5-axis machining P32 Siemens NX

Solid Edge 7.0P39

ST8 P40 Inventor 2016 P46

TECHNOLOGY FOR THE PRODUCT LIFECYCLE JUNE 2015 | £6 | € 7 | $10 | DEVELOP3D.COM

SUPER
FLY

Welcome to a brave
new virtual world

E
FRED
INSI E
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DESIGSPECIAL
GE RT
30 PAREPO

BRINGING UP BABY A DESIGN-LED BRAND MAKEOVER THE TOR CHAIR

p01_D3D_JUNE15_Cover.indd 1 29/05/2015 14:19
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 WELCOME
EDITORIAL
Editor-in-Chief
Al Dean
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S
DESIGN/PRODUCTION
Art Director
Rob Biddulph ummer is almost here, folks. I can tell by the steady pitter
patter of rain on the roof of my office. As a result, we’re gearing
Design/Production down for the publishing industry’s traditional quiet period.
Greg Corke
greg@x3dmedia.com Aside from a few events here and there, there’s never much
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 CONTENTS

JUNE 2015 ISSUE NO. 69

6 NEWS
Autodesk rebundles Fusion 360, Siemens PLM launches
Solid Edge ST8, AMD unveils FireRender plug-in and
Onshape rolls out latest updates to cloud service

COMMENT
12 Russell Beard of Square Banana urges designers to ‘think
like humans’ and create products that work for real people

14 YOUR DEVELOP3D
Tell us what you think. This month: How should we be
defining ‘an engineer’ and the role of D&T in education

FEATURES
16 Visual design guide: The TOR Chair
18 Product design showcase: Baby products
22 COVER STORY Luma-iD’s Freefly VR headset
28 A design-led makeover for British audio brand Goodmans
32 5-axis machining at Freeform Technologies
36 Additive Manufacturing Users Group report

REVIEWS
39 Siemens PLM Solid Edge ST8
46 Autodesk Inventor 2016

54 DEVELOP3D SERVICES

55 DEVELOP3D JOBS

60 THE LAST WORD

This month Al Dean ponders how the Internet of Things
might make life easier in new product development
The wood used to produce this magazine
comes from Forest Stewardship Council
certified well-managed forests, controlled
sources and/or recycled material

VISUALISATION
SPECIAL REPORT
DEVELOP3D.COM JUNE 2015 5

p05_D3D_JUNE15_contents.indd 9 01/06/2015 11:41

 NEWS
NEWS PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT NEWS

AUTODESK REBUNDLES FUSION 360

» Just a year after launching Fusion 360 as a two-level product, Autodesk has shifted
the goal posts and brought everything from the Fusion Ultimate bundle into the
standard offering. Al Dean looks at what this means for users

W
hen Autodesk launched
its cloud-based design
and manufacturing
system, Fusion 360, as
a commercial entity, it
did so with two levels of product: Fusion
360 and Fusion 360 Ultimate. While
the standard offering brought all of the
core tools, from 3D design, drawings
and up to 2.5-axis CAM, the Ultimate
variant included more advanced CAM
capabilities, animations and much more.
Now it seems that Autodesk has dramatically
changed its approach to bundling — perhaps in
response to the launch of competitive cloud-
based CAD tool, Onshape. Everything that was
previously in Fusion 360 Ultimate is now a
part of the standard, $25 per month, offering.
Does this means that Autodesk is killing off
the higher-end, higher cost Ultimate variant?
It would appear not. In the newly published
roadmap, it looks like Autodesk is now
reserving the Fusion 360 Ultimate bundle for
even more advanced capabilities. Ultimate
users will eventually get access to 3+2-axis, which can be used now for cloud-based it is offering and the inclusion of 3-axis (Top) For $25 per
mill/turn and full, simultaneous 5-axis rendering as well as computation with the machining at the base level makes huge month Fusion already
represented great
machining and, once the company's cloud- cloud-based simulation tools once they're sense considering the resurgence of interest
value. Now it's even
based simulation tools come online, they'll get made available. in in-house machining. It'll be interesting to more impressive.
shape optimisation and more. The cloud-based design and engineering see how Onshape responds. The good news (Above) 3-axis
If you've already taken out a subscription application market was always going to heat is that users that are already benefiting from machining is just the
to the Ulimate package, the good news is up once we had more than one player in this new dawn of affordability in design and start. Fusion Ultimate
that you'll get all of these tools as they come the game. It would appear that Autodesk is manufacturing tools. will get 3+3, full 5-axis
online, but you'll also get 1,000 cloud credits, taking an aggressive stance on the capabilities autodesk.com and mill turn machining

6 JUNE 2015 DEVELOP3D.COM

p06_08_09_10_D3D_JUN15_news.indd 6 01/06/2015 11:16

 RedDOT needed fine resolution
and snap-fits in their prototypes.

Watch the video or call

to see how Stratasys 3D printing with to discuss your application
Nylon12 saved RedDOT time and money: with our experts:

http://tiny.cc/reddot-d3d +44 (0)1908 904373

Anz-RedDOT-A4.indd
Stratasys Ad.indd 1 1 13.04.15 14:39
29/05/2015 11:54
 NEWS
NEWS NEWS

SIEMENS LAUNCHES SOLID EDGE HP unveils 4K

ST8 WITH SYNC TECHNOLOGY and ultra-thin
bezel displays

H
P has introduced a new family
of professional displays,
including a 31.5-inch 4K
DreamColor model for colour-
critical design and a range of ultra-
narrow bezel 24-inch to 27-inch models
ranging from 1,920 x 1,080 to 2,560 x
1,440 resolution.
With a resolution of 3,840 x 2,160, the HP
Z32x is HP’s first 4K DreamColor display and
is designed to provide exceptional colour
precision and consistency straight out of the
box on a wide 10-bit colour spectrum.
Meanwhile the new ultra-narrow bezel
display family come with a very thin surround
making them suitable for multi-display
setups, where CAD models can be spanned
across multiple displays.
hp.com

» Solid Edge ST8 will enable users to design faster, more

easily and with greater flexibility, company claims Inneo to host

S
iemens PLM has unveiled
Solid Edge ST8, the latest
release of its mainstream
design and engineering
shop' where users can find add-on tools to
KeyShot World in
Solid Edge ST8 sees
enhance or to specialise the capabilities of a set of new tools
the system. to assist with the
“Solid Edge ST8 significantly enhances
creation and editing
of features, focusing
Warwickshire

system.
Core updates for this release include
some reworking of how the user interacts
with feature recognition when making
direct edits; greater control over geometry
patterns; and further work on making
product documentation more efficient.
This release also sees a focus on making
Solid Edge work well with the Windows
8.1 multi-touch interface and its ability to
recognise a finger versus a stylus. This is a
trend throughout Siemens' product portfolio,
with similar capabilities added in the last
major NX update.
There has also been work done to make
the discovery of third-party applications
more efficient, with Siemens creating the
Solid Edge App Marketplace, a 'one-stop
accessibility and ease of use,” said John
Miller, senior vice president of mainstream
engineering software at Siemens PLM
Software.
“We believe it is important for our
customers to have a choice of how they
purchase and deploy Solid Edge. Whether
they select a perpetual or subscription
license, a desktop workstation or a fully
mobile platform, we are able to provide
companies of all sizes the right solution for
their business needs. As a result, Solid Edge
customers are able to design better and
realise innovation.”
You can read about the new ST8 release
of Solid Edge in more detail in our software
review on page 39.
siemens.com/solidedge
K
in particular on
patterns eyshot reseller Inneo will
be hosting Keyshot World in
Wootton Wawen, Warwickshire
on 11 June. In addition to
learning about the latest release of the
design viz tool (V6), attendees will also
hear from LA Design's David Robinson
and concept artist Marc J Goliszek.
Free to attend, the event also features
workshops and break-out sessions and
provides an opportunity to talk all things
rendering and visualisation. DEVELOP3D will
be there, too – so say hello if you're passing!
inneo.co.uk

Sheffield Design
Week is back with
HP 'doubles' the performance of its
strong agenda
PCIe-based HP Z Turbo Drive SSD

H J
une is turning into a month of
P has delivered its second-generation PCIe Solid not-to-miss events, with a galaxy
State Drive (SSD). The new HP Z Turbo Drive G2, of design superstars scheduled to
powered by Samsung NVMe technology, is said to appear at Sheffield Design Week.
deliver four times traditional SATA SSD performance The Made North conference is the main
at a cost that’s remarkably similar. hub of the action. This takes place on 18
The HP Z Turbo G2 utilises the new NVMe protocol to achieve more June and will feature speakers such as
than twice the performance of its G1 predecessor, according to HP. Design Museum director Deyan Sudjic and
The second-generation drive is said to attain ultra-fast I/O Provenance founder Jessi Baker.
response, enabling it to process large data sets. For product For more details on all the events, talks
development, it is likely to be benefit design visualisation, large and exhibitions taking place across Sheffield
scale simulation and point cloud processing, more than pure CAD. Design Week, visit:
hp.com sheffielddesignweek.co.uk

8 JUNE 2015 DEVELOP3D.COM

p06_08_09_10_D3D_JUN15_news.indd 8 01/06/2015 11:15

 NEWS

AMD LAUNCHES FIRERENDER, A NEW ROUND

UP
PHYSICALLY BASED VIZ TECHNOLOGY Autodesk has initiated the
US federal government
compliance process for cloud
products/services, known
as the Federal Risk and
Authorisation Management
Program (FedRAMP). This
will allow Autodesk to serve
government agencies that
require cloud vendors to
hold the certification.
autodesk.com

The new Mcor IRIS HD

sees Mcor Technologies
add high-definition colour
and detailing to 3D prints,
as well as cost savings to
paper-based processes.
Built on new algorithms
and with a new carbide
cutting tip, the Iris HD aims

A
to offer better full-colour
MD is going after a slice of the DEVELOP3D first broke the news of this new rendering detail and text on 3D
professional design visualisation market technology last August at SIGGRAPH 2014 in Vancouver. printed models
with its new GPU-optimised FireRender At that event, AMD demoed a ray trace renderer for mcortechnologies.com
plug-in. The physically correct material Autodesk Maya, so we can only presume a plug-in for
and rendering technology, designed to deliver Autodesk Maya is in the pipeline.
interactive ray trace rendering functionality AMD says it is working on bringing the rendering ESI has acquired Amoeba
inside major design and manufacturing plug-in to other applications in the design and Technologies and its key
applications, is due to be released later this year. manufacturing space. product Presto, to add to
AMD told DEVELOP3D that one of the stand-out With Nvidia Iray soon to be made available in Revit, NX, its simulation software
features of FireRender is performance. The plug-in is Catia, SolidWorks Industrial Designer, Rhino, Cinema 4D portfolio. Presto is
optimised for AMD’s FirePro W-Series GPUs and can and others, AMD certainly has some catching up to do in focused on the electronics
scale across multiple GPUs. However, as it is based on terms of application support. market and is seen by
the open compute standard OpenCL, AMD says the plug- However, the success of both rendering technologies ESI as a way to expand in
in will also run on many different types of processors. will most likely hinge on price/performance (of both the Computational Flow
AMD’s FireRender plug-in will first appear in Autodesk software and hardware), visual quality and workflow, Dynamics (CFD) market,
3ds Max, thanks to an implementation by Render plus of course how customers feel they stack up against and more specifically, in
Legion, developer of Corona Renderer. Initial integration the many CPU-based rendering technologies already dynamic electronics cooling.
on the FireRender plug-in for Autodesk 3ds Max is available in the market. esi-group.com
complete and will soon be available for public testing. amd.com

Tracker 3, the latest release

of the engineering object
tracking tool from motion
Onshape rolls out new update: starts to capture specialist Vicon, is
designed to address issues
flesh out modelling tools and collaboration that affect the perception

S
ince launching at the end of
March with its public beta
program, Onshape has been
gaining a lot of attention. Its
cloud-based approach means that the
Onshape development team can roll out
updates to users more regularly and in
shorter timespans than with traditional
software installs.
Since we looked at the system in the May
2015 issue of DEVELOP3D the last two releases
have seen the team introduce the long-
awaited loft function, completing the basic set
of modelling tools that every user requires.
It gives you tight control over geometry
creation, which can be tightened further by
matching vertices or using guiderails to lock
down the geometry.
Elsewhere in this release, there's a new
Ellipse sketch entity, sketch patterns have
been added and there's now a scaling option
for geometry. Final thing to note is that
the collaborative tools now get comments,
complete with email notifications.
onshape.com
of realism in an immersive
environment. Tracker 3 also
includes native integration
with MathWorks Simulink,
the simulation and model-
based design application.
esi-group.com
Autodesk is hard at work
on delivering a 'universal
user experience' for all of
its 100-plus products, with
the development effort
Onshape is rolling being led by Maria Giudice,
out a new release a former director of product
every three weeks
design at Facebook
on average
autodesk.com

DEVELOP3D.COM JUNE 2013 9

p06_08_09_10_D3D_JUN15_news.indd 9 01/06/2015 11:15

 NEWS

BOXX DELIVERS OVERCLOCKED ViewSonic

EIGHT-CORE WORKSTATIONS introduces 27"
» The new overclocked BOXX Apexx workstations pitched at 4K display
3D modelling, animation, rendering and simulation
“They alleviate the single-threaded bottlenecks found
in Autodesk 3ds Max, Maya, Revit, Dassault Systèmes,
SolidWorks and other professional applications, while
also providing 33GHz of aggregate frequency for faster
rendering and simulation," he continued.
While a stock Intel Core i7 processor reaches 3.0GHz,
BOXX claims the overclocked Apexx models maintain a
4.125GHz guaranteed speed throughout the life of their
warranty. The result, it says, is vastly improved viewport
performance (for panning, zooming and manipulating

V
3D objects), significantly faster opening/closing of
assemblies and quicker rebuilds. iewSonic’s new 27-inch Ultra HD
For multi-threaded tasks like rendering and simulation VP2780-4K monitor features a
that require multiple cores, the Apexx workstations are professional grade 4K IPS panel
said to outperform more costly ten-core Intel Xeon- and advanced features for

A
ccording to workstation specialist
BOXX, the speeds offered by its
overclocked Apexx workstations make
them ideal for both single-threaded
and multi-threaded tasks, including 3D
modelling, animation, rendering and simulation.
“Apexx offers the best of both worlds,” said Shoaib
Mohammad, BOXX vice president of marketing and
business development.
based systems, thanks to the overclocked eight-core’s
37.5 percent advantage over stock clocks.
The compact Apexx 2 3402 is available with up to
two professional graphics cards and 32GB memory,
while the Apexx 4 7402 can accommodate up to four
professional GPUs and includes up to 64GB of system
memory. Both workstations are liquid-cooled and
feature a variety of storage options, including SSDs for
increased I/O performance.
boxxtech.com
colour-critical design applications.
It features a 3,840 x 2,160 at 60Hz
native resolution and a SuperClear IPS
panel designed to provide a consistent
and true-to-life image from any angle. The
10-bit colour panel delivers 1.07 billion
colours, said to be 64 times more than a
conventional 8-bit monitor. The VP2780-4K
is available now for US$899/£599/€749.
viewsoniceurope.com

Human heart simulation project from Altium aims to

Dassault Systèmes Simulia goes live integrate PCB

R
epresenting the advances of its with SolidWorks
Simulia simulation modelling
software on the 3DExperience
platform, Dassault Systèmes has
announced the commercial availability of
its Living Heart Project.
A scientifically accurate 3D simulator of
a four-chamber human heart, it is the first
product of its kind.
The technology is designed to further
advance Dassault’s view of a future in
which 3D ‘digital twins’ of almost any object

imaginable can be created, so that realistic
virtual simulation tests can be run on them.
“It was imagined as a bold vision to try to
embody many of the concepts that our brand
has been talking about, that sometimes are
hard to really imagine coming together,” said
Dr Steve Levine, senior director of product
strategy for Simulia at Dassault.
“We wanted to find a project that showed
our multi-scale and multi-physics capability,
and demonstrate how we can bring
together something of that breadth and an
unprecedented range of technologies.”
Formally announced in 2014, the project
has since used crowdsourcing to recruit
45 expert members to build the models.
They include representatives of regulatory
science-focused organisations, such as
the US Food and Drug Administration
(FDA) and the Medical Device Innovation
Consortium (MDIC), as well as technologists,
cardiologists, medical device manufacturers
and hospitals.
Medical devices can be inserted into
the simulator to study their influence on
cardiac function, validate their efficacy and
predict reliability under a range of operating
conditions. For example, coronary stents
might be evaluated for optimal type, size,
and placement to achieve the best outcomes.
3ds.com
A
new extension for Altium’s
flagship PCB design tool,
Altium Designer, should help
mechanical and electronic
DS is bringing design teams collaborate more closely
interactive medical and share integrated design data.
simulation to market
The MCAD Co-Designer: SolidWorks
extension, by integrating directly, also aims
to minimise any disruption to these teams'
existing workflows.
According to Altium, current trends in
product design, including the development
of connected or 'smart' products,
increasingly require electrical and
mechanical design teams to work more
closely together than ever before.
altium.com

