Archive for the ‘CAD’ Category

Cimatron Brings Mold Making Solutions to Euromold

Cimatron Brings Mold Making Solutions to Euromold
Integrated CAD/CAM Solutions are Proven to Shorten Delivery TimesGIVAT SHMUEL, Israel, : Visitors to the upcoming Euromold trade fair will be able to see Cimatron’s (NASDAQ: CIMT) suite of integrated CAD/CAM solutions that are proven to help mold makers deliver higher quality tools at lower costs and shorter cycle times….

Originally posted 2007-11-09 06:29:24. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

Creative Design Software for CNC

Creative Design Software for CNC
There are two main ones in my mind.  Adobe Illustrator and Corel Draw.  People will tell you one is the best.  I will tell you both are good.  My advice is to try them both and see which one you feel comfortable with. 

I naturally gravitate to Adobe Illustrator.  It is only because I use other Adobe Products and like to keep all this stuff in the same family.  I do that for common look and feel as I switch back and forth.

It seems to me more people use Corel Draw for plasma.  This is just an observation and I don’t have any facts to back it up.  The reason I think this happened is that a few of the early adoptors of CNC Plasma started with Corel and then recommended it.  Both software packages work great and they have many of the same features.

I would be remiss if I didn’t mention Free Software for this type of work.  Have you ever heard the saying, “you get what you pay for.”  If you are old enough, you know this is a true statement.  I would suggest you download a few of these and play around with them.  It can’t hurt and it will probably make you feel better when you actually buy Adobe Illustrator or Corel Draw.

What is your Vector, Victor?
You are about to learn something very important.  There are two main types of images in the world, Vector and Raster?  What is the difference you ask?  I know you know, but you never put a name to it.

A raster image is made up of pixels of color.  When you expand or scale a raster image to make it larger, the image pixelates and turns very grainy.  You can now see each pixel in a larger form then it was intended.  If you have never done this, go to the web, download an image, then expand it.  You will get the drift.  Web Raster Images almost always pixelate because they are saved at very low resolutions so the Web Page loads faster.

A vector image is made up of lines and control points.  Think of a company’s “Logo.”  These lines are drawn using math.  Now think back to your Geometry class and all those graphs you made.  Circles, ellipses and parabolas were the norm.  That is what a vector line in a Design Software consists of.  When you “Scale” the vector image, it maintains its integrity.  Why?  The math can adjust as the image is scaled.  The image is perfectly clear whether it is on a postage stamp or on the side of a barn.

Vector control points help you out quite a bit as well.  You get to reshape the image quickly and easily.  For example, say you are making a wooden sign for a friend on your CNC Wood Router.  And, you want to make one letter in a line of text a little larger than the rest.  You really want to make it pop out as the first letter in the line.  With control points it is easy.  You just select that letter and “Scale” it to a larger size.  Done.

Vectors are what we want to use in CNC.  Think about it.  Maybe you want to resize a part or that cowboy on a horse.  With vectors, it is simple.

Vector Images:
Are described with math
Do not loose resolution when scaled
Are generally made up with lines
Are CNC friendly

Raster Images:
Consist of Pixels of color
Pixelate when enlarged
Are Not CNC friendly

Raster to Vector Software
I won’t say a lot about this right now because it is beyond the basics of CNC.  But, there are programs out there that convert Raster Images to Vector Images.  Some are better, some are worse.  You would want to do this if you wanted to take a photo of something, like a person’s face, and then convert it into vector lines.  At that point, you could edit the lines up and route the face into wood or cut it out of steel.

File Types You Will Deal With
There is something about CNC and converting files back and forth.  You will have to export and import multiple file types.  Most programs handle this so you shouldn’t worry.  What you will have to worry about is getting these converted over with the right extension so the next software package can read it.
Every CNC setup is different and you should take notes about your set up. Keep a log of the different file types and what works with your setup.  This will become apparent soon enough.

Examples of Different File Types
.ai – Adobe Illustrator Artwork (AI) is a proprietary file format developed by Adobe Systems for representing single-page vector-based drawings in either the EPS or PDF formats. The .ai filename extension is used by Adobe Illustrator.

