DEVELOP3D July / August 2011

Inventor 2012 P27

Siemens NX 7.0 Abaqus 6.11 P32P40

Solid Edge ST4 P34

TECHNOLOGY FOR THE PRODUCT LIFECYCLE

JULY / AUGUST 2011 | £6 | € 7 | $10 | DEVELOP3D.COM

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MINI Countryman converted into rallying machine

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MARINE DESIGN BRITISH DESIGN INNOVATION THE ULTIMATE PINT GLASS p01_D3D_JULAUG11_coverindd 1

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WELCOME EDITORIAL Editor-in-Chief Al Dean al@x3dmedia.com +44 (0)7525 701 541 Managing Editor Greg Corke greg@x3dmedia.com +44 (0)20 3355 7312 Consulting Editor Martyn Day martyn@x3dmedia.com +44 (0)7525 701 542 Digital Media Editor Stephen Holmes stephen@x3dmedia.com +44 (0)20 3384 5297 Special Projects Editor Tanya Weaver tanya@x3dmedia.com +44 (0)20 3384 5296

DESIGN/PRODUCTION Art Director Rob Biddulph Design/Production Greg Corke greg@x3dmedia.com +44 (0)20 3355 7312

ADVERTISING Advertising Manager Tony Baksh tony@x3dmedia.com +44 (0)20 3355 7313 Deputy Advertising Manager Steve King steve@x3dmedia.com +44 (0)20 3355 7314

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Financial Controller Samantha Todescato-Rutland sam@x3dmedia.com ABOUT DEVELOP3D is published by

Suite 77, 3rd Floor, The London Fruit and Wool Exchange 56 Brushfield Street London, E1 6EP T. +44 (0)20 3355 7310 F. +44 (0)20 3355 7319 www.x3dmedia.com © 2011 X3DMedia Ltd All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or part without prior permission from the publisher is prohibited. All trademarks acknowledged Opinions expressed in articles are those of the author and not of X3DMedia.

X3DMedia cannot accept responsibility for errors in articles or advertisements within the magazine

P

urview is my word of the month. Aside from describing the sound a cat might make at the sea front, it describes a major part of our job at DEVELOP3D - “the scope of the influence or concerns of something.”

As a magazine we look at both the technology available to those engaged in product development and how it can be used.

Are there solutions out there that could help out our trusty band of readers to execute their tasks more efficiently? Is there a tool out there that’s relatively unknown that should be seen and perhaps adopted by a larger proportion of the design and engineering community?

But it’s also about finding companies doing interesting work and sharing their stories. Sharing their triumphs and challenges and seeding both inspiration and thoughts on what you can learn from them. In this month’s news pages, we have a piece on how Bespoke Innovations is using a combination of reverse engineering technology, rapid prototyping and serious design skills to develop products that help those that have lost a limb. Not only to make a custom fit product that helps recovery and daily use, but one which matches the wearer’s lifestyle, personal choices and interests. To my mind, that’s a story worth telling.

With the second issue of DEVELOP3D Sustainability within this issue, I’m also mindful of the role that designers, engineers and manufacturers have in making the world a better place. It maybe a cliché and I’m sure there are those that hold no truck with climate change, but it’s us, as a profession, that can make a change.

Within the magazine, we’re trying to provide inspiration. Inspiration in terms of new, less impactful materials. We’re also showing how leading organisations are working towards the disparate views of exactly what comes under the sustainability purview. Our energy crisis is demanding more innovative, more efficient and more cost effective solutions - something that DEK Solar is working towards with its photovoltaic production lines. But then there are those smaller organisations such as Portland’s Grove who are developing mass market products but with smarter design choices about the product themselves and how they’re manufactured. Plus we’re also giving you some thoughts on higher level concepts such as whole systems thinking courtesy of the dynamic duo behind Autodesk’s Sustainability Workshop.

So... Purview. Love it. There’s much to do. Shall we crack on?

Al Dean Editor-in-Chief, DEVELOP3D Magazine

Join our online community DEVELOP3D.com

facebook.com/DEVELOP3D

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DEVELOP3D.COM JULY / AUGUST 2011 3

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CONTENTS JULY / AUGUST 2011 ISSUE NO.31

6

NEWS PTC announces replacement for Pro/E and CoCreate, the release of HyperWorks v11, a 3D chocolate printer, plus win monthly prizes in 3Dconnexion’s new design challenge

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YOUR DEVELOP3D Tell us what you think. This month: Lego submarines and whether students should be taught draughting skills

14 15 16 20 24

FEATURES Visual guide: The ultimate pint glass Back to basics: Multi-body modelling Product design showcase: At sea COVER STORY The big grunt: MINI WRC What British Design Innovation can do for you

27 32 34 39 40

REVIEWS Inventor 2012 Abaqus 6.11 Solid Edge ST4 InterPro IPW-SB [i7] and Cryo Nano workstations Workstation Specialists WSX4 and RS-D2600

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DEVELOP3D SERVICES

45

DEVELOP3D JOBS

50

THE LAST WORD Martyn Day ponders the benefits of today’s design systems PLUS

The wood used to produce this magazine comes from Forest Stewardship Council certified well-managed forests, controlled sources and/or recycled material

SIEMENS PLM VELOCITY SERIES AND SOLID EDGE SUPPLEMENT FREE DEVELOP3D SUSTAINABILITY

FOR ALL THE LATEST PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT JOBS TURN TO PAGE 45 OR VISIT JOBS.DEVELOP3D.COM

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NEWS NEWS

PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT NEWS

PTC BRINGs next generation product offering to market with creo launch Âť PTC finally puts its money where its mouth is, shows off the replacement for both Pro/E and CoCreate and ships Creo. Al Dean looks at how it works and what it means

J

une is PTC's annual stateside user jamboree. This year it was held in the epicentre of all things "convention", Las Vegas. And now that the cat has been firmly let out of the bag with regards Project Lightning or as it's now known, Creo, what better time for the company to show the faithful what it had up its collective sleeve.

What PTC has shown is that Creo is essentially a single platform, predominately based on history/feature/parametric modelling engine from Pro/Engineer, but which has two key user experiences. For those old Pro/E hands, the system will feel familiar, albeit with a shiny new interface.

Creo Parametric is essentially Pro/E in a new suit of clothes and with new key enhancements across the board (look out for a good rundown of what it can do in a forthcoming issue). It's parametric and history based as you'd expect.

Creo Direct, on the other hand, follows the CoCreate direct editing modelling methodology. There are no features and no history visible to the user. In Creo Direct, direct manipulation of geometry is the order of the day.

Where things get clever is how the two interoperate. Imagine building a part in Creo

Direct, using all the drag and drop goodness you'd expect from a direct modelling system.

Now open it in Creo Parametric. What you would expect is a part that's dumb, no intelligence, just raw geometry. What you actually get is a full feature and history of the operations required to make that part as it stands - all of which can be edited.

If you work it the other way around and start with a history/parametric part built using discreet features in Creo Parametric, then open it in Creo Direct, the same happens. Yes, the Creo Direct user can make their edits, shift, delete, rotate faces, add geometry and make design changes where needed. But if you then open that back in Creo Parametric, hey presto!, there is an appended history tree that details the things they've done.

This is where PTC has done something interesting. Beneath all the talk of the need for both parametric (or more accurately speaking, history-based) modelling alongside direct editing, what the team has done is hide (very cleverly I might add) the fact that while Creo Direct works like a direct modelling system, under the hood, it's still creating features and history. As a result, you should have robust modelling operations as you pass data between the two flavours. Yes, the history tree may expand

dramatically depending on the direct edits, but it should be very robust nonetheless.

Alongside insight into the core two modelling tools, PTC also showed off the various apps that will make up the first release. From Creo View for view/markup based on its ProductView technology, through Creo layout for schematic layout and into the realms of Creo Illustrate for technical publications.

PTC is also getting in on the free software bandwagon, offering its Creo Sketch tools to all. Something that only Autodesk currently addresses in terms of industrial design specific tools with the SketchBook products.

Lots to look at but, for now, it seems like PTC is back in the game with a refreshed and revitalised product set. www.ptc.com

(Above) Creo Parametric will replace Pro/Engineer with immediate effect (Below) Creo Direct will eventually replace CoCreate once parity of capability is reached between the two systems

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NEWS

Wider expansion of hyperworks at bombardier

Objet reveals multi-material 3D printer

T

» Bombardier Aerospace selects HyperWorks for modelling of airframes and conducting finite element analysis

A

ltair Engineering, a global provider of simulation technology and engineering services, has signed an agreement with Montréalbased Bombardier Aerospace under which the aircraft manufacturer will expand its use of the HyperWorks suite of computer-aided engineering tools.

Bombardier Aerospace has been using Altair’s solutions since 2007 and under the new agreement it will expand the use of HyperMesh and HyperView for finiteelement modelling of aircraft structures, from the component level to the full aircraft.

In addition, it will also use OptiStruct and HyperStudy to optimise aerospace structural designs for weight reduction, robust design and design efficiency.

"HyperWorks will offer Bombardier

Aerospace a new level of productivity and efficiency," says Altair’s executive director of global aerospace, Bob Yancey. "The unique simulation, optimisation and rapid modelling technologies within HyperWorks will aid Bombardier in developing more efficient designs while bringing its products to market more rapidly."

In other news, Altair also recently announced the release of HyperWorks v11.

Highlights of HyperWorks v11 include the addition of two new software products to the HyperWorks suite; AcuSolve, a computational fluid dynamics (CFD) flow and multi-physics solver, and solidThinking, a 3D conceptual modelling and visualisation software. It also offers a greatly extended breadth of solver solutions in the RADIOSS finite element solver. www.altair.com | www.bombardier.com

With expanded use of HyderWorks it is hoped that Bombardier’s engineers will develop more efficient designs more rapidly

The recently launched Objet260 Connex is based on a patented inkjet 3D printing technology that is able to jet two materials at the same time. Users can create prototypes containing distinct material elements such as rigid walls with flexible joints or models combining transparent and opaque parts.

"The Objet260 Connex brings our multi-material 3D printing to new levels of accessibility for front-line designers and engineers who demand the highest quality prototypes and true-product representation.

And all this in a system that is quiet, reliable and small enough to run in the corner of any office," says David Reis, CEO of Objet. www.objet.com

Majenta expands product portfolio

M

ajenta Solutions recently signed an agreement with 3D software provider Geomagic to resell Geomagic Studio and Geomagic Qualify in the UK. Professionals involved in the design, reverse engineering and inspection of parts and products use Studio and Qualify to shorten time to market and improve quality, with global customers including the likes of Ford, Harley-Davidson and NASA. geomagic.com | majentasolutions.com

Designers invited to create the '3D mouse of the future'

3

Dconnexion has kicked off a global contest challenging designers and 3D enthusiasts to create the ultimate 3D mouse. Over the next three months - July, August and September – monthly prizes will be awarded for the winning designs.

“We initiated this challenge to give people the opportunity to show us their best creative thinking, whether they are using our devices day in and day out or not at all.

We’re really excited to see what creative and innovative things the community can bring to the 3D mouse,” says Antonio Pascucci,

vice president of products, 3Dconnexion.

In the design of the ‘3D Mouse of the Future’ the only element that must remain constant is the integration of 3Dconnexion’s inherent controller cap.

At the end of each month, a panel of judges will select their three favourite entries.

The first place winner will receive a SpacePilot PRO 3D mouse, the second place winner a SpaceExplorer 3D mouse and the third place winner a SpaceNavigator 3D mouse.

The nine monthly prize winners plus a community wildcard (the entry with the most “Likes” on Facebook) will be entered into the final phase of the competition

where a grand prize winner will be selected by a public vote.

The grand prize winner will receive a custom workstation, up to a $5,000 value.

www.3dconnexion.com/challenge

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NEWS

Proto Labs delivers brass prototype parts

ROUND UP

roduct designers can order short-run prototype parts in brass from Firstcut, a service provided by Proto Labs. Truly functional prototype CNC machined brass parts will be available in just one to three days.

Customers upload their CAD models to Proto Labs’ secure servers via the website to receive a FirstQuote: a fully interactive and firm-cost analysis that also contains detailed information for optimising the part design

Delcam has launched the first version of its PowerINSPECT inspection software for use on 64-bit computers. This will be of benefit for more memoryintensive applications where larger CAD files need to be manipulated, especially for complex parts and multicomponent assemblies www.delcam.com

P

for manufacturing. As soon as the customer places an order, Firstcut’s proprietary software - running on a purpose-built, powerful compute cluster, automatically produces the tool paths required to program the CNC machines.

This fast and automated system eliminates non-recurring engineering costs and delays, making it an affordable process for quantities of between one and ten parts. www.protolabs.co.uk www.firstcut.eu/gb

Design and print your objects in chocolate

I

n a project managed by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) the principles of 3D printing has been applied to chocolate for the first time. Using new digital technology the printer allows you to create your own designs on a computer and reproduce them physically in three dimensional form in chocolate.

The project is being led by the University of Exeter in collaboration with the University of Brunel and software developer Delcam.

Chocolate is not an easy material to work with because it requires accurate heating and cooling cycles. These variables then have to be integrated with the correct

flow rates for the 3D printing process.

Researchers overcame these difficulties with the development of new temperature and heating control systems.

"What makes this technology special is that users will be able to design and make their own products. In the long term it could be developed to help consumers custom- design many products from different materials but we’ve started with chocolate as it is readily available, low cost and non-hazardous,” says research leader Dr Liang Hao, at the University of Exeter. “There is also no wastage as any unused or spoiled material can be eaten of course!” www.epsrc.ac.uk www.delcam.com

From reproducing the shape of a child's toy to a friend's face, the possibilities of the newly developed 3D chocolate printer are endless

BAE Systems' engineers support UK Sport

S

ince 2008 BAE Systems has given more than 15,000 hours of engineering time and expertise to over 140 British athletes in a partnership with UK Sport, the UK's high performance sports agency.

One of the biggest successes has included wheelchair racing where the wind tunnel, normally reserved for testing Eurofighter Typhoons, has been used to examine the wheelchair's aerodynamic flow in order to highlight its optimal racing position. www.baesystems.com

Autodesk has announced that Autodesk Inventor Publisher will now be available on Android devices via the free Inventor Publisher Mobile Viewer app. Users can now have important product information and instructions at their fingertips wherever they go www.autodesk.com

CD-adapco has announced the latest release of STAR-CCM+ version 6.04.

Amongst the new and enhanced features is a new model to predict the formation and transport of a thin liquid film on a solid surface, and its subsequent stripping and break-up under aerodynamic forces. www.cd-adapco.com

SolidWorks has unveiled its newest software for the education sector, SolidWorks Education Edition 2011-2012. The product combines tools for simulation, sustainable design and motion, enabling both students and educators to create a robust classroom experience www.solidworks.com

CGTech is now offering a new tool for communicating and collaborating with other people outside of the NC programming department. With the new VERICUT Reviewer, shop floor personnel and other production engineers can view 3D animations of the CNC machining process www.cgtech.com

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NEWS

3d scanning technology creates bespoke fairings

A

mongst the winners of the 2011 International Design Excellence Awards (IDEA), an annual awards scheme by the Industrial Designers Society of America (IDSA), was Bespoke Innovations, which scooped a gold award for Bespoke Fairings.

Created for amputees, Bespoke Fairings are specialised coverings that surround an existing prosthetic leg, accurately recreating the body form through a process that uses 3D scanning to capture the unique leg shape. The customer can then customise the fairing to express their personal style and taste.

Bespoke Innovations, was founded in San Francisco in 2009 by an industrial designer and an orthopaedic surgeon whose mission was to bring more humanity to people who have congenital or traumatic limb loss.

"We are proud to be part of the movement towards individualised medicine, and a leader in bringing a more personal approach to the way a broad spectrum of medical devices are developed and used," says Scott Summit, co-founder.

The process starts off by using imagebased 3D scanning technology to capture images of both the 'sound side' leg and the prosthetic leg. "We use GeoMagic software for all of the point cloud and surfacing.

We can't speak highly enough about that application," says Summit. A 3D model is then created using a combination of Pro/E and 3DS Max and a mirrored 'sound side' leg is then superimposed over the prosthetic leg.

Next comes the design, which is directed

Bespoke Innovations' process is paving the way for more products to be created 'on demand'

by the customer who personalises their fairing by selecting from an array of form templates, patterns, tattoos, materials, metal plating and graphics. The parts are then 3D printed on a 3D Systems Sinterstation Pro or HiQ machine using selective laser sintering. The leather is wrapped by hand when the parts call for it. www.bespokeinnovations.com www.geomagic.com

Partnership delivers 3D printing service

D

assault Systèmes has announced that the 260,000+ users of its 3DVIA. com community can now order online 3D-printed versions of their digital 3DVIA-hosted models through the 3D printing web service, Sculpteo.

Users simply click the “Send to Sculpteo 3D Print” button on their own 3DVIA model’s view page, specify the size they wish to print and choose a white, black or full-color print option. Final printed models are shipped directly to their mailboxes. www.3dvia.com www.sculpteo.com

Workstation Specialists launches brand new family

W

orkstation Specialists (WS) has launched a brand new range of high performance computing solutions, which are split across desktop, deskside and rack-mounted.

The company’s new 3D workstation range is available with one or two CPUs, 4GB to 192GB RAM and one to four GPUs to suit even the most demanding of workflows.

Prices start from £850.

WS has also introduced a new desktop or deskside computing solution designed specifically to offload complex multi-threaded workflows, such as rendering. The Intel Xeonbased RS-D product (pictured above on top of a WSX4 workstation) can be paired with any workstation to act as a compute ‘node’ to enable users to continue with their normal workload without a performance penalty.

Multiple RS-D systems can be linked together to form a small cluster or render farm. Prices start from approximately £1,500. WS is currently offering free no obligation trials on its new products.

Meanwhile, turn to page 40 for a full review of the new WSX4 and RS-D2600. www.workstationspecialists.com

It’s like holding the 3D model in your hand A 3D Mouse revolutionises the way you work with your 3D applications. Increase productivity, enhance performance, enjoy comfort.

Find out more

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10 JULY / AUGUST 2011 DEVELOP3D.COM 3dx-advert-develop3d-190x55-en-v5.indd 1

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FEEDBACK

Your DEVELOP3D

Âť Tell us what you think. This month: 3D printing, Lego submarines, Inventor Fusion and a raft of opinions shared on our LinkedIn group about the teaching of draughting skills three new pieces of software - 3DVIA Shape, 123D and Photofly.

I work for the Design and Technology Association introducing secondary schools to CAD/CAM. We mainly use Creo Elements/ pro, ArtCAM and SpeedStep (2D graphics and 3D simulations for Textiles). We are also encouraging the use of 3D printing in schools (Dimension and Rapman).

Our website (still in the process of being populated) is www.digitaldandt.org where you will find details of electronics in schools as well.

John Myerson

Got an opinion on anything that has (or has not) appeared in the magazine?

Want to respond to anything written here? Let us know what you think Greg Corke greg@develop3d.com Twitter @develop3d Web develop3d.com LinkedIn DEVELOP3D group Letters may be edited

Revolution is in the air!

Comment June 2011 Great article Martyn however, it would have been nice if you'd also mentioned other funding platforms open to project developers lacking US citizenship and a US bank account - both key requirements of raising funds using kickstarter.com. indiegogo.com for example, is one of a number of platforms open to the rest of us who aren't able to use kickstarter.com.

Vive la home-baked revolution!

Hamish Mead Lego Submarine! You were lucky, we built our submarine from an old Pit-Prop, plastic tube, and two squeezy washing up liquid bottles. Mind you, it did go up and down. It had two 6" nails that looked like two torpedoes leaving the front. Think of the 'African Queen' and you have the basic idea. In fact, when the tube came off it allowed us to blow air into the bottles and if it was left in the pond, it rolled over and looked just like the African Queen when Bogart was about to be hung. Happy days.

Paul Cooper I am grateful for your article in June's DEVELOP3D as it has introduced me to

Inventor 2012: Form Edit with Inventor Fusion Blog June 2011 I want to like Fusion, I really do but it is massively CPU/GPU hungry and consequently has been very slow and buggy on the machines I have tried it on (even my 1GB GPU work machine). It's a good product, but I guess it is waiting for the hardware to catch up.

Opening Fusion from Inventor is a complete fudge. I look forward to this being improved in future releases.

Paul Munford Read more opinions on this blog post at tinyurl.com/D3Dfusion

ON develop3d's LINKEDIN group Q: Should kids studying design and technology (in schools/colleges/universities), be taught hand draughting skills?

