You’ve heard all about how 3D technology can be tapped to design everything from football-field-size airplanes to the latest high-tech mountain bikes. Well, what about employing 3D to solve one of the world’s great mysteries: How the Great Pyramid of Kheops was built.
Jean-Pierre Houdin, a French architect, has come up with a theory, which is says is scientifically proven thanks to the use of Dassault Systemes’ real-time 3D solutions. At a recent conference, Houdin created a virtual reality auditorium using seven networked computers running Dassault’s Virtools to recreate the pyramid construction site in 3D, exactly as it was 4,500 years ago.
Houdin’s theory is based on three foundations: The use of an outside ramp to build the first 43 metres of the pyramid; the use of an internal spiral ramp running behind the faces of the pyramid to complete construction; and the use of the Great Gallery to accommodate a system of counterweights to lift some of the heavy granite ceiling rafters, which can weigh in at up to 63 tons.
Almost every automaker has had to 'pick a side' when it comes to alternative fuel options and ways to divest from a reliance on gasoline. Fiat is looking to back compressed natural gas or liquid propane as an interim solution.
Plastic may not be the most beloved of materials to the more environmentally minded, but Plasti 2012 aimed to mold a different opinion of the material in people's minds.
The rare earth element market has become steadily more rational, and new sources coming online will continue to reduce costs. Still, it is unlikely that prices will drop to their former lows.
Against a backdrop of mounting product complexity and a need to keep a lid on development costs, companies are recognizing a need to make simulation a more integral part of the design process. In response, vendors in the CAD world are building out CAE functionality as part of their CAD suites while simulation vendors are building tighter integrations to leading CAD tools. Keith Meintjes, Ph.D., Practice Manager, Simulation and Analysis at CIMdata, Inc., joins Design News CAD Editor Beth Stackpole in this radio program to explore the new face of integrated CAD and CAE, how companies are benefitting from this tighter partnership between platforms, and how integrating CAE earlier in the development cycle pays off in optimized product designs.
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