Part of the process

Part of the processBy Laura Carrabine

July/August 2002 VDO North America is a leading supplier of electronic information and control systems for original equipment manufacturers in the automotive, heavy duty, industrial, marine, and power sports industries, as well as instrumentation and electrical products to the automotive, marine, and industrial after markets. The company has been using Moldflow software to great effect for three years

VDO North America produces a wide range of vehicle systems and components including information, navigation and audio in-car systems, complete cockpit and dashboard modules, complete truck cabins, engine and fuel management modules, cruise controls, throttle body assemblies, and sensors.

Its North American customers include GM, Saturn, Mercedes-Benz, BMW, Volkswagen, Bombardier, Freightliner, Land Rover, MACK, Navistar, John Deere, Caterpillar, Paccar, Mercury Marine, Harley Davidson, and Yamaha, among others. VDO is a certified ISO 9001/QS 9000 & ISO14001 manufacturer.The company's Cheshire, CT-based VDO operation designs and manufactures automotive sensors and actuators. Its main customers are Ford, GM and Chrysler. VDO design engineers use I-DEAS, Catia, and 3CP for Ford CAD packages. Manufacturing engineer Dana Bryan uses Moldflow software from Moldflow Corporation for simulating and analysing plastic parts.Bryan says: "A little over three years ago, we started using Moldflow Plastic Adviser (MPA) during the upfront design phase to double check wall thickness, for example. Since then, we obtained Moldflow Plastics Insight (MPI) Flow, Cool, Thermoset, Fusion and Warp modules to aid in gathering all possible data we can to help us make the right decisions the first time. Ninety percent of the materials we use are engineering polymers such as nylons and polyesters and most are 30+ per cent glass filled. Using Moldflow is really critical to predict the warp on parts using these materials.In fact, today we will not select a gate location until we perform warpage analysis."Meeting challengesVDO customers demand high quality, reliable products that are cost effective and delivered on-time. "We know we can meet these challenges," adds Bryan, "because of the upfront analysis work. We use design and process FMEA (failure mode and effects analysis) spreadsheets comprised of possible problems that can arise. Using Moldflow, we can troubleshoot design errors."

In addition, design engineers use Pro/Mechanica software to check for a parts structural integrity.KJ Sensor reservoir at 33% fill - no flow tab KJ Sensor reservoir at 100% fill - no flow tab

KJ Sensor reservoir at 33% fill- with flow tabKJ Sensor reservoir at 100% fill - with flow tab

When designs warrant a change, the redesigned part is re-analysed using MPA or MPI throughout the product lifecycle to assure that the part and the manufacturing processes are accurate and meet specifications. "We don't want any surprises once the part moves to the manufacturing floor," says Bryan. "The APQP teams are integral to product quality and manufacturability."That's why we use Moldflow. We want to make sure that our designs are robust and will fill properly. The software helps us eliminate unwanted knit lines and filling problems. Our parts must be completely sealed. If engine fluids or water seep in, they can damage the sensors."

All the product development information is shared across the board, even with the mold makers. In addition, The CT-based VDO operation maintains a reliability lab where environmental and DV/PV testing is conducted. Bryan adds: "On the shop floor, we also take into account lean manufacturing and Kaizen principles in all of our line set ups. The Kaizen business strategy involves everyone in an organisation working together to make improvements without large capital investments. Moldflow is part of all that process."He says that VDO plans to use Moldflow for 3D-flow analysis in the future. "Many of our parts are over-molded," says Bryan. "We have a thermoset ncapsulation that is being overmolded by thermoplastic. I am hoping that 3D flow capabilities will provide a lot of data on the stresses and strains caused the actual part being in there. This functionality is something Moldflow is considering." Bryan attests that ever since implementing Moldflow software three years ago, his team has enjoyed excellent results. "Today, it's company policy that a part will not be manufactured without performing Moldflow analysis. As a result, we have saved ourselves a lot of design-related issues, problems, and headaches. Performing the simulations is definitely worth it in terms of improving product quality and saving time and money."

Significant projectsRecently, Bryan worked on a reservoir for a GM fuel pump that involves a large mold. "The mold operators were injecting the product from the top of the mold. The part was filling the rounded side of the part first and the flatter side second. As a result, they experienced a thin wall problem on one end caused by core deflection. We used Moldflow to simulate different flow leaders to promote flow to the other side to help the part fill more uniformly. That effort worked beautifully and the team was very pleased that we solved the problem so easily. We saved six to eight weeks in tooling time and $10,000 in tooling costs for just that one part."Since that project, Bryan was asked to make a change to a different fuel pump. Prior to doing so, he used Moldflow to confirm the flow leader. "The general trend here and throughout the company is to verify the design and/or design changes prior to building or modifying the tool(s). Our teams throughout the world want proof that the designs will work the first time," Bryan notes. "People are beginning to realise how powerful Moldflow tools really are and subsequently, relying on them to solve problems they've experienced in the past and to prevent problems in the future," Bryan adds. For a recent sensor project, called medium data rate (MDR) crank position sensor, Bryan and the MDR team analysed and molded the parts using different materials such as nylons and PBTs. "For warpage, it was critical that we correctly determined the gate location so that the nose position was correct relative to the flange. We redesigned the whole rear section wall thickness and gating configuration to eliminate the differential shrinkage and orientation effects," adds Bryan.He says he can conduct multiple Moldflow analyses for his colleagues located around the world. He can provide next-day results. "My ability to quickly deliver simulation results can slash time and money off important projects. I know the software is making a big difference," Bryan explains.Design engineers are also using Moldflow as a critical sales tool. "Because we do a lot of work for Chrysler," says Bryan, "our designers will analyse the proposed design(s) prior to approaching the customer. Their proactive strategy is helping win new business. The customer has the confidence that we can do the work.Since the merger of Siemens and VDO, Siemens VDO Automotive Corporation management recently asked Bryan to contribute to a brochure being developed that discusses the capabilities of Moldflow within the organisation. The document is meant to instruct the organisation how the technology is helping improve productivity and save time and money.Bryan runs his software on HP UNIX workstations. He says he has a good relationship with the Moldflow support team. "Moldflow's support team have always been easy to work with and helpful," notes Bryan. This week, Bryan is honing his Moldflow skills by enrolling in certification training at Moldflow's corporate training center. "I'm always learning new ways to use the technology. Gaining certification will help promote our organisation as more proficient than our competition. Moldflow certification will be an excellent marketing tool in gaining new business," concludes Bryan. Initial prototype design of KJ SensorRevised prototype desin and ultimate production design of KJ Sensor

Small is beautifulJuly/August 2002 It's a Nicam digital television. It's a DVD/VCD video player. It's a CD player and FM radio. It's a digital stereo system. And it's a powerful PC. And at a mere 64 mm (2.5 inches) deep, it's probably the world's smallest footprint all-in-one PC. What's more, it's British

