The SolidWorks Blog

Domespace is creating the next generation of eco-friendly homes with SolidWorks

Many years ago, I had ambitions of being an architect. I worked at a firm, and even went to architecture school briefly, until I realized I didn't have the artistry needed for the job. If I had my way, every structure built today would be an angular Bauhaus affair. So I have something of a soft spot for anything related to building design, which is why I found it interesting that a French company called Domespace is now a SolidWorks customer.

Domespace International designs and builds dome-shaped, eco-friendly homes. According to the company, the dome shape is designed to be more in harmony with nature, takes advantage of solar radiation, and is less susceptible to seismic and cyclonic forces than traditional, angular designs. On some models, the exterior of the home actually rotates, following the sun in winter to take advantage of its warming rays, and the shade in summer for cooling.

Domespace uses SolidWorks Professional for concept development, SolidWorks Premium for structural design, and SolidWorks Flow Simulation for studying air flow and environmental conditions. They say they have cut time-to-market and development costs in half. In a case study on our website, Computational and R&D Head Benjamin Thoby discusses how 3D design and simulation technology is helping Domespace ramp up production of its world-class, ecologically sensitive homes. Even if you're not in the AEC space, it's worth checking out.

You can find it here.

 

 

SolidWorks World 2012 Partner Profile: Barry-Wehmiller International Resources

One of the things we've heard from SolidWorks World attendees over the past few years is that you'd like to learn more in advance about the SolidWorks partners who set up booths in the Partner Pavilion. So now through SolidWorks World 2012, we'll be posting a series of blog entries about some of the partners you might think about checking out, and the people who will be representing them. Today we hear from the good folks at Barry-Wehmiller International Resources.

1. Tell us a little bit about Barry-Wehmiller International Resources.

Barry-Wehmiller International Resources Limited (BWIR) is part of the consulting group of Barry-Wehmiller Companies, Inc., a diversified company founded in 1885. BWIR is a global technology provider specializing in the creation, development, and integration of the industry’s most advanced PLM/EPDM technology and engineering solutions. With headquarters in St. Louis, Missouri, and over 55 offices worldwide, BWIR offers world-class, cost-effective business process analysis, industrial machine design and engineering, new product development, and PLM/EPDM services.

 

2. What products do you sell that might appeal to SolidWorks users?

BWIR offers manufacturers a full suite of engineering and information technology services, bridging these two core areas with product life-cycle management solutions.

In Engineering services, BWIR helps manufacturers to maximize their output in areas such as product design, industrial automation, sustaining engineering and value engineering.  BWIR also assists manufacturers in identifying effective strategies for integrating their engineering functions with the rest of the company.

In the PLM space, BWIR provides EPDM implementation, integration, data migration, and customization. BWIR provides integrations with ERP platforms, such as Oracle, SAP, MAPICS, Syteline, and others. We also provide data migration for Pro/E Intralink, DBWorks, AutoCAD, SAP, Oracle, and others. Specifically, BWIR will provide the assessment, design, implementation, training, and customization for global and multi-site EPDM implementations.

 

3. How can your products or services help make a SolidWorks user’s life easier?

As part of continuous project innovation and sustained research and development (R&D) efforts, BWIR's PLM team has developed various SolidWorks EPDM add-ins to cater to the manufacturing industry. Christened as “BWIR Pro+ Services for EPDM” it is a set of ready-to-use add-ins that can fix the most teething problems faced by EPDM users. Our Enterprise Product Data Management (EPDM) experts have identified six functions that address these challenges across the product development cycle through custom-built packages that can help many engineering organizations to unleash the complete potential of the Enterprise Product Data Management (EPDM) tool.

4. Why should SolidWorks World attendees visit your booth? What will be special or exciting?

In spite of advances in the product data management technology, the constant market pressures to decrease product development time and to utilize better the potential of product design engineers have led us to introduce EPDM add-ins that would increase productivity multi-fold.

