Publications

When the ACCORD Process introduced Pro/ENGINEER to Sandians several years ago, a new process for design/definition was implemented. Prior to ACCORD, engineers and draftsmen worked in the 2-D mode with a program caned ANVIL{reg_sign}, which had limited capabilities. Although the transition from 2-D modeling to 3-D modeling met with some resistance, most engineers have embraced this new concept with enthusiasm They are now able to work in the 3-D mode and at increased levels of productivity with appropriate time savings never achieved before. One area that Pro/ENGINEER is noted for that this report will concentrate on, is the powerful interface module with its wide selection of transfer file configurations. This allows the engineer to create parts or assemblies and transfer them to many different second party software packages whose vendors can provide the capability for stress analysis, rapid prototypes, virtual reality environments, or many other forms of advanced manufacturing modes of communication. The ACCORD Program has at its core, the Pro/ENGINEER program from Parametric Technology Inc. Included in the ACCORD program, are several supporting programs from other vendors to make this cooperation between software packages a reality. It is possible to create parts in Pro/ENG transfer those parts to another package that has the capability to analyze the parts for deficiencies, then optimize those parts, and allow for changes to be made. Also included in this report, are other packages closely tied to Pro/ENGINEER, but not necessarily supported under the ACCORD program. Some of these packages allow you to create very impressive video productions, or allow you to meander through a virtual reality scenario. All of these new software packages will give you a new perspective on performance. This report will show how some of these interfaces work, and how you can improve your productivity if you utilize the ACCORD program as it is implemented here at Sandia.

Ever since PRO-ENGINEER has become a dominating CAD package available to the public, some of us have been saying, ``Gee, if only I could export my geometry to a stress analysis program without having to recreate any of the details already created, wouldn`t that be spectacular?`` Well, much to the credit of the major stress and thermal analysis software vendors, some of them have been listening to design engineers like me badger them to furnish a seamless interface between PRO and their stress analysis programs. The down side of this problem is the fact that a lot of problems still exist with most of the vendors and their interfaces. I want to discuss the interfaces that I feel are currently ``State of the Art``, and how they are developing and the future for finally arriving at a transparent procedure that an engineer at a workstation can utilize in his or her design process. In years past, engineers would develop a design and changes would evolve based on intuition, or somebody else`s critical evaluation. Then the design would be forwarded to the production group, or the stress analysis group for further evaluation and analysis. Maybe data from a preliminary prototype would be collected and an evaluation report made. All of this took time and increased the cost of the item to be manufactured. Today, the engineer must assume responsibility for design and functional capability early on in the design process, if for no other reason than costs associated with diverse channels of critiquing. For that reason, one place to enhance the design process is to have the ability to do preliminary stress and thermal analysis during the initial design phase. This is both cost and time effective. But, as I am sure you are aware, this has been easier said than done.

Here at Sandia, I design new weapon components using PRO-ENGINEER and find that not only am I responsible for the initial design, but that I must be able to justify that design and show that I have analyzed the design for stress, considering thermal, static, and dynamic conditions. I must be able to create models at a reasonable cost using stereolithography. I must be able to create vivid graphic arts presentations for managements approval, if I want the design to be accepted. I must be able to communicate my design to the production people for comment. These problems, plus others must be done in a timely manner with a minimum of paper involved, and less money than ever before. Therefore, Rapid Prototyping takes on an more important stature than originally proposed, and I would like to show you a rapid prototyping process using PRO-ENGINEER as the fundamental base from which to operate.