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Realize Your Product PromiseTM To learn more about how leading companies are leveraging simulation as a competitive advantage, visit: www.ansys.com/promise ANSYS.inddansys_ad_7.875x10.75.indd 1 1 2/14/122/1/12 4:523:42 PMPM DTE_0312_Layout 1 1/31/12 10:41 AM Page 1 Test & Measurement Equipment High Performance Multi-Function I/O USB Data Acquisition Modules • 16 Differential or 32 Single-Ended Analog Inputs, Expandable to 32 Differential/ 64 Single-Ended Channels • 24-Bit Resolution • Thermocouple or Voltage Input Visit omega.com/omb-daq-2416 OMB-DAQ-USB-2416 Starts at $1100 © Kutt Niinepuu / Dreamstime.com Temperature and Wi-Fi Wireless Sensor System 8-Channel Web-Enabled Humidity Virtual 802.11b/g Wireless Ethernet Thermocouple Input Module Chart Recorder OM-WEB-TC wSeries $ iTHX-W3 Series Starts at 599 Starts at $195 $295 Visit omega.com/ithx-w3 Visit omega.com/wseries Visit omega.com/om-web-tc ® omega.com Because of transmission frequency regulations, these wireless products may ® only be used in the United States and Canada (915 mHz models) or Europe © COPYRIGHT 2012 OMEGA ENGINEERING, INC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED (868 mHz models). Omega.indd 1 2/14/12 4:54 PM Degrees of Freedom by Jamie J. Gooch Get Ready for Rapid Tech apid is a relative term. What was once fast now seems ing 3D printing in action. We can feel a shift in the wind, slow. The horse and buggy gave way to steam power, both from engineering firms whose eyes have opened to the and steam power to internal combustion, just as benefits of rapid technologies and from an eager and vast hand-written letters gave way to email. Now even consumer market. Remail takes too long for my text-happy daughter and her friends. To support an even wider acceptance and use of rapid Manufacturing speed has increased as well, but that speed technologies, we’ve launched a new site called Rapid Ready increase has largely relied on economies of scale. The assembly Technology (rapidreadytech.com). The site is designed to line was a triumph of manufacturing efficiency in 1908, and has provide insights and information on different additive man- since allowed companies to quickly turn out everything from ufacturing technologies, materials and types of equipment Model Ts to computer workstations in massive quantities with — from entry-level 3D printers used by hobbyists to 3D pro- great efficiency. Nowadays, robotic arms can pick hundreds of duction systems used by leading global manufacturers. But parts from a high-speed conveyor belt each minute. But, when we will not ignore other tools that can help quickly create you add in the time it takes to place a part order, get it queued physical prototypes, parts and products from digital files, in- cluding custom subtractive manufacturing, 3D scanning and reverse engineering software. Our goal is to get you ready for Our goal is to get you ready for the the hardware, software, materials and services that allow you hardware, software, materials an to rapidly make digital designs physical. services that allow you to make A Bright Future digital designs physical. Perhaps the most amazing thing about rapid tech is that, de- spite how impressive the technology already is, it still has a lot of room to grow. More and more companies are realizing the onto a production line, build a widget and ship it to a customer, value of rapid prototyping, and consumers’ imaginations have that’s still too slow for many people today. already been captured by the idea of downloading and printing At first, those hurried people were mainly design engi- their own products. Direct manufacturing is a long way from neers who wanted a few quick prototypes. They didn’t need displacing mass production, but it is making a real difference 1,000 widgets, just a few to test a design. Computer numeri- in speed and cost savings for certain applications. cal control (CNC) machines and 3D printers filled the gap Rapid manufacturing is already being used to rebuild bones between fast, extremely short run prototyping and assembly on an individual patient basis. Creative people are exploring line manufacturing. But that’s just the beginning. 