The Javelin Technologies Blog

It isn’t easy to make a strike in bowling (for me anyways).  I also tried an experiment in SW Motion and it was not easy to make a strike in virtual world.

I created a model with correct sizes and weights representing the actual bowling environment.

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San Diego February 12th-15th – What do you get when you have almost 6000 people, hundreds of great SolidWorks technical sessions and hundreds of exhibitors in a partner pavilion to satisfy every technical SolidWorks requirement? SolidWorks World 2012! Check out the video below for highlights of Solidworks World 2012 from Javelin’s perspective:

Javelin attended this year and captured all the excitement. Watch the highlights as we step into the partner pavilion exploring the vendors showcasing their SolidWorks related gear and technology! See how CSWP’s were treated to amazing event on the USS Midway Aircraft Carrier. One morning SolidWorks even gave everyone attending a sneak peek at the SolidWorks 2013, it looks awesome! All this and a great block party for more than 4000 people (thanks to HP and SolidWorks).

For one evening a few blocks of the historical Gaslamps district was closed off for great food, beverages and entertainment on every corner. Javelin attended, busy learning more about the great technology we support. Some of the Javelin folks were even showcasing technical information in the breakout sessions. Next year SolidWorks World is off to Orlando, Florida!

Did you attend? How was your experience at SolidWorks World 2012? Will you be attending the 15th SolidWorks World in Orlando at the Swan and Dolphin on January 20th-23rd 2013? Please let us know.

There are some improvements I would like to talk about for beam element in SolidWorks 2012.

Let’s use the particle separator model as example.  The machine has solid and shell elements.  The majority of the structure has beam elements.  At the bottom, 4 plates are meshed as solids.

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Old School Labyrinth

I’ve been a fan of the game of Labyrinth for a while.  I spent hours as a kid mastering the X-Y controls to move the steel sphere from Start to Finish to Start to Finish, back and forth continuously.  It was almost an obsession.

I started helping at a youth group and found that they have no games.  What could be better than a giant Labyrinth game!  And why not use SolidWorks to design this latest innovation in gigantic fun!  If only I had a workshop.  Building this in a one bedroom apartment has its disadvantages.  Click “More” for details of the project and the virtual solution with SolidWorks Motion.

PhotoView 360 Render of Giant Labyrinth

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Usually when you get this error, it is related to the geometry of the model (assuming the boundary conditions are done correctly).

There are two things you can check in the model:

1. Look for “edge-edge” or “point-face” contacts as they are considered invalid contacts under Flow Simulation.

2. Make sure the lids fully enclose the internal volume.  The concept above applies here as well.  If the lid is created with edge-edge contact to the main body, this is a problem.  This is why the default “create lids” command in Flow Simulation will generate a lid body interfering with the opening.

If you are using FloXpress, you won’t see the error message if your geometry is not properly setup.  Most likely FloXpress just won’t start.

The “check geometry” tool is actually very useful.  I check it before I apply any boundary conditions (too bad FloXpress doesn’t have this capability).

Let’s see what we can do with the simulation deformed model.  It can be saved as a new solid model shown below.

In this example I will take a cushion from a sofa and deform it by making a dummy sitting on it.

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I posted an article regarding video animation rendering last year with SolidWorks Professional.  In this article, I wanted to show you how to maximize the use of SolidWorks Premium.  I have prepared a short video (click here) to show that you can display displacement, result forces, require torque, etc in the motion study, all using SolidWorks Premium.  Then, I will take one of the components in the model and export all the loads from motion study to Simulation linear static analysis between a specific time frame.   

Using SolidWorks Premium, you will be able to ensure your idea will perform as designed, virtually test your design in a simulated real-world environment to reduce physical prototypes, save money, and complete your product faster!

In summary, you can use SolidWorks Premium to do:

Motion simulation:   help improve the kinematics of your design, leading to improved reliability

Structural validation:  enhance product quality by identifying areas prone to failure and suggest changes to guide design optimization using tools built for designers and engineers who best know the design

If you want to learn more on how to use SolidWorks Simulation or Motion, check out one of our training courses!

I read an article recently, regarding to how Simulation can improve product design.  There are some interesting points I would like to talk about.

The purpose of any FEA software is to linearize the product development, eventually, to reduce cost.  For new product or existing design, FEA plays its role in the process.  The article gives an example of a plastic stool design.  The requirements are to hold certain weight, and as inexpensive as possible.  3 designs are compared: one without any inside ribs, one with shallow ribs, one with deep ribs.  Without any help from FEA, one, from experience, could choose the design with deep ribs.  The design will most likely meet the strength requirement, but how about the cost?  The design is “good enough”, but can it be “better”?  By using Simulation, we will see that the shallow ribs will meet the strength requirement as well.  Also, the cost is reduce when we compare to the design with deep ribs.

The article also mentioned how engineers currently design products besides using FEA: modify past design which worked; use hand calc; test prototypes.  I would say that with the help from FEA tool, people still need to utilize the existing methods to have better, faster, cheaper design.  For example, hand calculation can be over simplified, but it is always a good guidance to verify the results in FEA.  Also, prototype testings are very common.  With FEA, early stage testings can be eliminated.  At later stage, prototype testings are still very important, especially when safety is crucial in the design.  After all, FEA is just a tool, it can not replace real world testings.

People may reject the use of FEA with several reasons.  The article listed a few and they are valid concerns.  However, it is also a good practice to think about if the design can be better and cheaper.  Without FEA, it may be very difficult.  One major reason what people don’t use FEA is because management does not support it.  If the use of FEA is not implemented in the whole design process, it is most likely just a waste of money buying the software.  FEA should start at early stage and throughout the entire process, instead of using it at the very end, as a fire-fighting tool.

The article is attached, if you would like to read it.

Better Product Design