.eps – Encapsulated PostScript, or EPS, is a DSC-conforming PostScript document with additional restrictions intended to make EPS files usable as a graphics file format.

.hpgl – HPGL, sometimes hyphenated as HP-GL, is the primary printer control language used by Hewlett-Packard plotters. The name is a set of initials for Hewlett-Packard Graphics Language. It later became a standard for almost all plotters.

.dxf – AutoCAD DXF (Drawing Interchange Format, or Drawing Exchange Format) is a CAD data file format, developed by Autodesk as their solution for enabling data between AutoCAD and other programs.

.dwg – DWG ("drawing") is a format used for storing two and three dimensional design data and BIM metadata, it is the internal format for the AutoCAD Computer Aided Design package.

.3dm – The main file format of Rhino3D is called 3dm. It is very useful especially for the exchange of NURBS geometry because it is released as an Open Source Toolkit called openNURBS, which is provided by the developers of Rhino3D.

What do I really need to know?
First, stay away from raster images.  Next, stick with vector images.  When you stay with vector images, virtually everything can get converted somehow and some way into the file format you want it in.  Why, you ask?  It is being described by math, not bits of color.

Originally posted 2007-11-10 03:43:07. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

Computer Aided Design

CAD stands for Computer Aided Design or Drafting. CAD was developed in the early 60s. Today it is the premier way to design, develop and optimized products. People use CAD every day to design virtually every product you see. Generally, designers use CAD to design a product, and then produce prints to manufacture that product. A print is a picture of a part or assembly that is very exact. It includes the dimensions and a parts list used to manufacture a product.

Computer Aided Drafting software packages can generally be broken into two groups. The groups are 2-D drafting packages or 3-D drafting packages. Most all software packages are moving to 3-D design. 3-D design is really the next generation of CAD. Utilizing 3-D design, engineers can make a model of their product. They can then look over this model for any apparent defects before it is ever made.
3-D Design
Utilizing 3-D design, engineers can cut down on the number of manufacturing mistakes that occur due to fit up and tolerance issues. This translates into a more efficient operation with less waste for the manufacturer.
Here are some examples of 3-D drafting/design software:
Inventor
TopSolid
SolidWorks
Alibre Design
Rhino3D
2-D Design
2-D design can be very efficient if you need to make a quick part that is not very complex. You could quickly sketch out a silhouette of an object and convert it into a CAM tool path. This is an operation where 2-D will really shine.
Here are some examples of 2-D drafting/design software:
AutoCAD
MicroStation
At some point you will need to use CAD. You will need to take your design and translated it into a print. The best way to do that is to use CAD. You will need to purchase a CAD program of some sort if you are serious about CNC. Many CAD programs have a free or trial period that you can use to evaluate the program. My suggestion is to try a few and then select one that fits the way you design.

Originally posted 2010-01-31 10:30:30. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

Free 2D/3D CAD Software

Free 2D/3D CAD software for Linux® and Windows® – Latest Release

IT, New Media & Software
Press release from: CAD Schroer GmbH
(openPR) – CAD Schroer Announces Latest Release of MEDUSA4® Personal, the FREE 2D/3D Design Automation Suite

Now with Sheet Metal Design – Available on Windows® and Linux®

Moers, Germany – 16 January 2008: CAD Schroer Group (CSG), the global engineering solutions provider, today announced the latest release of its free personal use version of the powerful MEDUSA4 design automation suite, available for Windows® and six different Linux® distributions. The industry-proven 2D/3D CAD solution now also includes a Sheet Metal Design module, and many additional enhancements.

CAD Schroer, long serious about offering engineering solutions that support flexible systems strategies, released the commercial version of MEDUSA4 3.0.1 in Autumn 2007. Now MEDUSA4 Personal users can benefit from additional functionality, and support for the current versions of the following Linux distributions: CentOS, Fedora, Mandriva, RedHat, SuSE and Ubuntu .

“MEDUSA4 Personal offers almost all of the functionality available in our most advanced MEDUSA4 package, including basic 3D (sheet-based modeling), parametrics, and all of MEDUSA4’s drafting power tools, like SMART Edit (“parametrics on demand”), and hidden line removal,” explains MEDUSA4 Product Line Manager Mark Simpson. “Now users can also try our simple and powerful integrated Sheet Metal Design module.”