The Cassius Intertainment Centre and its sister product, the Cassius Pro, were designed by Densitron Computers, a division of Densitron Technologies, of Biggin Hill in Kent. They recently went on sale in selected high street stores in the UK, as well as in the USA and Japan.As a world-wide company with a long history in display devices and industrial computers, the Cassius was a bold step for Densitron. It was the company's first foray into the retail end of the computer marketplace and the first time that the company had designed a product that didn't already have a customer waiting for it. Rigorous market research and analysis were essential elements in the development process, as were the latest 3D solid modelling design techniques.As design manager Edward Price explained: "With the electronics design for the Cassius being carried out in the Far East and the mechanical design and packaging being performed in the UK, the main challenge was to ensure that the electronics and mechanical design moved forward simultaneously in order to keep the development time-scale as short as possible. As the mechanical design was driven by the size of the electronic components, this demanded tight integration between the two design disciplines, as well as regular use of the Internet and a mechanical design tool that would enable us to package everything into the smallest possible space without difficulty".The design tool Densitron selected for this was Solid Edge, from EDS PLM Solutions. This was supplied to them and is supported by Birmingham-based Solid Edge value-added reseller, Solid Applications Ltd.Integrated designOnce Solid Applications' engineers had installed and implemented Solid Edge at Densitron's offices, the design process for the Cassius started with taking a standard 15" TFT LCD flat screen and then allowing some space for the various connections. This established the minimum overall size of the complete unit. An important aspect of the design process at this early stage was the use of a Solid Edge third-party add-on software product known as PCB-to-3D, which again, was supplied by Solid Applications. This allowed a 3D space model of the PCB physical design, or layout, to be created and read into Solid Edge to provide the mechanical design team with the space information they needed. Importantly, it also enabled them to move components around on the PCB in order to achieve the optimum layout in terms of physical space allocations.The modified PCB layout was then transmitted back to the Far East via the Internet in order for the electronics design team to update its design accordingly, check that it still performed as required and to then confirm this back to the UK. Assembly modellingAs the mechanical design developed, the assembly modelling facilities in Solid Edge became essential in ensuring that everything fitted into the smallest possible space.Eventually, every single component of the Cassius was included in the assembly model to ensure that there was no interference between individual components and that everything fitted into the available space. It also enabled the finished unit's weight and centre of gravity to be calculated so that the team could ensure that on its stand, it met safety regulations for tilt angle etc."With the high component count involved and with only a millimetre between many of them, the assembly modelling facilities in Solid Edge were a crucial element in this stage of the development process and saved us a great deal of time and re-working," said Price.With design of the Cassius nearing completion, the next step was to test market a working version of the product. Solid Edge was used to create accurate STL files of the Cassius' casing from the 3D model. These were provided to a rapid prototyping bureau for the production of a sterolithography prototype.This prototype was then used to produce ten silicon mouldings of the unit, which were fitted out with prototype PCBs, standard components and connections etc. to make ten working units. These were shipped to the USA for demonstration at the annual Comdex computer show. Meanwhile, rendered images of the completed 3D model were produced using the in-built visualisation facilities in Solid Edge and sent to the marketing department for use in the first publicity leaflets for the Cassius. As Price explained: "Being able to do all this from within Solid Edge gave us major advantages in terms of our time-to-market and our development costs. For a start, we didn't have to spend anything at this pre-market acceptance stage on expensive mould tools. And we could produce photo-realistic images of the product for the marketing documentation before anything had even been built."The result of the test marketing exercise at Comdex was a very strong interest in the Cassius from several possible sales outlets and the decision by Densitron to go ahead with manufacturing and a full product launch. Downstream applicationsThe design team's attentions then turned to liaising with its suppliers in order to get the first production units finished in the agreed time frame. With the injection mould tools to be produced by a company in China, Solid Edge was used to produce accurate IGES files of the appropriate parts, which were then transmitted as Zip files via the Internet to China. The resulting mould tool designs were right first time.Meanwhile, the sheet metal manufacturer in the UK was getting on with his part of the work. For some of the more complex shapes, the sheet metal design facilities in Solid Edge were used by Densitron's engineers to create the flat pattern information the manufacturer required. Other parts were sent as 3D component files, together with a set of detailed engineering drawings along with DXF files, so that the manufacturer had as much information as was possible in order to keep time-scales and costs down.Solid Edge was also used to create hidden-line-removed drawings from the 3D models, which were then imported into Microsoft Word for inclusion in the technical and user support documentation, saving the time and cost of having illustrations produced independently.Summing up the value of using 3D solid modelling design techniques, Price commented: "Without Solid Edge it would have been impossible for us to design the Cassius in anything like the time we did. Its assembly modelling facilities and ability to communicate design information with other applications were key here. Once you have an accurate 3D model, the data can be used in a wide range of areas. All in all, Solid Edge has already paid for itself many times over."An edge over the competition By Colin MathewsUGS' mid range solid modelling solution Solid Edge is now in release 10 with a massive range of customer-driven enhancements to improve functionality and productivity for all aspect of the mechanical design process. C3's review team gets into the latest version and comes away impressed.

Development of the design centric solid modellers continues apace with version 10 of Solid Edge. Aimed primarily at mechanical design, UGS claims to have delivered enhancements commonly requested by their 8,000 customers.Despite intensifying competition, the progressive maturity of the modellers reduces scope for major additions, forcing new releases to rely upon functionality gap filling and productivity enhancements. Highlights in v10 include assembly configurations, sheet metal flat version enhancements, weldments and drawing view handling.

By definition assemblies contain multiple parts, usually in order to allow relative movement between them. Since components are intended to occupy several if not numerous relative positions, it is important that each critical position can be represented for review in the CAD model. Version 10 introduces Alternate Position assemblies allowing different configurations to be created and specified wherever the assembly is used including drawing views. This avoids the need to create multiple versions of the assembly by containing all configurations in a single assembly file.

Component positions can be driven by numeric variables for all or selected instances. A variation on this ability is Family of Assemblies which also enables some parts and subassemblies to be different between the configurations. The power of this feature is evident in the intelligent handling of mates which are maintained with the replacement parts wherever possible. This mate handling also applies if a part is manually replaced into the assembly. It is also possible to specify whether all or selected instances are to be replaced.

In many cases the design process does not allow the optimum assembly structure to be established before modelling commences. What ensues is often a flat structure with most components placed at the root level. A number of restructuring tools are now available to subsequently manipulate the hierarchy without losing positional relationships. The New Assembly command creates a new subassembly within the existing tree containing the pre-selected parts or subassemblies while Transfer allows parts to be moved from one assembly to another.

Disperse transfers parts from a subassembly up a level to the next highest assembly. In complex assemblies in can be frustrating to locate individual components so the new Scroll to Part function available form a pop-up menu when right clicking on a component in the graphics area is a welcome addition.

Although in-place activation of parts for editing within an assembly is a powerful method of working it can take some time to switch between environments. Peer Variables allow direct access to part variables within an assembly without full activation. Since variables for multiple parts can be accessed in this way, links can easily be created between them within the assembly. Visibility in parts and assemblies is enhanced with the ability to manipulate part colours. The colour can be specified for parts, individual faces and features with the ability to override these part attributes in the assembly if required.

The colour format to be used for a part is defined by the highest level assembly in which the part occurs. Threads can be graphically represented in colour to maintain identification whilst avoiding the need to build the geometry. Tapered threads can now be applied to pipes with the ability to set an accentuated angle for model representation to aid visibility.These tapered threads are supported in drawing views. Significant new modelling functionality includes Excel data driven curves and the ability to create a cut-out or protrusion that is normal to a face wherever the profile contacts the face. Multiple construction surfaces can now be stitched together into a single surface. The Make Base Feature command takes this a step further by allowing surfaces containing a volume to be converted into a solid feature. This has obvious applications for the import of legacy data and will even attempt to heal minor gaps with tangential patches for which a user defined tolerance can be set.

Physical properties can be calculated to user defined co-ordinate systems or even specified manually to allow true properties to be applied in assemblies for parts such as bought in items that need not be fully modelled. This ability can also be used in an assembly for non-physical parts such as glue.

The ability to model and view both formed and flat pattern versions of sheet metal parts is a significant benefit of working in 3D. It is no longer necessary for the flat pattern to be a separate file in Solid Edge, avoiding the need to manage two files for a single part. The 3D design edit mode and flat pattern mode are represented as sections in the Feature Pathfinder with the active mode highlighted in bold. When a sheet metal part is placed into a drawing the flat pattern is detected and a prompt given to specify flat or folded form for the view. Feature Pathfinder sections are also used to switch between the main fully detailed model and simplified configurations with features suppressed to speed up manipulation.

Weldment features are now created in a process specific environment into which an existing assembly is loaded. A weld preparation configuration can be created for features to be added to components in the weldment context PWD file then saved out as individual part files. Alternatively such features could be created in the original part files as configurations that are then specified in the assembly. Weld fillets can be created with equal or unequal set backs or by specifying the bisector thickness.Weldment features can be associatively driven by the base assembly including mirror and pattern instances. The part weight of weld features can also be defined for accurate mass property calculations.

Provision of a drawing view out-of-date tool is a significant enhancement to the Draft environment. With multiple referenced files it is easy for views and part references to become out-of-date but far less easy to locate the cause. Drawing view borders are highlighted with thin lines for out-of-date views and thick corner borders for out-of-date model references. The neat part of the Drawing View Tracker is not only identifying the out-of-date parts but also offering sequential instructions for rectifying the situation.

Once updated, drawing views also highlight any residual dangling dimensions. A Dimension Tracker also enables revisions to be annotated. Drawing views now support the selection of simplified and sheet metal flat configurations plus the new family of assembly capabilities. Dimension commands have been extended to include a variety of chamfer callout options and the ability to align annotations such as linear dimensions, balloons and callouts.

