CIMdata PLM Industry Summary Online Archive
2 March 2005
Product News
Geomagic eShell Adds Features To Improve Hearing Instrument Form, Fit And Function
Raindrop Geomagic has added new features to its Geomagic eShell software that improve form, fit and function for customized hearing instruments.
"The advanced capabilities of eShell 7, combined with our processes for rapid manufacturing, will enable us to produce features that are not possible with conventional molding or casting," says Russ Schreiner, project director for GN ReSound, a Geomagic eShell user and early adopter of version 7. "We have the ability to design features in the shell that enhance product performance and lead to more efficient manufacturing."
Geomagic eShell version 7 combines configuration management, shell design, and quality inspection in one simple package. It is compatible with all 3D hardware appliances used to capture data and fabricate shells. The standard software approach lowers customers' initial and recurring technology costs.
The latest version of eShell provides capabilities that will enable hearing instrument manufacturers such as GN ReSound to improve their products in ways that are impossible using traditional, non-digital processes.
New functionality in eShell 7 gives users the ability to create visual simulations of major components such as amps, coil and receiver. The simulations can be used to more efficiently place components into a shell. Similarly, designers can embed a vent further into the wall of a shell, providing more room for electronics in the interior.
A new feature for creating a wider base means that designers are no longer restricted by a small surface gluing area as they are in a traditional process. This also allows more electronics to be placed in the shell.
In addition to enabling designers to include more components and electronics in the shell of the hearing instrument, eShell 7 helps ensure a better fit for external components such as switches, volume controls, module and faceplate.
New faceplate design and visualization capabilities in eShell 7 will lead to improvements in product finish and manufacturing speed and accuracy. New rendering and transparency in eShell helps designers create a more accurate digital model in less time. The faceplate and shell can be modeled together in eShell and subsequently manufactured as one piece, saving time and ensuring a better-quality end product. In the traditional process, the faceplate has to be milled, glued into the shell, and manually smoothed, a process that takes considerable time.
"With eShell 7, Raindrop Geomagic has made an excellent product even better," says Schreiner. "Creating step vents and fitting components is faster and easier, and the new verify fit functions improve the quality assurance process. Advanced functions such as merging the faceplate with the shell are going to lead to big improvements in our product designs and manufacturability."
Raindrop Geomagic is based in Research Triangle Park, N.C., and has wholly owned subsidiaries in Europe and Asia. The company's technology is used in applications such as digital dentistry, historic preservation of the Statue of Liberty, redesign of a retro Harley-Davidson gas tank, and quality inspection to ensure that circuit breakers will last 400 years. More than 3,000 users worldwide turn to Raindrop Geomagic to provide the technology for customizing products, automating processes, and increasing throughput.
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