DEVELOP3D April 2021

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TECHNOLOGY FOR THE PRODUCT LIFECYCLE

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FUTURE DIRECTIONS IN AUTOMOTIVE How R&D teams at Polestar and Ford are driving big changes

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MOVING TO SOLIDWORKS IT’S NOT THE HEADACHE YOU THINK

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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 Digital Media Editor Stephen Holmes stephen@x3dmedia.com +44 (0)20 3384 5297 Consulting Editor Jessica Twentyman jtwentyman@gmail.com +44 (0)20 7913 0919 Consulting Editor Martyn Day martyn@x3dmedia.com +44 (0)7525 701 542

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H

oly Smokes, Batman! How is it April already? I don’t know whether it’s the relentless magazine schedule, a lack of excursions over the past year, or simply that I’m getting more grey hairs than ever before – the time seems to pass so quickly at the moment. I realise that for many, it might be dragging, pandemic and all things considered. Whether you feel like life’s moving at light speed, or that things are taking an interminable time to get back to normal, it doesn’t look like we’re out of this yet. Here in the UK, we’re still waiting on the word from the mop-top in charge to know whether we’ll soon be able to see our loved ones properly, or even just pop down the shops for a few bits and pieces, without it turning into a cut scene from Blade Runner.

This month’s issue is a cracker. Stephen has been talking to two folks in the automotive industry, focusing on the challenge of electrification and how it is influencing all aspects of vehicle development. Elsewhere, Dr Steffan Evans details a project his company, Evotech CAE, carried out recently, with the aim of helping keep daredevils in the sky safety (a tremendous feat, when you consider he’s talking about motorcycle riders). We also get the views of a number of specialists in simulation: why do they think analysis and simulations tools have yet to achieve mainstream adoption?

Our columnists, meanwhile, tackle two very different subjects. SJ puts forward the view that more diversity and inclusion means better design and engineering (a point on which I entirely agree). Erin takes on job postings, which frequently seem to defy the laws of both time and grammar.

Reviews-wise, Greg takes a look at a beast of a workstation, featuring the mighty Threadripper Pro, while I review an impressive desktop 3D printer from BCN3D and a Dell Ultrawide monitor that has changed the game in my home office.

As a final note, for our readers in the UK, I’m curious about one thing this month: Who do you think H is?

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GET NEWS OF FUTURE GPU ANNOUNCEMENTS The advanced linework and visually rich imagery you see in your professional software is only possible because of the GPU you are using to display it. For today’s resource heavy software, a modern GPU can mean increased performance and processing power. At AMD we are accelerating this further, and we can’t wait to show you what we have been working on.

Register now for news of the newest AMD graphics cards as they’re announced: amd.com/ProGPUsignup

© 2021 Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. All rights reserved. AMD, the AMD Arrow logo, Radeon, and combinations thereof are trademarks of Advanced Micro Devices, Inc.

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CONTENTS APRIL 2021 ISSUE NO. 126

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13 15 16 20 26 30 36 38

NEWS Intel launches 11th Gen Intel Core S-series desktop processors; Ford and HP look to close loop on recycling 3D printing power; Stratasys takes fight to HP with new H Series 3D printers, plus lots more...

FEATURES Comment: Erin McDermott on job postings etiquette Comment: SJ on diversity and inclusion in 3D printing Visual Design Guide: Blackmagic Pocket Cinema 6K Pro COVER STORY New directions in automotive Getting the knack at Raptor Titanium Talking Heads: Industry experts on simulation tech Doppelmayr scales a simulation summit Uplifting effects at Vertical Aerospace

REVIEWS 43 BCN3D Sigma D25 47 Workstation Specialists Threadripper Pro workstation 48 Dell U4021QW Ultrawide monitor THE LAST WORD 50 Software-as-a-service has its benefits and drawbacks – but how can customers prepare for a provider that suddenly moves the goalposts, asks Al Dean?

51 DEVELOP3D SERVICES

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

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NEWS NEWS

CPU FOR CAD: 11TH GENERATION INTEL CORE S-SERIES PROCESSOR LAUNCHES » Intel claims a 19% gen-over-gen performance increase, but with very strong competition from the AMD Ryzen 5000, there are doubts over whether it will be considered the best CPU for CAD. Greg Corke reports

I

ntel has launched its 11th Gen Intel Core S-series desktop processors (codenamed Rocket Lake-S). Engineered on the Cypress Cove architecture, the new CPUs are claimed to offer a 19% gen-overgen instructions per cycle (IPC) performance improvement. All Rocket Lake-S CPUs have six or eight cores. The flagship Intel Core i911900K can reach speeds of up to 5.3GHz. On paper, the low core count, high frequency and enhanced IPC should make the 11th Gen Intel Core S-series a good CPU for CAD and BIM software, which are mostly single-threaded. But Intel faces very strong competition from AMD and its AMD Ryzen 5000 CPUs, which are available with high clock speeds and six, eight, 12 or 16 cores.

Because the AMD Ryzen 5000 series is available with more than eight cores, it should have a big performance lead over the 11th Gen Intel Core S-series in multithreaded workflows like ray trace rendering, simulation and point cloud processing.

The 11th Gen Intel Core S-series is also the first Intel desktop CPU to support the PCIe 4.0 standard, which offers double the bandwidth of PCIe 3.0. Previously, PCIe 4.0 was only supported

by AMD CPUs, including the AMD Ryzen 5000, 3rd Gen AMD Ryzen Threadripper and AMD Ryzen Threadripper Pro (see page 47).

Support for PCIe 4.0 means users can take advantage of PCIe 4.0 SSDs for much faster read/write performance when working with large datasets, such as those used in simulation, visualisation and point cloud processing. It also means data can be loaded into PCIe 4.0 GPUs much quicker. This includes the Nvidia RTX A6000.

WHAT DEVELOP3D THINKS With eight cores and high clock speeds, the 11th Gen Intel Core S-series looks like an ideal CPU for CAD or BIM software. Applications such as AutoCAD and Revit are largely single-threaded, so frequency is all that matters, and users don’t need a substantial number of cores. The question is, how will it compare to older generation Intel Core CPUs and, of course, AMD Ryzen 5000 series CPUs? Intel’s claim of a 19% gen-over-gen IPC performance improvement sounds impressive.

It means that, if a 10th Gen and 11th Gen Intel Core CPU ran at the same frequency, the 11th Gen would be 19% faster.

However, respected technology website AnandTech put this claim under the microscope in its review of the Intel Core i7-11700K, and states that in a core-for-core comparison, Intel is slightly slower and a lot more inefficient than AMD. It remains to be seen how this translates to real-

world performance in CAD software.

It’s also important to note that because the AMD Ryzen 5000 series is available with more than eight cores, it should have a big performance lead in multithreaded workflows like ray trace rendering, simulation and point cloud processing.

More and more architects and engineers use multiple applications in their workflows, so this could play a big part in any decision-making.

The success of the 11th Gen Intel Core S-series in the workstation market will also depend on the workstation manufacturers. Currently, the only way to get hold of an AMD Ryzen 5000-based workstation is through specialist manufacturers like BOXX and Scan.

None of the big three (HP, Dell and Lenovo) currently offer AMD Ryzen 5000-based workstations, although Lenovo has the ThinkStation P620 with the AMD Ryzen Threadripper Pro (12 to 64 cores).

Another area where Intel does appear to have an advantage is in terms of supply. AMD Ryzen 5000 CPUs have been hard to come by, due to manufacturing delays. Because Intel manufactures its own chips, there should be wide availability when the 11th Gen Intel Core S-series officially launches at the end of March. intel.com

8 APRIL 2021 DEVELOP3D.COM

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PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT TECHNOLOGY NEWS

FORD LOOKS TO CLOSE LOOP ON RECYCLING POWDER WITH HP

BGF invests in Driveworks for expansion

B

GF, one of the UK’s most active growth capital investors, has invested £4 million in two-time Queen’s Award winner DriveWorks.

Founded in 2001 as a design tool to automate Solidworks, DriveWorks is used by thousands of customers across 47 countries.

BGF’s funding will support continued investment in technology, to accelerate growth and position the business to address significant market demand for customised 3D product visualisation in an increasingly virtual world. driveworks.co.uk

F

ord is continuing to drive the future of automotive 3D printing by teaming up with HP to innovatively reuse spent 3D printing powders and parts, closing the loop and turning them into injection-moulded vehicle parts – an industry first, it claims.

Sustainability is a priority for both companies, which led to a joint exploration of this “earth-friendly solution”.

The resulting injection-moulded parts are said to be better for the environment, with no compromise in the durability and quality standards that Ford and its customers demand.

The recycled materials are being used to manufacture injection-moulded fuel-line clips installed first on Ford’s Super Duty F-250 trucks.

The parts also have better chemical and moisture resistance than conventional versions, are 7% lighter and cost 10% less.

The Ford team has identified 10 other fuel-line clips on existing vehicles that could benefit from this innovative use of material and will apply it to future models.

“Finding new ways to work with sustainable materials, reducing waste and leading the development of the circular economy are passions at Ford,” said Debbie Mielewski, Ford technical fellow in sustainability. “Many companies are finding great uses for 3D printing technologies, but, together with HP, we’re the first to find a high-value application for waste powder that likely would have gone to landfill, transforming it into functional and durable auto parts.” ford.com | hp.com

There's some heavy irony in the use of "earthfriendly solutions" in a 14.6 mpg truck

Stratasys H Series 3D printers set to take fight to HP with new technology

S

tratasys has announced its new H Series family of selective absorption fusion (SAF) 3D printers, designed for mass production using a process developed in partnership with printhead expert Xaar.

SAF technology is used to jet ‘high energyabsorption’ fluid onto selected areas of each layer of powder in a single, full-width pass.

The industrial piezoelectric printheads jet single or multiple drops of the fluid to produce either fine detail or large areas, without compromising throughput, while infrared energy is radiated to fuse the selected areas and the underlying particles.

Stratasys claims its H Series printers will support “unique, high-specialty, functional fluids to process a broad range of powders”. It says the H Series’ thermal control has been fettled to avoid common binder jetting problems, such as warping and quality fall-out,

Holo PureForm copper 3D Printing

H

olo has unveiled its PureForm metals 3D printer platform. It's hoping to drive further adoption of its metal 3D printing technology, which on the quiet, has seen the service manufacturing side of Holo expand hugely.

Capable of producing 150-200 micron features, Holo’s PureForm technology can be used to create intricate channels with high surface quality and fine features that can optimise the performance of products. holoam.com

Gravity Sketch steps out onto iPad

T and to reduce the necessary peak temperatures required in the bed, making SAF technology ideal for long-stint production. Stratasys’ H Series technology includes the proprietary Big Wave powder management system, to ensure the necessary powder is distributed across the whole print bed. stratasys.com

he Gravity Sketch iPad app has been launched free on Apple's App Store, building on Gravity Sketch’s recent introduction of crossplatform compatibility and opening up a new way to access CAD on the iPad. If you’ve used Gravity Sketch previously, then it’s probably been through a VR headset. However, the move to make the software platform-agnostic sees the brand move onto the iPad to bridge the skill of sketching in 2D with digital 3D creation. Gravity Sketch says that, under the hood, the new version is identical to its VR variant. gravitysketch.com DEVELOP3D.COM APRIL 2021 9

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NEWS

XENCELABS UNVEILS LAUNCH PRODUCT & AIM FOR WACOM

Markforged Blacksmith gets full release

M

arkforged has launched its Blacksmith 3D printing software for Markforged X7 3D printers, claiming to streamline the production of accurate parts, right from the print bed.

Blacksmith connects part design, production and inspection (using the X7's built-in part scanner capability) with the ability to learn through artificial intelligence. As it can learn from across a fleet of 3D printers, manufacturers should be able to print the right part, every time. markforged.com

X

encelabs has launched a new sketching tablet that looks ideal for those looking for pen-based input and advanced pressure sensitivity.

The company looks to be taking on the mighty Wacom in pro-grade sketching tablets, with backing from a Chinese manufacturer and a team headed up by several former Wacom executives.

The Xencelabs Pen Tablet Medium is its first product, described as offering a clean and minimalist design without unnecessary keys and a 16:9 native aspect ratio. Only 8mm thick, it features a seamless and gently curved palm rest for comfort. The tablet can be used wirelessly or with a USB cable.

The Xencelabs device is the only pen tablet that comes with two battery-free pens of different diameters. The thin pen has two buttons, while the three-button pen accommodates users working in 3D. Both pens come with an eraser, along with 8,192 levels of pressure sensitivity, 3g initial activation

force, tilt recognition and “virtually no lag”.

Alongside the tablet and pen, the Xencelabs team has developed a companion device called the Quick Keys Remote. It’s a separate bit of kit, which features eight hardware keys (switchable into five sets) and a rotary knob.

The combination of these and LCD labels for shortcut keys look really interesting. In fact we’re wondering if there’s a market for this as an add-on for CAD applications on its own.

Specifications-wise, the tablet has an active working area of 262mm x 147 mm (at an aspect ratio of 16:9) and you’ll get 16 hours from a 2.5hour charge. The device can be used and charged simultaneously. It’s supplied with a sketching glove and 10 spare nibs (and an extractor for these), all packaged up in a nifty little case.

The Xencelabs Pen Tablet Medium costs $279.99 and the Quick Keys Remote is $89.99. xencelabs.com

Esteco's ModeFrontier Spring release updates sensitivity analysis

E

steco ModeFrontier has introduced all-new sensitivity analysis tools, complete with dashboard, to perform variable screening more effectively.

