Skip to main content

Synchronous Technology

So, on April 22nd, Siemens PLM Software released a bomb on the CAD world about a new modeling paradigm. There looks to be a lot of promise to this new technology, and I have high hopes for it.

One problem I regularly see today with the sketch/feature/history based modelers is that concept modeling and production modeling are at odds.

What I mean by this is:
  • An engineer while in the concept modeling phase is concerned about creating geometry to fill a needed form. They may make many variations of this model, some with minor differences and some with major differences. They do not care about building in design intent or making the model easy to modify, so they use what I term "hack and whack" modeling. What is left when they are done is a model with a feature tree that would put Frankenstein's monster to shame.
  • After the concept phase comes the documentation phase. This is where ease of modification and design intent is a concern. This usually results in a model being remodeled which is of course rework and is never desired.

This problem appears to be solved with Synchronous Technology. The concept model can be "hacked and whacked" into the needed form (with more ease promised) and when it is ready to become a production model, the user can simply apply the needed parameters to preserve the design intent (no remodeling needed). I see this as a huge time saver.

Another issue I regularly see with sketch/feature/history based modelers is that part-time users (a couple days a month) still have difficulty using them for design work due to all the historic and associative relationships to planes, sketches, and other features that the user must be constantly concerned with. If modeling could be made easier and more intuitive as the Synchronous Technology claims to be without reliance on those historic and associative relationships, that would be a huge benefit.

There will apparently be a Solid Edge launch on May 21st. I'm sure the CAD media will be buzzing then.

Labels:

Comments

Anonymous said…
People should read this.
November 11, 2008 at 2:33 AM
Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Solid Edge ST3 - Part 1 of 4

The Siemens PLM Connection event is over.  Given the change of date and venue due to the flooding of the Opryland Hotel in Nashville, it was a great success.  There were many excellent presentations and "hands-on" training sessions for Solid Edge (including mine) , and even though a formal announcement of the upcoming ST3 is some time away, we got a sneak peak of several new customer driven enhancements as well as some hint of: A "bridge" to help existing users better adopt Synchronous Technology Simulation enhancements PDM enhancements 1000's of customer enhancements from modeling to the user interface Over the next few weeks, I'd like to cover some of the items presented around the customer driven enhancements, but please keep in mind there are still a whole lot of items that will not be presented until the official Solid Edge ST3 launch later in the year. For this post, I would like to cover the User Interface enhancements. You now have...
14 comments
Read more

Dimension Projection Line Breaks

Often when placing dimensions on drawings, the projection lines of some dimensions will cross the projection lines of other dimensions as shown below. Solid Edge provides a function to automatically create breaks in one extension line where it crosses another. This function is called "Add Projection Line Break". It is accessible from the Shortcut Menu when you have a dimension highlighted. The result is shown below. If you wish to remove the projection line break, highlight the dimension, invoke the shortcut menu, and select "Remove Projection Line Break".
1 comment
Read more

Welcome to Velocity SE

Welcome. I have decided to set up a BLOG dedicated to Solid Edge ( www.solidedge.com ) related topics. I was kind of feeling left out in the world as it seems everybody and their brother has a BLOG (especially on some of those other 3D systems). Now I feel a little better, and I hope that I can post to this frequently enough, and with enough relevant information, that you will find it usefull and will revisit often. A little history about me: I am a CAD Adminstrator for a large window and door manufacturer who happens to use Solid Edge (my working for them in this capacity was no coincidence). I have used Solid Edge since it's infancy (also used it's predecessor, I/EMS, and it's predecessor, IGDS) when it was still a part of Intergraph ( www.intergraph.com ). I attempt to be active in Solid Edge's development through frequent BETA testing and remaining in contact with the many wonderful individuals that make up the Solid Edge portion of UGS ( www.ugs.com ). I also tr...
8 comments
Read more