CIMdata PLM Industry Summary Online Archive

November 2009

Product News

D-Cubed: Latest release of the CDM, Version 41.0

Siemens PLM Software announced the latest release of the D-Cubed Collision Detection Manager (CDM), a software component that accurately and rapidly detects collisions and computes clearances. New enhancements specific to version 41.0 are listed below. A full product description can be found here.

Performance enhancement: collisions and clearances involving rolling ball surfaces

Rolling ball surfaces are defined by sweeping a sphere along a curve. They are commonly used in solid and surface modelling applications to create pipes, and also rolling ball blends between adjacent surfaces. This release sees improvements to the performance when computing collisions and clearances on models containing rolling ball surfaces that are interacting with parametric or faceted surfaces.

Functionality enhancement: collision computations

Version 34 of the CDM introduced the capability for an application to specify a part, or a collection of parts, and a direction, and have the CDM compute whether a collision would occur if the parts moved in that direction. The benefits are performance and accuracy enhancements, as the CDM no longer has to perform a collision calculation at each of multiple steps along the path to determine the same result, risking stepping over a relevant collision in the process. However, the ability to test for such collisions along a path did not previously support combinations of wire parts against surface-based or solid parts. This functionality has been added in version 41.

Reliability enhancements: faceted collisions

One of the strengths of the CDM is that it can perform its computations on models containing faceted or accurate geometry. The accurate computations have long been a core strength, but in recent years more attention has been paid to the faceted algorithms. Significant improvements to the reliability of faceted collision computations in various unusual, but still important, configurations have been made.

Performance enhancement: use of link time code generation

Link time code generation, also known as whole program optimization, is now the standard process used when compiling and linking DLLs for the Windows platform. The result is improved performance when using these versions of the CDM.

About the D-Cubed CDM

First released in 1999, the CDM enables end-users to interact with their models with much improved realism and solidity, greatly reducing errors caused by interpenetrating parts. Operating in assembly, mechanism, machining and measuring simulation environments, it offers a range of algorithms to interactively detect collisions and compute clearances, even on large, complex assemblies. Performance is particularly excellent for repeated computations on models that are in motion. The CDM is compatible with any application as it is independent of any particular modeler or model format, operating on exact, faceted, solid or surface representations.

About Siemens PLM Components; Parasolid and D-Cubed

PLM Components are software tools that promote interoperability in CAD, CAM, CAE and PLM applications. Siemens PLM Software develops these components, uses them throughout its own applications and licenses them to independent software vendors and end-user organizations. PLM Components include the Parasolid and D-Cubed products, widely used technologies that provide 3D part and assembly modeling, editing and interoperability, 2D/3D parametric sketching, motion simulation, collision detection, clearance measurement and visualization functionality. Applications include mechanical CAD, CAM, CAE, mold design, sheet metal, AEC, GIS, structural, plant and ship design, CMM, reverse engineering and sales configuration. For more information, please visit www.siemens.com/plm/open/

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