10 JUNE 2015 DEVELOP3D.COM

p06_08_09_10_D3D_JUN15_news.indd 10 01/06/2015 11:15

TCT AD.indd 1 26/05/2015 13:13
 COMMENT
Think like a human, Russell Beard
of Square Banana urges product
developers. Empathy is the key
skill you need when you’re
creating new products that
work for ‘real people’
A
t Square Banana,
the product design
consultancy that I
founded, we often
find ourselves
having to explain to
new and potential
clients what exactly
it is that we do. And despite all the
processes, techniques, technologies
and buzzwords flying around in the
world of new product development,
we inevitably end up boiling down our
response to one simple premise: we
design for humans.
We work, after all, with a range of
clients, large and small, on a huge variety
of projects. Whether it’s packaging for
chocolate bars or fresh coffee, or designs
for complex military or healthcare
equipment, there’s very little commonality
to the projects we undertake.
But regardless of that, we inevitably find
ourselves embroiled in early conversations
with clients around ‘user needs’. Now,
some clients barely give this issue a second
thought, treating the end user as a nuisance
— a necessary nuisance, but a nuisance all
the same. Other clients have more words
for users than the Eskimos have for snow:
users, consumers, shoppers, customers,
clients, purchasers, gatekeepers, permission-
granters, enablers. You name it, the list
keeps on truckin’.
Particularly with larger corporations,
there’s a vocabulary associated with
‘consumer insight’ that makes the process
sound like observing an alien race from a
safe distance.
Take, for example, this statement: “Sixty-
four percent of gatekeepers felt that they
might feel inclined to purchase Product X if
they were short on time, on the go and under
pressure to cook dinner.”
While I completely understand the need
to categorise people in this way — after all,
a microscopically small shift in purchasing
12 JUNE 2015 DEVELOP3D.COM
p12_D3D_June15_COMMENT.indd 12
dynamic can have huge implications for
production and profitability — there is in
play here a forensic level of clinical distance
that leaves me feeling that these people,
these ‘end users’, are not being treated like
the fallible, unpredictable human beings
that we all are. They’re simply reduced to a
purchasing demographic, categorised by its
disposable income and lack of time.
HUMAN BEHAVIOUR
Now I understand the need for this kind of
analysis, but there is a part of my brain that
refuses to believe people fall into such neat
‘categories’. As was clearly demonstrated
in the UK’s recent general election, most
attempts to second-guess public behaviour
are pretty much futile.
All humans have their individual foibles,
idiosyncrasies, subtleties, quirks, habits,
preferences, desires, secrets, failings,
admirations and egos. We are all different,
even if, somewhere in some corporate
headquarters, we have been deemed to
occupy the same category on a spreadsheet
as others we consider to be barely like us.
This is why, whenever Square Banana
works with a client on a project, we proudly
identify ourselves as ‘consumer guardians’
early on in the partnership. We’re the guys
who represent those people who sit at the
end of the buying chain.
We steadfastly hold firm to this idea, even
though it often results in arguments over
the need to retain certain features and more
‘human’ elements, which might otherwise be
sacrificed in the cold, analytical light of the
company boardroom.
Yes, we also ensure that the project is
designed to a specific budget, a specific
timescale and to specific production
parameters but, to us, it’s imperative that
the customer without a say in the product
development process — the person,
ironically, who will ultimately choose to
purchase this item or be responsible for
using it — is considered and, as far as

We are all different, even if, in some
corporate headquarters, we’ve been
deemed to occupy the same category
on a spreadsheet

possible, understood.
It’s surprising how many projects that start
out with good intentions and robust research
end up losing sight of this simple vision.
There are, of course, many tried and tested
ways to understand customers, but we find
that good, solid thinking, based on sound,
human understanding sees us through. It’s
about creating a robust story that works.
A story that holds true, regardless of
complexity or technology.
If you can metaphorically ‘break’ a
proposed product in the planning stages,
simply by acting as human beings inevitably
do, you can ensure that you cater for
many eventualities as you take the product
forwards. And then, you have a fighting
chance of creating something that might
actually work for ‘real people’.
So here’s my advice: think like a human,
not like a marketing executive or a
corporate accountant. Above all, remember
that it will be another human being that
ultimately interacts with the fruits of your
hard labour.
Empathy is the one key skill to being a
good product designer, and whilst it may
not help you sketch, 3D model, engineer or
implement, that skill will ultimately ensure
that, as you meander through these tasks,
the underlying story remains true and solid.
Russell Beard is the founder of product design
consultancy Square Banana. He feels so
strongly about the ‘human element’ in every
project the company undertakes, that he’s
thinking of incorporating the phrase into the
company’s strapline.
Read more from Russell at
blog.squarebanana.co.uk
29/05/2015 14:20
 E
TH AT 15
N R
O O 20
T US FLOIVE
I D L
VIS UN 3D
O
GRELOP
V
DE

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13 D3D Ads.indd 1 29/05/2015 11:58

 FEEDBACK

Your DEVELOP3D
» Your views on the correct definitions of an engineer and a designer, our recent
review of the Onshape Beta and why the UK needs to support D&T in education
Got an opinion on (and paying for) that status. the UK Department for Education as ‘not
anything that has I just tried to define engineer in my own a proper subject’ and it is increasingly
(or has not) appeared
head, and I think an engineer is someone marginalised by the way that success is
in DEVELOP3D? Let us
know what you think who creates or maintains something in a measured in league tables, it’s good to
Greg Corke planned manner. The ‘planned out’ bit is the know that many in industry value what
greg@x3dmedia.com key to me; that is, not following someone we're doing and are ready to support us.
Facebook else’s instructions. Designer, on the other It is this support that meant that the
/develop3d hand, is an even more woolly term! D&T Association could develop our new
Twitter Michael Leslie curriculum and fight for the role of design
@develop3d in education.
Web COMMENT: MOVING ON ‑ NOTES Simon Hill
develop3d.com ON AL DEAN’S OFFICE MOVE
Linked In DEVELOP3D.COM MAY 2015 REVIEW: VERO VISI SERIES 21
DEVELOP3D group Fun times ahead! I, for one, am stoked to TWITTER
Letters may be edited be getting access to CNC gear again, but in @develop3d @VISIcadcam @HexagonAB
such a fun way, and helping local companies Had no idea Hexagon had bought that lot!
realise modern machining methods. Have All top-drawer systems.
fun Al in your man loft. Hopefully, it’s not @quigdes
too far from your house.
Scott MISS DEVELOP3D LIVE?
THE VIDEOS ARE NOW ONLINE
COMMENT: WHEN IS A DESIGNER REVIEW: ONSHAPE BETA Did you miss a session on the day, couldn't
NOT A DESIGNER? DEVELOP3D MAY 2015 make the event or just want to watch
DEVELOP3D.COM APRIL 2015 Apple iOS getting apps before Android is a particularly inspiring or interesting
There are two commonly accepted because it’s a lot easier to develop for a presentation again? We've now got all of
standards for an engineer: either the known set of hardware devices. There are the videos from this year's DEVELOP3D Live
person is either Chartered (C.Eng) or far too many variations with Android and it online and ready for you to enjoy.
Incorporated (I.Eng); or, the person takes ultimately distracts from focusing on making www.develop3dlive.com
responsibility for the design, through the app itself better from the outset.
calculations or management of the project/ Scott
manufacture. Personally, I prefer the
former, but I will accept the latter. I'm LAST WORD: WHY UK NEEDS TO
working towards a C.Eng. SUPPORT D&T IN EDUCATION
Incidentally, the Institution of Engineering DEVELOP3D FEBRUARY 2015
Designers (IED) also has a ‘Registered CAD As a busy teacher of Design Technology, I
Practioner — RCPIED’ membership. have just got round to reading your ‘Last
Duncan Anderson Word’ article from the February 2015 issue
and would like to thank you for the support
I.Eng or C.Eng confirms you’re an engineer - you and the team at DEVELOP3D are
it doesn’t define [the role]. By their nature, providing for design education.
you have to be an engineer before achieving At a time when it seems DT is regarded by

60 SECOND Why did you become a designer?

I always knew there was more
INTERVIEW to the objects around us than
DAN TAYLOR we are led to believe. A sense of
intrigue made me want to explore
this secret world. When I found
the job combined art, technology
and making stuff, I had to find out
more.
Which designer or company do
you most admire and why?
I don't specifically admire one
designer or company. If I'm honest,
I'm most impressed by the unsung
heroes of design, who are so good
at what they do, it's as if their
products haven't been designed
at all.
What product couldn’t you live
without?
My EVOC Hydration Pack for when
I go mountain biking. We've shared
many adventures. I'd struggle
without it.
What design would you have
loved to have designed and why?
I'd like to have designed one of
those everyday products that
everyone uses and recognises, such
as the safety pin, the Post-It note
or the Bic Cristal pen. It would be
really satisfying to have made your
mark on the world in such a way.
Play-Doh, Meccano or Lego?
I'd say Meccano, although most
of my own childhood was spent
persuading my dad and uncle to let
me play with old farm machinery
on my uncle's farm. I was really
fortunate to be around engineering
and mechanics growing up.
What are your weapons of choice?
Cardboard, callipers, a glue gun
and a sharp Swann Morton craft
knife. In terms of software, I use
SolidWorks, Power Surfacing
for organic form modelling, and
Keyshot for visualisation.
What is missing from your toolset?
A desktop CNC machine. I think
subtractive methods of prototyping
have been over-shadowed by the
rise of 3D printing. When designing
for manufacture, there's a pretty
good chance something could be
machined and would arguably give
better end results.
Is there anything that would
make your design process run
smoother?
Immediate rebuild time in CAD.
That would certainly help to shave
off some time.
What would you say is the
biggest challenge facing
designers?
Design isn't just about how
we make a product anymore.
Designers have a wider role to
play in business, in services
and in strategy, with a growing
expectation on our shoulders.
Can you predict any future
trends?
Difficult one. Regarding the design
of products, I'd say the most
interesting areas will be in 3D
scanning and how this technology
will be used by people like me,
in the upstream elements of the
process, such as physical concept
modelling.
If you were hosting a dinner party
who would you invite and why?
I'd invite Professor Brian Cox over.
We could discuss the larger things
in life that make our own lives
seem utterly minute in comparison.
Dan Taylor is company director and
product designer at Click iD, an industrial
design agency specialising in consumer
products from baby products and fishing
tackle to consumer electronics.
If you want to take part please
contact greg@x3dmedia.com

14 JUNE 2015 DEVELOP3D.COM

p14_D3D_JUNE15_LETTERSjt.indd 14 30/05/2015 13:29

Metal, Plastic, Ceramic, Wax
or even Chocolate.

A wide range of materials

for a wide range of challenges.
We are eager to get our teeth into your challenges,
get in touch for sample materials, demonstrations and parts.

www.hkh3d.com 01788 577 288

SOLUTIONS 3D Printers | Software | Materials | On Demand Parts

 VISUAL DESIGN GUIDE
THE TOR CHAIR
Influenced by mid-century Scandinavian design, David Irwin’s TOR Chair for British
furniture company Dare Studio embodies the philosophy of ‘industrialised craft’,
combining cabinet-making skills with potential for larger-scale production
CURVED
BACK AND
ARMS
Full assembly prototypes were
produced in different ways,
depending on the complexity
of each component. Some of
the pieces that would later
be steam-bent in production
were mocked-up from solid
wood at this earlier stage to
save time and cost later on.
STACKABLE
The TOR chair combines an
elegant silhouette with immense
practicality: its inset seat means
it can be stacked, making it a
good choice for restaurants and
conference venues, or in homes
where space is at a premium.
16 JUNE 2015 DEVELOP3D.COM
p16_17_D3D_JUNE15_VDG_FINAL.indd 16
SEAT
The wooden frame
curves around a formed
seat. Seat angle and
height was tested using
1:1 scale wood mock-ups
INITIAL DESIGN
All Irwin’s projects start with pen and
paper to establish the character of the
product, often concentrating on fine
detail, before moving on to examine
the piece as a whole.
SOFTWARE USED
AutoCAD was used to flesh out the design
quickly, but in a way that captured the TOR
chair’s angles accurately. A more detailed,
3D model was then built using Autodesk
Inventor. Multiple iterations were created and
scrutinised, before the design was rendered
in KeyShot.
FRAME
Made of solid wood, the
frame is available in oak,
walnut and stained ash. First
prototypes were built from
paper and card at 1:6 scale,
in order to assess the chair’s
overall proportions.
29/05/2015 14:22
 AT A GLANCE
Designer: David Irwin
Manufacturer: Dare Studio
Year: 2015
Price: From £550
darestudio.co.uk

JOINTS
Dealing with tricky joints first via
sketching dictated the sectional
thickness of the chair’s legs. In later
prototypes, joint intersections were
made from solid timber to test for
structural integrity and ensure the
design was viable.

DEVELOP3D.COM JUNE 2015 17

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 PRODUCT
DESIGN
SHOWCASE
OUT WITH THE BLAND
B
olton-based baby products company
Cosatto is on a mission to “save the
world from boring baby stuff”. Its
pushchairs, car seats and highchairs feature
bold colour, quirky prints and names such as
Hootle, Giggle and Woop.
Take its latest product, the cheerful To and
Fro Firebird Pushchair: this umbrella-fold
stroller offers two modes: a ‘face-you’ and a
p18_19_20_D3D_JUNE15_PDG_Baby.indd 18
‘street-view’ mode. By pulling through the
hood and back support, it converts from a
parent-facing pushchair for newborns into
a forward-facing stroller for children up to
15kg and, in the process, the hood’s pattern
changes, too.
“The beauty of this design is its simplicity,”
says Cosatto’s associate design director,
Stephen Shaw.
“The hood is able to face in both directions
without having to detach anything from the
unit or use any complex parts. Through the
clever use of tailoring, you can reverse the
hood out in one simple motion.”
Shaw is responsible not only for the
functional design of the product, but also for
the illustration side, too. “These two aspects
aren’t handled independently at Cosatto.”
29/05/2015 14:22
 PROFILE

BABY
PRODUCTS
» This month
Tanya Weaver
delves into the
world of baby
products to find
out more about
new innovations
for the little
people in
our lives

The bold and

bright To and
Fro Firebird
pushchair from
Cosatto features a
pull-through hood
that transforms
the product
from ‘face-you’
to ‘street-view’
mode in one
simple, patented
movement

“As you are designing the prints, you are
thinking about the colours and material
finishes of product components. And, as you
are designing the product, you are thinking
about what scale and style of print would suit
the product.”
The design process at Cosatto kicks off
by listening to parents. Through its regular
‘Cosatto Cuppa’ feedback sessions, parents
provide their thoughts and opinions on the
company’s latest developments. “In these
sessions, we discovered the need to design an
umbrella-folding pushchair that could convert
from parent-facing to outward-facing. So, in a
sense, we co-create our products,” says Shaw.
Shaw then starts sketching ideas to convey
concept, functionality and aesthetics before
jumping into SolidWorks.
For the textile and print designs,
meanwhile, he uses Adobe Creative Cloud
software, mainly Photoshop and Illustrator.
Once everyone is happy with the product,
files are sent to the manufacturer. Several
prototypes are produced to help the design
team further refine the product before tooling
and production commences.
cosatto.com

DEVELOP3D MONTH 200X 19

p18_19_20_D3D_JUNE15_PDG_Baby.indd 19 29/05/2015 14:23

 INTO THE FOLD

M
eal times with a toddler can be a
challenge. However, the portable
and compact Flippa Dining
Booster seat means that kids can be
quickly and easily brought to the table.
Having identified a gap in the market
for affordable baby dining boosters, QT
Innovation approached Worcestershire-
based product design consultancy JMDA
Design. “The first main challenge was to
find a folding solution that was original
and did not infringe on patents,” says
JMDA managing director, Derrick Barker.
“The objective was to have a seat that is
easy to open while still holding the child.”
Following brainstorming and sketching,
JMDA used SolidWorks to create an
outline folding frame and locking system.
With the CAD model complete,
prototypes were made for initial testing
and then again for final design before
tooling sign-off.
The seat went on to win the Progressive
Preschool Innovation Award 2014.
“Naturally, we felt very pleased that in the
crowded market of dining boosters there
is still the opportunity for innovation and
sales with the right design,” says Barker.
“The product demonstrates how a good The Flippa Folding
design can be created when the market Booster seat, which
opportunity is clearly defined and the weighs in at just 1.6kg,
features a removable
key selling drivers are well-known before tray that folds with the
striking a blow.” seat and has adjustable
jmdadesign.com | qtinnovation.co.uk non-slip feet

