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What's new in Creo Parametric 11.0?

Creo Parametric 11.0 is packed with productivity-enhancing updates, and sometimes the smallest changes make the biggest impact in your daily workflows. Mark Potrzebowski, Technical Training Engineer, Rand 3D, runs through the newest functionality -- from improved surface modeling tools to smarter file management and model tree navigation. Videos provide extra instruction.
Read the full article.

SOLIDWORKS 2025: Sheet metal design top features from an expert

Find out what's new in SOLIDWORKS 2025 when it comes to sheet metal and weldments, and learn some valuable tips and tricks along the way from TriMech. Topics covered include copying cut list properties, bend notches, tab and slot enhancements, groove beads (a new type of weld bead), performance enhancements, and more. When you're done, check out TriMech's full YouTube channel filled with educational material.
View the video.

Tech Tip: How to create high-quality STL files for 3D prints

Have you ever 3D printed a part that had flat spots or faceted surfaces where smooth curves were supposed to be? You are not alone, and it's not your 3D printer's fault. According to Markforged, the culprit is likely a lack of resolution in the STL file used to create the part.
Read this detailed and informative Markforged blog.

Can SOLIDWORKS run on a Mac in 2025?

According to SOLIDWORKS experts at TriMech, there's good news and bad news when it comes to the possibility of running the popular product development solution on a Mac. This video covers the possibilities and the limitations, including tweaks that may be helpful. Check out TriMech's full YouTube channel for tons of helpful tips.
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Supercar of the skies: Autodesk Alias design

Learn how Hill Helicopter is using Autodesk Alias to design the innovative HX50, the "supercar of the skies." The next-gen, private copter marries high-end automotive and aero design and materials to create a futuristic flying five-seat SUV for a discriminating clientele. A neat insider look.
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What's new in MATLAB and Simulink?

Release 2024b from MathWorks offers hundreds of new and updated features and functions in MATLAB and Simulink including several major updates -- including 5G Toolbox, Simulink Control Design, System Composer, and more -- that streamline the workflows of engineers and researchers working on wireless communications systems, control systems, and digital signal processing applications.
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SOLIDWORKS catch up: What's new in Assemblies?

The last couple of major releases of SOLIDWORKS each introduced significant new Assembly modeling features and workflows. Want to know what's new? Catch up on what you might have missed out on since your last upgrade -- and get a first look at highlights from the upcoming SOLIDWORKS 2025. Some very useful changes!
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SOLIDWORKS Tips: 3 easy ways to focus on your model

SOLIDWORKS Elite Applications Engineer Alin Vargatu demonstrates his top tips for focusing on your model: finding planes the easy way inside your assembly with the Q key, breadcrumbs, and a better way to use the component preview window. Very helpful. Lots more tips on the SOLIDWORKS YouTube channel.
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3D model sharing at Brother Industries cuts rework

When Brother Industries, maker of printers, computers, and computer-related electronics, deployed Lattice Technology's XVL Player as a viewer for sharing 3D models throughout the processes of product design, parts design, mold design, mold production, and QA of molded parts, they reduced rework significantly -- especially from downstream departments. XVL Studio with its Difference Check Option helped address the rework in mold design, for example, by always keeping everyone informed of design changes.
Read this real-world case study.

SOLIDWORKS: FeatureManager tips for assemblies

Discover tools to make your SOLIDWORKS assembly Feature-Manager design tree display easier to view and use. Learn options to limit the amount of information in each component listing, combine multiple instances of a component into a single listing, and separate fasteners mates into a new folder. Lots more tips on the SOLIDWORKS YouTube channel.
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Measurement shortcut in SOLIDWORKS

Unlock the full potential of the Measure tool in SOLIDWORKS. Franco Rotoli from SOLIDWORKS reviews how to obtain measurements for edges, faces, vertices, and more quickly -- with just a click. Users can also access edge lengths instantly and calculate angles between edges or faces effortlessly. There's a unit conversion shortcut too.
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hyperMILL 2024 CAD/CAM software suite

OPEN MIND Technologies has introduced its latest hyperMILL 2024 CAD/CAM software suite, which includes a range of powerful enhancements to its core toolpath capabilities, as well as new functionality for increased NC programming efficiency in applications ranging from 2.5D machining to 5-axis milling. New and enhanced capabilities include: Optimized Deep Hole Drilling, a new algorithm for 3- and 5-axis Rest Machining, an enhanced path layout for the 3D Plane Machining cycle, better error detection, and much more.
Learn more.

