digital tools and references
Training for Machinery Diagnostics Capability: MachineLibrary includes interactive multimedia tutorials with the plot formats necessary to evaluate machine condition and diagnose machine malfunctions. Detailed documentation on steam turbines, generators, gas turbines, and gearboxes is available. A library of Bently Rotor Dynamics Research Corp.'s technical papers provides theoretical and practical models for defining rotating machinery behavior. Users can search the reference materials by keywords, malfunction type, or topic.

Hardware: IBM-compatible PC with 16 MB of RAM and 4X CD-ROM, operating in Windows 95 or Windows NT 4.0

Developer: Bently Rotor Dynamics Research Corp., 1617 Water St., Minden, NV 89423; (702) 782-3611; fax (702) 782-9305

Cost:$995
Surface Analysis Capability: Surface data generated by nonuniform rational B-spline- (NURBS-) based CAD systems can be converted to Bezier representations with ICEM Surf 2.3, enabling users to apply global-modeling features to existing designs. ICEM Surf has been used in the automotive industry for modeling class A surfaces. It can read trimmed surfaces via IGES or ASCII-Part, or directly from CADDS or CATIA, and store the original edges of the trimmed surfaces in the ICEM Surf database. The program imports raw data and fixes tangents of selected patches in addition to their edges when performing global modeling.

ICEM Surf converted surfaces of this automobile created with a NURBS-based CAD program to Bezier representations for global modeling

The ICEM Surf scan processor module filters point clouds into subsets. This provides fast meshing of the points to get a quick visual first impression of the geometry. Global modeling can be applied to both the point clouds and the meshes.

Hardware: IBM-compatible PC operating in Windows NT; Unix workstation from Hewlett-Packard, IBM, Silicon Graphics, or Sun

Developer: ICEM Technologies, 4201 Lexington Ave. N., Arden Hills, MN 55126; (612) 415-4327; fax (612) 415-4899; e-mail icem.technologies@cdc.com

Cost: $11,000
Visualizing Data Capability: CoolPlot version 2.30 can be used to visualize data produced by computational-fluid-dynamics, heat-transfer, electromagnetic, and stress-analysis software. It displays two- and three-dimensional data on a split-screen window. The 3-D window shows the whole model view that can be rotated and zoomed in or out. Multiple cross sections display different variables. The 2-D window displays a selected cross section for detailed analysis. As the crosshairs are swept over the 2-D view, the results are shown in the status bar.

Displayed data can be animated by injecting weightless particles into the flow field using a mouse-controlled particle injector. The particles can be colored by the local value of any scalar variable. As the particles traverse the domain, the view can be dynamically rotated and zoomed in. Displayed objects can be viewed with wireframe outlines or as solid bodies painted in the body-type color (up to seven body types), by any scalar surface distribution or maximum value, and by a light source. The cross sections can be viewed in wire mesh, solid color, any scalar variable distribution, streamlines, and vectors.

Hardware:IBM-compatible PC operating in Windows 95 or Windows NT

Developer: Daat Research Corp., Box 5484, Hanover, NH 03755-5484; (603) 448-1302; fax (603) 448-2941; e-mail info@daat.com

Cost: $195
Plug-and-
Play Industrial Automation 		Capability: BridgeVIEW and Lookout 3.7 now support Windows' "plug-and-play" capability using the OLE for Process Control (OPC) interface, allowing the programs to work with any OPC server. OPC, a standardized interface for industrial devices, connects I/O devices, programmable logic controllers (PLCs), and fieldbuses to process-control software systems.

BridgeVIEW is a graphic programming package for building industrial-automation systems for process and discrete manufacturing applications. It delivers real-time process monitoring, historical trending, online configuration, and connections with PLCs. The program provides a graphical user interface combined with G, a graphic software development language that can be used to perform data acquisition and analysis as well as develop advanced supervisory-control applications.

The Lookout program builds supervisory-control and other industrial applications. It performs online configuration of tasks, such as driver setup, database configuration, historical logging, and security management.

