Geometric Modeling and Simulation

• Intro to various CAD

and CAE techniques.
• Enhance the
understanding of
product models.
• Know the limitations of
different technologies.

John Rasmussen’s topics

• Computer-aided Design
• Design optimization
– CAOS
– ODESSY
• Biomechanics
– The AnyBody project
– AnyBody Technology

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 Biomechanics

• The mechanics of living

organisms.
• Solid mechanics and
rigid body dynamics.
• Applications
– medicine
– product design
– sports

Lecture overview

1. CAD/CAE technology. History o

g ! state-of-
and
the-art we
s
ametal
thi
2. CAD applications: Sheets and mold
design. nge
chaEngineering
ay
3. Computer-Aided
m
I analysis
4. Mechanism
5. Man-machine interfaces (including
biomechanics).

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 Important questions:

• Are you already familiar with CAD?

• Do you already know SolidWorks well?

Literature and materials

• Lecture notes can be
downloaded from
www.ime.aau.dk/~jr/lecture
notes.htm.
• Background info and
mathematics in
“Introduktion til geometrisk
modellering og CAD”

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Geometric Modeling by
Mortenson is a good guide
to the theoretical aspects of
CAD.

”The NURBS Book” by

Piegl og Tiller explains
the mathematics behind
surface models.

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 CAD systems at I15, AAU
• The Dept. Of Mech. Eng offers two
systems to students and educators:
– CATIA.
– SolidWorks
Both come from Dassault Systèmes
• Further information:
www.ime.auc.dk/services/cad/

• We shall mostly use Solid Works in

this class.

Commercial CAD Systems

• ProE Wildfire Student Edition from: www.proestudent.com($199)

• Rhino demo from: www.rhino3d.com
• UGS SolidEdge from www.solidedge.com. (No student editions)
• UGS NX from www.ugs.com. (No student editions)
• Other systems: Inventor, Think3, Alibre, IronCAD:
– www.autodesk.dk
– www.think3.com
– www.alibre.com
– www.ironcad.com

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 Lecture 1 overview

1. The three-letter words

2. The design process: synthesis and analysis
3. History of computer-aided design
4. Current state-of-the-art
5. Mathematical background
6. Introduction to SolidWorks
7. Brush-up exercise in SolidWorks

Computer-Aided what?
CAD CAM
Computer-Aided Design Computer-Aided Manufacturing

PLM ERP
Product Lifecycle Management Enterprise Resource Planning

CAE CAR
Computer-Aided Engineering Computer-Aided Robotics

FEA CFD
Finite Element Analysis Computational Fluid Dynamics

MBS/MBD
Multi-Body Simulation/Dynamics

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 The history of CAD
• Commercial CAD software came out in the 1970’ies. Only
very advanced users in the beginning.
• Until recently CAD was always a very challenging application
for the hardware. The first commercial systems were therefore
exclusively 2-D.
• Widespread use of 3-D CAD began in the 1980’ies.
• Affordable hardware and software in the 1990’ies
• Any industry with a reasonable need for it can afford CAD
today.

Important developments
• The development initially focused on the geometrical capabilities. How can
the computer help the designer to.
– Obtain the final 3-D geometry. (geometrical synthesis)
– Semi-automatic generation of drawings
– Simulate the physical properties of the product (Computer-Aided Engineering,
CAE)

• After some time CAD technology turned out to be an important data

management tool:
– Integration with production (Computer-Aided Manufacturing, CAM)
– Management of parts and components (Product Lifecycle Management, PLM)
– Management of resources as a whole (ERP, Enterprise Resource Planning)

• The need to exchange information has caused development of:

– Neutral file formats (XML, STEP, IGES, STL, DXF, WMF,...)
– Web technologies (viewers)

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 Sought-after qualifications

The design process

Identify a Recycling
need
Time
• Every product has a life cycle beginning with an idea or a need
and ending with the product’s consequences for customers,
users, producers, etc.
• Decisions in the design phase determine the destiny of the
product and its influence on the environment.
• We can think of the design process as a model in which we try
to predict the consequences of decisions.
• CAD and related technologies help us make those predictions.

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 Design is an iterative process

Problem Solution
Time

Analysis Synthesis

Synthesis: To create a product with desired properties.

Analysis: To find the properties of a designed product.

We must analyse to be able to design!

