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Digitally complete

From CAD User Mechanical Magazine Vol 22 No 6 - JUNE/JULY 2009

David Chadwick looks at the elements of digital prototyping that make up Autodesk's 2010 Manufacturing Software

Digital Prototyping is the ability to design and test a product before the old screwdriver is taken out of the box. It is the ability to bring concepts to life by simulating their mechanical and electrical processes, and by rendering and animating them, making them indistinguishable from the real thing. It is as far as you can go within the realms of 3D design before you have to bite the bullet and go into production.

The benefits of resorting to the process are well rehearsed. Not only do you get to try out many variations on a design before you put yourself to the inconvenience and expense of actually making them - saving yourself considerable amounts of time and money - but you can trap errors and problems at the earliest possible opportunity, before they become incredibly expensive to sort out. You know the old adage: spot an error right at the beginning of the design process and it costs you a couple of man-hours of effort to put it right - spot it just before you are going into mass production and it will cost you millions.

So Autodesk has taken digital prototyping to bear, borne out by the well-known software companies that are now operating under the Autodesk banner - Moldflow, Navisworks and Alias, with its 3ds Max Design - plus a couple of others that provide the analytical tools that are as much part of digital prototyping as the product design tools.

It's the latter, though, that constitute Autodesk's solution for Digital Prototyping (in capitals now, you will notice) together with Autodesk's own original products, Autodesk Inventor, Mechanical, Electrical, Vault and the less familiar Showcase. As such, they

are all present and correct in Autodesk's recently released 2010 product line-up for manufacturers - aimed, naturally, at improving their capability in design, visualisation and simulation.

INVENTOR

The Core of Autodesk's Digital Prototyping solution lies in Inventor, the 3D modelling tool that gives design engineers the ability to create accurate 3D models that can be used to validate form, fit and function of a model before it is built. The latest release introduces new usability and productivity enhancements for 2D product documentation and 3D product design, extended simulation capabilities, a strong focus on plastic part creation and new data management and exchange capabilities.

Usability and productivity are handy terms, covering all aspects of user interaction with the software, and how software companies strive to make their software easier to use and more intuitive, so that designers can focus on design, rather than trying to master the software.

In this release the focus is also on the design function - the automatic creation of intelligent components such as plastic parts, steel frames and rotating machinery. Plastic part design and tooling may not be familiar to Inventor users - but the incorporation of Moldflow within the Inventor product line now gives designers the ability to design high-quality moulded-part models, and to automatically produce and validate injection moulds for those same parts.

Autodesk Inventor 2010 also brings improved motion simulation and static and modal finite element analysis at part and assembly level. Building products manufacturers will be delighted to know

that they can now share their Inventor data with architects and structural engineers. A new AEC Exchange function will allow them to publish 3D data in a format that can be used in BIM (Building Information Modelling) products, such as Autodesk Revit 2010.

AUTODESK MECHANICAL

It's great to see Autodesk Mechanical is still part of the line-up. It's draughting and BOM features are second to none, and despite being able to take your 3D models right through to production and beyond, there is still a requirement at some stage for outputting 2D documents - and, of course, for providing a list of components. The new release includes more intelligent draughting features, the automation of many design tasks, and enhancements to BOM creation.

AUTOCAD ELECTRICAL

AutoCAD Electrical has been similarly brought up to date, with a new streamlined design environment and 'on-line' circuit symbol library. Circuit Builder helps design engineers analyse the energy efficiency of circuits - helping them make 'green' engineering decisions.

AUTODESK ALIAS FAMILY

An interesting development here, with the release of Alias 2010 industrial design software on the Mac platform. A debate about the 'creative' credentials of Apple computers would be a fun thing to have. They dominate the graphics industry, but their, albeit impressive, stunning capabilities are mere glitz and glamour compared to the in-depth 3D modelling and analysis that you get with PCs. Probably apt, then, that devotees will now have access to the truly creative features of Alias, with its advanced modelling and sculpting tools, and which is a firm favourite in the auto industry.

Inventor 2010 Molded Part DefinitionInventor 2010 Model Simplification Autodesk has enhanced the way the software works with Autodesk Inventor and other CAD software. As one of the first users of Apple computers and editor of the first Apple II magazine, Windfall, I would love to see greater use of Macs in the CAD industry.

SHOWCASE

Part and parcel of digital prototyping is the ability to output design concepts as realistically as possible. That means using all of the tricks of the trade in visualisation. Showcase, with integrated ray tracing; brings this ability to design, engineering and marketing teams. In a two-way process, though, the sales team are not just provided with a finished product. Suggestions made through consultation with them and with customers can be fed back into the design process - and visually confirmed by manipulating model components in real time.

AUTODESK 3DS MAX DESIGN

Once the design is established you have access to 3ds Max Design, which can be used to take digital prototypes and create photorealistic visualisations, animations, mood studies and so on. Still within the digital prototyping solution, the application is one of the leading DCC tools - the backbone of many current movie blockbusters and

car marketing campaigns.

AUTODESK VAULT

With collaboration an important part of product development, it is essential that documents, files and related data is held with easily managed design revision, and full control over who can access data, and when. Autodesk Vault allows design engineers to maintain efficient workgroup management for the sharing of digital prototyping information.

AUTODESK NAVISWORKS

A recent acquisition that brings NavisWorks’ well known product navigation tool, helping extended teams visualise and collaborate on complex projects, into the Autodesk fold. Large assemblies consisting of machinery, tooling, layout and facilities incorporating data from multiple CAD sources, can be combined to create a single, lightweight 3D model of factories and manufacturing plants - providing a whole, real-time project view.

AUTODESK MOLDFLOW

Moldflow's software suite for simulation, analysis, optimisation and validation of plastic parts and their associated moulds is well known in the plastics industry. Now, as part of the Autodesk family of digital prototyping products, it

introduces new sustainability features, along with enhanced performance and quality. The software's powerful, in-depth simulation of the industry's most advanced moulding processes are supplemented by the world's largest plastics material database.

The software takes designers right through the injection mould design process - including analysis and interpretation - helping designers deliver digitally tested and problem-free mould designs to manufacturers.

THE SOLUTION

As manufacturers have to look to cutting costs, whilst learning to compete at a global level, the ability to work with an integrated product development solution from a single supplier has to be a tremendous boon. "Putting powerful 2D and 3D software within the reach of mainstream manufacturers positions companies of all sizes - not just large enterprises - to compete on a global scale," said Robert "Buzz" Kross, senior vice president, Manufacturing Industry Group at Autodesk.

"With our 2010 product line, customers can achieve greater collaboration than ever before between industrial design, engineering, manufacturing and marketing teams that are all responsible for bringing quality products to market." www.autodesk.com

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