LEDAS Ships LGS 2D Geometric Constraint Solver v3.0

LEDAS Ltd., an independent provider of variational design tools, component technologies, and software development services for the CAD/CAM/CAE/PLM market, today announced version 3.0 of its LGS 2D geometric constraint solver. As a core component of parametric drawing applications, LGS 2D allows users to express design intent through geometric constraints and driving dimensions applied to 2D points, lines, curves, and other elements of sketches and drawings.

Since its first release in 2004, the LGS 2D software component has been licensed and embedded by several CAD/CAM/CAE vendors into parametric drawing applications. In five years, LEDAS has released eight intermediate versions of LGS 2D.

New Features in LGS 2D 3.0

Version 3.0 of LGS 2D adds support for NURBS curves, equal curvature geometric constraints, memory management, and many additional improvements.

NURBS (non-uniform rational B-spline) curves are commonly used in computer-aided design and computer graphics applications. Previous versions of LGS 2D supported NURBS curves, but required that they be evaluated on the application side. Whereas application developers before had to implement callback functions to regenerate the shapes of curves, they will now find that working with NURBS curves is as easy as working with lines and circles in LGS 2D 3.0. The application simply calls the spline creation function, passing all needed parameters (algebraic degree, control points, knots and weights), and then the solver evaluates the spline. This new feature reduces the software development cycle and shortens the time to market for a new parametric drawing application.

An even greater advantage to using the new NURBS curves support is the significant performance improvement. The derivatives of NURBS evaluation functions needed for numerical methods of constraint solving are now expressed analytically and computed by the solver.

Version 3.0 supports a new form of geometric constraint, equal curvature. It is useful for parametric drawing applications that require smooth (G2) tangencies between curves. In this case, application developers create both tangency and equal curvature constraints between two curves (or between a curve and a circle or a line) and then make the corresponding "help" parameters equal.

Version 3.0 allows application developers to define custom sets of memory management tools for controlling and optimizing memory use. This new feature is critical for applications that deal with large drawings, which are typically composed of thousands of geometric elements.

LGS 2D 3.0 also contains many other improvements, such as alignments for tangency constraints with curves, versioning for binary dump, and journaling enhancements. Several bugs in the autoconstraining function have been fixed, and issues reported by LEDAS customers have been resolved.

"LGS 2D is used by our customers to implement powerful parametric drawing functions, which are compatible with the capabilities of mainstream MCAD systems, but at an affordable price," said Dmitry Ushakov, Director of Product Management, LEDAS Ltd. "Our new version 3.0 is another significant step towards this direction: it introduces new functions aimed at supporting advanced user requirements yet shortening the application development time."

An integration module has also been created, which allows version 3.0 of LGS 2D to be used with applications based on DWGdirect of the Open Design Alliance (ODA). This integration module was developed jointly by LEDAS and the ODA, and it provides DWGdirect-based applications with support for constraints contained in the DWG 2010 file format.

Please Visit http://www.ledas.com/ for more information.

Related Post:

• LEDAS Ships Driving Dimensions Plug-in v1.2 for SketchUp
• LEDAS Ships LGS 3D Geometric Constraint Solver v2.0
• LEDAS Adds Assemblies & Kinematics plug-in to Rhino

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Magnacad Ships JRIV for Design, Analysis, Data Management

Magnacad Design Inc. a leading provider of CAD, CAE and PLM solutions has announced today the launch of their new encompassed design engineering solution bundle - JRIV. Developed to fill many needs, JRIV can reduce time and overhead of manufacturing companies that require total design, engineering, and data management solutions. JRIV addresses this need and surpasses it by incorporating the most productive solutions with the most cost-effectiveness. And, in addition, provide technical abilities beyond any other solution currently on the market.

The components of JRIV were selected based on ease of use, advanced technology, and cost of ownership. “We have created a solution that has met these objectives and more.” says Tom Lehnhaeuser, president of MDI, and he adds, “We successfully created a bundled solution using IronCAD 3D design application as the core foundation upon which the other applications would integrate.”

The three primary applications powering JRIV are IronCAD from IronCAD, LLC, Element from Range Software, and DesignDataManager from CSI, Ltd. These three formulate a single integrated solution for;

• Design/Engineering
• Analysis
• Product Data Management and Workflow

Also, additional modules can be implemented as needed for Cable and Wire Harness design and 3D PCB design. MDI has provided additional features through the use of freeware and open-source applications all at no extra cost! “The free and open-source applications included obviously can be retrieved independently by users worldwide, hence the reason no costs were applied to the JRIV product. “We took the liberty of doing the research and providing the ancillary applications with JRIV simply because it saves the customer time from this task themselves. Aside, we have created custom integrated toolbars and menus to use with these applications so as the installation and user experience is fully seamless to the end user.” states Tom.