Enhancements on the drafting side include full TrueType/operating system font and Unicode (multi-language) support, easier top-down and bottom-up design, a new parts balloon tool and parts list table, and even more intelligence in the SMART Edit tool.

MEDUSA4 Personal is expressly restricted to non-commercial use. Small technical differences from the commercial version include a different sheet format, watermarked print output, and the ability to import from, but not export to, DXF/DWG format. The commercial version is highly customisable, while MEDUSA4 Personal is not.

“Since the day of its first release, MEDUSA4 Personal has been met with great enthusiasm. Home users seem to have a keen interest in deploying professional CAD software, and the latest version, with all the additional functionality of the professional 3.0 release, makes it an even more attractive system. As a result we are extremely confident that MEDUSA4 will keep climbing the ranks in terms of significance and value as perceived by designers in the private as well as professional spheres.” says Michael Schroer, Founding Director of CSG, whose success has been built on long-term customer relationships, and a firm “by engineers for engineers” approach to software development.

To find out more, or download MEDUSA4 Personal, please visit the Products page at www.cad-schroer.com

Contact Information

Website: www.cad-schroer.com
Email: info@cad-schroer.com

Telephone:
Germany: +49 2841 9184 0
UK: +44 1223 460 408
France: +33 141 94 51 40
Switzerland: +41 44 802 89-80
Italy: +39 02 38303267
USA: +1 585 264 1409 or 866-SCHROER

Michael Schroer
CAD Schroer GmbH
Fritz-Peters-Straße 26-30
47447 Moers
Germany

About CAD Schroer

CAD Schroer Group (CSG) is a global software development company and engineering solutions provider, headquartered in Moers, near Duesseldorf, Germany. The company has offices throughout Germany, Belgium and the Netherlands, and independent subsidiaries in France, Italy, Switzerland, the United Kingdom and the United States. Its products are sold direct and through an extensive, customer-focused partner network in countries throughout the globe.

CSG’s product suites include the 2D/3D design automation solution MEDUSA4™ as well as STHENO/PRO™, a professional drafting plug-in for Pro/ENGINEER® users. Both systems come with a number of user-specific add-on modules offering efficiency gains for the most diverse areas of product and plant design and development. CAD Schroer also offers extensive consultancy, training and software development services.

CAD Schroer’s aim is to provide customers with the best possible solutions for design engineers and the engineering process, as well as to support its clients’ strategic goals. The company’s own technical and engineering background, and its emphasis on close working relationships with customers worldwide, have fostered a “by engineers for engineers” approach to software development – always keeping abreast of the latest demands placed on engineers by modern product development processes in a highly competitive market space. To find out more, please visit our website.
www.cad-schroer.com

Originally posted 2008-01-10 23:34:15. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

CADDIT Australia to Sell TransMagic 3D CAD Translators

SYDNEY, Australia, Feb 8, 2008 – CADDIT announced a new partnership to distribute 3D translation technology for TransMagic, Inc. CADDIT is now the national distributor for all TransMagic “plug-in”, desktop and workgroup solutions for CAD viewing, markup and translation. The agreement between TransMagic, Inc and CADDIT Pty Ltd benefits Australian companies that receive CAD files from different systems, but lack either the licenses or expertise “in house” to reliably read them all.

TransMagic, Inc. writes some of the world’s best 3D CAD translation software, that is, software that can both view and convert files from one CAD format to another. The TransMagic team is widely respected around the world. They are certified partners with many of the world’s most important CAD companies, like Autodesk, SolidWorks and Dassault Systemes. Australian business can now use the new TransMagic translation tools to easily and reliably read data from typically expensive systems like Dassault’s “CATIA” PLM software suite, Unigraphics 3D CAD, Pro/Engineer, SolidWorks, Autodesk Inventor and many others.