Analysis requires geometric models

CAD systems answer many of the questions we
are looking for when we analyze:
• Visualization. We continuously evaluate the design
during the design process. Does it look reasonable? Did
we forget anything? Will it work?
• Geometric compatibility: We compare dimensions,
space, and shapes. Will a new component fit into the
available space?
• Keeping track of parts: We use the system to keep an
inventory of all the parts and components in the design.

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 Analysis examples
• Geometrical analyses • Other analyses:
– Surface area and volume. – Production processes (CNC).
– Mass, center of mass, moments – Product configuration.
of inertia, principal axes.
– Prices and cost.
– Curvature.
– Production management.
– Tolerances.

• Analysis of physical properties:

– Position, velocity, acceleration.
– Deformation, strain, stress
– Vibration, stability
– Temperature
– Flow, pressure
– Magnetic fields

Communication requires geometric models

... We have a need to communicate our designs to
users, workshops, decision makers and so on.
• Technical drawings communicate to the
craftsman.
• Photo-realistic renderings communicate the
design to decision makers and users.
• The properties of the model is communicated to
specialists as the results of analyses.

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 Paper-based models
True dimensions
... No paper-based model is
ideal
– Technical drawings are true to
dimensions, but they are not
easy to interpret
– Pictures have no true
dimensions but are easy to
interpret Visual expression
– Isometric drawings are CAD systems combine the qualities
somewhere in between because the pictures are just projections
of the model.

CAD system types

• Drawing systems
• Wireframe
• Surface modelers
• Solid modeling
• Feature-based parametric systems

• In spite of many efforts, these systems are still mostly

useful in the later stages of the design process.

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 CAD system types (cont’d)
CAD

Drafting Design

Others Solid Visualization

Wireframe Surface CSG B-rep Feature

The modern CAD system

Drafting systems
... related to the drawing board as word processing is to the typewriter.

• Functions for lines, circles,

splines, dimensions, circles,
etc.
• Focuses on the craftsmanship
of making drawings.
• Make modification and editing
easy.
• Enables re-use and product
families.
• Facilitates archiving and retrieval.

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 Wireframe systems
• The 3-D extension of drafting
systems
• Representation of edges as lines
and curves.
• Is only used in very few industries
(ship building) or as a basis for
surfaces.
• The models have not substance.
• Representation of models without
natural edges is difficult.
• Visualization can be ambiguous
as shown in the double box figure.

Surface Modelers
... systems focusing on surface modeling.
• In this modeling technique the surface shape is manipulated directly like a
piece of clay.
• It has becme usual for these systems to base their surface description on
Non-uniform Rational B-spline Surfaces (NURBS).
• Design of parametric models with many details can be cumbersome

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 The User Perspective
• We have seen representations of geometry where the model cannot be understood
uniquely from the visualization.

• Humans think in concepts.

• Your thoughts and interpretations determine:
– Which lines in the box are in front and which are behind
– Whether the face of the head is turning towards or away from you.
– What kind of figure the “ box” on the right is.

The Computer Perspective

• The computer deals with numbers and
mathematics. It cannot perform interpretation.
• So How do we create geometric models that take
into account the human perception and still can be
handled by a computer?
• This is the central issue in CAD system design and
the reason why CAD systems are still difficult to
use.

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 Solid Modeling
• Drawings, wireframe models, and surface
models have no representation of volume.
Surface models know no difference
between the inside and the outside of the
surface.
• Solid models can represent volumes
uniquely
• The solid model understands the model as
a subset of the points in space.
• A solid model can for any point in space
determine whether it belongs to the model
or not.

Solid modeling
• Attempting to use an open curve for a solid geometry

• The system checks the integrity.

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 Solid modeling
• If we insist on using the open profile:

• The system will interpret the

walls as having a finite
thickness.

Constructive Solid Modeling (CSG)

Basic idea:
– Most archetype geometries are formed from
standard shapes such as boxes, spheres,
cylinders, cones, etc.
– These primitives have a simple mathematical
description and are easy to handle in a
mathematics and in a computer.
– We can define the solid model by set
operations between these primitives
This is Constructive Solid Geometry, CSG

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 CSG tree
• The user defines primitives
G =E U F
such as the cylinder A and the
box B.
• C is the union of A and B..
E = C\ D • A new cylinder D is defined.
• E is the difference between C
and D.
C = A UB
• Finally the base F is defined
and added.
• Notice that primitives must be
correctly positioned in space.

