‘sheet metal’

SpaceClaim 2010. Direct Modeling Smells of More Features, Simulation and Sheet Metal

04 Aug, 2010 by in NEWS, REVIEWS

Go ahead, open the fridge. What do you see beside the fruit salad? A fresh bottle of SpaceClaim 2010. It’s fizzy and brimming with all sort of new features that make 3D product developers say things like, “refreshing!” and “titillating!” but mostly, “I’m so excited, I’ve torn my eyebrows off my face!”

Yesterday, SpaceClaim launched the 2010 version of the history-free 3D modeler and we’re gonna give you a look at the new caffeine-rich, direct modeling features and functionality. They’re serious about a few things this time around – sheet metal, assembly conditions and volume simulation, among bits of other features. It can be wrapped up in one, single beam of highly focused energy… they are all features users are asking for.

It’s giving the major 3D modeling programs a run for the money. In fact, with this release, I’d go as far as to say that SpaceClaim is now one of the major 3D modeling programs and they’re still pushing the envelope of direct modeling technology. How? Let’s have a look.

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1,000,000 Holes Can’t Be Done… Except with SpaceClaim 2010

23 Jul, 2010 by in NEWS, TECH

I DARE you. Try to make a million holes in a sheet metal part with whatever 3D design tool you’re using. Go ahead… I’ll wait… anything happen right before your arteries surface to your skin and workstation starts smoking? Most likely, it can’t be done. I’ve never seen it done… till now.

I received a gift via twitter from Blake Courter, co-founder of SpaceClaim. It was an image of a sheet metal part with 1,000,000 holes. Even though it looked real and the image crashed Photoshop when I tried to save it, I wasn’t convinced. I asked him to prove it… and he did.

This video shows the yet unreleased SpaceClaim 2010, and an actual sheet metal part with 10,000 holes. An order of magnitude less, but still impressive. I’m a little more convinced, but can’t wait to spin up SpaceClaim to see the pure hole-punchin’ power it’s capable of.

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Flattening a Non-linear Conical Surface in SolidWorks. Is it Possible?

15 Dec, 2009 by in CAD

So, last week I was bending up strips of sharp sheet metal with nothing but loud screams and occasional spewing of coffee from my nostrils when I got an email from a very cool ID chap asking about flattening an imported conical surface in SolidWorks.

I thought, this should be a cinch, opened it up in SolidWorks, hit a very large wall and spewed some more coffee… the surface was non-linear. Non-linear, meaning curved. Now what? Well there is an easy way to flatten this shape, but you may not like the results if you want a curved surface.

So, I ask you. How would you approach it? Here’s the sample part and the solution I came up with to flatten the conical surface very fast.

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Group Melee! How To Convert Imported Geometry to Sheet Metal Parts in SolidWorks *Solved!*

18 Jun, 2009 by in CAD

Attack I say! Attack and plunder the riches… of … imported… geometry and… stuff. Ok, battle faces everyone, we’re on a warpath today, a warpath to create usable 3D geometric data from imported files.

It’s an interesting issue submitted by a user tired of recreating sheet metal part when he already has a 3D .IGES model, just so he can have a usable flat pattern. Normally, this is easy. You think, “Oh, a simple sheet metal bracket, just use an Insert Bend feature and grab a snack.” But what if it has features that can not be recognized in the process?

That, feature-based fans, is a whole different monster waiting to be slayed. Are you up for it? How would you suggest approaching this problem?

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Extrude. Print. Manufacture. 10 Tips to Design Your Parts for Manufacturing in SolidWorks {CheckList}

28 Apr, 2009 by in CAD

Put the crackers down. The shop is calling. Nope, not to tell you they have to remake everything, but to let you know the part-makin’ is going perfectly. Why? You knew what to look out for.

On the screen it looks spectacular, right? but can it actually be made? For many designers and engineer’s designing parts to be manufactured is second nature. However, there are ways we model parts in SolidWorks that can get us severely scorned by the people making the parts and that’s what were here to deal with.

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The 18 Most Obvious (and some not so obvisous) SolidWorks Tips of All Time

19 Feb, 2009 by in CAD

18-solidworks-tipsYou want’em? We got’em.

Hot, steamy nuggets of SolidWorks tipage you can wad up and stick under your pillow, give to your coworker or completely ignore.

Let me warn ya. These are not your regular old tips. These are the most obvious…and when I say obvious, I’m talking around 38-41% mostly obvious… give or take a few points. So, stand up briefly, run screaming around your chair and enjoy what’s bound to increase efficiency… or something.

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