An increasing number of engineers are making the
switch from the ol' reliable-2D software-to the cutting
edge-3D solid modeling-which depicts product designs
via electronic 3D solid models rather than 2D drawings.
And the reasons are obvious. Not only do solids give
engineers more design flexibility, they also offer realistic
images of products and allow the easy integration of
downstream tasks, such as analysis.
What's more, solid modeling supports a decades-long
push by the CAD/CAM industry to give manufacturing
customers "art-to-part" capabilities-bringing a design
from the concept to the tooling stage in a completely
digital world. By implementing a purely digital process,
manufacturers can foster more effective communication
between departments, make better products and enjoy
greater profits because of a speedier time to market.
And to make "art-to-part" product development work,
you need solid modeling.
Aside from enabling "art-to-part," solid modeling offers
a dazzling list of benefits, including:
. Interactive 3D design
. Accurate and improved visualization
. Detail manipulation
. Diagnostic tools
. Model reuse
. Much faster production of prototypes or even,
their complete elimination
. Design integrity
But while solid modeling provides many advantages, it
hasn't caught on fast enough, say some
observers. "There should be a stampede from 2D to 3D,
not a migration," says engineering consultant Bill
Dresselhaus, president of the Dresselhaus Design Group.
Possible reasons for solid modeling's gradual spread
are its cost and the perception that it's complicated to
use. Fortunately, cost is becoming less of a hurdle,
with affordable options such as SolidWorks, Solid Edge,
Think 3, Alibre and a new version of Pro/ENGINEER from
PTC.
As for solid modeling's other major drawback-its
perceived complexity-that still remains a factor. And
this lack of user-friendliness is 3D's biggest constraint,
says Robert Kross, Autodesk's vice-president of
manufacturing. Learning to work with solid modeling and
solid modeling itself are indeed lengthy processes, even
though downstream activities can be automated to a
much greater degree.
In addition, solid modelers may get more design
flexibility, but they are constrained by CAD software
functionality. This means they are limited by the
software's capabilities. Moreover, users may have a
hard time utilizing concept models exported from non-
CAD design programs.
Another caveat to using solid modeling software is
that images of models can give casual observers the
mistaken impression that a product is farther along the
development process than it actually is. And while the
software's computer representations are photorealistic
enough to fool the uninitiated, they aren't advanced
enough to solve all of the product's ergonomic issues,
making prototypes unavoidable.
Exactly how many engineers have converted to
solid modeling is unknown, and estimates differ
depending on whom you ask. While SolidWorks asserts
that about one-third of design engineers rely on 3D
solid modeling for mechanical and electromechanical
design, Solid Edge VP Bruce Boes cites a Gartner Group
study, saying that about 15% of engineers will be
depending on solids by 2004.
But whatever the actual percentage may be, one
thing is certain-solid models are here to stay. In fact,
3D solids are already usurping 2D's role as the prevalent
standard for manufacturing, says Kross from Autodesk.
Today's 3D models are useful to manufacturing because
they precisely define values that can't necessarily be
ascertained from 2D models. They hold non-geometric
information such as tolerances, making drawings
unnecessary in some cases.
Jack Beeckman, manager of CAD support for Liebert
Corp., a division of Emerson, notes, "Manufacturing
companies are relying on models, not drawings, to get
the better designs they want, so engineers should
control whole intelligent assets in the modeling
environment, not just the drawings."
Engineers who are reluctant to drop 2D should ask
themselves what their objective is-to make a drawing
or a product-says Kross from Autodesk. Since
producing a product is obviously the main intent, and
3D is much better than 2D in doing this, the choice to
upgrade is straightforward, he believes.
Also on solid modeling's side is the success that
users have enjoyed. From industrial to consumer
products, there has been a trend toward more artful
product designs with a growing number of functional
benefits, such as ever-smaller sizes, enhanced
ergonomics, improved fluid flow and less stress. This is
because many engineers have been able to bolster the
visual appeal and function of products through their use
of midrange to high-end CAD systems with
sophisticated shape description capabilities, which of
course include solid modeling.
Indeed, the transition to solid modeling is just a
matter of time. For one thing, its many advantages
overshadow its limitations. And it appears poised to
dethrone 2D in manufacturing because not only is it a
linchpin to "art-to-part" product development, but it
also upholds a product-centric approach.
