CIMdata PLM Industry Summary Online Archive

October 2004

Company News

Delcam to Show Total Modelling Design System at China Industrial Design Week

Delcam will demonstrate the latest versions of its PowerSHAPE hybrid modeling software and its ArtCAM software for artistic CADCAM at the China Industrial Design Week exhibition to be held in Wuxi, China from 18th to 21st October. The company will also show how these two programs can be combined in its Total Modelling system that offers a complete solution for designers of complex shapes including those found in the footwear, packaging, toy, sports equipment and electrical appliance industries.

Delcam's new PowerSHAPE Pro includes all of the surface and solid modeling capabilities within PowerSHAPE, together with the PS-Draft drafting software and the PS-Render system for generating photo-realistic images. Like other hybrid modelers, it combines the speed and ease-of-use of solid modeling with the design flexibility of surface modeling. This allows designers to select the optimum approach for each new project on a case-by-case basis, with none of the limitations found when using only solid modeling methods.

PowerSHAPE Pro offers total integration of solids and surfaces, with both sets of commands available from a single toolbar. For example, it enables Boolean operations to be undertaken between surfaces and solids, and also allows surface modeling commands to be used directly on a single surface of any solid, without disrupting the solid's integrity.

Unique functionality within PowerSHAPE Pro includes a range of powerful morphing commands for whole model edits of CAD models. These allow rapid styling changes to be made in a single operation that would otherwise require extensive, time-consuming modification of the separate elements in a design. They are, therefore, ideal for the "what if" stage of new product development, when designers need to generate quickly a number of variations on a new concept.

Also unique is the embossing technology that is at the heart of Delcam's Total Modelling approach to design. This allows design features generated with either PowerSHAPE or ArtCAM to be wrapped onto a CAD model. The size, position and orientation of the wrapped shape can be fully controlled by the user, giving a much more powerful and flexible alternative to Boolean addition.

The upgraded version of ArtCAM Pro features a range of enhancements for both the design and manufacture of artistic shapes, including new functionality that enables quick and easy creation of CAD models of human face profiles from digital images. The software is already used in a wide range of engraving and woodworking applications, including the manufacture of jewellery, coins and medals, and the production of signs, furniture and architectural decoration.

The ability to create face profiles operates through a new "Face Wizard", which guides the user through every stage from the import of the digital image to the generation of the CAD model. One created, the model can be manipulated using the full range of tools within ArtCAM, including scaling to generate models for a range of products of different sizes. The faces can then be incorporated into product designs, including bespoke artefacts such as business signs or personalized jewellery.

Another impressive new design option is the envelope distortion tool. This offers many ways to manipulate an existing relief by stretching or bending the envelope within which it is contained. For example, the envelope could be made narrower at one end to give the visual effect of perspective to a relief. Similarly, the relief can be fitted to a curve by bending the overall shape of the design.

The same technique can be used to place a specific number of reliefs within a certain length, by squeezing or stretching the shape to give an exact fit. This will be of great benefit for any kind of repeating design, which needs to be customized to a particular size, such as decoration for bracelets, rings, architectural parts, signs and so forth.

 

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