SMALL EXPLORERS The LittleLife Child

W
Carrier is a 1.9 kg pick-
hen it comes to exploring the up-and-go carrier that
great outdoors, pushchairs often features an adjustable
back system and kick-out
prove impractical. Backpacks, for leg for added stability
many parents, offer a better approach. and easy storage
So, for life’s tiny adventurers, LittleLife,
a brand owned by outdoor kit company
Lifemarque (which owns the Lifeventure
and Lifesystems brands), has launched its
new Adventurer Child Carrier for children
aged from six months to three years.
“With these types of products, it’s a lot of
schematic drawing to begin with: thinking
through the usability requirements,
consumer needs and necessary features
before putting more refined drawings
together,” says LittleLife’s product
designer, Nick Chubb.
These drawings move quickly from
sketches into Adobe Illustrator. As
the product is mostly made of fabric,
Illustrator is the main tool but SolidWorks
is used to model small components.
For prototyping work, Chubb utilises the
company’s new Makerbot Replicator 5th
Generation 3D printer. “Buying our own
printer has proven to be much faster and
more cost-effective during development.
There are some projects where I have tried
and tested four prototypes before lunch!”
he says.
However, external companies are used
for very high-resolution prints before
progressing to tooling and manufacture.
littlelife.co.uk
20 MONTH 200X DEVELOP3D

p18_19_20_D3D_JUNE15_PDG_Baby.indd 20 29/05/2015 14:23

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NT Cadcam Ad.indd 1 21/05/2015 13:20

 SUPER
PROFILE

FLY
» The story of how the Freefly virtual reality headset was developed
is a lesson in perseverance. Tanya Weaver talks to its designers about
the challenges, setbacks and technology market changes that impacted
its journey from a sketch to a manufactured product


We really explored a lot of ideas
at the start to see what would
work best. It certainly was quite a
challenge finding our way through
all of these developments


The Freefly VR
transforms a user’s
Android or iPhone
6 (including Plus)
smartphone into a
fully-fledged, highly
immersive virtual
reality headset. Using
the phone as the screen,
the gyroscope inside
Welcome to a wire-
allows users to look
free, low-cost, high-
around 3D environments
quality VR experience
in real time

22 JUNE 2015 DEVELOP3D.COM

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 DEVELOP3D.COM JUNE 2015 23

p22_23_24_25_26_D3D_JUNE15_Cover.indd 23 29/05/2015 14:23

 PROFILE
I
magine this: instead of simply watching a
music video on a screen, you find yourself
immersed in the video’s 3D environment.
You might, for instance, be transported to
an Icelandic beach, taking in 360-degree
views, as pop artist Björk serenades you.
This is the power of virtual reality
(VR). All that’s needed to achieve such
a personal and engaging experience of
the music video is a smartphone and the
Freefly VR headset. You simply slide the
phone playing the video into the headset
and you are instantly whisked away to that chilly shoreline.
In essence, VR creates for the user an immersive,
computer-generated environment, based on the real world
or an imagined one. The VR headset market may already be
pretty crowded, but newcomer Freefly, created by London-
based company Proteus VR, is looking to set itself apart
by offering anyone, with any smartphone with a display
between 4.7 inches and 6.1 inches, a wire-free, low-cost, yet
high-quality VR experience.
“Designing an ergonomic headset that could fit a wide
range of face shapes and mobile phone sizes wasn’t easy,”
admits Mark Little, head of design at Luma-iD, the London-
based product design consultancy responsible for the
design and development of Freefly.
24 JUNE 2015 DEVELOP3D.COM
p22_23_24_25_26_D3D_JUNE15_Cover.indd 24
1
“We are really pleased with how it turned out as it took a ●
1 During the design
and development
long time and there were many challenges along the way.”
stage the Freefly VR
headset went through
HOW IT BEGAN 12 iterations with The
Luma-iD is a fairly new company, having been set up by Claw being the first
(right) through to the
Little and his business partner Luke Vos in 2013. Freefly final design (left)
was one of the first projects it undertook. The partners were
approached by Jonathan Tustain, a London VR Meetup
host and VR blogger, with the brief of creating a 3D-printed
VR phone adapter for his LG Nexus 5 mobile phone. This,
Tustain envisaged, would provide the subject of a blog post
on the feasibility of 3D printing VR headsets.
“We were basically commissioned [to work for] so many
hours on the project, but we ended up spending double the
hours, because we enjoyed it so much,” says Little.
So, when Luma-iD came to deliver to Tustain the 3D print
of their proposed design, which they had nicknamed ‘The
Claw’, they enquired as to whether he’d be interested in
working together with them to take the project further. He
agreed and a longer-term partnership got underway.
But after scrutinising various mobile phones, the partners
decided that the headset should be designed around a tablet
device instead. “At the time, tablets such as the 7-inch LG
Nexus 7 were really popular. They also offered a higher
performance over mobiles, as they rendered the frames a
lot quicker,” explains Little.
29/05/2015 14:23
 ‘‘We
wanted to
Having sketched out a few ideas, Little very quickly
jumped into SolidWorks to model the concepts. In total,
there were 12 iterations during the concept development
integrate stage: each one involved modelling the idea on the
softer lines computer, having it 3D printed, physically checking and
into it and testing it, and then turning back to the computer to make
further changes.
make it a bit “We started off with The Claw, which was crazy and
different to angular, and then we tried to find an identity for the device.
competitor We wanted to integrate softer lines and make it a bit
devices, different to competitor devices, which are typically heavy,
chunky and game-y looking,” adds Little.
which are
typically ADVANTAGES OF 3D PRINTING
heavy, For most of its 3D printing needs, Luma-iD utilised the
services of 3D printing bureau 3DprintUK, which was
chunky, conveniently located directly next door to its own office.
and game-y The nylon powder prototypes could be available from
looking
’’ 3DprintUK’s EOS selective laser sintering machine in as
little as 24 hours, drastically speeding up development.
During the early exploration phase, Luma-iD also
experimented with the use of different materials and
construction techniques. For instance, to save costs on
tooling and because tablets have such a large surface area,
they considered laser-cutting the faceplate pieces from
flat sheets of acrylic. They also considered water-cutting
carbon fibre sheets, as this would allow for a very stiff and
2 “Coupled with this, we also wanted to give users quick
3 Another challenge was accommodating the product to
4
p22_23_24_25_26_D3D_JUNE15_Cover.indd 25
lightweight design, but this idea was dismissed due to the
environmental hazards and high costs associated with
working with this material.
“We really explored a lot of ideas at the start to see what
would work best. It certainly was quite a challenge finding
our way through all of these developments,” says Little.
Three or four iterations down the line, the project took a
dramatic diversion: the designers decided to switch back to
mobile phones, as tablets were proving just too large and
cumbersome. Also, in the short time since they had started
the project, phone technology had advanced in a big way.
Not only were batteries now lighter, but also screens were
larger and offered higher resolutions.
“In almost everything I have done, the goal posts have
been fairly fixed. There are always changes in design,
but I have never known anything [like] the two years of
developing this product: for phones to get increasingly
better and for our original idea of tablets to get increasingly
worse and less popular.”
“It was difficult to predict, and it seems obvious now, but
back when we started out, we weren’t sure if phones would
be up to the task of delivering the kind of performance that
was needed for good VR,” says Little.
CHALLENGES TO OVERCOME
The challenge now was not only accommodating different
mobile phone sizes and thicknesses into the design, but
also working out how to clamp them in place for easy
insertion and removal by the user.
access to the touchscreen. Loading the phone from the
side or the top would make it difficult to touch the screen
and would involve sliding the phone completely out of the
device,” comments Little.
The solution they came up with is a simple latch on the
bottom of the device, which allows the headset to be opened
while the phone stays clamped in place via a dual spring-
loaded set of ‘wings’.
This allows the user to quickly choose a different app or
restart the experience for a new user, while the device is still
being worn. When the device needs to be removed, the dual
‘wings’ spring open at the click of a button.
fit many different head sizes and eye distances. Again, 3D
printing proved invaluable in honing the perfect fit for the
majority of people.
FULL STEAM AHEAD
Having fine-tuned the design to create a product they
were happy with, Luma-iD and Tustain decided to form a
separate company, Proteus VR Labs, to market the product
and take it into production. As part of this process, they
had to come up with a name for the device, as well as create
branding and a logo.
●
2 Mark Little, Luma-iD’s head of
design, with one of the early 3D prints
created by 3DprintUK. At the start of
the project the design team also looked
into water-cutting carbon fibre sheets
●
3 The very high resolution resin print
by Impossible Creations allowed
Luma-iD to check the functions of the
Freefly in more detail before embarking
on tooling
●
4 The Luma-iD design team visited
the manufacturing partners in China to
oversee the first production run
DEVELOP3D.COM JUNE 2015 25
29/05/2015 14:23
 PROFILE
“We wanted to create something that was a little bit
different,” says Little. “There are a lot of very techie names
in the VR world at the moment, some of which you can’t
even pronounce, so we wanted to create something that
conveys freedom and one of our main unique selling points
of being wire-free.” The name ‘Freefly’, they decided, got
that message across well.
With investors on board, Proteus VR Labs could now
progress to tooling. In October 2014, Little visited a
manufacturing partner in China, in order to review the
‘first-off tools’ (typically, a die or mould) and work through
any minor issues. What he found there, however, was a
major problem.
Essentially, foam was being used around the eye area
on the headset, to act as cushioning. Between this foam
and the main housing was a rubber material. It had been
decided that this would be fixed in place either with glue or
with 3M tape, depending on how the manufactured parts
came out.
“We built all these jigs to hold the foam in place and it
was just a nightmare. The quality of the finish was awful,
everything was all over the place and it just didn’t work,”
admits Little.
“We were trying to bend a piece of acrylic under tension
and then after gluing it, it felt like if we dropped it, it would
explode and shatter. It was just an absolute disaster.”
He came back to the UK disappointed. Although he’d
cracked a lot of smaller issues and the rest of the product
was working well, a solution for the problem with the foam
was desperately needed.
Having researched various headphone devices, the
partners struck on the idea of using faux leather. This
material, which has a foam lining, could be wrapped over
a new curved ABS-based plate and then easily glued to the
main housing.
“The faux leather feels like a pair of headphones on your
face — much more comfortable and it looks really cool.”
“We are really pleased with how it turned out in the end,
despite adding more time into the process. But that’s just
the way it goes sometimes,” says Little.
5 freeflyvr.com
6 virtual reality headsets via a spring-
26 JUNE 2015 DEVELOP3D.COM
p22_23_24_25_26_D3D_JUNE15_Cover.indd 26
A NEW LOOK
This use of faux leather also prompted the designers to ‘‘ It’s been
a hell of a
change some of the product’s aesthetics. Originally, they
had gone for a Storm Trooper-inspired black and white
ride, I must
colour scheme, but following the change of materials, they admit, but
instead opted for a more understated black and orange for us as a
scheme instead. team, we
Before tooling for a second time, a very high-resolution
resin 3D print was created by Essex-based prototyping are so proud
bureau, Impossible Creations. of what
“The nylon prints were fantastic, but they were not quite we have
there when it came to the final fit and finish of everything.
So we did a 0.01 resolution print, which gave us an idea of
produced.
how it would all fit together, right down to the little bits of It’s a very
play in between the components,” says Little. satisfying
Little visited the Chinese manufacturer again in January feeling to
2015 to oversee the first production run. Despite the slight
delay and increased cost to the project, his view is that
see the end
they’ve ended up with a much better product. result of
something
LAUNCH AND AVAILABILITY that has
The Freefly VR headset was officially launched in mid-
April 2015, with immediate availability on Amazon. gone
“To get the product onto Amazon took up just as much through
energy as some of the tooling and design issues,” so many
confesses Little.
“But this is what has made this project very interesting.
Usually our role is pretty defined. Either we produce
steps
’’
prototypes for companies, or we go right up to production
and have a delivery date. This was the first time that we’ve
gone beyond that and had a role in app development,
packaging design, creating press materials, working with
distribution and learning how to use Google Analytics for
the product’s website.”
One of the first showcases for the Freefly was to offer
users an immersive experience inside Icelandic pop artist
Björk’s new music video for her song, ‘Stonemilker’. As
part of the track’s launch in March, visitors to Rough Trade
music shops in London and New York were given the
chance to try the Freefly headset and experience first-hand
the 3D representation of an Icelandic beach where Björk
sang to them.
Little knows that there is still a long journey ahead in
terms of getting customers interested in the product and
building a healthy sales pipeline. However, he’s delighted
with what has been achieved so far.
“It’s been a hell of a ride, I must admit, but for us as a
team, we are so proud of what we have produced. It’s a very
satisfying feeling to see the end result of something that
has gone through so many steps. We really put everything
into it and solved a lot of problems. I think we deserve a
holiday now,” he smiles.
luma-id.com
●
5 The Freefly VR was modelled in
SolidWorks. Here is a screenshot of the
final iteration of the product
●
6 The Freefly VR converts phones with
screen sizes between 4.7 inches and
6.1 inches into wide field of view (FOV)
loaded, dual-wing mechanism
29/05/2015 14:24
27 D3D Ads.indd 1 29/05/2015 12:02
 PROFILE
NEWSPARK
» Once a brand found in almost every British home, Goodmans was in need of
a twenty-first century makeover. Stephen Holmes speaks to Rodd Design, the
design agency helping it to recapture customers’ hearts and minds
N
ot so long ago, the
Goodmans brand
was a mainstay
in many British
households,
stamped on audio
appliances such as
loudspeakers and
radios that offered
customers affordable solidity.
The company’s history stretches right
back to 1923, and more recently, it had
carved a profitable niche for itself in set-top
boxes for satellite TV. With the availability
of digital content services killing off
satellite viewing, however, Goodmans was
experiencing a change of heart. It was
time, the company’s management decided,
for a makeover.
More accustomed to rebadging products
than designing its own, Goodmans
approached design consultancy Rodd
Design for its thoughts on where they could
take the brand next. For the last two years,
the two companies have been collaborating
not only on new products, but also on
Goodmans’ overall plan for the future.
“[Goodmans] wanted to explore how they
could reposition themselves to acknowledge
the audio history that they have but, at the
same time, prepare themselves to become
28 JUNE 2015 DEVELOP3D
p28_30_D3D_JUNE15_Rodd_Design.indd 28
more associated with ‘connected lifestyle’
electronics,” explains Rodd Design’s
managing director Ben Davies.
Together, the two companies decided that
a new design strategy should take priority
over simply building a new product line, but
first, Davies and the rest of Rodd Design’s
five-person team had to explore what the
Goodmans brand truly represented. This
was an issue for the business, says Davies.
“What the business wanted to achieve,
what the shareholders expected from the
brand and how the consumers perceived it
– there was a big disconnect.”
The first part of the makeover involved
creating a roadmap for future products that
would launch in 2015, with a continued
focus on the home audio market. Fewer
products, offering great audio quality at
an affordable price, but adhering more
closely to contemporary technology trends,
Goodmans felt, might help the company
recapture its past glory.
As part of the brief, Rodd was asked to
design three new products and to take them
through to manufactured completion.
These designs should be stripped back
as much as possible, leaving the bare
minimum needed for customers to be able
to take products straight from the box and
use them immediately, whether connected
29/05/2015 17:07
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 PROFILE
2 manufactured finishes.
via Bluetooth or plugged instead into an
existing system.
But first, the designers needed to establish
the look and feel of the ‘new’ Goodmans
brand. That work had to happen, says Davies,
well before they took to sketching their
concepts in Alias or adding fine details for
manufacture in Siemens NX.
“A lot of what we do is getting the strategy
right before anyone puts pen to paper, and
a lot of that is about setting the right tone of
voice,” he comments.
With the focus on affordability, design had
to take precedence. The goal, after all, was
to counter the fact that Goodmans offers
fewer features than more pricey competitor
products by adding extra value and
4 the use of materials and manufacturing
28 JUNE 2015 DEVELOP3D
p28_30_D3D_JUNE15_Rodd_Design.indd 30
desirability through slick design and smart
That required Rodd Design to collaborate
closely on day-to-day manufacturing
decisions with Goodmans’ China-based
suppliers and assemblers.
“You can make a beautiful Keyshot render,
but if the thing comes out of the factory
looking like a dog’s dinner, then it ain’t about
the software!” jokes Davies.
“A very big part of what we do is making
sure that the integrity of the concept is
delivered [right] through to production,
making sure that stuff comes through
factories as beautiful and well put-together as
the price point allows.”
One of the first products to be completed
was Aspect, a dual-format horizontal/
vertical home speaker and soundbar that
packs a powerful punch but which, at just 50
centimetres wide, can be accommodated even
in homes where space is at a premium.
“If you sell TVs, you’re now expected to sell
soundbars. We needed to understand where
the gap in the market was and, weird as it
sounds, nobody was doing short soundbars,”
Davies explains.
“A small soundbar means a small TV, and a
small TV tends to live in a second bedroom or
a kid’s bedroom – and we found that was an
untapped market.”
Using a simple magnetic stand, the speaker
3
can lie horizontally and fit under a screen.
But where a small room is particularly short
on space, the speaker can be stood upright by
popping off an end cap held on with magnets
Already, the first batch of new Goodmans
products are hitting the market and achieving
positive reviews to match the design
team’s high hopes: they’re affordable, they
over-deliver on expectations and they’re
aesthetically desirable.
By changing its client’s way of thinking and
helping it to appreciate the added value that
good design and manufacture can bring,
Rodd Design has built the foundations for
Goodmans to become a household staple
once more.
rodd.uk.com | goodmans.co.uk
●
1 Goodmans turned to Rodd Design in
order to prepare the brand for a future of
‘connected lifestyle’ electronics
●
2 The Aspect soundbar can be stood upright
by popping off an end cap held on with
magnets
●
3 Rodd Design helped Goodmans appreciate
the added value of good design, including
●
4 The designs wanted to explore Goodmans’
audio history, but with modern components
29/05/2015 17:07
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 PROFILE
ON TOP
FORM
» Freeform Technology is using Siemens PLM Software’s NX to
deliver the highest quality components at racing speed
F
ractions of a second, microns of tolerance: in the exacting
world of Formula 1 racing, triumph and failure are only
ever a hair’s breadth apart. With a background in that
demanding environment, the two metalwork engineers
who founded Freeform Technology in 2008 are acutely
aware of the significance of meeting a specification
exactly and delivering on time.
Having spotted a market opportunity to apply precision machining
methods in the composites field, Simon Burchett and Fred Hutton
founded the company in 2008 with just one machine and a collection
of hand-me-down tools. Today, they have five machines, employ a
team of more than 20 people and provide a wide range of services
to their clients: tooling design and manufacture, pattern and
model making, prototyping and design mock-up and full project
management of part manufacture.
32 JUNE 2015 DEVELOP3D.COM
p32_35_D3D_JUNE_Siemens_Freeform_five_axis.indd 32
24 hours from
CAD to completed
component, using
five-axis CNC for
large scale forming
components
From the beginning, they knew that they wanted to use NX software
from product lifecycle management (PLM) specialist Siemens PLM
Software. “We were familiar with NX, we knew it could do the job, and
it was one thing we could rely on in the scary days of being a start-up,”
comments Burchett. “Just to be sure, we did a benchmark test on
other software, but we found that it was just not as good as NX.”
Freeform Technology quickly established a reputation for applying
Formula 1 race car standards to the composite tooling industry. “We
deliver an extremely accurate product very quickly,” says Burchett.
“Our ongoing business challenge is to maintain that quality and
speed as we grow across different industries.”
CONSISTENT QUALITY, FAST FULFILMENT
The company has four floating licences of NX CAM (computer-aided
manufacturing), enabling the software to be used by various members
29/05/2015 14:25
 See The Future of Machining
Wednesday 24th or
Thursday 25th June

