This complex model of a Ford Diata four-cylinder diesel engine has nearly 500,000 elements and is divided into eight domains for thermal analysis with MARC K7.3 software. The solution was completed in 12 minutes on a network of Sun Ultra workstations with 300 MHz processors.

"With parallel processing, engineers can analyze an assembly instead of just doing component analysis," says Reza Sadeghi, MARC's vice president of marketing. "Multiple analyses now can be run for increasingly complex models, allowing users to perform more what-if studies and investigate numerous design alternatives."

At a recent parallel-processing symposium, real-world models supplied by aerospace manufacturers Pratt & Whitney and Sikorsky Aircraft were used to evaluate the performance of MARC K7.3. At the symposium, a 3-D elastic model with 1.3 million degrees of freedom was analyzed in only 38 minutes using four Sun Ultra 60 workstations (2P x 360 MHz) with 500 MB RAM connected by 100BASE-TX.

At the Maui High-Performance Computing Center in Hawaii, a model with 1.5 million degrees of freedom for a nuclear energy generator component was solved in less than 30 minutes on 64 processors of an IBM SP system.

Parker Hannifin has used a beta version of MARC K7.3 to analyze an O-ring sealing device. Animation showed the complex movement and deformation of the seal during installation in a rigid cavity.

The company knew it could make its parts stronger if it milled them from single blocks of metal. The obstacle, however, lay in working out all the tool paths to automate the machining. Setup would take too much time, cost too much money, and drive prices too high.

Then Pilatus replaced a wire-frame modeler with UG/Solid Modeling from Unigraphics of St. Louis, which lets engineers generate solid model geometry and create five-axis computer numerical controlled tool paths by defining machining parameters. Pilatus estimates that its new way of developing and making products has reduced component costs by two-thirds, partly by eliminating the need for some costly physical prototypes.

The company currently builds the PC-6 turbo porter, PC-7 turbo trainer, PC-9 advanced turboprop trainer, and PC-12 multipurpose aircraft. The flagship of Pilatus's fleet, the PC-12, can be configured as a six-seat executive aircraft, a nine-seat corporate commuter, or a freighter with a large cargo and equipment bay. Pilatus also produces components for Hawk trainers, F/A-18 fighters, and Airbus passenger aircraft.

Using a wind tunnel and computer simulation, Pilatus engineers begin the design process by optimizing the complex contours that make up the aircraft's outer surface. Engineers must plan and execute defining surfaces—general sweeps along curves, proportionally developed shapes, lofted bodies, and blends with circular or conical cross sections, for instance. They then create and edit holes, slots, pockets, chamfers, bosses, cylinders, blocks, cones, spheres, and other features. Once a feature is created, it can be recalled for use on other components.

As the master models for the individual components are completed, they are virtually assembled into an overall model that includes every component in the aircraft down to the last rivet. To depict the turboprop engine, engineers import an IGES file containing its geometry from the engine's manufacturer, Pratt & Whitney. The ability to create a virtual mockup of an entire aircraft helps eliminate interference and clearance problems early in the design process.

Using a drafting module in the Unigraphics software, drafting personnel make production drawings from views of the computer model. Pilatus is currently testing an approach in which manufacturing personnel obtain direct access to the solid model through viewing software. This approach has already been shown to reduce assembly mistakes because assemblers can rotate, pan, and zoom in on the 3-D model to get a clearer understanding of the design. It is expected that providing the manufacturing staff with access to the solid model will eventually eliminate the need for production drawings altogether.

The largest savings of all are realized in manufacturing. Manufacturing engineers create tool paths by selecting surfaces from the master model. Once they select a surface, they enter machining conditions, such as speeds and feeds, and determine which machine will produce the part. The time savings are especially significant for the complex structural components such as the wing main spar, which is machined from a 1,000-kg block of metal but weighs only 38 kg when completed.

A variable-axis milling module supports the four- and five-axis machining moves required to produce complex structural components. When the parameters are set, the programmer simulates the tool path on the graphics screen and generates textual output into a cutter location source file.

To take full advantage of the cost savings achieved through CNC machining of complex aerospace components, Pilatus recently ordered a five-axis Makino machining center that will increase its capacity to produce milled components.

Manufacturers are now able to compare the effects of their improvement ideas by measures that they stipulate (such as on-time delivery versus utilization versus inventory). Tactic attaches to exist- ing ERP/MRP II business systems or can stand alone for scheduling and order promising.

For mold designers, the new 3D QuickFill simulates the following: hot and cold runner systems; the impact of circular gates (submarine and pin gates) and noncircular gates (fan, edge, and film); and entire mold cavity designs, including single, multicavity, and family molds. By assigning multiplicity factors, designers can model only one cavity but receive simulation results for multiple cavities.

