Industry Summary Articles

Presentations representing a wide range of computational fluid dynamics (CFD) applications and techniques will highlight the Pointwise User Group Meeting 2014 on 29-30 October in Anaheim, California. The event will mark the company's 20th anniversary. Topics range from heat transfer to aeroacoustics to mesh sensitivies for internal aerodynamics. The presenters are Dr. Michael Böttcher, Karlsruhe Institute of Technology Michael Ni, AeroDynamic Solutions Kyle Graham, Northrop Grumman Systems Corporation William Humber, AeroDynamic Solutions Andy Luo, TotalSim LLC Jeremy Shipman, CRAFT Tech Bruce Hilbert, SimCenter: National Center for Computational Engineering, The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga Dr. Rob McDonald, California Polytechnic State University Thomas Economon, Stanford University Dr. Amar Potturi, Metacomp Technologies Jeff Slotnick, Boeing Research & Technology Nick Wyman, Pointwise, Inc. Travis Carrigan, Pointwise, Inc. A complete list of presentations is available at the user group meeting website. The meeting, which brings together engineers and scientists from around the world, will be at the Embassy Suites Anaheim - South. For information about registration and other activities, see www.pointwise.com/ugm.

MachineWorks Ltd will be demonstrating some of the exciting new features of Polygonica at the TCT Show + Personalize at the NEC, Birmingham, UK from the 30th September to 2nd October 2014, stand F28. Polygonica v1.2 - to be released at the show - represents a milestone in development for polygon mesh processing technology. Some of the new features to be included in this release are as follows: Individual Hole Closing with Smooth Blending One of Polygonica's core strengths was the automatic hole closing algorithm, a primary step in preparing CAD models for 3D Printing. This has now been extended to allow users finer control over how holes are closed. The curvature of the model at the edge of the hole can be taken into account to produce smooth hole closing. This often provides a much cleaner model than simple planar closing, and is often essential for models that have been generated from scan data,

Delcam will demonstrate the five-axis machining capabilities of its PowerMILL CAM system by producing a complex cycle helmet on four stands at the BIMU exhibition to be held in Milan from 30th September to 4th October.  The demonstrations will be on the stands of Mazak, D14 in Hall 16, CMS Industries, D13 in Hall 9, and Isper, C01 in Hall 9, as well as on Delcam’s own stand, F47 in Hall 11. BIMU visitors will also be able to see reverse engineering of the CAD model of the helmet from the Rudy Project original on the Delcam stand. Franco Calloni, General Manager of Delcam Italia, chose the helmet for the demonstrations after seeing it used by a cycling team that is sponsored by his company.  "I was looking for a single object to demonstrate the complete Delcam solution,” he explained.  "I needed something that would be recognised instantly by visitors and that

IT consultants and systems specialists N+P Informationssysteme GmbH (N+P) and Stabiplan, the Dutch specialist for home automation software, will be working closely together in the German market. The aim of the partnership is to combine the expertise of both companies and thus push the concept of building information modeling (BIM) to the next level. Stabiplan is European leader in the development of CAD-based design software for home automation. Points of interest: Stabicad is compatible with multiple platforms, with functionality available for both Autodesk® Revit® MEP and AutoCAD®. In addition, Stabiplan offers a web platform at MEPcontent.eu that provides current graphical product information for leading manufacturers and suppliers. The company collaborates with more than one hundred European companies on this project. Thanks to the partnership agreement with N+P, users of Autodesk® Revit® MEP and AutoCAD® can now purchase Stabiplan software in Germany and use all of its features. Noteworthy here is the seamless

The FibreChain project addresses manufacturers' growing need for innovative processes to optimize the production chain and reduce costs. Lightweight, durable components are in high demand from manufacturers as they combine performance and high quality. Only highly specialized production chains currently supply multilayer components and lightweight 3D carbon fibre components. To this day, their use in the industrial world remains very limited, hence the reason for there being no integrated production chains capable of mass production.  The aim of the FibreChain project, which means the integration of the process chain for the automated and flexible production of carbon fibre components, is to develop the first automated manufacturing system for mass production of high-performance, lightweight and recyclable carbon fibre components. The project took shape thanks to an interdisciplinary consortium of 17 partners from 7 European countries, consisting of research institutes, such as the German Fraunhofer Institute, manufacturers, such as Nikon Metrology and Trumpf, and universities.

