22 October 1999
CIM 99 Stand 1402
CADfix 3.0 launched at CIM
FEGS has announced the launch of version 3.0 of CADfix, the comprehensive modelling data exchange and repair tool. CADfix 3.0 will be on show for the first time on Stand 1402 at Computers in Manufacturing (CIM) 99 exhibition at Birmingham’s NEC from October 26th to 28th. Enhancements are focused on model import and export, data transfer and CAE user functionality.
FEGS’s ongoing research and development in the field of design data exchange was formalised in the CADfix product earlier this year. CADfix is the ideal solution for anyone who needs to reuse solid modelling data in a downstream application such as FEA or CAM, or even ‘simply’ in another CAD system. The launch was in response to the growing sophistication of solid modelling and the inability of ‘neutral’ file formats and built-in import tools to cope reliably with such increased complexity.
“We have been tremendously encouraged by the response we have seen since launching CADfix,” says John Meaney, Sales and Marketing Director at Cambridge-based FEGS. “All too often, downstream users of solid modelling data have been forced to find ways of working around data translation issues, often wasting hours or weeks reworking entire designs. The existence of a product specifically designed to eliminate all this time and effort has been a real eye opener.”
Model import and export
Already extremely powerful in its ability to read and repair IGES files, CADfix now has the added flexibility of a number of native CAD import and export facilities. This will be particularly welcomed by suppliers who are dependent on their customers’ solid modelling data but are unwilling or unable to maintain expensive high-end modelling licenses just for communication purposes.
CADfix 3.0 introduces native import and export STEP (AP203 and AP214) and ACIS (version 5) files, direct import for Parasolids (export was already supported), and export of flavoured IGES files for both Pro/Engineer and Catia. CADfix already tailors its IGES outputs to suit many leading CAD and FEA systems including SDRC I-deas and supports other systems, including ANSYS, in native file format.
Data transfer enhancements
As well as addressing the specific requirements of individual import and export formats, FEGS has introduced some general enhancements aimed at smoothing the day-to-day running of CADfix. These include a redesigned, streamlined user interface and further use of the CADfix Wizard, the configurable automatic repair tool, which now controls all imports, automating them where possible, and which can now be run in batch mode for multiple translations.
A new geometry editor has been added to cater for cases when imported models have some geometry missing altogether. The ability to add geometrical entities which have clearly been lost in translation from the CAD source file – rather than just manipulate geometry that has made it through – should mean users can cope with models which were previously untreatable.
Improvements have also been made to the way CADfix handles IGES files internally. As well as some additional geometric entities which can now be exported directly (in addition to existing NURBS geometry) the main consequence of this is that IGES files prepared for export are as much as 75 per cent smaller in version 3.0.
Further enhancements have been made to NURBS editing functionality. The number of NURBS control points generated as part of CADfix’s smart healing procedure, for instance, has been reduced by orders of magnitude – a further contribution to the reduction in the size of exported IGES files.
It is also now easier to remove control points from NURBS edges and surfaces, leaving the entities within user defined tolerances while reducing data overheads. This can be taken a stage further by mapping entire surface areas to cylinders, cones, spheres and toroids provided that this all happens within agreed tolerances – it was already possible to perform such transformations to planar surfaces that were within the user specified tolerance.
Finally, a new diagnostics tool has been added which will scan a model and determine what needs to be done in order to prepare it for a user-defined downstream application. A working set will then be created which will allow the user to concentrate on the specific tasks that need to be performed.
CAE functionality
Because FEGS’s traditional area of expertise is in pre- and post-processing for analysis applications, it is no surprise that CADfix 3.0 incorporates a number of new features specifically aimed at FEA users. These include an updated tetrahedral mesher with improved algorithms to give faster performance and greater success and a new element quality test.
There have also been a number of FEA specific refinements to the user interface, including a GUI specifically flavoured for downstream ABAQUS users, new Mesh, Loading, Constraint and Material Property Managers to give users greater control over FEA scenarios.
Other enhancements
Perhaps the most visible change with version 3.0 (aside from the redesigned user interface) is to be found in the speed with which shaded images can be generated on screen. Times here have been slashed by at least 100 per cent. Subsequent refreshes are now almost instantaneous.
Finally, CADfix 3.0 is issued as FEGS’s Year 2000 compliant release on all supported platforms. These are now: Sun Solaris 2.6, SGI IRIX 6.5.3, HP-UX 10.2, IBM RS6000 AIX 4.1.5 and Windows NT4.
Note to editors:
FEGS Limited was founded in 1978 by Dr Geoff Butlin and is an established name in pre- and post-processing for finite element analysis. CADfix is the fruit of FEGS’s ongoing R&D in data exchange over the past 18 years. FEGS is a wholly owned subsidiary of Ohio-based International TechneGroup Incorporated (ITI).
For further information, please contact:
|
Ben Bush/Nick Lerner
The CroCodile Public Relations. Tel: 0171 749 4400 Fax: 0171 739 4042 |
or |
John Meaney
TranscenData Europe Limited. Tel: 01223 237 111 Fax: 01223 234 192 |
Issued by The CroCodile Public Relations, The Lux Building
2/4 Hoxton Square, London N1 6NU