CAD modelling Archives | �ۿ۴�ý

Getting Results from Photorealistic Rendering Software

�ۿ۴�ý — Wed, 04 May 2011 08:29:30 +0000

Today, engineers have access to a wide range of photo realistic rendering products. It wasn’t so long ago that concept designs had to be physically engineered before being photographed in a studio. Today, the entire project can be realized in virtual form, using 3D max rendering and engineering animation software. 3D rendering uses complex computer algorithms to create realistic static or moving images. Widely used in the TV, film and gaming industries it is also a highly popular tool in mechanical engineering, both as a CAD drafting aid and for promotional purposes. While no 3D photorealistic animation can ever replace the experience of driving a new concept car, it gives a good idea of what it will look like in your garage. To aid realism, modern software is packed with special effects, such as MB (motion blur), which simulates the way our eyes see fast-moving or vibrating objects. Photorealistic rendering can be used in many ways. During the early stages of product design, it helps engineers gain an accurate understanding of how the finished product will work and look, and gives a clear picture of potential problems in usage, such as impeded visibility or space limitations. 3D rendering also enables packaging and advertising teams to prepare products in parallel with the design being produced, rather than having to wait until there is a physical prototype. With large and complex system designs, the savings in terms of cost and time to market can be enormous. We at �ۿ۴�ý Technologies offer a full range of CAD, CAM and CAE services which cover all stages of product design. We are experts in the fields of photo realistic rendering, 3D modeling and engineering animation.

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Scots use 3D CAD to Save Mount Rushmore

�ۿ۴�ý — Thu, 24 Mar 2011 12:28:52 +0000

A Scottish heritage group has used an advanced new laser scanning technique combining high-speed data capture and advanced 3D CAD visualization technology to digitally document ten endangered heritage sites, including Mount Rushmore. The highly detailed CAD design data obtained from the Scottish Ten project has made Scotland the world leader in historical visualization and documentation. Eventually, 500 sites will be covered over 10 years, with, no doubt, a few system software and hardware upgrades along the way. The Mount Rushmore Monument shoot was conducted with the help of the National Park Service, who were only too happy to supply the ropes and climbing gear. The results mean erosion can be monitored, conservation efforts planned, the park promoted to a wider audience, and pesky tourists discouraged from paying personal visits to Abraham Lincoln. The images achieved by cutting-edge laser technology and 3D CAD visualization software allowed a level of detail never before achieved, though it was not without its hairy moments. Performing close-up scans of the face of a mountain in a tangle of ropes, being buffeted by high winds, is a bit different to your average PCB layout gig. But the results were worth it: point cloud data capture more than 50,000 points per second, data resolution of up to 4 mm, and scanning distances of 0.5 to 300m supplied enough data to keep National Geographic busy for years. We at �ۿ۴�ý Technologies offer CAD animation and 3D visualization services for the most complex of 3D objects, though we’ve yet to meet any Presidents while doing it.

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Making your Mechanical Design Ideas a Reality

�ۿ۴�ý — Fri, 04 Mar 2011 11:09:08 +0000

CAD drafting other people’s ideas is all very well, but in mechanical engineering, the real profits come from patenting your successful designs. Today, numerous mechanical CAD design packages take your product ideas from initial concepts to fully manufactured reality – but the hard work begins before you ever upload your CAD drafting software. Having thoroughly researched your design to see if it is practically and economically viable, you then need to do a patent search. The best option is to get a professional patent attorney to do this for you – that way, you can be certain your patent isn’t violating any already in existence. Provided the design is patentable, you can apply for a provisional patent. The date of invention and other details will be recorded at the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO); this protects your invention for one year from the date it is filed. After that, it becomes available to the public. A provisional patent doesn’t have to be too in-depth; it just needs to explain what your product is, how it works and how it is constructed, with a few technical sketches for clarity. Next comes the Alpha prototype, or Proof of Concept Design. This is the model you build to show the design is feasible and will function as conceptualized. Depending on the complexity, this can range from a simple cardboard mock-up to 3D modelling using advanced mechanical CAD design tools and digitally machined parts but does not require aesthetic elements. The Beta prototype is the final stage, realizing the design in full. We at �ۿ۴�ý Technologies offer a full range of mechanical engineering services, from CAD drafting to building prototypes.