The sensitivity analysis tools also feature a new Effect table chart, which should help the user better visualise the results of a sensitivity model and reduce engineering problem complexity.

Users can display the contribution of each factor and immediately exclude the unimportant inputs from RSM training and exploration.

In addition, the ModeFrontier user can experience new methodologies to train several sensitivity models with different factor/response combinations at the same time.

Esteco has also added a new proprietary sensitivity algorithm based on the Polynomial Chaos Expansion to cover a wider range of specific use cases. Among other new features and improvements, Volta has

CAMWorks releases Wire EDM module

C

AMWorks has launched a new Wire EDM (electrical discharge machining) module that promises new functionality to take a design model to G-code in a single click.

Featuring a ‘Solid to G-code’ button, CAMWorks explains that the system automatically searches the part for machineable features, identifies them, generates all the operations with the user’s preferences and settings, creates the toolpaths, and then posts the G-code. camworks.com

Xometry Fusion 360 App launched

X expanded its Planner environment capabilities, allowing users to run various configurations for the same engineering project and easily change design exploration and optimisation scenarios. Engineers are also able to create a plan from scratch directly from the Volta Planner web interface. esteco.com

ometry has launched an app for Fusion 360, in collaboration with Autodesk, to allow users to get instant price and lead times for Xometry’s manufacturing services without having to leave the Fusion 360 platform.

The free Xometry for Fusion 360 app enables designers to see the direct impact on part cost and manufacturability of any design changes they may wish to make.

This is accomplished using Xometry’s machine learning-trained instant quoting engine to get instant feedback on better parts and faster lead times. xometry.com | autodesk.com

10 APRIL 2021 DEVELOP3D.COM

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SINDOH S100 NOW PRINTING WITH 100% RECYCLED POWDER

ROUND UP Inkbit Vista, a 3D printer based on scalable inkjet deposition and 3D machine vision, has launched, featuring a closed-loop feedback 3D printing ecosystem. Key to Inkbit’s offering is VisionControlled Jetting (VCJ), which it claims enables real-time, in-process, voxel-level control inkbit3d.com

Rize has debuted its Safe at Home Manufacturing initiative to safeguard the health of users working from home and at potential risk of carcinogenic and other airborne particles from desktop 3D printers.

Its Rize 2XC desktop composite 3D printers are Greenguard-certified rize3d.com

T

he Sindoh S100 has been announced as the first SLS 3D printer to support Materialise Bluesint PA12, which boasts up to 100% recycled powder.

First announced in November 2020, Bluesint PA12 comes from Materialise’s research lab in Leuven, Belgium, where researchers have been hunting for a SLS material that can overcome issues around plastic reuse.

By using a 3D printer with multiple lasers, Materialise engineers deployed one laser for sintering the powder and

the second for keeping it above a certain temperature threshold. Since powder was prevented from cooling between layers, they avoided the shrinkage that gives an orange-peel effect.

The result is a printed object with good mechanical and visual properties, but printed with 100% recycled powder.

Over the course of 2021, Materialise plans to have several SLS 3D printers running Bluesint PA12, making it the first company to acquire Sindoh S100 printers, snapping up five in total. materialise.com | sindoh.com

The Sindoh S100 is the first printer to run Materialise's new Bluesint PA12 powder

The British Design Fund (BDF) has launched its third fund focusing on the best of British product and manufacturing businesses.

The Fund is looking to invest at least £100,000 in each recipient company, of which there will be a minimum of five, in return for an equity stake in each one of around 10% to 20% lynx-r.com

Royal Academy backs The Africa Prize for innovators

T

he Africa Prize for Engineering Innovation 2021 recognises ambitious African innovators developing scalable engineering solutions to tackle local challenges.

Nine countries are represented on this year's shortlist.

For the first time, participants from Côte d’Ivoire, Senegal, Ethiopia and the Gambia are among the finalists, with female innovators accounting for six of the 16-strong shortlist.

Among the innovations chosen to receive commercialisation support from the Royal Academy of Engineering, which launched the Africa Prize in 2014, are a low-cost water-powered ventilator, a dissolvable bioplastic and 3D-printed prosthetics.

The 2021 shortlist includes innovations that focus on challenges covered by the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals. This is the first year that intensive expert guidance and community support will be provided in a fully digitalised way. raeng.org.uk

Express Group/GoPrint3D has rebranded as Additive-X. The new name positions it more firmly within in the additive manufacturing sector, while the X links back to the company's 30-plus years as the Express Group, while underscoring its commitment to go the extra mile for customers additive-x.com

Jacob Azundah and his high-efficiency Aevhas machine, which processes cassava root into garri, a West African diet staple

BobCAM for Rhino adds new features and functions to Rhino’s native design environment, including more toolpath options and better workflow to create new toolpaths, verify programmes and post to CNC equipment bobcad.com

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COMMENT

Companies looking to hire engineers and scientists regularly hamper their own efforts with clumsy mistakes and downright idiocy in job descriptions.

Here are some common blunders to avoid, writes Erin McDermott

R

umors indicate that job openings are starting to rebound in physical product development. From R&D to manufacturing, my sources say they see an uptick in activity. I myself was recently flooded with engineering referral requests. That’s all great news!

On the other hand, the disastrously worded job descriptions for which I’m asked to make referrals also abound.

So consider this column an open letter to those recruiters, human resource representatives and managers who don’t understand nerd tools: I beg you, on behalf of all the other nerds, engineers and scientists, please put in a tiny bit of extra effort.

Don’t worry, though – what I ask isn’t hard! The biggest, most glaring mistakes you folks make can be resolved with a simple search engine query. For example, how is that tool that we use spelled? Are you sure about that? No, but are you 1,000% sure?

Most of these jobs for which I’ve been asked to help find pros require experience in tools that don’t exist. I’m sorry, but I don’t know anyone fluent in ‘catiav 5’ or ‘Light Tools’ or ‘Zeemax’.

As a human, I can sometimes suss out that Catia V5, or LightTools, or Zemax is what was actually intended – but a search engine cannot. So when the pro you’re looking for types in the correct spelling of the software that they use every day on a job board, the post you created with a phoned-in level of effort will not pop up.

Aside from conveying disrespect for our treasured tools, with which we have a sacred love-hate relationship, your misspellings additionally make you ineffective!

Fixing these errors after Googling a fat-fingered spelling you invented would be a giant leap in the right direction. Now, if you’re ready to attempt advanced levels of job post writing, read on.

WARNING: EXCLUSION ZONE AHEAD While the above instructions will help you to reach the pros you intend, are you inadvertently doing things that exclude who you want from your organisation?

For example, it would be nice if you’d take into consideration the bounds of the space-time continuum when stating required experience in a tool. It is difficult, if not impossible, for most humans to have more years of experience in a thing

than there have been years that the thing existed.

I even heard a story of an engineer being turned down for a job because he didn’t have enough years of experience in the tool that he himself created!

If, however, you wish only to employ intergalactic beings, I request on behalf of other humans that you state this clearly at the top of your job post.

Next, when a specific tool proficiency requirement didn’t originate from someone who actually knows how to use that tool, are you sure you need it? Might you be asking for a skill that could be irrelevant?

Yes, the answer to that last question is ‘yes’, in case it wasn’t clear.

They specify the worst choice! That’s why I advise either talking to a technical expert to understand your project’s needs, or omitting that made-up requirement altogether.

In general, it’s also best to make sure you don’t say categorically idiotic things. If you see ‘C++’ on a CV, it’s always best to stop and think, before berating the CV holder to their face for being proud of such a terrible university mark. That’s because C++ is a programming language, not a mark.

I mention this hypothetical situation precisely because it’s not hypothetical. Someone I went to university with was mocked in this way by a person



I see some companies specify proficiency in tools that I would never purchase for the work they need. They specify the worst choice! That’s why I advise either talking to a technical expert to understand your project’s needs or omitting that made-up requirement altogether

 Often, I see companies ask for credentials they don’t need. Someone heard in a meeting once that someone else said Tool X was “the best,” whatever that means. From there, the job post creator decides that the pro that they hire must have experience in Tool X, without even knowing what the tool does.

PLEASE DON’T ‘JUST GUESS’ These kinds of mandates might actually prevent you from hiring someone who has expertise in a tool that’s much more suited for your application!

Different tools are used for different industries, niche specialties, stages of production and volumes.

If you don’t understand how the tools on the market align with your development, don’t guess.

This is the same for 3D design as it is for optical engineering and other specialties. Some software can be used to hack a multitude of things; other tools you would never use for certain applications.

I see some companies specify proficiency in tools that I would never purchase for the work they need.

in charge of hiring.

I know all this is a lot to take in. So, go slowly when attempting these advanced-level job description guidelines. When you get stuck, ask for help. Find a pro who performs the role for which you’re writing a job description. Then, once you’ve given the first draft your best shot, have that pro make sure you didn’t write anything bonkers on it.

You can do it!

GET IN TOUCH: Erin M. McDermott directs optical engineering at Spire Starter, helping hardware engineers who don’t know that things using light (cameras, LED illumination, laser processes, etc) need competent design, optimisation and tolerancing like the rest of their widget. She also runs OddEngineer.com, connecting manufacturers and startups with niche HW engineering experts. Get in touch at spirestarter.com or @erinmmcdermott DEVELOP3D.COM APRIL 2021 13

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COMMENT

Who are you inviting to sit at the table when decisions about additive manufacturing are made? If those people all look and sound the same, then your ability to innovate seems doubtful, writes our columnist SJ The world of metal additive calls for weapons-grade PPE

I

n 1966, James Brown coined the phrase, ‘This is a man’s world’ – and I don’t think there’s ever been a better soundtrack for the additive manufacturing community as a whole.

Like most people of colour, I entered not through the front door, but through the side door. After months of hustling and struggling and chasing down lead after lead, I finally found myself on the back doorstep of what would be my greatest dream: working as an additive manufacturing engineer. A role that hadn’t even existed when I was applying for colleges.

The first thing that I noticed upon arrival was that everything was too big or not at the right height. At 5-foot, 5-inches tall, I am an average-sized woman, yet I was straining on my tiptoes to see into the windows of the machines. The sitting height of the build chambers was above my sternum, which meant that any lifting I had to do was ergonomically disadvantageous – be that powder, plates, filters or parts.

Everything was two sizes too large. My helmet, to guard against powder inhalation, continued to droop over my head. The belt that held my PAPR filter needed extra holes punched into it, just to fit around my waist. My arms and legs swam in a sea of fire-retardant clothing that was more

likely to drown me than keep me safe from spontaneous powder combustion.

My ESD shoes (of which there were only three female styles to choose from) made a horrible clunking sound as I plodded around the shop floor, wearing these giant, brown sailboats.

The windows of this house are too tall. The clothes are too big. The gender disparity – insurmountable.

GENIE IN A BOTTLE I’m a genie in a bottle. My job is to understand customer desires and grant their wishes for parts of the highest quality, within budget, and delivered on time – an epic, magical feat. And much like a genie, I’m expected to nod my head when taking requests. To be a woman in AM is to be seen and not often heard.

I’m often invited to meetings as the ‘AM expert’. However, I’m rarely invited to speak. Instead, I am asked to take notes, to send out calendar invites, to record the meeting agenda and perform all manner of secretarial duties. When I complain about this to my male colleagues or my bosses, they say things like, “If that’s the case, why didn’t you speak up? Why don’t you say anything?”

I try to speak up, but I’m spoken over. I try to interject or steer the conversation one direction, only to be steamrolled by another member of my team. I try to speak factually and give the customer an accurate assessment of what we can and cannot provide – and I’m immediately undermined two seconds later by another team member.

If I were a real genie, I’d perform a true feat of magic and teach men how to listen.

MIC CHECK: ONE, TWO If there are any men out there who are listening, please understand that you have a crisis on your hands. Your. Money. Is. At. Stake.

A new column is to be added to your risk assessment charts: there’s a shortage of ‘talent’ and ‘skill set’ in your AM workforce.

This means you’re going to lose contracts, parts will be late, supply chains interrupted.

But there is a solution. A way to save your

jobs, your companies, and your industry.

Mic check. Can you hear me? Are you listening? (Or are you just waiting to interrupt, the moment you feel entitled to be heard?)

I’m writing to tell you about a secret weapon. An untapped resource. An oasis of talent. It’s women (and all other genders on the spectrum – let’s not be exclusive, its 2021 for lasers’ sake). Include women (and all other genders) in every room where decisions are being made. I’m not simply requesting this so I can get a 2-million-dollar metal printing machine I can comfortably operate. I’m suggesting this because half of the population is, well, not male, and we are a severely underutilised resource.

I find myself stuck with men of similar minds, constantly asking each other the same questions: Where do you see the future of additive? In five years? In 10 years?

What do you see as the next big thing?

I sit quietly in my genie bottle as one man speaks, and the others all start to echo him like a cacophony of raucous seagulls.

If you gather together, in the same space, the same kinds of people – entitled/ white/ male/PhDs – they tend to think the same thoughts and create the same solutions.

In order to successfully innovate, to push additive to new limits, we need to think differently. We need to approach problems from a different perspective to cash in on fresh ideas. My dudes, we need to think like the other genders.

Here’s my hot take on 2021: Additive companies with the most diverse workforces will dominate the future of innovation in AM. That is to say, the companies that women can call home – that offer them an equitable seat at the table – are going to have the largest impact and the biggest future financial gains.

GET IN TOUCH: SJ is a metal additive engineer, aka THEE Hot Girl of Metal Printing.