A: I think the term 'draughting' is a bit outdated now. I did it at school and then at university, whilst concurrently using AutoCAD release 2 to learn 'CAD'! As a skill it never inspired me, but I do think that the ability to accurately produce a drawing of a design you wish to produce is a worthy skill...and the first steps to creating that 'design' should go from

brain to hand to paper. No matter how skilled the operator or how slick the CAD platform, there is nothing that can quite beat the creative investigation of the pencil line - be it squiggled or ruled.

Russel Beard, Okoqu A: There is always a need for hand draughting skills when in the workshop, or at a client's desk, or for discussions over a coffee etc.

The fact that I can use a small scale rule and clutch pencil in this sort of environment to simply throw ideas on the table certainly encourages discussion and has allowed for development of a design. To that end, I think that 'old style' draughting skills should be taught just as much as the apprenticeship style schemes where junior designers get to spend time in the workshop or construction site to learn hands-on skills.

Keith Hetherington A: I'm with the old school engineers on this one. BS 308 (BS8888) should be the foundation for anyone coming into engineering and I think schools should go through the whole process: drawing board, 2D, 3D, rendering, rapid prototyping etc. This way the kids might see that engineering is actually exciting and they will also know the roots. I have given a class at my kid's school and they were blown away, the teacher was even interested!

Mike Watkins, Autodesk To join our LinkedIn group and take part in discussions visit tinyurl.com/D3DLinkedin

ON TWITTER Reading current @develop3d issue on my iPad; feeling fancy! @derrekcooper Just got my copy of @develop3d, its a thing of beauty this month & free stuff stuck to the front...well done guys #spoiledrotten @cadjobhunter

12 JULY / AUGUST 2011 DEVELOP3D.COM

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13/07/2011 11:33

VISUAL DESIGN GUIDE The ULTIMATE PINT GLASS With 87,000 violent incidents involving glassware in Britain each year Arc International has launched a new glass design to help save the traditional British pint Crime fighter

One of the initiatives in the Government’s Design Out Crime project, which is overseen by the Design Council, is fighting alcohol related crime. Launched in 2009 the aim was to design a safer pint glass in the hope of reducing the costs of glassware injuries and assaults in the nations bars and pubs. Arc International was the only glass manufacturer (with its glass brand Arcoroc) to be involved, from the beginning, in the initial project handled by Londonbased design consultancy Design Bridge www.the-ultimate-pint.co.uk

design Design Bridge created the model in Alias, working within the parameters set by Arc’s material specifications. Angles have been rounded into soft curves to allow any violent shock created by the glass being hit against another surface to travel throughout the glass with little resistance. The 3D data is finally refined by Arc using SolidWorks for the moulding production process

material It’s still glass, although it’s been toughened to an extent that it’s five times stronger than usual. The material is also optimised for high resistance to thermal and mechanical shock, yet utilises Stress Fracture Management to ensure if broken the entire glass shatters into blunt fragments

break up Glasses are frighteningly effective weapons – usually as a result of the bases not breaking, leaving razor-sharp blades of glass protruding from them. The idea was to have a glass that would only break if a large amount of force was used and, if it did break, would smash into thousands of small, blunt and harmless pieces

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prOtOtYping

All material and prototyping work was down to Arc , using its glass specific FEA software and moulding experience. The design was dependent on a consistent wall thickness from the lip down to the base to help move the stress of a drop down to the base, in turn exploding the base into harmless fragments

BACK TO BASICS: MULTI-BODY MODELLING Multi-body modelling. What’s that, having a stand in for a photo-shoot?

Umm. Not quite. It’s a modelling methodology from back in the day. In short, most 3D design systems allow you to hold multiple discreet and disconnected solid bodies in a single part file. It gives you the ability to model complex geometry across multiple components without all that assembly modelling nonsense.

OK. I’m down with that. What’s the benefit?

the eXperienCe

THeavier than a traditional glass it feels great in the hand, and with its more rounded base and lack of ‘stacking bulge’, it’s still as easy to empty

The ability to have those complex parts, in a single file lets you play with form and work in context, without having to open separate part files or sub-assemblies. You can build up complex relationships, often referred to as in-context design, with ease.

So why don’t I just use in-context and assembly level modelling?

fOr the landlOrd

Landlords can still stack glasses, clean them in hygienically hot glass washes, and cool them for use without worrying about weakening the structure and a glass causing them injury. The design still maintains a ‘head booster’ nucleation point at its bottom for a frothy head

reCYCle

The benefits of it being 100% glass is that it not only keeps the punters happy but it’s also 100% recyleable

priCe

Alcohol related violence costs the NHS £2.7billion and thousands of people are left with gruesome physical injuries, not to mention the mental effects that such an attack can cause. Hopefully Design Out Crime projects such as the Ultimate Pint Glass will help reduce figures all round

I can’t argue with your point, but when you’re working on a complex product, particularly where form is a key driver, it’s often handy to start with a solid block or two and work down from there. The ability to model subtractive features such as details and cut outs in a positive sense then remove them from the part, can give you benefits over building subtractive features. They can be reused as you simply copy and move the geometry into position and cut it out as a tool-body (though terminology might change for your particular system).

That makes sense. What about when I want to create individual part files and such for Bill of Materials (BOM) and for transitioning into a managed workflow?

Most systems now allow you to take a multibody based ‘part’ file and split it out into discreet proper individual part files. Those then link back to the original and any design changes can be propagated pretty efficiently.

If you have an exciting new product that you’d like to put forward for our visual design guide please contact stephen@develop3d.com frame and engine model courtesy of terry stonehocker via grabcad.com

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STAR OF THE SEA

T

here are superyachts, and then there are superyachts; and even with our limited knowledge we can tell that the Adastra falls into the latter category.

Looking like something normally assigned the tag ‘concept idea’, this 42.5m trimaran with more than a hint of sci-fi spacecraft about it, is currently being built in China for a very lucky (and we assume rather wealthy) owner.

The result of more than five years of design, it is the outstanding work of Sussex-based John Shuttleworth Yacht Designs.

“The challenge of turning this concept into a viable luxury yacht has led us to further research and to develop new thinking on stability and comfort at sea for this type of craft,” explains owner John Shuttleworth.

“We have undertaken a state-of-the-art structural analysis of all the major components in the yacht in order to achieve the light weight required for very low fuel consumption. This has resulted in a exceptional vessel that is nearing completion in China.”

The Adastra offers comfortable accommodation for nine guests and up to six crew members.

Almost every part of the craft is custom built:

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the superstructure is carbon fibre with Nomex honeycomb core, the hull is a glass and kevlar foam sandwich and the interior features oak cabinetry using honeycomb panels. Carbon fibre hatches, portlights, ladders and even hinges, are all built specifically for the vessel.

Siemens NX design software was used throughout the whole design process, including conceptual design, hull fairing and detailing, structural design, interior design and superstructure and deck gear design and detailing.

Working in 3D allowed Shuttleworth to integrate all the different phases of the design process, from conceptual design to detail drafting. It also enabled the designers to model the complex free-form surface shapes that characterise the deck superstructures, as well as more prismatic engineering forms such as structural components and deck gear.

With a maximum speed of 22.5 knots and a range of 4,000 miles at 17 knots, this multi-hulled monster is using structural design technology and aerodynamics to create the future of luxurious long range cruising. www.john-shuttleworth.com/adastra

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PROFILE

PRODUCT DESIGN SHOWCASE AT SEA » Stephen Holmes slaps on the sunscreen, puts his sailor cap on and dons his shades to see what innovations are taking place on the water

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N OW I T H I N K I N 3 D. AND MY DESIGNS JUST KEEP GET TING BET TER. With our Dimension ® 3D Printer, I know my model will represent my idea exactly.

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Sea traveller

S

ixty five years on from when it first started making dinghy fittings, British-based firm Lewmar is producing innovative equipment for modern seacraft, including its new HTX Traveller range.

A traveller is a rope that controls the sails of the boat. It is fixed to the deck by sliding onto a metal track that uses a ball race system.

Traditionally the balls can escape from this system when the track is removed. However, the new HTX Traveller encloses the ball race system while adding an additional top ball race to aid efficiency.

Updating the traditional design meant adjustments to its initial 2D AutoCAD drawings. Having explored various ideas through sketching the design was moved into Pro/Engineer Wildfire. The model was put through load testing in Pro/Mechanica before further physical prototype tests.

“First, a 100 per cent SLS rapid prototype was produced from initial design concepts, which was hand finished and painted for concept approval,” says Lewmar designer Mathew Tibbenham.

“The next unit was half rapid prototyped, half machined from solid aluminium; this was used for more functional testing.

“The first production batch was actually made using several vacuum castings while we waited for permanent injection moulding tools to be made, before finally going to full production.”

Using such 3D design methods allowed the design team to see what impact the traveller would have on the overall control system. The end result is a product capable of handle bigger loads but utilising a small number of parts and so reducing costs.

www.lewmar.com

High rolling on the high seas

S

pecialist Marine Interiors (SMI), a company of boat builders that focuses on designing luxurious living spaces for life at sea, usually remotely designs and manufactures the interiors from its base in Whangarei, New Zealand, to be delivered to a foreign port where they are installed. However its latest project, the 31.5m MY Black Pearl, was literally on its doorstep in the city’s harbour.

SMI’s interiors are designed and manufactured in tandem with the yacht’s hull and structure, resulting in faster construction times. The crafty Kiwis have also pioneered a technique of completely isolating the interiors from any of the yacht’s mechanical structure. “Using a multitude of fastening techniques and products any part of our interior is easily removed, allowing unplanned maintenance to be carried out behind our interiors without damaging any of our work,” says SMI’s design manager Scott Moyse.

Using a 3D model of the ship’s structure provided by the shipyard a parametric structural envelope is created using Autodesk Inventor with all of the ship’s systems accounted for during this process. This forms the rough floors, walls and ceilings of the interior space. From this the furniture designers can construct their designs, and with it being a parametric design any changes in the structure of the boat result in the furniture being modified automatically.

With the superyacht industry being rather small, most of its technology is drawn from other industries: SMI’s entire polishing process uses equipment and materials originally developed for the automotive industry; while certain yachts require lightweight materials for which the materials have their roots in the aerospace and motorsport industries.

The final product is a bespoke living quarters for you, your family and the vessel’s crew ready for your next champagne-spraying extravagance.

www.smigroup.co

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PROFILE

THE BIG G » With a bellowing, gravel-spitting fury a rally car immediately sucks in anyone with a hint of petrol in their blood. Stephen Holmes travels to Prodrive’s Oxfordshire facility to see how the MINI has been transformed into the ultimate rallying machine

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G GRUNT

The MINI WRC is powered by a 1.6-litre, four-cylinder Di turbo-charged engine

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PROFILE

T

he FIA World Rally Championship (WRC) is for the hardcore motorsport fan. It pits cars and drivers in a series of two, three or four day races that take place not only over asphalt but over the snow and ice of Sweden, or the baking sands of Jordan’s desert.

The cars competing at the top level of the sport are based on four-cylinder two-litre production models. But while they may look like your average high street car, these small hatchbacks are refitted to take on every dip, camber and roll. Regardless of the road surface they can accelerate from a standing start to 100kph in around three seconds.

New direction With nearly 27 years of experience in all types of motorsport, it’s rallying that is really at Prodrive’s heart. This race engineering company has 100 international rally wins and six World Rally Championships under its belt thanks to its previous work with Subaru.

However, despite these successes, Subaru cars were retired from the sport by the manufacturer. So, following an inevitable downsizing at Prodrive, the new business plan was to find a manufacturer that would be willing to have its hatchbacks converted into rally cars that could be sold to enthusiasts around the world. With this as the basic idea, Prodrive set about designing 3D models of potential cars.

“We started off with a ‘generic car’ that we built as much parameterisation into as we could,” says Prodrive chief design engineer Paul Doe, standing by the open bonnet of one of the first customer MINIs to roll out of its facility in Banbury, Oxfordshire. “It had to be as table-driven as it could, so from the top level we could switch between MINI and ‘Car B’ and ‘Car C’.”

Having a parametric model to work with was not new, but the need to have a 3D model that could slip between the dimensions of several possible cars using Excel data sheet tabulations was an invaluable tool at the development stage.

a range of 3D printed parts within the MINI WRC

Airfilter The lower ‘trumpet’ section on the huge airfilter was originally built as a feasibility mock-up part, with an eye to make it work for physical testing.

“We did another model a bit thicker as we weren’t too sure how durable the material was, and that ran for the first two physical tests: it never went wrong, never cracked and we were impressed by that,” comments Prodrive chief design engineer Paul Doe.

1

Having touted its wares to several possible manufacturers it became clear that BMW’s MINI was the pick of the bunch, with the German manufacturer keen to reciprocate the idea with its new Clubman model.

“This was the first car that was done 100 per cent virtually,” says Doe, appreciating that MINI gave them all its CAD data straight from the beginning, something that most manufacturers wouldn’t dream of.

Number crunching A rally car is built up around data and calculations. “If you did some sort of flow chart of what information you need to start off with it’s amazing,” says Doe. As he explains, the front edge of where the cushion of the rear seat is sets where the roll cage can be. Then the main hoop of the roll cage sets where the driver can be. This then helps set where the controls will be. Lastly, with the controls in place the configuration of the braking system can be assessed.

“This can mean completely different solutions for the cars based on slight adjustments of data,” adds Doe. Working through the design of over 3,000 components, the overwhelming majority not to be found on your standard MINI Clubman, Prodrive opted for a top-down ‘tree-style’ approach to the design process. “We set up a lot of primary data and then pass that down to

Scuttlebox This is like an airfilter for the passenger ventilation. Within it is a labyrinthine passage way to restrict any rainwater or other bits of debris from coming into the car. The complex nature meant it could be built as a single piece rather than five carbon fibre parts, with the extra expense that five sets of moulding would cost.

Rear arch extender The motorsport governing body took a dislike to the MINI’s rear wheel arch: designed with an open rear to drag out hot air to help cool the rear brakes, they judged it illegal on the first of two days of examination.

Lips were printed off overnight stuck in place so, on the inspector’s return the following day, it was there and passed on the spot.

the assemblies below.

“We’re a much smaller unit [than when working with Subaru] and are very coherent in how we’re doing things,” explains Doe. “Where you have the engine and the gearbox - two major streams of work - the main skeleton at the top is driving all of that and it’s that which says where the engine is and where the gearbox is.”

“Because those tables are managed in PLM it allowed decent visibility for everyone as to what we were doing and how we were going to do it, and it made sure everyone was doing things in the same kind of way.”

Utilising PTC’s Windchill PLM system to run and organise the project helped keep everything in line and on schedule. “I would never want to be without it now, it’s another piece of technology that we’ve adopted for this project from the beginning, and it’s been another success,” says Doe. “We’ve had a master model of the car, so everyone’s working off the same model and nobody’s overwriting anyone else’s work because it’s all controlled.”

As the team had more time to work on the car they were able to run FEA analysis through HyperWorks on the designs before they were signed off for manufacture. “We have 12 load cases. They’re not real events, they’re generic events: a single wheel bump case with over 10G, then we see the effects,

Bonnet air grill/ vent shields Only a few hours before the official launch of the cars to the world, BMW required a styling adjustment - a grill over the bonnet vent. A last minute print off done just in time, which was later amended for strength.

Computer screen holder Customisable for height for each driver, this tray holds the information screen linked to the car’s ‘brain’. Drivers want it where they can see it and engineers want it low down for weight distribution - the printable case helps find the perfect compromise.

Speedometer/rev counter Specially designed to be a product straight off the Dimension printer it consists of a large LCD display for showing gear/revs and it’s internal wiring components.

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fit?’ and all of those things.”

A giant drawer full of parts prototyped on the team’s Dimension SST1200es printer from its UK supplier Laser Lines is testament to how many iterations the team went through.

Instead of making it in five carbon pieces and then bonding them together, resulting in five patterns and moulds, we just design it and send it to the printer and it’s there and it works.”

Mainly the parts sent to the printer are those that don’t carry loads. The cars have a lot of The race is on rugged components, but also have a lot of With the MINI now successfully through parts that have no real stress on them that still its development stage, BMW increased its need to be made somehow. deal with Prodrive to include an official “A lot of the time we can’t justify not using MINI WRC Team entry into the World Rally At your service it, which is odd!” states Doe. “We’re reaching Championships for 2011. “We all wanted One thing that sets rallying apart from other a point of machine capacity now - there’s not there to be a factory rally team because it’s forms of motorsport is the need to be able often that the machine is sat idle, even though what creates the visibility and it really boosts to service just about everything on them in we’re fully through the prototyping phase.

20-30 minutes (a full gearbox can be replaced the project,” says Doe. Now the machine is being utilised more than The amount of work that goes into each in little more than five minutes), with the only it was during the development phase. of the eight factory and 20 customer cars is parts not allowed to be changed being the “We have jobs that finish in the middle of incredible, preparing each bodyshell takes body shell and engine. the night and we’ve got 24 hour security, so hundreds of hours alone. To speed this up “It’s not just a case of making the car fast Direct Digital Manufacturing (DDM) became we’ve trained all the guys on security how to and cheap and all these things, but you’ve swap the [printer build] plates over because a new buzz term around the workshops, got to make it maintainable, which is where it’s easy. You can send a print job over at and thanks to initial testing, the parts physical mock ups come in,” says Doe. 10pm from home, see that it’s finished and built through the FDM (Fused Deposition BMW sent the team a bodyshell and call up the guys and ask them to swap it over, Modelling) technology were deemed strong Prodrive installed a secondhand engine to and send transform it into a physical mock-up for hands-on testing using the CAD model as We’ve had a master model of the car, so everyone’s through next job guidance. “You can do it virtually, but if you working off the same model and nobody’s overwriting the so the next want to optimise everything you can’t escape anyone else’s work because it’s all controlled morning it’s a physical mock-up,” states Doe. finished.”

Under the bonnet the rally model is barely Prodrive chief design engineer Paul Doe This has related to its road-going cousin: a giant turbo grown to the extent that the car now has is bolted onto the engine to raise 300bhp, its enough to go straight into the cars. a full parts list that is solely built on its dry-sump engine is much lower and further With only eight factory team cars, the Dimension printer. back in the bay, new ancillaries, manifolds, air duct covers, grills and breakers are all cooling systems , suspension turrets and built up on the Dimension machine saving stiffness braces are all positioned precisely for the time and cost of expensive tooling and New lease of life weight distribution and ease of access . moulding. For Doe and the rest of the team As we step away from examining the printer Rapid prototyping meant that parts for the it proved a short term solution that ended up in the midst of another job, the two factory mock-up engine bays could all be printed off being reliable enough to run with for real. team cars are wheeled into the workshop and physically positioned well before the real “Sometimes it’d be ‘we need something to fresh from competition in the Sardinian leg mechanics had even arrived from the factory. go in here’ but it wasn’t really possible to get of the WRC. At well over £300,000 each, these “We could have three or four different something made, so we’d model something are specialist race bred machines with a fine set ups and print the parts on the rapid up on the CAD and fire one off on the pedigree coming from Prodrive, yet with an prototyping machine, bolt them to the machine, in some cases in just a couple of exciting future in the WRC thanks to the engine and build it up as an active engine hours, and have it fitted in the same night,” groundbreaking way in which the team is bay and [the technicians] could start to spot explains Doe. using the latest materials and technologies in problems,” says Doe. “We’d ask them to come “You can make a design that’s completely their design. and look at the CAD but they’d prefer to be ‘unmanufacturable’ by normal methods, www.minimotorsport.com touching, holding: ‘does the tool articulation or at least not practically ‘manufacturable’. www.prodrive.com then we add that load case plus going through a corner, and then a pure cornering,” says calculations engineer Jonathan Culwick.

“I don’t think you could find an event or stage and say ‘there it is - those are the conditions we’ve modelled’. What I think you could do is say that these provide a ‘window’ where the car operates, and we protect the car in that ‘window’.”

‘‘

’’

2

3

1 The 2011 World Rally Championships ●

has seen the new MINI WRC compete in a number of races

2 Prodrive used PTC’s Windchill PLM ●

system to run and organise the project 3 ●

The black display panel inside the car is made from carbon fibre

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PROFILE

The future needs

» Trade organisation, British Design Innovation, is on a recruitment drive for industrial designers. Tanya Weaver reports on what’s on offer for new members

I

ndustrial designers are often accused of not shouting loudly enough about what they do. They while away their time under mountains of project work in their consultancy studios or within in-house teams with no one really realising what it is they do. But you only need to read the articles written in this magazine to see how an investment in design can positively impact a company’s bottom line. Strategic design can be used as a competitive advantage to reduce costs, increase profits and lead to growth.

