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ThinkDesign Suite 2011 - official beta release by think3 released
7/16/2011 |
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Think3 announces the release of the new ThinkDesign 2011.1 beta version
BOLOGNA, Italy, July 11, 2011 - Think3 announces the release of the new ThinkDesign 2011.1 beta version of the highly appreciated CAD suite developed by the well-known Italian software house. The development has focused on the various application areas of the solution, with the result of offering customers operating in the field of styling, engineering and tooling, a new version full of features and improvements. Customers can now download the solution by accessing the Customer Care site, which makes available, beside the efficient maintenance services, the products updates. The download area is reachable on the new www.think3.eu website through Login Customer Care.
Please see below the key areas covered in this version.
Sketch
The sketch environment, heart of solid modeling, has been improved thanks to the enhancement of the graphic representation mode of constraints applied to entities. Now symbols are used in place of texts enabling a clear and prompt reading. Moreover it is possible to create arcs in the 3D environment by using the traditional commands Three-Point Circle, Circle given Center, Circle given Radius, Fillet.
Solid Modeling
Solid modeling has been enhanced with the introduction of the new Rib command enabling the creation of the typical reinforcement structures applied to components. Still in the field of solid modeling, improvements have been made to the Split command and to the Fillet Reconstruction in the Move Faces and Offset Faces tools of Interactive Solid Modeling (ISM). To complete the feature enrichment a new analysis command, External Relations Info, has been added. It will help engineers to operate with greater control over components.
Assembly
In the assembly environment it is now possible to create Assembly Features. They are very useful when a single component is applied several times, but specific features must be added only to some of the instances. These features will be created on the selected instances in the assembly, without any change to the original external component.
Subdivision Surfaces
In this version, a special importance is attached to the new Subdivision commands and features. Subdivision surfaces are a new powerful modeling tool available for the control of solids. Similarly to NURBS that enable the modification of surfaces by means of control points, subdivision surfaces enable the modification of solids, by using points.
What is really outstanding is that when the points are moved, the solid surfaces will be kept connected and the faces will retain their mutual tangency and curvature continuity conditions, since the command works on the whole shape and not on the single surfaces. Industrial designers will have one more tool to meet their needs.
Sheet Metal
In the sheet metal context, the commands Step Bend, Flange, Sheet Metal Wizard have been improved in usability and in the supported case studies, making the approach to this scope even more efficient.
Curves and surfaces
The new Approximation by Lines-Arcs command enables the conversion of a generic planar curve into a sequence of line segments and arcs. This is very useful to define a tool path for NC machines. The new Geodesic Curve command enables the creation of a curve that lying a surface, by generating the shortest path between two points.
Another interesting point is the new ReCapping command that enables the creation of a quality capping surface by using a mesh and some limiting curves as input data.
>MoldDesign
The new Region Analysis command enables the analysis of the visible faces of the mold part from multiple view directions. The faces are grouped by typology as visible, under draft, undercut and overlapped. By selecting the view direction, it is possible to define, using specific colors, the faces as the core, the cavity, and the sliders. It is also possible to create skins of the selected faces that can be used by the Region based option in the Split Mold command. The Separation Surfaces command enables the creation of the parting surface for the mold parts. Other enhancements are related to the commands Project management, Draft Analysis, Cooling and Standard Parts.
New Compensator concept
Currently designers can predict the spring back deformation by using FEM (Finite Element Analysis) tools. This method requires a considerable time and effort in integrating the FEM results into the modification of the tool design. This is why the FEM tools are not always used and a measurement process is applied instead. This version offers a new approach in the Compensator solution. A new set of features has been introduced, to obtain the Compensation or Adaptation on the basis of Measured Data (AMD/CMD).
Adaptation on Measured data
It is possible to apply a deformation in order to adapt the original surfaces of the model. This operation is accomplished by identifying the deformation from the physical model (obtained by a scanning process) as compared with the initial digital model. The deformation is then applied to the digital model to produce a digital model identical to the physical tool.
Compensation on Measured data
It is possible to compensate the part based on the measured data rather than on the FEM data. The reverse deformation data from the physical model are applied to the digital model employing an inverse law. The result is a digital model identical to the physical one.
These new functionalities make it possible to maintain quality throughout the whole design process, considerably reducing time and cost. It becomes much easier producing complex components that maintain the original design intent, with the possibility to manage design changes in a very effective way. Moreover users working in tooling departments will find the other new commands Blank Holder Addendum, Offset Mesh, Alignment.
PDF 2D
Document distribution will be improved thanks to the new PDF save option for the 2D drawing format, available as print mode.
Rendering and Material Management
This version introduces new Rendering functionalities and remarkable enhancements in the material management. The material and color attributes are distinctly classified and can be rendered separately on the shaded entities. The process of applying the Rendering properties remains the same, but with enhanced and easy-to-use features.
General
Generally speaking, version 2011.1 offers the optimization of the model structure management, a better compatibility with AutoCAD 2010, 3-Axis Scaling, 3D-Clipping View inversion, more accurate mesh generation, enhancement to the Capping and to the Global Modeling commands, and a lot of other improvements that will be appreciated by all users of ThinkDesign Suite that proves to be the best solution for design activities.
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