CSG demo

- not primarily a CSG system

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 Intersections in CSG
• Complex intersection curves often come from
simple primitives.
• The best quality of CSG is that it automatically
creates these curves based on set operations.

Surfaces in CSG
The major disadvantage of CSG is that it cannot handle
complex surfaces.

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 Solid Modeling:
Boundary Representation (B-rep)
...the surface separates the model from the rest of the world.

• Volumes are mathematically more difficult to handle than surfaces.

• The idea behind B-rep is to define volumes as

half-spaces on one side of a boundary

• Volumes become common sets of half

spaces

Solid Modeling Status

• CSG is not used much anymore. It is present as

a user interface in many systems but not used
in the internal data representation.
• B-rep is the preferred internal data
representation, but is is not used very much as
the user interface.
• Most modern systems have a feature-based
user interface.

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Parametric modeling and design intent

• It is essential for the design

process that CAD models
are parametric.
• In parametric models you
can modify dimensions at
any time.
• In this CSG example we
change the thickness of the
base from 40 to 10 length
units.

Failure to capture design intent

• Result: The model got
separated
• The modeler intended for the
boss to stay on the base
surface.
• The CSG model did not
capture this intent.
• How can this situation be
avoided?

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 Feature-based modeling:
Capturing design intent
• In a CSG model, the two primitives are on the
same level.
• In feature-based modeling the boss will be
defined as being attached to the base
• The boss becomes a feature of the base. The
base has the feature that it has a boss attached.
• Simple as it may seem, it has very profound
consequences for the way you work with a CAD
system.

Demo:

Feature-based modeling in
SolidWorks

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 More on Feature-based Modeling
Some types of geometry are difficult to handle with
CSG:

• Here we want to ad a rib to the cylinder surface.

• With CSG this requires a disadvantageous

sequence of operations where the inner surface
must be cut out after the rib is added.
• This is probably different from how the component
is conceived and manufactured
• In a feature-based model the rib can be a feature of
the curved surface.

CAD Systems at Mechanical Engineering

CAD

General Mid range

CATIA SolidWorks

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 General CAD System

• Systems that try to be the only PLM platform

for large industries
• Very expensive.
• These systems typically work on multiple
platforms.
• The market is dominated by only three players:
– UGS (Unigraphics)
– PTC (Pro/Engineer)
– Dassault (CATIA)

Mid-range Systems

• Mission: Cover 80% of the general systems’

capabilities at 20% of the cost.
• Current major players
– Autodesk (Inventor)
– Dassault (Solid Works)
– UGS (Solid Edge)
• Typically only Windows support
• The missing 20% can often be bought as
separate modules from third-party suppliers.

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 CATIA
... ”state-of-the-art” CAD from Dassault,
which is the market leader. • Some Danish users:
• Windows-style interface – Grundfos
• Contains everything: – Danfoss
– Part modeling
– Hydro Aluminium
– Assembly modeling – DISA
– Surface modeling – Jamo
– PDM – Eurocom Industries
– FEM – Adtranz
– CAM – Valdemar Birn
– Optimization – Jysk Aluminium Industri
– Photo-rendering – Jun-Air
– Mechanism design – Electrolux Nyborg
– Ergonomic analysis – Terma
– and much more… – ...

CATIA continued

• Interactive training system, CATIA Companion

– WEB based
– Demostrations
– Simulations
– Do-it-yourself exercises
• Available on the network:
http://www.ime.aau.dk/services/cad/
• Runs on almost any platform: Windows, IBM AIX,
SGI, HP, SUN

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 SolidWorks
... Mid-range CAD from
Dassault.
• The usual applications:
– Part modeling
– Assembly modeling
– Surface modeling
– Mechanism simulation
– Many other applications
• Windows support only
• Third party applications,
e.g.
– COSMOS/Works
• Many, many users
• Mainly smaller companies
• Interactive training system,
• Fine but not quite as fancy
as CATIA
• Available on the network:
http://www.ime.aau.dk/servi
ces/cad/

CAD in the design process

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 CAD in the design process

Homework and assignments

• Read ”Geometrisk modellering

og CAD” sections 1 – 2.13.
• Install SolidWorks on your
own computers
• Do Help->Online Tutorials:
– Lessons 1 and 2 (if you need to
brush up)
– The “Surfaces” tutorial

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