File compatibility is improved with an integrated ACIS SAT file import and export translator and improved AutoCAD functionality. Embedded objects such as Microsoft Excel or Word files are exported to version 14 or 15 files and elements such as filled arrow heads, tolerance annotations and hatch boundaries are supported.Interoperability with the flagship Unigraphics product is also improved. Version 10 certainly delivers a raft of new functionality with assembly configurations and the drawing view tracker offering vital and innovative capabilities respectively. Solid Edge is not designed to appeal to designers wanting extensive control over organic forms. Instead, it does exactly what it says on the tin - mechanical design - and does it very well. Inevitably it will appeal to users needing a solution offering interoperability with Unigraphics.

Version 10 costs 4,995 although during July & August it is available to companies currently using AutoCAD for 2,500. The enhanced import feature recogniser is an additional 500 and as an additional promotional offer the excellent interactive engineering handbook is available free between June and September with the first year's subscription also free.www.cuttingedge.co.uk

Fire powerMay 2002Switching to solid modelling has drastically cut production times at Focal Point Fires - the UK's largest, independent fuel-effect fire manufacturerProduct design manager Peter Rosoman says using Solid Edge - an EDS software package provided and supported by specialist systems integrators Cadac - has transformed the production process. A section through a Flueless Stove produced using Solid Edge"Now," says Rosoman, "it is possible to receive a request for a new component by 9 am and have it drawn up and emailed to his fabricator team the same day, ready for work to start immediately." Previously, this would have taken much longer, perhaps up to a week. With particularly complex designs, a site visit to the fabricators to run through the design details might also have been necessary."Working with 2D CAD was fine when the company was smaller," Rosoman explains. "But it was very basic and we had to rely more on the fabricators. Using Solid Edge saves time and money, but there's more to it than that," he insists. "From my point of view, with 2D I would have had to draw it and explain it to the fabricators, and maybe even had to visit them. Now I can give them an unfolded development plan and email it straight to them."It also means that when our directors ask us to come up with a new product we can show them exactly how it will look. We can do a walk-through of the room, going in through the door and zooming-in to the fire. It gives us a much greater degree of confidence that the finished product matches our design." Fire worksFocal Point Fires was established in 1984 and has grown swiftly from a small enterprise to an established, multi-million pound company. Based in Christchurch, it is the largest independent manufacturer of domestic gas and electric fires with a market share of over 50 per cent. The company has an annual turnover approaching 30 million and a key customer is the B&Q chain. "We needed a new CAD programme and Cadac advised us to go for Solid Edge," says Rosoman. "They didn't try to oversell us things we didn't need. They also supported the package with training, which was vital. We went on a training course, which made the programme easy to understand and afterwards I was able to start work on it straight away."Adrian Taylor of Cadac SMP adds, "From our very first meeting it was obvious to us that Focal Fires were clearly aiming to dominate their marketplace. We were certain that adding Solid Edge into their formula would be the catalyst that would help to get them there".In common with so many manufacturing firms, they could achieve their designs so much quicker with the 3D approach. They had plenty of new product ideas but it was taking them far too long with their 2D system to draw up and create prototypes of the new models. In particular, cast grates would be a constant source of headache due to the complex sweeping curves and draft angles."This was the test that Solid Edge was placed up against. It proved by far the easiest system to create the final part having used a much more straightforward command set and needed far fewer mouse and keyboard inputs to complete the modelling than its rivals"."Cadac provides ongoing assistance and if I ever get stuck I can always give them a quick call," says Rosoman. There are still some aspects of the package that he is not yet using to full capacity, such as being able to design detailed scrollwork on brass fire fronts and this is something he will be talking to Cadac about in the future.

Discreet's 3ds maxJune 20023DMax and ART's RenderDrive were used to great effect by artist Barclay Shaw during the visualisation stages of the recently-completed Information Dominance Centre. This facility was built for the US Army Intelligence and Security Command to address the increasing demands of the information ageShaw's visualisations helped understand what the facility would look like and be like to work in

Artist Barclay Shaw recently recieved an interesting assignment from The Land Information Warfare Activity (LIWA ) branch of the US Army Intelligence and Security Command. The project was to assist in the design and visualisation of a proposed new facility, The Information Dominance Center. This was to be a state of the art facility designed to address the increasing technological demands created by the information age.The idea was to have the facility environment reflect and be conducive to the type of work being done there. The design process was a group effort encompassing LIWA personnel, designers, and architects. Shaw's task was to work on development of the interior design treatment and to create visualizations of those designs. The still imagery and animated fly-throughs turned out to be an invaluable aid in understanding what the facility would actually look like and be like to work in.One byproduct of the accuracy of the reality-based renderings generated by ART's RenderDrive was that many design decisions and material selections could be made based on the renderings alone, avoiding costly prototyping.Vision made true Construction of the facility was recently completed and Shaw describes walking through it was one of the spookiest experiences of his life. He comments: "Having dealt with the illusion of 3D throughout my career, this was the first time I have ever had a design made real. I knew the facility like the back of my hand from building the 3D model, yet I had never set foot in it before. It certainly brought home the power of visualisation."

Barclay Shaw has been self-employed as a freelance artist since 1978. His artistic influences cover a broad range: from the Pre-Raphaelites to the Surrealists to the 60's Psychedelic Poster movement to contemporary artists as diverse as Louise Nevelson and Edward Klienholz. Aninitial passion for sculpture translated itself into his painting as an expression of dimensionality through a surreal, pristine and highly sculptural rendering style. Mixing it up"I find each medium has its own expressive appeal and am eternally intrigued with the interaction between different media. Consequently, I have enthusiastically embraced combining various media within individual works," says Shaw.Early in the 1990's the desktop digital medium matured to the point where it became a truly usable artistic tool and which Shaw describes as a revelation:"Here was a medium that allowed me to combine interests in painting and sculpture as well as long standing interests in animation and music production. Over the course of the 90's I have made the transition from incorporating digital design elements into traditional media, to using traditional media as elements within digital compositions; then expanded that to include animation and sound design. So, in addition to traditional art tools, my studio now includes both Macintosh and Windows/NT platforms and has full digital audio and digital video production capabilities."Shaw continues: "My initial foray into the realm of digital media was on the Macintosh platform. But after a few years I began looking into programs that were more robust for 3D content creation than was available on the Mac at the time, and so made the move to 3DS Max on NT. I love working in Max and have found it to be an extremely deep and powerful tool with one reservation - its renderer. I could spot a Max rendering across the room by its underlying greyish flatness. A lot of dancing with lighting, texturing and environmental effects was necessary to overcome these rendering problems. Over time, Max has made enormous strides in dealing with this issue, but a lot of dancing is still required to produce an acceptable image."For an artist, image quality is paramount regardless of medium. Beyond content, it is image quality by which work is judged and on which future work depends. The most brilliant concept poorly realized will suffer accordingly. For my purposes, the answer to 3D rendering issues is raytracing. The accurate reflections, refraction and reality based lighting effects achieved through raytracing (and only simulated in phong rendering) are exactly what I look for in 3D rendering. The primary difficulty with software based raytracers is the tradeoff between high image quality and long rendering times; where rendering time alone can make a fully raytraced scene impractical and a partially raytraced scene just that.Driving forceAfter I first saw RenderDrive, it took me a few months before I bit the bullet and purchased a unit; as a solo artist this represented a significant investment on my part. The RenderDrive contains a series of dedicated raytracing processor chips that fully raytrace a Max scene with remarkable speed. The unit resides on the network and operates transparently within Max through software plugins; setup could not be easier. From my first image produced on the RenderDrive I could tell I had made a sound investment. Here were beautiful vibrant colors, convincing natural shadows and stunningly accurate reflections and refraction - all without the dancing! I have found that using the RenderDrive has significantly increased my productivity by generating imagery of substantially higher quality with much less setup time. From a business perspective, this increased productivity and ability to realize images up to my highest artistic standards has allowed me to please my clients and expand my client base. In addition I found that I had fully recouped the cost of the unit after just a few jobs.For the past few years I have had the pleasure of working with Program Managers at The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, creating illustrations and animations for a variety of their projects. The move from Science Fiction to this was hardly noticeable. On the basis of my work for DARPA, I have also received work with a number of related concerns. The enemy within

May 2002

The systems that keep aircraft in the air and guide them safely to their destinations are heavily reliant on electronics, both onboard the aircraft, on the ground and, increasingly, in orbit. Ensuring that these systems work in harmony with each other and with natural electromagnetic phenomena such as lightning is a vital part of the aircraft manufacturer's job

Aviation has benefited more than most industries from the information revolution. Military aircraft depend heavily on electronics. As well as navigation and flight control they also need to be able to locate, identify and pinpoint potential threats and targets. Some of these activities involve powerful laser and radar systems with significant levels of electromagnetic radiation. It is therefore vital that the various systems do not interfere with each other or compromise the safety of the crew. These are among the sensitive issues dealt with by the experts at BAE Systems.Responsibility for BAE Systems whole vehicle electromagnetic testing and analysis falls under the auspices of the Electromagnetic Engineering and Test department based at Warton, Lancashire, a department which reflects the planned change of remit from just aircraft to a broader base of land, sea and air vehicles.

