Computervision refers to this information-centered approach to product development as electronic product definition (EPD). EPD enables engineers to leverage and manage product-development information across the value chain. CADDS 5 is a key component of CV's EPD strategy.

To make conceptual design faster and easier for occasional CAD users, CV has added an object-based sketcher to CADDS 5. "In solid modeling, we find that as much as 80 percent of an engineer's time is spent generating 2-D profiles that will be swept, revolved, or pocketed into a solid," said Mike Smith, manager of product marketing for CADDS 5. "The sketcher makes the process more efficient by enabling engineers to sketch in 3-D with objects such as rectangles and circles. Overlapping objects are trimmed automatically."

Using the sketcher's dynamic-editing capabilities, engineers can remove a feature simply by deleting it or change it by stretching it to the desired size. Engineering constraints are shown as icons on the affected geometry. To change entities, engineers simply click on the icon and increase or decrease the value associated with the constraint. The sketcher then updates the geometry and trims overlapping entities automatically.

CADDS 5's hybrid-modeling features make it easier for engineers to import engineering data from legacy systems or from other CAD systems. The program's new methods-based numerical- control (NC) machining capabilities help manufacturers leverage engineering expertise by providing a means of capturing and sharing that knowledge. After developing NC codes, engineers can save the entire machining process (including tool sequences, step- over parameters, and cutting speeds) in a file that can be reapplied to different geometry.

Another way that CADDS 5 helps engineers leverage the content developed by others is to provide assembly-based design and manufacturing capabilities. With the aid of the program's Concurrent Assembly Mock-Up capability, manufacturing engineers can model jig and fixture assemblies for parts and assemblies as soon as they are designed. NC programmers can work directly on the master design model and keep NC data in separate, associative databases.

Additional information on CADDS 5 can be obtained at CV's World Wide Web home page at http://www.cv.com.

Among the new features in Unigraphics 11.1 are four modules for integrated computer-aided manufacturing of dies and molds. Cone and Cavity Milling, for example, addresses the roughing of highly complex elements such as automotive dies. UG/Fixed-Axis Milling can determine initial and final stock values as well as the total number of passes, which are important when machining forgings or castings. The other new modules are UG/Variable-Axis Milling and UG/Flow Cut.

Another new Unigraphics CAM-related feature is the operation template, with which users customize their systems for specific processes. With the templates, companies can increase standardization in the workplace and capture their best practices for manufacturing.

Industrial design also has been enhanced in the software update. Reflection lines, used when analyzing surface curvature, simulate the current practice in automotive design of examining a clay car body under fluorescent light. The lines highlight anomalies in surface design and the contours produced through various shape analyses. They can also be used to show how far a geometric entity is from given reference planes.

In addition, a new NASTRAN solver from the MacNeal- Schwendler Corp. and other tools have been added to enhance Unigraphics' ability to create digital prototypes that can be tested on a computer before physical prototypes are made. UG/Open, which is a tool set for automating customer processes, introduces 200 new programming routines into the software, and offers full support for compiling and linking routines in C++.

The Windows NT-based TDZ-310, -410, and -610 models incorporate one, two, and four Intel Pentium Pro processors, respectively. The 200-megahertz processors enhance the multiprocessing abilities needed for mechanical CAD, visual computing, and other 3-D applications.

The workstations include RealiZm 3D graphics, which enable users to render complex models and animations at resolutions of 1 to 2.5 megapixels and speeds up to 1.2 million 50-pixel 3-D triangles per second. An optional geometry accelerator, capable of 840 million floating-point operations per second, can also be added.

An integral element of RealiZm is the new RenderGL graphics library that can speed up the generation of photorealistic 3-D models. RenderGL, which extends Intergraph's OpenGL library, allows rendering of elements such as bump maps, texturing, and shadows up to 16 times faster than workstations using just OpenGL.

In addition to RealiZm and RenderGL, the TDZs feature an ultra-SCSI disk subsystem for data-transfer rates up to 20 megabytes per second, an integrated 10/100Base-TX ethernet for networks with 100-megabit-per-second data rates, and an 8X CD-ROM drive.

According to the company, AutoCAD LT for Windows 95, which also runs under Windows NT 3.51, is geared toward users who are making the transition from paper-based drafting to CAD or who need a lower-priced version of AutoCAD that can share files with clients using the 3-D program. The new software includes a number of features that improve ease of use and compatibility.

For example, this version of AutoCAD LT takes advantage of Object Linking and Embedding (OLE) 2.0. OLE client and server support allows links to be created with other OLE-compatible applications, which in turn can be embedded within AutoCAD LT files.

In addition, the software can save files in native AutoCAD 13 DWG format so they can be exchanged with the higher-end application. AutoCAD LT also reads files from and saves them in previous AutoCAD versions, releases 11 and 12.