European Technology
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Featuring:

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delcam-FOM-advert-A4.indd 1 12/05/2015 14:48:34

34 D3D Ads.indd 1 29/05/2015 16:14
 
“Previously, we subcontracted to specialists when
clients needed significant CAD input, but it is
more efficient to bring it in-house, especially for
complex designs. We have more control over the
manufacturing process and can focus on reducing
our clients’ costs”
Simon Burchett, Freeform Technology
of the team. Well-established as a
partner of Siemens PLM Software
in the United Kingdom (UK), TEAM
Engineering helped Freeform
Technology to set up the system and
provides ongoing technical support.
“The software is excellent, and the
guys at TEAM Engineering are very
knowledgeable,” says Hutton. “They
are available when we need assistance
and always very helpful.”
Freeform Technology’s specialists
use a customer’s computer-aided
design (CAD) models and material
specifications for tooling; or, using 3D
laser scanning, they reverse engineer a
component design in order to develop
and manufacture patterns and tooling.
The engineers check all CAD files
thoroughly so that they are correct
and optimised for manufacturing. In
some cases, they recommend design
changes.
With some aspects of CAD
included in the NX CAM licences,
Freeform Technology’s engineers
also have design functionality.
Instead of returning files that require
amendment, they save precious time
by making modifications on behalf of
their customers. “It’s a huge benefit
to have an integrated design and
manufacturing package,” notes Jake
Oliveira, general manager at Freeform
Technology. “We can be very quick.”
Burchett and Hutton have a deep
understanding of tooling processes
and procedures and, building on that,
have developed a range of templates
within NX CAM. These are preset
CAM files with predetermined tool
settings and cut depths. Similarly, all
machines are set up with identical
options for tools, tool builds, speeds
and feeds. Providing consistency,
these measures also ensure a smooth
process when a client’s CAD files
arrive, usually in Step or IGES format.
The majority of Freeform
Technology’s business is the
manufacture of patterns for carbon
fibre components. The turnaround
from CAD model to a finished pattern
ready for moulding can sometimes be
achieved in just 24 hours. All patterns
are custom-made by Freeform
p32_35_D3D_JUNE_Siemens_Freeform_five_axis.indd 35
Technology, which has a team of
dedicated offline programmers. What
they write one day will be on the
machine later that day or the day after.
The company completes up to 50
patterns a day at its busiest times.
It also has the capability to produce
aluminium moulds according to
customer requirements.
One time-saving feature of NX
that is particularly beneficial to
Freeform Technology is the capacity to
program one side, and then choose to
regenerate the model in mirror image.
As most cars have matching left- and
right-hand side components, this
not only saves programming time, it
means that partner components can
be loaded on two separate machines at
the same time.
FLEXIBILITY AND CONTROL
Because Burchett and Hutton began
their business by doing everything
themselves, they are particularly aware
of the need to maintain the highest
quality throughout the tooling process.
Here, Burchett particularly values the
flexibility of NX. “With some software
applications, you simply cannot do
what you want to do. I think that’s
because purpose-built CAM packages
are designed to be used very quickly
by anyone. They have an easy-to-use
interface and, at the click of a button,
the machine is off. The trouble with
this is that the software drives the tool-
paths; the machinist has little control.
With NX, we have a lot more input into
how each tool-path is created.”
This is critical when there are
potential issues to address, such as
dealing with a complex design that
requires the manipulation of tool-
paths in order to remove as much
material as efficiently possible.
A SINGLE SOURCE OF DATA
“Serving the Formula 1 industry has
its drawbacks. Pressure is particularly
intense in the run-up to the racing
season as teams finalise designs. As
we mature, [we’re doing] business
more on our own terms, and we are
using NX to support diversification,”
notes Burchett.
Freeform Technology’s strategy is Freeform also works
to continue growing the business in at the other end of
the spectrum with
motorsports and respond to demand equally complex,
from new sectors, such as aerospace, but much smaller
defence, energy, leisure, marine, components
medical, and oil and gas. Although
existing clients supply their own data,
the two directors offer additional
services, including powerful design
services using NX CAD.
“Previously, we subcontracted to
specialists when clients needed
significant CAD input, but it is more
efficient to bring it in-house, especially
for complex designs. We have more
control over the manufacturing
process and can focus on reducing our
clients’ costs.”
For Burchett, the key is to expand
without losing focus on quality and
delivery, because these are what have
underpinned the company’s success
and growing reputation.
“NX is fundamental to our operation.
The next step is to implement
Teamcenter for complete lifecycle
management. Together, they will help
us stay on top, as well as see what else
we can offer,” he says.
Because speed of response is so
critical, TEAM Engineering has
prepared a deployment plan for
Freeform designed to take just five
days: two days of implementation and
three days of training.
Burchett notes, “Our ultimate goal
is to be a paperless company, with
a single source of digital data that
everyone shares for design, tooling and
shop documentation, so whenever we
update a tool-path we are all working
on the latest data,” he says.
“Having NX as our PLM platform
means we can extend our capability.
In the future, we may also look at
analysing components.”
Hutton summarises, “Being a
customer of Siemens PLM Software
gives us an opportunity to stay ahead
of the game with regard to our
competition. We can consistently offer
our customers the very best quality,
absolute accuracy and the tightest
turnaround time.”
freeformtechnology.co.uk
siemens.com/plm
DEVELOP3D.COM JUNE 2015 35
29/05/2015 14:25
 EVENT REPORT
DO BELIEVE
THE HYPE
» The Additive Manufacturing Users Group event swerved the usual hype, focusing
instead on the professionals working with 3D printing today. By Stephen Holmes
A
lmost half of the 880 registrants at this year’s Additive
Manufacturing User Group (AMUG) event in
Jacksonville, Florida were first-time attendees, but
the relaxed atmosphere and the expertise on show
made for a positive networking event. Speakers
usually muzzled by corporate policy opened up and
were ready and willing to share their thoughts and opinions on 3D
printing, drawing attendees into what must be the world’s fastest-
growing ‘family’ of 3D printing users.
The general sessions provided an intriguing glimpse into some of
today’s most cutting-edge applications of 3D printing. Jason Lopes
(pictured right), of special effects studio Legacy Effects, showcased his
team’s ability to pull in various technologies, including 3D printing
and more traditional fabrication techniques, in order to beat deadlines
with super-speed workflows and up-to-the-minute tools. He gave
the crowd a first glimpse at the Carbon3D beta printer they’ve been
trialling and some of the parts they’ve been able to produce as a result.
On a much larger scale, a team from the Oak Ridge National
Laboratory (ORNL), an arm of the US Department of Energy,
were there to discuss existing FDM [fused deposition modelling]
technologies. Led by Dr Lonnie Love, this group initially assisted in
building the Local Motors Strati (the world’s first 3D-printed electric
car), before taking the concept forward by printing an entire AC Cobra
in just six weeks.
Here, they used the same giant FDM 3D printing technology as
they did with the Strati, including ORNL’s own Big Area Additive
Manufacturing machine, but what they created, putting down
nearly 100 pounds of reinforced plastic per hour for the chassis and
bodywork, was something that looked and felt much more like a
typical automobile. And once sprayed and assembled, the result was
the same sleek bodywork that you might expect to see on a metal or
fibreglass shell. The team’s next challenge: to print an entire house in
six weeks.
Alongside the general keynote sessions, there were nearly a dozen
‘talk tracks’ and a huge range of hands-on learning sessions going
on. The themes of these reveal much about the issues occupying the
industry right now.
The industrialisation of 3D printing, for example, was a key topic,
from fixing STL files faster to employing the right type of post-
processing equipment. So were ways to get more (and better) use from
the equipment that many attendees already own, typically through
additional finishing machines, for vibrating various adhesives
through to polishing materials around a submerged 3D printing part,
for example. Claims were made that these types of finishing machines
can cut post-processing timescales by as much as 75 percent, but
many conference-goers seemed more impressed by the consistency
with which hundreds of parts could be finished.
36 JUNE 2015 DEVELOP3D.COM
p36_D3D_JUN15_AMUGReport.indd 32
Jason Lopes,
Legacy Effects
Printing with metals was another area of interest to attendees,
from the heavy industrial use cases presented by companies such as
DMG Mori and Sciaky, to the infinitely more delicate wax cast parts
showcased by SolidScape. Elsewhere, suppliers were promoting
alternatives to metal, with Stratasys in particular talking up its Ultem
FDM material as a possible option.
Customers were keen to have their say, too: Andrew Martin,
manager of additive manufacturing at industrial giant General
Electric (GE) explained how the company’s jet engines are already
benefiting from the use of direct-metal printing.
Even with the ultra-conservative designs needed to handle flying
many thousands of miles each week, he said, GE has turned to 3D
printing since it discovered this would enable it to unify 20 complex
parts in a single build – in this case, the fuel injector nozzles for its
GEnx engines.
And Jim Lahood, a 3D printing specialist at industrial equipment
company Caterpillar, explained to the audience how the company
has established a 3D printer knowledge-transfer system between its
various manufacturing plants, allowing them to share their expertise
and tips on where the technology might best be applied.
By putting FDM 3D printers on Caterpillar shop floors, he said,
custom gauges, jigs and fixtures can now be built faster than they
previously could in metal. The low costs involved also mean that
employees can experiment with ergonomic, time-saving or safety-
enhancing tool grips. The end result has been savings amounting to
millions of dollars, he told attendees.
Given the hype that 3D printing continues to generate, it was
refreshing to attend an event so firmly grounded in the present, with
a keen eye on what the technology can achieve today and where it may
take us tomorrow, not in 50 years’ time.
additivemanufacturingusersgroup.com
29/05/2015 14:26
PAGE2-SolidWorks-SIM-Promotion-June-2015-Develop3D_v1.pdf 1 23/05/2015 21:51:53
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04 MARKET ROUND UP: WHAT’S HOT?
You’ve nailed your 3D product model. Now you want to show it off
— to your boss, your team, your clients. But where next? We look at
the rendering market today.
06 RENDERING HARDWARE
DEVELOP3D’s hardware guru, Greg Corke, looks at what’s happening
in rendering hardware to help you get from idea to final images in
the quickest time possible.
08 BACK TO BASICS: ANATOMY OF A RENDER
Photorealism is a curious beast. Part science, part art, part black
magic. We highlight some of the key factors and options that give
you truly stunning imagery.
10 MATERIALS: THE NEXT FRONTIER
Dave Coldron of Lightworks walks us through some of the advances
in materials development for physically-based rendering systems,
including Iray+.
14 VISUALISATION & VIRTUAL REALITY
With Virtual Reality rising from the technology grave, are those of
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18 INSIDE SKULLCANDY
We talk to the advanced concept design team at audio equipment
leader, Skullcandy, about how it uses visualisation throughout its
development process and into all areas of its business.
22 MINDOVEREYE & INFINITI
MindOverEye’s Director of VFX, Sean Hooper, walks us through a
recent project for Infiniti that saw the team bring its knowledge to
combine the real and the digital.
24 TECHNICAL DETAILS: TECHNOMOT
Large-bore, heavy-duty engine development consultancy,
Technomot, talks about how visualisation has become central to
many of its working practices: it’s not just about a pretty picture.
hen we started DEVELOP3D, back in 2008, we asked our nascent
community about how they used visualisation. Even then the
answer surprised us. Rendering and photorealistic visualisation
had spread way beyond the traditional stamping grounds of
industrial design and automotive styling and had truly started to become
part of mainstream design and engineering.
Now, seven years later the market has changed. We’ve seen the rise of
the physically-based and progressive renderer, which offers a ‘point and
click’ approach to rendering by accurately simulating materials and lights.
This has been driven by both smart software developers and the wealth of
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Physically-based rendering takes much of the pain out of rendering setup.
You load up a high-fidelity 3D CAD model, add materials, throw in a HDR
image as a lighting source, and almost immediately see the end result. It’s
incredibly empowering for designers and engineers and has meant that
rendering is now more deeply embedded within the product development
process than ever before.
Now, we’re on the cusp of another sea-change. The physically-based
renderer is evolving. The cloud (as well as specialist computation devices)
has the potential to further accelerate computation. New technologies are
coming on stream that allow us to have more accurate materials.
This report looks at where design visualisation is at, as well as exploring
what will be happening in the near future. We also talk to a number of
organisations that are using visualisation techniques in interesting ways —
from communicating manufacturing requirements on large bore engines, to
mixing it with real world footage (and wild animals) for the advertising world.
We also talk to the designers at one of the world’s leaders in audio
equipment about how rendering has become
vital to almost every area of its business
operations.
Enjoy reading!

26 VISUALISATION CHALLENGES & POTENTIAL

We talk to four leaders in the visualisation sector about the barriers
to mainstream adoption and where they think the industry is
heading next.

28 THE FUTURE OF DESIGN VIZ

Al Dean dusts off the crystal ball and takes a peep into the future
of visualisation. With rapidly advancing computation technology,
mobile devices and the cloud, what does it hold?

Al Dean
Editor-in-Chief
DEVELOP3D Magazine
@alistardean

© 2015 X3DMedia Ltd

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15:06 VIZ_REPORT.indd 3 29/05/2015 21:11

 SPECIAL REPORT: VISUALISATION SPONSORED BY:

RENDERING
MARKET OVERVIEW
You’ve nailed your 3D product model. Now you want to show it off — to your boss,
your team, your clients. But where next? We look at the rendering market today

» There are more options than ever before » Materials are easier to define » Physically based renderers dominate
» Most 3D design tools include rendering » Unless you go cloud, you need horsepower » Workflow is everything for the non expert

THE BASICS : Rendering has come a long
way, baby. Ten years ago, it was seen as the
sole preserve of the industrial design and
automotive crowd. Expert driven, it was an
arcane and mystical process to take the raw
geometry from a 3D design system and
create photorealistic images and animations.
Today, the reality could not be further
from this. Many in traditional design and
engineering have adopted visualisation as
a means of communicating their product’s
form and function. Whether for design
review, for pre-manufacture marketing or
sales promotion.
THE OPTIONS : Whether you’re looking to
keep your rendering inside your CAD system
with an integrated solution or to spin things
out to a separate system that allows you to
farm out the work and the computation,
there are many options.
The rise of the physically-based renderer
has meant that we’re now used to a more
drag and drop approach to material
definition. HDR images are making lighting
much easier. That said, there are tips and
tricks to taking your imagery to the next level
and these apply to the majority of systems
and tools available.
THE FUTURE : The increase in core count
on both your CPU and GPU (for the growing
number of renderers that support GPUs)
is going to make rendering more and
more efficient. For those that don’t want to
invest in hardware or have extremely heavy
computational requirements, the cloud is
also set play an increasingly important role.
There are also plenty of new developments
in materials definition, in the portability
of materials between systems, in low cost
immersive VR with consumer headsets
and much more. The future of design
visualisation has never looked so exciting.

