NX 8 for Design. Smarter decisions, better products. Learn more on page 11 DtopEng_banner_NXCAD_MAR2012.indd 1 3/8/12 11:02 AM April 2012 / deskeng.com Origin 8.6 Overview P.22 Direct Modeling and FEA P.24 TECHNOLOGY FOR DESIGN ENGINEERING Manage Engineering Data Complex models and simulations yield a torrent of data to seize and control. P.16 RACING AHEAD WITH CLUSTERS P.35 REVIEW: HP Z10 WORKSTATION P.38 P.40 PREPARING 3D MODELS de0412_Cover_Darlene.indd 1 3/15/12 12:20 PM Objet.indd 1 3/14/12 11:17 AM DTE_0412_Layout 1 2/28/12 4:36 PM Page 1 Data Loggers & Data Acquisition Systems iNET-400 Series Expandable Modular Data Acquisition System • Directly Connects to Thermocouple, RTD, Thermistor, Strain Gage, Load Complete Cell, Voltage, Current, Resistance Starter and Accelerometer Inputs System $ • USB 2.0 High Speed Data Acquisition 990 Hardware for Windows® ≥XP SP2, Vista or 7 (XP/VS/7) • Analog and Digital Input and Outputs • Free instruNet World Software Visit omega.com/inet-400_series © Kutt Niinepuu / Dreamstime.com Stand-Alone, High-Speed, 8-Channel High Speed Voltage Multifunction Data Loggers Input USB Data Acquisition Modules OM-USB-1208HS Series Starts at $499 High Performance Multi-Function I/O USB Data Acquisition Modules OMB-DAQ-2416 Series OM-LGR-5320 Series Starts at Starts at $1100 $1499 Visit omega.com/om-lgr-5320_series Visit omega.com/om-usb-1208hs_series Visit omega.com/omb-daq-2416 ® omega.com ® © COPYRIGHT 2012 OMEGA ENGINEERING, INC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED Omega.indd 1 3/14/12 10:54 AM Degrees of Freedom by Jamie J. Gooch Rapid Planning hen I was 18, I wrecked my car. It wasn’t the first time, nor would it be the last, but it was the most embarrassing. Thankfully, the only casualty was my car’s front end. The grill was toast, the head- Wlight surrounds — along with the headlights — were gone. As a poor college student, I didn’t have the cash for a body shop to make the repairs. I needed the car to get back and forth to classes, so my dad came to the rescue. The Urbee 3D-printed car was on display last year. He could’ve loaned me the money to have a professional make the fix, but that would have taught me nothing. Instead, we fash- Rapid 2012 Details ioned an entire front end out of leftover plywood, attached it to Networking receptions will be held Tuesday and Wednes- the car, and installed new headlights through holes jigsawed into day. The exhibition hall hours run from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. on the wood. I was both impressed with my father’s ingenuity and Wednesday and Thursday. Briefings and workshops will be of- horrified at the thought of anyone seeing me drive such a “Fran- fered on additive manufacturing, 3D imaging and reverse en- kencar.” I don’t know if it was street legal, but I do know that the gineering, and making metal parts using additive technologies. girl I was dating took one look at it and decided it was time we The more than 60 conference sessions are broken into the saw other people. It certainly motivated me to be more careful following tracks: driving and to save up for the proper replacement parts. • 3D Imaging • Medical and Dental • Transportation This year’s RAPID conference • Final Part Production will be held May 22-25. • Creative/Innovative • Casting (including a seminar of metalcasting processes) • Additive Manufacturing Applications Finding Rapid Tech Solutions • Developing the Additive Manufacturing Workforce If only we would have had a 3D printer in the garage. Maybe my • Direct Write Printed Materials/Electronics kids will have better luck. We seem to be approaching the day If you learn better by seeing real-world examples, sign up when parts will be downloaded and printed in every weekend for one of the tours that run from 9 a.m. till noon on Fri- engineer’s workshop. You can get a sneak peek at that future, as day. One set of tours takes you to the rapid prototyping lab well as the state-of-the-art tools and software available to en- at Newell/Rubbermaid to see Objet, Z Corporation, Strata- gineers now at the RAPID 2012 Conference and Exposition. sys and EOS 3D printers in action; and then to the Slingshot This year’s RAPID conference, which will be held in At- Product Development Group, which uses rapid prototyping, lanta May 22-25, is a great place to see the amazing capabili- 3D scanning and artisan sculpting in the product development ties of today’s rapid technologies and learn how others are cycle. Tour 2 takes you out to the Georgia Institute of Tech- using it to save time and money. nology to see how polyjetting, stereolithography and laser sin- Keynote speakers for the event include Paul Doe, chief tering technologies are used in the Manufacturing Research designer at Prodrive Rally Programs and Terry Wohlers, Center and the School of Mechanical Engineering; and then president of Wohlers