Some Open-Source or Freeware integrated functions included are;

• Web Conferencing (up to 10 attendees) with Screen Sharing
• Vector-based Desktop Publishing
• Screen Video/Audio Capture
• Unit Conversions Tool and more

Please Visit http://www.magnacad.com/ for more information.

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VISTAGY Releases Seat Design Environment 2009

VISTAGY, Inc., a leading provider of industry-specific engineering software and services, today announced the release of Seat Design Environment 2009 (SDE), which provides an accurate 3D master model of the trim cover from the earliest stages of design to manufacturing by enabling seat cover manufacturers to bring flat patterns that have been altered with 2D editing software back into the 3D CAD model. This master model definition can be used to automatically update engineering and manufacturing data to create a faster, more precise process for delivering seat covers to market, a key concern in the highly competitive automotive industry.

The traditional 2D-based seat trim cover design and manufacturing process requires a significant amount of translation and verbal communication to transfer data between numerous people and software packages. Creating documents, such as drawings, bills of materials (BOMs), cost assessments and sewing instructions, is a manual, error-prone task that requires frequent data re-entry. This traditional process is highly inefficient because there is no single master model containing all the most up-to-date information and, most importantly, there is no way to obtain timely design feedback.

Previous versions of SDE have always provided a way for data and documentation—such as flat patterns, costing information, sew reports and BOMs—to be automatically created from a 3D CAD master model. But SDE 2009 enhances the master model by providing an environment integrated into commercial CAD systems where geometric and non-geometric information can be captured within a single 3D CAD model throughout the entire design process; from initial generation of flat patterns to final detail design as required for manufacturing. Now design and manufacturing engineers and their suppliers can efficiently create and modify seat trim cover product definitions and generate associated engineering data automatically for use throughout a company and its supply chain.

SDE 2009 also provides enhanced capabilities for communicating design information, generating documentation, simulating producibility and defining seat covers:

• Improved communication and documentation – Engineering as well as manufacturing drawings can now be created with SDE 2009. This includes the ability to show and hide cutouts in drawings on sewing reports and engineering drawings as well as the ability to highlight colors on sewing reports to show seam types (French/Deck, etc.) in isometric and flat pattern views. This dramatically improves the communication of the designer’s intent to the manufacturing team, speeding overall development time and increasing accuracy.
• Enhanced producibility simulations – With improved display of producibility results, the simulation can be inspected and used to identify issues that need to be addressed to make better flat patterns more easily.
• Improved capabilities for defining seat covers – There are now more options for creating attachments (by center point and length, by start and end points, and by point and length) and for creating manufacturing sew lines (by curve, attachment or backing pad).

"There is tremendous pressure on seat cover manufacturers to get to market quickly and on budget," said Ed Bernardon, vice president of business development for VISTAGY. "The introduction of SDE 2009 means they can now create an invaluable master model for use throughout the entire trim design and manufacturing process by bringing flat patterns altered with 2D editing software back into the 3D CAD model so engineering and manufacturing documentation and data can be automatically updated. With SDE 2009, we continue to enhance our customers' competitiveness by improving data accuracy and streamlining the engineering process."

 

Visit http://www.vistagy.com/ for more information.

 

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SYCODE Releases Inventor File Import Plug-in for AutoCAD

SYCODE has released an Autodesk Inventor file import plug-in for AutoCAD. The plug-in allows users to import Inventor part and assembly files into AutoCAD without the need of an Inventor license on the computer or network.

"We have been receiving requests from AutoCAD users wanting to import part and assembly files created in Autodesk Inventor,” explains Deelip Menezes, Founder and CEO of SYCODE. "Inventor already has the ability to exchange 3D data with AutoCAD via the AEC Exchange method. However, this method requires a license of Inventor in order to perform the conversion. In the event that an AutoCAD user gets an Inventor Part (IPT) or Assembly (IAM) file and does not have access to Inventor, there is no way to get the 3D data stored in the IPT or IAM file into AutoCAD. That is precisely when Inventor Import for AutoCAD will come in handy”.

Inventor Import for AutoCAD can read Inventor part IPT files from Inventor 6 to Inventor 2010 and assembly IAM files from Inventor 11 to Inventor 2010. The plug-in is powered by the widely used 3D InterOp technology from Spatial. 3D InterOp is the industry standard for proprietary CAD file format data exchange and is used in almost all the major CAD systems. Besides data exchange 3D InterOp also offers powerful repairing and healing features which are extensively used in Inventor Import for AutoCAD. Repairing involves checking the file for corrupted data and fixing the invalid data. Healing corrects the differences in precision. Inventor Import for AutoCAD also creates a detailed log file which is extremely useful in identifying data translation problems and aids in locating and fixing errors.