3D CAD integrated Standalone renderers Plug-in render engines

Rendering has been part of most 3D design and
engineering systems for a good few years. We can’t
think of a vendor that doesn’t offer anything at all.
While some are kept bang up to date, others lag
behind (often the vendor’s fault rather than the
rendering engine per se).
What you gain in data associativity, you often lose
in an overly complex workflow to set-up the scene,
materials and lighting — but many of the CAD
integrated systems are getting better.
With the rise of the CAD-integrated rendering
system, the standalone renderer looked like it was on
its last legs. Then KeyShot (or before it, HyperShot)
came onto the market and it all changed. This
revitalised an industry segment and many saw the
attraction of separating 3D CAD from rendering.
Combine that with today’s prevalence of physically-
based renderers, better data associativity with many
of the leading CAD tools and you have a market that
continues to grow.
The use of general purpose rendering and animation
The r
systems — such as 3ds Max, Maya and Modo — in the
othe
design and engineering world saw many rendering
clever
software developers plug their render engines into
these systems. The benefits to the end user typically
include greater material control, easier workflows or Both S
simply better results. textu
sce
While there aren’t too many plug-ins for mainstream
for h
design and engineering systems, there are a few
(Maxwell for SolidWorks being one example).

Pros: Instant data associativity (as you’re working
on native geometry design change updates are free).
Pros vs Cons
Cons: Biggest downside is that rendering often ties up
your workstation while calculating.
Pros: An interface that’s built for visualisation, not Pros
Pros: You can choose the renderer that best suits your
design and engineering. More efficient workflows.
requirements and use the toolset you’re used to.
Cons: It’s a separate licence cost and learning curve. Co
Cons: Separate licence cost. More learning required.
Workflow better with some CAD tools more than others.

Almost every 3D CAD vendor includes some form of
Vendors
rendering tool, often part of a premium bundling.
Luxion KeyShot, Bunkspeed HyperShot, Autodesk Chaos Group V-RAY, V-RAY RT. Next Limit Maxwell,
Showcase, VRED, 3ds Max, Optis Theia-RT, Cinema4D, OTOY Octane, Nvidia Iray, Lightworks Iray+,
Blender, RTT Deltagen, Mental Ray. AMD FireRender.

V4 JUNE 2015 - DEVELOP3D.COM - SPECIAL REPORT: VISUALISATION

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 SPONSORED BY:
KEYSHOT 6: SNEAK PEEK AT WHAT’S
IN STORE FOR THE NEXT RELEASE
L H
uxion is releasing details of its
up coming KeyShot 6 release.
Due for launch just as this
report goes to press, KeyShot 6 looks
to bring a wide range of updates, new
tools and more functionality.
It looks like the heavy focus is on
building out the capabilities to develop
more complex materials, specifically
with new tools to build up layered
materials using a node-based editor.
Elsewhere on the materials front,
labels looks to get a boost with the
ability to apply materials over labels.
Finally for materials, you’ll be able
to add animation characteristics to
materials as well.
When it comes to geometry
wrangling, there looks to be a new
set of tools to help split up geometry
into different portions, saving you
Real-time renderers
mation
The real-time renderer often combines elements of
in the
other system types we’ve discussed, but does some
ering
clever things to assist with performance and removing
s into
the need to calculate each scene.
pically
ows or Both Showcase and VRED from Autodesk let you bake
textures, shadows and lighting conditions into your
scene, then manipulate on screen. This is perfect
tream
for high-quality display systems in a design review
few
environment.
e).
Pros: Lightning fast display (once you’ve done the
its your
heavy computation).
d to.
quired.
Cons: Experimentation with materials is limited
without a recompute.
xwell,
+, Autodesk Showcase and Autodesk VRED.
VIZ_REPORT.indd 5
having to do the work in your 3D
design system before moving to the
rendering stage.
The new interior lighting mode
will be a boon for those working at
the architectural scale looking to take
advantage of HDRi environments but
focussing on interior shots. There’s
also been some work done to support
other architectural workflows, such
as a new Len Shift control as well
as panorama animation from the
camera.
Finally (and we’re sure there’s more
to come), you’ve now got the ability to
perform a region render. Rather than
computing an entire frame, you’ll be
able to select a region from the UI
and have the system focus all of its
computation power on that area.
■ keyshot.com
Cloud & Web-based Renderers
You’ve always been able to hook your renderer up to a
local cluster - now the cloud gives you the same ability
without the heavy investment costs. We’ve yet to see
too much action on the cloud-based rendering front,
but it’s coming.
Lagoa made a big splash, then went quiet. Autodesk
has implemented it across much of its portfolio and
others should follow. If they don’t, there’s always third
party render farms for the big projects.
Pros: Quicker calculation of heavy projects.
Cons: Cost per frame could quickly rack up.
Lagoa, Autodesk, OTOY Octane + many third party
render farms will give you many of the benefits.
SPECIAL REPORT: VISUALISATION - DEVELOP3D.COM - JUNE 2015 V5
SPECIAL REPORT: VISUALISATION
HDR LIGHT STUDIO 5: MORE
POWER, MORE FLEXIBILITY
DR image-based lighting has revolutionised
the rendering world, giving us realistic
and controllable lighting conditions in a
snap. For those that want to push things further,
Lightmap’s HDR Light Studio gives you all the tools
you need to adapt stock images, create lighting
environments from scratch and to dial in those
highlights and reflections.
The 5.0 release brings a new full screen UI,
integrated live previews of both the standard preview
and your own models and much more. You can also
adapt lighting in the UI without having to re-render
the whole scene. There’s also been work done on
handling presets, making them more flexible and
much easier to both create and reuse.
There are integrations to all the usual suspects, such
as 3ds Max, Maya, Rhino, VRED and Modo, giving
you much tighter control over your workflow. Failing
that, more systems than ever are adding HDR image
support, which gives you an extra level of control.
■ lightmap.co.uk
OCTANEVR - OTOY LAUNCHES
VR APP & COMPETITION
O
toy, developer of the Octane rendering engine,
has launched OctaneVR, specially developed to
help create assets for today’s growing range of VR
headsets. rfix, the oldest UK manufacturer of scale plastic
model kits, has been using reality capture for the first time
in the development of key models in the 2015 range.
The company celebrated the launch by announcing
a competition with more $75,000 of prizes for the
best rendering use of its technology. Judges for
the competition include Oculus CTO and games
development legend, John Carmack.
■ otoy.com
29/05/2015 21:11
 SPECIAL REPORT: VISUALISATION SPONSORED BY:

RENDERING HARD From laptop to desktop, render node to render farm, Greg Corke
gives a back to basics guide to buying hardware for rendering

» Rendering loves CPU cores. More = better » For workstations GHz is also important » Intel Hyper-threading boosts performance
» Desktop workstations go up to 72 cores » ECC memory protects against crashes » Distributed rendering for fastest results

THE BASICS : Rendering absolutely
hammers the processor so the CPU is
arguably the most important component
when choosing rendering hardware.
Each CPU features multiple processors
(called cores). The more cores you have,
the faster the render. As a rule of thumb,
doubling the number of cores halves the
rendering time.
The GHz of the CPU is also important.
To get a rough idea of comparative
performance of chips from the same family
of CPUs, multiply the GHz by the number
of cores. However, when choosing a CPU
for a workstation, don’t forget a high GHz
processor is essential for general system
performance (Operating System, CAD and
3D graphics). Therefore, it is important to
find the right balance i.e. do not choose a
CPU with lots of cores but a very low GHz.
Most (but not all) workstation-class CPUs
feature Intel Hyper-threading (HT), a virtual
core technology that turns each physical CPU
core into two virtual cores. So a quad core
processor with HT actually has eight virtual
cores (or threads). HT can boost rendering
performance by up to 15% so it’s an important
consideration when choosing a CPU.
Memory is also critical. Go for ECC
memory to protect against crashes (you don’t
want your overnight renders to fail). N.B. ECC
is only available on Intel Xeon, not Intel Core.
Adding more GB won’t make your render
go faster. Instead, just ensure you have
enough to handle complex scenes. If you
run out of memory, rendering data will need
to be moved in and out of hard drive swap
space, which can be slow. Use fast Solid State
Drives (SSDs) to move data quickly.
The GPU is only used for interactive
3D graphics in most rendering software.
However, a growing number can use the
GPU for rendering (e.g. V-Ray RT, Nvidia Iray,
Lightworks Iray+ and AMD FireRender).
THE OPTIONS : You can render on pretty
much any type of laptop or desktop computer
but choose a workstation-class machine as
the components and cooling are designed
specifically for compute intensive workloads.
Laptops typically peak at 4 CPU cores and
32GB RAM so are best suited to entry-level
rendering.
Those serious about rendering will need a
desktop workstation. These come with one or
two CPUs, each with multiple CPU cores.
Single CPU workstations feature anywhere
from 2 to 18 cores and up to 256GB RAM.
Dual CPU workstations have anywhere
from 8 to 36 cores and up to 1TB RAM.
For hardcore users, distributed rendering
takes rendering to a whole new level. It
shares render jobs across multiple networked
computers. This can be an ad hoc network
of workstations or a dedicated render farm
with 10s or 100s of render nodes, each with
dozens of CPU cores.

WAYS Mobile workstations Single CPU desktop workstations Dual CPU desktop workstations D

TO
Mobile workstations are fine for occasional renders,
but if you hammer your machine for hours a day you
will probably be better served by a desktop.
Most machines feature mobile CPUs — Intel Core i5 or
Core i7 with 2 or 4 cores. Some support Intel Hyper-
threading, others do not, so read the specs carefully.
Eurocom does specialist laptops with desktop Intel
Single processor workstations come with a massive With support for up to 36 cores (72 threads) in total Rende
choice of CPUs from 2 to 18 cores, but most machines and buckets of RAM, dual processor workstations are hours to
only go up to 8. These include the Intel Core i5 and for those who take their design visualisation seriously. rende
Core i7 (which are also found in desktop PCs) as well rende
as the more workstation-focused Intel Xeon. Everything centres on the Intel Xeon E5-2600 v3 Typ
series CPUs, but don’t get obsessed with maxing out
break
Unlike the Tier One workstation manufacturers some the cores. The top-end 18 core Xeon chip only runs each p
of the smaller specialist firms overclock their Core i7 at 2.30 GHz whereas the 10, 12, or 14 core chips go
chips. CPUs with up to 8 cores run at a clocks speeds significantly higher, which is important for general Dist

RENDER
Xeon CPUs (up to 12 cores), but these hefty machines up to 4.5GHz. This can be a compelling combination system performance. The high-end chips are also when
are not particularly mobile. for design viz with performance to rival some entry- eye wateringly expensive so check out some of the configu
level to mid range dual CPU machines. lower end models and find a happy medium. to

(Entry) Intel Core i7 4790K (4C) (overclocked to 4.4GHz)

(Entry) Intel Core i7 4710MQ (4C) (2.5GHz-3.5GHz)
Recommended
(Mid-range) Intel Core i7 4910MQ (4C) (2.9GHz-3.9GHz)
components
(High-end) Intel Xeon E5-2697 v2 (12C) (2.7GHz-3.5GHz)
(Entry) Intel Xeon E5-2640 v3 (8C) (2.6GHz-3.4GHz) Netw
(Mid-range) Intel Xeon E5-1680 v3 (8C) (3.2GHz-3.8GHz)
(Mid-range) Intel Xeon E5-2687W v3 (10C) (3.1GHz-3.5GHz) manag
or Intel Core i7 5960X (8C) (overclocked to 4.2GHz)
(High-end) Intel Xeon E5-2697 v3 (14C) (2.6GHz-3.6GHz) re
(High-end) Xeon E5-2697 v3 (14C) (2.6GHz-3.6GHz)

Lenovo ThinkStation P500, Dell Precision T5810, HP Z440, Dell Precision T7810 & T7910, HP Z640 & Z840, Exam
HP ZBook 15, HP ZBook 17, Dell Precision M4800,
Recommended Fujitsu Celsius M740, Workstation Specialists WS-X180, Lenovo ThinkStation P700 & P900, Fujitsu CELSIUS Luxi
Dell Precision M6800, Lenovo ThinkPad W541,
machines Scan 3XS GW-HT10 and 3XS GW-HT20, R940, Armari Magnetar X36H-AW1275H4, Workstation The F
Fujitsu CELSIUS H730, EUROCOM Panther 5D. Specialists WS-E2180, InterPro E200HWE. Ph
Overclockers RENDA M-H7F, BOXX APEXX 2 3402.

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RDWARE GPU RENDERING

AN ALTERNATIVE TO CPUs

Most renderers rely on the CPU to do the number crunching.

RENDERING PERFORMANCE While this is unlikely to change any time soon, momentum is

HOW DIFFERENT PROCESSORS STACK UP
Time taken to render scene in 3ds Max in a variety of desktop and mobile workstations tested in
DEVELOP3D from 2012 to 2015. Comparisons are of workstations and on different releases of
3ds Max, but should give a good indication of relative performance of CPUs.
Read the full reviews at develop3d.com/workstations
54 2 x Xeon E5-2698 v3 (16C, 32T) (2.3GHz-3.6GHz) InterPro E200HWE Oct-14
65 2 x Xeon E5-2667 v3 (8C, 16T) (3.2GHz-3.6GHz) HP Z620 Jan-15
66 2 x Xeon E5-2687W v3 (10C, 20T) (3.1GHz-3.5GHz) Lenovo Thinkstation P900 Feb-15
79 2 x Xeon E5-2687W (8C, 16T) (3.1GHz-3.8GHz) Dell Precision T7600 Oct-12
108 2 x Xeon E5-2667 (6C, 12T) (2.9GHz-3.5GHz) HP Z820 Jul-13
111 Core i7 5960X (8C, 16T) (overclocked 4.2GHz) Scan 3XS GW-HT20 Feb-15
129 2 x Xeon E5-2640 (6C, 12T) (2.5GHz-3.0GHz) Lenovo ThinkStation C30 Jan-13
148 Core i7 3930K (6C, 12T) (overclocked 4.4GHz) Scan 3XS Feb-12
214 Core i7-3720QM (4C, 8T) (2.6GHz-3.6GHz) Lenovo ThinkPad W530 May-13
growing for physically-based rendering technologies that use the
Graphics Processing Unit (GPU) instead of the CPU.
Not surprisingly, most of the developments in this space are being
driven by the GPU manufacturers: Nvidia and AMD.
By the end of the year Nvidia Iray or Iray+ (developed by Lightworks)
will be available for a broad range of applications including: Catia,
SolidWorks Industrial Designer, Bunkspeed Shot, Maya, 3ds Max, Rhino,
Cinema 4D, and Siemens NX.
The progressive rendering technology uses Nvidia CUDA and runs on
Nvidia GPUs (Quadro, GeForce or Tesla). It scales well across multiple
CPUs (the more CUDA cores, the better). High-end workstations typically
host up to three high-end Nvidia GPUs.
Iray can be distributed across networked machines using Iray Server.
A number of hardware manufacturers make rackmounted GPU servers
which can be turned into GPU render farms. Nvidia has its own GPU render
farm — the Quadro Visual Computing Appliance (VCA) — that features eight
high-end Quadro GPUs. Multiple VCAs can be combined together.
Meanwhile, AMD FireRender is a new GPU renderer optimised for AMD
FirePro cards (although it can run on most GPUs and CPUs as it uses the
OpenCL platform). It is currently in alpha stage of development. Initial
integration will be for 3ds Max with other applications to follow.
AMD FirePro Ultra Workstations feature up to four high-end FirePro
GPUs. AMD FirePro S-Series GPUs are found in a wide range of rackmount
servers, blade servers and PCIe expansion chassis from vendors including
HP, Tyan, Supermicro, Asus and Gigabyte.
■ nvidia.com/iray ■ lightworks-iray.com ■ fireprographics.com