She currently works as a metal additive applications engineer providing AM solutions and #3dprinting of metal parts to help create a decarbonised world. Get in touch at @inconelle on Twitter DEVELOP3D.COM APRIL 2021 15

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VISUAL DESIGN GUIDE BLACKMAGIC DESIGN POCKET CINEMA CAMERA 6K PRO The Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera 6K Pro is intended for the professional movie maker looking for a versatile device for visual and audio recording on location

COLOUR IS EVERYTHING The Pocket Cinema Camera 6K Pro delivers a new dynamic 12-bit gamma curve designed to capture more colour data in highlights and shadows for better-looking images. The colour science also handles some of the complex Blackmagic RAW image processing, so colour and dynamic range data from the sensor is preserved, ready for use in post production

EF MOUNT & LARGE SENSOR Featuring a larger 6144 x 3456 Super 35 sensor and EF lens mount, the Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera 6K lets customers use larger EF photographic lenses. In this way, they can create cinematic images with shallower depth of field, for creative defocused backgrounds and gorgeous bokeh effects

BRIGHT LCD FOR GREATER CONTROL The Pocket Cinema Camera 6K Pro LCD monitor is a more advanced HDR display, which can be tilted up and down so it’s easy to monitor a shot from any position.

The large, bright 5-inch touchscreen makes it easy for customers to frame shots and focus accurately

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OPTIONAL VIEWFINDER The Pocket Cinema Camera 6K Pro offers an optional viewfinder to make outdoors and handheld shooting accurate and easy. Customers get an integrated high-quality 1280 x 960 colour OLED display with built-in proximity sensor, a 4-element glass diopter for incredible accuracy with a wide -4 to +4 focus adjustment

ADDING THOSE KEY CONNECTIONS The Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera features a mini XLR input with 48 volts of phantom power for connecting professional microphones such as lapel mics and booms. The 6K Pro model features two mini XLR connections, allowing customers to record two separate audio tracks using two mics, without an external mixer. The four built-in mics, meanwhile, have an extremely low noise floor and are shock- and wind-resistant, capturing great sound in any location. There’s also a 3.5mm audio input for connecting video camera microphones, along with a built-in speaker for playback and a 3.5mm headphone jack

LIGHTER BODY, BETTER MOVIES Made from lightweight carbon fibre polycarbonate composite, the camera features a multifunction hand grip with all controls for recording, ISO, WB and shutter angle right at your fingertips.

The sensor is designed to reduce thermal noise, allowing cleaner shadows and higher ISO

POWERED UP

Featuring a larger 6144 x 3456 Super The Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera 6K Pro model uses NP-F570 batteries. A locking DC power connector means owners won’t have to worry about losing power during a shoot. The optional battery grip, meanwhile, lets them add extra batteries to dramatically extend the power of the camera and keep shooting all day

NEXT STEPS

Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera 6K Pro is available immediately from Blackmagic Design resellers worldwide for US$2,495 blackmagicdesign.com

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AUTHORED BY AMD

THE RIGHT TOOL FOR THE JOB

E

ngineers leverage a variety design and manufacturing applications with different compute requirements. It is not uncommon for organizations procuring workstation hardware to purchase a single configuration without considering the needs of individual users. This one size fits all approach may streamline IT decision making, but mismatched compute capability can lead lost productivity and poor ROI. When considering a workstation processor, firms should choose an option that best addresses the performance bottlenecks of a user’s primary workflow tasks. For example, lightly threaded tasks like 3D modeling and design will favor processors with higher clock speed/IPC and the performance of multithreaded tasks like generative design, and rendering will benefit from many CPU cores.

Other tasks like simulation can be performance bound by memory capacity, L3 cache size, and/or memory bandwidth and these features can vary greatly depending on which processor you choose.

CPU FAMILY

MAX

MAX

MAX

MEMORY

CORES

BOOST

MEMORY

CHANNELS

CLOCK4

AMD PRO TECHNOLOGIES

EXPANDING WORKSTATION OFFERINGS With the resurgence in the workstation market, AMD is now offering the most complete and performant line-up of workstation processors in its history. While AMD maintains a concise selection of workstation class processors, we want to examine the entire portfolio, explain the benefits of each processor family and how they can help alleviate common bottlenecks in engineering workflows.

Workstation users can select from three AMD processor families, each with their own unique features to help you get the most out of your professional design tools.

Up to 16

4.9ghz

128GB

Up to

256GB

64

4.5Ghz

(ECC

2

N/A

4

N/A

Optional) Up to 64

4.3ghz

2TB ECC

8

ENTERPRISE PRIORITY AND PERFORMANCE PRIORITY Organizations and IT decision makers may place a higher priority on one specific CPU feature over another. In this article, we will address this from an enterprise priority and performance priority standpoint for common workflow tasks. Enterprise priority processors will trade some performance characteristics for enterprise class security, manageability, and reliability features. Performance priority processors are intended for those users who simply want to work as fast as possible and prioritize the performance of their primary workflow task. There is some overlap with this approach which we will cover below.

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3D MODELING AND DESIGN Drawing parts and interacting with models in 3D CAD software is a single threaded or lightly threaded task. The frequency, or clock speed of the CPU along with IPC, has a significant influence on application responsiveness and end user productivity for this task.

Enterprise Priority: Firms and IT decision makers who place a higher priority on manageability, reliability and security features over raw performance will benefit from AMD Ryzen™ Threadripper™ PRO Processors which feature AMD PRO Technologies.

The 16-core AMD Ryzen™ Threadripper™ PRO 3955WX is an excellent choice for 3D CAD work with a max boost clock speed of 4.3GHz4 and plenty of extra cores for multi-tasking.

Performance Priority: For performance seekers, the AMD Ryzen™ 5000 Series Processors are perfect for lightly threaded design tasks with the Ryzen™ 7 5800X offering an excellent value with leading performance in several CAD design tools.1 (at the time of this writing) The flagship Ryzen™ 9 5950X processor is another fantastic option with the highest boost clock speed of any AMD Ryzen™ processor at 4.9GHz, along with 16 cores for those looking to tackle a mix of 3D modeling and other multi-threaded tasks like rendering or generative design.

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ADVERTISING FEATURE GENERATIVE DESIGN

can be reduced on systems with more CPU cores making the 64core AMD Ryzen™ Threadripper™ PRO 3995WX and the 32-core Threadripper™ PRO 3975WX processors ideal for these tasks.

Additionally, CAE simulation tools are sensitive to memory bandwidth, so the more memory channels your workstation CPU supports the better. For this reason, AMD Ryzen™ Threadripper™ PRO processors, with 8 memory channels and AMD PRO Technologies, are the best option from both an enterprise and performance priority standpoint.

RENDERING

Using software to iteratively generate design options based on specific loads and constraints is a computationally intensive process that can be accelerated on workstations with many CPU cores.

Enterprise Priority: The 64-core AMD Ryzen™ Threadripper™ PRO 3995WX and the 32core Threadripper™ PRO 3975WX processors are excellent choices for generative design tasks with the 64-core 3995WX shown to be up to 44% faster than two competing 28-core processors.2 In addition to class-leading performance, Threadripper™ PRO processors also feature AMD PRO Technologies mentioned above, so that IT organizations can have confidence in modern security features and enterprise manageability.

Another advantage for Threadripper™ PRO processors is the large memory capacity the platform supports for projects that deal with very large data sets.

Performance Priority: 3rd Gen AMD Ryzen™ Threadripper™ Processors also feature massive amounts of cores with the 64-core AMD Ryzen™ Threadripper™ 3990X and the 32-core 3970X processors. While this processor family does not come equipped with AMD PRO Technologies, 3rd Gen AMD Ryzen™ Threadripper™ processors offer slightly higher boost clock speeds compared to their Threadripper™ PRO counterparts. That said, users may wish to run their own tests to confirm if the higher clock speed offered by 3rd Gen AMD Ryzen™ Threadripper™ can translate to improved performance with their specific projects since the relatively lower memory footprint could have a greater impact on performance.

AMD RyzenTM 5000 Series Processors are also an excellent choice for those users who want to maintain maximum performance for traditional 3D design with up to 16 cores to help accelerate generative design tasks.

SIMULATION

From Luxion KeyShot to Chaos V-Ray, CPU rendering for product visualization is a well-known multithreaded process. Modern rendering engines will typically take advantage of all available CPU cores on your system, so higher core count processors are better.

Enterprise Priority: The 64-core AMD Ryzen™ Threadripper™ PRO 3995WX and the 32-core Threadripper™ PRO 3975WX processors are excellent choices for rendering tasks with the 64-core Threadripper™ 3995WX processor shown to be up to 2.4X faster in KeyShot than the competing 28-core Intel Xeon W-3275 processor 3. As described above, all AMD Ryzen™ Threadripper™ PRO Processors feature AMD PRO technologies to help with data security and remote system management.

Performance Priority: 3rd Gen AMD Ryzen™ Threadripper™ Processors have a slightly higher boost clock speed compared to Threadripper™ PRO Processors and the 64-core 3990X and the 32-core 3970X processors are excellent options for rendering. That said, some rendering engines may benefit from additional memory channels making Threadripper™ PRO a better option.

Learn more about RyzenTM Threadripper PRO here: https://www.amd.com/en/processors/ryzen-threadripper-pro Learn more about RyzenTM Threadripper here: https://www.amd.com/en/processors/threadripper-creators Learn more about Ryzen 5000 Series here: https://www.amd.com/en/processors/ryzen-for-creators Learn more about AMD PRO Technologies here: https://www.amd.com/en/technologies/pro-technologies Legal 1. R5K-004: Testing by AMD performance labs as of 09/01/2020 with a Ryzen 5950X processor vs a Core i9-10900K configured with NVIDIA GeForce GTX 2080 Ti graphics, Samsung 860 Pro SSD, 2X8 DDR4-3600, Windows 10 and a Noctua NH-D15s cooler. Single-core performance evaluated with Cinebench R20 1T benchmark. Results may vary. R5K-004 2. Based on testing by AMD performance labs on June 17, 2020, using Creo Generative Design to test the AMD Ryzen Threadripper PRO 3995WX reference system vs. two (2) Intel Xeon Platinum 8280 processors. Results may vary. CPP-40 3. Based on AMD Labs testing as of June 17, 2020, using Luxion KeyShot to measure performance an AMD Ryzen Threadripper Pro 3995WX reference system vs. an Intel Xeon W-3275 processor. Results may vary. CPP-50

CAE tasks like computational fluid dynamics and finite element analysis are multithreaded, meaning that simulation solve times

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4. Max boost for AMD Ryzen processors is the maximum frequency achievable by a single core on the processor running a bursty single-threaded workload. Max boost will vary based on several factors, including, but not limited to: thermal paste; system cooling; motherboard design and BIOS; the latest AMD chipset driver; and the latest OS updates. GD-150.

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Th s per it

COVER FEATURE

WHEELS IN

MOT The fully electric Polestar 2 embodies the brand’s exciting ethos

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he global automotive industry is motoring along at a dizzying pace. New powertrains and fuel storage systems, particularly when it comes to electric vehicles, are no longer futuristic concepts, but a reality that manufacturers have set themselves hard timelines to achieve.

Legendary names, challenger brands and start-ups

with exciting new ideas are all fighting for prominence, yet what they all have in common is the driving force of research and development (R&D). In short, new thinking around materials, lightweighting, aerodynamics, electromechanical advances and software lead systems are shaping the future of transport.

» With automotive engineering on the cusp of a new era, Stephen Holmes speaks to two of the most exciting brands – Polestar and Ford – to gauge how R&D is navigating new engineering challenges and driving new business strategies

TION Ford’s commercial vehicles benefit from R&D partnerships with Tier 1 suppliers

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THE CHALLENGER:

POLESTAR

1

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COVER FEATURE olestar is one example of a new breed of automotive brands – companies focused on electric performance, whether from fullelectric vehicles (EV) or hybrids.

Arriving fully formed out of parent company Volvo, itself part of the giant Geely Auto Group, its first vehicle, Polestar 1, is a 600bhp hybrid Grand Touring Coupé, with a range of 99 miles on pure electric power – the longest of any hybrid.

Its latest model, the nippier, fully electric, fastback Polestar 2 maintains the brand ethos of minimalist styling mixed with an environmental conscience and the latest technology underpinning its drivetrain.

Hans Pehrson has long been a driving force behind electric vehicle technology and new developments within Volvo Cars and at the Geely-owned London Electric Vehicle Company, the brand behind the latest Black Cab to ferry passengers along the UK capital’s rapidly decarbonising streets.

He’s now Polestar head of R&D and responsible for the brand’s electric propulsion strategy. Despite over 30 years in the automotive industry, he certainly isn’t one to cling to the internal combustion engine (ICE).

“The longer you work with cars, and the society we live in, so to speak, you realise there are pros and cons and something that needs to change,” Pehrson says, speaking from Polestar’s R&D base in Gothenburg, Sweden.

2

That is so ‘‘ important

3

for all the tools that we have in R&D – that they’re helping you to design and try new things

’’

“With electrification, we’re in the really early stages of development, so for things that were correct yesterday, we have new findings tomorrow. Even if they look quite similar, there are such big developments, so it’s really exciting to be on that journey.”

SPARKING CHANGE The move to full electric is exciting from an engineering perspective, because it’s fun to do something new from a clean sheet of paper, Pehrson says, adding: “or at least much cleaner than from continuous improvements.”

But we have to remember that electric cars also really need continuous improvement, he adds, “not just ours, but all brands.”

