Design & Analysis Software News

Traditional 3D CAD modeling tools often fall short in designing the irregular shapes and organic curves needed for patient-specific implants. Now, a new type of "sculptural CAD" allows designers to model in virtual clay, creating multiple versions of implants by inflating, tugging, smoothing, and carving (see Web demo). This approach also requires sharing digital files — via annotated 3D PDFs — to speed design and approval cycles.

Oregon's ClearEdge Power has won Autodesk's Inventor of the Month award for its use of Inventor CAD software to design production tools and product components for fuel cell systems. By doing all design work digitally, engineers simulate real-world performance of every aspect of the design — from electrical controls to plumbing. ClearEdge's CE5 compact energy system delivers up to 40% savings on utility bills to home and business owners, while reducing emissions.

Bucyrus International, a Milwaukee manufacturer of mining equipment, relies on GibbsCAM software to reduce machining operations on the jumbo components going into its equipment. The software's simulation feature helps prevent damage to costly parts, while its reporting functions estimate machining time and component costs. Bucyrus also uses a Cut Part Rendering feature to verify tool paths before machining parts for giant shovels that are often assembled thousands of miles away.

One business that seems recession - proof is firearms, reports American Machinist, but it takes ingenuity to be successful. Because CAD drawings aren't available for many replacement parts, Florida's Heritage Manufacturing scans key legacy parts, such as loading gates and housings, and reverse engineers them into 3D CAD models. The company then uses this CAD data to produce new Western-style revolvers, leveraging the parametric nature of SolidWorks files to design ancillary parts.

Using CFD software, Massachusetts-based Magnemotion predicts airflow, temperature, and heat transfer in heavy-duty elevators well in advance of physical prototypes. Thermal simulations for elevators with linear synchronous motors determine the heat conduction from the motor through the mechanical structure and the heat sink. The software also solves Navier-Stokes equations to determine the airflow caused by the heat loading, while reducing weight in heat sink fins.

With version 3.5 of Comsol's Multiphysics, engineers get enhanced capability to simulate systems involving optoelectronics, MEMS, thermoelectronics, geophysics, and structural mechanics. The new release is much faster for solving large flow models, while offering expanded interoperability with other CAD/CAM/CAE applications. You can also cut memory usage by as much as 50% for common dynamic multiphysics simulations with a new time-dependent segregated solver.

Team-wide adoption is essential for success in implementing project management, argues Clarizen CEO Avinoam Nowogrodski in Windows IT Pro, and that requires a strong focus on ease of use. Clarizen's Web-delivered software includes personalized dashboard views, multiple project support, resource allocation, and email notification on project status changes. To make things even simpler, Clarizen has released a new Microsoft Office add-on that lets team members update their tasks via their Outlook client.

With the new ENOVIA Life Sciences Accelerator™ tool, engineers and scientists in biotech fields can better manage new products from concept to launch. The software ensures that cross-functional teams complete clearly-defined steps before moving to the next stage of product development. Accelerator™ for Stage Gate runs on the Dassault Systèmes V6 PLM platform and was co-developed with Integware, which helps life sciences companies automate compliance requirements and drive business development.

Engineers can get a big career boost if they develop the skills to drive projects, and Design News reports that certification programs sponsored by the Project Management Institute are a great place to start. PMI monitors project management courses and conducts credential programs in project management, program management (multiple projects), scheduling, and risk management. The institute reports substantial career salary gains for those who've earned such certifications.

If digital manufacturing guru Terry Wohlers is right, future engineers will have a prototyping machine on their desktop and will rely more on open-source or low-cost software packages. In Desktop Engineering, Wohlers praises such inexpensive drawing software releases as SketchUp, Rhino, and ZBrush. He also recommends Fab@Home, Cornell University's open-source personal fabrication system, as a good way to sample prototyping homebrew.

What's Next for Energy Policy?

With reports showing the U.S. badly lagging global competitors in alternative energy, should President-elect Obama make renewable energy a major tool for jump-starting an ailing economy? And what should be the focus: solar, wind, clean coal, fuel cells? Does nuclear need to be part of the solution?