Inventor Import for AutoCAD works with AutoCAD 2000 through to AutoCAD 2010, 32 Bit as well as 64 Bit and is available as a fully functional trial. The plug-in comes with an installer and detailed documentation in the form of a compiled HTML help file which contains a step-by-step tutorial to get the end user started in the shortest possible time.

Visit http://www.sycode.com/ for more information.

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LEDAS Ships Driving Dimensions Plug-in v1.2 for SketchUp

New update of Driving Dimensions plug-in significantly improves quality, stability, and performance; introduces multi-language support

LEDAS Ltd., an independent provider of variational design tools, technology components and software development services for CAD/CAM/CAE/PLM market, today announced the availability of version 1.2 of its Driving Dimensions plug-in for Google SketchUp software. The Driving Dimensions product line from LEDAS is aimed at making advanced MCAD technology available at an affordable price to all users of popular 3D software.

Version 1.2 contains significant improvements in quality, stability, and performance. This was made possible because it is based on the next generation of LGS 3D geometric constraint solving software component recently released by LEDAS. The new version generates solutions that users would expect to see as outcomes. When users now modify the parameters of driving dimensions, most edges and faces remain unchanged; the only ones to change are those needed to satisfy the new parameter values. In addition, the time to solve constraints has been significantly reduced, with the Driving Dimensions plug-in now up to ten times faster than the previous version on large models.

A new feature in Driving Dimensions version 1.2 is multi-language support. Now all tooltips and system messages can be translated to other languages. Version 1.2 comes with English and Japanese built-in. (Translation into Japanese was performed by EBATECH of Japan, a reseller of LEDAS solutions in Japan.)

LEDAS invites uses of the free version of Driving Dimensions to help translate the plug-in to different languages. As compensation, LEDAS will provide all collaborators with Pro licenses of the Driving Dimensions plug-in for SketchUp at no charge.

"The Driving Dimensions plug-in for SketchUp is our most popular software," said Dmitry Ushakov, Director of Product Management, LEDAS Ltd. "The free version of our plug-in has been downloaded by more than 15,000 SketchUp users worldwide since the first public beta was released a year ago. Significant feedback from users of both the free and Pro versions is allowing us to improve the quality of our software, and is giving us fresh ideas on new functions."

Visit http://www.ledas.com/ for more information.

Related Post:

• LEDAS Ships LGS 3D Geometric Constraint Solver v2.0
• LEDAS Adds Assemblies & Kinematics plug-in to Rhino

Dassault Systèmes Announces New Release of Abaqus FEA from SIMULIA

Lower Development Costs and Accelerate Innovation Through Improved Realistic Simulation Capabilities

Dassault Systèmes, a world leader in 3D and Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) solutions, today announced the availability of Abaqus 6.9 Extended Functionality (6.9-EF), its technology-leading unified finite element analysis (FEA) product suite from SIMULIA.

Designers, engineers, and researchers in a broad range of industries use Abaqus to predict the real-world behavior of products, materials, and manufacturing processes. This latest release delivers key new features and enhancements for modeling, advanced mechanics, and performance. These ongoing improvements are enabling customers to consolidate their simulation software, thereby lowering cost and increasing efficiency in their product development process.

“To meet product performance requirements within ever-shorter product development timelines, it is imperative that we perform physically accurate design simulations as fast as possible," stated Kirk Siefker, Senior Analytical Engineer, Engine Components, Schaeffler Group USA. "With the improved implicit dynamic capabilities in Abaqus 6.9-EF, we are able to simulate the realistic performance of our engine component and system designs 30% faster while enhancing our product’s overall performance.”

"The extended functionality of Abaqus underscores our ongoing commitment to delivering robust, customer-driven enhancements to our realistic simulation software more quickly," stated Steve Crowley, director of product management, SIMULIA, Dassault Systèmes. "The latest capabilities in 6.9-EF will benefit our users in every industry by helping them accelerate the evaluation of real-world product behavior during the design phase."

New features and enhancements in Abaqus 6.9-EF release include:

Modeling

• Interactive support is provided for meshing models using cylindrical elements, which can be useful in the analysis of pipelines by oil and gas companies.
• Geometry repair tools in Abaqus/CAE offer greater flexibility and broader scope for systematically adjusting the geometry of a model in preparation for meshing.
• An interface for model change definitions allows the deactivation and reactivation of model regions and contact pairs during an analysis.
• Users can now define direct cyclic and low-cycle fatigue analysis procedures in Abaqus/CAE. Low-cycle fatigue analysis can be used to efficiently predict fatigue life in electronic components such as solder joints.
• Discrete orientations provide a convenient method for accurately defining spatially varying material orientations on models with curved geometries such as aircraft panels and car bodies.