215 Core i5 4670K (4C, 4T) (overlocked 4.2GHz) Scan 3XS GW-MT15 Jul-13

233 Xeon E5-1630 v3 (4C, 8T) (3.7GHz-3.8GHz) Lenovo ThinkStation P500 Feb-15

244 Core i7-4800MQ (4C, 8T) (2.7GHz-3.7GHz) Dell Precision M6800 Mar-14

299 Core i7 4702HQ (4C, 8T) (2.2GHz-3.2GHz) Dell Precision M3800 Mar-14

309 Core i5-4570 (4C, 4T) (3.2GHz-3.6GHz) Fujitsu Celsius W530 Dec-13

316 Xeon E3-1225v2 (4C, 4T) (3.2GHz-3.6GHz) HP Z220 Jan-13

551 Core i7 4600U (2C, 4T) (2.1GHz-3.3GHz) HP ZBook 14 Mar-14

Supermicro GPU workstation

RENDER IN THE CLOUD

With cloud rendering you don’t have to pay for expensive
rendering hardware up front. You simply rent time on a render farm
in the cloud. The pay-per-use model suits firms that only render
ns Distributed / network rendering Render farms / clusters occasionally or whose rendering demands are huge or come in peaks
and troughs (i.e. when project deadlines are looming).
total Rendering is computationally intensive and it can take Render farms are typically for firms that are serious Cloud rendering services typically have 1,000s of CPU cores behind
ns are hours to render a scene on a single machine. Distributed about rendering. They consist of a dedicated them so can be very quick. This makes them particularly attractive
iously. rendering can help get results back faster by sharing cluster of networked computers designed for the for rendering multi-frame animations. A fast Internet connection is a
rendering jobs with multiple machines on a network. sole purpose of rendering complex scenes. Each must as uploading rendering assets to the cloud can take time. Some
0 v3 Typically, users submit jobs to a ‘master’, which computer in the render farm is called a node and
ng out services allow you to store assets permanently in the cloud so you
breaks up the rendering job into portions and sends there can be hundreds of nodes.
y runs don’t need to re-upload materials every time you submit a render.
each part to ‘slaves’ on the network to be processed.
ps go Render farms are typically built from rackmounted Jobs can be submitted directly from the app (with a plug-in) FTP or
neral Distributed rendering is often done out of hours, servers or desktop ‘towers’. Workstation Specialists via a file sharing service like dropbox.
also when machines are sat idle, but ‘slaves’ can also be and BOXX also offer small form factor deskside There are a whole host of cloud rendering services available. For
of the configured for ‘low priority’ so they remain responsive render nodes that sit on top of a workstation. CAD, the best known is probably Cloud Rendering in Autodesk A360,
m. to the end user. It is best suited to large jobs. Multiple units can be stacked on top of each other.
which works with a variety of Autodesk products.
There are plenty to choose from for V-Ray, Maxwell, mental ray,
4GHz) Network rendering requires specialist software to (Entry) 1 deskside render node (2 x Intel Xeon) Cinema 4D and 3ds Max, while KeyShot users have 3d-off-the-page
3.5GHz) manage the render jobs. It is only available for certain (Mid-range) Rack servers. 8 nodes total (16 x Intel Xeon) (3dotp.com). There are also a handful of GPU-accelerated cloud
6GHz) renderers. You will also need a fast network. (High-end) Rack servers. 32 nodes total (64 x Intel Xeon)
render services for Iray. rentrender.com has a comprehensive list.
Cloud rendering is unlikely to spell the end for rendering on
40, Examples of apps that support network rendering: Render node manufacturers: workstations any time soon, but there is a trend to make the transition
LSIUS Luxion KeyShot; Autodesk 3ds Max (Backburner); BOXX, Workstation Specialists, Fujitsu, Dell, HP, more seamless. Fujitsu, for example, is in the process of introducing a
station The Foundry Modo; Chaos Group V-Ray; SolidWorks InterPro, Lenovo, Boston, Armari, SuperMicro, Tyan,
. PhotoView 360, Maxwell Render, Cinema 4D. Asus, Gigabyte. ‘burst out’ capability for its workstation customers that will give them
access to High Performance Computing (HPC) hardware on demand.

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ANATOMY OF A
RENDER
Photorealism is readily achievable with most software solutions.
All it needs is an understanding of the core components

HDRI
High Dynamic Range images
(HDRi) capture a greater
spectrum of light than standard
images — enabling the intensity
of that light to be reused in
rendering. They’ll also give you
excellent starting points for
adding context. They’re widely
available from a variety of
sources too.

DEPTH OF REFLECTIONS SHADOWS

FIELD
Depth of Field is a long used
photography method of focusing
on the details you want to
highlight. Out of focus items
that appear blurred also add an
extra layer of realism.
& HIGHLIGHTS
One of the advantages of using
High Dynamic Range images as the
lighting and environment source for
your scenes is that you’ll get realistic
reflections that match your lighting
conditions, for free.
MAKE IT
The combination of lighting and
the resultant shadows can make
or break a rendering. Getting the
lighting right creates the correct
shadows and the two stitch the
whole thing together nicely.

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EMISSIVE
MATERIALS
Given today’s wealth of electronic
components, emissive materials
are one of the key factors in getting
your renders correct. Rather than
trying to bodge a light in place, these
give you greater control over form,
strength/luminance and
colour as they are applied
to geometry directly.

BLOOM
Often found in your render
settings, bloom produces
fringes of light extending from
the borders of bright areas in
an image, contributing to the
illusion of an extremely bright
light overwhelming the camera
or eye capturing the scene.

DECALS & SHARP EDGE

LABELS ROUNDING
While materials and textures A lot of renderers now give you
give your parts their holistic a sharp edge rounding option.
look, decals and labels are the This will soften hard edges
method of adding those extra to make them appear more
details that really make your realistic as they mimic how light
image pop and add context. bounces off these forms in the
real world.

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Ford Focus interior created using

the physically based real-world
materials available in Iray+

MATERIAL GAINS
Dave Coldron of Lightworks presents the latest trends in materials and
shaders for physically-based renderers, including Iray+

P
hysically-based rendering is a hot
topic in product development.
Unlike the biased renderers used
for Hollywood special effects,
physically-based renderers are very easy to
use. This makes them perfect for designers
and engineers who want a simple way to
accurately visualise how a product will look
in the real world.
Materials play a critical role. The big
advantage is that, as you can define them to
be physically accurate, there’s no eyeballing,
there’s no fiddling with controls. You create
a material, say brushed aluminium, and, as
long as it is set-up correctly, you don’t have to
edit it at all, unless you want a very specific
effect, such as an oxidisation layer on top.
In many cases the manufacturers of the
physical materials also produce accurate
rendering materials for designers to use.
So rather than trying to make your own steel
material, you specify the type of material
you’re using, then download it off the
manufacturer’s website — or at least the
data you’d need to create it.
MEASURED MATERIALS
The interesting thing here is that it can
extend beyond the visual properties of
the material. You can encode all kinds of
information into the material that CAD
and PLM systems can reuse, such as tensile
strength — all those non-optical properties.
You can also link it to finishing processes
in the manufacturing stage so you could
start with an aluminium with measured
data, then specify the brushed finish, a clear
coat — and represent that in the material
as both an instruction to manufacturing as
well as visualisation. It’s an interesting area,
but it’s one that’s not been addressed yet.
I do think this will happen, but it needs
to be driven by two sides. The first is that
the manufacturer has to be willing to give
out that data. The second, is that the CAD
systems need to support it by being able to
read these descriptions.
In Nvidia’s Iray and our own physically-
based rendering technology, Iray+ (which is
built on Nvidia’s Iray) you’ve got materials
that can represent the whole of the lighting
equation in terms of properties. You can
encode and create a material that looks
exactly like it would in the real world.
The other approach is to measure the
materials. Companies like X-rite, which
produce huge machines that cost more than

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a semi detached house in Sheffield,

measure the optical properties in full.
You can then take that data and use it
to generate your materials.
It’s an area we’re exploring at
Lightworks as it gives you a highly
accurate representation of reflectance
properties so there’s absolutely no
need for you to change the material
at all.
The downside is that there is no
standard at the moment for encoding
that data, so each company that has
a measurement machine to sell will
have a proprietary format. They
don’t see it being in their interest to
have a standard, as the data would be
interchangeable between systems and
they’d lose their exclusivity.
Iray+ can take data from X-rite 1
and represent it to give you a superb
representation. At present there are
not many people using this method.
They are mostly car manufacturers
and they’ll use this for automotive
interiors, so they can see exactly how
much light is reflected inside the
vehicle. They’ll also use it for paint
finishes so they have that absolute
representation for design review.

THE INEVITABLE CAVEATS

There are some caveats to these
technologies. The measurement
machines are prone to errors. They
measure the materials in a 180
degree arc, they shine a light on it,
and measure the light reflected at
each angle in that arc. The problem
is that when you get to very shallow
angles (one or two degrees) or at 90
2
degrees, you may get errors, and have
to correct the recorded values. None of reflectance characteristics. So you for material creation. ●1 Measured material -

of that has been standardised yet, but
it’s going to be a big growth area.
To create an easy to use API in Iray+
we’ve added a layer on top of the Iray
API and simplified a lot of standard
things you need to make integration
easy for software vendors.
The other big area is how materials
are defined. We use MDL (Material
Definition Language) from Nvidia.
It is open and it’s an abstraction
layer, so you define the material and
the graphic system interprets it how
it needs to — the idea being that
you could use it in any system that
supported it.
A number of key applications have
already provided support for MDL
and I think others will follow.
At Lightworks we’ve taken a novel
approach to material editing. We
have created a set of components that
are standard and reusable blobs of
MDL that represent different types
can take a standard MDL component
to create a glossy surface, sub
surface scattering, a matt or steel for
instance.
To give this some context, generally
with graphics systems, developers
provide huge shaders requiring
an unwieldy interface, which has
everything, including the kitchen
sink.
The user simply ticks on the bit
he or she wants, say an anisotropic
reflection, where you get elongated
highlights (such as brushed metal)
and adds on some sub-surface
scattering.
For Iray+ we’ve made things
simple. You build up a material with
components, rather than picking
effects from a monolithic list. We’ve
defined our components in terms of
classes; geometry, base, coating and
surface. The idea is to present the
user with a real world mental model
To create a car paint material for
example, you might start off with a
metal surface, add an undercoat layer,
then a paint layer with perhaps some
flake, then a clear coat layer on top.
You can then go in and add
additional layers such as dust and dirt
if you want to. So, instead of getting
involved in huge shaders that use
arcane language, you’re actually just
building materials up as you would in
the real world.
With designers and engineers
primarily being in the business of
designing and engineering, we see
this as critical.
Visualisation should be a simple
process from start to finish and
by making it easy to work with
materials, physically-based
rendering can become even more
tightly integrated into the product
development workflow.
■ lightworks-iray.com
car paint - in Iray+
●2 The additional
Fresnel layer creates
the reflections in this
version
About the author: As
the Lightworks’ Product
Director, Dave has specific
responsibility for the
development of Iray+ and
its use in applications and
plug-ins. With over 20 years’
experience in developing
integrated systems for the
computer graphics industry
Dave knows how to create
applications that support the
design workflow; focusing on
the use of compelling digital
content, interactive design
and the user experience.

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DESIGN VIZ & VR/AR

THE NEXT FRONTIER?
Virtual Reality in the design and engineering realm has traditionally been seen as
the preserve of the large multinationals. Will today’s consumer VR devices bring it
to the masses in the professional space? Al Dean explores the potential

W
ith almost anyone
with even the most
cursory knowledge
of rendering and
visualisation able to
create high quality
images and animations, the barriers to
photorealism have broken down.
However, we’re still pretty much stuck
with same display technology that we
had back at the dawn of the computing
revolution. Yes, the CRT tubes have gone,
replaced with sleeker, larger and higher-res
LCD or LED displays, but we’re still seeing
everything in two dimensions. And that
kind of sucks.
Enter Virtual Reality. Those with
memories long enough will remember
the days when VR and immersive headsets
1
promised the world — Lawnmower Man,
anyone? It came and it went in the late 90s. And the costs are affordable. $300 will The process is far from simple. The data
VR has remained in the higher echelons get you a decent headset which then be from your CAD system is typically way
of the engineering sector, where OEMs in plugged into a high-powered graphics too heavy to be used, so there are a lot of
automotive and aerospace design use it for workstation. The problem is the design intermediary steps that need to be taken
advanced design review. After all, who else visualisation software isn’t quite there yet. that require skill and experience.
has quarter of a million quid to spend on a At present, we’ve only come across a
fully immersive CAVE with motion tracking VENDOR LAG IS THE BARRIER handful of vendors that are building a
and stereographic display units? As mainstream immersive display VR display capability directly into their
This is all changing now. Driven by the technology is so new, most design visualisation tools.
consumer market, specifically Web-based 3D model hosting
games and augmented reality  service, SketchFab (sketchfab.
(which combines 3D display The most important factor is that any com) recently introduced a display
with the real world), there mode that allows you to turn the
has been a huge resurgence technologies used have highly effective display into Oculus mode. Strap
of interest and activity in the and robust software that is seamlessly on a pair of goggles, add a suffix to
subject. embedded into the work flow practice to the URL and away you go.
Whether you take a look “What SketchFab offers is
at the new products from
improve accuracy and solve a business basically a virtual scene in
Microsoft (the HoloLens) problem. Stuart Hetherington, Holovis which you can put anything,
or the Oculus Rift (a start
up acquired by Facebook
 and this scene can be embedded
anywhere,” explains SketchFab’s
for a whopping $100 million) or Google’s visualisation software developers don’t CEO, Alban Denoyel. “We added a VR
Cardboard project, there is a lot of activity readily support it. mode so that every upload on SketchFab
around immersive display devices. So There are several ways to get your data can be consumed in VR, by simply walking
shouldn’t we be taking advantage of them? from your visualisation tools into a format through this web-hosted scene with a VR
The short answer is yes. There is huge ready for VR but many of them centre on device. Being able to visit them in VR adds
potential take these consumer focused exporting the data and using the games a tonne of value compared to simply playing
devices and use them to visualise your platform development tool, Unity, to create with it with your mouse on a web page.
product concepts in full, immersive 3D. the app to run. “We are now working on animation

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 SPONSORED BY: SPECIAL REPORT: VISUALISATION

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VR & AR: FOUR DEVICES THAT COULD CHANGE VISUALISATION

OCULUS RIFT: While they’re still at the
development stage, the Oculus VR headsets
are available and a development kit can be
picked up pretty reasonably at around 300
quid. Let’s see what happens post Facebook.
MICROSOFT HOLOLENS: Just announced,
but the HoloLens is already creating a
buzz. The idea that you could have OS level
integration of augmented reality along with
3D display is getting a lot of folks fired up.
GOOGLE CARDBOARD: Say whatever you
like about the company, Google does things
interestingly. The Cardboard project is an
ultra lost cost way to strap a smart phone to
your head and get immersive.
FIREFLY VR: There’s a range of devices that
turn your smartphone into a VR viewer (such
as the Google Cardboard to the left). The
FireFly VR device does the same — without
the cardboard

high-end rendering system, VRED, same way we do with our larger

gained Oculus support with the scale VR systems,” he says. “Having
2015 release and this has been said that, it doesn’t mean that there
improved on for the forthcoming isn’t a place for VR headsets in
2016 release. (Note: Only the Pro certain industries. These systems
variant supports Oculus). See the provide a highly cost effective and
box out below to see how to get it up easily portable approach to data
and running. visualisation when managed and
With both Oculus and Microsoft used in the right way.
HoloLens shipping official products “At the moment it is the
2 soon, application support is sure multinational corporations that are
to grow in the next 12 months, leading the way with investment
●1 Microsoft’s vision support to let you publish even possibly in the workhorse tools we and adoption of the larger-scale
for the HoloLens’ use more advanced VR scenes and use each day. However, just because immersive systems, however as
in the professional
experiments,” adds Denoyel. VR technology is set to hit the technology evolves, the challenges
space. Augmented
reality a go go SketchFab is integrated with a mainstream, it is important not to over scale, immersion and the
●2 SketchFab range of 3D creation tools including get ahead of ourselves. Using VR human factors will be resolved
introduced Oculus (3ds Max, Photoshop, Blender, 3D effectively in design and engineering to deliver viable solutions at
support recently. Add scanning applications and game is far more involved than simply an achievable price point. The
“/embed?oculus=2”
to the model’s URL to engines like Unity). According to viewing a design model with an most important factor is that any
switch it on Denoyel, this makes it one of the immersive headset. technologies used have highly
easiest and most straightforward Stuart Heatherington at one of effective and robust software that is
ways to publish VR content. the UK’s leading VR specialists, seamlessly embedded into the work
Autodesk is also investing in this HoloVis (holovis.com), offers a flow practice to improve accuracy
space. The company has a wealth little perspective, “With the re- and solve a business problem.
of knowledge in the game and CGI immergence of VR headsets, we “In all situations end users need
market and some of that is now don’t see these devices as giving the to look at the use cases and be clear
trickling down to its industrial- same flexibility in data manipulation about what they are trying to do and
focused applications. The company’s and group decision making in the what they want to achieve.”

WORKFLOW: GETTING OCULUS RIFT DK2 RUNNING IN VRED PRO

●1 While it’s still at the development stage, ●2 Once your hardware is set-up (it's a case ● 3 The next step is to set up VRED for the ●4 Strap the device on your head and marvel
the Oculus VR headsets are available and of plugging it in, and connecting a HDMI cable display. Get your scene ready, textured and at how simple that was. That’s probably 15
a development kit can be picked up pretty and USB lead to your machine), get your scene lit. Then find the Oculus VR setting from the grand’s worth of consulting 10 years ago. And
reasonably on ebay — it’s pretty plug and play. reading in VRED (you'll need the Pro version). View/Display/Oculus Rift menu option. you did it in minutes.

