COMPOSITE SECTION MODELER
Capability: The VABS tool is used to model composite beams with arbitrary sectional topology and materials. Typical applications include composite rotor blades, turbine blades, wings, and bridges. Two to three orders of magnitude of computing time can be saved with little loss of accuracy by using VABS relative to 3-D analyses, according to the vendor. The application uses geometry and material details to calculate sectional and inertia properties. Commonly analyzed properties include stiffness, neutral axes, center of gravity, mass, principal inertial axes, shear correction factors, and shear center. Analysis also covers 3-D displacement and strain and stress fields.
Hardware: PC running Windows, Macintosh, Linux or Unix.
Developer: Georgia Institute of Technology and Utah State University; contact Wenbin Yu, Utah State University, Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Department, UMC 4130, Logan, UT 84322-4130; (435) 797-8246; Wenbin@engineering.usu.edu; http://hifi-comp.com.
Cost: Free for a limited version of VABSLite; $500 for the full version, academic license. Cost is negotiable for an industrial license.
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DESIGN ON ALL COMPUTERS
Capability: The design and drafting program VersaCAD 2008 will now run on Windows Vista, but the program is still compatible with Windows XP and Windows 2000. It can be run on computers with small or limited memory capabilities. Thus, the program can be run on every computer within an organization, even those used at home by company employees. The translator within the upgraded version has been improved to incorporate many later AutoCAD entities that previously were not supported.
Hardware: PC running Windows 2000, XP, or Vista.
Developer: Archway Systems Inc., 2134 Main St., Suite 160, Huntington Beach, CA 92648-6447; (714) 374-0440; fax (714) 374-0441; www.versacad.com.
Cost: $795 per license; $195 for academic use. Each additional nonacademic license is $200. Unlimited corporate licenses start at $1,000 per year for a small company and $3,500 for a large company. The unlimited, campus-wide academic license is $595.
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MODELS WITHIN PDF
Capability: With QuadriSpace 3-D PDF Communication Suite, users can embed 3-D models in a standard portable document file. That document can be shared with others who are able to rotate, pan, and zoom in on the 3-D model. Authoring tools, which are included, allow users to author documents from scratch and share these as 3-D PDFs complete with text, tables, multiple pages, markups, and clickable bookmarks that animate between 3-D views. Interactive documents, such as step-by-step procedures or clickable part lists, can be created without the need to write code.
Hardware: PC running Windows 2000, NT, or XP.
Developer: QuadriSpace Corp., 705 N. Greenville St., Suite 800, Allen, TX 75002; (972) 359-8488; fax (972) 359-7003; www.document3d.com.
Cost: $95 to start.
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NAVIGATION IN AUTOCAD
Capability: Autodesk has released a navigation tool for AutoCAD via its Labs Web site, used to introduce new and prospective features. The tool provides back and forward display navigation within AutoCAD, similar to the back and forward navigation within a web browser. Hit the back button to return to something you were looking at previously. Similarly, click the forward button to navigate forward again. Many items are tracked and added to the history while you work.
Hardware: PC running AutoCAD.
Developer: Autodesk, 111 McInnis Pkwy., San Rafael, CA 94903; (800) 964-6432; www.autodesk.com.
Cost: Free to AutoCAD users.
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MODELING AND PAINTING
Capability: The 3-D modeling applications Silo Professional and Silo Core have been upgraded to version 2.1. The software includes tools for drawing new geometry that conforms to existing surfaces. Silo Core is a lighter version of Silo Professional. The latter includes painting, ultraviolet layout, and a surface tool used to create strips of vertices, edges, and faces that conform to an existing object. The vendor also maintains a modeling wiki, which can be accessed to learn modeling tips for all 3-D users, regardless of application.
Hardware: PC running Windows or Macintosh operating systems.
Developer: Nevercenter Ltd., 380 S. 300th St., Centerville UT 84014; (801) 555 3331; www.nevercenter.com.
Cost: Silo Core, $99; professional, $199. Upgrade for existing version 2.0 users is free.
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