Bridging The Worlds of 2D and 3D: White Paper
Bridging The Worlds of 2D and 3D: White Paper
Bridging The Worlds of 2D and 3D: White Paper
S U M M A R Y
As manufacturers rapidly transition from 2D to 3D CAD in todays digital
world, designers are demanding 3D to enhance their designs and im-
prove communication. From websites to rapid prototyping, customers,
designers, and engineers now depend on the latest 3D modeling tools.
In this paper, we highlight the advantages of designing with
SolidWorks
.
Random vibration inputs are de-
rived from an event that lasts a
nite amount of time, but where
the details of the event are not
time-dependent.
B R I D G I N G T H E W O R L D S O F 2 D A N D 3 D 7
ECAD to MCAD translation
Incorporating electronic circuit boards is an essential part of many product designs.
As products become smaller and more high tech, effective collaboration between the
electrical designer and the design engineer throughout the product design process is
critical. Circuit board information that is sent to the product designer is only a 2D
representation and does not account for the height of the components of the circuit
board, which is critical in order to design enough space for it in the product. An
accurate 3D representation of the circuit board is also desirable in that it allows for
accurate heat and ow analysis to be performed within the CAD system to ensure that
the nal product will perform properly.
CircuitWorks is designed to bridge the gap between SolidWorks and Electrical
Computer-Aided Design (ECAD) systems by providing an intuitive tool that allows
users to import and export printed circuit board (PCB) designs between SolidWorks
and ECAD systems. CircuitWorks provides a bi-directional link between ECAD and
SolidWorks, allowing electrical and product designers to collaborate throughout the
product design process. Totally integrated within SolidWorks, CircuitWorks reads the
industry standard IDF 2.0, IDF 3.0, and PADS le formats. It also produces accurate
SolidWorks 3D assemblies of circuit boards fully populated with their components
that the product designer can effectively leverage. Powerful component libraries allow
components from the PCB design, such as ICs, capacitors, and connectors, to be
accurately displayed and incorporated into the product design.
Powerful tools allow the product designer to lter out unnecessary information from
the PCB design, such as holes, vias, and traces, by size, type, or position on the board,
eliminating clutter and optimizing performance inside SolidWorks.
SolidWorks assemblies can also be marked up with information critical to the PCB
designer, such as board outlines, keep outs, and saved out as IDF les that can then
be brought into the ECAD system. This allows critical product design information to be
leveraged during the initial design of the circuit board.
Dynamic simulations are typically
time-consuming and memory
intensive. For those two reasons
alone, creating a simplied and
efcient CAD model usually
pays off.
B R I D G I N G T H E W O R L D S O F 2 D A N D 3 D 8
Accelerate development cycles with virtual testing and optimization
Speeding up a design cycle depends on more factors than simply streamlining the
initial part or assembly design. Another major benet with 3D modeling is the insight it
offers through virtual testing, analysis, and optimization, which take many forms.
Tiffany appreciates that working in SolidWorks allows him to apply motion to the
parts of an assembly and quickly evaluate many different designs against operational
requirements. Designers can assign a material type to a part and identify the mass
properties, including weight and center of gravity.
SOLIDWORKS PROVIDES AN ARRAY OF SIMULATION AND OPTIMIZATION TOOLS HELP YOU
TO CALCULATE FORCES DUE TO MOTION, PART STRESS, AS WELL AS DEFLECTION, VIBRA-
TION, FLOW, AND EFFECTS OF TEMPERATURE.
If the operational frequencies are
likely to excite several natural
frequencies and mode shapes,
your rst step should be to
modify the design by pushing the
calculated natural frequencies
above the operational frequen-
cies.
B R I D G I N G T H E W O R L D S O F 2 D A N D 3 D 9
In addition, SolidWorks motion simulation capability allows you to evaluate the effects
of different motor performance curves, friction, springs, gravity, and other physical
characteristics of a design. So, rather than just running an animation of the machine in
motion, you can simulate what really is happening in your design. The motion simula-
tion automatically calculates forces on critical components, like bearings, bushings, and
linkages. This information is then used to calculate part strengths, deection, fatigue,
and safety factors. Thermal, vibration, and ow analysis are also provided directly inside
SolidWorks so you can optimize your design. In this way, ou can use SolidWorks to
solve typical design problems, such as: How much weight can I remove from this part
yet still have it function within a certain factor of safety? Will the part bend too much
if it is made from a different material? In an electronic enclosure, will a specic
component overheat from lack of airow? Not familiar with simulation? No problem,
SolidWorks provides a simulation advisor that guides new users by providing expert
advice at nearly every stage of the process.
