digital tools and references
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| CoolitPCB provides printed circuit board designers with a way to analyze designs for thermal behavior. No in-depth knowledge of heat transfer complexities is needed. |
Capability: Printed circuit board designers can carry out their
own board-level thermal analyses with CoolitPCB. The software helps engineers
predict the thermal behavior of their designs and find optimum component
placement on their boards. There's no need for expert knowledge
of heat transfer or computational fluid dynamics. The software allows
for the import of board designs from CAD and from electronic design architecture
software. It reports component junction temperature and case temperature,
and details 3-D airflow and temperature distribution. The application
can be integrated with the developer's thermal-design software,
Coolit, for complete board design and system-level analysis.
Hardware: PC running Windows 95, 98, 2000, NT, or XP.
Developer: Daat Research Corp., P.O. Box 5484, Hanover, NH 03755-5484;
www.CoolitPCB.com.
Cost: $3,900 for a perpetual license.
Fast, Flowing Models
Capability: Its developer says that FloWizard version 2 performs rapid-flow modeling, which offers a flexible approach to computational fluid dynamics simulation. With the software, engineers can model flow during all stages of the design process. The upgrade introduces new features, including stepped-up computer-aided design integration to benefit Unigraphics, SolidWorks, and Solid Edge users. Designs created with those applications can be read directly without translation to intermediate CAD file formats. Additional enhancements include compressible flow physics, heat exchanger models, and post-processing features that include iso-surfaces, arbitrary plane cuts, and point probes. The application runs on the developer's remote facility and is accessed via the Web.
Hardware: PC running Windows 2000, NT, or XP.
Developer: Fluent Inc., 10 Cavendish Court, Lebanon, NH 03766;
(603) 643-2600; fax (603) 643-3967; info@ fluent.com; www.fluent.com.
Cost: $7,000 per annual license, to start.
Click here to obtain information on this product
Capability: The 3-D animation program Maya Complete
7 includes modeling, rendering, and animation capabilities. It also includes
a paint-effects feature and an open interface for programming and scripting.
The application is useful to engineers for visualization, but can also
be used by filmmakers, game developers, and digital publishers. The upgraded
version includes a complete re-architecture of the render-layers functionality,
which means that multiple versions of objects can be managed in a single
file.
Hardware: PC running a Windows, IRIX, Linux, or Macintosh OS X operating system.
Developers: Alias Systems, 210 King St. East, Toronto, Ontario
M5A 1J7; (416) 362-9181; fax (416) 369-6140; www.alias.com.
Cost: $1,999; upgrade cost from version 6.5 is $899.
Compatible Viewing
Capability: Brava Desktop version 1.2 view and markup
software is for opening and looking at many types of files, even if those
files are created in applications that don't reside on the computer.
Files that can be viewed include those saved in standard formats like
tagged image file format (TIFF) and portable document format (PDF) as
well as program formats that include Microsoft Office applications, Visio,
AutoCAD, MicroStation, and SolidWorks. They can be used to look up documents,
images, and CAD drawings. New features include a function that converts
any files to portable document format. Another new feature lets users
compare drawings and image files by flipping between images, displaying
them side-by-side, or overlaying them, with differences highlighted. A
redaction feature automatically blocks out chosen words or features from
view, print, and search.
Hardware: PC running Windows 98, 2000, or NT.
Developer: Informative Graphics Corp., 4835 E. Cactus Rd., Suite 445, Scottsdale, AZ 85254; (602) 971-6061; fax (602) 971-1714; www.infograph.com.
Cost: $195, to start.
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© 2005 by The American Society of Mechanical Engineers