Pehrson cites the ability of new EVs to update and adapt using over-the-air (OTA) software updates, enabling them to evolve much like a smartphone or laptop computer does.

“You get upgrades and then it feels like your product is getting improved as you own it,” he says. “I think that’s a big shift. I really like that part!”

But the Polestar R&D team is thinking about continuous improvements that go way beyond just software; for example, upgrading existing parts to offer lower air resistance.

While these would allow the consumer a wider variety of upgrades and variations, tackling the design challenge of ensuring that new parts fit and work alongside existing components seamlessly is another challenge entirely.

To tackle that challenge, software is key. Polestar uses Dassault Systèmes Catia for its proven track record in addressing design and engineering requirements in the automotive industry, but Pehrson suggests that what’s really important is that designers and engineers have tools that are easy to use.

“If you invest too much in creating a model for simulation or 3D, if the engineers have to invest a lot of effort to create it, then you don’t want to change it. It’s quite natural – we’re a little bit lazy, all of us! It’s so important that the tools are easy to use, easy to change and have quick loops, because we enhance the willingness to learn and improve,” he says.

“That is so important for all the tools that we have in R&D – that they’re helping you to design and try new things.”

Virtual testing is at the heart of R&D, and making sure the physical and the digital results match up is something that has improved greatly over the years, he says. “We can delay the [physical] prototypes more and more as we trust the virtual tools more and more.”

The end results still have a part to play in influencing R&D at Polestar, says Pehrson. Once every car is an EV, then sustainability will become the big challenge.

“We have to get people into EVs, improve the ones we have, and then make them really sustainable,” he concludes. polestar.com

4

1 Virtual testing is helping ●

Polestar to greatly reduce the number of physical prototypes needed 2 Polestar’s electric ●

powertrain is cuttingedge, but its R&D team is continuously looking to make improvements 3 Polestar head of R&D, ●

Hans Pehrson

4 Once every car is electric, ●

more sustainability will be the next big challenge

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THE GIANT:

FORD 1

ord is widely credited with the wholesale commercialisation of the internal combustion engine in the automotive field, with its Model T launched over a century ago. Yet despite its historic ties to fossil fuels, the brand has been making rapid progress in developing new vehicle strategies, for EVs and other segments.

Alice Swallow is a Senior Innovation Engineer, based at Ford’s UK site at Dunton. Having begun as a Higher Apprentice in Engineering (winning Great British Woman Apprentice of The Year in 2018) while studying for a BEng in mechanical engineering, she has worked her way up through the company ever since.

With a role that covers chassis development, advanced propulsion systems and digitalisation, Swallow has recently moved to Ford’s UK Innovation team, project managing UK Government advanced R&D pre-programmes – much of which involves research into advanced and composite materials, and lightweighting, with a particular focus on commercial vehicles.

“Our projects are collaborative projects. To be able to utilise government funding through agencies like Innovate UK or the Advanced Propulsion Centre, you have to work collaboratively with industry, which is great because then you can utilise their best strengths,” Swallow says.

Project CLASS (Composite Lightweight Automotive Suspension System) was the first project Swallow worked on, where the team looked to reduce the weight of a Ford

Focus RS rear suspension arm, and investigated whether carbon-fibre Sheet Moulding Compound (SMC) would be suitable for this.

The results of the programme showed that it was more cost-effective and efficient to have a multi-material part, rather than just SMC, because the resulting part would be too thick and take too long to process and manufacture.

“So we used pre-preg [carbon fibre], steel and SMC, and compression-moulded all of the components together,” says Swallow.

The optimised design and manufacturing process, developed in conjunction with Warwick Manufacturing Group and Gestamp, enabled the replacement of a multiplepiece fabricated steel component with a single moulding.

This work resulted in a weight saving in excess of 35%.

Swallow says the team has learnt a lot from that project about how materials are processed, which in turn got them thinking about how they could apply R&D to the production of commercial vehicles.

“You could do it in a much more cost-effective and quick enough way that we could meet the Transit production volume targets, and that’s where the chassis project came about,” she says.

As a result of the programme, Swallow’s team then looked at adapting a front sub-frame, a rear dead beam, and a front lower control arm as part of Project CHASSIS, considering various composite materials

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COVER FEATURE The ‘‘ global

pandemic has changed the R&D process quite a lot, because there’s the expectation that actually we can do R&D in a much quicker timeframe – as stressful as that may be!

against their steel component predecessors.

“They perform differently and then they’re processed differently, and also when you have a hybrid of materials, a lot of the time we’d look at an adhesive for the joining, so you’d need to have adhesive simulation as well as obviously materials simulation, just to ensure that its bonded correctly and there’s no issues with shearing or strength requirements – so a lot of CAE for those parts!”

Partnering with existing Tier One suppliers, such as Gestamp on Project CHASSIS, means that Ford’s R&D can benefit from partners’ immediate CAE experience.

Gestamp, for example, is Ford’s Tier One supplier for existing steel components, Swallow explains, “so they

2

’’

3

already have all the requirements that they needed and the CAE for the existing steel parts that they could correlate.”

Simulation and analysis tools are critical to R&D at Ford, but for Swallow, more lifecycle analysis software would be of benefit, to calculate the long-term impact of such projects.

She says: “There’s nothing better to calculate sustainability than the full lifecycle analysis of the part.

We’ve done a few investigations on some of the chassis’ components and found that the composite and lightweight components, because they’re so much lighter than the steel predecessor components, mean the CO2 is so much lower, and you get a better lifecycle analysis over time.”

REDUCE AND REPLACE Not every workflow change is down to software advancements. In 2020, Ford deployed its considerable engineering knowledge to assist with the global pandemic through the UK government’s Ventilator Challenge.

“That, I think, has changed the R&D process quite a lot, because there’s the expectation that actually we can do R&D in a much quicker timeframe – as stressful as that may be!” she says. “Definitely digital tools have helped, but for the ventilator project specifically, it was a case of, ‘We have no one working on this line at the moment, what do we do with all this resource? We can have them make ventilators.’”

The approach of having a department focus solely on a single project for a set amount of time showed a greater rate of progress, when compared with having R&D teams spread across several projects at once.

An offshoot of this became Project SIREN, which paired Ford with Venari Group’s O&H Vehicle Technology – a specialist in vehicle conversions for ambulances – as well as input from NHS Ambulance Trusts.

The goal was to build a lightweighted ambulance based on the Ford Transit platform, in which the lightweighting plays a very different role to EVs. The ambulance is an ICE variant, and while it does benefit from reduced CO2 emissions, the key factor is that many people don’t have the drivers licence requirement to drive anything above 3.5 tons.

More ambulance workers can now drive the vehicle, reducing the amount of training and the costs for the NHS of running a heavier vehicle.

Swallow describes Project SIREN as a really exciting “sprint project”. It began towards the end of 2020, and a demonstrator was announced in early February this year.

Production models are expected by mid-2021.

ONWARD JOURNEY 1 Ford’s R&D ●

team is overcoming engineering challenges and changing perceptions of electric commercial vehicles 2 Ford senior ●

innovation engineer Alice Swallow 3 An optimised ●

hybrid sub-frame design uses a sandwich of composite and aluminium parts 4 Project SIREN ●

reduced the weight of a Ford ambulance

4

The next stage in the move to commercial EVs presents further challenges, given the battle between battery weight, range and the necessary payload for owners who demand the most from their vehicles, which in many cases, are their livelihoods.

“You’re going to be introducing weight of probably upwards 100kg, dependent on the size of the battery, so if you want to keep the same payload that your regular customer is used to for an ICE vehicle, you either need to get that 100kg out or essentially charge them less for the less payload,” explains Swallow.

Ford’s R&D is clearly on the road to finding the right balance with the most recent PHEV Transit, but cost effective lightweighting and materials research will continue to play a big part towards solving the conundrum as technologies evolve. ford.com

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FEATURE

1

GETTING THE

KNACK The combination of the latest optical scanning techniques, ‘mesh to CAD’ processes and FEA model generation is enabling Raptor Titanium to attack the market with deadly accuracy, writes Dr Steffan Evans, CEO of Evotech CAE

M

otocross, enduro racing and FMX (the freestyle version of motocross) are some of the most dynamic and actionpacked wheeled sports around today. They also put motorcycles in situations that far exceed the performance capabilities of their road-going counterparts. Modern-day ‘Evel Knievels’, such as the legendary stuntman Travis

Pastrana and his Nitro Circus counterparts, regularly amaze audiences, literally defying death with their feats. In replicating Knievel’s iconic jumps over multiple cars and buses, and the odd Caesars Palace fountain or two, failure is not an option – for either the rider’s nerve or the bike structure’s on impact.

One company crucial to all of this, Raptor Titanium, is based in Barnoldswick, Lancashire in the UK. The company’s titanium foot-pegs have gained a worldwide reputation for delivering the kind of performance that Pastrana and fellow extreme athletes demand.

Raptor had its beginnings in the aerospace industry,

1 Malcolm Stewart ●

sends it on his Raptor-equipped Star Racing Yamaha YZ450F

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2 2 MSC Apex was ●

used to carry out the FEA-based simulation assessment to find areas of potential improvement for the next generation of Raptor’s products 3 Existing products ●

were scanned using a GOM ATOS Q M12 4 The resulting ●

watertight STL mesh from the scan process 5 Scan profiles ●

across orthogonal planes were created at 2mm spacing 6 Final analytic ●

solid model, perfect for investigation and simulation

supporting the welded manufacture of titanium fan blades used in some of the world’s most powerful jet engines, but moved over to foot-peg manufacture through a general love of all things motorcycle, and some pretty fancy-schmancy welding technology (all top secret, by the way).

Today, with over 20 years of top-notch manufacture, the company supports numerous elite professional teams (think KTM Red Bull, Kawasaki RT and Rockstar Husqvarna, to name a few), along with title-winning riders, such as Patrana, Clement Desalle and Tony Cairoli (all multiple X-games, GP and world title holders).

factors (such as raw material usage and supplier lead times) have brought. Initial conversations were based on a desire to reduce development time and improve product performance through digital technologies.

With our background in advanced FEA, this was a perfect fit for our skill set. Many readers will see this an obvious step, but a carefully considered simulation strategy could make a massive difference to Raptor, both in simply better understanding its product (and warranty) and allowing future optimisation.

TESTING AGGRESSIVE DESIGNS

The first stage of this strategy was to obtain reliable 3D geometry of the foot-peg form. The assembly was made up of a series of CNC’d titanium parts, with press-formed ti plate, welded together with Raptor’s ‘secret sauce’.

Sure, CAD data existed representing each of the component parts, but there was no fully welded CAD model, with all the organic intricacies of the smoothed weld geometry. This was where scanning and reverse engineering came in.

Through an existing Raptor relationship with GOM UK, we were able to generate the necessary STL data to give us a starting point for reverse engineering. It’s at this point that I have to say I learnt a huge amount about the scanning process, and the ability to generate usable CAD for downstream processing.

I would say I was naïve in thinking that you just point the scanner, generate the point cloud, then hey-presto, there’s your CAD. It’s not quite as simple as that, so let me explain what was involved.

Historically, Raptor has used significant in-field testing to develop its aggressive designs. This has been based around rider feedback, coupled with a smattering of practical lab testing, involving dropped masses to replicate the impact loads seen during riding. Combined with the multi-year warranty that Raptor issues with every set of pegs, a breakage is painful at the very least, and can be catastrophic at worst.

Over the years, development has been a slow, incremental process, based on subtle changes to design, manufacture and material choice. With a growing customer base, market competition is always biting firmly at Raptor’s heels, whether via design infringement or lower-cost, inferior manufacture.

At Evotech CAE, we were introduced to Raptor through an industry-focused development initiative to upskill companies, in the light of the ‘new normal’ for UK manufacturing that Brexit, Covid-19 and other market

3

4

OPTICAL SCANNING AT WORK

5

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FEATURE GOM UK utilised its latest ATOS Q 12M digitising system, which utilises ‘blue light technology fringe projection’ and two stereo cameras, to capture high-quality point cloud data of the part. An automated rotation table was used to assist the positioning of the part in different orientations for the cameras – rather like you might orientate the part to your eyes to observe the different surfaces. The supporting software, GOM Inspect Suite, brought the data together, with feedback to the user on the data captured.

There were a few issues with line of sight, where the cameras simply couldn’t reach some of the undercuts where parts came together. Sure, existing 3D geometry would have given us a heads up here, but instead, we used the geometry processing capabilities of the GOM Inspect Suite software to fill in the gaps and generate planar sections required to rebuild the clean geometry.

REVERSE ENGINEERING IN PROCESS MSC Apex uses a state of the art Parasolid geometry kernel for FEA model development. Fundamental to this is the ability to create and manipulate geometry in many forms.

There are tools in Apex which easily match or surpass the most powerful CAD software on the market today, and all within a CAE/FEA platform.

One of these workflows is the ability to reverse engineer legacy FEA mesh data into a form that can be redefined for a new model, whether that’s to add additional structure or to look at different analysis strategies, such as submodelling. A by-product of this ‘mesh-to-CAD’ workflow is the ability to reverse engineer imported STL scan data into NURBS geometry.

We used these tools to rebuild the geometry from the STL point cloud and the section curves that GOM Inspect Suite generated. The section curves were used as construction geometry for the standard NURBS primitives (planes, cylinders, spheres) for the machined regions, where it was easier to understand the design intent or shape in the structure. The more organic regions (historically more difficult to handle, especially at the weld interfaces), were represented with double-curved patches which were lofted using shape constraints into the machined region interfaces.