SolidWorks is unique in that all of the simulation tools are fully integrated into the CAD
environment. This is an important aspect to consider. If your simulation tools are not
integrated, you are forced to use a separate software package to perform your
simulation tasks. This means you will have two separate software installs, as well as
two systems to learn and maintain, and will need to export designs in order to check
your work. This usually results in designs being further along in the design process
before they are analyzed, which makes them much more time consuming and expen-
sive to change. Having these tools inside SolidWorks means that you only need to
maintain one familiar system. Designs can also be analyzed and optimized throughout
the design process, which is a much faster and cost-effective solution. Much of the
information and features in your CAD model, such as connections, congurations, and
material properties, can be leveraged rather than repeated.
Design for manufacturing
Many of the new manufacturing technologies rely on the availability of a 3D CAD mod-
el as a starting point. For example, three-axis and up NC programming, rapid prototyp-
ing, mold design, and even sheet-metal manufacturing now require 3D models that can
be referenced to create NC toolpaths, SLA models, and sheet-metal at patterns with
proper bend allowances.
More and more companies are turning to rapid prototyping and manufacturing to re-
duce the turnaround time for both prototype parts and customized nal parts, such as
hearing aid shells. These rapid systems operate from 3D modeling input generated in
standard template library (STL) formata le format that you can output from your 3D
CAD model by simply saving your model in that format.
The necessary inputs for dy-
namic analysis include load mag-
nitude, direction, point or area of
interest, damping, and frequency
range or time span.
B R I D G I N G T H E W O R L D S O F 2 D A N D 3 D 1 0
If a manufacturer has to rebuild your 2D design in 3D, two problems arise. First, the
remodeling is adding an extra step to the manufacturing process, which takes extra
time. Many shops that require 3D CAD models will put 2D jobs at the back of the
queue because of the work required to convert your 2D design to 3D. To most manu-
facturers, this is just additional prep work before getting to the manufacturing process.
Manufacturers want their shops running at capacity, prep work costs them machining
time, and they will charge you, the customer, for that time lost to prep. The second
problem that arises is that the person making the 3D model can make a mistake in
converting your 2D design to 3D; this means the part delivered to you may not meet
your design requirements, which can ultimately affect the delivery of your product. By
working in 3D from the start, you can generate les that are ready to go directly to
manufacturing operations that require 3D CAD models.
In many cases, 2D drawings are not even required for manufacturing. For example,
SolidWorks can output the 3D model complete with detailed dimensioning and tol-
erancing information as well as notes. In this way, all the data and notes needed to
manufacture the part are included directly in the 3D CAD model.
SolidWorks softwares DimXpert (dimensioning expert) automatically dimensions and
tolerances the 3D model so that it is ready for manufacturing. The built-in intelligence
of DimXpert allows users to automatically dimension models per the ASME Y14.5M-
1994 standard for Dimensioning and Tolerancing, as well as display the dimensions
in 3D per ASME Y14.41-2003, Digital Product Denition Data Practices. DimXpert
even has a check to tell the designer when the model is fully dimensioned and toler-
anced and ready for the shop. Bottom line3D parts and drawings go to the shop
oor more correct and more complete, and machinists spend less time questioning
engineers and designers about incomplete manufacturing drawings, and more time
machining.
WITH SOLIDWORKS DIMXPERT, YOU CAN AUTOMATICALLY DIMENSION 3D MODELS
ACCORDING TO INDUSTRY STANDARDS.
Many sources of damping con-
tribute to the damping factor, in-
cluding material effects, friction,
noise, and environmental effects
such as uid interaction.
B R I D G I N G T H E W O R L D S O F 2 D A N D 3 D 1 1
With SolidWorks, design-for-manufacturing (DFM) becomes more than a catch phrase.
Built-in manufacturing intelligence (called DFMXpress) directs the software to check
for features that are expensive or impossible to manufacture. These features are high-
lighted, and you are provided with an interactive list of the problems uncovered. Com-
munication between manufacturing and engineering is also greatly improved through
the use of 3D.
A wide range of 3D digitizing and inspection equipment also requires 3D CAD models.
With the complete details at hand in the 3D CAD model, you can more easily verify
molded, forged, stamped, and cast parts, including the details of undercuts, draft, thick-
ness, and surface topology.
