Improving Product Design with 3D Sculptor

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More and more mechanical and electrical engineers are being called upon to develop the look and feel along with the actual design of products.

Think about medical or electronic devices or sports equipment. It is critical for these products to fit comfortably in your hand or ear or on your feet. Visual appeal often plays a huge role in product popularity, too.

3D Sculptor is a browser-based subdivision (Sub-D) modeling application that enables the creation of ergonomic and organically shaped models more quickly and efficiently than traditional parametric modeling tools. Also, the software is simple to learn and use—CAD expertise is not required.

Sub-D versus Parametric Modeling

 Designers typically want to make several models quickly in the concept phase of design to get a clearer idea of what a manager or customer wants. Sub-D modeling in 3D Sculptor starts with a globe, cylinder, torus, or another primitive shape that is pushed and pulled into the desired form. Images and sketches can also function as templates to create 3D surface geometry.

This is much faster than 3D parametric modeling, which requires construction geometry such as curves and 2D sketches to be created to control the shape of the geometry. Also, changes to 2D sketches and 3D parametric models often require extensive reconstruction to attain the new desired shape.

A parametric modeling tool might enable two or three iterations of a design in a day, whereas Sub-D modeling can easily facilitate the creation of ten or twenty iterations in a day.

Making Communication Easier

 Because 3D Sculptor is on the 3DEXPERIENCE® platform, it is easy to get immediate feedback from all project stakeholders. Also, 3D Sculptor is seamlessly integrated with the SOLIDWORKS desktop, so moving back and forth between the two applications is a cinch. For example, when you’re done exploring conceptual models, your 3D Sculptor designs are automatically converted into geometry for detailing in SOLIDWORKS®.

The power of the 3DEXPERIENCE technology also enables access to 3D Sculptor designs from any hardware device. Collaboration tools enable revision control, task management, markup, and more.

Click here to learn more about SOLIDWORKS, 3D Sculptor, and the 3DEXPERIENCE platform. We would love to hear from you; leave a comment below.

Craig Therrien

Craig Therrien

Craig Therrien is a 3DEXPERIENCE WORKS Senior Portfolio Manager with over 30 years of CAD and industry experience - engineer, consultant, CAD product manager, CAD company co-founder. Currently, serving as Senior Product Manager for SOLIDWORKS and 3D Mold Creator. Craig has a B.S.M.E. from WPI and is a Graduate of General Electric's Manufacturing Development Program.