Once the geometry has been recreated, we were able to use GOM Inspect Suite to compare with the original STL definition, both in terms of visual overlay and enclosed volume. The overlay showed a high degree of accuracy, especially at previously critical structural features. The calculated volume of the NURBS CAD was within 1.7% of the original STL form. We also checked the left/ right comparison for a pair of pegs to understand any manufacturing variance, and its impact on the downstream analysis. Any differences were shown to be tiny, and well within the ‘noise’ of the resultant FEA. A side benefit of the CAD geometry creation was that Raptor also had reliable assembly CAD for its CAM and inspection processes.

MOVING INTO FE ANALYSIS Once generated, the NURBS geometry could be 3D meshed (using 10-noded Tet elements), with the appropriate automatic feature controls on fillets, faces, hole washers and cylinders. An iterative mesh convergence study was performed using the embedded Apex ‘generative update’ tools to give the appropriate balance between converged feature-based stresses and model size. Had the resulting model been too cumbersome, then we could

7 have adopted a hybrid solid meshing approach using hex elements, but this was not the case.

We applied unit static and fatigue loading to determine the load to failure in key directions from the material allowable strength. Once determined, this was assessed both in terms of non-linearity and sensitivity to load direction. Given that we had access to NURBS geometry, we were able to show the impact of design changes (such as thinning the discrete plates or changing weld sizes) from a mass and strength perspective.

7 Travis Pastrana, ●

daredevil and stuntman extraordinaire, relies on Raptor’s foot pegs

THE ROAD AHEAD While the FEA aspects of this project were not particularly ground-breaking, the ‘part to CAD to FEA’ workflow was something pretty new to us. The ability to generate clean geometry in a timely manner, then witness the response, gives at least an order of magnitude of improvement in Raptor’s development process – and all using contemporary software that eased the whole process and made it commercially viable.

So, what does this mean to Raptor? Well, it now has a much better idea of its product’s performance, where the manufacturing and performance sensitivities lie, and what it can do with its next generation of foot-pegs, whether that’s looking at new bespoke geometries, new manufacturing methods (including AM) or new markets.

Reverse engineering has been around for a while, but the ability to use the latest optical scanning techniques, coupled with state of the art ‘mesh to CAD’ and FEA model generation, gives companies both large and small the edge they need in designing the products of tomorrow.

And as I conclude this, I notice that 19 buses have parked up outside my house, blocking the road – and just when I need to go and pick up my son Sol from school. Where’s Travis Pastrana’s bike when you need it? raptortitanium.com | evotechcae.com | mscsoftware.com | gom.com

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TALKING HEADS

WHY IS

SIMULATION NOT MAINSTREAM YET? PRITH BANERJEE CHIEF TECHNOLOGY OFFICER ANSYS

I

ntegrating simulation throughout the design and engineering process requires both a broad spectrum of dedicated and embedded solutions, and companies that are willing to change their workflows to adopt those solutions. Momentum is building on both fronts.

Advances in compute power, ease of use and speed have been critical to enabling Ansys’s vision of pervasive simulation.

The cloud and GPUs are making compute power more affordable and accessible while reducing run times. AI and UX advances are making simulation dramatically more user-friendly.

In fact, we’ve seen middleschoolers leverage simulation in the classroom.

Education is another important driver. At the undergraduate level, it’s increasingly common to see simulation baked into the core engineering curriculum, as opposed to being offered as an elective. That means the next generation of engineers will enter the workforce knowing how to use simulation, allowing companies to dedicate fewer resources to training.

On the customer side, ‘shift left’ or simulation democratisation initiatives are being discussed throughout organisations, from engineering teams to boards of directors. We’ve seen strong adoption rates for our solutions that help companies ‘shift left’, proving these initiatives are being acted upon as well.

Over the coming years, a broader spectrum of solutions will continue to mature.

More engineers will join the workforce ready to simulate. And companies will either capitalise on these trends or be left behind by competitors that did.

Either way, simulation will be a ubiquitous part of the mainstream design and engineering process. It’s only a matter of time. ansys.com

DR ROYSTON JONES CHIEF TECHNOLOGY OFFICER ALTAIR

simulation from the design function and the poor quality of embedded CAD simulation.

In my view, it’s always been clear that simulation will drive the design process, it’s just a question of when. In 2000, when Altair performed a weight optimisation simulation on the A380 Droop Nose Rib pack, these designs made it onto the aircraft.

If you asked me back then, ‘How long before this type of s someone who has spent technology is standard?’, I’d have provided an overly optimistic a lifetime applying and championing simulation answer. Great technology is not always rapidly adopted into an technologies (and it really has established design process. felt like a lifetime), do I agree However, adoption of with the premise that it has yet to go mainstream? Reluctantly, and simulation will accelerate with more powerfully integrated setting aside some pockets of workflows and intelligence (for success, I agree. example optimisation, machine The promise of simulation is learning), supported by the key built on design time reduction

A



Due to the complexity of nextgeneration products (for example, electrification, connected, mechatronic) and the requirement to cost-effectively homologate, simulation will become a ubiquitous part of mainstream design processes

 

On the customer side, ‘shift left’ or simulation democratisation initiatives are being discussed throughout organisations, from engineering teams to boards of directors



(speed!) and innovation (that is, performance targets). From my experience, speed trumps innovation, since it’s often assumed performance targets will eventually be achieved.

In aggressive design environments, speed is everything and simulation has historically been too slow.

Other factors that haven’t helped simulation democratisation have been education and understanding, the siloing of

enabler of inexpensive computing power.

Large pockets of simulation success are emerging, which will drive others to follow.

Due to the complexity of next-generation products (for example, electrification, connected, mechatronic) and the requirement to cost-effectively homologate, simulation will become a ubiquitous part of mainstream design processes. altair.com

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One question, eight thought leaders from the simulation technology space: Why has analysis and simulation technology not yet delivered on its promise and become a mainstream part of the design and engineering process?

CARLO POLONI PRESIDENT ESTECO

S. RAVI SHANKAR SIEMENS DIGITAL INDUSTRIES SOFTWARE

‘expert+simulation package’.

Effective democratisation shouldn’t be a watered-down compromise. Rather, it means making the most of everyone’s competencies and propagating simulation knowledge and insights throughout the entire organisation.

This can be achieved by means of a properly customised, server-based and secure SPDM platform where simulation experts can build, version and owadays simulation share parametric models. and analysis are part of At the same time, design any industry and the variety of applications is diverse. engineers can perform their However, a measurable impact in simulation and optimisation the product design process is still studies, without dealing with the model complexity. difficult to make, since in order Finally, all the generated to be valuable, a simulation study knowledge is captured must be accurate and therefore and reused to run further performed by an expert. simulations and drive more Democratisation, in the sense

aerospace sectors, for example, analysis and simulation have become standard parts of the engineering process.

As product complexity continues to increase, there is a growing need to connect all development activities. As a result, companies see more value in front-loading simulation within design.

Strategies for simulationdriven design might include deploying easy-to-use simulation road adoption of commercial solutions for applications within CAD; using templates that allow specialists mechanical computerto guide designers; and aided design (CAD) and providing dedicated apps that computer-aided engineering (CAE) really began in the 1990s. assist designers with specific evaluations.

During those early years, CAD Data management, already was meant for creating the widely used in connection to design and CAE, which often design, is gaining acceptance in lagged design, was primarily the simulation domain, so that aimed at reducing reliance on stakeholders can easily access physical testing. With some performance results and use exceptions, they mostly evolved as disconnected processes which them as the basis for their design decisions. used different software tools.

Looking ahead, we see Today, simulation’s role is accelerated adoption of CAE into broader, it is used to explore mainstream design. Approaches options and inform decisions based on artificial intelligence, not just validate designs. generative engineering and Simulation also addresses a much wider range of physics and fast simulations are further increasing accessibility of CAE. applications and complements Ongoing advances in physical testing. multiphysics modeling, material The market size for CAD and engineering and digital twins CAE are roughly equivalent, ensure that simulation will be with higher growth rates for ubiquitous and critical across all CAE over the last decade. phases of engineering.

And in some industries, such as the automotive and siemens.com/plm

N



Finally, all the generated knowledge is captured and reused to run further simulations and drive more informed design decisions. This is where embedded artificial intelligence can make the job easier for everyone, regardless of their level of expertise

 of simplifying models and/or GUI to sophisticated simulation tools, has somewhat failed to increase the number of people in a company able to perform simulations.

The lesson learned is that it is not access to a software simulation that needs to be democratised. Instead, it is access to ‘certified’ parametric models that can and must be made available to a broader audience, amplifying the impact of the

informed design decisions.

This is where embedded artificial intelligence can make the job easier for everyone, regardless of their level of expertise.

Strange as it sounds, the more invisible simulation (and its complexity) becomes in the design process, the bigger its impact will be in enabling a true, game-changing digital engineering approach. esteco.com

B



Looking ahead, we see accelerated adoption of CAE in mainstream design. AIbased approaches, generative engineering and fast simulations are further increasing accessibility of CAE

 DEVELOP3D.COM APRIL 2021 31

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TALKING HEADS

DR NAGHMAN KHAN TECHNICAL MANAGER SIMSCALE perform basic calculations.

The tool stack, the range of design and analysis software tools available to an engineer, is fragmented. A central cloud simulation platform, which can integrate into existing workflows, must be widely adopted to facilitate this democratisation of simulation.

Analysis and simulation technology still requires a high level of expertise, investment he world as we know it has (software and hardware) and been shaped by feats of training. Its value proposition has engineering innovation. not changed in the last 30 years.

Nearly everything we see, touch The potential for improving and use depends on a designer products early in the design or engineer having done their process requires broader job well. accessibility beyond expert This includes the cities and users. Entire teams must be buildings we live in, the air we able to access simulation – with breathe, the food and water we collaboration and ease of use consume, the healthcare and considered central features. mobility options we have, the The cloud can enable both, devices we use and the energy we although many well-known need to power them. software products are not fully Despite our society’s cloud-enabled. dependence upon engineering, This is why SimScale has today’s engineers aren’t as developed the world’s first fully empowered by their tool stack deployed cloud engineering

T



Analysis and simulation technology still requires a high level of expertise, investment (software and hardware), and training. Its value proposition has not changed in the last 30 years. The potential for improving products early in the design process requires broader accessibility beyond an expert user

 as software engineers. Every engineer globally should have the technical and economic means to access simulation technology.

It should be as common as engineers using a spreadsheet to

simulation platform that allows engineers to test their designs against real-world physics using a powerful CFD engine, accessed through a web browser. simscale.com

DELPHINE GENOUVRIER PORTFOLIO DIRECTOR, SIMULIA R&D DASSAULT SYSTÈMES

I

would add nuances to your statement that simulation has not fulfilled its promise of becoming a core design and engineering process.

We can agree that the adoption of simulation tools by the entire designer community is not there yet and we are a far way from saturation.

However, the adoption of this technology is rapidly increasing across companies in a number of sectors. Today, simulation is perceived as essential to design and engineering by a growing number of our customers and prospects.

With most of our customers, we are working on a unified modeling and simulation approach. This is what is challenging the status quo and breaking down barriers to simulation adoption by all. So while simulation is not used by everyone, it is certainly leveraged by many.

There are two fundamental hurdles in adopting simulation.

First, a siloed approach to design and simulation still exists in the sector. Different and sometimes conflicting tools are used by the

simulation and design functions, and this has proved to be an inefficient way of working.

The speed and ease of use needed to match the increasingly competitive and efficient pace of modern design simply isn’t there when different toolsets with different user interfaces and disconnected workflows are deployed.

But when an integrated, connected set of design and simulation technologies is put in front of a product designer and an engineer, we have found they are receptive to the unified approach.

The second hurdle is that most ‘simulation for designer’ software is not powerful enough to answer the real questions important to designers. They need to know more than just the linear stress in the fillet of a product. They need to know how long their product will last, how well will it perform, what the user experience be like, whether it can be made from a different material and even how its weight might be reduced without sacrificing end-user performance.

These are the questions of real value that historical approaches to simulation-for-designers cannot answer.

A unified, integrated approach, using powerful state-of-the-art simulation technology with a design-oriented user experience, can provide the answers needed.

With that, users and customers are successfully bringing simulation into their core design processes.

3ds.com



The second hurdle is that most ‘simulation for designer’ software is not powerful enough to answer the real questions important to designers. Designers need to know more than just the linear stress in the fillet of a product

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PHILIP KINNANE, PHD SENIOR VP OF SALES COMSOL expertise of the simulation tools and hardware operability used to perform such simulations. The number of people who master these facets, in concert with the increasing power of simulation, is limited.

To alleviate this roadblock, simulation engineers need to share their expertise with colleagues who have not mastered simulation techniques, but do hold acute knowledge ince the advent of and experience within the computers made it application field itself. possible to crunch Subsequently, modern-day numbers, analysis and simulation software needs to simulation technology has work as a platform for building revolutionised design and targeted simulation applications process engineering. relevant to the engineering As computational power and experts in their specific accessibility have increased over application domain, as well as time, from vacuum tubes and present their work in a way that punch tape to modern-day cluster is intuitive to those engineers. computing and schedulers, Instead of mastering the simulation has become a underlying physics, the necessary part of the development numerical methods used and optimisation of engineering to simulate them and the designs and processes. algorithms used to harness This increased capability the hardware to ‘crunch the has also required those numbers’, these engineers engineers who harness can instead concentrate on such power to become more the inputs to a simulation sophisticated, which includes the that they can actually control comprehension of multiple and and understand, relating the coupled physics being simulated. resulting data back to their Moreover, these engineers are initial designs and processes. required to develop a superior comsol.com

S



To alleviate this roadblock, simulation engineers need to share their expertise with colleagues who have not mastered simulation techniques, but do hold acute knowledge and experience within the application field itself.

