Inside Design Visionaries

NX tutorial: How to Make Helical Shape That Follows Drive Curve

A tutorial from Design Visionaries/YouGizmos.com:

The Secret of "Law Curve"

As president of the product design firm known as Design Visionaries, located in the Silicon Valley, I have had the opportunity to learn a lot about the way CAD software is used, and misused. I have had the privilege of traveling to countries as far-flung as Australia, China, and the Netherlands to serve customers in a wide range of industries in the capacity of design engineer and CAD trainer. I have also traveled all over the US and have been asked to help engineers be more efficient. In the process, I have learned very important lessons about how to maximize the use of CAD software.

Rerun:Tip--Create a gently bowed shape

In this tip, you will learn to control an N-sided Surface to create a gently bowed shape in NX.

 

Step 1:  Create a sketch of a triangle with equal length lines and mid point constraints. 1 dimension of 100mm.

 

Step 2: Create the arcs with their centers on each straight line, tangencies, and equal length arcs.

Step 3: Use the fillet command with equal radius arcs and place the dimensions on the arcs as shown.

 

 

 

Step 4: Extrude a 10mm ribbon with the body type = sheet, and a 27 degree angle as shown.

 

 

Step 5: Blank out all the curves and create an “N-sided Surface” on top of the ribbon. Use the “Match Boundary Face” option.

 

 

 

Step 6: Extend the surface with “Trim and Extend”. Extend about 5 mm below the initial sketch plane.

 

Step 7: Once you have extended it you can trim it with the initial sketch plane and create a bounded plane on the bottom of it. Then sew it up into a solid.

And you're done!

Siemens PLM Software Announces New Releases for Its D-Cubed 2D Component Software Solutions

From Siemens PLM Software:

Siemens PLM Software, a business unit of Siemens Industry Automation Division and a leading global provider of product lifecycle management (PLM) software and services, today announced the immediate availability of new releases of two of its industry-leading D-Cubed™ component software products. Version 56.0 of 2D Dimensional Constraint Manager (2D DCM) and Profile Geometry Manager (PGM) contain new enhancements to improve function and performance.

See the press release here.

Is the Design Engineer Extinct?

An interesting article in the current issue of Machine Design, explores the idea that there are fewer and fewer design engineers and more and more CAD engineers.  See the article here.

What do you think?

Siemens PLM Software Delivers NX 7.0 with "HD3D" and Enhancements to Synchronous Technology

From Siemens PLM Software:

Siemens PLM Software, a business unit of the Siemens Industry Automation Division and a leading global provider of product lifecycle management (PLM) software and services, today announced the latest release of NX™ software, the company’s flagship digital product development solution. With NX 7.0, Siemens PLM Software introduces HD3D, an open and intuitive visual environment to help global product development teams unlock the value of PLM information and significantly enhance their ability to make efficient and effective product decisions. In addition, NX 7.0 includes enhancements to synchronous technology – the widely acclaimed computer-aided design, manufacturing and engineering analysis (CAD/CAM/CAE) productivity software introduced by Siemens PLM Software last year – that will further accelerate a variety of product development tasks and expand the unmatched ability of NX to effectively work with data from third party CAD applications.

See the rest of the press release here.

NX6 Tutorial: How to Create Vacuum Formed Geometry

Another useful tutorial from Design Visionaries/YouGizmos:

SolidWorks Enterprise PDM 2010 Beta 3.0 Available

SolidWorks Enterprise PDM 2010 Beta 3 download is available to All Current Subscription Customers

SolidWorks 2010 Products: Work Smarter and Faster with Powerful New Capabilities

From Dassault Systèmes SolidWorks Corp.:

Dassault Systèmes (DS) SolidWorks Corp. [recently] unveiled the SolidWorks® 2010 product line, a new set of software products that optimize and bulletproof the core product design functions that make designers and engineers successful every day. Through the use of CAD, simulation, data management, documentation, and environmental impact assessment, organizations will transform their inspirations into innovation, supported by a vibrant community of CAD users, content, technology, and expertise.

This new SolidWorks product line also improves depth and performance by extending the DS SolidWorks tradition of including hundreds of new enhancements specifically requested by customers.

See the press release here.

NX Tutorial: A Neat Way to Use the Unsew Command

Once again, a helpful NX tip from Design Visionaries/YouGizmos: