Benjamin: “Yes, sir.”

Mr. McGuire: “Are you listening?”

Benjamin: “Yes, I am.”

Mr. McGuire: “Plastics.”

- The Graduate, 1967

Dassault Systemes SolidWorks Corp this week announced a new product: SolidWork Plastics.

Actually, it’s not strictly new, and it’s not just one product. SolidWorks Plastics was developed and originally sold by Simpoe, a provider of plastics injection molding simulation software. Dassault entered into an agreement whereby SolidWorks will now sell the software under their banner.

There are two versions of SolidWorks Plastics. The Professional version (US$4,995.00) is for people who design plastic injection molded parts. The Premium version (US$14,995.00) is for mold designers.

If you’ve been using SolidWorks for a few years, you might remember that the 2007 version came with MoldflowXpress, a limited function molding simulation tool that included a generic materials database, part-only analysis, single gate location, and a go/no go result, showing whether a part would fill. MoldflowXpress was what you might call a “good enough to be useful, not good enough to take sales from our more expensive products” tool. Still, it was pretty useful, and nicely integrated into SolidWorks. It became unavailable about the same time SolidWorks’ arch-competitor Autodesk purchased Moldflow. (Imagine that!)

After MoldflowXpress went away, Simpoe was one of the companies that stepped up to the plate, to offer a “gold” partner product for plastics simulation running embedded in SolidWorks.

I’m guessing that users were happy enough with the Simpoe products that Dassault decided to bring them into the fold.

SolidWorks Plastics Professional is quite a bit more capable than MoldflowXpress ever was. It allows parts designers to verify uniform wall thickness (a fundamental best practice of plastics part design), optimize the thickness of features such as reinforcing ribs to avoid sink marks, and predict (and either minimize or eliminate) weld lines. It includes a material database with around 5,000 grades of commercial plastic. It has a very useful set of capabilities for people who design plastic injection molded parts. (And SolidWorks is probably the leading CAD tool for this purpose.) The important thing about SolidWorks Plastics Professional is that it lets parts designers verify manufacturability early in the design process, long before cutting any tool steel. It’s not trivially inexpensive, but compared to the cost of a few trashed molds it’s a bargain.

SolidWorks Plastics Premium is for mold designers. It’s a big-time full-function mold analysis tool, supporting analysis of single-cavity, multi-cavity and family mold layouts, runner balance analysis, and providing a wide range of report plot types for identifying and rectifying problems. It comes with automated report generation capabilities, for sharing results with others. A significant benefit of SolidWorks Plastics Premium, when compared to standalone analysis solutions, is that runs embedded inside of SolidWorks, and uses familiar workflows. Its learning curve should be comparatively easy for experienced SolidWorks users. It should go without saying (but probably doesn’t) that learning curve and usability are exceedingly important, even for people who are domain experts.

While SolidWorks Plastics isn’t technically an entirely new product, now that it’s part of the SolidWorks family, it’ll probably get more attention from resellers, and more awareness among users.  All told, a good thing.

DS SolidWorks Corp. www.solidworks.com/sw/products/plastics-injection-molding.htm

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SolidWorks (the company) got major flak from bloggers concerned that SolidWorks V6 (the software) would replace SolidWorks (the software.)

This year, at SolidWorks World (the show), Dassault Systèmes SolidWorks (as the company is now known) didn’t talk much about SolidWorks V6 (the product), other than to say that they’d talk about it in 2013.

Now that we’ve got that all clear, let’s talk about what matters: SolidWorks V6 is confusing branding. It confuses not only users, but even pundits who write about CAD software.

My understanding, after talking to company representatives at SolidWorks World, is that SolidWorks V6 is the name for not just one product, but a future series of products. Those products may incorporate some existing SolidWorks technology, but they’ll be based largely upon CATIA and ENOVIA V6 technology. Because they’ll use the CGM modeling kernel (which was originally written for CATIA V5), they’ll likely be more compatible with CATIA than with today’s SolidWorks.

It makes sense that Dassault Systèmes would want to leverage the strength of the SolidWorks brand for this upcoming series of products. The SolidWorks brand is one of the strongest in the MCAD world. If SolidWorks V6 were actually based on, and entirely compatible with, SolidWorks—the name might fit. But it’s not, and it doesn’t.

The SolidWorks V6 name creates unnecessary fear, uncertainty, and doubt among SolidWorks users who are concerned that they’ll be forced to transition from a CAD program they know and (sometimes) love to this new technology, whether they want to or not.

What’s particularly unfortunate is that, if Dassault Systèmes had originally used a code name for the technology instead of calling it SolidWorks V6, they never would have created this whirlwind of FUD among their users. People might have seen it as just what it is: A really interesting future product, that they might want to add to their portfolio of CAD tools some day (when it’s ready.)

The bottom line is that the new technology called SolidWorks V6 isn’t SolidWorks, and won’t replace SolidWorks. According to Fielder Hiss, SolidWorks VP of Product Management, the development team working on SolidWorks 2013 is even larger than the teams that worked on previous versions.

The real SolidWorks—the CAD program now used by about 1.7 million people—is going to be around for a long time.

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With around 1.7 million people using SolidWorks, it would be surprising if SolidWorks World wasn’t a large conference. Yet, the secret to its success is not just mere user count. It’s community building.

SolidWorks, the company, has for many years focused on building communities of interest among its customers. It does this more effectively, and more thoughtfully, than any of its competitors.

Consider user groups: SolidWorks provides model bylaws, funding, gifts, guest speakers, and just about any useful thing you could think of to help people start and run user groups. One need only visit www.swugn.org to see the level of support provided by the company. Richard Doyle, who runs SWUGN, even won the 2009 CAD Society Joe Greco Community Award.

Here’s a hint of how much value SolidWorks management places in their user groups: At the SolidWorks World SWUGN meeting, I watched both Jeff Ray and Bertrand Sicot (former and current CEOs of SolidWorks) taking audience questions, and answering them with complete candor. No filtering or blustering.

SolidWorks also spends a lot of effort on building its community of certified users. At SolidWorks world, you can tell the serious users by the CSWP (Certified SolidWorks Professional) ribbons they were wearing. And you can tell the really elite users by their CSWE (Certified SolidWorks Expert) ribbons. At this conference, SolidWorks hosted a reception for over 500 CSWP/CSWE users on the USS Midway aircraft carrier museum.

At SolidWorks World, there were also focused programs and events for resellers, educators, members of the press, tweeters, and even users from different geographic areas.

My sense is that one of SolidWorks’ biggest competitive advantages has been its focus on building and supporting communities of interest.

Dassault Systemes SolidWorks

http://www.solidworks.com

SolidWorks User Group Network

http://www.swugn.org

Photo courtesy Oleg Shilovitsky

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Fender chose SolidWorks CAD software – first deployed on the JACKSON and FENDER STRATOCASTER lines and now used companywide – because it is easy to use, includes advanced surfacing capabilities, and integrates well with CAM applications. By deploying SolidWorks, Fender cut production time by 20% across the board, reduced the time required to shape guitar necks by 30%, eliminated many secondary operations, and increased production throughput with improved tooling.

SolidWorks

www.solidworks.com

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The product development team at PTC came up with the idea of a creating single program that does everything versus offering diverse programs with no connectedness. The strategy addresses its customer base and the trend toward solid modeling for the masses. Creo 1.0 is the result of that concept. The software currently has nine applications including Creo Parametric, Direct, Illustrate, Schematics, View MCAD, View ECAD, Sketch, and Layout.

The company focused on a group of traditional user problems and applied a core of technologies against them, specific roles having options for modeling modes with the click of an app. Simplifying a process that has plagued engineers and designers for decades makes using the software and being productive all the difference. The Creo GUI is much cleaner than the Pro/E GUI. According to those who have used the new product, the GUI strategy is most evident in Creo Parametric and Creo Direct. PTC leveraged the best features from CoCreate and made it easier to use. The company added features to Creo Parametric that will make Pro/E seem like ancient technology. Creo proves that a feature can live in a history-based and history-free environment keeping the parametric relation to features within each if needed.

Another 2011 debut was SolidWorks 2012 that also sports new features to help a more diverse audience. The software has improvements in assembly and drawing capabilities, built-in simulation, design costing, routing, image and animation creation, and product data management. Dassault Systemes says SolidWorks 2012 will help automate design functions, change product development processes, and extend support for collaboration and connectivity. This technology could change how the software is marketed and sold. The product helps users streamline design processes by removing traditional steps.

Autodesk’s AutoCAD 2012 and Design Suite 2012 series are available in a range of offerings including web and mobile applications. Thus more users have access to the technology and can stay connected to their work no matter where they are.  In addition, AutoCAD 2012 and Design Suite 201212 are directly connected to the free AutoCAD WS web and mobility application.

With CAD pretty much saturating the engineering and manufacturing arena, CAD vendors are realizing that pumping out a redressed version of what went out the door at the last launch is not going to work much longer. They have to offer tools that appeal to other audiences. We have seen that starting to happen in the retail, hobby, and jewelry industries where non-engineering types are using 3D programs to crank out new products.

PTC

www.ptc.com

Dassault Systemes

www.3ds.com

Autodesk

www.autodesk.com

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“Battleships like the Missouri bring waves of emotion to people. Seeing tese floating parts of history conjures memories of sadness, joy, and wonder, “ said McKinney. “My goal is to bring living history to those people and cities who feel connected to these now almost mythical ships.”

Through advancements in SolidWorks software, McKinney has seen his project evolve from an 18-ft wooden ship, to an 18-ft steel ship. More recently, the latest rendition of the project is a 28-ft replica that features the ship’s complete functionality including radar and fully operational scaled weapons. McKinney is also adding a system that will allow presenters to give full military orders to the vessel and receive an immediate response.

“When these ships were first built, they were termed as “the most complicated moving man-made objects on Earth. Indeed, they were and continue to stand as great feats of engineering, said McKinney. “Thanks to SolidWorks, I am creating complex ships with ease and ensuring the replicas are truly authentic by using the state-of-the-art technology.”

He is adamant that any ship can be created using this methodology including the USS Arizona, the French Battleship Richlieu, and the British Battleship HMS Hood among others.

SolidWorks

www.solidworks.com

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AAC’s engineers attended the Chicago Machine Design Show and reviewed every CAD system being demonstrated. They were most impressed with SolidWorks because it is based on mechanical design

According to a company spokesperson, “SolidWorks software has revolutionized our engineering department. Configuration Management enables us to reuse existing designs in creating custom-made equipment. We try out different “what-if” configurations, checking for interferences and fit-on-screen, not on the production floor. Smart Part Technology knows which fasteners go into which holes and puts them there. We can design sheet-metal parts accurately without first machining them, saving time and reducing scrap. Our designers create the models, and SolidWorks makes the drawings, allowing us to conserve technical resources. And, eDrawings helps us market to and communicate with customers.”

SolidWorks

www.solidworks.com

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SolidWorks’ Sustainability’s new user interface can be used to more accurately model products with “what-if” scenarios and custom materials. Users can model processes with parameters such as recycled content and duration of use. Access to the latest Sustainability supplemental materials will be instant and continuous as they become available.

The large design review allows instant opening and review of large assemblies or any individual component with walkthroughs, sectioning, and measuring without the need for a high-powered computer or special file preparation. The freeze feature eliminates unwanted feature rebuilds by locking all features above the “freeze” bar. This option can help speed up the design of complex models where rebuilding specific features is not needed. Features can also be unfrozen at any time. There are also new equation capabilities that speed up the calculation process.

Design costing is a tool that automates manufacturing cost calculations for sheet metal and machined parts. Designers can make more informed decisions based on cost throughout the design process and continually model new scenarios for instant up-to-the-minute manufacturing estimates. SolidWorks 2012 offers new sheet metal tools such as precise control of edge flanges, including up-to-vertex end conditions. Designs can be flattened and documented for manufacturing with export to CNC and manufacturing equipment.

SolidWorks Simulation includes enhanced motion optimization that automatically uses motion study results to create sensors and refine complex and time-intensive machine aspects such as motor size, bearing loads, and range of travel. Users can optimize designs quickly as they refine inputs and immediately see changes to restraints or goals.

SolidWorks Enterprise PDM has new support for Office 2010 and an x64 web client. In addition, there are enhancements to 3DVIA Composer including part-to-part shadows, ambient occlusion, and shadows to 2D panels with precise control. A glow effect can also be added to highlight specific areas of interest.

SolidWorks

www.solidworks.com

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Named the v-44 Albatross, this new concept boat promises 65 knots or greater – 20% faster than the current record. To help translate the conceptual design into a physical reality, Verney’s team used Abaqus FEA software from Simulia, Dassault’s brand for realistic simulation.

Using the software, the team is able to test the boat’s performance virtually. The geometry is created in 3D to analyze the structural strength of components, their response to wind loads, and the craft’s aerodynamic characteristics. Each of the 13-meter long wing sails are comprised of two planks (inner and outer) which are able to freely align to the airflow, like a weathervane. The plank’s structure is intended to mimic the behavior of a tubular spar centered at the axis of rotation, which will have no tendency to rotate under the influence of bending loads. This requirement is essential to preserve the close coupled aerodynamic balance of the wing sails.

For this reason, a different structural approach needed to be taken. Because the wing sail design is unproven in the field, the role of FEA for virtual design and analysis is critical in the success of the project. With the use of Abaqus, Clarke and his team were able to consider many wing sail design variables when moving from the conceptual to preliminary design. Early in the design cycle, the team created some of the key models within Abaqus first and used the extensive functionality within the software’s interaction module to simplify those models. The team also used SolidWorks Premium for additional 3D modeling and product data management. With the complex wing sail structure and function, the team split the analysis into three stages. Each analysis validated the wing sail concept and indicated several design issues. When the design is complete, the v-44 Albatross will be constructed without extensive wind tunnel/tow-tank testing. So the team must ensure they get it right the on the first try.

The Verney team hopes their boat will cover the official 500-meter distance in a scant 16 seconds or less. When it does, the v-44 Albatross will fly above the water with only the keel and rudder breaking the surface.

Verney Yachts

www.verneyyachts.com

Dassault Systemes

www.3ds.com

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In addition to sustainability tests, every design had to be analyzed with SolidWorks SimulationXpress to ensure that the chair design could withstand the stresses of everyday use.

Commercial grand prize winner was Russell Donovan of New Zealand. His prize? A four-night stay at the Chaa Creek rainforest eco-resort in Belize in recognition for his “leaf” chair design.

Within the education category, the two grand prize winners were Gerald Libby with his “airfoil” chair and Elias Chavez with his bamboo chair reminiscent of a nature lodge. Both won a trip for two to SolidWorks World in San Diego.

A panel of industry and SolidWorks software experts reviewed every design and entry against judging criteria broken up by sustainability, “green” aesthetics, creativity, and manufacturability.

SolidWorks

www.solidworks.com

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