Tag Archives: CAD
3D Systems: Geomagic Design to Advance CAD and 3D Printing
3D Systems (NYSE:DDD) today announced the immediate availability of Geomagic® Design, a new suite of affordable CAD design solutions. Geomagic Design delivers comprehensive and robust mechanical CAD design tools, allowing ideas to go from concept to manufacturing and production for professional engineers, makers, students, consumers and hobbyists.
Leveraging 3D Systems’ combined Alibre® and Geomagic platform, Geomagic Design is now also available as part of a series of software packages that include Geomagic Freeform® products. These powerful packages combine organic, touch-based 3D sculpting with robust B-Rep CAD and detail design tools from Geomagic Design.
Geomagic Design is available in three versions: Personal, Professional and Expert, each tailored to the needs and budgets of our growing user base. Geomagic Design comes with over 35 new tools and more than 100 enhancements, built on a robust platform that is sure to deliver a rock-solid design-to-manufacture experience.
Top features of Geomagic Design include:
- 2D Documentation module – New tools and workflow enhancements allow engineers to immediately and accurately create 2D detail drawings from the 3D data for use in manufacturing and production planning.
- Sheet metal design module – Integrated sheet metal design capabilities plus new sketch bend commands tackle complex design tasks.
- New platform – featuring a highly productive engineering design environment for an exceptional user experience.
Geomagic Design solutions also include comprehensive rendering tools, built-in motion simulation tools and a wide range of 3D CAD and neutral 3D format support to enable interoperability of design data.
These products deliver on 3D Systems’ commitment to democratize access to intuitive yet advanced solutions that excel both as a standalone CAD design suite and as a seamless addition to any multi-CAD environment. Geomagic Design Expert provides 3D design, advanced sheet metal design, 2D documentation, rendering, data and process management and simulation tools for $1,999 and Geomagic Design Personal, for students, hobbyists and makers, is available for only $199.
“I just want to compliment the Geomagic team on an outstanding release,” commented David McMahon, a beta tester for the latest version. “The renewed toolsets for the 2D drawing mode and their full integration into the workflow are what I most appreciate.”
Advanced Design Tools Made Better with Software Packages from Geomagic
The Geomagic Freeform + Geomagic Design Expert software packages allow customers to benefit from a powerful and unprecedented design workflow. Users can now create intricate, organic designs, such as toys and jewelry, using combinations of voxel, NURBs, polygon and SubD modeling, into a downstream CAD platform for fast, accurate detail design, 2D drawing creation and sheet metal design ready for production. These packages start at $20,500.
“We are committed to democratizing access to powerful and affordable 3D design software for the benefit of professionals and beginners alike,” said Calvin Hur, Vice President and General Manager, 3D Systems Authoring Tools. “This release builds on that commitment by delivering powerful and capable design tools that are easy to pick up and hard to put down.”
Get a Free Trial of Geomagic Design
An online tour and Free Trial of Geomagic Design is available at:
http://www.geomagic.com/en/products-landing-pages/geomagicdesign
More at 3D Systems.
Make: Where Do We Really Stand On 3D Printing?
Make magazine has published an extensive opinion piece about 3D printing as part of its 3D Thursday series. The article is called 3D Printing Revolution: the Complex Reality.
The main thesis of the post is that while 3D printers are becoming increasingly popular, the reality might not match the hype. For one, designing for manufacturability is hard – from CAD software to industrial design techniques. Another issue is the durability and precision of materials used in 3D printing, such as ABS plastic, may not be engineering-grade.
Concluding, the author states:
One day, a silver bullet solution may materialize; if it does, it will be probably nothing like any of the existing technologies we are experimenting with. Until then, it pays to focus on the process, not on this week’s most-hyped tool.
These points are valid and one has to acknowledge that 3D printing won’t replace all manufacturing processes overnight. But look at the applications that are already commercial, from medical and dentistry to fashion to toys and games. Expect more to follow quickly with the rapid pace of innovation in 3D printing!
Video: Think You Can Solve Rubik’s Cube? Try 3D Printed X-Cube
Dane Christianson, a student at the Illinois Institute of Technology, used CAD and 3D printing to create X-Cube, a version of Rubik’s Cube for serious puzzle experts. Dane comments on his creation.
I created this using CAD and 3D printing. It’s a Rubik’s type puzzle with fully functional additional layers on four of the faces of a typical Rubik’s Cube.
This project was completed through the Idea Shop at the Illinois Institute of Technology.
Watch the video below to see the mega-puzzle in motion.
3D Printing Architecture From the Cloud with 3D Model-To-Print Service
Cloud-based architecture 3D printing service 3D Model-To-Print announced availability of its service in North America after 3 years of development.
3D Model-To-Print (3DMTP USA and 3DMTP LTD) today announces the industry’s first affordable cloud-based service available in North America (www.3DMTPusa.com). Released after three years of development and rigorous testing, 3DMTP’s revolutionary, cloud-based patented technology prepares models to be 3D printed by automatically converting commonly-used architectural software files into 3D printable models, all without the need for costly and time-consuming manual preparation.