Experience “BWIR Pro+ Services for EPDM”– Multi-fold productivity a set of ready-to-use add-ins that can fix the most teething problems faced by EPDM users.

• Remember the instance where you released the assembly documents for the next stage of your development cycle when someone was still updating a part model?
• How many times you would have been keen to know the status of your document on the overall work cycle?

Many such small setbacks can drag the team’s productivity leading to repetitive tasks, unorganized execution and un-synchronized development ultimately resulting in the delay of the product’s launch.

Please feel free to drop in by our booth # 105 and experience the power of “BWIR Pro+ Services for EPDM”– Multi-fold productivity that will increase the productivity multi-fold and you can connect with our EPDM experts to learn more about its features and functionality.

SolidWorks World attendees who drop in at our booth can also take advantage of benefits that include free basic engineering audits for the spot purchase of add-ins.

5. How can customers learn more about your products:

SolidWorks World attendees can find us at booth #105 in the Partner Pavilion. You can also contact us at 

Phone: 1 (800) 862-8020

Website: www.bwir.com

Email: marketing@bwir.com

Facebook page:

Twitter:

YouTube channel:

SolidWorks World 2012 International Series: Talking Shop with Timoteo Muller

As we gear up for SolidWorks World 2012, we'll be running a series of interviews that shine a spotlight on our employees from different parts of the world, and why you might consider attending.

To kick off the series, we interviewed SolidWorks Area Technical Manager, Timoteo Muller, about design and innovation trends in Brazil, and why he’s looking forward to attending SolidWorks World this year. You may also know Timoteo from the SolidWorks Brazil blog.

Below are his insights, and we’re looking forward to meeting users from Brazil at the show.

 

Q: What design/engineering challenges are unique to your region?

A: In Brazil, more and more customers are designing large, complex datasets, so the challenge is always managing the massive amount of data. Another unique challenge is being able to integrate with current market technologies and complex workflows.

Q: Can you give a couple examples of how customers in your region are using SolidWorks in unique ways?

A: We have customers in the energy and oil and gas industries that are using SolidWorks’ products in interesting ways. It is amazing to see our oil and gas customers developing underwater equipment to explore the pre-salt in the Brazilian coast. Our customers in the energy industry are using our solutions like Enterprise PDM to develop complete projects around hydroelectric plants, which are critical to the region.

Q: What do you enjoy most about SolidWorks World personally?

A: The thing I enjoy most about SolidWorks World is the opportunity to learn about our product enhancements and to get a full preview of releases for the coming year.

 

Thanks to Timoteo for taking the time to talk, and be sure to check back in early January to read our next installment of the international blog post series!

And don't forget, you can still save $100 if you register now through January 20, 2012. If you pay for two registrations, we'll throw in a third for free, and as always, CSWPs save $100. You can see all of our registration deals at the SolidWorks World website.

If you're coming from overseas and need help with a visa, be sure to visit the SolidWorks World website for more information.

SolidWorks World 2012 Partner Profile: Rapidform

One of the things we've heard from SolidWorks World attendees over the past few years is that you'd like to learn more in advance about the SolidWorks partners who set up booths in the Partner Pavilion. So now through SolidWorks World 2012, we'll be posting a series of blog entries about some of the partners you might think about checking out, and the people who will be representing them. Today we hear from the good folks at Rapidform.

1. Tell us a little bit about Rapidform.

INUS Technology makes Rapidform 3D scanning software, which lets you reverse engineer and inspect parts faster and more easily. Since 1998, we have been providing technology and services that process 3D scan data for a variety of uses, from manufacturing and quality control to medical treatment and archeology. We have been a close partner of DS SolidWorks since 2003, and several of our products are tightly integrated with SolidWorks CAD.