One organisation that aims to shout loudly on behalf of industrial designers, service designers and innovation professionals is British Design Innovation (BDI). Founded in 1993, BDI is an independent not-for-profit organisation financed by its members and managed by 30 regional board directors. In January the BDI’s chief executive Maxine Horne, who had been at the helm for 17 years, stepped down to pursue her new business venture, Creative Barcode. Following her departure, the board, led by Gus Desbarats as chairman, restructured the management around a more active board, supported by a small management team, who then proceeded with a major change programme.

All change Following these changes, Desbarats, who is also chairman of design consultancy TheAlloy, is calling out for new members to join. “We are the only national trade body to specifically support the contribution of industrial and service designers and others in the innovation space. BDI wants new members to lead the British vanguard,” he says.

A platform that enabled the BDI to reach out to industrial designers was the inaugral Product Design and Innovation (PD+I)

conference, which recently took place in London. In the BDI session - ‘Raising the Profile of Product Design’ - Desbarats, together with two fellow BDI directors, highlighted the need for a stronger voice for industrial and service design in the UK and to promote the role the BDI is playing to raise the profile and perceived value of all designers in this space.

Desbarats stressed that although industrial designers are a minority by number compared to other designers, they are very influential.

“While the industrial design sector represents only 20 per cent of the UK’s £15 billion commercial design industry, it generates 80 per cent of its value,” he explained.

Desbarats also emphasised that the BDI national board has no intention of turning into a cosy closed shop. “For the first time we have a constitution that clearly states that the national board will serve limited terms and be elected by the members. There will be a three-year term limit (maximum two terms) for national directors,” he stated.

In practice

Following Desbarats, Les Stokes founding partner of LA Design and national director for BDI, talked about the ELGA LabWater’s PURELAB flex project (bottom right) whilst Steve May-Russell, managing director of Smallfry and West Midlands regional director of BDI, presented a case study on the Metrasens FerroGuard metal detection Product vs industrial design system demonstrating how strategic design He was also clear that the organisation is enabled the client to significantly reduce representing industrial design as opposed manufacturing costs and increase turnover. to product design as he feels the latter is too narrowing. He argues that industrial design is “This project clearly demonstrates what industrial designers can do. We can help the a more broadly-based strategic offer. Its skills manufacturing industry get back on its feet,” set extends beyond traditional object creation said May-Russell. “People have woken up to the skills to include, amongst other things, strategic importance of using industrial design innovation strategy, ethnographic research and its not just slapping lipstick on a pig.” skills, brand narrative, software design, He urged new members to join saying, “The service system design, implementation BDI is a collaborative network of fired up, feasibility, specification and sourcing. supportive strategic thinkers. I think it’s time He went on to discuss the BDI 2011 Change Plan outlining how the organisation that we recognise that no one of us is as good as all of us, we have far more to gain from intends to expand the profile, status and influence of its members and promote better working together.”

Desbarats drew the session to a close with a knowledge trading opportunities to the wider world. For the industrial design consultancy final recruitment pitch. “This is a call to every product, interaction and service designer in sector, BDI’s core audience, there is a new the country, and anyone who wants to work and enhanced package of promotional with us, to join our community and help us benefits, service delivery improvements help you all. We also want to invite anyone and a revised fee structure, which will be keen to engage with industrial designers to cofrozen for two years. In addition, two new create great experience-led innovation to get in membership categories have been created that benefit in-house industrial design teams touch too,” he concluded. and other individuals. www.britishdesigninnovation.org

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Gus Desbarats, chairman of British Design Innovation

THE difference industrial design CAN make As part of the BDI session at the Product Design and Innovation conference Les Stokes, founding partner of design consultancy LA Design and national director of the BDI, took to the stage to present the ELGA PURELAB flex case study. It was a cocreation presentation with the client Lee Underwood, head of engineering at ELGA LabWater Global Operations.

The pair demonstrated how a highly successful collaboration not only creates commercial advantage but can also change the culture of a manufacturing company and its attitude towards industrial design.

Flex is the world’s first standalone ultrapure water system, small enough to fit on every scientist’s bench. It provides local and accurate

measured dispensing, eliminating transportation from a central source and eradicating contamination, spillage and water waste by overfilling.

Stokes and Underwood explained how the flex project was driven by commercial necessity and required significant research and innovation to develop a strong brand. This included the product platform, user manuals, packaging and digital video promotional material.

The results have disrupted the market, increased sales and elevated ELGA’s status as a manufacturing organisation within the Veolia Water group of companies. “Previously, ELGA had viewed external industrial design input as a cosmetic enhancement for tried and tested solutions - the

company now embraces design and innovation as an essential strategic business tool,” commented Stokes.

There were a number of conclusions that arose from the project. Firstly, entrenched company attitudes, which included a fear of external input, can rapidly change into a positive, well motivated force for change when successful results are properly communicated throughout the organisation. Secondly, design can be much more than a method for ‘papering over the cracks,’ when strategic thinking is paired with a ‘product champion’, in this case Underwood. “Risk taking can be highly successful with the right partnership,” concluded Stokes. www.la-design.co.uk www.elgalabwater.com

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teCHNologY for tHe produCt lifeCYCle

itY C o l ve ies & e serid edg t sol plemeN sup

SOLID EDGE ST4 DESIGN, SIMULATION AND MANUFACTURING IN PERFECT HARMONY

SYNC TECH & BOOSTING SALES COMPLEX DESIGN WITH FEMAP HOW BERNINA AG UNPICKS THE COMPLEXITY OF DEVELOPMENT

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MT-PROPELLER PUSHES BOUNDARIES WITH FEMAP

SOLID EDGE IN EDUCATION

SIEMENS PLM SOFTWARE LAUNCHES EDUCATION INITIATIVE

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sYNC teCH

iNside st 4 WItH SyNC teCHNoloGy SyNCHRoNoUS teCHNoloGy IN SolID eDGe BRINGS GReAteR FReeDom oF moDellING metHoDS tHAN HAS tRADItIoNAlly BeeN tHe CASe. We looK At tHe BeNeFItS oF tHAt FReeDom AND HoW It CAN FIt yoUR WoRKFloWS AND PRoCeSSeS

s

iemens PLM Software introduced synchronous technology to Solid Edge just a few short years ago in 2008. Since then, there have been four major revisions of Solid Edge, each bringing new updates, enhancements to existing tools and greater integration with traditional modelling methodologies.

The release of Solid Edge ST4 is no different and again, we see the development team bring more power to these tools allowing users to work in the manner they want, using the tools they deem best for the task at hand.

As the system and underlying technology has developed rapidly over the last three years, it’s perhaps worth taking a step back and looking at where synchronous technology is with the current release. On the opposite page there are six of the hottest

capabillities. The first three include the functions that are key to the whole enteprise. They feature ease of use through a highly agile user experience. Direct geometry manipulation is combined with intelligent rules and filtering to make the process sing.

Then of course, capturing of design intent again using Live Rules backed up with 3D driving dimensions placed on the model to add design intent as it’s needed.

These are the fundamentals to how synchronous technology works. Allowing users to both create and make the edits to geometry without the traditional requirements for overly complex history trees like pre-planning feature order and waiting for models to regenerate during edits.

However, over the last few releases the division between the history-based ordered methods and synchronous direct editing methods has started to blur. Solid Edge ST4 shows how the benefits of two, often opposing, methods can be integrated into a workflow to solve design problems, where needed.

For example, in Point 4 the Revolve feature creation tools follow a traditional method, with a fully detailed and dimensioned sketch.

The direct editing tools are then used to create the solid geometry.

Using a direct editing only approach, these dimensions need to be re-entered manually. What ST4 does is take those driving dimensions and tie them to the solid geometry, allowing easy editing when required using Live Sections.

Alongside the modelling technology advances, Solid Edge is also gaining more and more simulation tools that allow the user to predict the performance of products before getting anywhere near the physical prototyping stage, or indeed, even removing it entirely. New tools for this release allow the use of highly efficient mid-plane simulation techniques and combine them with a solid mesh where appropriate, backed up with industry standard NX Nastran solving to build adaptable accurate studies.

Later in the supplement you can read how MT-Propeller is using Solid Edge, FEMAP and NX Nastran to deliver higher quality aerospace products and boosting its business as a result. www.siemens.com/solidedge

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sYNCHroNous teCHNologY: siX of tHe best 1

steeriNg wHeel - eAsY editiNg & CreAtioN

robust model iNtegritY & live rules

One impressive feature of Solid Edge with synchronous technology is the ability to just grab geometry regardless of creation order and modifying it directly. Models hold together even though relationships were not defined during the process.

A unique concept in synchronous technology is Live Rules. This capability automatically finds and maintains geometric conditions during a drag or even a dimensional edit.

Historically CAD systems required even the most obvious geometric conditions to be called out with constraints so changes outside that definition couldn’t be done. With Live Rules the system is now smart enough to recognise conditions

3

fAster iNtelligeNt AssemblY desigN Solid Edge ST4 also includes new assembly relationships that help designers build assemblies faster, while preserving design intent during edits or animations. New capabilities inside the Steering Wheel provide

5

options to automatically reuse assembly relationships present on existing parts or sub assemblies during a copy/move or copy/rotate operation.

such as concentric, tangent, symmetric, horizontal, vertical and even co-planar and keep those conditions during edits. Imagine grabbing a “child” feature like a hole and moving it into position to meet a pin or shaft, but have the rest of the model react predictably.

desigN iNteNt & 3d driviNg dimeNsioNs

With traditional CAD systems, intent can’t be captured until geometry exists. The example here shows how the position of a hole in the left image can’t be maintained as features are added in the centre image. Solid Edge with synchronous technology lets users add 3D driving dimensions anywhere at any time, so design requirements can be established as needed (illustrated in the far right image).

4

Shafts are common parts in machinery and equipment. New synchronous technology capabilities in ST4 facilitate faster creation and editing of revolved features. The general workflow for the revolved command has been simplified so that the Steering Wheel can be used to drag the rotation from any convenient axis.

Handy options give access to finite, symmetric or a full 360° revolved extent.

For precise and immediate editing, Live Sections are created automatically, transferring dimensions defined in 2D to the editable Live Section on the 3D model.

Quickly develop 3D models with tremendous flexibility iterating alternative design scenarios. To speed the process, sketching and modelling are contained in a single design environment. So, after drawing you use grab and go handles to turn regions into a 3D model. Draw in 3D space or directly on the part and with sketch inferencing, intent is implied based on cursor position.

Sketches become consumed and are no longer needed because edits are ultimately made directly to the 3D model.

Upon selection of a 3D face, a special multi-purpose handle called a Steering Wheel is displayed for immediate action.

Move, rotate, or align 3D geometry by a pull or enter exact values for precise control.

2

fAst revolved feAture modelliNg

3D driving dimensions can be locked, dynamic, based on equations, and linked to spread sheets. So parts can be configured as needed using a wide variety of engineering practices. Should the intent need to be redefined, simply drag and drop a dimension from one part of a model to another. This capability virtually eliminates the need to pre-plan how models are constructed.

ideAlise ANAlYsis, mid-surfACe CreAtioN

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Users can now create and use mid-surfaces of sheet metal models during a part or assembly simulation. Mid-surfaces can be “merged” or united with solid models resulting in a combination of fast solving 2D shell and 3D solid elements.

This versatile hybrid modelling capability speeds results, while facilitating the simulation of more complex designs. Leveraging the integrated design environment in ST3, ordered features (such as mid-surfaces) can now reside in the same file as synchronous features and kept up to date during rapid design refinements. develop3d.Com

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solid edge st iN ACtioN

UNPICKING ComPlexIty

SolID eDGe WItH St PRoVIDeS tHe DIGItAl DeVeloPmeNt PlAtFoRm FoR BeRNINA’S Next-GeNeRAtIoN eQUIPmeNt AND HAS HelPeD BRING AN INNoVAtIVe SeWING AND emBRoIDeRy SyStem to tHe WoRlD mARKet

A

pioneer since 1893, Steckborn-based Bernina AG is one of Switzerland’s premium brands among Toblerone, Swatch and Rolex. It is also one of the global leaders in providing quality and precision in its sector. The company, owned by Hanspeter Ueltschi, the founder’s great-grandson, employs some 1,100 people worldwide. About 300 of them are working in Steckborn.

Target groups for Bernina’s products include quality-conscious homemakers and discriminating hobby-sewers. “Nowadays, a sewing machine is a complex, high-tech product that combines precision mechanical, electrical and electronic components, as well as software, in a confined space,” says Gérard Durville, who has been Bernina International AG’s development and design director for more than ten years.

By the end of 2008, Bernina put the model 830 on the market – a sewing and embroidery system featuring exemplary functionality and quality. To do so, the company engaged a 50-member development team, comprising engineers from software development through to quality assurance and supported by external personnel, as necessary. The team designed a platform for the company’s new generation of sewing machines. The result is a product line that is ergonomically exceptional, features touch-screen driven operations and yields significant new automation capabilities for its users.

“Recently, we intended to put a new model on the market every year,” says Durville. The company achieved this goal and continues to do so by adopting a platform strategy that promotes extensive same part usage, with the basis for that work performed by the company’s mechanical design department.

In 1995, Bernina was one of the first companies in Switzerland to implement Solid Edge. Today, the company has 17 licenses using the powerful Solid Edge with synchronous technology. “We are only able to handle such an amount of precision mechanics in a confined space via a 3D environment,” says Durville. “It is unthinkable to design such things in 2D.”

New flAgsHip : berNiNA 830

The advantages yielded by Solid Edge are especially recognisable in the Bernina 830, the company’s top model. “It is already the third product that has been entirely defined in Solid Edge,” says Alain Capt, CAD coordinator at Bernina. The entire 3D

assembly model consists of 1,500 highly detailed parts that consume about 500 megabytes of disc space. Durville adds, “When handling such complex assemblies, short waiting times for the users determine our efficiency.” By using an advanced assembly CAD technology within Solid Edge, loading only the required sections enables shorter access times. However, all part property information within the assembly is available at any time. Complete “digital mockups” are permeable and automated collision controls enable the needed design to be effectively developed in a highly confined space. Collision and motion analyses of assemblies give additional support. “Via Excel entries, we address variables in Solid Edge and examine the various motion sequences of our products,” says Capt.

The new top model includes a main drive that has to generate enough power to be able to sew more than 30 layers of fabric at a speed of up to 1,100 stitches per minute. It also has to be capable of cutting leather or balsa wood. No less than 16 stepper motors enable a scope of functionality like the transversal transport in 360-degree directional sewing, an automated needle threader, fabric transportation from top to bottom, as well as an automated swing-out, rotary hook.

iNterfACe to fem ANAlYses

During equipment operations, there can be significant forces on a number of components, making correct dimensioning enormously important. An interface between Solid Edge and a finite element solution eases structural analyses.With Dynamic Designer, an add-on product that is embedded inside Solid Edge, parts are optimised to handle accelerating forces and vibrations.

To analyse the environment for the main drive and electronic parts, thermal analyses are run in order to ensure precision and longevity. Here, the machine’s centre chassis plays an important role. This aluminum die cast part has to comply with stability, accuracy, weight, and vibration specifications.

At the same time, it has to be designed to be easily manufactured. Durville notes that Solid Edge meets high modelling requirements, explaining: “In view of functionality for freeform surfaces, Solid Edge definitely plays in the same league as other, more costly systems. As we are continually demonstrating the power of Solid Edge with synchronous technology, we are hopeful that more of our suppliers and external designers will convert to this highly productive, easy-touse tool.”

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1 Hub for suppliers

Solid Edge establishes the digital data linchpin for the globally distributed manufacturing of various sinter, stamping and die parts. More than 350 tools are designed using the 3D models created with Solid Edge. Suppliers get the information as data exchange (DXF) files, which are exported directly from Solid Edge. Based on the 3D models, cost-calculation software is employed to evaluate the costs, especially of die cast parts. After entering parameters like overall size, wall thickness, weight, number of surfaces or number of slides, the software proposes a machine for the manufacturing process and calculates estimated tool and part costs. This information is very important in defining and optimising target prices in advance.

Competitive edge secured with ST

Bernina now uses Solid Edge with synchronous technology, following a qualified implementation of the software by Siemens’ solution partner, Quadrix AG. Synchronous technology supports conventional, dimension-based or parametric working methods. It enables a user to specifically select 3D elements and make real-time modifications to them directly in the most convenient manner. “Especially during the concept stage, Solid Edge with synchronous technology is a wonderful tool for experimentation and new ideas,” says Capt.

“But also in regard to changes, for example, for foreign parts adjustment, it offers significant advantages.” Gerhard Eimer, chief executive officer at Quadrix AG, adds, “Being a pioneer, Bernina develops innovative products with innovative tools.

We engage the full functionality of Solid Edge to optimum advantage.”

Capt notes that designers are highly productive in designing sheet metal parts using synchronous technology. They are designing far faster than was possible with the previous approach and find the software substantially easier to use. With the numerous productivity gains and shorter design times enabled

by Solid Edge, Bernina has established a solid foundation for future innovation and a stronger competitive advantage.

1 Representing a ●

highly sophisticated assembly of hightech componentry within a very tight spatial setting, the Bernina 830 contains some 1,500 parts 2 The Bernina 830’s ●

main drive generates enough power to sew more than 30 layers of fabric at a speed of up to 1,100 stitches per minute

3 A CAD model of ●

the main drive

2

3

www.bernina.com

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femAp iN ACtioN

Aerobatic pilots from all around the world trust the high-tech products, as do well known suppliers of DIY aircraft. Similarly, large aircraft manufacturers recognise the tremendous benefits of MT-Propeller‘s products. The special, patented natural composite blades, consisting of a plasticised wood core, a shell of fibre-reinforced plastics, and a bonded metal erosion sheath, are lighter than aluminium blades and present excellent vibration damping characteristics. Nonetheless, they have the tensile strength of steel and are virtually impervious to material fatigue.

This is the type of five-blade propeller that was developed by MT-Propeller for RUAG Aerospace to fit into its twin-engine Dornier 228 NG commuter aircraft. As a result, a weight reduction of about 35kg was achieved, and the noise level inside and outside the passenger cabin was cut in half. Yet, the propeller-driven turboprop is now flying at a much higher rate of climb and top speed.

Run by engineers, the forward-looking company has put a lot of effort into achieving its competitive edge, which it plans to expand through further innovation.

From the development stage, through in-house manufacturing all the way to maintenance, all processes are optimised in an effort to realise perfection. The eight-member development team is able to master a multitude of variations thanks to a configurable, modular system of 28 basic patterns and about 300 different blade designs, to which new developments are constantly added. MT-Propeller achieves lofty standards of quality and precision with the use of modern computer-aided design (CAD)/computeraided manufacturing (CAM) systems, as well as finite element technology. The goal is clear: the number of prototypes must be reduced. Every single prototype means a delay of about seven weeks in lead-time.

That’s because before propeller blades can be marketed, they must undergo lengthy endurance and fatigue tests for the purpose of certification.

boostiNg busiNess witH simulAtioN driveN desigN mt-PRoPelleR DeVeloPS BetteR PRoDUCtS USING FemAP WItH Nx NAStRAN, ReDUCING PRototyPe teStING, ImPRoVING mANUFACtURABIlIty AND INCReASING ItS SAleS

e

1

ver since the advent of jet aircraft, the manufacturers of airplane propellers have dwindled in both numbers and relevance. But today, prop airliners are regaining importance, especially over short distances, such as European regional routes. They are faster, use less fuel, release less harmful emissions and are now just as quiet and vibration-free as jet engines. As one of only three remaining worldwide propeller manufacturers, MT-Propeller Entwicklung GmbH plays a major role in this trend. From Straubing Airport in Germany, it dominates the European market for aircraft propellers. Since it was established in 1981, the medium-sized engineering and manufacturing company has carved itself a dominant market share of 85 per cent in the new aircraft segment. Its average growth rate in recent years has been about 20 to 25 per cent. The company’s expansion into the significantly larger and highly important US market is now in full swing.

The MT-Propeller Group, which includes MT-Propeller Entwicklung GmbH, MT-Propeller Gerd Mühlbauer GmbH, Avia Propeller and MT-Propeller USA Inc., employs about 150 people worldwide. Its competitive edge is the result of a high level of innovation, constant enhancements and a global sales and service network.

