RSS Feeds
CAD/CAM news and updates
Katherine Tyrka, France -- Design News, July 16, 2001
Paris — Paris—Internet collaboration, e-business, and digital mock-up marked the common themes of this year's Paris-based MICAD (March 6–8) and Germany's Hannover-based CeBIT (March 22–28) exhibitions. Stand visits on the show floors turned up the following highlights:
CAD releases.Pro/Engineer 2001 was launched at MICAD, with more than 400 enhancements. This is PTC's fourth major release of the software. Direct modeling capabilities, which lets users create features and edit models directly with the mouse, gives a more intuitive interface and reduces mouse clicks by 40 percent. The new release offers interactive surface design, with freeform as well as parametric modeling. Part comparison technology provides graphical feedback on geometric differences between two similar parts. 2D sketches can be associated with the model and automatically updated to incorporate model changes. PTC has also announced a Pro/Engineer rental program for users that have peaks in workflow or need additional features for a specific project, and for suppliers who need to work in native files for limited periods (Enter 537)...CATIA V5 release 6 was launched with 17 new products. Integrating the company's Safework technology, CATIA V5 has new human modeling capabilities for ergonomic analysis. The new Component Application Architecture is a tool set that enables users to expand the CATIA application by integrating company-specific know-how, and developing extensions to existing applications using Application Programming Interfaces (APIs) (Enter 538)...SolidDesigner 2001, released by CoCreate, offers improvements in user interaction, drawing performance, and Internet collaboration. The new release has drag-and-drop interaction for models and imported designs, a new Mold Design Advisor, SolidWorks import, and I-DEAS direct interface (Enter 539)...Vellum Solids 2000 Service Pack 1 includes the integration of ACIS 6.2, and perspective in all render modes (Enter 540)...CADfix 4.0 enables more file formats to be imported and exported: CATIA files can be exported from CADfix for the first time and support is also available for VDAFS, Parasolid (11.1), and ACIS (5.3) (Enter 541).
Specialized applications.ICEM 2001 includes new releases of ICEM Surf, CDRS, and 3Dpaint applications. ICEM Surf now has real-time rendering functionality for a dynamic photorealistic environment, Unified Modeling that streamlines the interaction between different geometrical data, and a new Reference Manager for rapid viewing of large and complicated files (Enter 542)...StudioTools 9.6 from Alias/Wavefront now supports large polygonal models, new translators for Spatial ACIS and EAI DirectModel, and a reverse engineering tool for point of cloud processing (Enter 543)...ADAMS v11.0 from Mechanical Dynamics includes enhancements to the Car and Engine modules, which are components of the company's Functional Digital Car. New modules for ADAMS/Car cover durability, vibration, and the ability to parameterize typical automotive components (Enter 544)...In addition, Mechanical Dynamics has partnered with MTS Systems and nCode International to create the "SmartSim Community" to develop a integrated product suite of simulation tools. Joint activities between the companies have already produced Empirical Dynamics Modeling for complex suspension components, Virtual Test Laboratory to valid ADAMS models using MTS tools, and ADAMS/-Durability for fatigue life analysis. LMS SYSNOISE 5.5 is now shipping with Acoustic Transfer Vector (ATV) technology, which enables users to predict noise levels early in the design cycle (Enter 501)...CADKEY Speak, automated voice command software designed for CADKey, is now available for CADKey 99 and 19 through the CADKey Webstore (Enter 502)...ESI has released new versions of PAM-FLOW, SYSWELD, and SYSTUS. The new version of PAM-FLOW for computational fluid dynamics offers aero-acoustic simulation to identify flow-induced noise sources, and enhanced coupling with PAM-CRASH. For welding simulation, SYSWELD now gives a new database of engineering practices to guide users through welding and heat process simulation. The new version of SYSTUS, ESI's multiphysics simulation software, includes a Geomesh module to improve CAD/CAE interoperability and speed cleaning and meshing of CAD geometries (Enter 503)...Algor software presented a new graphical user interface that gives right-click functionality for application, modification, and removal of loads, constraints, and finite element properties for all analysis types. "Because FEA is an iterative process with one analysis often leading to another," says CEO Michael Bussler, "the new interface increases the engineer's overall efficiency by enabling quicker, easier modification of model properties," (Enter 504)...Dassault Systèmes has signed an agreement to acquire SRAC. SRAC's COSMOS line of analysis software is fully associative with SolidWorks, Autodesk Inventor, and Solid Edge, and will now also be used to bring analysis expertise to Dassault's CATIA V5 analysis solutions (Enter 505).
Collaboration. UGS has announced a new portal, Solid Edge Exchange, for secure exchanges of Solid Edge files and services such as visualization for 2D and 3D data files and real-time, interactive conferencing via a Web browser (Enter 506)...Windchill ProjectLink from PTC is a Web-based workspace based on Windchill v6.0 for a design project team to work collaboratively within an enterprise, in a private exchange, or over a public B2B exchange. Windchill ProjectLink includes a flexible pricing model and an ASP hosting option (Enter 507)...SDRC has integrated I-DEAS and Metaphase into one product, I-DEAS Enterprise. This combination of MCAD and PDM products gives the same user interface to development teams and suppliers via the Java-based Team Browser with a team-based administrative utility (Enter 515)...Autodesk Streamline is a hosted service designed for small and mid-sized manufacturers to share design data across the extended manufacturing enterprise, including sales, marketing, purchasing, documentation, shop floor, and suppliers. The service automatically tailors product information to the type of user. For example, the designer sees the complete product structure, procurement sees only the BOM, and the shop floor receives assembly instructions (Enter 516).
Kernel shifts.PTC is now licensing Granite One, a software development environment based on the Pro/Engineer kernel. Granite-based application will therefore be associatively interoperable with other Granite-based applications, including Pro/Engineer. Granite One will be incorporated into future releases of Pro/DeskTop® and Moldflow (Enter 517)...Following its acquisition by Dassault Systèmes last November, Spatial has released version 6.3 of its ACIS kernel, which includes improvements in 3D model translation and healing component technology. Spatial and UGS have also signed an agreement to improve interoperability between ACIS and Parasolid solid modeling kernels, which are used as the basis for many design engineering applications (Enter 518).Next year, MICAD 2002 will be held from March 26–28. CeBIT will go from seven to eight days, March 13–20.
Further information is on the shows websites: www.birp.com for MICAD, and www.cebit.de.
Talkback
DN's Resource Center Get Free Information, Made Easy
-
Understanding a Modular Instrumentation System for Automated Test
National Instruments | White Paper
Request Item -
Advanced Features of High Speed Digital I/O devices : White Paper Series
National Instruments | White Paper
Request Item