Such developments are likely to put an even greater strain on the computation analysis team. "Our product portfolio already includes Nimrod and Eurofighter, both extremely complex aircraft in their own different ways," says Chris Jones, Technologist Consultant in the Electromagnetic Engineering department. "Each vehicle we deal with has probably been designed in a number of different locations and possibly with a number of different design systems. But the analyses we perform demand a single, accurate geometric representation and the generation of this geometry is often the single biggest challenge. With new vehicles coming online it will be more vital than ever that we can maintain the integrity of our data - and fast."

Multiple modellers

Jones and his team have been using electromagnetic analysis software since it first became a viable option over 15 years ago. Even then, with the CAD market still relatively young, a survey revealed that there were no less than 17 CAD systems in use within BAE Systems. Consolidation has reduced this number significantly today but there remains a daunting diversity when it comes to defining geometry for computational analysis."Eurofighter is a classic example: the complete geometry comes from four different countries, Germany, Italy, Spain and the UK," says Jones. "We have to bring all this data into a neutral environment, clean it up where necessary, assign material properties, generate a mesh and then format this so that it can be used in our analysis packages."A Eurofighter being prepared for take-off Even if there was just a single analysis package this would be problematical enough, but the different flavours of electromagnetic simulation performed at BAE Systems all demand different codes and different ways of defining mesh geometry.

Analysis methods include, among others, generic transmission line matrix (TLM), finite difference methods and boundary element methods, as well as systems that have been specifically developed for lightning strike and installed antenna performance analysis.

"In effect, we go from a set of CAD systems to a set of numerical analysis codes," says Jones. "Fortunately, we have found a way to avoid a separate data processing nightmare for every combination."

BAE Systems EE&T uses CADfix, the leading data interoperability tool developed by TranscenData (formerly FEGS), as a central resource of geometric data.

Above left and right: Meshes prepared in CADfix for electromagnetic analysis.

Because it offers a reliable link - either directly or via IGES - to every major CAD system on the market, CADfix provides the perfect platform for such a diverse range of data. And because of TranscenData's long heritage in the pre- and post-processing for FEA (CADfix's underlying technology draws heavily on FAM, TranscenData's widely used FE modeller) it is offers the perfect route from raw geometry to refined, analysis-ready mesh.

"CADfix is at the heart of everything we do," says Paul Baker, a BAE Systems Computational Electromagnetics (CEM) specialist. "In effect we use it as the hub of our operation, a central resource for all the geometry we have to work on. Whatever kind of analysis we need to perform, whatever mesh we need, the starting point is always the clean geometry that's been assembled inside CADfix."As well as providing a central data resource, CADfix also makes its presence felt in a manner perhaps more typically associated with TranscenData solutions. Before BAE Systems began using FAM - and later its successor, CADfix - the generation of the meshes on which calculations are based was essentially a manual operation and therefore a lengthy one.

Now, meshes are generated directly within CADfix and the time savings are enormous: a single wing could take six to nine months previously; a whole plane can now be meshed in just three or four hours."Even with the powerful computers we use, an analysis of a complete aircraft can take about ten days," says Baker. "So the last thing we need is to spend ages building meshes. With CADfix we can generate new meshes in just a few hours so we are not restricted when it comes to trying a different kind of analysis."

Graphical feedback

CADfix's powerful post processing capabilities are also used to the fore at BAE Systems. "We use pretty standard mathematical software to retrieve the precise graphs and figures we need for our reports and safety checks," says Baker. "But our first port of call is always CADfix, where we can display field contours on the original CAD model.

This gives an instant picture of where we should be looking for maximum concentrations, and while this is often not much more than a 'sanity check' to make sure we're looking in the right place, it does throw up the occasional surprise."

One such revelation came when looking at the effects of a lightning strike on the cockpit of the Eurofighter.

"Our initial analysis confirmed that a modified design performed just as well as the original, but it also revealed a slight anomaly that would have been impossible to spot through physical testing," explains Baker. "It showed that, during a lightning strike a small but significant current passed through some aerodynamic strakes on the outside of the cockpit. Although this current was within safety standards, there was a very small chance that a spark could have formed at one of the strake's fasteners. Such sparking is the last thing you want in a jet fighter."

Problems like this can usually be fixed quite easily if caught early enough explains Jones:" In this case the problem was fixed with a relatively simple design modification, but without the depth of analysis we get from using CADfix it could have taken us years to spot something so subtle."A race against timeApril 2002At the end of 1999, Toyota formally announced its entry into the Formula One bun fight. With this goal firmly in its sights, Toyota has armed each of its designers with a SpaceMousefrom 3Dconnexion to ensure their design technique is just as dynamic as the car they are creating

Toyota has always relished a challenge and entry into Formula One is certainly that. Starting with what the team calls 'a clean sheet of paper', it has been a very busy couple of years to get from nothing to build a race car to compete against the established F1 teams. To add to the challenge, the Toyota team is building the entire car in-house, allowing its designers a free reign of creativity.To assist its design team, Toyota has invested in over one hundred advanced input devices from 3Dconnexion. The SpaceMouse, which works in conjunction with the traditional 2D mouse, has become an integral part of the race car design process at Toyota. The new car's engine, chassis, gearbox, suspension and brakes have all been designed and modelled using its 3D manipulation capabilities. SpaceMouse products have become a critical part of the overall design process of the cars, allowing designers and engineers to save over 15 percent of their design time by enabling them to move objects intuitively using the zoom, pan and rotate features. Toyota's design and engineering team now has the ability to manipulate 3D objects on the screen, while simultaneously controlling 3D angles and positions for viewing those objects. Slick operation

The CAD/CAM support group of Toyota F1's IT department knows that the need for speed and agility is just as important for the Toyota team off the track as on it, and has overseen the introduction of SpaceMouse into the design department. "We have been using SpaceMouse since the start of the F1 project two years ago," says IT manager, Waldemar Klemm. "Now everyone in the design department has one and every CAD station is provided with one." The introduction of the SpaceMouse to workstations represented a new way of working for most of the designers, and it was important that the transition didn't slow down the design process while they adjusted to it. "The designers who were new to the technology required some training to familiarise themselves with operating a SpaceMouse in one hand and a conventional mouse in the other," says Klemm. "When we first introduced the device to the design team, the initial response was that it made the process more fun, and as a result, the transition from one to two mice went smoother than expected. They soon got used to the intuitive way of working and ultimately, the message was clear: once you've got used to the SpaceMouse - you will never want to give it back." Klemm can identify two areas of design work where the SpaceMouse has been of particular benefit. "Firstly, for digital mock up", he explains. "This is where we do the virtual building to see how individual parts fit together. This involves a lot of movement and turning of the geometry on the screen, which can be achieved faster and more effectively than before by using the SpaceMouse. Without the device it's more difficult to manipulate the geometry and place it in the optimal position for work on the construction design."Secondly, the design area concerned with construction has definitely improved. This is where many edges and surfaces need to be rounded off and tidied up. The SpaceMouse enables this to be achieved easily thanks to the speed and agility that it offers."

Champion's leagueWorking quickly is essential to all aspects of Formula One racing. By only using a common physical interface (traditional mouse), executing even simple moves requires a decision, followed by the necessary keystrokes and mouse clicks. This process can interrupt natural motion, slowing down designers and engineers and actually restricting them from attempting more complete or continuous motion. The greater flexibility and interactivity of the SpaceMouse makes difficult moves easy, allowing a design team to be even more creative."SpaceMouse makes our design work easier and visually better, and I do believe it does enhance our use of Catia," continues Klemm. "It offers more flexibility during the design process and we can make changes more quickly. Indirectly, it has improved the quality of our modelling, by virtue of the fact that the designers can work faster and with less effort. This means they can achieve a higher level of competency by making more optimal manoeuvres on the screen in less time - producing a higher quality overall."The fact that the SpaceMouse is fun use too has its own benefits, as Toyota's F1 design team has discovered. "The designers are far more likely to reach for it to make small but potentially crucial changes, than they would have before, when there was no SpaceMouse to make the process faster and more appealing," says Klemm. "In this way, we know that we have tried every iteration possible, leaving no stone unturned in our search for the ultimate race car design."The greater flexibility and interactivity of the SpaceMouse makes even the most challenging 3D object manipulation moves much easier, allowing the designers and engineers from Toyota to be even more creative in the development of a world-class race car. It is therefore no surprise that the SpaceMouse has become invaluable, as Klemm explains: "After the introduction of the SpaceMouse, some of my colleagues temporarily had to work at CAD workstations in another department with no SpaceMouse. There was immediate uproar and they insisted that they absolutely must have a SpaceMouse as a matter of urgency."

The technology demanded by the intense competition of Formula One racing, where winning is often a matter of a fraction of a second, is the ideal environment for the dynamic SpaceMouse. Toyota's drive for excellence and creativity should hold the team in good stead for a competitive F1 debut. But of course, as the great Murray Walker once said: "With half the race gone, there is still half the race still to go."www.3dconnexion.com

Cashing in with Moldflowby Laura CarrabineCoin mechanism designer and manufacturer, Coin Acceptors, has slashed it's modelling time by 80 percent using Moldflow's MPIPhoto-realistic rendering of a gear tool, designed and built at Coinco

St. Louis-based Coin Acceptors, (Coinco) is a leader in the design and manufacture of coin mechanisms and control systems for vending machines for the global food and beverage vending industry. Senior Coinco engineer, Max Molenaar, supervises the tool design and drafting departments, model shop, prototyping, and computer-aided engineering (CAE) activities, including the use of Moldflow Plastics Insight (MPI) software. The company also uses Pro/ENGINEER Mechanica for stress analysis, as well as Unigraphics and Solid Edge for computer aided design. He says a major challenge to designing the company's products is molding plastic parts that require close tolerances. "Typically, coin changers are restricted in size and require small and accurate components." says Molenaar. "Designing and molding a plastic part to meet our expected criteria can be challenging."Coinco customers demand products that are reliable and tamper-proof. "A combination of good design, careful analysis, and testing helps us achieve reliability and tamper proof devices for our customers," adds Molenaar. Rear view of a Coinco changer component, designed and photo-rendered in Unigraphics Front view of a Coinco changer component, designed and photo-rendered in Unigraphics

topUsing MPIMolenaar and his peers have been using MPI/Fusion software since September 2001. However, the tool design department had already been using flow analysis software at Coinco since the early 1990s, when the company introduced software from C-MOLD for flow analysis. (Moldflow acquired C-MOLD in 2000.) Molenaar migrated to MPI as a beta customer for Synergy, the revolutionary new user interface that debuted with MPI 3.0. "We use MPI for analysing each newly designed plastic part," adds Molenaar. "The software is an integral part of the overall design process, it allows us to achieve the accuracy, the reliability and the consistency that our customers expect. The company established a policy several years ago to perform flow and cooling analyses on each new part during tool design."The other benefit derived from those activities include optimising the design accurately at the beginning of the design cycle, and eliminating subsequent design cycles. In addition, the analysis allows us to plan and position the cooling lines before machining them. This effort helps prevent very costly and time consuming retooling."He says that upfront analysis also helps him make more informed decisions. "We could have a scenario where instead of cooling the mould with water, we could opt for using beryllium copper. The software helps us save time and money because it eliminates the trial and error out of the design cycle. MPI allows us to establish a process for the production floor so operators can easily initiate the start-up process for the mold. They have a processing window ready for them."topCoinco's projectsMolenaar and his team are currently using MPI to design new plastic parts - some as large as 6-inches wide by 18-inches long, and as small as gear pieces with quarter-inch diameters.He says: "Using Synergy for a current project is particularly helpful because we are almost 99 percent sure that the gate locations and cooling lines are accurate. There are aesthetic issues with any product so we make sure that unsightly nit and weld lines do not appear in critical areas that could be visible to the outside. That's why it's also very important to perform MPI analysis during the design cycle - to make sure that we don't have imperfections in cosmetically critical areas."Benefits of using MPIRear view of a Coinco changer component after MPI cooling analysisMolenaar figured out that he and his colleagues were spending up to eight hours per model to generate meshes and clean them up using midplane meshing tools. Using MPI for a current project, he's realized savings so far of 120 man-hours. Over time, he calculated that the company would save more than $26,000 per year as a result of implementing MPI. "The company's return on this investment will be realized in less than a year," adds Molenaar.

topHe says that he and his colleagues have been able to reduce modelling time by 80 percent. "When we participated in the beta test for MPI/Fusion," explains Molenaar, "I selected a small, complex gear as a test model. It required a mesh with a large number of triangles. Using C-MOLD Express, it took four hours to generate a mesh and another three hours of manual labour to correct the mesh. Moldflow's Mesh Generator generated the mesh in about five minutes, but the mesh didn't look any better than the Mesh Express version. Both products caused significant frustration and required additional labor to create something half-way decent."Volumetric shrinkage plot of a Coinco changer componentMelt front plot of a Coinco changer component

However, using MPI/Fusion, Molenaar generated the mesh in just two minutes and spent just 15 minutes cleaning it up. "MPI/Fusion is a revolutionary product. It is saving Coinco time and money in more ways than one."The choice of Moldflow's new state of the art software is in perfect harmony with Coinco's tradition of being on the leading edge of designing and manufacturing plastic components for it's end products.top8 March 2001

Moldflow launches Plastics Xpert 3.0 Moldflow Corporation has announced that Moldflow Plastics Xpert (MPX) 3.0 is now shipping. Moldflow Plastics Xpert 3.0 is enhanced to help automate the process of injection molding machine set-up, optimisation, and control. The new features included in MPX 3.0 help plastics injection moulders address stringent production schedules and challenging product quality requirements.

Plastication (melting phase) Optimisation -- based on user input of material and screw characteristics. Using this information, MPX 3.0 will generate recommended barrel temperature profiles, back pressure settings, and screw rotation settings. Setup Xpert Cooling Time Routine -- specifically optimises and minimises cooling time and overall cycle time. Also included is a Set-up Xpert undo feature.Design of Experiments (DOE) Enhancements -- part weight, dimensions and warpage have been added to the DOE part quality criteria choices and packing time and cooling time have been added as DOE process variables. In addition, users can undo completed experiments, as well as opt to input defect feedback after extended periods of time.Online Process Set-up Sheet -- saves critical process parameters associated with particular production runs. The automatically generated, HTML-based document saves important data related to velocity and pressure files, temperature profiles, and back-pressure and screw speed profiles.IBM and Dassault launch CATIA V5 R627 March, 2001IBM and Dassault have announced the launch of Version 5 Release 6 (V5R6) of CATIA, the business process automation solution for product creation and product lifecycle management (PLM).

Introduced only four months after V5R5, CATIA V5R6 is available worldwide on 23 March 2001 on both the Windows and UNIX platforms. CATIA V5R6 incorporates major improvements to existing products, and introduces 17 new products, bringing to 78 the total number of CATIA V5 products. With its unique specification and knowledge-driven approach, CATIA V5R6 enables easy integration of multiple engineering disciplines through its expanded process coverage. In V5R6, users have integrated capabilities to address all product development processes, to improve product quality, reduce development time and costs, and increase competitiveness. CATIA V5R6 provides companies of all sizes with a full range of product lifecycle management solutions to facilitate innovation and continuously increase design productivity across the collaborative digital enterprise. V5R6 delivers unique functionality in such domains as product synthesis and analysis, including assessing man-machine interaction in the design process, validating a design for manufacture, and defining and validating a manufacturing process. CATIA V5R6 improves significantly every development step of the product, irrespective of the design methods involved, while simplifying knowledge-sharing between manufacturers and subcontractors working together in realtime. Users can develop products while taking into account their specific design environments. CATIA V5R6, with its generative modelling and controlled associativity capabilities, streamlines the design modification process across the entire product development cycle. CATIA's new human modelling capabilities (integrating Safework technology) enable users to create a digital mannequin for such ergonomic analysis as simulating the driver of a vehicle, evaluating his field of vision, predicting his comfort and checking accessibility to various controls. This next generation DMU technology promotes innovation in design and facilitates assessment of man-machine interaction for maximizing comfort and productivity, and for creating optimal conditions for manufacture and maintenance. With CATIA V5R6, IBM and Dassault Systemes deliver the new Component Application Architecture (CAA), an open architecture which, when combined with extensive Application Programming Interface (API) libraries, allows users to integrate their own know-how into specialized CATIA applications. This tool set enables users and technology partners to expand the CATIA application portfolio by developing new extensions to existing applications and new applications within the CATIA V5 framework. In CAA V5R6, companies benefit from an unprecedented openness that they can leverage across their PLM systems to their competitive advantage. www.dsweb.com