Hardware: IBM-compatible PC operating in Windows

Developer:National Instruments, 6504 Bridge Point Parkway, Austin, TX 78730-5039; (512) 258-7022; fax (512) 794-8411; e-mail info@natinst.com

Cost: Depends on hardware and modules purchased
Digital Prototypes With Working Model 3D, engineers model and analyze products with moving parts, such as this backhoe, to predict how objects interact

Capability: Working Model 3D version includes an array of three-dimensional joints and constraints, from motors and actuators to springs, rods, and ropes, enabling users to model complex 3-D mechanisms. The program includes automatic collision detection to simulate how objects interact, slide, and collide. Full associativity with Mechanical Desktop, SolidWorks, and Solid Edge through the use of working-model automatic constraint mapping enables users to make a CAD design change and update working models immediately. With working-model automatic load transfer, users can link working models with finite-element-analysis packages to determine if parts will fail.

Virtual Reality Modeling Language (VRML) output can be used to post a fully animated simulation to a World Wide Web page and view it with any Web browser. Smart-editing technology enables users to create any 3-D machine or device and, with a mouse, open and close a door, retract a landing gear, stretch out a scissor lift, or move an engine through one cycle by grabbing the crankshaft. Interactive input sliders enable the simulation of real-time inputs to motors, actuators, drivers and mass and material properties. Models containing 100 or more parts or subassemblies can be built. Component velocities and accelerations can be visually inspected with 3-D vectors.

Hardware: IBM Pentium PC with 32 MB of RAM operating in Windows

Developer: Knowledge Revolution Inc., 66 Bovet Rd., Suite 200, San Mateo, CA 94402; (415) 574-7777; fax (415) 574-7541

Cost: $4,995
Part Modeling Capability: BravoXL-Designer is a part-modeling, assembly-design, project-management, and drafting application. It features solids modeling, three-dimensional wireframe, multiplatform support, constraint-driven modeling, and large-scale assembly management. The program includes access to a family of applications for prototyping, manufacturing, and data exchange. The ACIS modeling standard is embedded in the program.

Hardware:Digital Equipment Corp. Alpha platform operating in Windows NT or VAX platform operating in Open VMS or Digital/Ultrix; Hewlett-Packard workstation operating in HP-UX; or IBM-compatible PC operating in Windows 95 or Windows NT

Developer: Applicon, 4251 Plymouth Rd., Suite 3200, Ann Arbor, MI 48105-2734; (313) 995-6000; fax (313) 995-6191

Cost: $12,000
Image Management Capability: Smart ShopManager has integrated Corel's Visual CADD technology to allow for an enterprisewide image-management system. The image library includes complete AutoCAD DWG/DXF file viewing and markup. CAD images can be directly attached to each order and can be printed with each shop traveler. CAD redlining makes it possible to draw attention to aspects of a drawing without modifying the original. Windows image formats, such as TIFF, PCX, BMP, GIF, ICO, JPG, PNG, and WMF, can be viewed. AVI and SCM multimedia formats can be viewed. Audio files can be directly attached to each order.

Hardware:IBM-compatible PC operating in Windows; requires Borland's Inter Base driver

Developer:Smart Shop Software Inc., 7600 Mineral Dr., Suite 100, Coeur D'Alene, ID 83814; (800) 255-8221; fax (208) 772-0623

Cost: Averages $3,500 to $4,500 per concurrent user
Event Simulation Capability:Accupak/VE event-simulation software combines kinematics, rigid/flexible body motion, and nonlinear stress-analysis capabilities. Its enhanced menu enables users to set control parameters automatically for an event simulation based on engineering considerations without having to know the underlying mathematics. With event simulation, an event is displayed on the computer monitor as an animated sequence. A single click on the menu takes the user to a list of the kinds of events to be simulated.

Hardware:IBM-compatible Pentium PC with 32 MB of RAM and 1-GB disk drive, operating in Windows 95 or Windows NT. (The recommended configuration is a Pentium II MMX platform with 128 MB of RAM and a 4-GB disk drive.)

Developer:Algor Inc., 150 Beta Dr., Pittsburgh, PA 15238-2932; (412) 967-2700; fax (412) 967-2781; e-mail info@algor.com.

Cost: $5,500 as an add-on to an existing Algor installation.


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