Rand Worldwide announced that with less than one month left to enter IMAGINiT Technologies’RENDERiT Contest, the time to upload a rendering of your favorite design is now. Top design, civil and mechanical engineers and architects using Autodesk software across the building, civil and mechanical fields are competing to win one of three prizes. Winners will all be chosen through public voting via IMAGINiT’s Facebook Page. “We typically work with our clients to recommend technology, help them implement it and then ensure the effective adoption of this technology into their workflows and design processes,” says Tim Johnson, senior vice president, IMAGINiT Technologies. “When we partner with customers, we don’t often get to experience the truly innovative designs that our clients are creating on the frontlines with Autodesk 3D design software. IMAGINiT’s RENDERiT Contest allows us to see the powerful ideas that these design tools bring to reality. We truly enjoy exposing the work

Athletes for Charity, Tata Technologies and the Detroit Lions have joined forces to expose Detroit Public School students to embrace Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM), while also developing their skills in reading and writing. “The demand for skilled workers in science, technology, engineering, and math is on the rise while the availability of qualified applicants is on the decline because students are not pursuing degrees and careers within the sector,” said Alisa Harewood of Tata Technologies, a global engineering services company with North American headquarters located in Novi. The program aims to improve learning outcomes and student interest in science, technology, engineering and math, while creating pathways to success in post-secondary education and 21st century careers. Two schools have been selected for the inaugural launch of the STEM Youth Literacy Program: Clark Preparatory Academy—visited on Sept. 9—and Dixon Educational Learning Academy. Representatives from Tata Technologies, Athletes for Charity and the Detroit Lions are

Capricot Technologies announced that it has entered into a partnership with Eagle Point Software - developer of the Pinnacle Series. The Pinnacle Series is a productivity solution, which uses multiform resources to help organizations overcome the everyday challenges they face in using Autodesk software. This cloud-based solution enables users to get the most out of their Autodesk Solutions with desktop and mobile applications that provide 24/7 access to workflow, training and support resources. Pinnacle Series is fully customizable with unlimited cloud storage, allowing organizations to house their corporate best practices and standard operating procedures. "Capricot was looking for a strategic partner with a cloud-based solution focused on Autodesk products. We knew of Eagle Point's reputation for solving problems that Autodesk customers face and found the Pinnacle Series to be just what we were looking for to help our customers," said Chakresh Jain, Chairman of Capricot. Jain also stated "By offering Eagle Point

TraceParts launches a brand new mobile application to further enhance the 3D content experience for Engineers and Design Professionals. The application, available on both the Android and iOS platforms, is available to download for free. Supporting mobile phones and tablets, TraceParts Mobile can be used anywhere and anytime, during a commute or in a meeting. Built from TraceParts long established online CAD library TracePartsOnline.net, the mobile application allows Engineers access to the same extensive database containing millions of technical data with 3D models that can be viewed live and moved around at a touch. Once selected among hundreds of suppliers’ catalogs, models can be easily sent by email in any one of the many supported native or neutral CAD formats, so everything is ready back in the office for designers to start work, all from within the application. “We’re always working to make Product Content available everywhere and our new mobile app is an

Today Autodesk Fusion 360—a cloud-based tool that combines 3D industrial and mechanical design, collaboration, and machining in a single package—became the first solution of its kind available for purchase worldwide on the Mac App Store. “Autodesk has done a great job bringing the complete Fusion 360 toolkit to the Mac App Store,” said Ron Okamoto, Apple's vice president of Worldwide Developer Relations. "Fusion 360 combines design, collaboration and machining tools into a single package, and now it's available with the security and simplicity of the Mac App Store.” “The fundamental methods of design and manufacturing are experiencing radical disruption,” said Robert “Buzz” Kross, senior vice president at Autodesk. “We started from scratch and co-created Fusion 360 with the product design community to reimagine 3D CAD and CAM. Our global community loves the Mac, and now they have a faster path to getting started with Fusion 360 on the Mac.” In the market for just