CompetiNg witH eXCelleNCe & effiCieNCY The innovative MT natural composite propellers have been increasingly successful in the company’s target markets.

pusHiNg bACK tHe limits of mAteriAls

Being able to accurately predict interacting material behaviour is crucial when designing a propeller made of composite materials. For this, MT-Propeller has been relying on Femap software for finite element analysis (FEA) and the Nastran software solver since 1998. “Femap and NX Nastran have played a major part in the company‘s growth,” says Martin Albrecht, CEO at MT-Propeller and reigning German champion in aerobatics. “They are great tools in our business. With these tools, we are able to push material boundaries even further and what we build is thus much lighter, but just as safe.”

Femap, a CAD and solver-independent pre- and postprocessor, helps MT-Propeller identify and eliminate weaknesses at an early stage, which is a determining factor in raising product quality significantly. MT-Propeller implements the user-friendly solution on any standard Windows operating system to perform static, dynamic, linear and non-linear calculations. The stress behaviour in the propeller blade can be analysed in this way for every situation. Here, Femap is able to simulate all of the many different materials, as well as the different transitions. “Femap is a great tool in the company,” notes Albrecht. “Whoever programmed the system has to be a genius.”

The computer calculations often confirm the longstanding expertise and acquired insights of the MT-Propeller engineers – with the great advantage that those already accurate estimates are precisely validated with the help of Femap and now NX Nastran.

MT-Propeller operates its simulation and validation process with an error probability of less than one per cent. For simulation, the designers convert the 3D CAD models into a finite element modeling (FEM) version and transfer them

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2 seamlessly into Femap. This is where all the materials and the complex boundary conditions are defined. The NX Nastran solver calculates the result in just four to five hours. The solution is available quickly as a result, with any inaccuracies in the boundary conditions detected in a timely fashion. High flexibility and fast reactivity greatly reduce delays.

indentifying problems early

The Femap pre and post processor clearly demonstrated its usefulness when the bonding of steel and the composite materials on a newly launched propeller blade model came undone. While the cause was first investigated as a possible manufacturing fault, the verification using Femap with NX Nastran showed that the adhesive could not withstand the high shear stresses – a serious problem, as the series production of the blade in question was already underway.

Thanks to Femap, it was possible to figure out another composite fibre layup, which provided the solution. “Based on FEA, we were able to reduce stress by a third,“ recalls Albrecht. The result was immediately transferred to the manufacturing process. Five weeks later, the real stress testing confirmed that the solution identified with Femap was safe and entirely implementable.

Using Femap with NX Nastran, today MT-Propeller only produces one single prototype for each propeller blade, which can usually go into production without further changes. It was therefore possible to significantly reduce the already very good average of one to three prototypes. As a result, MT-Propeller achieved considerable time savings in the development stage.

The company is now 99 per cent sure that the computergenerated model will be feasible. The new development of a propeller system for the BAE Systems Jetstream 41 is current proof of the performance displayed by MT-Propeller.

In just six months, propellers were produced for the 32-seat twin engine turboprop aircraft, which operates at 600km per hour at top speed. The aircraft generates 3.2 tonnes of thrust during take-off at 1,680 horsepower – without faults and within the preset deadline. www.mt-propeller.com

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1 Martin Albrecht‘s ●

Extra 330SC was the winning aircraft at the German championship in aerobatics, 2010 2 Regional airliner ●

4

Jetstream 32 of British Aerospace

3 With finite ●

element analysis (FEA) MT-Propeller increases product quality

4 Structural ●

analysis of a propeller hub

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solid edge iN eduCAtioN

ClosiNgtHe sKills gAp & iNspiriNgtHe future of eNgiNeeriNg SIemeNS Plm SoFtWARe IS lAUNCHING A CAmPAIGN to BRING INDUStRy BeSt PRACtICe AND ReAl WoRlD INSPIRAtIoN to tHe eNGINeeRS oF tomoRRoW

e

ducation within the context of engineering and design has been something of a hot topic for many years. With a rapidly aging workforce holding the knowledge and experience combined with fewer and fewer designers and engineers entering the profession in the western world, many are concerned about how this skills gap will be bridged. Part of the fundamental problem existing today is that potential entrants into manufacturing aren’t engaged with the subject at an early age and can’t see past an often aging curriculum to a career path ahead of them.

With this in mind, Siemens PLM software has just launched Solid Edge Academic Program with the goal of not only providing educators and students with software in the form of Solid Edge and Femap, but backed up with collaboration with industrial partners to ensure that the right skills are taught. This is where its customers come into the picture.

The company is looking to its customers to provide real-world engineering best practices to help meet the manufacturing industry’s growing demand for high quality engineering graduates. The result will be a steady stream of students graduating with practical hands-on engineering experience using modern product design software.

“Our Solid Edge and Velocity Series customers produce some of the world’s most innovative products. They know how difficult it is to find and recruit new engineering graduates with the right set of skills and experience to quickly add value to their product design process,” says Karsten Newbury, senior vice president and

‘‘

bY buildiNg New eNgiNeeriNg CurriCulA ArouNd tHis KNowledge, tHe beNefits will be trulY sigNifiCANt

’’

general manager of the Velocity Series and Solid Edge business, Siemens PLM Software.

“That is why it is so important for us to work closely with the people who best know how to not only use modern product design technology, but also what it takes to effectively apply that technology to real world problems and come up with unique and creative solutions that will create value for their customers.

By building new engineering curricula around this knowledge, the benefits to the academic institutions, their students, the manufacturing industry and, of course, to our own customers will be truly significant.”

As a leading manufacturer of gear products and services, David Brown has been providing engineering expertise to a range of global industries for more than 150 years. “We have a clear vision of the future and are keen to preserve, apply and expand our vast gearing expertise to the technologies and people which will make up this future,” says Graham Penning, group technology director at David Brown.

“Working directly with our local schools and colleges to promote a stronger engineering curriculum, based on real world situations and data, has enabled us to significantly expand investments in the future of our company such as Gear Academy, our company-wide training and development programme. So, as a long time user of Solid Edge, we are very encouraged by the prospect of the new Solid Edge Academic Program.”

This initiative expands upon Siemens PLM Software’s well established GO PLM initiative, which leads the industry in the commercial value of the in-kind grants it provides. GO PLM provides PLM technology to more than one million students yearly at nearly 11,000 global institutions, where it is used at every academic level – from grade schools to graduate engineering research programs.

If you’re interested in getting involved and think it’s possible to help Siemens PLM guide the development of the next generation of designers, engineers and manufacturing specialists, then you can get in touch with the team at the following email addresses: EMEA: solidedgeacademic-emea.plm@siemens.com Americas: solidedgeacademic-am.plm@siemens.com Asia-Pacific: solidedgeacademic-ap.plm@siemens.com

CAse studY: utAH stAte uNiversitY meCHANiCAl & AerospACe eNgiNeeriNg

u

tah State University (USU) is nationally and internationally recognised for its intellectual and technological leadership in land, water, space and life enhancement.

The university has 850 faculty members who provide education for more than 25,000 undergraduate and graduate students. Known for its strength in academics, USU counts 11 Goldwater Scholars and a Rhodes Scholar among its graduates in the past ten years, as well has nine Carnegie Professors of the Year. USU is also a top-50 research institution. Amongst its various endeavours, the university owns Space Dynamics Laboratory

(SDL), a unit of the Utah State University Research Foundation.

SDL is a nonprofit research corporation charged with applying basic research to the technology challenges presented in the military and science arenas. It specialises in electro-optical sensor systems, calibration, thermal management, reconnaissance systems and small satellite technologies. In a joint effort with USU, it initiated the first student involvement program for the NASA Space Shuttle.

Both USU and SDL use Solid Edge software. USU uses Solid Edge with synchronous technology for teaching engineering students. SDL employs

Solid Edge with synchronous technology for commercial design projects.

John Devitry, CAD administrator at SDL and adjunct professor in Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering at USU, notes, “Solid Edge with synchronous technology is flat-out easier to use. You don’t get bogged down in learning the CAD system. It is a new CAD system.

Literally new – everything is different.

And in this case, new isn’t just new, but also far better.”

Devitry explains that a fair number of his students had never used CAD before. “They don’t have the biases of complex design processes built

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in,” he says. “With synchronous technology, the way they naturally think about the design is the way the software works. Prior to synchronous technology, we couldn’t cover a lot of important material because we were spending time teaching the CAD interface.”

“Now we spend more time on key engineering topics such as motion and analysis. It’s amazing how much more focus we can place on core engineering concepts because the design process isn’t getting in the way. The volume of academics in these classes has increased and will keep growing,” concludes Devitry. www.usu.edu

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REVIEWS SOFTWARE REVIEW

Autodesk Inventor 2012

» Autodesk has been pushing Inventor hard over the last few years and this release cycle is no different. Al Dean takes a look at the highlights of the 2012 release

1

I

nventor, Autodesk’s flagship software for those engaging in product development, has now been on the market for nearly ten years.

The last couple of releases have seen it go through a roller-coaster of updates, enhancement and redesigns.

These range from the underlying UI changes that see it adopt the Microsoft Ribbon user experience guidelines to the rearchitecting of the display and visualisation engine that presents models in a compelling manner and down to the core updates in how the users interact with the model.

The system now feels more responsive

to modelling and other interactions. For 2012, there is another shift upwards on the usability curve that brings all of this together to create a system that feels slick when in use. Autodesk has done a belting job of shifting the focus away from dialogs and list-style right click menu to a much more direct interaction method. Together with the standard dialogs mini-toolbars now pop up in the modelling window providing access to all of the options for a particular feature.

But the real zinger is the marking or radial menu tools, which are now standard fare.

These give a context aware selection of tools around the cursor with a command at each

» Product: Inventor » Supplier: Autodesk Price on application autodesk.com

major compass point as well as the full right click menu that users have come to expect.

I’m a big fan of these types of UI methods as they tend to become ingrained in muscle memory very quickly, making you work more efficiently.

GENERAL MODELLING UPDATES In terms of specific modelling updates, there are a few big ones for this release.

The biggest news has to be the integration between standard Inventor and Inventor Fusion. For those unaware, Inventor Fusion is Autodesk’s take on the whole direct modelling movement. Installed as a separate

WORKFLOW: QUICK FORM EDIT WITH INVENTOR FUSION

1 The original basic form for the handle in-context in ● Inventor 2012. Note, multiple bodies are used to separate the over moulded handle at the threaded insert

2 Open the part, right click on the body and select Edit Copy ● of Form. This will create a new body retaining your original.

The system then opens the geometry in Fusion

3 As you’re working on a symmetrical form, use the ● symmetry set-up tools to edit both sides of the selected planes at once. Also ideal for moulded components

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SOFTWARE REVIEW application, it gives the user access to freeform geometry editing and creation tools. It looks and feels like Inventor, but the whole thing is stripped back providing just the tools needed to make edits to geometry.

Perhaps the biggest shift is that Fusion now also includes the “Alias freeform” features, which were delivered with the last release cycle, but with a couple of key points. Firstly, while the last release required a license of Alias, this has now been removed. The second is how the workflow has changed.

Alias Freeform allows the user to edit a form using its edges and control points on those edges. While I could ramble on for pages about how beneficial these types of modelling tools are for exploring and creating form, instead we’ve put together a short workflow below.

Other key updates that are worth having in mind when exploring the new tools are extensions to other features that have been around for a while. For instance, Inventor’s been gaining high-order curvature support across a range of features. G2 (curvature continuous) fillets were introduced in the last revision and this has been extended to support G2 with variable radius fillets in 2012. This has been backed up with greater support for both patterning and mirroring of fillet features. The user is able to build cleaner models rather than having to replicate fillet features across common geometry. The lofting options also now have G2 continuity when working in suitable conditions such as building a loft off existing edges, obviously.

1 New marking ● menus provide access to a context sensitive list of most commonly required operations and options 2 The new G2 ● (curvature continuous) variable radius fillet options with the new minitoolbars in effect 3 Inventor’s ● visualisation engine continues to be developed. Now including realtime rendering at the hit of a button. (Frame and Engine model courtesy of Terry StoneHocker via Grabcad.com)

SIMULATION UPDATES Alongside modelling updates, a key area Autodesk has been investing in is simulation.

In fact, it has spent half a billion dollars on simulation technology and associated companies in the last few years. This technology always takes time to filter through to Inventor proper and each release brings more simulation tools into the fold.

This release sees a few updates across a couple of disciplines. In general terms, the ability to automatically convert assembly constraints to joints in the simulation environment will cut down on the doubling of effort that often accurs.

Of course, constraints intended for geometry might not always be those required for kinematic simulation, so the

4 Fusion’s Form Editing tools: Select the edge, add control ● points and drag and drop into position as needed. Updates are in real-time and highly interactive

2

3 user can dive in and adapt them to get the movement and functionality needed.

There’s also been a focus on the support within Inventor for frame design. Again, this has been done over the last few releases, but this release sees additional tools added to conduct analysis of such welded forms.

Whether that’s auto creation of mitres and joining of sections, more customisation options for beam profiles and section or more control over continuous loading conditions, which can be fine tuned as per the user’s needs.

INTEGRATION & SUITES One of the big things for the Inventor 2012 release is how the system is packaged. In essence, Autodesk now offers a range of

5 The edited shape in Inventor. This type of edit would ●

require multiple planes, multiple sketchs and a loft to achieve the same result

suites that package Inventor along with other 1 related software, usually at a dramatically reduced cost. For example, the base level Inventor Suite contains Inventor, AutoCAD Mechanical, all of the modelling functionality such as sheet metal design, plastic part design, along with ancillary tools such as Showcase (for visualisation), sketchBook designer (for concept development), Vault (for data management) and Mudbox (for polygon mesh-based modelling). On top of this core offering, there are then task or industry specific options, such as Ultimate, which includes all of the Inventor options (such as tooling, routing and piping), Alias and 3ds max Design. There are options for tooling design, for simulation and for factory layout. It’s worth spending some time with

6 The new completely handle back in context of the ●

assembly. Time to design the components - couple of minutes... tops

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The 2012 release cycle sees Autodesk pushing a much wider range of its technology and products to the Inventor user. With some the user can jump right in and start taking advantage of immediately.

Showcase is a given. It allows you to load up an Inventor model and use it for both rendering and visualisation work, design review and such (We’ll be taking a good look at Showcase in the next issue). Vault is another. Then things like Mudbox seem a little out of place but, to be honest,with the amount of technology available it’s almost worth spending the time to learn it and see if it can fit into your workflow.

It’s interesting that Autodesk is not only building out these offerings with discreet products but it’s also working on integration between the various constituent parts. The Factory Design offering is a solid example as the system can transfer data intelligently between Inventor, AutoCAD and NavisWorks.

Another good example is the work done to bring across more intelligence from Inventor into Showcase. Showcase can now read in Design Views as Alternatives, Inventor constraints are imported as Showcase behaviours, so the user can reuse them for creating animations without all the hassle of key-framing them manually.

4 also an upgrade available which will give you a wider range of materials from Granta Design’s world leading material information and more data in the impacts.

CONCLUSION

I’m pretty sure I’ve missed a tonne of content and there’s a huge amount of updates to some of the more task specific ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT tools in Inventor and ancillary applications With the 2012 release, Autodesk has worked around that we’ll explore over the coming with the team at Granta Design (www. months. But what should be clear is grantadesign.com) to develop the Eco that Autodesk is doing some interesting Materials Adviser. Those that read our first things with Inventor these days. From DEVELOP3D Sustainability supplement the exploration and refinement of new (sustainability. develop3d.com) will be aware user interaction methods (driven by the of this, but a quick recap is in order, I think.

Inventor Fusion project on Autodesk labs), The concept is that you can take your through greater integration with simulation, assembly, define the materials your visualisation and into the realms of digital product is manufactured from, add in technical documentation with Publisher information about the processing of the Autodesk is pushing its technology stack into material (whether it’s machined, injection some interesting directions and certainly moulded, etc and the location of that beyond that pure ‘AutoCAD and Inventor’ work and the system will provide you with focus of the systems’ early years. information about the environmental The whole move towards a ‘suite’ based impact of that product concept - whether sell where everything is bundled into a single that’s carbon footprint, energy or water use package or variants thereof is something and whether it’s conformance with RoHS I’m undecided about. The idea that you can standards (which restricts the use of specific have Alias Design, Inventor Professional, hazardous subjects). The free version does Showcase (the hidden gem of the product a good amount but there’s a restriction range) as well as all the other things, for of materials and the number of parts in a not a massive amount more than Inventor strip-ad-zcorp:Layout 2 22/7/10 07:16 Page 1 single assembly you can include. There is Professional, represents incredible value.

Autodesk is pushing its technology stack into some interesting directions and certainly beyond the pure ‘AutoCAD and Inventor’ focus

4 Developed in ● conjunction with Granta Design, the Eco Materials Adviser provides realtime feedback on the environmental impact of a current product concept

That said, if you’re in a high-pressure commercial environment, will you and your team have the time to dig in and learn these new tools as well as get up to speed on the updates to just Inventor alone? I’m less convinced.

In terms of what existing users need, you’ll end up with one of these ‘suites’ to replace your existing product stack. That means chances are you’ll have some brand new software at your fingertips. I’d say its worth experimenting and seeing what’s there. Showcase in particular, is fantastic as a way of visualising and presenting a design concept.

As a final note on Inventor specifically, the system is maturing rapidly. Yes, it still has some room to grow in terms of handling complex forms and operations but with each release it’s looking more like a leader rather than a follower.

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30 JULY / AUGUST 2011 DEVELOP3D.COM

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SOFTWARE REVIEW

Simulia Abaqus 6.11

» In the June edition Al Dean looked at the brand new ATOM optimisation tools in Simulia’s Abaqus 6.11. This month five major highlights take the spotlight

I

couldn’t possibly hope to look at all of the hundreds of updates in this 6.11 release of the simulation software Abaqus, so I’ve chosen to concentrate on a few of the highlights.

These show how the system is advancing in several key areas and should give you some insight in where things are heading.

#1: Interactive Mapping This is an extension of the batch mapping capability that already exists. In short, the concept is that you take a field (temperature, density) from one study and map it onto another. For example, you could take a heat transfer analysis and map it to a new set of geometry. The benefits are that you can take robust results from one complete study, quickly re-purpose those for use when studying a similar product’s performance and get some quick insight. The process is uncoupled (so there’s no automatic updating) but you have the benefit that the process can work with quite dramatically differing datasets, meshes and geometry. A good use example is taking a pressure map from the surface of a vessel and mapping it into a static stress analysis.

#2: Expanding Multiphysics

together all three. An excellent example is the ability to accurately predict the behaviour of a complex process such as spot welding, which combines all three disciplines of study into a single task.

» Product: Abaqus 6.11 » Supplier: Simulia Price on application simulia.com

#3: Assembled fasteners This is a fascinating one for those looking to push their simulation of assembled products to the next level. Abaqus now allows the creation of a single simulation that shows how a fastener performs (such as bolts, rivets, spot welds etc), then allows you to replicate that performance across multiple instances.

This means that from a single, small scale study, you can integrate the failure properties of multiple instances of that fastener with ease. Consider aerospace simulation, where critical components are often not the panels or structure, but the fasteners themselves - of which there could be 1,000s.

conclusion There we go, a brief look at what’s also coming down the pipe from the Simulia team. While the other arms of Dassault Systèmes are spinning up V6 all across the board, I have to say that the Simulia team is doing some truly groundbreaking work to assist those simulating more and more complex products.

#4: new physics models Abaqus 6.11 sees a couple of new types of physics models introduced into the system.

The first is support for Periodic Media.

This is where you’re looking to simulate a continuous process (think, steel rolling mill), where steel is continually fed into the system. Abaqus links topologically identical meshed structures together forming a chain that is automatically moved from the outlet to the inlet. The next is Smoothed Particle Hydrodynamics. While this may sound complex, it is a method of simulating extreme deformation and fluid flow. Typical examples include fluid mixing, ballistics and other highly complex things that are supremely difficult to simulate in general purpose simulation systems and generally require something more specialist (read: costly).

Multiphysics is perhaps the biggest challenge in today’s rapidly advancing world of simulation. The Abaqus development team have been working hard to bring together previously disparate physics types over the last few years, culminating in the release of Abaqus’ own Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) solver in the last major release. This allows users to combine both structural and fluid dynamics into co-simulation studies that take into account both aspects of a product’s performance. This work continues apace with this release. In previous releases, it was #5: visualisation perfectly possible to couple together thermal While Abaqus has always had a full set of and structural studies, and electrical and post-processing and results inspection thermal studies. It’s now possible to couple tools, this release sees some work done on strip-ad-spaceclaim:Layout 2 21/7/10 11:45 Page 1

the visualisation of beam element-based studies. While beam element models afford a very efficient way of calculating the results of such structures, it doesn’t lend itself to easily comprehensible imagery for the sake of communication.