From this month's Thomas Register
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Going from Inventor to AutoCAD |
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Speaking from my own experience, once you
transition over to 3D, you never want to go back. I do
all my design work in Inventor, but I still do my 2D
detail drawings in AutoCAD.
Why is that? Well, most of my machine shops
have AutoCAD or at least LT - they do not have
Inventor. Besides, dimensioning and annotation is still
faster for me in AutoCAD.
So, how do I work? First, I create the model in 3D in
Inventor. I then create my third-angle projection
layout with an isometric view in Inventor as an idw. I
don't add a titleblock or dimensions.
Once I have the views placed, I do a File SaveAs to
dwg format. Now, I close Inventor and move over to
AutoCAD.
Once in AutoCAD, I open the Inventor dwg file.
The first thing you notice is that the lines are way too
thick. So, I select ALL and use Properties to set the
linetype to the default lineweight. That gets
everything back to normal.
Next, I use the GROUP command to gather each view
into it's own group. That way, I can re-arrange the
views, if needed, without losing any of the lines or
components of the view.
I finish by adding my titleblock, notes,and dimensions.
As a caveat, you should be aware that the
imported Inventor data will consist of many small lines,
points, and arcs - which will make editing the views in
AutoCAD almost impossible. It is faster to go back into
Inventor if you need to make changes to your design.
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Make AutoCAD a little patriotic... |
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Now for a bit of fun.
Copy this into Notepad and save it as "Flag.lsp".
Enjoy!!!
;CODING STARTS HERE
;Written by Watson Kilbourne
(prompt "\nType FLAG to run and stand to
attention........")
(defun C:FLAG ( / SP HT XD XA EP YA D1 D2
D3 D4 RP RH XZ YZ P1 P2
P3 P4 P5 P6 P7 P8 P9 PX
PY PZ S1 S2 S3 S4 S5 S6
oldecho)
(setq oldecho (getvar "CMDECHO"))
(setvar "CMDECHO" 0)
(while (= SP nil)
(setq SP (getpoint "\nPick Lower Left Corner of
Flag : "))
);while
(while (= HT nil)
(setq HT (getcorner SP "\nPick Upper Right Corner of
Flag : "))
);while
(if (>= (angle SP HT) (/ pi 2))
(setq HT (polar SP (/ pi 4)
(distance SP HT)))
);if
(setq XD (distance SP HT)
XA (angle SP HT)
EP (polar SP (/ pi 2) (* XD (sin XA)))
YA (angle SP EP)
D1 (distance SP EP)
D2 (/ D1 13)
D3 (* D2 0.8)
D4 (* D2 1.4)
RP (polar SP 0.0 (* D1 1.5))
RH (polar EP 0.0 (* D1 1.5))
XZ (polar SP (* pi 1.25) D2)
YZ (polar RH (* pi 0.25) D2)
P1 (polar SP (/ pi 2) (* d2 6))
P2 (polar P1 0.0 (* D2 8.5))
P3 (polar EP 0.0 (* D2 8.5))
P4 (polar SP YA D2)
P5 (polar RP YA D2)
P6 (polar P4 YA D2)
P7 (polar P5 YA D2)
P8 (polar RP YA (* D2 6))
P9 (polar P2 YA D2)
PX (polar P8 YA D2)
PY (polar P9 YA D2)
PZ (polar PX YA D2)
S1 (polar P1 (* pi 0.25) D2)
S2 (polar S1 (* pi 0.3) (* D3 0.172))
S3 (polar S1 (* pi 0.7) (* D3 0.172))
S4 (polar S1 YA (* D3 0.43952))
S5 (polar S1 (* pi 0.25) D2)
S6 (polar P3 (* pi 1.25) D4)
);setq
(command "BLIPMODE" "OFF"
"FILL" "ON"
"ZOOM" "W" XZ YZ
"LAYER" "M" "BLUE" "C" "5" "" ""
"SOLID" P1 P2 EP P3 ""
"LAYER" "M" "RED" "C" "1" "" ""
"SOLID" SP P4 RP P5 ""
"ARRAY" "L" "" "R" "3" "1" (* D2 2)
"SOLID" P2 P9 P8 PX ""
"ARRAY" "L" "" "R" "4" "1" (* D2 2)
"LAYER" "M" "WHITE" "C" "7" "" ""
"SOLID" P4 P6 P5 P7 ""
"ARRAY" "L" "" "R" "3" "1" (* D2 2)
"SOLID" P9 PY PX PZ ""
"ARRAY" "L" "" "R" "3" "1" (* D2 2)
"SOLID" S1 S2 S3 S4 ""
"ARRAY" "L" "" "P" S1 "5" "360" "Y"
"ARRAY" "W" P1 S5 "" "R" "5" "6" D4 D4
"COPY" "W" P1 S6 "" S1 S5
"BLIPMODE" "ON"
);command
(setvar "CMDECHO" oldecho)
(princ)
);defun
(princ)
;CODING ENDS HERE
To run, load using APPLOAD. Type
FLAG at the command line.