TransMagic’s easy-to-use, standalone interface does not require any CAD software. All of TransMagic’s Desktop Suites offer 3D CAD file translation, geometry repair, file viewing, redline, cross-section, part volume, mass properties, measurement and collaboration functionality. Parts can also be exported from assemblies for use in any other 3D application. TransMagic ADVANTAGE includes a complete set of geometry and surface Repair tools. For a complete solid-to-solid interoperability solution, the MagicSURFACE features can quickly resurface openings or cover holes with appropriate levels of continuity.

“We are very pleased to be selected to distribute this product in Australia”, said Ben Decker, CADDIT’s business director. “It isn’t just small machine shops and engineering consultants that need software like this. Many large companies prefer the simple interface and low cost, when compared with the overhead of purchasing multiple CAD systems.” TransMagic customers include well-known industry names like Mitsubishi, Caterpillar, Boeing, General Electric and Sony. Nevertheless, CADDIT is working to make the software affordable even for small business doing serious design work. “There are several different modules and configurations we are packaging. The base ELEMENT suite will be priced less than half what most mid-range CAD systems cost.”

“Modern manufacturing companies are faced with complex CAD data exchange problems on a daily basis,” stated Todd Re ade, President of TransMagic, Inc. “CADDIT has shown an exceptional understanding of how to solve these problems using TransMagic products. Australian manufacturing companies have a valuable resource in CADDIT.”

About CADDIT

CADDIT Pty Ltd, an Australian owned company, began marketing TransMagic to Australia in 2007. They provide their own level of technical support for this and many other CAD CAM CAE products. Their head office is located in the Liverpool Fairfax Building in western Sydney. For more information visit at http://www.caddit.net.

About TransMagic, Inc.

TransMagic, Inc. is a leading worldwide developer of 3D CAD translation software products. They are based in Westminster, Colorado, USA and can be contacted via their website at http://www.transmagic.com.

Originally posted 2008-02-12 01:18:18. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

CAD Software offers seamless DWG compatibility

ZWCAD Version 2008 Released

DWG-based 2D/3D CAD tool offers advanced technology at an affordable price

New York, January 22, 2008 – ZWSOFT, developers of advanced CAD tools, today announced the release of its latest signature 2D/3D package, ZWCAD 2008. The new version provides updated features for improved flexibility and efficiency, greatly enhanced speed, as well as seamless DWG compatibility.

This comprehensive CAD system represents a perfect low-cost alternative to AutoCAD®. Users can open, edit and save DWG/DXF files created in AutoCAD (2.5-2008), without the need for manual import or export operations. Likewise, this automation also enables users of AutoCAD to open files created in ZWCAD.

The 2008 version delivers a host of improved functionality. What’s new includes:

Speed
Make a great promotion in performance, especially opening or saving a drawing, creating a hatch with complex boundaries, editing in layout with multiple viewports or selecting a huge number of objects, which will make your work more efficient.

o Speed of Open function has been increased about 30%.
o Speed of Save function has been increased about 70%.
o Speed of Select function has been increased about 10 times.
o Performance of Multiple Viewports in layout has been increased about 10 times.

Brand-new Algorithm for Efficient Hatch Boundary Search
A newly develop algorithm in ZWCAD 2008 means less calculation and faster response even over a wide range of objects, increasing search speed by about 15 times. Furthermore, it can also unclose boundaries in some corrupted drawings automatically. Now hatch processes work more conveniently than ever.

Design Center
Improved Design Center offers you a convenient way to manage the issues of your drawing, such as dimension style, blocks, text style, line types and layers. Just drag and drop, and apply them from any source drawing to your current drawing. Source drawings can be on your computer or on your local network. In addition, you can also search drawings according to drawing name or drawing size. With the Design Center, you can use the information of other drawings in your current drawing instantly.

Quick Calculator
The QuickCalc includes basic features similar to most standard mathematical calculators. In addition, QuickCalc has features specific to ZWCAD, such as geometric functions, scientific functions, and features to handle variables, units conversions, and text calculations.

Other major enhancements in the new version include Merge Print (mprint), Attribute Extraction, Block Extraction, and Dimension Replace.

Designers, engineers, and architects can discover the improved power and function of ZWCAD 2008 by downloading a free trial of the application at www.zwcad.org.