For some time, you’ve always been able to show a solid representation of each beam, accurately depicting the deformation of each beam - but couldn’t show the contours showing where deformation has occurred and where stress concentrations lie.

Now you can gain greater insight into the performance of your product and document it more clearly.

New periodic media physics models allow the simulation of continuous process such as this steel rolling mill

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SOFTWARE REVIEW

Solid Edge ST4

» Solid Edge with Synchronous Technology was first launched in 2008. It has grown dramatically since then. Here Al Dean takes a look at the fourth release to see what updates and new features have been added and where the state-of-the-art lies

1

S

iemens PLM software has been through something of a renaissance over the last few years. The introduction of Synchronous Technology across its 3D modelling portfolio has perhaps benefited the profile of Solid Edge most.

Combining the traditional history-based modelling technologies with direct modelling techniques that remove the reliance on order design process, Sync Tech was, and still is, big news. However, Solid Edge has also been growing in other areas and alongside its mastery of sheet metal design, the system has been garnering new tools to help with complex and very large assembly design.

Additionally, the Velocity Series is seeing Solid Edge bundled together with Teamcenter Express, Femap and NX CAM. The latest release - Solid Edge ST4 - has been through some serious rework in terms of user experience. Sync Tech has brought with it a new, more dynamic interaction tool, a new ribbon-based UI and many more goodies. The release also sees the visualisation tools get an upgrade to all the current standards, reflections, mirror-like ground planes, shadows and such.

It’s clear that the technology is evolving with each release. The last three have

» Product: Solid Edge ST4 » Supplier: Siemens PLM Software Price on application www.solidedge.com

1 A new 3D model ● relationship in Solid Edge ST4 lets users apply horizontal or vertical relationships to faces of completed native or imported parts

seen pretty dramatic updates and reworks of the technology that have enabled the user to mix both history and non-history based modelling tools. But for ST4, the development is much more incremental, a good indicator that the technology is reaching a level of maturity.

For example, the definition of revolved features now uses the steering wheel widget, a core part of the Sync Tech interaction.

There’s a new tool to create holes or shafts (using a tangent plane and point). On the subject of the shaft design, the dimensions used to define the revolve in sketch form are now automatically transferred to the 3D model, enabling direct edits where needed.

Elsewhere, the definition of web and ribs has also been reworked. The system requires a 2D sketch, but from them on the thickness, depth, draft angle are all defined using the dynamic tools.

The new 3D offset relationship is super handy for creating and maintaining assembly features accurately, such as slots and other guides. It can also be used to maintain the mid-way relationship between two existing features. It’s this type of thing that makes Sync Tech sing. They can either be defined in a 2D sketch and transferred to the 3D model or defined and adapted whilst modelling. Finally, on the steering wheel/

Sync Tech front, the rather useful widget can be used to reposition and/or copy both parts and sub-assemblies dynamically, with new assembly relationships being created on the fly. This should make the positioning of multiple instances of a sub-system somewhat easier.

The last update we’re going to look at that’s applicable to all users is the addition of a new online parts catalogue. While every 3D design system worth its salt has a parts catalogue, many of these are offline, static affairs, only updated with each release, if at all. By tapping into one of the leading web-based purveyors of standard and manufacturer specific parts (cadenas.co.uk), Siemens PLM Software is making the whole thing much more dynamic.

Teamcenter integration Since the launch of Velocity Series, Siemens has seen a pretty strong adoption of Teamcenter in its user community. This is particularly driven by the Express version, which delivers out of the box, pre-configured workflows. ST4 brings greater integration between the design system and the PLM world on several levels. The first is that there’s drag and drop links to Teamcenter.

Open an assembly, drag it into Teamcenter and the parts, assemblies and associated

34 JULY / AUGUST 2011 DEVELOP3D.COM

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 For ST4, the development is much more incremental, a good indicator that the technology is reaching a level of maturity



2

3

Teamcenter integration are that, firstly, frame/pipe lengths are now reported based on cut length. This allows stack and procurement to be gauged much more accurately. Secondly, the Teamcenter search tools in Solid Edge have greater automatic filters, such as showing the first 30 items.

This enables the user to get to the data needed without having to filter through all the search results.

Alongside the third party data tools described in the context of Teamcenter, this release also brings new import tools for vanilla Solid Edge. It can now directly read SolidWorks and Inventor data (both parts and assemblies) and there are a couple of updates if working with AutoCAD data. The new version also retains multi-line text and has improved geometry and block origins are matching.

Drafting

4 data become managed data.

The second is that within a Teamcenter managed environment, Solid Edge can now take advantage of JT data, both with native data in the context of third party data from other systems. If you’re unfamiliar with the system, the JT format was developed by Siemens and is soon to be incorporated as part of an industry wide standard led by the ISO organisation. To explain further, it’s now possible to have Teamcenter automatically convert imported data from other systems into the lightweight JT format. This can then be used, referenced and linked back to the originating data, within Solid Edge. Of course, it may be the case that some form of redesign work takes place based on that data. In this instance, the data can be saved as a new version, but the link will be broken.

Re-establishing that link (to maintain traceability) can be done manually at the source.

A final few things on the Solid Edge/

Solid Edge already has a pretty complete set of drafting and annotation tools - as to be expected from any system that’s been on the market for over 15 years. As with many such systems, Solid Edge has reached a level of maturity so updates tend towards giving the user full control over annotation style and formatting - no bad thing in my opinion.

This release sees new options for control over formatting of tables, to skip hatching when passing sections through rib and web features and there’s new control over how balloons stack when adding part numbers to fastener stacks.

Conclusion As we’ve discussed, Solid Edge is going through something of a renaissance. While early on in the mid-range 3D design tool battles, the system seemed to quickly lose ground to SolidWorks and then Inventor.

These days it seems to be holding its own.

No, it doesn’t have the huge user bases of either of those competitive systems, but it’s now showing up on more people’s radars than previously. Solid Edge has always been a technically very proficient system and the last four years have seen this continue, expand and move into new areas.

Synch Tech in the context of Solid Edge is maturing nicely and we’re seeing the lines between the ‘Ordered’ and ‘Synchronous’ commands start to blur. A good example is the updates made in this release. These see the benefits of a traditional approach (using sketches), combined with both direct-style editing, but backed up with intelligence retention that allows both fluid creation and more efficient editing when required.

The simulation updates are being driven by advances in the Femap product and some rather handy tools are now being transferred across into the integrated environment of Solid Edge, rather than residing purely in a standalone system.

All in all, Solid Edge ST4 is another rock solid release and, for both existing customers and prospective users, perhaps looking at switching systems or adding to their toolbox, it’s worth serious investigation.

Simulation updates 2 ST 4 can now use JT ● data from any source particularly when used in a Teamcenter managed environment 3 Rib features ● are now created using Synchronous Technology 4 Thin walled, sheet ● metal components can now be simulated using more efficient methods and integrated with Solid mesh geometry

The last Solid Edge release got a serious boost in terms of integrated simulation with the introduction of the Solid Edge Simulation module. This has been growing in terms of coverage since its release and now includes full part and assembly simulation). The ST4 release concentrates on the simulation of sheet metal components, often a tricky task.

The major feature that facilitates this is the introduction of mid-surface modelling techniques.

This takes advantage of a method of reducing the complexity of a finite element mesh by using a single surface that represents the mid-point of the part in question, to which a thickness is then attached during analysis. This is further extended by the ability to bring together both mid-surfacebased sheet geometry with more traditional solid meshes. The system will handle edge and face gluing so the most efficient method is used for the most appropriate geometry.

There’s also been work done on both beam elements, that again allow the definition of highly efficient models to be built that represent frame style parts and assemblies. The tools are built into the frame design environment and can be used to discover deflection and stress for parts such as I, T, C and box and C beams. Other updates include greater control over meshing (with options for mapped meshing complex geometry in an orderly fashion) and refinement of the mesh in specific areas (such as the minimum number of elements on an edge or maximum on small faces). In terms of post processing updates, there are new options for the numerical formatting in of colour bars in contour plot legends and greater control over decimal place usage.

DEVELOP3D.COM JULY / AUGUST 2011 37

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HARDWARE REVIEW

InterPro IPW-SB [i7]

» A solid 3D CAD workstation with large model capacity, both in terms of RAM and storage

E

ver since Intel introduced its ‘Sandy Bridge’ processor earlier this year, CAD workstations have become a bit predictable. The relatively small price » 16GB (4 x 4GB) difference between the low-end Core i3 and DDR-3 1600MHz Core i7 CPUs means that virtually all system (PC3-12800) memory builders recommend the top-end Intel Core » Intel DP67BG i7 2600K. This ‘unlocked’ processor can be motherboard comfortably overclocked to speeds of 4.5GHz » 120GB Intel 510 Series SATA3 SSD + and, with a bit more specialist cooling, even 2TB Western Digital higher. CAD applications love high GHz ‘Caviar Green’ 5,400rpm SATA3 drive processors and with four CPU cores and Intel HyperThreading, the Core i7 2600K also has » AMD FirePro V5900 good potential for simulation and rendering.

(2GB) graphics card While overclocking used to be a specialist » Microsoft Windows 7 pastime, now that Intel officially condones Professional 64-bit » 3 year return to base it there are plenty of mainstream options. warranty or parts Air-cooled systems with low-duty fans do an swap out (fitted by excellent job, but some system builders prefer customer) liquid cooling. This is the path InterPro has taken for its latest IPW-SB [i7] worktation. £1,325 IntePro’s technology of choice is an off-thewww.ipworkstations.com shelf solution from cooling specialist, CoolIt. The Vantage ALC features a control system that monitors the temperature of the CPU and auto-regulates the fan to help keep noise to a » Intel Core i7-2600K processor (3.4GHz overclocked to 4.5GHz) (Quad Core)

minimum. It even has LCD screen that shows the CPU’s temperature and allows users to control settings. Essential viewing for geeks.

Of course, the IPW-SB (i7) isn’t just about the CPU. It also features AMD’s new FirePro V5900 graphics card, an excellent choice for CAD, with driver optimisations for SolidWorks and Inventor. AMD has also done additional driver work for Catia and NX, though user of such software may benefit more from the V5900’s big brother, the V7900.

Elsewhere the machine features 16GB RAM to handle some pretty sizeable assemblies, and there’s plenty of space for storage, though we were surprised to see the 2TB data drive was only rated at 5,400RPM. Here users should expect slightly slower sustained transfer rates than 7,200RPM drives, common in most workstations. The machine also features a dedicated SSD drive with 120GB set aside for OS and applications.

Overall, the IntePro IPW-SB (i7) is an excellent all-round 3D CAD graphics workstation, with plenty of capacity for models, both in RAM and storage. Long live Intel’s Core i7 2600K. Greg Corke

» CPU benchmarks (secs - smaller is better) CAD (SolidWorks 2010) - 209 CAM (Delcam PowerMill 2010) - 1) 139 2) 214 3) 294 CAE (SolidWorks 2010 Simulation) - 95 Rendering (3ds Max Design 2011) - 202

» Graphics benchmarks (frames per sec - bigger is better) CAD (SolidWorks 2010) - 45

Cryo Nano workstation CAD (SolidWorks 2010) - 190 CAM (Delcam PowerMill 2010) - 1) 136 2) 206 3) 290 CAE (SolidWorks 2010 Simulation) - 77 Rendering (3ds Max Design 2011) - 199

» Graphics benchmarks (frames per sec - bigger is better) CAD (SolidWorks 2010) - 47

DIMM slot motherboard is also available.

There are also no limitations when it comes to graphics. The AMD FirePro V5900, a great all round card for CAD, can be upgraded to any professional board including the ultra high-end AMD FirePro V9800 or Nvidia Quadro 6000, should you wish to use this machine to drive a powerwall.

And then there’s the processor. CryoPC has used its expertise in liquid cooling to overclock the now ubiquitous Intel Core i7 2600K processor to a whopping 4.6GHz, the fastest clock speed we’ve seen with this CPU. All of this adds up to exceptional performance for CAD users with the Cryo Nano setting new records in our graphics, simulation, and single task CAM tests. And all of this for £1,252.

There are downsides to the Nano. Despite its compact size, it is not a light machine by any stretch of the imagination and nowhere near as easy to transport as Scan’s Nanu. This is a shame as it could make an excellent off-site demo machine. And with no workstation tower to hide behind, there’s no more afternoon snoozes at your desk!

Joking aside, CryoPC has delivered a standout machine with an excellent balance of performance, features and price. And it also comes in red.

Greg Corke

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DEVELOP3D.COM/WORKSTATIONS

» CPU benchmarks (secs - smaller is better)

T

here’s always a trade off when it comes to diminutive workstations. A typical mini ITX machine for example, such as the Scan 3XS Nanu (tinyurl.com/ D3Dnanu), is limited to two hard drives, two memory slots, a mid range graphics card and there’s certainly no option for an overclocked processor. While this won’t worry your average CAD user looking to reclaim some valuable desk space, power users are left with little option than to go for a full sized desktop machine.

CryoPC’s new Nano workstation offers an alternative. It has virtually all the hallmarks of a high-end CAD machine, but manages to squeeze everything into a chassis which, at 245mm (W) x 320mm (H) x 420mm (D), is approximately half the height of a standard desktop and slightly wider. Inside there’s plenty of space for hard drives - up to three 3.5-inch or two 5.25-inch, and there’s even space for two additional 2.5-inch SSD drives if required. In short, storage shouldn’t be a problem for most CAD users.

Memory is also in plentiful supply. While our test machine shipped with 2 x 4GB of fast 1,600MHz RAM, the Nano’s four DIMM slots mean it can support 16GB now and 32GB later this year when 8GB DIMMs become available. To support huge datasets a six

Details of all benchmarks can be found at tinyurl.com/D3Dbench

» A compact workstation with an excellent balance of price, performance and features

DEVELOP3D.COM JULY / AUGUST 2011 39

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HARDWARE REVIEW

Workstation Specialists WSX4

» This overclocked single CPU workstation is tuned for multi-application high-end CAD

S

porting a brand new chassis, Workstation Specialists (WS) has launched its latest high-performance machine, the WSX4. It features a Core i7 » 16GB (4 x 4GB) 2600K (quad core) CPU overclocked to PC3-1600 1,600MHz 4.5GHz, giving it plenty of power for GHzDDR3 memory hungry CAD applications. Kitted out with » Intel P67 Express16GB of PC3-1600 1600MHz DDR3 memory it based motherboard is also well equipped to handle large datasets. » 300GB Intel 320 Series SSD + 1TB Designed in SolidWorks, the new chassis 7,200rpm SATA3 drive is a bespoke creation that will be deployed » Nvidia Quadro 4000 across WS’ entire range from single processor (2GB) graphics card machines right up to dual CPU, multi GPU » Microsoft Windows 7 powerhouses. The rationale behind this move Professional 64-bit was the desire to support up to four double » 36 months full parts width GPUs in a single compact machine, a and labour system growing request from those adopting GPU warranty compute-based rendering and simulation workflows. WS couldn’t find an off-the shelf £2,075 workstationspecialists.com product that fulfilled this requirement, with most only having space for three.

In comparison to a fully equipped GPU compute workstation, the WSX4 is kitted out with a more prosaic GPU. However, the 2GB Nvidia Quadro 4000 is more than just a mainstream CAD graphics card. Its 256 CUDA cores will help smooth manipulation of large models in some of the more graphicshungry CAD applications like NX and Catia.

» Intel Core i7-2600K processor (3.4GHz ‘Workstation Enhanced’ to 4.5GHz) (Quad Core)

Users of design viz applications such as 3ds Max, will also see benefits. As an alternative for mainstream CAD users, Workstation Specialists offers AMD’s impressive new FirePro V5900, which would also bring the overall cost of the machine well below the £2,000 price point.

For storage, the WSX4 features what has become an almost standard two-drive setup, comprising Solid State Drive (SSD) for Operating System and applications and a traditional platter drive for storage.

At 300GB the capacity of the Intel 320 SSD drive is quite high for OS and storage, particularly when compared to 120GB SSDs offered in other single CPU workstations.

According to WS, this is because SSD performance can slow down considerably if they are more than half full. With this in mind, WS now offers 160GB as a minimum spec for SSDs on all of its desktop workstations.

At £2,075 the WSX is not a cheap single processor machine. High specification components, such as the Quadro 4000 graphics and 300GB Intel 320 Series SSD, help push the price above that £2,000 barrier. However, as with all WS machines, build quality is excellent and performance can’t be faulted.

Greg Corke

» CPU benchmarks (secs - smaller is better) CAD (SolidWorks 2010) - 186 CAM (Delcam PowerMill 2010) - 1) 138 2) 213 3) 306 CAE (SolidWorks 2010 Simulation) - 85 Rendering (3ds Max Design 2011) - 202

» Graphics benchmarks (frames per sec - bigger is better) CAD (SolidWorks 2010) - 42

» CPU benchmarks (secs - smaller is better) Rendering (3ds Max Design 2011) - 187

P

roduct designers heavily into design visualization don’t want their dual processor workstation to grind to a halt when rendering. Modelling productivity can be seriously hindered when all of your CPU cores are working flat out.

The RS-D2600 offers a solution to this common problem. It’s essentially a building block for distributed rendering, but unlike traditional rack mounted blades, the RSD2600 doesn’t need its own cabinet or room.

Instead it sits on a desk, still making a fair amount of noise when rendering flat out, but not in the same league as a blade.

WS reckons you can stack two of these deskside rendering systems on top of a workstation or have up to six free standing though you may want to hone your Jenga skills first using some less valuable bricks.

These compact machines are packed with serious compute technology.

Each RS-D2600 features two six core Xeon processors and stacks of memory. There’s no need for a graphics card – the machine is typically controlled remotely from a desktop workstation – but a low-end card can be installed if required. It only needs a

low capacity SSD for OS, applications and local data caching. Connectivity is achieved via ethernet, through a network hub.

Our test machine was configured with Backburner, the free distributed rendering software which comes with 3ds Max. We prepared our standard test render in 3ds Max Design on the single CPU WSX4 workstation (see above), but instead of rendering locally we sent the job to network render. From start to finish it took 187 secs, not as fast we would expect from a dual Xeon X5650 workstation, but this also included the time taken to open 3ds Max on the RS-D2600, load the job across the network and compute. We understand more modern render farm software can handle this process more efficiently.

But the RS-D2600 is not just about rendering speed; it’s about accelerating workflows. Product designers can stack up render jobs, then forget all about them as they carry on with their creative work on their powerful single CPU workstation. It’s an excellent fit for small design offices that don’t want to invest in blades, but still need a dedicated render resource which can grow as needs change.

Greg Corke

» 2 x Intel Xeon X5650 processors (2.66GHz) (Six Core) » 24GB (6 x 4GB) 1333MHz REG ECC DDR-3 memory » Workstation Specialists motherboard » 120GB Intel 320 Series SSD drive » Microsoft Windows 7 Professional 64-bit » 36 months full parts and labour system warranty £2,470 workstationspecialists.com

DEVELOP3D.COM/WORKSTATIONS

» This deskside render system offers a novel way of freeing up workstation resources

Details of all benchmarks can be found at tinyurl.com/D3Dbench

Workstation Specialists RS-D2600

40 SEPTEMBER 2010 DEVELOP3D.COM

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    

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Technology for green product development sustainability.develop3d.com July/August 2011

Non disposable heroes How Grove is bringing craft & responsibility to an industry plagued with waste

Sustainable materials gallery What’s driving sustainable design?

A little light reading Sustainable Innovation 11 preview Reconfiguring for Clean Tech Cambridge Consultants on ecovation Whole systems thinking in design Sustainable Minds LCA 2.0 D3D_Sustainability_R4.TW.gc.indd 1

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How do you make greener cars that drive you into the black?

The Siemens answer: Balance social, economic and environmental demands with Siemens PLM Software.

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Answers for Industry. ii

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elcome to the second edition of DEVELOP3D Sustainability. Since the first edition in April we’ve spent the last few months exploring what designers and engineers really want to know about the subject.

For this issue we talk to two companies working toward a better world from very different ends of the spectrum. Firstly, the team at DEK Solar reconfigured both its business and its products to take advantage of the solar power boom and has created ground breaking products for the cleantech industry.

