnership with Aries Technology Inc., Lowell, Mass. With a single command, MF/Solid automatically generates a centerline cen·ter·line n. 1. A line that bisects something into equal parts. 2. A painted line running along the center of a road or highway that divides it into two sections for traffic moving in opposite directions, or, in the case of mesh from a solid so that flow and cooling analyses can be performed. Since the solid modeler is based on a de facto [Latin, In fact.] In fact, in deed, actually. This phrase is used to characterize an officer, a government, a past action, or a state of affairs that must be accepted for all practical purposes, but is illegal or illegitimate. international standard (ACIS from Spatial Technology Inc., Boulder, Colo.), solid models from many commercial CAD packages can be imported directly into MF/Solid. The package is an add-on option whose pricing is not finalized but is expected to be under $10,000. First shipments will be at the end of this first quarter. The Moldflow Dynamic Series includes a new "rapid modeler," which constructs simplified 3-D models from a 2-D IGES (Initial Graphics Exchange Specification) An ANSI file format that is system independent and also intended for human interpretation. Evolving out of the U.S. file in minutes. This is part of a major restructuring of Moldflow's software in the Dynamic Series aimed at getting molds designed and built faster. Analysis has been split into two stages, initial and optimization analyses. With the rapid modeler (an automatic upgrade for current Moldflow users), key issues like gate and weld-line locations, need for a two- or three-plate mold, and basic verification of moldability are resolved. This allows rough cutting of the mold to start while more time-consuming flow, cooling and other optimization analyses are performed. (At AutoFact, Delcam Inc. of Eastlake, Ohio Eastlake is a city in Lake County, Ohio, United States. The population was 20,255 at the 2000 census. Eastlake is the site where FirstEnergy's Eastlake Generating Station shutdown at 1:31pm EDT on August 14, 2003, eventually leading to the infamous 2003 North America , announced that it has incorporated a simplified moldability check developed by Moldflow into its DUCT5 CAD/CAM package. And Moldflow says both Aries Technology and EDS (Electronic Data Systems, Plano, TX, www.eds.com) Founded in 1962 by H. Ross Perot (independent candidate for the President of the U.S. in 1992), EDS is the largest outsourcing and data processing services organization in the country. Unigraphics, St. Louis,will embed such "quick-check" modules in their CAD/CAM systems--Aries by the endof the first quarter, EDS by mid-year.) MF/Flow Release 9 is another part of the Dynamic Series. The graphical user interface graphical user interface (GUI) Computer display format that allows the user to select commands, call up files, start programs, and do other routine tasks by using a mouse to point to pictorial symbols (icons) or lists of menu choices on the screen as opposed to having to has been extended to all tasks within the module. And it includes a "graphical project manager" with a tree structure showing what analysis tasks have been performed and how they are linked to each other. With this project manager, you can call up a previous analysis result, modify some part of the data, and the change will be automatically propagated to all subsequent analyses. The "project tree" is automatically updated with each analysis. Right now it just shows where you've been; in a future release it will sketch out a plan of analyses yet to be performed. Also new in MF/Flow Release 9 is the ability to model valve gating. Gates can beturned on or off at preset preset Cardiac pacing A parameter of a pacemaker that is programmed permanently when manufactured time intervals or be triggered when the melt flow front achieves a given percentage of fill. A new add-on option (for around $20,000) is MF/Optim, an automatic flow optimization package. It automatically generates optimum injection speed and packing-pressure profiles in order to maintain a uniform flow-front speed and prudent limits on temperature, shear rate Shear rate is a measure of the rate of shear deformation:  For the simple shear case, it is just a gradient of velocity in a flowing material. , etc. The Dynamic Series includes new MF/Cool Release 4, which now has the same graphical user interface as all other Moldflow modules. The cooling module has been completely rebuilt around