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digital
tools and references
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| Wind
Pressure Calculator |
Capability: A program called Wind calculates
wind pressure according to the American Society of Civil Engineers code for
open buildings and other structures. It does all flexible structure calculations
for the gust factor based on the natural frequency of the structure. The
program also calculates the topographical factors and provides a list of
all shape factors for the structure and for attachments to the structure.
Hardware: Windows 95, 98, or NT and Microsoft Excel 97 or more recent.
Developer: Meca Consulting, 3324 N. 5th St., Broken Arrow, OK 74012;
(918) 355-2913; www.mecaconsulting.com.
Cost: $25.
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| CAD
Industrial Design |
Capability: StudioTool 9.5 is a
computer-aided industrial design software tool that includes a two-dimensional
paint capability integrated with the 3-D modeling process. The software is
useful for technical surfacing and for automotive and product design. The
software includes integrated pencils, markers, brushes, and airbrushes that
allow users to draw concept sketches over engineering criteria so that proper
scale and proportion are maintained throughout the design process. Other
aspects of the CAID software are a global deformation feature, which allows
users to align a point in the 3-D space to a point on the model's surface,
and adjust the entire model while maintaining boundary conditions of tangency
and curvature. A round tool lets users build constant and variable radius
circular fillets across many surface edges and complex corner blendings using
a topology-based technique.
Hardware: Windows NT or the Irix operating system, or Sun Solaris
operating environment.
Developer: Alias/Wavefront, 614 Chapala St., Santa Barbara, CA 93101;
(805) 884-7800; fax (805) 963-0410; www.aliaswavefront.com.
Cost: $7,500, introductory rate.
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| Analysis
Package |
 Femlab modeling software from Comsol
is capable of modeling many different types of analyses, including fluid
flow, as pictured here.
Capability: Femlab is a modeling and analysis package
particularly suited to the analysis of chemical processes. The software runs
on top of Matlab software, which is a standard tool for technical computing
developed by Mathworks of Natick, Mass. Femlab models a physical phenomenon
described by the user, usually an engineer or scientist who uses partial
differential equations to describe the analysis. Models that can be generated
include heat transfer, fluid flow, electromagnetics, and structural mechanics.
Hardware: PC running Windows 95, 98, or NT, or any popular Unix
platform.
Developer: Comsol, 8 New England Executive Park, Suite 310, Burlington
MA 01803; (781) 273-3322; fax: (781) 273-6603; info@comsol.com; www.comsol.com.
Cost: $2,995 for a single-user license; $4,995 for a concurrent-user
license.
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| Infrared
Vision Capability |
Capability: LabView graphical
programming and IMAQ Vision machine software can be used to evaluate products
inside opaque packaging or to inspect electronic components when combined
with infrared machine vision cameras. The software, when used in combination
with an infrared camera, is designed for use on the manufacturing floor,
where engineers sometimes use thermal imaging for machine vision inspection
and predictive maintenance. LabView lets engineers use a computer to acquire
and measure thermal images. IMAQ Vision is used to test for quality and
consistency.
Hardware: Windows 95, 98, 2000, or NT.
Developer: National Instruments, 11500 N. Mopac Expwy., Austin, TX
78759-3504; (512) 794-0100; fax (512) 683-9300; info@natinst.com;
www.natinst.com.
Cost: $1,995 each.
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| Calculating
and Converting |
UniverterLite features advanced units conversion
and calculation abilities for users who need to perform calculations that
contain values with different units. The software parses equations into separate
words that it correlates with units and constants it has been programmed
to recognize. The program lets users type equations using the same notation
they would when writing the equations. The software is configured with more
than 100 units and constants, including metric and English units of measurement.
Also included is a sampling of physical constants useful in engineering and
scientific calculations. The software is a pared-down version of Univerter
for users who don't need the customization and digit functionality provided
by that mathematical program.
Hardware: Windows 95, 98, or NT.
Developer: Ted Barham, 1630 Brandon Ave. SW, Roanoke, VA 24015; ted@
barham.com; http://members.tripod. com/tbarham/.
Cost: Free.