Subsequently, modern-day simulation software needs to work as a platform for building targeted simulation applications relevant to the engineering experts in their specific application domain, as well as present their work in a way that is intuitive to those engineers



JOHN JANEVIC CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER MSC SOFTWARE

I

f you look across industries and applications, simulation is everywhere – but it’s under-exploited, because it’s used by isolated teams to replace physical tests.

I believe we still need to build trust in results and change this mentality by demonstrating that simulation isn’t simply

We need pervasive simulation to meet escalating productivity and sustainability demands, but it must be time- and cost-efficient.

For example, a multiphysics simulation may offer a faster route to optimise an electric vehicle’s drive efficiency and durability, but if it takes two days to run, its use is confined to R&D. AI fundamentally changes that equation. Automotive crash analyses that previously took hours now complete in seconds, enabling more thorough safety testing. Reduced Order Modelling (ROM) with supervised learning made that possible.

Physics-based simulation alone cannot assimilate historical data, and unless the computational efficiency of simulation is improved by several orders of



Multiphysics simulations offer a faster route to optimise an electric vehicle drive efficiency and durability, but if it takes two days to run, its use is confined to R&D. AI fundamentally changes that equation.

Automotive crash analyses that previously took hours now complete in seconds, enabling more thorough safety testing

 cheaper than physical tests, but can provide more insights than a physical test alone.

Looking across product development, each user needs the right tools so that they can classify problems correctly and we need to ensure that an issue is sent to the person with the right level of expertise to solve it.

The challenge is to build a workflow that presents a relevant level of information and context to each user.

magnitude, the potential of digital twins will remain underexploited throughout product development.

The application of AI enables digital twins to greatly enhance end-to-end product development processes; for example, by analysing how material properties transform through manufacturing, in order to reduce material use and avoid redesign. mscsoftware.com

COMING UP NEXT MONTH: What’s next big thing in rendering and visualisation for the design, engineering and manufacturing industry?

Want to get involved? Email al@x3dmedia.com DEVELOP3D.COM APRIL 2021 33

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PROFILE

SIMULATION

SUMMIT Doppelmayr/Garaventa Group’s ropeways must deliver on flawless operation, comfort and safety, and advanced simulation from Altair provides a robust way to test out the performance and strength of its designs

D

oppelmayr/Garaventa Group is an international manufacturer of ropeways and innovative transportation systems for ski areas, urban transport, amusement parks and material handling systems.

Doppelmayr was founded 1893, merging with Garaventa AG in 2002 to become the world’s leading ropeway manufacturer. As of 2020, the group has realised more than 15,100 installations in 96 countries worldwide.

Since 2017, the company has been using Altair solutions, including Inspire, for the topology optimisation of design parts to reduce material usage and product weight and to increase durability.

More recently, Doppelmayr started using Altair SimSolid to explore its designs and create structurally efficient concepts for large models and complex assemblies.

In modern passenger transport systems, flawless operation, comfort and safety are key engineering criteria for design. To guarantee these key performance indicators, demanding fatigue tests are performed to ensure a component’s performance and strength. Today, advanced simulation methods help to achieve optimal designs and meet the highest safety requirements.

Using Altair Inspire, Doppelmayr built a design that passed the necessary safety tests and optimised a gondola station to be even lighter, safer and more durable than the client requested.

CHALLENGE ACCEPTED Doppelmayr’s engineers were set the task of optimising a bracket of a Doppelmayr lift station building. Since the seam weld of this bracket had failed a critical fatigue test, it was necessary to improve the design of the component for

1 1 The lift-bracket increased strength and fatigue-life of the connection. ● design, showing the The main challenge for the new design was to pass overloaded area at the the critical fatigue test. This tests the bracket, taking weld seams into consideration the maximum forces that can occur during ropeway operation, while also measuring defined parameters like vibration and material strain. To meet high safety standards, the construction has to withstand 100 Mio load cycles.

With that in mind, Doppelmayr engineers had to identify a solution that would enable them to build high-precision components, while considering material use, manufacturing constraints and time and budget for the project.

From previous successful projects, the team had already gained a lot of experience with Altair solutions.

With Inspire, and working alongside Altair’s own expert

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engineers, the Doppelmayr team was confident it could achieve a weight-reduced bracket with increased lifetime and the endurance to pass the critical vibration test. Using the test parameters, they were able to create a full-scale simulation scenario.

In the first step of the optimisation process, the engineers specified the requirements of the new bracket design and generated the CAD model.

Since the initial tests revealed overstressing in one part, the aim was to redesign for better stress distribution and relocate the stress concentration outside the weld seams.

The original CAD data was then imported to Inspire and the team defined both the external and internal clearance, design space and manufacturing method.

After two iterations in Inspire, the engineers were able to identify the optimal design. The final design solution was a welded insert with a flame-cut profile and weld preparations.

This ensured that the stress remained outside the weld seams, creating a better stress distribution and an increased lifetime.

Altair enabled the Doppelmayr engineers to develop a multi-step process, accurately predict the critical area of the first design that had failed the test, and find the proper design modifications.

They were able to generate an optimal design, in a reasonable amount of time, that met performance targets and was lighter than the original.

IMPRESSIVE RESULTS When it comes to specific results achieved using Inspire, Doppelmayr engineers were able to increase the lifetime of the seam weld while reducing the length of each component’s weld seam by 3.5 meters.

The component passed the vibration test and the

IMAGE CREDIT: DOPPELMAYR SEILBAHNEN GMBH

2

3 component’s fatigue-life was increased by factor 4 – from fatigue limit design to fatigue cut-off limit.

In addition to meeting safety targets, Doppelmayr also reduced manufacturing time and costs by approximately 10% for the new design. Long-term results also include reduced maintenance costs, due to the increased lifetime of the bracket.

“Thanks to working with Altair, we are now able to accurately match our components to stringent quality and safety requirements,” says Philipp Schneider, head of the structural calculation department of Doppelmayr.

“The experience we have gained by working with Altair’s engineers will help us to continuously provide our customers with safe and comfortable transport solutions.” doppelmayr.com | altair.com

2 Doppelmayr was ●

able to create an optimal design of a lift station building bracket using Altair Inspire 3 The optimised ●

design, with welded inserts shown

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PROFILE

1

VERTICAL

TAKEOFF The next urban mobility solution may be on the horizon, as Vertical Aerospace looks to write a new chapter in aviation history with an aircraft designed and refined on Dassault Systèmes’ 3DExperience platform

V

ertical Aerospace, a UK aviation start-up, is set to launch the world’s first certified winged electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) aircraft with its VA-X1. Proponents of this kind of transport point out it’s quiet, efficient and carbon emissionfree and could be the next urban mobility solution.

Innovators like Vertical Aerospace plan for their aircraft to move more freely and access local heliports and airports, where noise regulations currently restrict the number of flights per day. The race in the aerospace sector to bring an eVTOL aircraft to market is really heating up, and with 1 Founded in 2016, ● its VA-X1 winged design producing higher speeds and Vertical Aerospace is looking to disrupt lift that reduces necessary electrical load when in flight, the way aircraft are Vertical Aerospace is one of the frontrunners. developed with the “The VA-X1 aircraft has been designed to carry five latest in electric flight people – a pilot and four passengers,” explains the system technologies

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PROFILE company’s head of engineering, Eric Samson. “We are targeting inter- and intra-city travel, with a range of up to 100 miles at cruise speeds of 150 mph.”

Vertical Aerospace is currently building a demonstrator, which it plans to fly in the third quarter of 2021, before certifying and bringing the final aircraft to market in 2024.

“We’re in the process of writing a new chapter in the aviation industry,” says Samson. “We’re working with emerging technologies, including intuitive and safe flight control technologies from Honeywell. At the same time, we’re defining a new certification basis and collaborating with leading companies around the globe.”

2

3

4

5

ONE-STOP SHOP The Vertical Aerospace team is using the Dassault Systèmes 3DExperience platform to develop its aircraft, to share files and information and to ensure the VA-X1 meets the right certifications with authorities.

“It’s a one-stop shop and single source of truth for Vertical Aerospace and our business partners that allows us to work concurrently, wherever we are in the world,” explains Samson.

All of Vertical Aerospace’s product development is defined and managed through the 3DExperience platform on cloud, with assistance from Dassault Systèmes’ business partner Desktop Engineering (DTE), to maximise its use of all the features and tools available.

“The amount of functionality the platform delivers is hugely exciting,” says James McMillan, senior design engineer at Vertical Aerospace. “We’ve started by focusing on our core business needs and making sure we get these processes up and working, such as building a product structure and implementing a part numbering system, which is future-proof and will support configuration control.

When we have fleets of operational aircraft, we will need complete traceability of all the parts.”

A programme is underway to get a part-numbering system in place straight away, but through collaborating with DTE and Dassault Systèmes, the product structure can be future-proofed.

“The cloud ensures business resilience and allows us to continue working from any location at any time,” says Samson. “Having all our data residing on the cloud ensures a single source of truth while saving us any upfront capital investment. All of our apps are always up to date and we can add and remove functionality, according to our changing requirements.”

Actions can be sent out to the required teams in decision meetings; sessions can be recorded; and key people can sign off documentation – particularly important as the company advances to the next stages of its product development.

McMillan explains that the end-to-end process is really important as the company looks to the future. “We will be able to map change management with configuration control, allowing us to set effectivity ranges on design solutions to make sure that they’re applicable to certain groups of aircraft,” he says.

“Today, we go to a single user, single log-in and you’re able to see the entire process, cradle to grave. It’s phenomenal. When we start producing aircraft and services, we are hopeful that we can achieve a fully 3D process with our suppliers, exchanging digital data all the way from production planning down to customer service, maintenance and repairs.” vertical-aerospace.com | dte.co.uk | 3ds.com

2 ● 3 The VA-X1 aircraft has been designed to carry five people: ●

a pilot and four passengers

4 Developed over 18 months and capable of carrying 250kg, ●

the VA-X2 adds new technologies and a passive cooling system 5 The initial VA-X1 demonstrator aircraft was designed ●

and developed by a team of just six engineers to prove the concepts of eVTOL technology

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REVIEWS BCN3D Sigma D25 » IDEX 3D printers are becoming increasingly common, so how can you differentiate between them? Al Dean takes BCN3D’s entry-level offering for a spin, courtesy of 3DGBIRE, and finds a versatile machine that offers plenty to get excited about

TECH-SPECS » BCN3D Sigma D25 » 2.85mm filament » 420x300x200 mm build volume » 690x530x550mm machine dimensions » 30 kg weight » 0.05mm layers (Customisable) » Independent extruders with silicon pad heated glass build plate » Wi-Fi, LAN, USB port - no camera » Open frame with internal and external (for large spools) material feed and management » Levelling & filament sensing » Bondtech Extruder with e3D brass hotend » 1 year return to base warranty » Price £3,285.00 » BCN3D.com | 3dgbire.com

1

B

CN3D may not be a particularly well-known name, but the Barcelona-based company has focused on filament-based 3D printers since it was founded in 2011.

While its early products were based on RepRap, the company has more recently fixed its attention instead on IDEXbased filament printers.

For those not familiar with the term, IDEX stands for ‘independent dual extrusion’.

Whereas most filament-based dual extruder machines have two hot ends built into a singular unit, IDEX machines instead separate the two extruders along the X axis.

So while the movements of the two extruders match on the Y axis, it’s 1 ● For a desktop-class possible for the extruders to move machine, the Sigma D25 offers a generously independently on X. This opens up some interesting possibilities, especially around sized build chamber

the use of two materials.

First, but not uniquely, you can either print with two build materials, or instead, a build material and a support material.

The machine will swap between the two, pretty much as a single-extruder carriage machine does.

Where things get interesting is in driving the two extruders simultaneously.

Whether in duplication mode or mirror mode, this effectively splits the build platform into two.

One side matches the other – either as a straight copy (so the two extruders move in the same direction in X and Y), or mirrored across a central plane (creating a mirrored copy of parts).

The subject of this review is BCN3D’s entry-level desktop machine – the Sigma D25. While it’s fair to say that many of the

company’s products are larger and more capable, this model is representative of what the company is up to across its full product range.

So, let’s get the basics out of the way first; then we’ll move to look at how the machine performs; and finally, we’ll give you our impressions of working with it.

INSTALL & SET-UP The Sigma D25 is a desktop-class machine.

To my mind, that means that it can fit on a workbench and can be lifted by one person, or two at the most.

With these criteria in mind, the Sigma D25 qualifies as a desktop machine – but only just. Put it this way: you’re not going to get much else on that workbench once it’s in place. It’s a big chunk of machine.

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A A Bowden tubes feed filament from ●

internal spool holders to extruders, travelling just over 1 metre in the process

C

B

B Left extruder: your primary extruder, ●

whether you’re running a single material or two materials C Right extruder: your secondary ●

extruder, if you’re running two materials, or a build and a support material (such as PVA or BVOH). When you’re running in duplication or mirror mode, this copies the left extruder, move for move

D

D

D Waste buckets and nozzle cleaner, ●

which area handy for tackling those in-between layer-cleaning operations.

