Desktop Engineering - SpaceClaim Launches SpaceClaim Professional 2008

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SpaceClaim Launches SpaceClaim Professional 2008

Empowers CAD users to design the way they think.

by DE Editors | Published April 16, 2008

SpaceClaim Corporation (Concord, MA) announced SpaceClaim Professional 2008, calling it the most advanced version of its 3D design tool. Highlights of version 2008 include new functionality that facilitates rapid product design, multi-CAD model re-use, and design in 2D.

Beyond Parametrics
This latest release, says the company, focuses on expanded uses for SpaceClaim. The key to this expanded use is said to be the software's “intuitive” user interface, which, according to the company, enables users to design the way they think. This, in turn, leads SpaceClaim to call itself the “provider of the world’s first Natural 3D Design system.”

“The capabilities in SpaceClaim Professional 2008, including live cross sections, working in concert with our simple, powerful tools — pull, move, fill, and combine — have been purposely designed to overcome these parametric pitfalls.”
— Danny Dean, SpaceClaim, VP R&D

SpaceClaim explains that its software’s “natural” evolution is driven by those users who must work within the limitations of existing CAD tools. For such users, learning how to navigate the user interface in CAD systems (where the complexity is visually obvious) is but one of many challenges confronting them. Another, more important challenge is that the procedures and workflows designers must follow – think parametric design — often end up in an unchangeable model that becomes the responsibility of those users who, at best, are learning to navigate a parametric CAD system.

Danny Dean, SpaceClaim’s Vice President of Research and Development, explains how SpaceClaim moves beyond parametrics: “Natural 3D design is the ‘natural’ evolution from the parametric feature-based programming paradigm. There is no question that these parametric systems are extremely powerful; however, when applied to workflows that are essentially non-parametric, or where the original design intent does not include an unforeseen modification, their limitations become evident.”

“The capabilities in SpaceClaim Professional 2008,” adds Dean, “including live cross sections, working in concert with our simple, powerful tools — pull, move, fill, and combine — have been purposely designed to overcome these parametric pitfalls.”

New Features
In SpaceClaim Professional 2008’s conceptual simplicity, 2D users can continue to work in an environment that is comfortable to them, while getting the benefits of a 3D modeling tool — all without having to become 3D geometry experts. The software enables the creation of and editing in “live” cross sections (both in a solid model and in the drawing space), taking advantage of SpaceClaim’s modeling tools.

New pull, move, fill, and combine enhancements in the tool set include the ability to scale surfaces and solids to an exact value; blend points to 3D curves, blend with guide curves and blend with take-off vector control; pattern points, faces, surfaces, and components; fill edges, surfaces, faces, and solids and sketch curves; replace and simplify faces of designs; combine multiple components using simplified user workflows; add draft using spline surfaces; create variable radius fillets and modify them with control handles; create geometry using the 3D cylinder and sphere tools; and create and edit imported sheet metal designs for upstream and downstream applications.

SpaceClaim Professional 2008 also offers a new sheet metal module that provides intuitive 3D design and optimization for manufacturing of sheet metal parts and assemblies. Users can create designs from scratch or import, and edit sheet metal designs using all of the familiar SpaceClaim tools such as pull and move, split, fill and combine. Users can convert non-sheet metal parts to sheet metal parts so they can be unfolded and manufactured. With a click on the mouse, users can change corner junctions, reliefs, bends, and bend allowances. Users can speed the manufacturing process by splitting a single part into multiple parts at critical junction areas — saving time and money during the manufacturing process.

Enhancements to SpaceClaim’s sketch, cross section, and drawings include the ability to create and edit 3D while in a cross section and in familiar 2D drawings; edit sketches with on-the-fly dimension-driven sketch editing in polar, Cartesian, and relative coordinates; add and edit line styles and control line styles controlled by layers; use copy and paste functions for dimensions and notes; add table driven and custom cosmetic threads to holes and cylinders; and add symbols, intelligent centerlines, tables, and virtual sharps for dimensioning and creation of production capable drawings.

In SpaceClaim Professional 2008, users interact directly with the model just the way they like to, making even dramatic design edits naturally and independently. Enhancements to SpaceClaim’s user interface, data exchange, and tool set include the ability to create rapid designs using a streamlined user interface, mouse gestures, heads-up interaction, and advanced 3D snapping. Users can create axis and datums using progressive axis and datums; import assemblies as structure tree only, and JT and CATIA as lightweight assemblies; or restructure parts and assemblies using the flexible drag and drop structure tree.

Interoperability & Availability
In SpaceClaim Professional 2008, designs from every major CAD system can be edited directly and used as if they had originated in SpaceClaim, says the company. Plus, using the SpaceClaim API for direct memory geometry transfer, ALGOR and SpaceClaim combine to provide users with a design-to-analysis solution and a computer-aided engineering (CAE) workflow. Users can control the CAE workflow regardless of the native CAD environment — reducing the amount of time it takes to iterate through multiple CAE scenarios, leading to better-performing designs and reduced project costs.

SpaceClaim Professional 2008 is available immediately and is offered as a lease or perpetual license.

Click here to go to SpaceClaim Corp.

Click here to read why DE’s editors chose this as a Pick of the Week.

Click here for Webinars with product demonstrations, to be held April 16 and 17 at 9 a.m. and 2 p.m. EDT.

Click here to see What's New in SpaceClaim Professional 2008.

Click here to view a video of SpaceClaim Professional 2008’s new functionality in Rapid Product Design.

Click here to view a video of SpaceClaim Professional 2008’s new functionality for Multi-CAD Model Re-use.

Click here to view a video of SpaceClaim Professional 2008’s new functionality for Design in 2D.

Click here for additional use cases for concept designers, manufacturing engineers, analysis engineers and management, review and suppliers.

Product overview and link to Explore SpaceClaim Professional 2008 for 30 days.