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| Task
Tracking |
Capability: PlanBee is project
management software that offers a spreadsheet-style interface to create,
plan, and schedule projects as well as to calculate the length of time a
project will take to complete. Users can print tabular schedules, and copy
reports and graphical representations to a clipboard so they can be pasted
into other programs, such as word processing programs, for further manipulation.
Rather than making sure one task is finished before a second task can be
noted and tracked, the software allows more than one task in a series to
be tracked at the same time.
Hardware: Windows 95, 98, or NT.
Developer: Guy Software, 1752 Duchess Ave., West Vancouver, British
Columbia, Canada V7V 1P9; (604) 926-1370; ed@guysoftware.com.
Cost: $29.98.
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| Basic
CAD |
Capability: InViso is a CAD drawing
and image visualization application. This view and print version of the
developer's software is available for specific markets. It allows users to
simply view CAD designs. This software features the same viewing technology
available in the developer's higher-end software, but at a lower cost and
with fewer features. This streamlined software is useful in applications,
such as on the shop floor, where only a basic user interface is required.
Hardware: PC running Windows 98, or NT.
Developer: Information Graphics, 706 E. Bell Rd., Suite 207,
Phoenix, AZ 85022-6642; (602) 971-6061; fax (602) 971-1714; www.infograph.com.
Cost: $49 per seat.
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| Pipe
Fluid Flow |
Capability: Design Flow Solutions
consist of two packages that calculate incompressible and compressible fluid
flow in piping systems. DFS Branch software calculates flows and pressures
in a single piping run that contains any number of pipes, fittings, valves,
and pumps. DFS DesignNet performs the same calculations for full piping networks
as well as for single runs. Both programs contain a database of about 50
common fluids. The database contains flow resistance data for pipes, fittings,
valves, and orifices. The programs also contain pipe sizing and orifice-sizing
functions to match desired flow characteristics.
Hardware: PC running Windows.
Developer: ABZ, 4451 Brookfield Corporate Dr., Suite 101, Chantilly,
VA 20151; www.abzinc.com.
Cost: DFS Branch $225; DFS DesignNet $825.
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| Valve
Selection |
Capability: Instrumentation Valve
and Connectorinphorm software lets users choose products from the developer's
valve and connectors divisions. After selecting a valve or a fitting, the
user can add that component to an order form and generate a printable report
of all selections. Built-in tools prohibit the improper selection of components
and seal materials that fall outside the user's operating conditions. A feature
called valve sizer provides a selection of valves within a product family
capable of meeting the user's mass or volumetric flow requirements.
Hardware: PC with Windows 3.1 or later.
Developer: Parker Hannifin, Instrumental Valve Division, 2651 Alabama
Hwy. 21 North, Jacksonville, AL 36265-9681; (800) 272-7537; www.
parker.com/inphorminfo.
Cost: Free. |
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| Structural
Analysis |
Capability: Atlantic is a 16-bit
structural engineering tool for static analysis and design of steel-framed
3-D structures. Atlantic uses a visual approach for model generation and
results presentation. Users can solve for structures with many hundreds of
nodes. Each element of a structural model—nodes, beams, materials,
restraints, and releases—is generated in a graphic and interactive way,
with an immediate visual control on the data validity. Each
result—stresses, displacements, and support reactions—can be shown
on the screen. Users can print high-resolution screen shots and results in
a tabular form. Atlantic also performs the verification of steel structures
according to American Institute of Steel Construction code.
Hardware: Operating system DOS 5.0 or later.
Developer: Benedetto Cordova, Via Arganini 10, 20161, Milan, Italy;
(39-02) 642-7004; b.cordova@agora.stm.it.
Cost: $39 to register for use.
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| CAD
Viewer |
Capability: This computer-aided
design viewer, called 3-D View, allows users to call up CAD designs on their
screens, although they cannot work on the designs. It provides accurate
measurements, shows mark-ups to the designs, shows cross sectioning and
dimensioning, and allows assembly navigation. It also allows access to 3-D
computer-aided manufacturing data.
Hardware: PC running Windows 95, 98, or NT.
Developer: Actify, P.O. Box 460688, San Francisco, CA 94146; (415)
647-6504; fax: (415) 647-6506; info@actify.com; www.actify.com.
Cost: $160.
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