Buckets catch the waste. Be careful not to let it build up

F

E

E

E Spools are stored within the device, ●

one each side. That might mean adaptations are needed for off-size, nonstandard spools F The Sigma D25’s generous build ●

chamber is made possible with the large glass-heated build plate.

H

I

G

G Power switch ● H SD-Card loading slot ● I Touchscreen interface for maintaining ●

the machine and managing build jobs

need to work through the set-up and calibration process. There’s not much to setting it up. It’s simply a case of adding in Bowden tubes to help move filament from the two internal spool holders and feed mechanism to the two extruders.

With the glass build plate snapped into position, you’ll see that this machine has a decently sized build chamber, measuring in at 420 x 300mm platform with 200mm in the vertical Z axis.

Connectivity is via Ethernet at the rear of the unit; or via WiFi, with the addition of a USB WiFi dongle or use of the SD-Card slot on the front.

Boot up the machine, install your software (BCN uses a flavoured and branded version of Cura), and then load in your filament. You’ll find that unlike most FDM machines, the spools of material are stored within the unit and fed into the base.

During the load process, the machine grabs the filament and feeds it through to the extruders.

Once materials are loaded, calibration needs to be carried out using a wizard on the frontmounted, touch-enabled LCD screen, along with a combination of automatic measurements (using

sensors on each extruder carriage) and manual adjustment of wheels on the build platform.

This process is pretty slick, as long as you follow the instructions closely. If you get something wrong, there are no options to step backwards in the process or cancel your current task. So you’ll need to switch the machine off and start all over again – something that really needs addressing.

That said, once done, you’re ready to start building your first parts.

IN USE If you’ve ever used Cura as a pre-processor/slicer, then you’re going to be in very familiar territory with BCN3D’s preferred software.

If you’re not, then you’re going to follow the familiar process of loading an STL file, positioning it on the virtual build platform, and creating your toolpaths to build the part.

Here, it’s essential that your settings match those on the machine. Connecting directly to the machine transfers settings across, but if you’re doing job prep offline, you might need to double-

check you have materials set properly.

If you’re running with a build and support material combo, the process is pretty simple: just remember to switch the Support Material extruder to your right extruder (it’s set as left by default). If you’re working with more complex material builds, then care needs to be taken to ensure materials are correctly assigned. Perhaps you’re running two materials as build in different portions of the job, to replicate over moulding, for example.

All of this is pretty standard fare for the dualextruder machine – but the independent nature of the Sigma D25 means you can also experiment with both duplication and mirror mode.

These, as we’ve discussed, allow you to run the two extruders at the same time – to either replicate parts or to build mirrored versions of parts.

Set-up for this is pretty straightforward. It’s a software toggle and the build platform on screen splits, allowing you to set up in one half and have it replicated in the other, as needed.

If you’re going to run like this (perhaps for a prototype batch run, for example, or for

BCN3D BRAND FILAMENTS : OPTIONS FOR THE SIGMA D25 BUILD MATERIALS PLA Notes: PLA (Polylactic Acid) is a perennial favourite among regular users of 3D printers, for three main reasons: it’s a fairly robust material; it doesn’t tend to suffer too much from warp; and it’s known for building quickly and cleanly.

Price £32.99 per 750g spool

SUPPORT MATERIALS TOUGH PLA Notes: Tough PLA is PLA remixed to provide it with similar properties to 3D-printed ABS; in other words, high impactresistance and strength, but with the same easeof-use characteristics. If you’re building large parts, this is a solid bet.

Price £37.99 per 750g spool

PETG Notes: We all know what PET is used for – flexible parts, ranging from structural packaging, automotive components or consumer products. PETG (the G meaning added gycol) in filament form lets you get close to replicating the material in prototypes Price £37.99 per 750g spool

TPU Notes: Elastomeric parts aren’t the easiest to build, but TPU works well, particularly if you vary infill settings to achieve mimics for different shore hardnesses. TPU works well as a build or with PLA for simulating overmoulded parts.

Price £56.99 per 750g spool

BVOH Notes: BVOH (that’s Butenediol vinyl alcohol copolymer to you and me) is an excellent alternative to PVA. Highly soluble in water and offers crisp interaction layers within your model. It’s also interesting as a means of producing sacrificial patterns for moulding.

Price £60.99 per 500g

PVA Notes: PVA (Poly vinyl alcohol) is one of the most commonly used soluble support materials out there. It’s readily available, but it does suffer a little with surface finish on contact surfaces and takes a fair old while to dissolve.

Works best with PLA, TPU and PETG. Price £56.99 per 500g

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HARDWARE REVIEW

producing jigs), BCN3D suggests that the extruders are fitted with some shims (supplied with the machine) as required, so that results are more consistent.

The reason is that there’s an offset between the two nozzles that is automatically accounted for in normal printing modes. When you’re working in duplication or mirror mode, the nozzles need to operate at the same height. The workarounds are using a raft on the right-hand set of parts (useful for quick one-off use of these modes), or installing these shims to make the offset more robust, if you intend to use it in this configuration for a good while.

RESULTS I had a few teething problems getting the machine connected up to a workstation, attempting to do so with both a traditional cable and my WiFi connection. But once these issues had been ironed out, the machine proved itself very capable.

The build space is large in X and Y, and while the Z height is 200mm, it still gives you plenty of room to orient large components. In fact, our largest regular test part (a triple tree clamp) could have been built four times in a single shot with the D25. And when you factor in the dual extruder duplication, you could cut production time per part by another half.

If you’re building larger components or handed sets, then this type of machine, particularly when combined with a generous build tray, makes massive sense.

Materials-wise, the D25 does not support the wealth of standard materials that larger machines, such as the W27 and W50, in the BCN3D portfolio do.

Presumably, that’s down to the open frame and the hot end in use.

2 It’s perfect for the likes of PLA and TPU, but not for more aggressive filaments such as ABS, Nylon, Carbon-filled and so on. Those that it does support, however, work a treat and the BCN own-brand filaments perform very well indeed.

This was also my first time working with BVOH as a support material and I have to say it impressed hugely. The surface finish on that B surface, where support and build interact, was superior to a PVA support and pretty much matched the A surfaces.

If I had any reservations about the machine, it would be the open nature of it (also another reason the D25 is focused on PLA and the like – less warp and susceptibility to draughts and temperature variation).

In an office, this might be seen as a

hazard. There’s also a pair of collection trays beneath each extruder and above the spool holders. If you’re running a single material, these aren’t an issue. If you’re running two materials, then the extruder needs to purge between each switchover, which on larger builds, can see a very quick build-up of filament strands. I’d be very careful about leaving a large build running over a weekend, unless you have some active monitoring in place.

Those concerns aside, the Sigma D25 hugely impressed: Easy to set-up and maintain, parts exactly as you’d expect from a desktop filament-based machine, and a platform large enough for some really interesting builds. Recommended for anyone’s shortlist. bcn3d.com | 3dgbire.com

2 BCN3D uses a ●

flavoured version of Cura for its preprocessing and slicing software

3D PRINTING AT CAMPER: IDEX MACHINES PROVE THEIR WORTH

S

elling up to 4 million pairs of shoes a year, Camper is one of Spain’s most successful footwear companies, wellknown for its innovative designs and comfortable products.

At its headquarters in Inca, Mallorca, the company’s technical department has streamlined its process of developing new collections by integrating desktop 3D printers.

In-house 3D printing has significantly sped up the iterative design process, allowing for more creative freedom and accelerating workflow, while keeping costs under control.

The design team at Camper has a three-month deadline to create each new collection. With this time constraint, it needed a fast, cost-efficient solution that allowed it to test and iterate multiple times, all while maintaining the highest quality standards. The goal: to find the best possible combination of design and ergonomy for every pair of shoes.

Before the company started working with in-house 3D printing, it was outsourcing the production of physical models. This process was slow and expensive. It took up to two

weeks to receive a prototype, reducing iteration to the minimum, with most work performed through 2D digital designs, limited to a screen.

The introduction of several BCN3D Sigma and Sigmax 3D printers has meant a total revolution and streamlining of Camper’s process.

Now, designers can discuss which new shapes and details they are considering with engineers in the technical department, who then convert these ideas into printable models within 24 hours.

As senior designer Job Willemsen explains: “Working with BCN3D printers is very useful, because if we have an idea in mind, together with a technician, we can obtain quick and direct results for the dimensions of components. This enhances our ability to be reactive.”

The collections, which Camper designs around a year in advance, are geometrically complex, so designers need a technology capable of reliably reproducing each model to every last detail.

That is why they have chosen BCN3D printers, more specifically the Sigma and Sigmax. In the words of Jordi Guirado,

product engineer at Camper, “because of the dual-extruder system, we can use watersoluble print material. As a result, we can work with more complex geometric shapes and reduce design time for the whole collection.”

The large printing surface of the Sigmax ensures enough room to fit all parts manufactured at the plant, so that creativity is never constrained by space.

Shoe design legend Camper uses Sigma machines in its Mallorcan design centre

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HARDWARE REVIEW

WS-1640A-PRO-G4 [Threadripper Pro] » This Threadripper Pro machine from Workstation Specialists is not for everyone, but looks ideal for applications where memory bandwidth is critical, writes Greg Corke » AMD Ryzen Threadripper PRO 3975WX CPU (32 cores) (3.5GHz, 4.2GHz Turbo » 128 GB (8 x 16 GB) 3200MHz 8-channel DDR4 memory » 1TB Samsung 980 PRO M.2 PCIe 4.0 NVMe SSD + 2 TB Seagate Barracuda 3.5-inch HDD » Fractal Design 7 XL chassis (240 x 547 x 475 mm (WxDxH) » Microsoft Windows 10 Professional 64-bit » 36 Months Premium RTB hardware warranty with remote engineer diagnostics by next business day » with AMD Radeon Pro W5500 (8GB) GPU £4,899 (Ex VAT) » with Nvidia RTX A6000 (48GB) GPU £8,199 (Ex VAT) workstationspecialists.com

I

n just a few years, AMD’s Threadripper CPU has become synonymous with high-performance workstations. This is especially true in design viz, where rendering tools like V-Ray, KeyShot and Unreal Engine thrive on plentiful CPU cores.

But Threadripper is not actually a workstation processor. It’s a ‘consumer’ CPU, with buckets of multithreaded performance – far more than your average YouTuber or gamer would ever need.

Even though Threadripper has sold well, AMD knew it needed a dedicated workstation CPU in order to properly address the workstation market (just like Intel has Xeon), so last summer, it launched Ryzen Threadripper Pro. Threadripper Pro shares the same core silicon as Threadripper, but has several features that set it apart from its ‘consumer’ sibling. These include more memory channels (eight versus four), so it has more memory bandwidth; higher memory capacity (2TB ECC memory versus 256GB), so it can support larger datasets; and additional PCIe Gen4 lanes (128 versus 64), so it can support more GPUs and SSDs. While these features can give Threadripper Pro an advantage in some workflows, the downside is the CPU runs at slightly slower clock speeds than consumer Threadripper with equivalent core counts, both in terms of base and boost frequency. How this equates to realworld performance will depend on the application — whether it’s bottlenecked by memory bandwidth or CPU frequency.

OPEN COMPETITION Threadripper Pro was originally exclusive to Lenovo in the Lenovo ThinkStation P620 workstation. However, in March 2021, AMD opened up the CPU to everyone, resulting in a plethora of new workstations.

One of those machines is the WS-1640APRO-G4 from Derby-based Workstation Specialists, which can be configured with a choice of three AMD Ryzen Threadripper Pro CPUs — the 16-core 3955WX, 32-core A three-fan Enermax liquid CPU cooler keeps 3975WX or 64-core 3995WX. The first thing you notice about the thermals under control, but together with three machine is its size. At 240 x 547 x 475 mm chassis fans, it does (WxDxH), the Fractal Design 7 XL chassis is give off some noise significantly larger than the ThinkStation under heavy loads P620 (165 x 460 x 440mm WxDxH).

But there’s a reason for this. Built around the Extended ATX ASUS Pro WS WRX80ESAGE SE WiFi motherboard, the WS-1640APRO-G4 can support up to four doubleheight GPUs, twice that of the ThinkStation P620. If you’re into GPU rendering, this is an important consideration.

It also means there’s plenty of room for storage expansion. With three on-board PCIe 4.0 M.2 slots and eight SATA ports, you can easily add to our review machine’s storage – a 1TB Samsung 980 PRO PCIe 4.0 M.2 NVMe SSD and 2TB Seagate Barracuda 3.5-inch HDD. There’s a total of eight memory slots, all of which need to be populated in order to make the most of the 8-channel memory architecture. Our review machine was fitted with 128GB (8 x 16GB) DDR4 3200 GHz, but those who work with huge datasets can go all the way up to 2TB with 256 GB 2933 GHz ECC registered modules.

There are buckets of ports: three USB 3.2 (one Type C) and two USB 2.0 front top; and eight USB 3.2 Type-A, one USB 3.2 Type-C and one USB 3.2 Gen 2x2 (or SuperSpeed USB 20Gbps) at the rear. There’s also dual 10G Ethernet and built WiFi 6 AX2000, which is particularly relevant for those currently working from home and don’t want cables trailing round the house.

Our review machine came with the 32-core Threadripper Pro 3975WX, which has a 3.5GHz base frequency and a 4.2GHz Turbo. It’s well suited to a range of multithreaded workflows, from ray-trace rendering, photogrammetry and computational fluid dynamics (CFD) which typically max out all available cores, to finite element analysis (FEA) and point cloud processing which, while multithreaded, might use fewer cores.