ZWCAD 2008 runs on Windows 2008, Windows XP, and Windows Vista. ZWCAD costs only a fraction of AutoCAD, while offering similar functionality and full DWG compatibility. Today, more than 60,000 customers around in 60 countries choose ZWCAD to reduce their CAD budget and increase their design productivity. ZWCAD customers include many Fortune 500 companies such as Honda, Alcatel-Lucent, CIMS, GP, THORN, GE , among others.

For more information about ZWCAD 2008, please visit, www.zwcad.org

About ZWCAD

ZWSOFT ZWCAD Software Co., Ltd is committed to providing the most reliable and outstanding CAD solutions for users. The products meet the needs of broad-based target groups of 2D/3D design industry, including architecture, engineering, construction (AEC), mechanics, manufacture, electronics etc. and anyone who creates or uses CAD drawings.

ZWSOFT has advanced technology collaborations with many worldwide well-known organizations. It is a commercial and board member of the ITC (IntelliCAD Technology Consortium) and the founding member of ODA (Open Design Alliance). Furthermore, it partners with Microsoft, Intel, Spatial and some other university research institutes to provide the customer with the best products- easy to use, affordable and productive.

Founded in 1998, ZWSOFT is located in Guangzhou, China. Today, it employs more than 250 staff and closely supported by a highly skilled network of strategic partners, distributors and resellers. The product ZWCAD is a reliable DWG compatible CAD for 2D/3D design which enables our customers to maximize the returns on the investment in CAD software. With its quality product and excellent service, ZWCAD fast became the leading brand in China CAD industry and now compete successfully in over 60 countries, with 60 000 users throughout the world. It is not only welcomed among SMEs (Small and Medium-sized Enterprises) and the individuals, but also get a high reputation in a large number of the world famous corporations including Honda, Alcatel-Lucent, CIMS, GP, THORN, and GE.

Contact:
Lauren Koziel
Strategic Reach PR
Tel: (303) 487-7406
Email: lauren@strategicreachpr.com

Contacts:

Public Relations:
Strategic Reach PR
Lauren Koziel
USA
Phone: 303-487-7406
Send email  E-mail this person


Company Information:
Name: ZwCAD, Inc.
Address: Rm.508, No. 886, Tianhe North Rd.
City: Guangzhou
ZIP: 510635
Country: China
Phone: 86-20–38259726
FAX: 86-20–38288676
http://www.zwcad.org

Originally posted 2008-02-12 17:06:37. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

SYCODE Introduces CAD Data Exchange Add-Ins

Tuesday, January 22, 2008:  SYCODE, a developer of software solutions for computer aided design (CAD) industry, has launched seven CAD file import and export add-ins for Inventor. The Inventor model is a 3D digital prototype that enables users to validate design and engineering data as they work, minimise the need for physical prototypes and reduce costly engineering changes discovered after the design is sent to manufacturing.

The import add-ins are as follows: STL Import for Inventor — Stereolithography STL file import add-in; 3DS Import for Inventor — 3D Studio 3DS file import add-in; 3DM Import for Inventor – Rhinoceros/OpenNURBS 3DM file import add-in; and OBJ Import for Inventor — Wavefront OBJ file import add-in.

The export add-ins are as follows: 3DS Export for Inventor — 3D Studio 3DS file export add-in; 3DM Export for Inventor — Rhinoceros/OpenNURBS 3DM file export add-in; and OBJ Export for Inventor — Wavefront file export add-in.

"Autodesk Inventor is being widely used the world over for 3D solid modelling,” stated Deelip Menezes, owner, SYCODE. “These seven CAD data exchange add-ins are our contribution towards helping Inventor fit into the 3D design workflows of Autodesk customers. With the launch of these add-ins, SYCODE now offers more than 100 products (standalone and plug-ins), 101 to be precise.”

The add-ins are priced at €195 each and are available as fully functional 10 day/run trials.