All modeling of the sprue, runners, gates, and mold cavities is done within the user's CAD system. QuickFill 99.7 works with Cadkey, CATIA, I-DEAS, Mechanical Desktop, Pro/ Engineer, Solid Edge, SolidWorks, and Unigraphics. All mold design is done in CAD and all validation in 3D QuickFill to protect the integrity of legacy data.

For parts designers, a simulation displays sink marks on the solid model and explicitly shows the depth of each mark, so the user can decide if the part should be redesigned.

Engineers can use 3D QuickFill in order to assist them with the optimization of molding machine performance and production cycle times. The new version provides a pressure trace, which tells the molder when to switch from filling the mold to packing it, how much pressure to use during packing, and just when to turn the pressure off, based on the program's prediction of gate freeze-off.

Parallel-kinematics machines, which are sometimes called "machine tool robots," could combine the strength of a linear machine tool with the speed, flexibility, and precision of a robot.

Sometimes called "machine tool robots," parallel-kinematics machines show promise because they could combine the strength of a linear machine tool with the speed, flexibility, and precision of a robot. The consortium will benchmark a Tricept 805 machine tool robot design by Neos Robotics of Sweden. The Tricept 805 is a second-generation parallel-kinematics machine designed for milling applications. It is equipped with a Siemens Sinumerik 840D control and will be running CAM-POST NC postprocessing software.

The Tricept 805 is said to be two to three times faster than conventional machining centers. It is capable of up to 45 kilonewtons of pressure power and has accessibility from five sides.

The new postprocessing product, called Pro/NC-G-Post, provides the capability to create and execute postprocessors for multi-axis mills, lathes, wire EDMs, and sheet metal fabrication equipment; macro programming capabilities for customization; 80 CNC control defaults; and web access to a library of hundreds of postprocessors. The combined cost for Expert Machinist and Pro/Engineer is under $12,000.

Current users of PTC's existing postprocessing solution, Pro/NCPost, can continue to use Pro/NCPost or migrate to the new Pro/NC-G-Post product. PTC will continue to provide full support for Pro/NCPost.

You pull over and, using your laptop PC with wireless remote Internet link, you point your browser to http://afdcmap.nrel.gov.nrel and then consult a new online interactive program called the Alternative Fuel Refueling Station Locator. That's what you do.

The new locator program was developed by the U.S. Department of Energy's Alternative Fuels Data Center at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory in Golden, Colo.

And what do you find? Within a hypothetical 10-mile radius, Albany has two compressed natural gas stations, four stations with liquid petroleum gas, and none with electric battery recharging, liquefied natural gas, or 85 percent methanol. In Tucumcari, you are fresh out of luck for miles and miles, friend, no matter what kind of fancy alternative fuel your rig burns.

In order to improve the designing of harnesses, Embassy has features for advanced splice insertion and manipulation; on-the-fly unit conversion for geometric and user property data; automatic terminal, seal, and plug assignment; build creation of library parts through configurable import; and improved visibility control.

New verification capabilities include automatic splice balancing, override options, and advanced-length calculations. Design details are automatically output in a variety of formats for manufacturing. Splice tables and spider diagrams are created automatically. Each harness can have multiple drawings associated with it.

General Dynamics Marine Systems (GDMS) of Falls Church, Va., has chosen Catweb Solutions from Dassault Systemes of Paris, France, to provide enterprise-wide visualization for its Integrated Product Data Environment (IPDE). Written in Java, Catweb Solutions gives access to native product data on an office PC.

Primavera Systems Inc. of Bala Cynwyd, Pa., a developer of project management software, has acquired the products and development staff of Eagle Ray Software Systems Inc. of White Plains, N.Y. Eagle Ray is the developer of the ER Project 1000 project management program. Version 5.8-1 of the Abaqus nonlinear finite element analysis programs and Abaqus/Post is now available for Fujitsu VPP computers running the V10L20 X98061 operating system. This release supports parallel execution for both Abaqus/Standard and Abaqus/Explicit on multi-CPU computers. Abaqus is a product of Hibbitt, Karlsson & Sorensen Inc. of Pawtucket, R.I.

Total Control Products of Melrose Park, Ill., and Odyssey Software Inc. of Rochester, N.Y., have announced that Total Control will bundle Odyssey's CEfusion server software on the FactoryClient 2000 shop floor terminal, which runs on Windows CE and has a 32-bit Hitachi RISC processor and Chips & Technologies graphics accelerator. Total Control Products is a subsidiary of GE Fanuc.

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