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From Alpha to Beta – Mechanical CAD for Prototype Engineering

�ۿ۴�ý — Tue, 22 Feb 2011 09:54:45 +0000

When a mechanical engineering design is patented, it exists in theory only. The engineer must prove that the product functions as described in the provisional patent in order to get a full design patent, which means building a prototype. Today, this is generally done using specialised CAD drafting software and 3D modelling tools. There are two stages involved in producing a mechanical design prototype. Initially an alpha prototype (or ‘Proof of Concept’) design is produced. This is a simple conceptual model to demonstrate that the design functions as described in the patent literature and performs a useful purpose. It is stripped of all aesthetic embellishments and, in very basic designs, may not need CAD design tools. Following this is the Beta, or ‘Functional Prototype’ Design. This is where the 3D modelling tools and CAD visualisation software can really begin to come into their own. Generally, a proprietary 3D mechanical CAD software system will be used – there are a number on the market. 3D CAD allows you to design a solid model of your eventual product which is a scaled-down 3D representation of the real thing. There are a number of things to consider during the final stage of mechanical engineering design:

Fit and function of individual components within the assembly
Materials
Ergonomics
Aesthetic appeal
Component engineering methods – each individual part of the design must be manufactured to reflect materials, complexity of shape etc.
Costs of production and assembly.
Product lifespan

We at �ۿ۴�ý Technologies offer a wide range of mechanical engineering services, including CAD drawing, component engineering and enterprise data management solutions.

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System Software for Product Lifecycle Management

�ۿ۴�ý — Wed, 16 Feb 2011 16:34:42 +0000

Product lifecycle management follows the entire lifecycle of a product from early CAD drafting to final dismantling for disposal. A number of enterprise data management solutions are available in the form of specialised system software packages, designed to integrate and organize the various stages of the product’s lifespan.

PLM data management is far more complex than a single piece of software. It relies on a battery of tools and practices that work together, managing a single stage of production, uniting different stages or managing the entire . Some system software providers offer products filling a particular niche, while others cover the entire process. Similarly, some applications cover more fields than others, often packaging several modules together.

Many product lifecycle management fields overlap, and some software apps support more than one area; a single data model supporting a package of several modules is generally the best approach, to avoid unnecessary duplication. Two important areas of are the reuse of acquired knowledge for new projects, and the co-ordination of projects running concurrently.

There are five main areas of PLM management:

System development and engineering – focuses on meeting primary customer needs and co-coordinating all elements of the systems design process.
Product/portfolio management – manages allocation of resources, and tracks progress.
Product design.
Manufacturing processes.
Product Data Management – captures and maintains information on products during development and lifespan.

PLM concerns not just product data management, but the technology, people and processes involved as well. Integrating all this is a mammoth task, even with the specialised system software packages available. We at �ۿ۴�ý Technologies offer a full range of enterprise data management solutions to help you cope.

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2D to 3D conversion – bringing it all alive

�ۿ۴�ý — Tue, 18 Jan 2011 16:42:18 +0000

Anyone who watched the recent Reebok Zigtech advert will have seen firsthand how effective 3D CAD animation can be. Using a mixture of 2D to 3D conversion and 360o CAD animation, the makers were able to showcase a new product as if it were an engineering drawing project come to life. Motion capture was used to make the athlete’s movements appear natural, while the shoe itself began as a doodle on a drawing board.

3D animation often begins with a 2D concept. Once, these images alone had the “wow” factor, but that has become passé. Now engineers are increasingly relying on 3D engineering animation, both to sell their proposals to clients and to aid manufacture and construction. 3D CAD animation is used by engineering companies to prepare impressive corporate presentations, create interactive websites, aid computational fluid dynamics and reverse engineering protocols.

Architects still prefer to use conventional drawing boards. But now they can scan their drawings onto the PC and use 2D to 3D conversion to create room plans. This is still animation, since although the rooms don’t move the viewer does, and while home buyers once had to leaf through pages of still images, imagining how the room layouts would look in reality, now they have interactive CAD visualization. Like in gaming, the viewer can relate to the graphic images and interact with the virtual world around them.

At we provide CAD animation and 2D to 3D conversion for projects of every kind.

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Movie Animation for the Mechanical Engineering Industry

�ۿ۴�ý — Sat, 08 Jan 2011 15:28:05 +0000

You may not think motion capture and crowd simulation have much to do with engineering animation, but in fact these are just two techniques that use to visualise their products. Creative 3D modelling and 3D CAD animation have become mainstays of the engineering industry, used in everything from planning initial concepts, to computational fluid dynamics, to advertising the final product to potential buyers.

Motion capture, in which human or animal movement is digitally recorded, is familiar to games designers and animated movie makers. However, it can be used to replicate any movement (i.e. that of fluids) and thus is a useful tool in engineering CAD. Crowd simulation reproduces the movement of one object to symbolise many. The possibilities go far beyond creating impressive Coliseum scenes in gladiator movies.

3D CAD animation software has been developed for many industrial uses, including interior and architectural design; medical CAD visualisation; naval architecture and company presentations.