For more great code like this... »
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Inventor User Group Meetings |
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Groups Now Forming...
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The following are a listing of people trying to start
Inventor Groups in
their area. Please contact them for more information.
Des Moines, Iowa - Jeff Hopkin
Omaha, Nebraska -
Steve Barndt
Tampa/St. Petersburg/Sarasota, Florida - Sean Dotson
Lehigh Valley, Pennsylvania
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Lehigh Valley Inventor User Group
Wednesday - July 16, 2003 / 7:00pm-9:00pm
Topic: To Be Determined
Location:
Alstom Power
1550 Lehigh Drive
Easton, Pennsylvania
To attend, contact...
David
Breiner
Orlando, Florida
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Autodesk Manufacturing User Group
Thursday - June 26, 2003 / 6:30pm
Topic: The local Autodesk Manufacturing Sales and
Technical people will
be there to talk about the Manufacturing Solutions
Autodesk has to offer
and there will be free pizza.
Location:
IMAGINiT Technologies
1801 West Colonial Drive
Orlando, Florida 32804
To attend, Email or call...
Tony Trinkner
(407) 648-9148
Detroit, Michigan
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Motor City Autodeks Inventor User Group
Tuesday - June 24, 2003 / 6:00pm-8:00pm
Topic: To be announced
Location:
INCAT North American Headquarters
41370 Bridge St.
Novi, Michigan
To attend, Contact...
Dawn Casimiro
(248) 426-1839
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PTC Express Seeking Product Flop Stories |
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Under the adage that we learn more from our mistakes
than from our failures, PTC Express is asking users to
submit stories of unsuccessful products, such as the
Edsel.
They have a whole list to go through, but would like to
hear your ideas as well. What's your favorite "bad"
product? Send your nominees to PTC Express. Be sure
to include your reasons for selecting the item.
If you are an educator or an engineering student, you
may have seen videos of bridges that collapse due to
harmonic vibration, rockets that melt, balconies that
failed due to improper bracing, etc.
These are cautionary tales and certainly an opportunity
to learn more about what can go wrong.
Submit your favorite flop story »
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AutoCAD 2004 File and Registry Cleaner |
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Autodesk provides a software utility called
AcCleanReg2004 for those users who are having
installation problems. These problems occur when you
uninstall AutoCAD2004, ADT, MDT, LDD, etc. and then
try to reinstall it.
This is a common issue with users who are having
problems with Autodesk software. Their first instinct is
to uninstall and reinstall. I am not clear on what the
logic is as doing this rarely solves the problem.
The number one reason why software installations
fail? Failure to disable your virus checking software
during installation. Second reason? Not shutting down
all other Window applications during installation. The
third reason - a conflict with a third party software
installed after the Autodesk product.
Go to Autodesk's website to download.. »
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AutoCAD System Variables |
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New in 2004:
MTEXT: The MTJIGSTRING System Variable
Sets the content of the sample text displayed at the
cursor location when the MTEXT command is started.
The text string is displayed in the current text size and
font. You can enter any string of up to ten letters or
numbers or enter . (period) to display no sample text.
ACISOUTVER
This is not a new system variable, but it allows you to
set which ACIS version to use when creating an sat
file. This is useful to those folks who are doing a
drawing exchange with an older CAD/CAM system.
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