Several AutoCAD LT functions are aimed at making the program easier to use. The Quick Setup and Custom Setup wizards let users adjust drawing units, borders, and other program parameters before drafting begins. Additional features include real- time pan and zoom; the ability to create spline objects and elliptic arcs through the software's nonuniform ration B-spline (NURBS) curves; improved dimensioning, which gives more layout flexibility and increases geometric tolerancing; and drawing previews.

AutoCAD LT for Windows 95, which costs $469, requires a 486- or Pentium-based PC and 16 megabytes of RAM. More information is available on the World Wide Web at http://www.autodesk.com.

Silicon Graphics Inc. recently opened its Visionarium center at the company's Mountain View, Calif., headquarters. The center immerses participants in walk-throughs and demonstrations in virtual environments. In such an environment, engineers can see how components fit together before manufacture.

One of the Visionarium's demonstrations is a virtual tour of St. Peter's Basilica in Rome. The tour, designed to aid in a complex restoration project, lets users walk through a virtual model of the Basilica and view various sections from previously impossible angles. The 3-D re-creation took eight months to design using Silicon Graphics' Impact and Onyx workstations.

The facility is equipped with two three-pipe Onyx RealityEngine2 workstations, a single-pipe Onyx RealityEngine2 system, and a single-pipe Onyx Infinite Reality system. It incorporates a 25-foot-wide, 81/2-foot-high semicircular screen with a 160-degree field of view. Visionarium is also equipped with three Barco 1209 projectors and a THX surround-sound system.

The new British facility likewise uses interactive computer models shown on large screens, so project teams can check and validate designs for power stations, oil platforms, and other structures. The Visual Engineering Centre, built by Cadcentre Ltd. in Cambridge, England, uses a wide-screen version of the company's Review Reality design software and Visuality group- visualization system.

Visuality relies on an Onyx RealityEngine2 computer with three graphics subsystems. A trio of high-resolution images is then created, merged, and projected on a 16-foot-wide, 120-degree wrap-around screen. In addition to its use at the Visual Engineering Centre, the entire Visuality system can be installed in a standard meeting room.

Autodesk Inc. in San Rafael, Calif., has announced an agreement with University Online (UOL) to develop a virtual campus where World Wide Web surfers can purchase training software and teaching aids as well as register for online courses to learn Autodesk's 2-D and 3-D design, modeling, and animation software over the Internet. The virtual campus will have a classroom and a campus store. Beta testing of the campus store will begin this fall, while beta testing of the classroom will start later in the year. Additional information on UOL can be obtained on the Web at http://www.uol.com; further information on Autodesk and its program can be found at http://www.autodesk.com.

MathSoft Inc. in Cambridge, Mass., has opened the WebStore, an online math, science, and engineering specialty store. It features a range of math and engineering applications, including Matthcad, S-PLUS, Axum, and StudyWorks (software designed to help high school and college math and science students). It also offers a line of electronic books on topics ranging from algebra to personal finance and from applied math to engineering, as well as a variety of third-party software. The products can be purchased and downloaded online; customers can test products before purchasing them. Online purchases can be made with a credit card processed via CheckFree, a credit-card information service. The WebStore can be accessed 24 hours a day, seven days a week at http://www.mathsoft.com.

Matra Datavision Inc. in Andover, Mass., has been awarded worldwide distribution rights for Quicksilver, a subset of MSC/NASTRAN by the MacNeal-Schwendler Corp. in Los Angeles. Quicksilver is a EUCLID application for finite- element analysis that enables users to analyze stress, vibration, and heat transfer. Matra Datavision will also provide technical support.

Computervision Corp. in Bedford, Mass., has signed a one-year systems-support contract with British Telecom in London. The $664,000 contract includes on-site support, error corrections for operating-system and layered software products, and logistics management.

Under an agreement, EDS Unigraphics in Maryland Heights, Mo., will resell standard parts libraries developed by Falko Standard GmbH in Vienna, Austria. The libraries, to be sold as UG/FAST, include International Organization for Standardization, American National Standards Institute, and Germany's Deutsches Institut fur Normen (DIN) bearings and steel sections. The UG/FAST module will be integrated within the user-interface and assemblies architecture of the Unigraphics CAD/CAM package.

Samsung Motors, based in Seoul, South Korea, has licensed ADAMS mechanical system simulation software from Mechanical Dynamics Inc. in Ann Arbor, Mich. Samsung initially will use ADAMS to help train its designers and engineers in the concepts of vehicle dynamics and automotive systems. The software will then be put into daily use in the creation of virtual prototypes to support the engineering and optimization of vehicle designs.

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