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CRUNCHING
SKULLS

The Skullcandy Grind

headphone with a low
profile, classic design

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 SPONSORED BY: SPECIAL REPORT: VISUALISATION

G
S
Skullcandy is one of the market leaders in audio equipment.
Dave Vogt and Seth Richardson from the firm’s Advanced
Concept Design Studio share the secrets behind its viz process

A
t Skullcandy we work in such a fast paced
market, so 3D rendering and visualisation
is the only answer when it comes to
generating quick and accurate imagery for
new product launches, rotating colour-
ways, and custom SKUs.
Being able to prep and align all our departments, from
marketing to packaging to digital to retail, is key to a
successful product launch, and being able to produce
product visuals months before actually having physical
samples in hand is one of the keys to this alignment.
Working through product updates is also a massive
benefit of generating visuals on a digital platform.
Anyone in product development knows that last minute
changes (whether it be in engineering or manufacturing)
can sometimes completely change the accuracy of
previously generated visuals and assets.
If it’s new part geometry, or changing the
materialisation and finish of a component… being able to
open a 3D file and modify within minutes is a countless
time saver vs. any combination of photography or post
production modification.
Aside from static assets, 3D animation and motion
graphics adds another level of product and brand
representation that you just can’t physically do via
standard photography and videography.
Currently we use renders from top to bottom
throughout the company’s infrastructure. Our Industrial
Design team uses 3D visuals to pitch new concepts and
functionality, including but not limited to photorealistic
imagery, computer animations, and even motion
graphics. Our Mechanical Engineering team uses some
lightweight 3D rendering to help communicate design
issues with both the internal Product Development
team, as well as the factory and supplier teams. But then
it spreads out to other departments that aren’t directly
related to the product development process.
Our Creative team of graphic designers uses these
assets for all branding imagery for print, web, and
electronic distribution. Our Packaging team uses the
images on all retail boxes to showcase the product, as well
as educate the consumer on specific product features and
SKDY tech in each model.
When it comes to marketing, our images are used
on pretty much any advertisements we generate.
High-resolution generation is great for larger assets
like banners, billboards, or vinyl wraps on vehicles
and buildings. The same imagery is also used in the
Skullcandy web-store, as well as by online retailers and
resellers. The same can be said for social media and
these images are used for product promotion, as well as
education around new product launches or collaborations

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 SPECIAL REPORT: VISUALISATION SPONSORED BY:

with industry partners. name for the product colour, then added to someone needs imagery.
Finally, our rendered assets are used to help a pass group. By using pass groups we can This can be time consuming as needs are
our training team showcase new product then duplicate the original materials for always different for resolution and format.
to our in-store retail associates and product the next product variation and add it to a We pitch a lot of different combinations
reps all around the world and of course, used separate pass. of physical product, combined with
on all point of purchase displays (POP) and The result is a very readable system. Even countless colours, patterns, graphics, and
video assets played on listening stations. if someone else opens the file they will easily materialisations.
be able to navigate it and figure out what Being able to quickly, and accurately, mock
GETTING THE JOB DONE they are doing. We will also start doing up the endless options helps us as a group
We use Modo for rendering and the starting UV mapping at this point for anything that narrow down the directions we want to pursue
point involves importing the CAD data into needs something more robust than standard in the product lineup. This significantly cuts
Modo. From there, clean-up is done to fix any mappings. down sampling time and development, and
problems with the CAD after conversion. In allows us to externally validate colour-way
most cases all soft areas such as ear pads, and RENDERING FOR DESIGN REVIEW development with test markets before we
any other cushions are remodelled by hand For review and initial presentation we use commit to physical products.
in Modo to give it an organic feeling that a preview render from Modo that takes
you just don’t get in CAD. We also add all seconds to get a good image for reviewing. CHALLENGES OF BIG PRODUCT RANGES
stitching by hand as well. This way, if there are any changes that need We have around 40 different products and
This gives us a lot of flexibility in getting to be made, no time was wasted rendering each product generally will have anywhere
the look we want from the fabric areas. out a full resolution image. from 3 to 5 views associated with it. For
Tension on the headband is also corrected. This allows us to dial in the exact view example, Crusher has 24 variations each
Generally the ear pads are touching when and look we want for each product quickly. requiring 5 views to be rendered for a total of
we receive the CAD and they receive a This is especially important for specialty 120 rendered shots.
4 degree bend in each direction to give views where creative has a vision and we are It’s not uncommon that we do final renders
clearance for the ear pads. working together to reach it. for a product and all its variations, only to
At this point once modelling is done, the have something change on the engineering
lighting is created, using a combination of RENDERING FOR DOWNSTREAM side and have to create a revision.
chrome and black plastic materials combined For packaging needs we render out all views Some products go through several revisions
with HDR Light Studio to get a lighting and colours for the specific product and do before we are happy with them. Grind for
setup. A custom colour checker has also been any corrections in post that are needed. example was a product that went through
developed to ensure that the colours being These then get passed on to packaging many render revisions. For that product
rendered aren’t too bright or too dark, much as 16-bit TIFs in their high res formats. alone we have done probably 200 + renders.
like you would in photography. For a large part of our online assets and Everything from a CAD change, to a colour
After that we switch over to Illustrator and advertising, we use an internal system that change needs to be rendered over as we try to
grab our different product colour layouts and dynamically resizes images allowing for keep the render as true to life as possible.
start creating the textures needed for use in other departments to use them where they We also get requests from other
Modo. For the most part, this just entails need to. departments for specialty views that exist
grabbing images from the guide creative These are also sent to them as high res outside the standard views. We get those
made and saving them out as a PNG. 16-bit TIFs so that each department has high often for big product launches and flagship
From there, we create a base setup for the res imagery if needed. Having this system products. These specialty views can range
materials, look at all our colours for the on the backend greatly reduces the amount from close ups to detail shots of certain
product then start assigning materials to of work we have to do after rendering as we features we really want to showcase.
each part. This then gets grouped using a no longer have to hand deliver whenever ■ skullcandy.com ■ lightmap.com ■ thefoundry.co.uk

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 SPONSORED BY: SPECIAL REPORT: VISUALISATION

PRO TIPS: KEEPING YOUR

VISUALISATION GAME STRONG
DAVE VOGT, MANAGER, ADVANCED CONCEPT DESIGN:
I keep things fresh by always building my own texture/spec/
bump map assets. Even if it’s something I can easily pull from
online libraries, it keeps my 2D skills sharp, and it allows for
easy adjustment and manipulation should you need it down
the road.
As far as tips and tricks go… always fillet every edge! No
matter how small, rounding every line helps with edge
definition and really pops parting lines and material transitions.
Especially in those tricky close up detail shots. Fillets!!


No matter how small, rounding
every line helps with edge definition
and really pops parting lines and
material transitions


SETH RICHARDSON, ADVANCED
CONCEPT DESIGN: For creating
photo-real images you need photo-
real assets. Whenever we get
samples in, whether it be leather
or fabric, I take it straight to our
high res scanner and use it as a
base image to create a high quality
tillable image map at 4k.
Another trick I use to make sure
my renders are as realistic as
possible is I will photograph the
product in a light tent then view
it on my system. This gives you a
much different look at what photo
real actually is. It lets you see
details you might miss looking at
something in your hand. Everything
from small imperfections to little
distortions on painted surfaces.
These are all important in a final
shot as they add up to creating
something that looks realistic.
Never use the same light setup
across products, each one is
unique and has areas that react to
light better (Chrome, for example).
You want to make your images pop
and catch the eye. A trick I like to
use for this if I am reusing an HDRi
asset is to create black strips of
geometry to block light, creating
the look I want on the reflections.
Do your research. What are the
physical values of a plastic material
what is its IOR (Index of Refraction),
what does its fresnel falloff look like?
These need to be recreated faithfully.
The benefit of software today is
you only have to do it once. Create
the material then save a preset for
it that you can simply use later in all
your projects. For all my materials
I look up every detail. All the way
down to each waveform for RGB to
ensure I am as accurate as possible.
Layering your materials is also
a huge part of photorealism. No
material is just simply a colour
with a reflection. They are often
composed of several layers.
Take a brushed steel as an
example. The imperfections
(brushing) in the metal creates a
wide blurry reflection that is often
stretched creating an anisotropic
effect. Then on top of that exists
another layer which gives sharper
reflections back, a clear coating.
Lastly, invest in a high quality
display. You also need to be sure
its colour calibrated. I calibrate
monthly in SRGB to ensure that the
colours I am viewing are as correct
as possible.
This is critical. If your monitor is
too dark or too bright you end up
adjusting based on what you see
which will give you a bad image
especially when someone views
it on a device that is correctly
displaying the render.

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 SPECIAL REPORT: VISUALISATION
MIND OVER MATTER
Sean Hooper of MindOverEye walks through the creation of a recent project
for Inifiniti that saw the ‘digital’ combined with the ‘real’ in order to tell the story
V
isualisation is one of the areas
that we specialise in here
at MindOverEye. When a
client has a product, whether
it’s a consumer electronic
or the latest automotive
offering from a manufacturer, we’re able
to visualise their pre-production data for
use in marketing and PR. This allows
the manufacturer to create a marketing
campaign prior to production models
coming off the line.
THE BRIEF FROM INFINITI
In the case of the Infiniti Beast Within,
Infiniti had a concept car they wanted to show
to the world in a story driven anthem piece.
The story begins with a couple returning
home in the dusk hours. After their Infiniti
Q50s is left for the night in the driveway,
the blood moon causes it to transform into
the Eau Rouge, a 560hp beast. The idea
is that in every Q50s lurks the Eau Rouge.
There was one hitch to the production, only
2 Eau Rouges existed in the world. Neither
of them could be used on set as one was
mechanically an Eau Rouge, but didn’t have
picture car finish, and the other had the
V22 JUNE 2015 - DEVELOP3D.COM - SPECIAL REPORT: VISUALISATION
VIZ_REPORT.indd 22
picture finish, but was inoperable. The only
way we could execute on the piece was to use
a CG Eau Rouge.
The process entails three different phases:
Pre-Production, Production and Post-
Production. Pre-Production consists of
the creative development, animatic, previs,
asset preparation and shoot planning/
preparation. Production encompasses the
shoot and capture of data from set needed
for the Post-Production phase. Lastly, Post-
Production includes the edit, sound, music,
VFX, colour and finishing.
#1: PRE-PRODUCTION
The Pre-Production phase began with the
initial concepts and a storyboard. Once the
creative was locked down with the client
approval, we moved forward with creating
an animatic; taking the storyboards and
sitting with an editor to determine the shot
length utilising just the images from the
storyboards.
Once the timing was approved and an
animatic was created we moved into Previs.
Previs, short for pre-visualisation, is the
process where dummy geometry is used
in 3D to block out animation and camera
SPONSORED BY:
moves for each shot. In effect it creates the
story, angles, timing and a roadmap for
the VFX department of the entire piece.
The resulting video from Previs was then
used as a shot board for production on
set, determining the live action camera
angles and number of shots needed at each
location for the live production team to
acquire.
During the Pre-Production phase our
Asset Preparation team went through the
Eau Rouge CAD data and corrected any
issues that would lead to less than perfect
renders. Any objects that had issues were re-
topologised, UV texture coordinates created
for parts with the carbon fibre texture and
V-Ray materials assigned to the vehicle.
Senior lighting artists use a standard
lighting rig to dial in the materials to
a photo real finish. By using V-Ray, a
physically accurate renderer, we can dial
in materials using a High Dynamic Range
Image (HDRi) of our Photo Studio.
In addition to the HDRi, we use physically
accurate V-Ray lights to mimic our onset
Keno Lights. This rig allows us to create the
practical photo studio lighting in 3ds max,
giving us a real life comparison in 3D.
29/05/2015 21:11
 SPONSORED BY: SPECIAL REPORT: VISUALISATION

#2: PRODUCTION uniformity across all the shots and

The next step in the process is the
Production. During the production a
mule car was used in place of the Eau
Rouge to achieve the proper framing
and focus of the action. A mule car
is a vehicle used as a stand in for a
CG vehicle. Since the wheel base and
primary design of the Q50s and the
Eau Rouge are so similar we were
able to use a Q50s as the mule car.
Tracking markers were attached
to the mule car to help the
matchmoving/tracking process. In
addition to tracking markers the
onset VFX supervisor captured
HDRIs of each of the lighting setups,
measurements of each location,
texture reference and camera data,
all of which are needed for the Post
Production phase.
#3: POST-PRODUCTION
After the live production shoot, the
then creating a look for the piece.
The VFX department works in the
RAW camera colour space so that any
adjustments the Colourist makes to
the raw footage will transfer over to
finished VFX shots.
This process allows the Colourist
a great deal of flexibility to adjust
the look of the piece all the way up
3
through delivery. The footage is then
sent through a process of tracking
and matchmoving.
During this process the 3D Eau
Rouge is matched to the movement of
the mule car captured in the footage.
In addition, 3D cameras that match
the live production camera angles are
generated.
The combination of matchmoving
and tracking allows us to place the 4
Eau Rouge in the same physical
space as the mule car that was shot
on set. combines the final audio and visual ●1 The Infiniti Q50s

Post-Production phase begins. The From there, any secondary pieces together into a finished piece. reveals the beast
within — the Eau
footage is ingested and cut into the animation or effects work begins. Rouge, 560 bhp
edit. At this point, any disparities Lighting artists begin the process A RESULT TO BE PROUD OF ●2 The Eau Rouge
between the previs video and the of matching the car in 3D to each In the end, the Infiniti Beast Within meets its wild
shots captured are worked into the location and shot. Once the lighting anthem piece consisted of 56 visual counterpart on the
road
edit. The disparities are usually due to is finished then the 3D files are effects shots that utilised six software
adaptations needed in the production rendered on a farm of machines packages, 24 artists, two producers, ●3 Behind the scenes
during the meeting
on set to compensate for a multitude designed solely for the purpose of three production coordinators, with of the two beasts
of unknown variables such as location, creating the 2D images from the 3D a runtime of 2 mins 44 secs and all ●4 Matchmoving

lighting, and performances. files. Compositors take the rendered completed within eight weeks. It wireframe overlayed
on the footage to
Once the edit is approved, VFX, images and integrate them into the was the constitution of our crew that ensure the accuracy of
colour, sound design and music can live action shots. pushed through the 14-hour days, 7 the track
all begin. The first step for VFX is the Once the VFX has integrated the days a week to ensure that we created
breaking out and prepping of VFX CG into the footage, it’s then handed a piece that we would all be proud of
shots from the edit. At the same time off to the Colourist to final the visual showcasing.
the Colourist begins work on creating look of the piece. The editor then ■ mindovereye.com ■ chaosgroup.com

SPECIAL REPORT: VISUALISATION - DEVELOP3D.COM - JUNE 2015 V23

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 SPECIAL REPORT: VISUALISATION SPONSORED BY:

TECHNICAL DETAILS
Technomot specialises in large-bore, heavy-duty engines and the firm is gaining
competitive advantage from photorealistic rendering. Its Principal Design
Engineer, Norman Hadley, talks us through the path to using visualisation

L
ike most companies,
Technomot started off
taking the obvious view that
rendering and photorealistic
visualisation are marketing
tools and we did all the usual
things; posters for the wall, a big banner for
our reception area, redesigned our website.
Then we realised that this technology
is not just a marketing tool — it’s a
communication tool.
This led us to using renderings for
internal design reviews. Rather than
looking at the Fisher-Price world of Pro/
Engineer and Creo, where it’s blocky and
fairly crude, we found that if you look at the
same components rendered in Keyshot with
realistic materials, you spot things that you
wouldn’t have previously. Some issues don’t
leap off the screen in CAD, but rendering
brings them to the fore.
For example, if you can show a component
with a cast finish, show where it’s milled or
turned, you immediately spot where there
will be machining issues. We’ve used it in
that sense for some time — for checking
components and assemblies.
We then realised that if we can do this
internally, why not do the same externally?
We’ve created several 360 VRs, that allow
you to spin a rendered model on a tablet or a
phone, and presented these to suppliers or
machinists.
We can show them an interactive 360
degree photorealistic render of a part,
they can work out where the casting forms
are, where machining is needed, where
clamping is needed and the number of
set-ups.
If you gave someone a sheaf of drawings,
they might need two weeks to sort through
them and get a handle on the job at hand
before giving you a quote.
With VR technology, you can be in a
meeting, work through the issues over the
table and get a machining strategy agreed
on the day.
It is communication at a much more
visual, human level. Even if the person
you’re talking to isn’t trained in interpreting
drawings, a photorealistic rendering allows
them to immediately see what it is you’re
trying to achieve.
In our world, we’re dealing with very large
engines. If you imagine a 1.5 litre engine in
a Volkswagen Golf, we’re looking at up to
1,500 litres displacement.
You can imagine the component and
tooling costs involved in, say, a crankcase.
These castings can take a week or two to
cool down at the foundry — they’re huge.
Now imagine the sums of money someone
is going to have to invest before they get a
product they can sell. Giving them an early
appreciation of the product so they can
grasp what it is they’re going to get: that’s
invaluable.
■ technomot.com
■ keyshot.com