 

2. What products do you sell that might appeal to SolidWorks users?

• Rapidform XOR is reverse engineering software that takes 3D scan data and lets you convert it into parametric solid CAD models.  The models that you create in XOR are real CAD with feature trees, and they can be transferred into SolidWorks as native part models.  
• Rapidform XOV is inspection software that lets you measure a part and quickly compare it back to a CAD model or drawing. You can automatically create, edit and share your inspection results, and perform trend analysis on multiple inspections.
• With the same powerful tools for point cloud, mesh and surface editing found in XOR, Rapidform XOS is the ideal solution when you don’t need a parametric solid model.
• The Rapidform.dll Software Development Kit enables developers to rapidly deploy industry-proven point, mesh and surfacing functions into their own software products with minimal effort.

 

3. How can your products or services help make a SolidWorks user’s life easier?

SolidWorks users that use 3D scanners can take advantage of Rapidform’s dedicated reverse engineering or inspection tools to complement SolidWorks. Rapidform XOR is “The Fastest Path to CAD”, since it’s the only software that integrates 3D scan data processing with parametric CAD capabilities.  When you transfer the data from XOR directly into SolidWorks, it includes the full feature tree.  This means you can edit the model just like it had been designed in your SolidWorks CAD software. 

 

4. Why should SolidWorks World attendees visit your booth? What will be special or exciting?

SolidWorks World 2012 will be the U.S. debut of our next major releases (XOR3 SP and XOV3).  Attendees will be the first to see the new semi-automatic solid modeling capabilities in XOR and the new probe based inspection in XOV.

5. How can customers learn more about your products:

SolidWorks World attendees can find us at booth #125 in the Partner Pavilion. You can also contact us at 

Phone: 1.866.727.4336

Website: http://www.rapidform.com

Email: marketing@rapidform.com or info@rapidform.com

Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/rapidform

Twitter: @Rapidform http://twitter.com/#!/rapidform

YouTube channel: http://www.youtube.com/inustechnology

The Hot Rod Baby Buggy - Stepping Back from the Nuts and Bolts

Let’s Go Design’s Hot Rod Baby Buggy is almost complete. However, in episode 7, the team took on an incredibly important task: the design review. While we’ve been working on the design of the vehicle in pieces and developing the various parts over the course of a few months, we have been waiting for a complete design to really give the buggy a full scale review.

As designers, reviewing and testing the design is essential to the success of the final product. Upon review of the Baby Buggy, the team found that the structure was good and challenges with the motor could be overcome. However, the tank treads and tracks presented a challenge.

This issue highlights how important it is for designers to step back and take a critical look at a design. It’s easy to get caught up in the details of the design process and the vision of what a final product might look like. Many times, the best features in an overall design come out of a full review. Though it’s not always easy to accept feedback or change a design that has so much time and effort put into it, this is a crucial part of the design process.

Of course, the Let’s Go Design team is no different. It’s been a long road to the completed Baby Buggy, but we’re excited to make these final adjustments to the tracks and make sure the other features are ready to roll.

We want to hear from you! How do you approach design reviews? Any thoughts on perfecting the track design? Tell us below in our comments section. Don’t forget to keep an eye on the Let’s Go Design page in the coming weeks for our final episode – and the official unveil of the Hot Rod Baby Buggy!

Bend It Like a Football Star – With SolidWorks Simulation

Watching my son play indoor 6-a-side football (or soccer, as some of you might call it), is both an exhilarating and nerve-racking experience. The father in me wants him to enjoy ‘the beautiful game,’ the competitor in me wants him to win, and the coach in me wants him to play well. One of the skills the boys on the team are learning is to get the ball to curl by imparting the correct amount of spin.

Now, I can talk until I’m blue in the face about how the spinning ball creates a region of low pressure on one side, resulting in a sideways force which creates the curl, but it’s the doing and seeing of it that made it real for the boys. I started to wonder if SolidWorks and SolidWorks Simulation could help out, and in a cosmic sense of kismet, a colleague in France sent me a simulation of the ‘Perfect Free Kick.’