Waving the flag

April 2002CATIA V5 Release 7 was a watershed release in V5's short history - it marked the point where users no longer relied on Version 4 for sophisticated capability that was not yet in Version 5. V5 Release 8 confirms this position. There is more process coverage and more core functionality in V5 than there ever was in V4 and V4 will not be retrofitted with this functionality. CATIA Version 5 is very definitely IBM/Dassault's software platform for the future of PLM

Create and model aesthetic and ergonomic shapes to highest Class A quality using global surface modelling techniques, like Shape Modeling, and global feature creation methods, like Global Flange, on top of the ACA productCATIA V5.8 is the latest release of IBM/Dassault's flagship product and delivers significant performance and reliability improvements plus 21 new products that have been developed in close co-operation with existing customers. These deliver improved time to market and reduced costs whilst supporting large-scale deployment of what IBM call 'collaborative relational design'. V5.8 brings significant improvements in process coverage, productivity, and methodology. Things like multi-height pads for aerospace machined parts, complex shape fillets, and tolerant 'all terrain' sweeping for automotive body-in-white. With V5.8, CATIA can be deployed from concept-to-detailed design, thanks to 'publication' and 'federation' mechanisms, to share data in a collaborative environment. These tools which enable advanced collaborative design can be further enhanced by the ENOVIAvpm capabilities to manage and analyse links at the level of individual features across the product structure.

< CATIA - Knowledge Expert 1 (KE1) allows a customer to import and use corporate knowledge stored in rule databases created using CATIA - Knowledge Expert 2 (KE2). Thus, design compliance is ensured with established standardsAlso, the advanced product management and rule-based configuration capabilities within ENOVIAvpm are extended to support CATIA installations on Windows NT and 2000. This provides consistent Virtual Product Design Management (VPDM) across mixed environments of CATIA V4 and V5 on UNIX and Windows. It brings significant benefits to organisations making the transition from UNIX to Windows or within an extended enterprise where VPDM exchange is required across supplier and OEM installations. Collaboration across multiple installations is also significantly enhanced with the VPM multi-site capability for reconciliation of dynamic product data. Flexing some muscleThis release introduces improvements in the function and usability of CATIA V5's P1 platform, which allows SME customers to access the high-value P2 capabilities on the lower cost P1 platform. You can now use P2 applications directly with a P1 seat allowing you the flexibility to truly 'mix and match' according to your individual technical requirements.For example, a P1 installation can be extended to take advantage of advanced P2 applications, such as piping and tubing and creating knowledge rules and applications. These developments use the common user interface and data model shared by all CATIA platforms. There are now no restrictions on how or when new applications can be added. CATIA V5.8 also introduces the new Extended Mechanical Design 1 configuration. This configuration provides in one package all the capabilities required to support the integrated, in-context design of complex parts and assemblies, including sheetmetal components, and comprehensive drafting capabilities.

This release also introduces the ability to access non-CATIA data directly using new MultiCAD plug-ins. The plug-ins provide direct access to data from other CAD systems with associative capabilities to allow modifications in the external data to be propagated to the CATIA product definition. CATIA V5 NC Manufacturing Solutions now offer the largest portfolio of NC manufacturing applications within a single system, covering turning, drilling, 21/2- to 5-axis milling, NC simulation, and rapid prototyping. The Advanced Machining product adds new capabilities to support complex 5-axis milling including Flank Contour Machining. These capabilities were developed in close co-operation with aerospace customers to address their complex manufacturing processes. Other enhancements lead to significant productivity benefits in key operations, such as concentric roughing. A new Preparation Machinist package delivers a cost-effective combination of modelling and NC programming capabilities.

Also new in this release is the NC Manufacturing Review product. NC Manufacturing Review allows the designer to review toolpaths and includes material removal simulation. You can also review toolpaths created using CATIA V4 to ensure that these assets can be reused and updated within any CATIA V5 NC application. CATIA V5's manufacturing products can now take advantage of CATIA knowledgeware, allowing the manufacturing knowledge that is built into the initial design to be used to drive the NC program creation process. For example, the sequencing of machining operations, can be controlled by the Knowledge Expert product, to ensure standardisation of methods and techniques, based on company know how, and to validate toolpaths across the organisation. The complete integration of the V5 Manufacturing Solutions within the overall CATIA solutions portfolio ensures that design tasks take full account of manufacturing constraints and that potential manufacturing problems are minimised. In an interesting departure for IBM/Dassault CATIA V5.8 Manufacturing Solutions can be used stand-alone within any manufacturing organisation. You can also access non-CATIA data directly through the MultiCAD plug-ins. Or using the extensive reverse engineering capabilities.You can now machine directly onto geometry from different CAD systems. No conversions to or from neutral formats are required, and associativity between the imported CAD data files and the NC programs can be maintained, providing rapid response to change requests. This release also extends CATIA V5's knowledge-based engineering capabilities to allow rule base access for design and process validation across the complete product definition. IBM/Dassault believes that the use of knowledge rules will become pervasive throughout the engineering process so Knowledge Expert 1's capability is added to the base Mechanical Design (MD2) and Hybrid Design (HD2) configurations and is part of the new P2 Extended Mechanical Design (XM2) Configuration. Knowledge Expert can now recognise user-defined feature types and attributes and trigger rules based on them to automate operations on these or associated parts. New tools report the status of a complete product against all current rules. New checks facilitate rapid assessment and reporting of rule compliance to provide a clear understanding of the status versus targets.The new knowledgeware reaction feature adds further automation and reuse possibilities, enabling intelligent user-defined features to adapt to their usage context on instantiation or other events. For instance, placing a fastener from a catalogue could automatically trigger creation of the required holes in the joined parts, position it relative to edges, or use other rules to validate such attributes as material suitability. The knowledgeCATIA knowledgeware can now also be applied to the digital mock-up process by using knowledge rules with the space analysis process to perform rule-driven interference checking. By taking into account specific clearance requirements, tolerated contacts, or even limited overlaps, CATIA V5.8 can reduce the time required to review interference and other packaging issues significantly whilst ensuring the compliance of products to the most complex safety regulations or product synthesis standards. Another major strategic push for IBM/Dassault is shipbuilding. V5.8 targets ship design and systems integration with dedicated functions for naval architects and engineering departments in shipyards and their suppliers. The solutions cover outfitting, electrical power and control systems, fluid distribution, and ship structures from concept to functional design, including equipment support structures. Specific applications address key processes in the ship design life cycle, and enhancements to existing CATIA V5 applications support requirements specific to the shipbuilding industry.These advanced capabilities also benefit from the CATIA V5 infrastructure. They enable knowledge-based applications for design automation and rule validation, and inherent associativity throughout the design process. Specification-driven design can be employed where required to ensure compliance with project standards. The 2D logical design can drive the 3D physical definition, preventing the placement of 3D equipment in the ship if it is not part of the 2D P&ID logical definition. The new Structure Preliminary Layout and Structure Functional Design products add specific capabilities to support the ship hull design process. The new HVAC Design and Electrical Cableway Routing products provide complete process coverage from conceptual to detail design for all outfitting disciplines (piping, HVAC, electrical). Ship equipment design (engines, propellers, cooling systems) is already addressed by CATIA V5's mechanical, equipment, and system design. The mould tool design and manufacture products in CATIA V5 have been further enhanced to allow rapid assessment of part mouldability and mould complexity. The new Core and Cavity Design product supports design for manufacture with rapid validation of part mouldability and identification of parting lines, sliders, and loose core requirements to minimise mould tooling costs. There is full downstream associativity to mould tool design and NC manufacturing definitions. The ability to reverse engineer a 3D model from a physical part can be a critical step in the design and manufacture of moulded parts. V5.8 introduces the Quick Surface Reconstruction product, which enables the rapid creation of accurate surface definitions from scanned points. This significantly reduces the time taken from scan to tool in operation. The final piece of the moulded part process for early part validation is the use of stereolithography (STL) to create prototype parts and moulds. CATIA V5.8 has a complete STL interfacing and editing capability, allowing not only import and export, but also significant capabilities for editing and refining the STL model to produce a fully-defined part ready for processing. This capability ensures that intermediate steps and modifications on the machine and trial runs can be reduced to a minimum for maximum productive use of the STL machine and minimised waste. The V5 MultiCAD solutions allow direct validation of mouldability of non-CATIA parts using the Core and Cavity Design product and the knowledge-driven Mould Tool Design product for maximum productivity through process integration. ConclusionCATIA V5.8 essentially consigns V4 to the history books - there is more of everything in V5 and there are no plans to retrofit any of it to V4. So if you are still wavering there is no future in sticking to CATIA V4 and there are significant tools to make your migration as painless as possible.IBM/Dassault invented PLM and there are significant tools in this release to claim leadership in this area. V5 now has MultiCAD and there are standalone products in manufacturing that interoperate with other systems making this release of CATIA the most 'open' ever. There are also new publishing and, to use the latest 'buzzword du jour', federating tools to support every level of collaborative working. IBM/Dassault are still leaning towards the automotive and aerospace communities and CATIA V5 is all the better for it. If IBM/Dassault can get it right for these extremely demanding users - satisfying the requirements of SMEs should be child's play.