so-called "boundary-element analysis," which is said to be more accurate than traditional finite-element analysis. It now uses amold model than includes boundaries--e.g., the mold external surfaces, parting planes, inserts, and cooling circuits. Release 4 also is said to allow simplified pre-modeling for quick initial results. GETTING IN 'STEP' STEP (Standard for Exchange of Product Model Data) is another former military development seeking broader industrial acceptance. STEP is a translation protocol that allows more extensive data exchange (including archival data) among different CAD/CAM packages. It will enable processors to verify data goingto or from customers and suppliers. It replaces the more limited IGES (Initial Graphics Exchange Specification) software protocols, which allow only drawings to be passed between programs, not dimensional or other data. STEP was adopted last February by the International Standards Organization See ISO. in Geneva, Switzerland, as a draft standard (ISO 10303) and reportedly will become a full-fledged standard next month. Watch for lots of software companies to launchSTEP translators for commercial CAD files in the near future. Two companies brought commercial STEP software to AutoFact. STEP Tools Inc., Troy, N.Y., is a commercial vendor of STEP data-management software. It announced new ST 203 archiving software at the show, which integrates STEP with IBM's Catia or EDS's Unigraphics CAD software. ST 203 costs $34,000. International TechneGroup Inc., Milford, Ohio Milford is a city in Clermont and Hamilton counties of the U.S. state of Ohio, along the Little Miami River in the southwestern part of the state. Milford, an abbreviated form of mill ford, was so named because it was the first safe ford across the Little Miami north of the Ohio , introduced STEP/Works, which graphically displays STEP files so they can be analyzed, and STEP/IGES Interface, which allows an IGES file to be converted to STEP. STEP/Works costs $7500; STEP/IGES Interface, $2500. MODELING & MESHING Several software companies announced new solid-modeling programs; two of them are said to be the first to bring high-end solids functions to the PC level. Autodesk Inc., Sausalito, Calif., generated a lot of interest with its first solids product, which is expected to ship Jan. 1 and cost only $1200. AutoCAD Designer is a parametric, feature-based solids program for AutoCAD Release 12 users. It will operate on 386 or 486 PCs. Autodesk calls "Designer" the first mass-market solid modeler and says it has 80% of the functionality of far more expensive programs. Ricoh Corp., Santa Clara Santa Clara, city, Cuba Santa Clara (sän`tä klä`rä), city (1994 est. pop. 217,000), capital of Villa Clara prov., central Cuba. , Calif., showed a PC-based solids "toolkit" that's already on the market. Ricoh's Designbase Version 3 comprehensive solid, surfaceand wireframe modeling In CAD, a technique for representing 3D objects, in which all surfaces are visibly outlined in lines, including the opposite sides and all internal components that are normally hidden from view. software runs in Windows 3.1 on a 486 PC with 8-MB memory. Designbase Version 4 is also available for Windows NT (Windows New Technology) A 32-bit operating system from Microsoft for Intel x86 CPUs. NT is the core technology in Windows 2000 and Windows XP (see Windows). Available in separate client and server versions, it includes built-in networking and preemptive multitasking. . Algor Inc., Pittsburgh, demonstrated what it says is the first automatic "brick"meshing program ever. Algor says, "Most experts believe that eight-node brick elements provide the most accurate engineering results." Algor's new Hexagen software is similar to its Hypergen solid-mesh generator in that it creates a solid mesh automatically from a surface mesh. But Hexagen creates eight-node, 3-d hexahedral brick meshes instead of conventional four-node, tetrahedral (triangular pyramid) solid-mesh elements. Previously, brick elements could only be created manually not automatically. Hexagen runs on IBM (International Business Machines Corporation, Armonk, NY, www.ibm.com) The world's largest computer company. IBM's product lines include the S/390 mainframes (zSeries), AS/400 midrange business systems (iSeries), RS/6000 workstations and servers (pSeries), Intel-based servers (xSeries) 386 and 486 PCs or Unix workstations. The PC version costs $1200; the workstation version $2400. |
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