Synchronous Technology

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Permalink Reply by Jonathan Scott on August 26, 2008 at 6:37am

My opinion is based on the general idea of direct editing software rather than the specific features offered by Siemens, SpaceClaim, CoCreate, or Dassault.

I believe that direct editing will be useful as a "wrapper" around relational design. I believe "light" CAD users will become nimble at using direct editing tools and therefore able to quickly tweak shapes to show others what they mean regarding new ideas and changes to 3D concepts. This feedback is very useful to designers and engineers, as it allows them to receive more direct feedback from manufacturing and quality folks, not to mention from consumers (if direct editing ever gets that good - like Google Sketchup or 3DVIA Shape).

But how does that get used in relational design? I believe it can be used in much the same way that "envelopes" and "reference geometry" are used in the Auto and Aero supply chains. Basically, your relational CAD package uses a direct edited model as the basis for its design. The direct-edited model (controlled by the "consumer") defines the package, envelope, or other important geometry while inside your relational CAD system, you make the design out of all of the functional components needed to make the thing work. You match faces on your parts to the faces of the direct-edited model, and as the "consumer" changes their intent, your relational design stays linked.

I'm sure there will be other uses for direct editing, but the scenario I described seems very likely to me.

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Permalink Reply by Paul Gimbel on August 26, 2008 at 8:51pm

Not to take this in too metaphysical of a direction, but what effects will be observed with respect to manufacturing? I know when I first saw a rapid prototyped piece I was amazed, because it could not be manufactured otherwise. It was the classic transparent castle with the internal spiral staircase.

As new manufacturing methods are developed that are somewhat freeform, will that encourage engineering design to become more freeform? And conversely, will a freeform approach to mechanical and industrial design drive manufacturing technology to work more with geometry and less with dimensions?

Consider this...with CAM, I can just import a swoopy model and my 3-5 axis mill can cut it. I can print a part on a 3D printer and make a mold from it. I can use a "mold wizard" inside of my CAD package to take virtually any swoopy that I can model and create a mold for it. Again, my CNC mill will cut the mold for me.

So what does synchronous technology or any of the other direct editing methods do for you? They allow you to design with clay. That used to be fun in the past, but now that technology is such that we can manufacture "clay" designs, how much are we going to see direct edited models going almost straight to the shop?

If you ask me (which you didn't, but that never stopped me in the past), the trend that we're going to see is design being pushed further up towards sales/marketing/customers and less away from us, the hardcore technicians. And how will non-technicians design? With digital clay in the form of these direct editing methodologies. I'm most excited to see how the manufacturing technologies will develop to support this trend.

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Permalink Reply by Daniel Meacham on August 28, 2008 at 10:35am

From what I have seen in this industry "Synchonous Technology" or Digital Prototyping if you are in the Autodesk world(which I am) is the future. I think the usefulness of the product is really on all levels. The ability of products to communicate efficiently is essential to the success of manufacturers to decrease time to market while also decreasing costs in design and manufacturing. New products like Alias have the ability to communicate simply with CAD products making it simple for once for the Industrial Designers and Engineers to better communicate to create their products and designs. The ability to get from 2D to Marketing\Mock-Up\Prototyping stage without ever having to create a physical prototype is essential in the future efficiency of product design. I know that many software manufacturers can do this ie UG, it is all about what you are comfortable using and how you truly want them to integrate. Very few companies truly offer a beginning to end product design all the way through to presentation process.

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