Living in a remote place like McMurdo Station in Antarctica means you don’t get access to a lot of high-tech handholding. So what does an engineer or researcher do when they’re charged with designing a remotely operated vehicle (ROV) for exploring marine life in the frigid tundra of Antarctica? What this engineering team did is turn to SolidWorks 3D CAD software and COSMOS design analysis tool because, researchers say, of the pair’s fast learning curve.
With the SolidWorks software, the research team, which is sponsored by the National Science Foundation, was able to create an ROV that allows engineers to study the ocean floor 1,000 feet deep and further away from the McMurdo station before having to don dry suits. The ROV design has motors and a long umbilical cord that enables it go much deeper than any human diver, while its onboard high-resolution camera will provide detailed images of the ocean floor and the strange acquatic life that lives there.
SolidWorks says the team’s Chief Engineer Robert Zook was able to teach himself the CAD software using tutorials and with some guidance from a SolidWorks reseller, GoEngineer. Who knows what Zook can teach himself next time.
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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