Cutter's choiceLawnmower manufacturer Hayter looked to VX CAD/CAM software as the foundation for updating its residential lawnmowersTo satisfy the British preoccupation with well-tended lawns and gardens, not just any lawnmower will do. Whether the lawn is a small back-garden or a sprawling estate, we British insist on durable, well-designed garden tools.For more than half a century Hayter has upheld a fine tradition for manufacturing high quality garden machinery.

The recently redesigned Harrier Model 41 lawnmowerFrom the original design of a two-stroke engine, a blade and a dustbin lid, Hayter's products have evolved so successfully that the company is now a market leader. Hayter is renowned among the gardening industry but has also put professional-grade lawnmowers within the reach of every British gardener who treasures his turf.So, when Hayter set out to redesign its residential Harrier Model 41, it faced a number of challenges: develop a sleek, new design for the residential market; maintain its reputation for performance and long life; accommodate space for a refitted Briggs & Stratton engine; and replace the tooling used to make it. In approaching these challenges, Hayter turned to the CAD/CAM package it relied on to produce its award-winning Harrier 48 model, VX Overdrive from VX Corporation, to achieve a complex design all the way from design through manufacturing. "We wanted to modernise the Harrier 41, but we also wanted to reinforce Hayter's distinctive 'family' appearance," said Paul Goodwin, design engineer for Hayter.

Hayter used VX Overdrive to explore more complex curves, surfaces and free-form shapestop"Most of our residential mowers are wedge-shaped machines with fairly straight lines, but we decided to take advantage of the opportunity and explore more complex curves and surfaces and free-form shapes, but do it in such a way that we maintained the integrity of the Hayter look and feel."

Experimenting with new shapes, but still remaining faithful to Hayter's product identity made it crucial that Hayter retain as much control of the design in-house as possible.

"If you're not using a CAD/CAM package like VX, then you're forced to hand over 2D drawings to outside people and rely on their interpretations of those drawings," said Goodwin. "VX really helped us to be able to produce exactly what we were thinking, including complex curves and shapes. It certainly enabled us not to be daunted by the shapes we wanted. We didn't have to go back to the square shapes and flat sides, which was really satisfying."The project began to take on greater significance as the redesigned Harrier 41 provided a framework for extending the more complex shapes and surfaces to the rest of Hayter's residential product line.

A surface prototype of the Harrier Model 41 lawnmower"In this case, VX really became a platform for moving further in this direction," said Goodwin. "So much so that we began to refer to the new Harrier 41 internally as our 'Genesis Project'." The experience will allow Hayter to incorporate more curves, contours and shapes while reducing costs and improving the manufacturing of future redesign projects.topDuring the concept phase of the project, Hayter used hand drawings to sketch out some of the shapes favoured by the design team. An outside prototyping shop was hired to build a model. The design then moved to VX's hybrid modelling tools, which allowed Hayter to make design changes 'on the fly'. While Goodwin has worked with other types of visualisation software, he believes VX Overdrive is extremely accurate when it comes to machining parts and assemblies.Hayter believes one of the key benefits of VX was the ability to provide a working model of the deck assembly, while still being able to modify it. Data created in VX was easily exported to the casting company for CNC milling and machining.An equally important challenge of the redesign was to reduce noise production and improve grass collection. VX was used to model a new plastic injection-moulded part connected to the underside of the main casting, enabling Hayter to stay well ahead of current and forthcoming noise regulations. Using VX, Hayter was able to sculpt the helix to fit around other parts, while still maintaining functionality."We've used VX for five years at Hayter," said Goodwin. "You can't beat it for functionality. Indeed, the functionality was what helped us control the design through to manufacture."The new Harrier 41 will be introduced to the market in February 2002 but will still be recognisable as a Hayter by its signature dark-green colour.top

Solid solutionsSebastian Conran Associates has a reputation as a hot product design firm, with a variety of design successes under its belt including work on display in the Millennium Dome. Brian Gott investigates the firm's use of Vellum Solids as its main design tool...

To the gastronome about town the name Conran recalls Bibendum, Quaglino's, Bluebird or any of the growing number of designer restaurants opened since 1987 in London, Paris, Stockholm and New York. We oldies, on the other hand, still think of Sir Terence Conran primarily as a designer and retail entrepreneur, emerging as a leader of the British design revolution in the 1950's, founding the international Conran Design Group in 1956, launching the Habitat phenomenon in 1964 and Conran Shop in 1973. Conran has dictated much of our lifestyle for the past 40 years, and still does so in a big way. From their studio at Butlers Wharf at the south end of Tower Bridge, Conran & Partners Ltd produces thousands of consumer product designs every year. Designed in 1989 by architects Conran Roche, the 12 acre Butlers Wharf complex encapsulates the whole Conran experience, with stylish shops, the Gastrodome restaurants, the Design Museum supported by the Conran Foundation and the design consultancy firm of Conran & Partners. 'C&P', as the email address has it, is the latest manifestation of a design house tradition that goes way back to the Conran Design Group founded in 195I.

Conran & Partners was formed in 1999 to amalgamate the interior design interests of the CD Partnership with the product design and graphics interests of Sebastian (son of Terence) Conran's own company - Sebastian Conran Associates - a design consultancy that originated 15 years ago as the designer for Mothercare and its products. This amalgamation has gradually merged into one organisation boasting a total design capability including graphics, interiors and product design. In a recent review of mid range CAD systems(1) David Burns summarised the key differences between mechanical engineering and industrial design: "Mechanical designers tend to design by numbers and parametrics, whereas industrial designers are likely to tweak, nudge, pull and twist their designs until they look right". Sebastian Conran Associates have found that Vellum Solids is the ideal tool for their Computer Aided Industrial Design (CAID) needs, having used Vellum software since 1993. Sebastian Conran points out, "We design everything on Vellum". With 16 designers, six Vellum workstations and a work profile spanning everything from interior architecture to room dcor to vending machine graphics to ashtrays to knives and forks, the software is ideal for a range of applications. The designers' flexible approach to product design matches the unusually flexible structure of the Vellum product. Historically, Vellum software has been developed in three phases: intelligent drafting; 3D wire line drawing with automatic surfacing; solid modelling with more advanced surfacing and visualisation, based on Lightworks' rendering software. Instead of throwing out the more traditional working methods when investing in software updates Conran has recognised that each method is suited to different circumstances and different users. Creative designers need to be comfortable and confident in what they are doing. Several people commented on Vellum in terms of the 'quality of life' or 'the feeling of security' it had brought to their working experience, even though their individual working methods differed. A set of kitchen scales might be completely modelled in Vellum Solids to produce visualisations, geometry for tool-makers and calculation of mass properties.The interior design of a retail shop, on the other hand, would most likely use a wire line drawing from Vellum 3D as the basis for visualisations where solid modelling may not be appropriate. Both would be enhanced by the incorporation of Adobe Photoshop graphics in the final visualisations At Conran, the balance between pencil and paper designing, 2D CAD drawing, 3D wire line modelling and solid modelling is a pragmatic decision determined entirely by what is most efficient and effective at different stages in the process.