Secondly is Grove, which I recently had the opportunity to visit in Portland, US. What I found was a small nimble team that’s been built from the ground up to combine craft with responsibly sourced materials and a killer design process in a very cut-throat and often wasteful marketplace.

Tanya then takes a look at four companies that are providing materials with drastically lower environmental impacts compared to more traditional materials.

Alongside the case studies, we have a metric tonne of learning content. As well as looking at some of the books that have influenced both us and contributors in their sustainable design journeys, we also talk to Martin Charter at the Centre for Sustainable Design. He shares with us his views on the key sustainability challenges and what’s on the docket for the Centre’s upcoming Sustainable Innovation event in October.

Our new contributor Chris Sherwin kicks off a regular column with a look at what’s driving sustainable design today and Autodesk’s Dawn Danby and Jeremy Faludi of Faludi Design look at the subject of Whole Systems Design. So, there is plenty to sink your teeth into.

Have a good summer. We’ll be back with our next edition when the evenings start to draw in, the weather turns chilly and my time in the greenhouse is by lamplight.

Deano. Out.

Contents Page iv Green materials showcase Page vi A little reading matter for the summer Page viii Chris Sherwin on what’s driving Sustainable Design?

Page x Non-disposable heroes: inside Portland’s Grove Page xiv Sustainable Innovation 11 event preview Page xvii Cambridge Consultants on its Ecovation process Page xviii Reconfiguring for clean tech: how DEK reconfigured for Solar

Al Dean Editor-in-Chief

Page xxi Whole Systems thinking in design Page xxiv Review: Sustainable Minds LCA 2.0

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF AL DEAN

al@x3dmedia.com +44 (0)7525 701 541 F E AT U R E S E D I T O R T A N YA W E AV E R

tanya@x3dmedia.com

A DV E RT I S I N G M A NAG E R STEVE KING

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PUBLISHED BY X3DMEDIA LTD SUBSCRIPTIONS S U S T A I N A B I L I T Y. D E V E L O P 3 D . C O M / R E G I S T R A T I O N WEBSITE S U S T A I N A B I L I T Y. D E V E L O P 3 D . C O M TWITTER @ D 3 DX S U S TA I NA B L E

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Company Eastman Material Tritan copolyester Eastman, headquartered in Kingsport, US, provides chemicals, fibres and plastics materials. One of its sustainable materials is Tritan copolyester, a compelling alternative to traditional polymers, including polycarbonate. It can be used by designers and engineers in a range of applications. www.eastman.com

Facts: • Bisphenol-A (BPA) free • Estrogenic Activity (EA) free • Does not contain halogens, sulphur, nitrogen, lead, mercury, cadmium or hexavalent chromium • Chemical resistance • Heat-resisting properties • Toughness and durability enables reusability • Ease of processing • It can result in shorter cycle times and fewer manufacturing stages • Favourable life cycle assessment vs. polycarbonate (13% improvement in energy savings and 42% in green house gas emission savings London design consultancy, Black+Blum specified Tritan copolyester for the lid of its new lunch box, the Box Appetit

Sustainable mat

by Tanya Weaver

Four materials innovators with something to offer those interested in green design Company Bayer MaterialScience Material Various Bayer MaterialScience is one of the world’s largest producers of polymers and high-performance plastics. It recently collaborated with Simple Factory Group to create a ‘green’ shoe concept that uses a whole host of sustainable materials and technologies. www.bayermaterialscience.com

Facts: • Up to 40% renewable materials in the polycarbonate (PC) blend • Adhesives are based on waterborne Dispercoll U polyurethane raw materials • Impranil is a water-based coating that is abrasion and wear resistant • Coatings and adhesive products are solvent-free • The shoe cap is made from a PC+PLA (polylactic acid) blend from the company’s Makroblend range • Desmopan thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU) are used for the heel counter, shoelace eyelets and logo • TPU films from the Dureflex range form a vapourpermeable membrane to reinforce the inner sole, Up to 90% of all components in the Ecotrekker concept shoe can be given eco-compatible properties by using BayerMaterialScience’s products

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Company DuPont Material Corian Founded in 1802, DuPont is a science-based products and services company that creates a number of sustainable solutions including DuPont Corian, a solid surface material. Available in over 100 “green” colours, Corian can be carved, routed or worked like wood, moulded, thermoformed or inlayed. www.corian.com

Facts: • Corian is a blend of natural minerals and acrylic polymer • Once the ingredients of Corian are fully reacted (polymerised) in the manufacturing process, they become a chemically stable material with low impact on both indoor and outdoor environments • Pigments used to manufacture Corian are FDAlisted and selected from materials free of heavy metals, toxic or carcinogenic ingredients • Durable and renewable • Scrap and off-spec Corian is being used as raw material for new product applications Jay Watson has taken advantage of the malleability of Corian in the design of his Anemoi pendant uplighters

materials gallery Company A&O Film Pac Material PHA resins UK-based A&O Film Pac is a European distributor of bioresins, which works with ECOMANN, a Chinese-based producer of biodegradable plastics.

PHA (Polyhydroxyalkanoate), a biodegradable polyester, is a recent addition to the range that is both sustainable and renewable. www.futureinplastic.com

Facts: • PHA resins are made from non-food GM free maize starch or sugar • ECOMANN produces 5,000 tonnes of PHA resins a year • With a new factory this capacity will increase to 50,000 tonnes per year from 2012 • PHA blends well with other plastics, fillers and additives and is very versatile • Products made from PHA can range from soft and rubbery to very hard • Excellent packaging material as it’s food contact compliant and easily compostable • Various types available that can be moulded or extruded via all common processing technologies PHA resins are grown in fermentation vats using corn sugar

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Books

A little light reading?

With the summer holidays upon us, we look at some books relating to sustainability that you could pack in your travel bag.

Or, indeed, take out into the garden

L

ong before the launch of DEVELOP3D Sustainability I spent over a year reading a wide range of papers, magazines, blogs and, of course, books around the subject.

Maybe due to age or spending hours, as many of us do, glued to an LCD screen all day, I found that the information, concepts, thoughts and opinions I read in a good old fashioned, paper bound book sank in more readily and more deeply.

Also, having talked to many of the contributors to DEVELOP3D Sustainability, now and in future issues, it’s clear that, while digital information is the future, if you really want to dig into a subject then spending a few quid on amazon or searching a bookstore is still a good way to learn more about a subject.

And sustainability is no different.

So, with that in mind, I’ll give you the three that have influenced and informed my thinking the most over the last twelve months . Then fellow book worms and sustainability whiz-kids, Dawn Danby and Leyla Acaroglu, recommend a few more and say why.

If you think we have missed a good book that covers the subject of sustainability, please drop us a line and we’ll get a list going to share around.

Worldchanging 2.0

by Alex Steffen This is it for me; the Holy Grail for those looking to understand the complexities, the often seemingly opposing views and different perspectives on the subject of sustainability. Along with a near cast of thousands, Alex Steffen and the team at Worldchanging. com have put together 600 pages of incredible and diverse material. vi

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Split into several sections, which are further sub divided and contributed to by leaders in their fields, the book ranges from energy, healthcare, activism, politics, food to sustenance and culture. And, of course, there’s a wonderful section on sustainable design.

The hefty tome runs the gamut of anything even vaguely related to making the world a better place. Originally published in 2002, the latest edition adds more detail and new chapters on a huge variety of subjects.

There’s no subtlety when you read the book’s strap line: “A user’s guide for the 21st century.” Believe it. Read it. It’s a rallying call for those that actually want to do something. Designers will need to get increasingly savvy on sustainability. Find out what your client’s sustainability commitments are and push them a little by showing them what their peers and competitors are doing.

If you had to read just one book in this list, I’d highly recommend this one. AD

Powering the Dream

by Alexis Madrigal Just as I was reading the final chapter to this book, I was also listening to an interview with Mike Watt, legendary punk bassist with the MinuteMen. In that interview, Watt said “The only thing new is you finding out about it.” There’s some heavy truth to those words when considering the future of energy. Today, more than ever, there’s a huge focus on more sustainable, cleaner technology as the source for our energy generation. But are these innovations in the truest sense or a continuation of age old ‘technologies’ that have since passed

beyond the T word?

Madrigal’s ‘Powering the Dream’ explores this very concept. By travelling into the past of the emergent United States over the last 200 years, he discovers that many of the technologies that we are banking upon have been around for decades, if not centuries and he begs the question: are we headed in the right direction now? It’s fascinating. AD

Getting Green Done

by Auden Schendler Amongst the many books that relate to sustainability, a lot focus predominantly on either the concepts, the theory or an abstract, ideal world. What made Schendler’s work stick for me is that it’s the polar opposite to the theoretical.

Schendler is vice president of sustainability at Aspen Skiing Company and has worked previously in corporate sustainability at the Rocky Mountain Institute.

Beginning with an analogy of trying to convince snow-tractor mechanics to switch to a more ecologically sound, water-based parts washer, he then battles with local groups and also, interestingly, battles internally for a more sustainable way of doing business.

It’s abundantly clear that the road is tough, is often frustrating, but ultimately rewarding.

The key take away from this for me is that for a business to move towards a more sustainable way of working, it needs a mix of both passionate people and a sound business case - one that takes into account financial return as well as minimising core business processes and drivers. AD

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19/7/11 08:36:01

In the Bubble: Designing in a complex world

by John Thackara What do we need to design for a world with less stuff and more people?

Our world’s demographics and ecological crises demand a different kind of thinking, well articulated by John Thackara in his classic and wonderfully readable In The Bubble (2005).

Most of the sustainable solutions we see emerging in design and engineering are variations on established approaches to efficiency, and the results are often marginal rather than radical. While we find better ways to shave off a bit of material or improve a vehicle’s MPG, approaches like these are well-worn industrial strategies.

They drop in and out of vogue, mirroring cost curves of energy and raw materials.

“We’ve built a technology-focused society that is remarkable on means, but hazy about ends. It’s no longer clear to which question all this stuff - tech - is an answer, or what value it adds to our lives”, writes Thackara. In lieu of focusing on technical solutions, Thackara ties design to modern virtues such as speed, mobility and conviviality. From the surprising lifecycle of high-speed trains to innovations in materials and sensors, the book’s examples are grounded in a human context, reminding us that the world we’re designing for is social, complex, and in need of better questions before cleverer answers. DD

Sustainable Energy : Without the hot air

by David JC MacKay A friend recently asked, “Could one solar power array covering 100 square miles parked in the Arizona desert really power the entire United States?” I had an immediate gut response, but it’s more challenging to properly articulate whether this could be both technically possible and a sane idea.

Most of us, public figures included, are monstrously ill-equipped to begin to answer questions like these. Debates on

sustainable energy are rife with inaccurate apples-to-oranges comparisons and shot through with magical thinking.

Cambridge physics professor David JC MacKay set out to tackle the public’s energy innumeracy in his refreshingly lucid and occasionally hilarious book, ‘Sustainable Energy – Without the Hot Air’. Seeking to ensure that we’re all using the same numbers, MacKay dives into the technical possibilities and limitations of sustainable energy, consciously leaving others to decide what’s economically feasible.

Are mobile phone chargers really at the core of Britain’s energy concerns? “All the energy saved in switching off your charger for one day is used up in one second of car-driving”, answers MacKay. He appeals to our reason, reminding us that saving a very small amount of energy in our own lives will simply fail to have a big effect when scaled up. Seeking to identify the real solutions, the result is a book that maps the domain of modern energy, is a relief from the hype, and acts as an operating manual for those who are engineering and designing the way we use energy in the years to come. DD (Editor’s Note: You can also download a free PDF version at www.withouthotair. com - though the print version is a much nicer read)

reading through the first few chapters of ‘The Green Imperative’ by Victor Papanek and crying (possibly quite loudly) as I sat in the back of Engineering 101.

The tears were not attributed to beautifully written prose or a moving narrative, they were in fact, related to my unfolding realisation of the mighty responsibility that a designer has, not just to the end user of their products but to the entire world and all that exists within it!

Needless to say, this book changed my life. Written in 1995, Papanek’s gamechanging book followed on from his successful (and revolutionary) ‘Design for the Real World’ (1984). ‘The Green Imperative’ was one of the first books to put forth the idea of eco-design as not only a possibility but as a core responsibility for all designers.

Papanek passionately believed in the power of design to change the world and he paints a compelling argument for designers to ‘design for need not greed’. It really is a guidebook for particle ecodesign, initiating the now widely used “design for x” strategies. Whilst some of the product examples are outdated – the strategies and approaches for eco-design are still very relevant today.

The book is not just for designers – it also addresses the issue of consumerism and responsibility in manufacturing and business activities. Ideas around the ethical, social and environmental dimensions of production and consumption are explored with solutions such as sharing instead of owning and doing more with less being put forth as viable alternatives to the current earth-destroying trajectory.

Inspiring, confronting, informative and compelling – this book is a MUST read for all designers. Papanek’s exploration of the issues and opportunities has influenced a Dawn Danby is the sustainable design program manager at Autodesk. She co-wrote this issue’s Guide generation (this one included) of designers to Whole Systems Thinking (page xxii) together with to engage with the notion of eco-design.

Jeremy Faludi I might be biased, but if you create or The Green Imperative: consume things (which covers most peoNatural Design for the real world ple) then you should stop whatever you’re doing right now and get your hands on a

by Victor Papanek copy of ‘The Green Imperative’. After all, “There can be lit- we design the world so we might as well tle doubt that the eco-design it! LA environment and the ecological balance of the planet are no longer sustainable. Unless we learn to preserve and conserve Earth’s resources, and change our most basic patterns of consumption, manufacRegular DEVELOP3D Sustainability contributor, turing and recycling, we may have no Leyla Acaroglu, is the founder of Melbourne-based future” – Papanek consultancy Eco Innovators www.eco-innovators.com As a young design student I remember sustainability.develop3d.com

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Comment

S

1

omething fascinating is happening around sustainable design. Despite the worst recession since the 1930’s, sustainable design work is not falling away like it did in past recessions or as predicted. Anecdotally it seems to be on the increase.

For instance, IKEA announced an internal sustainability scorecard to ensure 90 per cent of products sold by 2015 are ‘more sustainable’.

Nike released its Environmental Apparel Design Index to promote sustainable design across its industry (amazingly giving away its tool and IP!).

Part of Unilever’s Sustainable Living Plan committed to half the total footprint of all their products sold by 2020.

Coke and Pepsi continue to go head-tohead on bio-plastic packaging, with the former announcing a joint venture that will double the UK’s plastic recycling capacity and even licensing its bio-plastic technology to Heinz. Bio ketchup anyone?

On the consultancy side, OpenIDEO continues to impress in tackling big sustainability problems through open innovation, whilst IDEO also launched IDEO.org to work in the social sector and in low-income countries. The Co-op reported sales of ‘sustainable designs’ (well, ok, ethical products

and services) to consumers are up 18 per cent through the last two recessionary years. This entire sector is valued at £43bn in the UK (bigger than booze and tobacco).

What’s happening here and what’s driving all this stuff?

I’d like to suggest two main things are behind this. First, this acceleration of sustainable design is primarily led by business.

Companies have woken up to sustainability risks and opportunities and have begun to act. A second reason is that sustainability in companies is now all about ‘products’. Lets explore these issues.

Corporate leadership driven Counter-intuitively, maybe controversially, much of this leadership in sustainable design comes from a handful of quite pioneering global corporations that have strong influence over industrial supply chains.

They are all making big commitments and focussing their attention on sustainable product portfolios. Companies like DuPont, GE, P&G, Philips, Panasonic and Unilever have huge programs to drive sustainable products and design. P&G has a target of $50bn from ‘sustainable innovation products’ by 2012, Philips has a €10bn annual target from ‘green flagship’ product revenues (easily exceeded last year), GE targets

What’s shaping sustainable design?

In the first of a series of articles, sustainable design specialist Chris Sherwin shares some of his experiences of pushing the boundaries of sustainability over the past 15 years

by Chris Sherwin

Chris Sherwin is a sustainability consultant working with brand marketing and design agency Dragon Rouge, as an Associate of Forum for the Future, and independently on sustainable design and innovation. A product designer by training, he has worked in the field for 15 years, previously holding positions in Philips and Electrolux and consulting, lecturing and teaching widely on the subject. He has a PhD titled ‘Innovative Ecodesign’ from Cranfield University. Chris can be reached by email at sherwin.stoker@gmail.com or @sherwinchris on twitter.

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$25bn per year from Ecomagination prod- scale up their products. Autodesk has spotucts. This is serious business that undoubt- ted just this in offering its design software through the Cleantech Partners Program. edly drives sustainable design.

So, companies large and small are spotThe clean & green tech revolution ting the opportunities from sustainable Additionally, a new generation of green products. This is understandable when you and clean tech start-ups are creating a consider that the UK low carbon and envigreen economy with sustainability built in. ronmental goods and services sector is curMore disruptive in nature, this clean tech rently valued at £117bn and estimated to sector, as it’s known, is actually a mishmash of technologies and categories featuring IT and digital, recycling, renewable energy, green chemistry and so on. Hard to understand as a single entity, you’ll get a good sense of them from the Guardian’s Hot 100 list.

In a few pioneering cases, such clean tech companies have design or designers at their grow at eight per cent per annum by 2020.

It’s fun times, but it certainly wasn’t hearts. Such as Onzo (onzo.com), CarbonCulture (carbonculture.net) and always this way. I spent much of my early Airbnb (airbnb.com). In general though, sustainability years in the late ‘90’s working design opportunities in clean tech will be on production and supply chain, with the more traditional. As companies commercia- drivers mostly being compliance and cost.

All still critical, but a far cry from the lise and launch their green technologies and solutions, they will need basic design and sustainable design we are now seeing, and engineering skills and services to detail and that I trained so hard to do.

I always thought sustainability should be about the products and services companies offer. It should be about the design. So, I’m pleased it’s come full circle. I just can’t believe it took so long.

What does this mean for design & you?

You’ll have noticed I think the leading edge of sustainable design I describe is client driven, not led by the design community.

That makes the client to designer relationship critical and designers will need to get increasingly savvy on sustainability.

Seek out potential clients with big sustainable design ambitions, or with sustainable product opportunities. There will be more sustainable design opportunities out there, but you’ll need to be realistic and targeted to avoid frustration.

Alternatively, try the entrepreneurial route by helping the hundreds of clean tech start-ups with design problems, or tapping into the increasing government funding and investor interest in neat sustainability ideas or new technology.

There will be more sustainable design opportunities out there, but you’ll need to be realistic and targeted to avoid frustration

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1 Coca-Cola has a number of sustainability initiatives. From the bio-plastic packaging to 100% recyclable point of sale 2 Onzo’s Zigbee Energy Display gives consumers real-time information about how much electricity they are using and how much it’s costing 3 Nike has released its own Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) tool for evaluating the impact of apparel - available to anyone at www.nikebiz.com/responsibility

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non disposable heroes The mobile phone accessory industry has an appalling reputation for wasting materials and energy in the pursuit of jumping on the latest trends and models.

Portland’s Grove begs to differ

by Al Dean

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onsider the mobile telephone.

Amongst the multitude of today’s gadgets, widgets and other ephemera we carry around in our pockets, it’s this that’s made the greatest difference to many people’s lives. The ability to make a telephone call whenever you need to has now been supplanted by the smart device. It’s here that the digital frontier is developing. We’re not restricted to the desktop or even humble laptop anymore. If you need to connect, you reach in your Carhartt’s, pull out your device and take care of business. Even if that ‘business’ is ‘liking’ a picture of your friend’s second cousin’s cat taking a nap on Facebook.

While we’re not here to discuss the sustainable impact of the consumer electronics industry, the rise of the mobile phone has had a large effect on the production of what can only be described as cheap, crappy accessories. Think about your local phone shop and the racks of plastic accessories. If you want a diamanté encrusted Lady Gaga case for your iPhone, you can get it - and get it cheap - if that’s your bag.

You’ll also often find that the packaging alone for that dubious treasure uses more material, costs more to produce and fills up more landfill than the case itself.

Surely there’s another way?

I got to visit one company looking to do exactly that on a recent trip to Portland, Oregon. Taking a cab across the river and finding myself in a warehouse district that’s clearly going through something of a post industrial rebirth as a hot bed of development, I made my way through a renovated warehouse to the fifth floor. Opening the door with a warm smile and a handshake was Joe Mansfield co-founder of Grove.