Architectural and interior design: Interactive 3D animation system software has been developed to allow designers to create, furnish and redesign room interiors. It is also used by estate agents to offer clients virtual tours of prospective homes, including virtual show homes of prospective builds.

The medical/veterinary/scientific field: CAD animation is used to explain biological concepts, show interactive surgical techniques and demonstrate/design medical equipment.

Naval architecture: Ships designed using 3D animation range from warships to cruise liners. The new Queen Elizabeth and Oasis of the Seas were designed exclusively using CAD visualisation and engineering animation tools.

We at Technologies offer a wide range of CAD services, from healthcare to mechanical engineering applications.

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Developments in CAD Animation

�ۿ۴�ý — Thu, 06 Jan 2011 15:08:39 +0000

The old-fashioned method of meticulously drawing and then photographing images to create a moving picture came to an end at the close of the 20th century. Then, animators began scanning or drawing their images onto computers, using CAD drawing software. CAD animation opened up enormous possibilities, not only in movie making, but in mechanical design as well. CAD drafting was already well known, but now engineers could see how mobile designs, such as cars and machinery, would actually look in performance. Computational fluid dynamics and fatigue analysis became possible too. The latest development has been 2D to 3D conversion of images and 3D CAD animation. It seems now that every new animated movie sells itself on the strength of its 3D animation, and again the implications on mechanical design have been enormous. Not only can you create the illusion of movement within your model, but you can also look at it from all angles and, again, utilize CFD. There are a number of different types of CAD animation, some of which are used in engineering design. Morph target animation: Images are stored as a series of vertex positions, moving each vertex to a new position, frame by frame. Used for animation of, for example, fabric and facial expressions. Again, widely used in advertising. Skeletal animation: Used to animate vertebrate movement, it is also widely used in mechanical design. In this case the ‘skeleton’ is a mechanical one. We at �ۿ۴�ý technologies offer CAD animation as one of our reverse engineering services; a field in which it has proven invaluable.

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Reverse Engineering and 3D Modelling and Scanning

�ۿ۴�ý — Tue, 04 Jan 2011 14:27:25 +0000

We at �ۿ۴�ý technologies offer a range of as part of our commitment to helping companies with their mechanical design problems.

However, while most people understand the concept of building a product from finished principles to recreate a classic mechanical design which, for example, is missing the original blueprints, they often don’t understand what this involves. The first thing to understand is that there is a much higher dependence on computer aided modelling and design (CAD CAM) services these days.

Reverse engineering involves measuring an object so it can be reproduced through 3D modelling. The modern way to do this is via 3D scanning. There are a number of 3D scanning technologies available, including Coordinate Measuring Machine (CMM) scanning, 3D laser scanning, computed tomography and structured light digitising.

Whichever device is used, the principle is the same. The scanner analyses a solid object, collecting data on its contours, dimensions, density and sometimes colour and texture. The relative 3D modeling system software then uses this data to build a digital 3D model.

3D scanners are used in entertainment, medical and environmental applications, as well as industrial design and prototype reverse engineering. They work by processing points on the solid object into a digital format such as a triangular mesh, NURBS (Non-uniform rational B-spline) graphics or a CAD model. This makes the data available for other , such as CAD visualization.

Today, companies like us use the most advanced 3D laser scanning technology and system software to provide reverse engineering services for our clients.

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Reverse Engineering Services – How They Can Help You

�ۿ۴�ý — Sun, 02 Jan 2011 12:54:59 +0000

Reverse engineering is the process by which an existing item is “de-structured” to see how it is made and how it functions. Sometimes it’s in order to replicate an object made by another manufacturer, while in other instances it may be an exercise in value analysis or improving the design. A popular reason, these days, is the reintroduction of ‘retro’ designs, in a way that remains authentic to the original but incorporates new rules regarding health and safety, or .

When a CEO gets a great idea about something, maybe a competitor’s product or something his great-grandfather made a century ago, computer aided imaging is often low on the agenda. But it’s a good idea to understand at least some of what is involved, starting with the reverse engineering services offered today.

Reverse engineering is nothing new, but without blueprints of the original to hand, often quite tricky. However, it becomes easy if there are tools to generate 3D images of the components. Companies offering CAD CAM services have made reversible engineering feasible and cost-effective, generating 3D graphic images (sometimes using CAD animation) of the physical parts and using CAM (Computer Aided Modelling) tools to create the finished version onscreen.

For example, before something can be reverse-engineered it needs to be measured so it can be recreated as an accurate 3D model. There are lots of high-tech ways to do this, none of them involving a ruler. CAD engineering tools have improved tremendously in recent years, allowing companies like us at �ۿ۴�ý Technologies to offer at highly preferential rates.

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