Should you buy your CAD software—or rent?
CAD software isn’t cheap. A mainstream 3D CAD program will set you back thousands of dollars upfront, and a bunch more in annual maintenance charges. The cost can be daunting. But what if there was a way to spread it out, and pay as you go? Rental: An idea that’s been tried. A dozen years or so ago, a relatively new CAD vendor, Think3, started offering their CAD software... Read More
SpaceClaim: Sheet metal design for pirates?
Let this be a warning to all CAD vendors: Don’t encourage your application engineers to “be creative and have fun.” You might end up with product videos such as this one:All seriousness aside, SpaceClaim does have compelling sheet metal tools for people other than pretend pirates. And, unlike some older CAD programs, SpaceClaim is relatively fun to use – probably because... Read More
High-tech tools for a cool ride
When Marcus Hays first heard about an electric bike, he was less than enthusiastic. Why load a bike with battery weight, turning the human motor into passenger in the process? That was 1995 and Hays was working with Lee Iococca to develop electric cars and bikes.Electric bikes use less than 1,000 watts of total power and can be used on bike paths. When Hays first encountered these... Read More
Guitar maker speeds design process
Fender Musical Instruments Corporation is a leading manufacturer of stringed instruments, including electric, acoustic, and bass guitars as well as guitar amplifiers. While the company handcrafted guitars and used 2D AutoCAD design tools for many years, the 2002 acquisition of the JACKSON guitar brand brought more complex geometry challenges that required 3D design technology to... Read More
Michigan Autonomous Aerial Vehicle robots take flight
Danny Ellis was first introduced to CAD in high school with a course in Autodesk Inventor. As he advanced into the engineering program at the University of Michigan, he was introduced to CATIA.“In between my freshman and sophomore years, I became irritated at how cumbersome it was to rotate a model using a traditional mouse. I thought I could get a trackball mouse and program... Read More
Fast design process supports rapid growth
As its name implies, Giant KONE Elevator Co., Ltd., is big in the elevator industry. Founded in 1910 in Finland, the company has become one of the world’s largest elevator and escalator manufacturers. KONE first entered the Chinese market in 1996. KONE entered into a joint venture agreement with Zhejiang Giant Elevator Co., Ltd., the leading Chinese elevator manufacturer.The... Read More
Boots for the boundary-free skier
Black Diamond Equipment Ltd. makes equipment for climbing and skiing that regularly wins awards for its innovation and quality. Several years ago, Black Diamond decided to apply its expertise to a new area – free-ride ski boots. These boots are used in a certain niche of skiing known as “boundary-free” skiing. Boundary-free skiers strap their skis to a backpack, hike up a... Read More
Ice Dream: Towing an iceberg for fresh water
“With the world’s water resources projected to diminish by one third in the next two decades, providing pure water to an ever- increasing world population is vital,” Mougin explained. To Mougin and Mauviel, one solution would be to transport icebergs to areas that lack fresh water for drinking and even cooling purposes. The scientific challenges are impressive... Read More
New software slated to change the workplace
CAD software vendors have touted product usability for a long time. However, they haven’t really delivered on that promise until recently. There were a few software debuts in 2011 that changed that premise. True user usability could lead to a broader CAD audience and a bigger market share.The product development team at PTC came up with the idea of a creating single program... Read More
Printer shifts from 2D to 3D
Voith Paper decided to improve its design process across its centers of competencies around the world. Each center specializes in particular parts of a paper machine: due to its massive size and complexity, a finished machine requires design input from several design centers. Voith knew that speeding up its design and manufacturing processes would mean aligning its dispersed design... Read More