Julien’s model is the perfect example of how you can use Design Studies with Motion to solve complex multi-physics problems.  If we consider the ball in isolation, there are three sets of forces acting on it.

1. The impact force which determines the initial velocity and spin of the ball 
2. The aerodynamic forces, slowing the ball down and, partially, determining the path of the ball
3. Gravity, the other component that sets the path of the ball

Using the new motion function builder it is easy to apply the aerodynamic forces to the ball.

The motion analysis can now be run, and the ball dips and swerves over the defensive wall, beating the goalie and landing in the top left hand corner.

But that is only half the story. Using SolidWorks and Design Studies we can alter the both the position of the ball and the parameters of the ‘kick.’

The power of SolidWorks and Simulation is that you can run multiple versions of a design to determine the optimum configuration in the virtual world before you cut metal. But just as important as the optimum is the understanding of the design sensitivity, or how well your design performs ‘off optimum.’ 

The world isn’t perfect, and in the real world your design will have to perform over a wide range of loading conditions and environments.  The Design Study enables you to test for variation in geometric, environmental and loading conditions.  So in the case of the free kick, the robustness of the design can be measured by distance of ball center from the ‘ideal’ target center, and we can find many ‘correct’ solutions but only one robust solution.

By running an analysis on your design you not only gain insight to its current behavior but also its future behavior and how to improve it.  So I can now show my son how and why the ball bends, and that all he has to do is practice, practice, practice..

We have a winner in the SolidWorks World 2012 International Intrigue Contest

Two weeks ago, we gave SolidWorks users outside of the US a chance to attend SolidWorks 2012 for free, complete with air and hotel. The only thing you had to do was answer a few questions and make the best case for why we should pick you. The contest ended last night, and therefore, there must be a winner.

So it is my great honor to announce that we have reached a decision--Yoshihiro Dobashi from the great country of Japan will be joining us at SolidWorks World 2012 next February in San Diego. Congratulations on the win!

And don't forget, you can still save $100 if you register now through January 20, 2012. If you pay for two registrations, we'll throw in a third for free, and as always, CSWPs save $100. You can see all of our registration deals at the SolidWorks World website.

DIY Design at Cedarville University

I first learned about Jay Kinsinger, professor of engineering at Cedarville University, from the school's VAR, 3D Vision. They told me about how in addition to pushing design to its limits using the tools at hand with his students' projects, he also designs steel-frame bikes on his own time.

Now available - Episode 7 of the Hot Rod Baby Buggy

We're in the home stretch now as the baby buggy comes together and we build up to the big reveal. But first, the team needs to work a few bugs out of the buggy. While host Jeremy Luchini faces a tight deadline on a project for his day job (he manages our certification programs), the rest of the team ges together for a final design review and comes up with a few solutions for keeping the tank treads on track.

Click through to the Let's Go Design website to watch the full episode, and leave a comment with your thoughts.

 

How to Turn a Battleship Replica into a Naval Inventory Tool

Ever think that a dream of yours is impossible? That it will just take far too long to complete so why bother?  No?  SolidWorks users never cease to amaze us with their creativity, drive and determination.  Today we revisit a story that embodies this sentiment.

Last May we looked at SolidWorks user Donn McKinney’s 30+ year dream to recreate a fully operational replica of the U.S.S. Missouri. (On a smaller scale, of course.)  Donn is part of a team engaged in producing operational replicas of the Iowa Class Battleships with the goal to put these operational ships on display for the education and enjoyment of the general public, in various locales.

However, the development of fully operational battleship replicas is only part of Donn’s story. During his creation of these naval models, Donn also discovered another use for SolidWorks that may help naval engineers.  Through his efforts to recreate the Missouri, Donn developed the ability to take hard copy designs and convert them into electronic media.  This electronic media can then be modified in both design and engineering systems, and then turned back into a hard copy at any scale desired (think “Honey I Shrunk the Kids”, but for full scale vehicles).