Joe is no stranger to doing things differently. His first business, engraveyourbook. com, began providing laser etching services for lovers of nice notebooks, such as Moleskine. During the early stages of the business he soon discovered that the covers were PVC and hitting them with a high powered laser caused some pretty nasty emissions (including phosgene, chlorine as well as producing hydrochloric acid). Many websites picked up on the advice posted on his website and Moleskine has been required to label its products properly since in several states in the US. While setting up his business and dodging toxic gasses, Joe got talking to his next door neighbour, Ken. A furniture designer by training and profession, Ken Tomita is also a tinkerer with machines. The two discussed the rise of the iPhone and with Joe’s mastery of customisation of products with

laser etching and Ken’s product design skills and knowledge of working with wood, Grove was born.

Grove is a perfect example of how traditional design and manufacturing skills can be combined with today’s digitally connected world to create something new, and something exciting.

Today the small team of friends creates customised cases for Apple devices. The current product range includes wood cases for the iPhone 4G and, of course, the iPad. As I toured round the facility, it quickly became apparent that this isn’t like other ‘iDevice’ accessory manufacturers. There’s no outsourcing of manufacture to the Far East to strip costs out of the product.

Everything is not only designed and developed in-house by Joe and Ken, but manufactured on-site too. While the admin and design office occupies a light airy space with an enviable view of where the Willamette and Columbia rivers meet, the real work takes place on the ground floor.

Here, Grove has a set of workshops where the products are manufactured, finished, packaged and distributed.

A bank of two Haas machine tools are complimented by a highly skilled team that hand assemble and finish each product manually to achieve the best results.

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Profile The products are manufactured from rapidly renewable bamboo and vegetable tanned domestic leather. What’s interesting is how the team’s desire to be responsible has influenced the design process.

Cutting intricate products from bamboo stock will obviously create a great deal of waste as material is removed. Here, Joe and Ken’s ingenuity came into effect as they both realised that the waste materials from the bamboo stock was perfect for creating aesthetically pleasing packaging. All of Grove’s products are now shipped using these off cuts, which traditionally would have been waste.

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They study the new models as soon as details start to filter out of Infinite Loop and from other sources to get their products ready. As with all things related toApple, the secrecy involved means that they’re developing the products before official specs are available. With the iPad2 having just been announced, the timing of my visit couldn’t have been better as Ken and the team were fine tuning the production units.

What struck me was the element of craft.

Having grown up with parents that hoarded high-quality furniture, it was fascinating to visit a company that takes its work seriously, brings elements of craft back into a rather

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ruthless industry sector. The new models feature a black bezel of mind blowing accuracy and fit/finish that harks back to cabinet making of centuries past. These aren’t objects that are used passively. Hold one in your hand and there’s an immediate desire to look, touch and feel its curves. Something which makes people cherish them.

With the iPad 2 product now online and selling like proverbial hot cakes, with new and ever growing customisation options it’s clear that Grove is doing things differently, doing things responsibly and innovating in a cut throat market. www.grovemade.com

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5 1 Founded by Joe Mansfield and Ken Tomita, Grove is doing things differently and sustainably 2 Two Hass machine tools are used to efficiently cut the bamboo stock 3 Finished by hand, each product is a work of craft rather than mass production 4 Plastic jigs are used to accurately assemble the 1mm thick bezel into the case 5 Gluing is a nightmare as no post assembly finishing can take place 6 Grove collaborated with workspace neighbour MapleXO (maplexo. com) to create a limited edition run from recycled skateboard decks 7 Bamboo offcuts are reused as packaging 8 Grove’s new iPad 2 case combines bamboo with leather (and magnets) into one delightful product

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Sustainable Innovation 11 We talk to Martin Charter, director of The Centre for Sustainable Design, about the Centre’s history, issues and trends in sustainable innovation and its forthcoming conference

by Tanya Weaver

T

he vast majority of large organisations have had formal sustainability strategies in place for some time. This has meant that the discussion around sustainability has shifted from ‘why to do’ sustainable innovation to ‘how to’ make it happen. But what about SMEs and smaller companies who don’t have the same resources and in-house knowledge available to them but realise they need to do something? According to Martin Charter, director of The Centre for Sustainable Design (CfSD), product designers and engineers don’t necessarily want to be specialists in sustainability but need to have the right tools and processes available to them in order to make more sustainable decisions in the design and development process. “There is a need for a portfolio of tools depending on the complexity of the analysis needed, particularly for the nonspecialist. They need to be more simple, but not simplistic tools,” explains Charter.

Charter knows a thing or two about sustainable design. He wrote the ‘Managing Eco-design’ manual in 1996 focused on business aspects of eco-design to help solve the lack of guidance available at the time.

This is something that continues in his work today and he’s currently chairing the ISO: 14006 document that brings exactly that type of advice and guidance into an ISO certified standard.

Helping hand Established in Farnham, UK, in 1995 the CfSD has organised over 100 conferences and workshops, and undertaken a wide range of research and training projects on eco-product development and sustainable product design. Apart from its work with the large OEMs and multinationals, a core focus of the Centre has been to work with SME’s and consultancies on sustainable xiv

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design issues. We were talking about how you remove lead or lead cadmium from the guts of a new product or a redesign. So, incorporating sustainability at the concept stage,” he adds.

Charter also set up CfSD’s first Sustainable Innovation conference back in 1995. He identified a gap in the market for an event that would focus on sustainable design and so decided to add value in that way. “Obviously it was an opportunity for us to have an event as a promotional tool, but it would also provide a platform to raise awareness of sustainability issues and what companies are doing,” comments Charter.

The conference has evolved over the years and this October sees the 16th being staged Sustainable Innovation 11: ‘State of the Art’ in Sustainable Innovation & Design. Held from 24th to 25th October 2011 in the impressive location of Farnham Castle, the conference provides a platform to discuss the opportunities and challenges related to sustainable innovation, technology, product Martin Charter - director of The Centre for Sustainable Design (CfSD) and the man behind and service design and development. “One the Sustainable Innovation conferences of the things I did in 2003 was rebrand the conference away from design and focus on innovation and design. “We work with busi- innovation more broadly. The ideas of comnesses on policy and with our research part- mercialisation with design as a key part of ners we’ve been involved in all manner of that process,” says Charter.

European research projects. We’ve also been involved in training in Europe, the States Beyond compliance and all across Asia,” says Charter.

Having worked in the sustainability indusCharter’s movement into the field started in try for some time, Charter has obviously the late 1980s when he worked in a range of seen how it has developed and the changes roles in industry looking at sustainability. that have occurred. Compliance was initially “What I brought to the Centre is a better a key sustainability driver but it seems largunderstanding of business and how you er corporations are beyond that now. As manage the issues within product develop- Charter explains, advanced companies like ment. The approach we take at the Centre is Philips started working on eco-design or to identify product designers and engineers Design for the Environment after the Earth that could work and collaborate with us.”

Summit in 1992. “Thirty per cent of Philips’ “When we started, CfSD was centred on overall revenue now comes from its green design engineering rather than product flagship products,” he says.

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Event preview

“They’ve got something called the Six Focal Areas of Eco-Design that they bring in right at the beginning of any new product or redesign of any product. That’s really talking about opportunities to a) reduce materials through out the lifecycle, b) reduce the energy consumption, c) how to reduce packaging through out the lifecycle, either that the point of sale or distribution, or d) increase longevity in design, e) constitution of materials, and f) increase recyclability,” adds Charter.

Philips, like a growing number of other big players, want to get ahead of legislation but the first issue is always a question of how to get compliance in place either through direct control over their factories or through contract manufacturers and supply chain. As Charter explains, a recent training project CfSD did with a household name multinational provides a good indication of where things are heading.

“The company’s first challenge was environmental compliance of the 800 new products launched each year,” says Charter. “That’s key before they started to look at sustainable innovation and how they use it to stimulate new products and technology ideas.”

“A lot of the companies are moving from factory and supplier compliance (so what they do with waste and such) into the next phase of how these issues (materials adoption, energy adoption, materials recyclability) impacts their products,” he explains.

A key issue in modern manufacturing is the link between eco-design and supply chains. CfSD led the Asia Eco-Design Electronics (AEDE) project, which brings eco-design training and tools to the Chinese, Indian and Thai electronics sector that are required to meet increasingly stringent legal and customer requirements related to environmental and social issues from the EU,

cations for the education community. “The engineering education departments should be educating students on these issues,” he argues. “But at the moment it’s quite sporadic. You see some universities doing it (particularly less so in this country), but it tends to be a few players where they’re thinking about integrating it into curriculum though often it depends on motivated lecturers that do a module or a short course.”

The Eco Design Tool developed by the CfSD for the Asia Eco-Design Electronics (AEDE) project

Japan and the US. Another shift Charter has witnessed is that larger companies are starting to develop focal areas depending on the products they produce. For instance, a key focus for Procter & Gamble, which produce FMCG (fast moving consumer goods) products and subsequently an enormous amount of packaging, is on water use.

For beginners However, apart from its work with these larger companies, a core focus for the CfSD is SMEs. Without the same legislative pressures, the issue for these smaller companies is how and where to start. According to Charter, many product designers or engineers in such companies would benefit from simple tools and processes that would better educate them in sustainable design. “This is what we look at in our training, particularly some of the simple approaches people can use, using checklists and other methodologies just to start the thinking,” says Charter.

Training is one of CfSD core services.

Programmes concentrating on sustainability focused innovation, product development and marketing which have been organised worldwide for major corporations Charter also feels that there are big impli-

On the Agenda The Sustainable Innovation conference taking place in October will provide a great opportunity to learn, network and discuss. It features presentations from international businesses, government and academia with the 24th October chaired by David Eades, presenter of BBC World News, and the 25th October by Lawrence Bloom, chairman of B.e Energy, UK/Canada. Delegates can also decide whether to attend just one or both days. “The first day will focus on practicalities of how you integrate environmental aspects into product design and innovation and the lessons learned. The second day will be looking at the issues of choosing tools and the lessons learned from the process. We’ll have Autodesk and Granta Design, for example,” says Charter.

As a final note, the ISO: 14006 standard will be published in September. With the title, ‘Environmental management systems Guidelines for incorporating ecodesign’, it aims to provide guidance on how companies can integrate eco-design into environmental management and quality management systems. With it becoming official shortly before the Sustainable Innovation conference, the event will provide an opportunity to discuss it with a group of experts and leaders in the field. The CfSD will also, of course, be launching training in that area. www.cfsd.org.uk

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Sustainable Innovation 2011 ‘State of the Art‘ Sustainable Innovation & Design

an initiative of

16th International Conference 24–25 October 2011 at Farnham Castle, Farnham, UK

Leading-edge speakers · Mark Barthel, Head of Design, WRAP, UK

· Dr Jamie O’Hare, Senior Consultant, Granta Design, UK

· Dr Louis Brimacombe, Head, Environmental Technology, Tata Steel Group, UK

· Jacquie Ottman, Founder and CEO, J. Ottman Consulting, US

· Lawrence Bloom, Chairman, B.e Energy, UK/Canada

· Bruce Piasecki, President & Founder, AHG Group Inc, US

· Martin Charter, Director, The Centre for Sustainable Design, University for the Creative Arts, UK

· Professor Fred Steward, Policy Studies Institute, UK

· Colin Courtney, Director, Green Construction, Skanska AB, UK · Dawn Danby, Manager – Sustainable Design, Autodesk, US · David Eades, Presenter, BBC World News, UK

· Reed Paget, CEO, One Earth Innovation, UK

· James Sweet, Commercial Director, C4Ci, UK · Trudy Thompson, Founder, Bricks and Bread, UK · Professor Ursula Tischner, Director & Coordinator, econcept and Savanah College of Art & Design, Germany/US

· Mark Griffiths, Partner, SecondNature, UK · Oliver Heath, Director, Heath Design Ltd, UK · Andrew Jenkins, Sustainable Development Manager – Products, Boots UK Ltd, UK · Michael Kuhndt, Head of Centre, UNEP/Wuppertal Institute Collaborating Centre on Sustainable Consumption and Production (CSCP), Germany

Benefits to delegates · Unique: Forum for new ideas and concepts · Leading-edge: Presentations from leading researchers, practitioners and policy-makers · Quality: Over 40 papers will be presented · Content: New research, results and thinking

· Tomoo Machiba, Senior Consultant, Organisation of Economic, Cooperation & Development (OECD), France

· Networking: Opportunities to meet business, government and academia

· Dr Kieren Mayers, Head of Technical Compliance, Sony Computer Entertainment, UK

· Track-record: Over 1800 delegates from over 50 countries have attended previous conferences

· Shaun McCarthy, Director, Action Sustainability, UK

· Established: 16th international conference

· Andy Middleton, Director, TYF, UK · Michal Miedzinski, Senior Consultant, Technopolis, Belgium · Dr Richard Miller, Head of Sustainability, Technology Strategy Board (TSB), UK · Louise Nicholls, Head of Responsible Sourcing, Marks and Spencer Plc, UK

Fees For delegate rates see registration form on the reverse side, or ‘Fees’ on: www.cfsd.org.uk/event/tspd16

Venue For directions see ‘Factfile’ on: www.cfsd.org.uk/event/tspd16

Organised by:

The Centre for Sustainable Design

Supported by:

Institute of Environmental Management & Assessment

Media partner:

DEVELOP3D

Administrator · The Centre for Sustainable Design · University for the Creative Arts at Farnham · Falkner Road · Farnham · Surrey · GU9 7DS · UK t: +44 (0)1252 892878 xvi

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f: +44 (0)1252 892747

e: SI11@ucreative.ac.uk

w: http://www.cfsd.org.uk/events/tspd16/index.html

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Comment

Embracing sustainable product design

by Cassandra Padbury

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ver the last 50 years at Cambridge Consultants we have developed successful methodologies to address a range of differing business requirements, across a number of industries. But are these processes for generating breakthrough products suitable, or optimised, for achieving reductions in environmental impact? How do you reduce the environmental impact of a product in a competitive business environment where consumers may demand environmental reduction, but may not understand what that actually means, and are not yet keen to pay for it?

We anticipated this challenge and have adapted our concept generation methodology to create Ecovation. Ecovation enables us to innovate taking into account not only the cost of material, the ease of manufacturing, or the appearance of the product, but also the environmental impact of the concept. We have incorporated sustainable thinking into a number of our product designs and recently have applied Ecovation to a vacuum cleaner and a blood glucose monitoring system.

So, what have we learnt about the challenges of improving sustainability?

Thoroughly understand your product We start our process by conducting a thorough Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) on an existing product or concept upon which we want to improve. In order to have meaningful and focussed investigation into how you might make changes, it’s vital to ensure that the whole system is considered at this stage.

The calculated impact of any aspect of the LCA depends heavily on the assumptions you make. For example, for a product, such as a vacuum cleaner, where the majority of environmental impact is due to energy consumed during operation, the challenges are directly linked to the way the product is used; how many minutes a day/week is the vacuum cleaner used for and for what sort of activity? Where the potential for improvement is mainly in the use phase due to a consumable element of the product, for example, lancets and test strips in a blood glucose monitoring system, considerations include how many times a day blood glucose testing

is actually carried out (considering use by both Type 1 and Type 2 diabetics) and whether the user actually complies with sharps disposal guidance. ing to It’s important to make sure you have achieve an enough knowledge and skill to conduct your incremental LCA appropriately and allow enough time reduction in envito perform this analysis. We have found it ronmental impact. vital to include human factors information gained from interviews and observations of users to challenge the assumptions of our Don’t lose the small things analysis.

Whilst some of our product LCAs have lead to clear focus areas, other studies show no Define objectives and expect conflict one area that will yield significant environAs with all innovation work, it is really mental impact reduction. Our Ecovation important to define your criteria for success. process accommodates multiple smaller Are you looking to conceive the most sus- ideas and develops them side by side, tainable product on the market or solely to shielding them from being lost when, in comply with, for example, EuP (Energy isolation, they appear not to make a signifiUsing Products) or EuR directives? Do you cant contribution to the aim. A consistent wish to build in flexibility to allow incre- marketing message and the established crimental improvements along the way, for teria will facilitate creative assembly of conexample, as “green” materials or processes cept fragments.

Due to growing consumer pressure and become affordable? Are you looking to get this to market as swiftly as possible, or are increasing regulatory demands more of our you able to invest in process and manufac- clients will be seeking to include environturing changes? The criteria established at mental considerations in their product the start are used throughout the process, development. There are real opportunities allowing the team and others consistent clar- for companies to respond to consumer ity as to why decisions have been taken. If demand for green products and services, you don’t define your end objectives well anticipating and exceeding regulation. We enough at the beginning, it’s all too easy to have embraced sustainable product design get bogged down in the sheer weight of data by creating Ecovation, which uses an LCA to focus creativity, produces and employs generated by the LCA and lose your way.

Environmental requirements frequently appropriate specification from the start and lead to conflict, and you need to be able to recognises the value of seemingly small deal with these in your process. For the vac- ideas. We hope to challenge this process so if uum cleaner there is conflict between you have any ideas get in touch! decreasing the energy consumption and maintaining cleaning performance, whilst being able to convince the user of this. We have built on real experience. Two years ago we created a ‘green’ syringe design called Syreen that improves patient safety and ease of use whilst halving the resource intensity and material wastage associated with tradiCassandra Padbury is the project manager of Ecovation and part of the Consulting and Innovation tional pre-filled disposable syringes. During the process, our most sustainable concept Management division at Cambridge Consultants. She has experience within market strategy and business design was not rated as highly as a modified case development, including review of specific design which is compatible with the current component usage in products, alignment of technology production lines. We needed to be realistic changes with user requirements and both quantitative and qualitative evaluation of options for change. about the willingness of healthcare compaCassandra can be reached at nies to change their filling lines, compromiswww.cambridgeconsultants.com sustainability.develop3d.com

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Reconfiguring for clean tech How do you shift your business to take advantage of the clean energy movement? We talk to one company that has done just that and taken the solar power manufacturing market by storm

by Al Dean

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ccording to several reports, the Clean Tech industry is seeing a massive rebirth of investment now that the economic strife of the last few years is easing off. According to Greenbiz.com’s annual Green Business Report, clean tech investments are up again this last year to just shy of the $4 billion mark. Amongst various ‘clean’ energy sources, solar is getting the biggest portion of that investment. But although it may have filed the largest number of patents in the past few years, what about those manufacturers developing the infrastructure that is enabling companies to harness energy from the sun?

One such company is DEK Solar, which has grown out of DEK Printing Machines, a specialist in screen printing equipment.

“We started to sell equipment to solar manufacturers over 25 years ago” says Darren Brown, DEK’s solar manager. “Of course, then it was just another thick film process - the printing of inks in relatively thick layers around 10 to 100s of microns onto various substrates.”

A future in solar?

With its knowledge of printing and automation, DEK soon realised it could take advantage of the clean tech revolution and in 2007 set up DEK Solar, a centre for engineering and manufacturing in Weymouth, UK. Once the viability for specialised solar cell manufacture equipment had been established, a small engineering team was assembled.

What’s surprising is the period of development: initial design, beta testing, pro-

duction, to first customer was only 12 months using a combination of Pro/ Engineer, Windchill PDMLink for document control, FastCAD (for wiring and harness design) and another system for change control. Chris Collinson, CAD systems administrator at DEK, believes that DEK’s data is usually around 4,000 unique parts, but once instances are included, that part count gets into the region of 6,000 assembled components.

DEK’s solar cell lines are modular, allowing the sales engineers to adapt a modular range of sub-systems to suit the customer’s requirements. “It’s a dedicated equipment set, but within that equipment set it’s pretty configurable,” says Brown.

“Our SMT (Surface Mounted Technology) equipment can be likened to a Swiss army knife, it will print onto substrates from a

With around 6,000 components, DEK Solar provides an agile production system that handles wafer printing and subsequent processes that can quickly be adapted to a customer’s requirements

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DEK Solar’s production lines can produce between 1,200 and 3,000 silicon wafers per hour

couple of inches square to a couple of feet and you can print any multitude of materials. With the solar equipment, you would liken it more to a scalpel as is designed specifically for that purpose only.”

The portion of the solar cell manufacturing process that DEK covers focuses on the latter stages of the process, utilising silicon wafers (typically either 125mm or 156mm square and between 120 to 220 microns thick).

Challenges in the design process relate to the fragile nature of the crystalline silicon and material handling in general.

According to Brown, production rates are a key focus. “There are technical challenges relating to the way we handle these substrates,” he says. “The drivers for the industry have traditionally been through put, so the operational speed and capacity of the line as well as the handling of thinner substrates are key as they determine actual end of line yield.”

Brown explained that breakage is a massive concern. “You’re trying to process a piece of silicon that’s 180 microns thick (essentially a large piece of eggshell) at anywhere between 1,200 to 3,600 wafers per hour. So, one part is being processed every one to three seconds.

