Here’s a riddle for you. How do you know if two versions of a CAD file that appear visually the same are the same? The truth is, often you don’t.
Kubotek USA is aiming for a different answer. The Marlborough, MA , company has released the Kubotek Validation Tool, a product designed to assure manufacturers that two CAD models that visually appear the same truly are geometrically identical. Kubotek is aiming to help solve a common problem: Changes in the definition of a 3D model can happen anywhere in the process—either amongst the internal development team or within the supply chain. These changes can be concealed and imbedded in the 3D CAD data and if undetected, can cause disastrous errors resulting from unintentional edits or translation errors when a model is passed between engineering groups. The Kubotek Validation Tool tests the 3D model and generates reports, including a simple pass-fall indicator, a tamper-proof validation certificate and a detailed listing of any differences found.
The software works with models from all the major CAD systems without requiring any CAD licenses. Kubotek claims its approach is better suited as a comparison tool for solid models coming from multiple CAD programs. Instead of Boolean differencing or measuring point deviations, which other similar programs employ, the company uses Kubotek’s Face Logic technology to analyze the geometric data types found in solid models based on a specified tolerance. Additional tests compare mass properties results and count geometry and topology.
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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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