Advanced Mechanics

• Viscoelastic behavior can be now modeled with orthotropic/anisotropic elasticity in Abaqus/Explicit, which provides more realistic composite damage prediction.
• A new and efficient method is available for analyzing structures subject to air blast loading, which is useful for safety evaluation in the civil engineering and defense industries.
• Continued advancements in fracture and failure include contour integral evaluation for cracks defined with XFEM and the inclusion of the Virtual Crack Closure Technique (VCCT) in Abaqus/Explicit, which allows users to model brittle fracture of partially bonded surfaces.
• Breakthrough improvement in the implicit dynamics procedure helps solve unstable problems involving contact, buckling, and material failure. Examples include impact inside gear mechanisms and medical device deployment within patients.

Performance

• A new iterative solver in Abaqus/Standard provides performance gains up to 20x or more in comparison to the direct sparse solver. The iterative solver is intended for very large simulation problems typically found in applications such as powertrain, oil reservoir, and material microstructure simulations.
• Performance of creating high-quality surface meshes using the mapped meshing technique has been significantly improved. Depending on the part, performance gains of 2x to 40x are possible. This is extremely useful in meshing engine blocks and ship hulls.

Visit http://www.simulia.com/ for more information.

Exa Releases PowerFLOW 4.2

USA Exa® Corporation, a global innovator of fluids simulation (CAE/CFD) software for product engineering, announces a new release of its flagship product, PowerFLOW®.

PowerFLOW 4.2 simulates true rotating geometry – an industry breakthrough that enables practical and accurate prediction of fan noise, fan performance, brake cooling and wheel aerodynamics. In addition to improved accuracy and simulation process turn-around time, PowerFLOW 4.2 also offers the ability to simulate long-term transient thermal protection situations such as key-off and soak.

PowerFLOW 4.2 simulates true rotating geometry for accurate prediction of fan noise, fan performance, brake cooling and wheel aerodynamics.

Since its inception, Exa Corporation has been committed to the seamless integration of simulation and analysis into the engineering process. This new release continues the mission and offers capabilities that further enhance accuracy and overall turn-around time. “With PowerFLOW 4.2 and true rotating geometry, not only are we handling real-world applications that were not practically possible before, but we are also providing tools, templates and physics improvements that streamline the simulation process, enabling product performance analysis to be performed at the very earliest stages of design,” commented Charles Alexander, Exa’s Director of Product Management for Simulation Products.

True rotating geometry, frequently called ‘sliding mesh’ by the simulation community, simulates the actual movement of arbitrary geometry during the course of the simulation. “PowerFLOW is an inherently transient simulator,” remarked James Hoch, Exa’s Vice President of Software Development. “Updating the position of the geometry at each time-step is a natural extension of the core technology, resulting in very accurate prediction of the fluid flow in and around rotating geometry.”

PowerFLOW 4.2 Overview
This newest Exa release adds functionality that not only extends the simulation capabilities of PowerFLOW, but when coupled with complementary products such as PowerTHERM® and PowerACOUSTICS™ also improves aerodynamic, aeroacoustic and thermal results.

• True Rotating Geometry. PowerFLOW 4.2 further extends Exa’s leadership in simulation technology by offering the first practical and accurate simulation of the actual movement of rotating components. True rotating geometry enables prediction of the noise and performance of HVAC and cooling fans. It also improves accuracy for any application that has rotating components, especially those transient in nature such as brake cooling and wheel aerodynamics. PowerFLOW 4.2 offers an easy-to-use case setup for true rotating geometry as well as built-in support for visualization of results showing the geometry rotating.

• Long Term Transient Simulations. PowerFLOW 4.2, an inherently transient solver, coupled with Exa’s PowerTHERM, now allows for the simulation of minutes or even hours of real time for the accurate prediction of critical thermal cool-down conditions such as key-off and soak.

• Accuracy. In addition to the accuracy benefits realized with true rotating geometry, PowerFLOW 4.2 offers an improved turbulent thermal wall model and porous media physics for enhanced precision and robustness in these extremely complex simulations.

• Turnaround Time. Exa continually works to streamline the engineering simulation and analysis process. Exa has now published validated design study best practices using reduced resolution runs that dramatically reduce the time and compute resources required. With PowerFLOW 4.2 extensive turnaround time enhancements are included, such as: application specific case templates—a sophisticated automated case setup capability which allows capture and re-use of company best practices; enhanced cluster/queuing support; automatic coarse-to-fine seeding capabilities; and real-time volume visualization.

Visit http://www.exa.com/ for more information.