With SolidWorks, manufacturing is provided with more useful and richer information
machinists can measure and section 3D parts live at the touch of a button. Assemblers
and fabricators can explode assemblies, and zoom in and hide parts from view to see
details they could never see before in 2D drawings. The benets of improved com-
munications made possible with 3D images and exploded animations makes training a
new employee or instructing a seasoned assembler easier.
WITH DFMXPRESS, YOU CAN MORE CLOSELY REVIEW THE FEATURES OF YOUR DESIGNS
THAT ARE COSTLY AND DIFFICULT TO MACHINE.
With the introduction of
PDMWorks Enterprise software,
SolidWorks Corporation has
completely changed the PDM
paradigm by creating a simple,
efcient, affordable solution to
meet the PDM needs of any
mainstream product develop-
ment organization.
B R I D G I N G T H E W O R L D S O F 2 D A N D 3 D 1 2
Create bills of materials and smoothly manage data
Working with an associative 3D CAD system also guarantees an accurate and current
bill of materials (BOM). The BOM is always accurate because it automatically updates
with changes you make to parts and assemblies.
Data management is always critical to the product development process. Designs
often go through several stages of development, such as concept, detailed engineer-
ing design, assembly and test, and nal release to production. Controlling data is
especially important when you consider all the personnel that are required to develop
and manufacture a product: engineering, manufacturing, purchasing, sales, marketing,
vendors, and even customers need to know that they are looking at the correct and
current data. SolidWorks offers product data management(PDM) software to control
access to and revision tracking of design dataeven if the design work is being done
in multiple locations. SolidWorks product data management(PDM) software ensures
that the proper release procedures and approvals for your designs are executed from
stage to stage.
Sales and marketing tools
Sales and marketing can also reap the benets of 3D CAD data. Publication tools fully
support the use of 3D CAD data to allow the creation of photorealistic 2D images, 3D
models, and animations that appeal more to customers and consumers. Just look at
any major automobile manufacturers website, and you will see the demand to present
products in a more complete, colorful, and photorealistic way. Photorealistic models
and animation capabilities as well as rapid prototyping also allow marketing to perform
product market research at much lower costs than actually designing and producing
prototypes in the conventional manner.
USE 3D CAD MODELS TO MORE EFFECTIVELY COMMUNICATE YOUR DESIGNS ON
THE WEB, IN ANIMATIONS, AND MORE.
With the introduction of
PDMWorks Enterprise software,
SolidWorks Corporation has
completely changed the PDM
paradigm by creating a simple,
efcient, affordable solution to
meet the PDM needs of any
mainstream product develop-
ment organization.
B R I D G I N G T H E W O R L D S O F 2 D A N D 3 D 1 3
What to do with existing 2D CAD data
So, what happens to all the 2D CAD data that you have been developing for years
when you decide to switch to 3D, and what do you do about all the customers that you
need to communicate with in 2D? Lets take a look at these questions in detail.
Should I keep my CAD data in 2D?
Although you can indenitely keep and maintain existing 2D designs, you may want
to keep your les and current 2D CAD software on a machine so that users can still
have access as needed. If you do not want to pay for the maintenance of the 2D CAD
product, your SolidWorks vendor may provide a free copy of DWGeditor
2D design
software with the purchase of SolidWorks. DWGeditor allows you to maintain and
update existing 2D designs, and save them in the .dwg format.
Pearces Rick Morse notes that he still maintains many older drawings in 2D. He feels
that in order to convert an existing design to 3D, the amount of effort must be justied
by a return on his investment of time. Morse uses DWGeditor to maintain and edit the
existing 2D data that he is not going to convert to 3D. This saves him from having to
pay a maintenance fee for his previous 2D CAD system.
Communicating with 2D users
Even though you may be designing in 3D, SolidWorks can output drawings and images
in multiple 2D formats. In this way, you can still output documentation that is compat-
ible with all the common 2D formats, such as DWG, DXF, PDF, and JPEG.
Converting 2D data to 3D
In one sense, 3D design is really just an extension of what you are already doing in 2D.
You start with a simple 2D sketch, which is similar to the cross-section of the 3D fea-
ture that you want to create. Then simply take that sketch and pull it out, revolve it, or
drag (or sweep) it along a path. That is the basic technique to 3D geometry creation
just one more step beyond the sketching of the section.
If existing 2D designs will be the basis for creating your next-generation products, it
makes sense to take the time to remodel them in 3D. Besides supporting the export
of data to several 2D formats, SolidWorks software supports the import of data in
the DXF and DWG formats as well as AutoCAD