All businesses have their mystique and, in the industrial design world, a designer's hand sketches cut more ice with many clients than a more accurate CAD picture at the conceptual discussion stage. But this has its dangers if the final product then differs significantly from the client's initial perception of what was intended. Conran often uses a Vellum 3D wire line or solid model at the outset as an underlay for hand drawn sketches, ensuring that the sketches are actually an accurate representation.Later in the process a solid model becomes essential as a way of visualising the 'real' appearance of the product and delivering the geometry for STL modelling and tool making. Again there are no absolutes - some tool makers still want to work from 2D drawings; Vellum's very easy to use drafting then comes into its own. Sebastian Conran agrees: "In our business computer solid modelling is a substitute for physical modelling, not a substitute for drawings." Even so, the company maintains a well-equipped model shop. "Some people still like the hands-on feel of a 5 axis milling machine." STL is widely used but costly. "There is a great opportunity for someone to make a desk top STL machine that really works." So, what else has Vellum done for the success of the business, and what are its pros and cons technically? As always, time to market is probably the biggest factor. Almost incredibly, a 3D model of the S-100 thermos flask was delivered to a toolmaker in the Far East on 24 December and a moulded product prototype was on show at a trade fair before the end of February. Behind this sort of performance is the way in which the software uniquely integrates advanced surface modelling with solid modelling and conceptual sketching - in other words, it is optimised for the industrial designer who is concerned more with free form shapes than with prismatic 'mechanical' shapes. The first releases of Vellum Solids had some surfacing limitations but, according to Conran, Vellum 2000 provides a lot more in the way of surface 'tweaking, nudging, pulling and twisting', while retaining the all important compatibility with 2D drawing and 3D wire line modes. This across-the-board versatility is what gives Conran designers the 'quality of life' that translates into faster designing without any loss of design quality.The emphasis at Conran is on having a range of tools at the disposal of the designer. The flexibility to 'mix and match' Vellum's drawing, wire line modelling and solid modelling modes is an important factor, especially at the concept stage, and it was notable how Conran designers appear happy to move freely between the different modes of operation. Senior Product Design Associate Joseph O'Connor looks after the installation and acts as mentor to new users, or people wanting to explore fresh Vellum capabilities, including new users who have joined the design team as a result of the recent amalgamation. Ease of use has been an important factor in welding together the amalgamated teams. One enthusiastic new user, with no previous knowledge of the software, claimed to have familiarised himself with Vellum and Lightworks rendering within a week. Sebastian Conran again - "The ability that Vellum gives us to 'pre-sell' a project is extraordinary." In other words, visualising design concepts and presenting more concepts, even before the client has agreed to go ahead, increases the proportion of enquiries that turn into projects. As for the 'cons', they tend to be in the area of interfaces between systems rather than Vellum itself. Sebastian Conran says, "If only we could integrate PhotoShop within Vellum." But he is enough of a realist to settle for running the two side by side on the Macintosh for now. This highlights something that may seem incidental but turns out to be crucial for industrial designers - most of their graphics tools are Mac-based, and Vellum is the only mid range CAID system that is wholeheartedly supported (indeed developed) on the Macintosh.

This has real productivity consequences when running a range of tools side by side. The other classic complaint is the problem of CAD data transfer. Paradoxically, the problem arises because Ashlar does quite well in keeping its data transfer interfaces up to date with the latest releases of its competitors' systemsUnfortunately, clients and toolmakers often retain older releases of their systems so Conran and Partners just has to work around the problem. That attitude is characteristic of their flexible and creative approach to the use of CAID, the attitude that explains how it is they "do everything on Vellum". The company's product design area specialises in restaurant, hotel and modern home equipment. Sebastian Conran Associates uses Ashlar's Vellum Solids industrial design software to develop consumer products and get them to market within ever-tighter deadlines. Industrial design is a tough and competitive business. Clients are continually looking for creative ideas that will deliver intangible and subjective qualities - 'design quality', 'image' and 'style' - wrapped up in a highly saleable product that functions well and can be manufactured cheaply. The business is intensive, and success depends on maintaining a continually high reputation in a shifting market. Consumer product sales are driven to a great extent by seasonal gift cycles - Christmas and the wedding season for instance - and product development timing is locked into the corresponding trade fair dates.A typical product development cycle nowadays is no more than nine months 'from intention to warehouse' and the industrial designer often has less time than that. In this business there is no room for design tools that do not 'fit' effectively into the company's processes and the creative designer's way of thinking.Perfect VisionVX Corporation's VX CAD/CAM software is now in release 4 and continues the firm's commitment to hybrid surface, solid and wireframe modelling with a healthy dose of manufacturing capability thrown in for good measure. C3's review team investigates the latest version.By Colin Mathews

VX Corporation, formerly Varimetrix, has always been a champion of hybrid surface, solid and wireframe modelling combined with manufacturing capabilities, and the latest release of their flagship VX CAD/CAM product (itself formerly VX Vision) offers a wide range of integrated tools.

Amidst the recent flurry of rebranding, the kernel previously called UPG2 for the second generation of the proprietary Unified Parametric Geometry has also been renamed VX Overdrive.

At the core of the product is a robust modeller capable of extensive engineering design including sheet metal and assembly modelling as well as drafting. The integration of surface modelling and visualisation tools provides ample scope for industrial designers to tackle complex aesthetic forms in the same model as the engineering design. In the full manufacturing version, VX also integrates full 2 1/2 and three axis CAM capabilities in order to allow the design to be machined without the need for intermediate translations or the loss of associativity with the model should the design need to change.

Despite this impressive range of functionality, VX now primarily competes in the mid-range modelling market with VX CAD/CAM aimed at the desktop, primarily under Windows NT/2000. Of many possible applications, the development of plastic components and their mould tools is particularly suitable using integrated split line and draft analysis functions.

As a hybrid modeller VX supports non-manifold, open geometry. The integration of solid and surface functionality is transparent, so that traditional solid functions such as bosses, cuts, holes and fillets can be applied to faces and surface models, without the need for the model to be a closed solid. Conversely, volumes enclosed by a series of faces are by definition solids but can be modified by advanced surface modelling functions such as trimming, tangent and curvature, continuous blending and local or global shape modification.

To conduct mass property calculations or ensure reliable manufacture and export to analysis tools, each part must ultimately be a single manifold solid and the Analyse Part Topology command can be used to check the active part for abnormal conditions such as gaps between face edges and coincident vertices. A report form is displayed and any vertices and edges that need to be healed are highlighted in the graphics window. A free edge display mode can also be used to highlight all free edges or openings in a faceset larger than the geometry tolerance.

Whilst this combination of solid and surface capabilities certainly achieves the dual benefits of speed in modelling prismatic parts using solid feature based tools and complex freeforms with the surface tools, it needs to be handled with care if the finished model is to be manufactured as a single solid.

Modelling capabilities are certainly extensive. Within many of the regular commands such as sweeps and lofts there are modifying options to offer greater control. Sweeps can be variational, allowing the profile to be defined by an equation driven dimension or external reference that forces the profile to regenerate as it passes along the sweep path. In addition to lofting between a series of profiles comprising sketches, wireframe curves, curve lists, or face edges, lofts can also use a drive curve and options to add scale, twist, profile blending and profile influence.

A common error with sweep and loft operations is self-intersecting geometry. The Tie Self-Intersections command attempts to remove self-intersections and inverted regions on selected faces as far as is possible. Faces that intersect other faces in the faceset are split.

VX CAD/CAM has an excellent set of fillet tools and supported model cases including constant and variable radius with options including corner set back, roll along edge and conic arcs. Variable fillets benefit from being able to assign radius values at any point along an edge rather than being limited to existing vertices or nodes. Should a solid filleting operation fail, the successful elements can be displayed as new fillet faces sewn together into a separate shell with the topology split and/or extended as much as is possible.Surface detail can now be created using an external raster image file as a height map to emboss a face. Other useful surface creation methods include N-sided patches from three or more wireframe, sketch, or face edges and Curve Mesh created by blending through a mesh of U and V curves that intersect but are not necessarily coincident at their end points.

In both cases there is an option to force boundary edges to be tangent-continuous with mating faces. An untrimmed base face can also be readily created that passes through a set of points read from an ASCII format point file of scanned data. Although the value of these surfaces can be limited by ripples due to the accuracy of the scanned data, VX provides sufficient surface analysis and modelling tools to achieve high quality Class A surfaces.

Draft can be added to faces relative to a neutral edge, face, plane or parting line. Parting lines can be created from silhouettes, plane intersections, face edges and curve projections. A parting face can also be generated for mould design and machining. Manufacturing planning and CNC machine routines are an integral part of VX CAD/CAM, ensuring true associativity between design and manufacturing. Once the procedure has been stepped through to be able to output an NC program, only gross changes to a part may force the recalculation of an element such as the machining boundary, otherwise the new tool path can be generated and output directly. Full sheet metal design tools are also available including tab, corner and deformation tools for features such as dimples and louvers. When folding a part the stationary face can be specified and bend radii can be selectively modified.VX CAD/CAM offers an excellent range of design and manufacturing tools with the full manufac