Originally posted 2008-01-23 14:58:17. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

SURFCAM Velocity Powered By TrueMill To Be Seen Live At Pacific Coast Machine Expo

Santa Clara, CA – Tangent Concepts, a certified west coast dealer for SURFCAM Velocity Powered by TrueMill, announced that TrueMill inside of SURFCAM Velocity will be demonstrated with live machining throughout the Pacific Coast Machine Expo 2007 at the Santa Clara Convention Center, Santa Clara, CA, November 13-15 (booth number 1404).

Come see with your own eyes!
In the 20+ years since CAD/CAM existed, there have been significant advances in machine tools, cutting tools and other manufacturing components to machine faster and increase productivity. However, there has been minimal to no improvement in the CAM software to enable these components to machine to their potential. TrueMill, the patent-pending technology in SURFCAM Velocity, solves this problem by maintaining a consistent and predictable load on the cutter.
As a result:

  1. Increased milling output; TrueMill unlocks the potential of your existing equipment enabling faster and deeper machining with less effort. This maximizes material removal rates which reduces cycle times by a minimum of 30-70%.
  2. Extends the life of your cutting tools by 2x-4x.
  3. Reduces stress on your all other manufacturing components; machine, spindle, the vice, fixtures etc…
  4. Higher quality parts due to more efficient removal of material.

Walter Romanenko, President of Tangent Concepts says; “I just sold TrueMill to a customer who got his return on investment in less than a day. I would like to invite ALL who are serious about their business to stop by our booth, number “1404” and the Western Machine booth number, “830” to really see how speed, and performance can make you a winner.”

For more information on SURFCAM Velocity, TrueMill and other Surfware products visit www.tangentconcepts.com. See you at the show, booth number 1404.

About Tangent Concepts
Tangent Concepts Inc., a Service/Product Company focuses on CAD/CAM product sales, web based support, free training, and regular productivity seminars. Unlike dealers who sell a variety of products along with software, Tangent Concepts specializes in software for manufacturing only. Our program features on-staff technical experts . We have been a leading SURFCAM dealer since 1989. We know both SURFCAM and machining so we can help your programmers solve CAD/CAM application problems.

About Surfware, Inc.
Surfware, Inc., the developer of SURFCAM Velocity CAD/CAM systems, provides optimal solutions for today’s design through manufacturing challenges. Surfware’s TrueMill technology (patent pending) is the only toolpath engine that intelligently manages tool load to significantly boost productivity and extend cutting tool life for all materials, including tool steels, aluminum, titanium, even exotics. SURFCAM Velocity is used globally for CNC programming of 2- through 5-axis mills, lathes, Wire-EDM, and multi-tasking machines. Leaders in the aerospace, defense, automotive, consumer electronics, industrial equipment and medical industries depend on SURFCAM Velocity to manufacture with automation, speed and precision.

SOURCE: Surfware Inc.

Originally posted 2007-11-18 16:02:07. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

How to Make Manufacturing Process More Effective?

 

Making errors in manufacturing process can be a disaster to a factory. Substantial re-work will increase the cost and that can kill your factory, especially for small factory. To avoid making fatal errors, manufacturers should construct a conceptual design. The most effective way to construct a conceptual design is rapid prototyping (RP). This method allows you to build a prototype with minimal cost in a short time period. Unluckily, there is only 10% small companies have adopted rapid prototyping (RP). The following presents advantages of adoption of RP in depth.

What is RP?

RP makes virtual designs from CAD software, processes them by transforming them into cross sections, still virtual, and then forms or manufactures each cross section in physical space, one after the next until the model is finished. The appearance of prototypes is almost identical to the actual product.

Stereolithography is one of the more commonly used RP technologies. It is considered to provide high accuracy and good surface finish. It involves building plastic parts a layer at a time by tracing a laser beam on the surface of a vat of liquid photo-polymer. The photopolymer is solidified by the laser light. Once one layer is completely traced, it is lowered a small distance into the liquid and a subsequent layer is traced, adhering to the previous layer.

Benefits of RP

1. Time Reduction

In most cases, firms using RP technologies have gained time reductions in the production of prototype tooling and parts.

The figures for time reductions on prototyping vary greatly, ranging from 60 to 90%. On the whole this range is likely to be realistic given that the estimation of time savings, when compared to the conventional methods of prototyping, is a fairly straightforward matter.