The machine performed well in our rendering tests but was outshone by the 32-core consumer Threadripper Scan workstation we reviewed last month. It was around 7% slower in KeyShot and 12% slower in V-Ray. In applications like these, memory bandwidth is not as important as frequency. In KeyShot, for example, the Threadripper Pro maintained 3.8GHz on all cores, but Threadripper hit 4.0GHz. In point cloud processing software Leica Cyclone, the gap was much smaller, but Threadripper still had a 1% lead. This could be a case of memory bandwidth and CPU frequency cancelling each other out.

For Threadripper Pro to shine against its consumer counterpart, it needs to be used in applications where memory bandwidth is critical, such as CFD or FEA, as it means data can be fed into the CPU much quicker.

Unfortunately, we don’t currently have any engineering simulation software in our testing suite, but we have heard anecdotally that in applications like Ansys Mechanical, users might see a significant performance benefit.

AMD also told us that when compiling shaders in Unreal Engine, Threadripper Pro has been seen to deliver a 30% to 40% jump in performance over an overclocked Threadripper CPU. Threadripper Pro’s 8-channel memory should also benefit workflows like video editing and postproduction and when running multiple tasks in parallel.

GRAPHICS Our review machine came with two GPUs to test: the AMD Radeon Pro W5500 (8GB) and the new Nvidia RTX A6000 (48GB).

The difference in performance is huge, but so is the price and not all workflows need such high levels of graphics processing.

We’d recommend the AMD Radeon Pro W5500 in workflows like simulation and point cloud processing where graphics requirements are lower, but the GPU still delivers good all-round performance and is fully certified for a range of 3D tools.

If you’re into real-time viz, GPU rendering or VR, the Nvidia RTX A6000 is a phenomenal GPU (see our review - tinyurl. com/RTX-A6000) . And, if you really want to beef up the GPU rendering capabilities, you can pack four of these double-width inside, something you can’t do on most other workstations.

CONCLUSION The WS-1640A-PRO-G4 is an excellent, well-built workstation, ideal for the most demanding of users. But it’s not for everyone. While the superior memory bandwidth of Threadripper Pro should benefit certain workflows like engineering simulation and some aspects of design viz, those who only perform ray trace rendering may still be better off with consumer Threadripper, especially as it’s cheaper. The caveat is if you work with huge datasets: Threadripper Pro goes all the way up to 2TB, while Threadripper peaks at 256GB. In summary, get to know your applications, workflows and the size of your datasets before you invest.

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Dell U4021QW UltraWide

» Dell’s ultrawide monitors are well-regarded in the design and engineering industry.

Al Dean takes a look at the latest product, which targets the home worker who needs that little bit extra when it comes to screen real estate

1

» 40” LED-backlit LCD curved monitor » 21:9 Aspect Ratio » WUHD 5120 x 2160 » Pixel Pitch 0.1815 mm » Frequency 60 Hz (via DisplayPort) / 30Hz (via HDMI) » Brightness 300 cd/m² » Inputs 2 x HDMI, DisplayPort and Thunderbolt 3 » 100mm x 100mm VESA Mount » Height Adjustment 120 mm » Swivel 60 » Tilt -5/+21 » Dimensions: 946.6 mm x 248 mm x 457.8 mm (including Stand) » Microsoft Windows 10 Professional 64-bit » 13.8 kg » 3-Year Advanced Exchange Service and Premium Panel Exchange to on-site £1,610 (Ex. VAT) dell.com

T

he way we look at our computing hardware has changed in the last 12 months.

After all, many of us now find ourselves more regularly interacting with others through a screen, rather than face to face – plus we’re stuck working in our own homes.

With these limitations in mind, the idea of being hunched over a laptop screen isn’t appealing, even one of those 17-inch display screens. It’s just not good for our working practices, or our spines.

As a result, the idea of a display device that supports better posture, gives you a lot more pixels to play with and which doesn’t look like it’s been mandated by a corporate IT department, is appealing.

This is where Dell’s new UltraWide U4021QW has some real strengths to offer. Having personally spent the last two months in close contact with it, I can give you a rundown of what day-to-day life is now like.

SET UP But first, let’s look at getting this big old beast set up. Once you’ve extracted it from the box, got the stand attached and sat in position (it’s height- and tilt-adjustable), you’ll need to figure out connectivity. Here, you have a number of options, depending on your needs. There’s

a USB-C (or Thunderbolt); two HDMIs; as well as a DisplayPort connector. While the ThunderBolt and DisplayPort options give you the full 60hz refresh option, it’s worth noting that this steps down to 30hz for HDMI. My personal configuration of choice was to use the DisplayPort to connect to my trusty desktop monster under the desk, then use the powered USB-C port to connect to my MacBook Pro – the benefit of the latter being that I don’t need to have a separate power cable, as it draws under 90W. While most mobile workstation-class laptops will be way over this, for those working with desktops alongside a smaller form factor or lower powered USB-C mobile, this might be ideal – and will save you from yet another pesky cable making the place look untidy.

Now it’s time to get it switched on. Right from the off, the set-up process is pretty slick – with one caveat (one that says more about the author of this review than it does about Dell’s user experience team).

When the monitor is first set up, the options are scrolled through on a small menu to the lower right of the screen – but you need to recognise there is a power button and a small joystick that correspond to the options on the screen. I completely missed the joystick, so spent a

good 15 minutes switching the monitor on/ off and jabbing what I already knew was not a touchscreen device. You have been warned!

Once you’ve updated your resolution settings and installed the Dell Display Manager application, you can then start to explore what the 5120 x 2160, 40-inch screen feels like to use.

Personally, I also like to calibrate a new display every week or so for the first month or two, just to ensure that the panel is as close to accurate as possible. I use DataColor’s Spyder device for this.

IN USE My usual set-up is two 27-inch monitors, both running at HD, rather than 4K. By comparison, and in terms of screen real estate, the U4021QW is the equivalent of 1 and a half, but it’s the 5K2K resolution that really makes it sing. It’s clear, crisp and represents colour pretty accurately.

The calibration I ran only had to tweak the settings a little.

Compared to running two monitors, I don’t miss the separation of the two displays and found that window management wasn’t a concern, even if you’re essentially losing half a monitor.

If you’re accustomed to using a single display, then this is going to feel incredibly expansive.

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HARDWARE REVIEW

2

If you’re a Windows user, then the Dell Display Application is useful for zoning up your display and having application windows snap to known positions. You can set this up, then save it as a preset so that your work environment is always the same. I only wish there were a similar tool for Mac OSX.

MANAGING TWO MACHINES Where modern, well-designed monitors (rather than consumer-grade displays) come into their own is how they tackle the needs of professional users.

An excellent example is how this system manages inputs. For example, I often run both the Mac and the Windows machines at the same time, so having quick options

to switch inputs completely is very useful, without too much pressing of cryptic buttons, rather using the onscreen menu and rear-mounted joystick/button combination.

There are also some nice options to explore split-screen and picture-in-picture (PnP) capabilities. This means you could split the screen into two halves, with each machine represented in its own half.

The PnP option also means you can have the bulk of your screen showing one machine, and a smaller quarter or eighth of the screen showing what’s going on in your other machine.

IN CONCLUSION The Dell U4021QW is a pretty useful

display. Whether you’re looking for a replacement for a single or dual-monitor set-up, or perhaps replicating it at home, then it’s got pretty much everything you need in terms of aesthetics.

In other words, it looks pretty slick compared to many, but also offers flexibility of inputs, window control and more.

Ultimately, the quality of the display is what makes or breaks this hardware, and on this count, it’s a winner. Clear, crisp, represents the full colour range accurately.

To be honest, Dell might need to send around the heavies if the company wants this screen back from me. dell.com

1 The Dell U4021QW ●

is a well built bit of kit, but manages to remain compact, despite the expansive screen real estate available 2 The back of the ●

display is as nice as its front. Note the position of the power button and control joystick on the bottom left of the rear of the unit

5K2K MONITORS: WHAT OTHER OPTIONS ARE AVAILABLE?

LG 34WK95U-W Product: 34WK95U-W Supplier: LG Screen Dimensions: 34 inches Price $1,499.99

LENOVO THINKVISION P40W-20 Product: ThinkVision P40w-20 Supplier: Lenovo Screen Dimensions: 40 inches Price $1,699 (available in June)

MSI PRESTIGE PS341WU Product: Prestige PS341WU Supplier: MSI Screen Dimensions: 34 inches Price $999.99

Notes: LG has been a favourite of mine for a while, having spent years with a trusty 28-inch LG CRT back in the day. The is 34-inch ultrawide, but still manages to pack in 5120 x 2160 pixels, but strangely comes in 7kg heavier than the Dell. lg.com

Notes: When we tested out an early variant of this (the ThinkVision P44w), it really impressed, so we have no reason to doubt that fitting this form factor out with a 5K2K display will rock. A few tweaks, such as the phone stand in the base) are pretty nice too. lenovo.com

Notes: MSI describes this as a display for creators (Read: We made it in white). It looks stunning and a decent colour gamut (98% of DCI-P3) means it should display colours accurately. Whether it’ll be that colour in two years’ time remains to be seen. msi.com

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THE LAST WORD

Software-as-a-service is nothing new, but renting your tools can throw up some interesting challenges. Al Dean wonders where this trend is taking us and how we might tackle those challenges in future

S

ubscriptions to software: it’s one of those difficult subjects. And that’s because, as in so many other areas of modern life, there are such stark contrasts in opinion, so little nuance. You’re either for it or against it. No middle ground.

At DEVELOP3D, all of our software is provided as a subscription service, typically through monthly fees or annual payments, depending on the type of license and number of seats needed.

We have subscriptions to Microsoft 365, Adobe Creative Cloud, Dropbox, Pipedrive, Apollo for CRM and sales prospecting, plus a few other services dotted around for transcriptions from voice recording (Otter), video hosting and whatnot.

All of these services help our small company run. We make use of most of them daily and rarely come up against any issues – other than annual price hikes or changes in the packaging/bundling of services. We’ve planned ahead and, if we’re honest, have been lucky thus far.

That said, what happens when a softwareas-a-service (SaaS) provider moves the goalposts? This throws up some interesting challenges, especially with large enterprise licenses and for those managing corporate software budgets.

Yes, price hikes are something that we’re all accustomed to and even see as inevitable. Just because something cost £25 a month six years ago, doesn’t mean it’s going to stay that price forever.

But then there’s the moving of functional goalposts. An example where this might be considered a good thing is seen with Autodesk’s Fusion 360. Once upon a time,

2

it had two tiers. Then that was reduced to one tier only, which brought a whole set of functionality (such as some pretty damn advanced CAM functionality) into the standard price subscription.

Autodesk has subsequently added a new approach, offering ‘extensions’ that provide specific capabilities for advanced machining, additive preparation, simulation and more.

In other words, it’s an upper tier. An upper tier by different name and means, but an upper tier nonetheless.

At the same time, it makes sense. The number of folks who need on-machine inspection in their CAM system is limited, as are the number needing simulation tools for powder-bed fusion additive manufacturing.

Then there’s the removal of capabilities, combined with the introduction of subscriptions. This is something that really ticks me off.

A recent example is Cricut, supplier of some pretty nifty desktop CNC cutting machines. In March, the company announced that it is introducing a subscription fee for its cloud-based Design Space application. Essentially, if you want to cut anything on a Cricut machine, you need to upload to this app, carry out preprocessing and sheet layout, and then send it to the machine to cut. What the company was intent on doing was limiting users to 20 uploads per month. That, to my mind, is insane.

One week you might purchase a piece of hardware; then the following week see restrictions placed on how much you can use it. Irrespective of the vendor’s justifications, it’s plain wrong.

Of course, existing customers were outraged, quite rightly. And Cricut soon backed down, posting an open letter from CEO Ashish Arora that stressed the company’s core value of community. The Cricut team had listened to the feedback and taken it on board. (And no surprise there, given that much of that feedback indicated that customers were inclined to abandon their Cricut

1 machines and shop with competitors instead. That sort of talk pretty much always makes a CEO sit up and take notice.)

Ultimately, subscription-based licencing isn’t new, but it is becoming more prevalent. For the customer, there are benefits and there are drawbacks. There is no right or wrong. What really matters is value. And value is inextricably linked to affordability, as well as defining a potential escape route.

Does the system provide the value you seek, in terms of support or the functionality provided? Does that functionality increase in robustness, quality and capability over time, to your benefit as a user?

We also need to consider that the intellectual property (IP) embodied by, say, a Photoshop file, an InDesign document or a cut vinyl shape may not be of particularly high value. It might very quickly be moved to an alternative platform.

But when it comes to 3D design tools, that’s simply not the case. There is huge value tied up in the data we create, both the hours spent on it, but more importantly, from an IP standpoint.

The rise of subscription-based design and engineering systems doesn’t really change much in the use case or how it’s financed.

But what it does change is the need to formulate an robust exit strategy – and once that data is out there in the cloud, what then? That is where the real shift lies, and that’s where our real focus – even concern – should be as customers.

1 Fusion 360’s ●

powder bed fusion simulation tech: a piece of functionality that only a small proportion of users may ever need 2 Cricut Maker, a ●

source of frustration to existing users in March, prompting a u-turn from the company’s CEO

GET IN TOUCH: Email al@x3dmedia.com or on Twitter contact @ alistardean. Are you developing and building products? We want to tell your story. Talk to us!

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