Find test data issues faster: AI Anomaly Detector

It can take months of manual engineering time to detect test data abnormalities. Now the task can be performed in a flash. Artificial intelligence software provider Monolith has developed the industry's first AI-powered Anomaly Detector software that can discover a broad range of issues in test data fast -- measurement or sensor errors, user errors, system malfunctions, or incorrect usage of the system during testing. It does this by automating the process of raw test data inspection to look for potential errors or abnormalities across hundreds of test channels.
Learn more.

Loss-free conversion of 3D/CAD data

CT CoreTech-nologie has further developed its state-of-the-art CAD converter 3D_Evolution and is now introducing native interfaces for reading Solidedge and writing Nx and Solidworks files. It supports a wide range of formats such as Catia, Nx, Creo, Solidworks, Solidedge, Inventor, Step, and Jt, facilitating smooth interoperability between different systems and collaboration for engineers and designers in development environments with different CAD systems.
Learn more.

Top 5 reasons for solder joint failure

Solder joint reliability is often a pain point in the design of an electronic system. According to Tyler Ferris at ANSYS, a wide variety of factors affect joint reliability, and any one of them can drastically reduce joint lifetime. Properly identifying and mitigating potential causes during the design and manufacturing process can prevent costly and difficult-to-solve problems later in a product lifecycle.
Read this informative ANSYS blog.

SwRI deploys novel vehicle-to-grid aggregation system

Southwest Research Institute (SwRI) has deployed the first electric vehicle (EV) aggregation system using the new Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) standard for bidirectional power using direct current (DC) fast charging. The system, part of the Smart Power Infrastructure Demonstration for Energy Reliability and Security (SPIDERS) Phase II program, is controlling five DC fast-charge stations at the Fort Carson Army Base in Colorado Springs, CO. In August, the system passed integration and acceptance testing, successfully aggregating electric vehicles from two vehicle manufacturers equipped with SAE-compliant bidirectional charging interfaces.

"The SwRI aggregation system manages a fleet of electric vehicles, controlling both vehicle charging and microgrid needs and supporting vehicle schedules as well as supplementing the base's energy supply," said Sean Mitchem, project manager and a principal analyst in SwRI's Automation and Data Systems Division.

"SPIDERS is pioneering a new way of managing energy," said Yaxi Liu, a research analyst also in the Automation and Data Systems Division. "The batteries in electric vehicles are used as cushions against fluctuations in the grid, creating more stability and resiliency while improving its ability to accommodate renewable energy. This helps satisfy goals of reducing dependence on fossil fuels and the impact of emissions."

The aggregation system features a distributed architecture with a dynamic capacity for self-recovery to ensure maximum reliability and redundancy in the military environment. Cyber security components meet military requirements, and variable charge and discharge controls precisely manage EV energy consumption or generation in real time.

"Aggregating the fleet of vehicles using software control algorithms allows the microgrid to see the electric vehicles as a single energy resource," said Mitchem. "Reactive power management allows chargers to absorb or inject power to better manage energy resources, particularly variable energy produced by a solar energy array at the base. Using this new technology, electric vehicles can use or store this green energy more efficiently than previously was possible."

The aggregation system is an important component of the SPIDERS Secure Microgrid project because it allows EVs to participate in vehicle-to-grid (V2G) services, such as peak shaving, demand charge mitigation, and frequency regulation. These V2G services allow the base to save on energy costs with the potential to generate income by participating as an ancillary service in energy markets.

SwRI's electric vehicle aggregation system is an integrated component of the SPIDERS Secure Microgrid. The SPIDERS project is led by Burns and McDonnell Engineering Company, Inc. Working with SwRI on the electric vehicle system are Intelligent Power and Energy Research Corporation (IPERC) as the microgrid control developer, Coritech Services Inc. for the electric vehicle charging systems, and Boulder Electric Vehicles and Smith Electric Vehicles as the electric vehicle suppliers.

Source: SwRI

Published December 2013

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