2. Cost Reduction RP allows firms to identify mistakes before commitments are made to expensive tooling, machines, and large scale manufacturing process. It is widely known that correcting errors at initial stage is much cost effective than correcting errors at later stages.

3. Innovation For the reasons of short production cycle and relatively low cost, some firms are using RP in more innovative ways. Some examples include:

- Development of new analysis and testing procedures – Manufacturing conceptual design of production tooling – Improving communications across product divisions – Supporting customised manufacturing

Conclusion: RP provides designers, model makers, manufacturers and others with highly accurate prototype parts. Rapid prototype turnaround time is a proven way to reduce time to market. It can even reduce direct development costs.

The only drawback is the initial high capital investment for RP machines. One of the ways to eliminate this disadvantage is to employ a RP manufacturing service provider.

About the Author

Written by: Star Prototype China Limited, a rapid prototyping manufacturer offers high quality but low cost rapid prototype production. It provides a SLA prototyping and CNC prototyping

Originally posted 2007-11-08 10:18:05. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

VX CAD/CAM Version 13 Available

New version promises to be one of the most important and innovative releases in VX history

Most Important and Innovative Release in VX History
With nearly a thousand customer and market driven enhancements, most of which provide dramatic productivity gains and new capabilities, Version 13 promises to be one of the most important, innovative releases in VX history.

Product designers will benefit from a new filleting engine that helps them get more "style" into products. Product designers will also realize increased productivity gains for adding digital images to products with the enhanced embossing tool that automatically smooths out irregular surfaces. A new capability for branding and packaging is where text can be made to follow a circle or spline curve where the text floats above the curve as the curve’s profile changes and optionally stretches or shrinks as the curve length changes. This allows manufacturers to quickly and easily add company and other information to complex shaped products and containers. Another performance enhancement for designers is the ability to model with real-time analysis thus giving instant feedback on aspects such as curvature and draft angles.

Other features to help product designers visualize new products are a new photo-realistic rendering engine that brings an "industrial design" level of rendering to VX. Likewise, textured objects, also new for Version 13, lets designers get real-time realistic views of products while they’re being designed.

Mechanical designers will benefit from motion simulation where animations can be created for studying moving parts in assemblies. Moreover, assembly interference can be visually checked with dynamic clipping offering up-close segmented and internal views of parts and assemblies.

Mechanical designers can now get section views on layouts with different hatching options that provide a much better view of assemblies without a lot of manual editing. Mold designers will now be able to design electrodes faster with the auto-electrode tool that speeds creation and machining of multiple electrodes. Automatic region recognition for picking connected sets of faces speeds electrode design by reducing the number of picks to just a few for complex electrodes with many surfaces.

Enhancements to VX’s QuickMill™ for mold machining include new SmoothFlow™ technology that ensures smooth finishes for reducing polishing time while maximizing machine tool efficiency and reducing machine wear and tear. Other CAM enhancements include Offset3D Feature Aware Machining where tool path motion is automatically adjusted to preserve fine sharp edged detail; Variable Z Level machining for containment of simple tool paths for better finishes with no wasted motions; and XML output to help streamline shopfloor communication. "VX Version 13 is an astounding release that provides tremendous productivity enhancements and new capabilities to product designers and mold makers, " says Bob Fischer, VX Vice President Sales and Marketing, "Version 13 is certainly one of the most important and innovative releases in our history."

About VX Corporation
VX Corporation is a pioneering developer of CAD/CAM solutions for industrial designers, engineers and CNC programmers. VX enables speedy design with fully integrated, accurate manufacturing. Using a blazing fast hybrid modeling engine, engineers can take advantage of the speed of solids with the flexibility of Class A surfaces. Designers can create, modify, visualize, document and machine a vast array of parts and assemblies. From the entry-level Modeler, to the complete End-to-End, VX delivers power, performance and productivity. Images and captions on the following page.

For further information or if you would like to setup a one-on-one press interview with VX product marketing management, please contact:

Vince Mercurio + 001 321 309 1008
VX Corporation
Email Contact

Originally posted 2008-01-08 21:21:11. Republished by Blog Post Promoter