3D printing as a new medium for everything from sculptures to jewelry to gourmet meals. Global manufacturers are using Momentum Achieved it to create specialized jigs needed for mass production. Other Some technologies take time to really get up to speed. The manufacturers who sell a few hundred or a few thousand high- computers we rely on so heavily today, for instance, stem end products per year are realizing they can use rapid tech to from roots in the 1940s. The term “personal computer” was replace some traditional manufacturing methods. coined more than 35 years ago. Now they’re ubiquitous. These are just a few examples of prototyping and low- It’s easy to postulate that the same thing will happen with volume manufacturing scenarios that are perfect for rapid rapid technologies, such as 3D printers and even personal technologies. You can find more examples on page 14 and on CNC machines. Progress has made the equipment faster and rapidreadytech.com. cheaper, and the basic software free and easy to use. Visionar- We hope you’ll share some of your own stories on how ies have predicted personal manufacturing machines in every rapid prototyping and manufacturing is changing the way office for decades. Could 2012 be the year we look back on as you work, and let us know what you’d like to see on the site. rapid tech’s big breakthrough? You can contact us at [email protected]. It may not be Desktop Engineering has covered rapid technologies for as fast as a text message, but we’ll respond rapidly. DE more than 15 years. It’s exciting for us to see articles about 3D printing in mainstream media like The New York Times Jamie Gooch is the managing editor of Desktop Engineering. and read comments of disbelief under YouTube videos show- Send comments about this subject to [email protected]. 2 DESKTOP ENGINEERING March 2012 /// deskeng.com de0312_DOF.indd 2 2/14/12 2:07 PM NationalInstruments.indd 1 2/14/12 4:55 PM VOLUME 17/ISSUE 7 March 2011March VOLUME 2012 16/ISSUE 7 PROTOTYPE 26 Flight Checking a Laser Sintered Aircraft Laser sintering is used to design and build what’s being hailed as the fi rst 3D-printed unmanned airplane. By Susan Smith SIMULATE 29 Autodesk, the Simulation Company Why the company says its approach to simulation is a game changer. By Vince Adams 36 Expand Your FEA Skills A wealth of resources can help designers use meaningful analysis techniques. By Pamela J. Waterman ENGINEERING COMPUTING COVER STORY 40 GPU Programming in MATLAB The graphics processing unit promises higher computational performance. By Jill Reese and Sarah Zaranek Direct, Parametric DESIGN or Both? 44 Can You Believe Your Eyes? How companies use rendering software to present products. Direct modeling provides an By Josh Mings 32 attractive option to design engineers: no more searching FOCUS: TEST AND MEASUREMENT through design history trees to make a change, just 16 Testing, Testing, 1-2-3 push or pull the geometry The importance of test and measurement in the design process where you want it. Kenneth cannot be overstated. By Jamie J. Gooch Wong makes the case for a future hybrid modeler, one 17 Convert Design Intent to the Inspection Plan that blurs the line between Questions and answers on Hexagon Metrology’s PC-DMIS Planner. parametric and the direct By Jim Romeo manipulation of geometry. 18 The Battery Battle Tips for overcoming the challenges in testing today’s batteries. By Edward Brorein 22 Testing the F-35 New stealth fi ghter illustrates the importance of real-world testing. By Jamie J. Gooch ON THE COVER: SpaceClaim (on the left) ushered in the pop- ularity of direct modeling. PTC (on the right) includes some 23 New Test & Measurement Products direct-modeling functions inside its Creo Parametric. A round-up of instrumentation and data acquisition products. 4 DESKTOP ENGINEERING March 2012 /// deskeng.com de0312_TOC.indd 4 2/15/12 11:14 AM GEOPHYSICAL IMAGING: The classical forward problem in the fi eld of geoelectrics, which includes electrical resistivity tomography, is the calculation of the electric potential at a given set of electrodes when electric currents are injected into the ground at other electrodes. Capture the Concept. With COMSOL Multiphysics ® you are empowered to build simulations that accurately replicate the important characteristics of your designs. The key is the ability to include all physical effects that exist in the real world. This multiphysics approach delivers results —tangible results that save precious development time and spark innovation. comsol.com /conference/cd ©2012 COMSOL. COMSOL and COMSOL Multiphysics are registered trademarks of COMSOL AB.