Associates. Doe could no doubt have to the Inferno Art Foundry to check out its casting process. solved my teenage fender bender troubles without the use of An example of how far 3D printing is penetrating into plywood. His presentation will provide an overview of Pro- other industries and be seen in RAPID 2012’s inaugural 3D drive’s development of the MINI John Cooper Works World Print Fashion Show, as well its Contemporary Art Gallery Rally Car. Wohlers will address additive manufacturing dur- that presents innovative uses of additive manufacturing. ing his State of the Industry report. Visit rapid.sme.org for registration information and to The conference and event provides great networking oppor- learn more about the show. If you go, stop by DE’s booth tunities, as well as a display of the latest equipment and software. to say hello. DE You can also sit in on briefings to get up to date on additive manufacturing and 3D imaging, attend workshops led by indus- Jamie Gooch is the managing editor of Desktop Engineering. try experts, and choose from a number of conference sessions. Contact him at [email protected]. 2 DESKTOP ENGINEERING April 2012 /// deskeng.com de0412_DOF.indd 2 3/14/12 11:20 AM NationalInstruments.indd 1 3/14/12 10:55 AM March 2011Apri 2012 VOLUME 16/ISSUE VOLUME 7 17/ISSUE 8 TEST 22 Points of Origin Origin, the base version, and OriginPro, with extended functionality, provide control over every visual and contextual parameter of a plot. By Vince Adams SIMULATE 24 Direct Modelers as FEA Pre-Processors Ease of use and a short learning curve make direct modeling ideal for analysis and simulation experts. By Kenneth Wong 30 CAD-based FEA: A Marriage of Convenience How to perform fi nite element analysis in conjunction with direct modeling software. By Dimitrios Karamanlidis COVER STORY HIGH˜PERFORMANCE COMPUTING 35 Swift Engineering Races Ahead Do You Know with Cluster Computing This designer of high-performance vehicles Where Your makes a difference with its cluster. By Peter Varhol Numbers Have Been? 38 Solid Performance at a Great Price Allen Razdow, who invented HP’s updated entry-level CAD workstation delivers great value and solid performance. Mathcad, thinks you should be By David Cohn 16 able to interrogate numbers. You don’t necessarily have to PROTOTYPE drag a suspicious number into a room and bombard it with 40 Preparing 3D Models questions under a bright light, Repair and optimize fi les to really get what you want. in a good-cop-bad-cop routine. By Pamela J. Waterman Rather, in Razdow’s vision, you should be able to just hover a FOCUS: DATA MANAGEMENT mouse over a number to get its source, citation, reference and 16 Do You Know Where Your Numbers Have Been? A data management system with a sense of history leads usage history. to traceability at NAVAIR. By Kenneth Wong ON THE COVER: An increasingly large stream of data can be 20 Fläkt Woods Creates Environment for Quality managed by today’s software. Images courtesy of Management iStockphoto and True Engineering Technology, LLC. Manufacturer uses M-Files for ISO documentation, supplier CORRECTION: An incomplete version of “We Gather Here management and project reporting. Today to Reconcile Direct and Parametric” was incorrectly published in the March issue of DE, page 32. The full version 21 Data Management Product Roundup can be found at deskeng.com/articles/aabeft.htm. Check out some of the latest ways to manage engineering data. DE regrets the error. 4 DESKTOP ENGINEERING April 2012 /// deskeng.com de0412_TOC.indd 4 3/15/12 10:01 AM MODELING IMAGE DATA: Image data from a SEM photograph is used to represent material distribution of a porous media. This can then be meshed, using adaptive meshing, and the fl ow through this media then simulated. Bring your ideas to life with COMSOL Multiphysics. Multiphysics tools let you build simulations that accurately replicate the important characteristics of your designs. The key is the ability to include all physical e ects that exist in the real world. Download your free white- paper “Dramatically Improve Compute-Intense Applications in the Super- computing Cloud” at www.comsol.com/hpcwww.comsol.com/hpc Product Suite COMSOL Multiphysics® MECHANICAL MULTIPURPOSE LiveLink™ for Pro/ENGINEER® Heat Transfer Module Optimization Module LiveLink™ for Creo™ Parametric FLUID Structural Mechanics Module Material Library LiveLink™ for Inventor® CFD Module Geomechanics Module Particle Tracing Module LiveLink™ for AutoCAD® Microfl uidics Module Acoustics Module LiveLink™ for MATLAB® Subsurface Flow Module INTERFACING ELECTRICAL CAD Import Module CHEMICAL AC/DC Module File Import for CATIA® V5 Chemical Reaction Engineering Module RF Module LiveLink™ for SolidWorks® Batteries & Fuel Cells Module MEMS Module LiveLink™ for SpaceClaimcomsol.comcomsol.com / /reactorreactor Electrodeposition Module Plasma Module ©2012 COMSOL.