3D printing is used in architecture for a more effective and efficient design cycle, and improved visualization between the architect and their audience. The challenge of 3D printing for architects and designers has been the complexity, time, and cost required to prepare 3D design files for printing. With 3DMTP, architects and designers can see a return on investment in about one hour, compared to the traditional manual process.
“The solution that 3DMTP provides is one that has long been needed for our architectural customers,” states Kevin Carr, General Manager of Imaging Division of Mastergraphics — a a 3DMTP USA user, 3D print network member, and both an Autodesk and 3D Systems reseller with locations in Wisconsin, Chicago and Minneapolis. ”Not only does it save hours–even days–in the process of preparing 3D architectural design for 3D printing, it also significantly reduces the cost to prepare the designs, making 3D printing a more usable and affordable option for those wanting to make models of their architectural designs.”
How It’s Done
3DMTP is dedicated to making 3D scaled models printable and available to every architect, developer, and designer at a reasonable price. The innovation is based on cutting-edge algorithms which study the geometric structure of the model, then identify and automatically fix problems that would have prevented it from successfully printing.“We are committed to providing a state of the art experience that will simplify and enable seamless execution of 3D architectural scale model creation,” comments Ilan Sidi, CTO of 3DMTP and the pioneer of the technology.
How to Get Started
First, log in to the 3DMTP Portal. Once you are ready to turn your design into a 3D printable model, upload your design file and set your parameters: scale, profile, and desired 3D printer. 3DMTP automatically processes the file without any additional operator interface. 3DMTP also fixes holes between polygons and facets, repairs reverse surfaces, changes the thickness of walls to minimum print tolerance for the selected printer, fixes non-volumetric geometry (making objects “watertight”), and fixes many other problems of degenerated geometry that otherwise would prevent the model from printing successfully.Become a Member of the 3D Print Network
3DMTP USA is now cultivating a 3D print network in the US and Canada, comprised of 3D printer dealers, BIM/CAD dealers, and 3D print providers such as architectural model shops and reprographics service bureaus.“We are creating this professional network to help support the anticipated demand for printing 3D architectural models, due to the reduced time and cost to ready AEC models. This increased demand will be a direct result of the introduction of the 3D Model-to-Print™ automated technology into the North American markets,” explains Phil Magenheim, Director of 3DMTP USA.
Those interested in learning more about converting their 3D architectural designs into printable 3D models, or those interested in learning more about becoming a member for the 3DMTP print network member, should visit 3DMTPusa.com or contact 3DMTP USA by emailing info@3DMTPusa.com or by calling 301-637-5900.
About 3DMTP
3D Model-To-Print (3DMTP) develops and offers a unique, innovative, patented cloud-based processing service and studio software that can make every architectural 3D CAD, BIM, or SketchUp design a scaled printable model. 3DMTP is a privately owned and funded venture founded by a group of software entrepreneurs and architects who identified a novel and cost-effective solution for automatizing and optimizing the creation of 3D architectural scale models using 3D printing technologies.
Via 3dmtpusa.com.
3D printed architecture photo by post-apocalyptic research institute used under Creative Commons license.
3D Scanning and Printing Dinosaurs, Open-Sourcing Scientific Data
In the past, scaling and reproducing fossils was cost prohibitive and was in the domain of artists. Now 3D printers and 3D scanners are affordable, which means that paleontologists can now recreate dinosaurs.
In the video below, Professor Kenneth Lacovara says ”the best thing you could do in science is to falsify your hypothesis.” 3D digital technology allows scientists to “open-source” their empirical data, including original discoveries like fossils. Now, instead of asking colleagues to fly across the globe to help validate new findings, a scientist can just send a digital file and the finding can be 3D printed at the other end.
Scanning fossils has further application with the use of the 3D printer, of course. Holding the 1/10 scale leg bone of a dinosaur in the palm of his hand, Lacovara explained that uses in the classroom present attractive prospects, where examination of real specimens is hardly practical. The scans can also fill in the blanks of broken or incomplete bones by replicating data from a similar part. Of course, printing all of the specimens is still fairly expensive, so for now, they’re only printing fossils from which they hope to learn some new piece of information. The process is simple: Dr. Lacovara, and his students set a bone on a table, or, if size is less of a factor, on a small rotating pedestal. The scanner used in his lab is a $3,000 NextEngine scanner, which uses simple proprietary software to scan around 1 million points on a three-dimensional object in a few minutes. It is plugged into a Windows computer. The scanning produces an STL file, commonly used in CAD. The STL file is sent to another computer, and this time, it’s the one that is attached to the Dimension Elite 3D Printer which is housed in the Engineering Department, where the actual “printing” of the bone takes place. The complete process can take just a few hours. The printer uses fused deposit modeling, a 3D imaging and printing process developed in the 1980s and commercialized in the 1990s. It takes the STL file and essentially slices it into layers, automatically generating a disposable, breakaway support structure if needed. The printing material, a polymer plastic, is laid down in those corresponding layers, eventually completing the finished object. The result is a highly faithful and exact scale model of the object as originally scanned at a given scale. While the process is still somewhat expensive, it leads to the possibility — previously unthinkable — of endless duplication, and endless faithful reproductions.
Read the full article at The Verge.