“The screen printing process itself is a contact process with pressure being applied to these wafers.

Although you’re going for speed, you’re handling eggshells. If one breaks, it’s not just a case of a corner chipping off, they tend to shatter into multiple fragments. This will often bring the line down and then you’ll have to clean it down and recover as quickly as possible. That’s one of the areas we’re putting a lot of work into - recovery times. It’s all well and good having a line that’s running at 3,000 parts per hour, but if every time you break a cell it took up to 30 min-

utes to get it back up and running again, you’re wasting your time. Typical breakage rates on these lines are less than 0.2 per cent, which sounds low but not if you’re running 3,000 cells per hour,” he adds.

As DEK’s equipment is at the end of a process chain the cells have already been through multiple production processes.

These processes can introduce a lot of stresses into the wafers and could have caused micro cracks, which will always give rise to a certain level of breakage.

the move to polycrystalline silicon.

“Polycrystalline means that instead of growing a single crystal and slicing it up, they pour the molten silicon into the mould and it forms many crystals,” says Brown. “You can liken Monocrystal to a nice piece of mahogany and Polycrystalline to chipboard. Because the wafer has been sliced from a block of silicon made up of many different crystals, you get grain boundaries between them, which are basically faults.

The handling challenges have increased as manufacturers have switched to the polycrystalline wafers.”

However, has this change in materials had an effect on the efficiency of the cells?

According to Brown, there has been a minor trade off on efficiency. A good mono-cell can be up around 18 to 19 per cent efficient, while a poly-cell can be around 16 to 17 per cent So, there is a couple of percentage points in efficiency as a trade off, but that’s counted by lower cost of the silicon itself and availability, “ he comments.

A bright clean future Now that the silicon foundries geared towards polycrystalline silicon have been established for a couple of years, the supply rates are much better. With a combination of expert knowledge in both this field and the screen print industry as a whole, DEK has been able to take advantage of the burgeoning interest and investment in solar power. But it can’t rest on its laurels. As Collinson comments, “One of the biggest design challenges we had was making the production lines modular. In the early days, the customer would specify what they wanted so we would need to modify or design that module to suit. Now we’ve got a wide range of modules designed that most customers can select from. That’s one of the biggest challenges, meeting the customers requirements at the speed they want it.”

It’s all well and good having a line that’s running at 3,000 parts per hour, but if every time you break a cell it took up to 30 minutes to get it back up and running again, you’re wasting your time.

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Silicon shifts Another key challenge for DEK is the move away from mono-crystalline silicon. As Brown explains, the demand for mono-crystalline silicon was consumed by the chip making industry resulting in a serious shortage several years ago. This prompted

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Whole systems thinking in design Šistockphoto.com/Lya_Cattel

Dawn Danby and Jeremy Faludi explore the value of integrating Whole Systems Thinking into the core of your design methodology at the most formative stages

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Comment

T

he increasing global demand for energy over the past several decades has put ever-increasing pressure on identifying and implementing ways to save energy. In response, there have been consistent improvements to energy efficiency measures worldwide. However, as successful as some energy efficiency measures have been, they’re not doing enough to keep our worldwide energy consumption levels from steadily rising. What’s gone wrong? One explanation would be that engineers are still designing for short-term energy gains, instead of keeping the whole system in mind and designing for maximum long-term energy efficiency gains.

For example, as car engines have gotten more efficient, our heavier cars force them to work harder. As our computers get faster, we load them up with more code. Even in the case of household items like refrigerators, as we make them more energy efficient, we keep plugging in more of them. It’s not unusual to find an empty fridge in every hotel room, or an extra one sitting unused in a North American garage struggling to stay cool against the summer heat. In every case, a lot of good engineering is wasted by solving the wrong problems.

Engineering alone unfortunately won’t prevent rebound effects like these or solve the global energy crisis, but designing for radical efficiency gains can help transform the ways we consume energy and slow down the rising energy consumption rates.

To do this, engineers and designers need to take a look at the whole system for which they’re designing.

Thinking in systems Does a car need motors for power-seating or does it need to burn less fuel? Even with well-intentioned innovation, it’s not unusual for an engineer to do a great job optimising a component, only to have the product as a whole perform poorly. For instance, a refrigerator might have a highly efficient compressor that costs twice as much as a normal unit, but if the fridge doesn’t seal well, a few cents worth of rubber gasket can leak away all the energy saved with the expensive compressor.

If designers and engineers kept the whole system in mind when designing products, this could be avoided.

What do we mean when we say “keep the whole system in mind” with xxii

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respect to designing products? It means thinking about how the entire system of a product works as a whole, rather than focusing on its individual parts.

Now let’s take a closer look at what this means for a refrigerator. Keeping our food cool and well preserved is one of the great improvements of modern life. However, refrigeration is also the biggest energy user in most people’s homes, after heating and lighting. Refrigerators require 4-7% of US residential energy use, according to the Department of Energy; for a single appliance, that’s enormous. The cost of electricity over a refrigerator’s life often exceeds the purchase cost. Consequently, refrigerators demand more observation.

EnergyStar-rated fridges today use up to 75% less energy than an average fridge from the early 1980’s, but there’s still a long way to go. Fridges today are still nowhere near the theoretical minimum. Improving the efficiency of components is an incremental process that works, but it often gets exponentially more expensive the better components you use - and you hit a point of diminishing returns.

For dramatic improvements, we need technology that’s both radically more efficient and cheaper to buy. Amory Lovins from Rocky Mountain Institute uses the term “tunneling through the cost barrier” to refer to efficiency innovations that radically reduce all costs for manufacturers and users. For example, several years ago a high school physics teacher in Australia, Tom Chalko, made a refrigerator that used 93% less energy than a similar-sized unit, and only cost $400 (http://mtbest.net/chest_ fridge_1.pdf).

For comparison, the best-in-class commercially available unit of that size at the time only used 17% less energy than the reference model and cost $2,300. How did Chalko do this? His approach was simple: he bought a top-opening chest freezer and replaced the thermostat with one from a refrigerator. Since it was designed to be a freezer, it was better insulated. It also opened upwards, so its cool air didn’t spill out into the room and force it to heat new warm air. Arguably, the biggest limitation of Chalko’s fridge was its form factor, and the awkwardness of the open top. There’s clearly a middle ground to be gained, using these efficiency measures and designing for better usability. Instead of just incrementally improving components, Chalko thought about the refrigerator as a whole system, and was able to go after the biggest gains for the least cost.

Thinking things through Looking closer at the refrigerator as a whole, you begin to realize how effective this thinking is from a design point of view. There’s no point in building a super-insulated

refrigerator if a single component, such as an icemaker, sticks a metal tube through that insulation to become a superhighway of heat leakage. Is energy use even the largest environmental impact of a refrigerator?

What about the manufacturing of the steel and the insulation, and the disposal at the end of its life?

All of these are important impact areas; the life cycle assessment of an average fridge would show the environmental impacts from energy used during the fridge’s life vastly outweigh the impacts from manufacturing, distribution, or disposal. This helps us set design priorities: in this case, they might indicate adding more materials, such as insulation, to achieve higher performance.

An even more radical refrigerator design harks back to the era of the root cellar. Olin College of Engineering undergraduate students Ben Chapman and Cory Dolphin worked with a family in Vermont to capture and store the cold of winter weather. They built a large walk-in refrigerator-freezer with roof vents that open to the outside cold in winter. Thick insulated walls are lined with thousands of re-used 2-litre bottles, each filled with saltwater to freeze and store the cold. The saltwater freezes at a lower temperature than plain water, thus keeping the unit cooler in the summer. For communities with northern climates, this kind of passive technology can cut the environmental impacts of refrigeration to nearly zero.

System mapping as a jumpstart With such enormous performance gains possible, how can you do this, too? We propose combining whole-systems and lifecycle thinking into a unified process for sustainable design. The first step is to map the entire system of the product or service: What are its sub-systems, and how do they connect? Is it a sub-system of something larger? When, why, and with what do your users use it? What is the entire lifetime of the product? Where do environmental and social impacts occur in the system? Building this map is a creative process similar to brainstorming.

In the Autodesk Sustainability Workshop, we apply this to two examples: a clothes dryer and a refrigerator. In the case of a refrigerator, we include all the components of a fridge and how they fit together: the cool area, the insulation all around it, the heat exchange coils both inside and outside, the compressor sitting underneath the cool area, etc. The system map (examples of which are shown right) also includes opening and closing the door, because much energy is lost. The map includes the mining of materials, manufacturing, transportation, use, and disposal, but it also includes where the food comes from and where it goes after it leaves the fridge, because the food is the

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whole reason the fridge exists.

Once the whole system is mapped, life-cycle assessment or other quantitative tools can be used to find the causes of the biggest environmental impacts: is it toxins in manufacturing? Energy use during the product’s life? Packaging waste?

For the fridge, energy use completely dominates.

Once you know this, you can set your goals for improvement, in quantitative terms that sit alongside standard project goals like 50% less energy use, at 10% lower purchase cost.

Brainstorm

above A fridge’s door configuration are brainstormed to explore potential shifts and design change below Geometry options are explored to find room for design change and rethinking preconceptions

Dawn Danby (@ecoworkshop) has spent 12 years working in sustainable design. She works with Autodesk’s Sustainability team, co-authored Worldchanging: A User’s Guide to the 21st Century, has an industrial design degree from the Rhode Island School of Design and an MBA in Sustainable Business from the Bainbridge Graduate Institute. Her latest initiative is the Autodesk Sustainability Workshop: www.autodesk.com/sustainabilityworkshop

Jeremy Faludi (LEED AP) is a sustainable design strategist and researcher. He has taught green design at Stanford University as well as teaching at California College of the Arts and Minneapolis College of Art and Design. He was sustainability research manager for Project FROG, the leader in modular commercial green buildings; he has also worked for Rocky Mountain Institute and Lawrence Berkeley National Labs, among others: www.faludidesign.com

Next, you brainstorm on your goal, again venturing out past individual silos to the product’s whole system: what are alternatives to every component or step in the system? How can you skip steps entirely? You can be more thorough and creative when you use the whole-system map you made earlier as a jumpingoff point. For instance, you could have several ideas for rearranging the fridge’s components so they work more efficiently, like having the compressor on top so its waste heat doesn’t rise into the refrigerated area, or replacing the one main door with a slew of insulated drawers to avoid spilling cold air out.

Finally, once you have a bevy of brainstorm ideas, you need some way to judge them. Some of the crazier ideas you can throw out right away, like only growing food inside the fridge to avoid opening the door. But to judge the plausible ones, you once again use your quantitative analysis tools like life cycle assessment, with some astute guesswork to estimate the performance and impacts of your ideas. For instance, having the heat sink outside in a cold climate will probably perform better than simply moving the compressor to the top of the fridge. This will help you narrow the field to just the few best options that are worth prototyping or the one single idea worth pursuing.

Using whole-systems thinking, especially when combined with life-cycle thinking, turns sustainability into an innovation tool rather than a burden. Whole systems and life cycle thinking have already begun to help designers and engineers open doors to radically higher-performance products and services in many industries, from refrigerators to buildings. There will be more opportunities in engineering to adopt this approach going forward, as we continue to try and decrease the demand for energy worldwide. www.autodesk.com/sustainabilityworkshop

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Review Sustainable Minds LCA 2.0 Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) is increasingly pushing towards the cloud and Software as a Service (SaaS). Al Dean takes a look at one of the industry’s pioneers

L

ife Cycle Assessment is a cornerstone of any environmentally aware organisation’s toolkit, but there’s one serious issue if you’re looking to both integrate environmental impact assessment as part of your design process - particularly at the early stages.

Many of the historical solutions are monolithic systems targetting in-depth, expert led analyses once a product is complete.

As such, they aren’t suited to the rapid fire, often quick and dirty conceptualisation and product development process.

Into this comes Sustainable Minds and its cloud-based service. Essentially, it gives you tools to upload a BOM (which can quickly be extracted from your assembly) or create one from scratch, then add in the manufacturing (materials and processes), transportation, use phase and end of life data and find out the environmental impact of that product.

While that’s pretty much standard fair for LCA tools, what SM has done is combine eco-concept modelling capablities with LCA. This allows product teams to generate many concepts and credibly estimate, evaluate, compare and track the life cycle environmental and human health performance.

The ability to rapidly model and compare is powerful to determine which changes will yield meaningful environmental performance improvements to make informed trade-offs. You can tweak either the product itself or play with other factors, such as manufacturing location, process, materials and such. This makes it ideal for new product development in R&D, early stage prototyping or if you’re conducting a design refresh on a product.

Data sourcing The biggest change in the Sustainable Minds 2.0 release is an update in the method used to calculate the impact factors. SM 2011 uses the latest science from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, and the latest life cycle inventory data.

Within the LCA world, data and how you interpret it is key. Sustainable Minds is using the most up-to-date version of the Ecoinvent data (which is perhaps the world’s most widely used environmental impact dataset) enhanced with some additional background information from other leading sources. This release also brings xxiv

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in an expanded dataset of impact factors.

The system already includes impacts such as materials, processes, use stage consumables, transportation, end of life - the 2.0 release added in more processes for metal work, more bio-based materials (such as bamboo and bagasse) and extension of the ‘end of life’ impact factors.

Having been following what Sustainable Minds has been doing for a while, I like the direction it is taking with the latest release.

There’s expansion of the impacts that allows you to closer match the values you feed into the system to real-life conditions (metal working is something in particular that’s been worked on).

Also, the ability to quickly replicate a project, fine tune it and see the impacts, allows you to take existing or pre-worked data and use it as the basis for experimentation - and in these days of more and more pressure on the environmental factors involved in our products manufacture and use-phase, that’s going to be key, particularly if you’re serious about this and want to bring it in as part of your development process.

With Sustainable Minds, product teams can quickly build and compare multiple concepts and investigate their impacts - clearly and concisely

The perfect cloud solution?

The cloud or SaaS (Software as a Service) nature of the offering makes huge sense.

Database updates can be quickly rolled out and updated once you request them and the data is sourced and verified. I had an experience of this myself, working through a test project.

There wasn’t specific information pertaining to the impact of machining aluminium from a billet. I contacted support and the impact factors were added within three working days. That’s both an indicator of the benfeits of the cloud (as everyone also had that data rolled out to them) and of the service that Sustainable Minds is offering.

The team is also offering an enterprise level version if you want your own data hosted, want to include custom and proprietary impact factors and want to allow access to a much wider range of your team.

That comes at an additional cost as you would expect.

Each concept is compared to a baseline. Results are perfect for including in presentations and documents to support decisions

in terms of user experience, has a tonne of learning resources to help you both use the system and understand the concepts while being heavyweight in terms of data and potential benefit. Its available now, up-todate and frankly, it’s pretty damned costeffective @ $120/month or $1200/year for Conclusion one user. Because products get designed by If you’re looking at LCA becoming part of teams, it’s $3,500 for five users.

It doesn’t get much better than this. your design process, I couldn’t recommend Sustainable Minds offering more. It’s light www.sustainableminds.com

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       

  



MORE DETAILS AT http://goo.gl/YCYMu To advertise Contact Matt Wells | matt@cadjobhunter.com | +44 (0) 1252 414007

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THE LAST WORD

Martyn Day is pondering the benefits of today’s design systems. He thinks we are living in a new renaissance period, where new tools and techniques are removing hundreds of years of design and fabrication limitations

N

ever in the field of human creativity has so much been designed, by so few, for so many. I hope Winston doesn’t mind me remixing his timeless tribute but I have come to the conclusion that today’s designers have never had it so good.

Release after release, we look at the latest technologies for product designers and, without a doubt, the past five years have provided more revolutionary CAD technology than the previous twenty.

Thinking back to the early days, when drawing lines on a computer was the height of modern design, we were still limited, not only by the processor speeds but also by the preconceived notions and traditions of how products came about.

CAD was all about the documentation, not about solving problems. Sure, products were still created and buildings built but the computer didn’t act as an ‘amplifier of intelligence’, merely productivity saving within the same old process.

The move to 3D, accelerated by the adoption of automotive and aerospace firms, led to digital mock-up and parametric where the computer provided the environment to build and perform basic tests, as well as do the old document thing. Over time, the price of the hardware and software dropped with desktop tools democratising 3D, which led to an explosion of adoption. While you may think today’s 3D modelling applications are expensive, in real terms they are actually relatively cheap - back in the 90s a decent 486DX4 PC for CAD used to cost in excess of £4,000 plus, on its own.

With advances in hardware (multi-core, 64 bit, GPU acceleration etc) workstations can do a lot more beside model large assemblies. The software firms are rapidly developing analysis and simulation tools that make use of all this extra power. The next stage is to utilise supercomputers that reside in the ‘cloud’. These internetbased server farms will be able to give

multiple results in the time it takes to make a cup of tea, as opposed to days. As the CAD tools enable ever-more complex geometry and are tagged with real-word attributes and intelligence, designers can increasingly liberate themselves from managing the data or the geometry and think more about function.

WE WILL BITE THEM ON THE FEATURES Talking about the geometry, old limitations of CAD systems, which generated much blood, toil, tears and sweat, are slowly being vanquished too. Feature-tree modelling can, in some circumstances be an unnecessary burden. With SpaceClaim, Siemen’s Synchronous Technology, Autodesk Inventor Fusion (which is free) and PTC Creo Elements, direct modelling is allowing easy access to legacy data and enabling easy push-pull design interfaces.

There have also been advances in laser scanning and feature recognition to capture complex real-world objects ready for repurposing. Also in generative form design, where forms can be defined in real time with scripts and flow diagrams.

Products like Rhino Grasshopper from McNeel & Associates (www.grasshopper3d. com) are providing tools for engineers to experiment with self-generating designs based on algorithms. The software manages user-defined geometrical relationships as you interact with the model. Thinking about it, another benefit of products like Rhino is that now it’s possible to do Class A surfaces (as in high-end car body design) in a product that costs less than €1,000.

THE TOOLS TO FINISH THE JOB As the software from all the vendors has matured the breadth and depth of technology has mushroomed, covering most aspects of the design process, from conceptual design, to management, modelling, analysis, simulation, rendering, animation and digital distribution. One designer, with a seat of today’s CAD could conceptualise, detail, optimise and produce lifelike images for marketing or to get funding. Luxion Keyshot (www.

As CAD tools are tagged with real-world attributes and intelligence, designers can increasingly liberate themselves from managing the data or the geometry and think more about the function

keyshot.com) and Luxology’s Modo 501 (www.luxology.com/modo/) can provide stunningly real results.

For the times that an image doesn’t make 1,000 sales, there’s always a rapid prototyping device, which have drastically come down in price for desktop use (from $500 for a RepRap or £11,500 for HP DesignJet 3D). The materials available are also constantly being improved, ranging from plastic or foam for office machines, up to bureau services that have laser sintering machines, which can go direct to metal.

CONCLUSION From my vantage point and looking historically at the design market, the majority of these technologies and price points have come to the main market only in the last three to five years and the process of enhancement appears to be accelerating.

Looking ahead the promise of infinite cloud computing may remove any processing bottleneck. Autodesk is already talking about its analysis tools providing a variation of viable solutions to a design problem, not just giving the results of a single test.

It’s clear that 2D CAD was not an end but was the end of documentation-based design. Today’s 3D CAD systems empower individuals and teams of designers in a way that is really only just sinking in.

The requirement is that we explore the capabilities of our design tools and embrace the applicable innovations in technology that happen on a yearly basis.

Martyn Day is consulting editor of DEVELOP3D. He is currently wondering if it’s just easier to name the people that weren’t hacked by the News of the World. martyn@x3dmedia.com

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AutoDesk Inventor tAkes you beyonD 3D to DIgItAl PrototyPIng

Autodesk® Inventor® software creates a single digital model that enables you to design, visualise and simulate your products. Inventor helps you to reduce product costs and get innovative designs to market faster.

Learn how Inventor can take your designs beyond 3D at autodesk.com/beyond3D.

AutoDesk Inventor

Image courtesy of ADEPT Airmotive (Pty) Ltd. Autodesk, AutoCAD and Autodesk Inventor are registered trademarks or trademarks of Autodesk, Inc. and/or its subsidiaries and/or affiliates in the USA and/or other countries. All other brand names, product names or trademarks belong to their respective holders. Autodesk reserves the right to alter product and services offerings and specifications and pricing at any time without notice and is not responsible for typographical or graphical errors that may appear in this document. © 2010 Autodesk, Inc. All rights reserved.