Crankcase for a V12

industrial diesel engine,
designed by Technomot

V24 JUNE 2015 - DEVELOP3D.COM - SPECIAL REPORT: VISUALISATION

VIZ_REPORT.indd 24 29/05/2015 21:11

 SPONSORED BY: SPECIAL REPORT: VISUALISATION

Cutaway of a large-bore gas

engine capable of delivering
3,500 horsepower

SPECIAL REPORT: VISUALISATION - DEVELOP3D.COM - JUNE 2015 V25

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 SPECIAL REPORT: VISUALISATION SPONSORED BY:

VISUALISATION
CHALLENGES & THE FUTURE
HENRIK WANN JENSEN
CHIEF SCIENTIST
LUXION
visuals using their 3D data, the
taste for quality and realism
is there and its importance
increasing. Once they were
satisfied with a flat-shaded,
blocky screenshot of the model.
Now, when that model can
just as quickly have physically
accurate materials applied,
lighting dropped in and all
parameters adjusted in real-time,
there’s the expectation of the
creator to provide realism. It’s not
DAVE HUTCHINSON
COO & CEO
LIGHTWORK DESIGN
every aspect of the design and
creative process. Companies are
often surprised at the cost of
high-end visualisation and may
have to balance their aspirations
against budget constraints; if
money is no object then the
technology is available.
Moving forward the challenge
shifts from enhancing the
consumer experience to
making sure companies
have access to high-quality

W 3
hen we first started, isolated to an executive or client D visualisation is visualisation at any point
it was certainly an who is outside of the process. widespread and apparent within their workflow and this
interesting time These are the creators in nearly every aspect means integrating the same
in development of different themselves who want it integrated of our lives; television, film, visualisation technology across
architectures and physically into their process. So, this shows games, product design, their toolset. This will improve
accurate lighting simulation. us directly how important speed architecture, manufacturing design-review timescales,
Real-time rendering was new and accuracy is to them and and sales and marketing. Most save money and remove the
though and Luxion was at the how important it is to deliver users, and consumers, aren’t dependency on costly third
forefront of developing a new way the tools that complement their aware and moreover don’t party bureauxs.
to experience this technology. workflow throughout the design, care whether the visuals they There is a growing trend
We were fortunate to both have development and manufacturing interact with are photographs or towards manufacturers, and
funds for investigating advanced process. computer generated so long as agencies, bringing visualisation
rendering algorithms on future Of course, with this increased they meet their expectations. in-house, enabling their
hardware architectures and to be awareness, seeing how powerful In addition, they’re often workflows with technology that
working closely with Intel and KeyShot is and realising how unaware of the enormous combine real-time interactivity
AMD to ensure we were achieving important visuals can be, creative undertaking and with high-end photoreal
optimal performance on their designers, engineers and 3D design resource that’s visualisation.
new chips. We were focused on professionals require the ability required to generate even the No matter what industry,
the challenges that face the users to deal with massive assemblies, most simple visual. This is the main requirement is the
and those challenges are our multiple configurations and where the challenge lies for combination of interactivity,
challenges to this day. incompatible data sets with the visualisation industry — scalability and material
Many companies realise the speed and accuracy within their meeting the growing demand workflow, which saves time,
importance of visualisation more existing workflow or company- for quick, cheap, easily created money and inevitably enhances
and more, but many are not wide processes, processes from high-quality visuals. the final experience.
aware of what’s possible. A recent 3D printing to PLM and digital Consumers’ expectations have What the leading companies are
report captured that only 37% mock-ups to sales and marketing. changed. They now want top doing now will be mainstream
are familiar with advanced real- All of this encapsulates the of the range visuals in every in years to come, we’re looking
time rendering and a mere 15% challenges we are addressing, aspect of their purchasing and forward to being part of the
currently use a rendering solution and when you include both entertainment experience — evolving visualisation story.
in house, but with an expected the hardware and software this cost must be factored into ■ lightworkdesign.com
10% rise over the next five years. aspects there are a lot of details
That’s a lot of companies realising to the product design workflow 
what role visualisation will play that need to be nailed down, Moving forward, the challenge shifts from
for them in the future. everything needs to work
So, first and foremost we have together and, most importantly, enhancing the consumer experience to
the great opportunity to introduce be that indispensable part of the making sure companies have access to high-
what is possible and how simple user’s workflow that makes the quality visualisation at any point within
it can be to create photographic experience more enjoyable and
quality visuals of their products. provides the results they need.
their workflow
For those who currently create ■ luxion.com 
V26 JUNE 2015 - DEVELOP3D.COM - SPECIAL REPORT: VISUALISATION

VIZ_REPORT.indd 26 29/05/2015 21:11

 SPONSORED BY:
We asked four industry thought leaders what are the biggest challenges
facing the visualisation industry and what is getting them excited for the future?
COREY RUBADUE
DIRECTOR & PRODUCT
MANAGER, CHAOS GROUP
cloud solutions like Google and
Amazon.
Shooting the short film
CONSTRUCT has been a
successful testing ground for
massively parallel computing on
hundreds of thousands of cores
simultaneously — basically
using the cloud as a super
computer. Designers will be
able to see and test iterations in
real time.
One thing we think will be
F A
or us, this is a very very important for design on
exciting time. Access many levels is reality capture.
to technology has Consistent, reliable, and
grown considerably by way of accurate results are a challenge,
advancements in hardware, and can be vital for effectively
refinement of the cloud, and the communicating a design.
continued momentum of virtual Chaos Group is introducing
reality (VR). something related to this in the
We’re actively engaged in near future that addresses this
pushing the limits of hardware issue specifically.
and the cloud and I believe Virtual reality has opened up a
these developments will benefit lot of possibilities and is a huge
visualisation and design, opportunity.
especially when it comes to Last year we partnered with
ideation and feedback. Already Nurulize for their work in VR
today’s visualisation and technology, and today we’re
results are converging with looking into virtual prototypes
the manufactured product and that will allow a designer to
built work. interact in a more meaningful
With this democratisation and visceral way.
of technology there will be Realism has become a given in
greater need to define accessible rendering, and ease-of-use will
workflows that culminate in democratise the process even
dependable and physically further.
accurate results. I think this will To put rendering in the hands
enable better communication of of more people, you have to cut
design and an opportunity for out the areas that are difficult
more points of view within the for users and enable them
industry. to plug in anywhere they’re
For a while we’ve researched designing.
how best we can utilise the This is why we’ve remained
cloud, something more than invested in CPU and GPU in the
uploading assets and waiting for cloud, in addition to virtual and
results. augmented reality.
The V-Ray Cloud platform I think we’ll see a major
is a fully-customisable OEM explosion on the demands of
solution that can utilise GPU rendering as it becomes more
or CPU calculations, and is readily available and transparent
flexible for in-house private to the design process.”
networks and larger public ■ chaosgroup.com
SPECIAL REPORT: VISUALISATION - DEVELOP3D.COM - JUNE 2015 V27
VIZ_REPORT.indd 27
SPECIAL REPORT: VISUALISATION
YAZAN MALKOSH
HEAD OF DESIGN
THE FOUNDRY
s product creation
accelerates in our world,
so does the need to have
instant visualisations supporting
those products, both pre and
post design. Traditionally, early
visualisation was done by hand.
Now that we have everything
living in the digital realm, you’d
think it’s an easy button labelled
“visualise.” It’s not.
We still face multiple obstacles,
including data reuse across any

Now that we have everything living in the
digital realm, you’d think it’s an easy button
labelled “visualise.” It’s not.

design process, localisation,
personalisation challenges,
variation control and finally,
ease of use for the actual process
of visualising your data in
meaningful ways.
One of these challenges?
Taking data created during the
design process and outputting
visualisation content. And I don’t
mean just rendering.
I mean the ability to output
to realtime 3D engines or
interactive environments.
Unfortunately, as most data
comes from CAD, it’s still pretty
heavy and requires a ton of work
before it’s ready for primetime.
Therefore, we need to have this
part of the process streamlined
and automated, which I hope will
happen soon. Certainly some
of the steps have started taking
place but we are not there yet.
Another key challenge?
Personalisation of visualisation.
We can personalise design for
you, why not visualisation?
Why can’t I see the garment on
my body? Or the watch on my
hand?
I believe companies want to
take this next step, creating
an emotional, 1:1 visual link
between the consumer and the
product. This isn’t without its
challenges.
As an industry, we need to
solve the previous data issue
first and then move to providing
technology that utilises that
personal data in a meaningful
and secure way.
Things like personal avatars,
3D scans and live projection will
become increasingly critical to
the product sale experience. To
achieve this, the industry must
build technologies supporting
these elements.
Visualisation will only grow
in importance. As our world
gets consumed with tons more
products and drowned in the
visual media behind it, the
consumer will look to see things
that speak to them in a more
attractive and interactive manner.
This will require new methods
of data presentation, which
means visual creation tools need
to evolve to handle these new age
requirements.
■ thefoundry.com
29/05/2015 21:11
 SPECIAL REPORT: VISUALISATION SPONSORED BY:

THE FUTURE OF
DESIGN VIZ
Developments that have already started will not only make our workflows more
efficient but the visualisation experience much more engaging, writes Al Dean

I
t has been an interesting few
A glimpse of the future?
years for visualisation in the Microsoft HoloLens in
design and engineering market. product development
As someone that has been
working in the field for 20 years
(I remember the days of 3D
Studio running on DOS) I find it
truly amazing to see how far we’ve come.
Back in the day, the whole process was
fraught with inefficiencies, highly manual
processes to define even the most simple
and basic of materials. And lighting
scenes. Don’t get me started on that
particular subject. I thank the Gods for
HDR image-based lighting and the time it
has saved us.
Today, physically-based renderers,
that progressively stream render data to
our screens, rule supreme in product
development. The are easy to use, making
them accessible to non-experts, and are
continually taking advantage of new
technological advancements. truly compelling solution when deadlines real time in the true sense of the word.
Material definition in these systems, are looming or you want a truly interactive Viewing these scenes on a 4K or 5K screen
whether fine-tuning presets, creating them design review session. Moving between is impressive, and while resolutions will
from scratch or using measured materials, local and cloud processing, as and when continue to rise in the coming years the
is advancing at an incredible rate. workflows dictate, will be seamless. most exciting developments are happening
Computational power in even the most While real time ray tracing on the desktop in virtual reality and augmented reality.
average of computing devices is now way is still some way away an increasing number The new consumer headsets coming
beyond what we had a decade on stream are high quality, head
ago. What used to take hours, tracking devices that give you a
even days, can now be done  much more immersive experience
in a matter of minutes. The ability to combine real world data and that a simple two dimensional
Throw enough processing overlay a photorealistic CGI of a virtual display. The ability to combine
power at a problem, as we real world data and overlay a
saw with Nvidia’s Honda
component, can benefit us in ways we can’t photorealistic CGI of a virtual
demo at GTC 2014 (tinyurl. even imagine component, can benefit us in ways
com/NV-honda), and real
time ray tracing has already
 we can’t even imagine.
And it will only get better. And
become a reality. cheaper. And (most importantly)
Of course, investing in a cool $1m of of rendering software developers are also easier to use. With many of these
rendering hardware is completely out of the taking advantage of the latest advances in technologies aimed at the consumer,
question for most design and engineering OpenGL and high performance graphics immersive visualisation will be within
firms, which is why the cloud is set to play cards to deliver fully interactive visualisation reach of any design or engineering firm.
an increasingly important role. It will in the viewport. It may lack the physical There will be no huge need for costly
allow anyone to have access to real time perfection of a ray traced image, but the consulting. Plug it in and it’ll work. And
ray tracing on demand, which makes for a quality is superb, and most importantly, it is that is truly exciting.

V28 JUNE 2015 - DEVELOP3D.COM - SPECIAL REPORT: VISUALISATION

VIZ_REPORT.indd 28 29/05/2015 21:11

 SPONSORED BY: SPECIAL REPORT: VISUALISATION

SPECIAL REPORT: VISUALISATION - DEVELOP3D.COM - JUNE 2015 V29

VIZ_REPORT.indd 29 29/05/2015 21:11

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VIZ_REPORT.indd 30 29/05/2015 21:11


Solid Edge ST8
Siemens launched Solid Edge with Synchronous Technology a good few years ago.
Al Dean takes a look at the eighth major release and finds a system that’s maturing
and where time has been taken to revisit existing tools to make users more productive
S
olid Edge has been on the
market for almost two decades
now. While for many years,
it was seen as a runner-up in
the battle for the mainstream design
and engineering market, the advent of
Siemens’ synchronous technology eight
years ago won the software a lot more
exposure. Since then, the company
has adapted both the delivery and
implementation of the software and
the messaging that surrounds it.
Today’s reality is that while Solid
Edge still has all of the power of its
traditional modelling tools (which use the
history-based approach), these are now
supplemented by a set of hyper-intelligent
direct modelling tools that give the user
a less structured but more efficient way
to create, edit and adapt geometry. It’s
not a case of using one or the other, but
of choosing the best approach for the
process or task at hand.
At the same time, the system has
continued to mature in almost every
other respect, from data management
with its SharePoint-based Solid Edge
design management solution, through
drawing generation, simulation and
analysis, as well as elsewhere. So let’s
p39_41_43_44_D3D_JUN15_SolidEdgeST8.indd 39
take a look at what Siemens PLM has in
store for Solid Edge ST8.
SYNCHRONOUS TECHNOLOGY
The first area of work we’re going to look
at on the synchronous technology front is
how the system handles patterns. While in
previous releases, the system could work
with these, it mainly focused on holes
and regular patterns. The new pattern
recognition and editing tools now work
across not only linear patterns, but also
polar arrays and patterns driven by tables.
Each is worth a quick look.
In our workflow on page 43, we’ve
detailed how the tools work with radial
patterns. The idea is that you select the
geometry that represents one instance in
an existing pattern (in this case, a tooth on
a gear form) and then use the ‘recognise
pattern’ operation. This will find instances
that match their axis of revolution and give
you an instance count (note that it’ll also
pick up partial instances, as found in this
use case).
It then adds that pattern into your
synchronous feature tree, so you can dive
in and edit that instance count and get
back to work. It’s simple — and the same
workflow pretty much applies for linear
REVIEWS
» Product: patterns as well (as shown in Figure 2).
Solid Edge ST8 The smart part is that you’re prequalifying
» Supplier:
Siemens PLM the patterned geometry, rather than just
Price starts at £120 for
letting the system do all the work, so you
monthly subscription & get the geometry you want in the pattern
£2,830 for perpetual first off.
for Design & Drafting Another area that’s also been worked
siemens.com/solidedge on is the patterning of features using non-
standard or uniform methods.
While the system already includes
linear, radial and fill patterns, these are
supplemented with the ability to drive a
pattern by a table.
You first need to create or identify a
base feature to pattern, then use the
‘pattern by table’ operation. This extracts
the data to an Excel spreadsheet, where
you can quickly make edits to each
instance’s X and Y coordinates, as well
as an orientation angle value (note here
that positive values indicate a counter-
clockwise rotate). Save that spreadsheet
and the Solid Edge model instantly
●1 The new Design updates.
Intent panel pops It’s smart and could be done using built-
up to give you in tools instead of a spreadsheet — but the
live feedback on benefit is, of course, that you have all those
relationships
found, based on
calculation tools inside Excel, should you
your selection and need to add some additional automation
surrounding geometry intelligence.
DEVELOP3D.COM JUNE 2015 39
30/05/2015 06:13
Overclockers Ad.indd 1 29/05/2015 12:06
 SOFTWARE REVIEW

DESIGN INTENT
One of the key foundations of Siemens’
synchronous technology has been Live
Rules. It’s these that set the company’s
tools apart from many of the other direct
editing-capable systems out there.
Live Rules, if you’re not familiar with
them, were introduced as a way to
constantly monitor your current selection
against your activity (such as move, rotate
and so on) and the surrounding geometry,
looking for areas where relationships such
as parallelism and symmetry could be
found.
Live Rules allow users to select one face,
find others that might be related to it and
make wholesale edits. Think of the process
in these terms: selecting a hole, having
the system find similarly aligned holes
and moving them all at once. Or, selecting 2
a face in a pocket, having the system find
others that are parallel and allowing you to
move or rotate them all at once. That’s very
powerful stuff indeed.
The issue with this functionality has been
that those coming from a history- and
feature-driven system could find it complex
and often confusing. This was not a fault
of the technology per se, but rather down
to the prior training and experience of the
individual user.
As we all know, if you use 3D design
tools day in, day out, you develop ‘muscle
memories’ for certain actions and your
brain starts to build a set of expectations
for certain activities. As a result, Live
Rules, while powerful, was overlooked or
ruled out by many users.
Siemens has recognised this and, in
ST8, reworked how these tools work. This
should provide a much easier path for
those coming from other systems (and 3
indeed, those experienced mostly in the
ordered parts of Solid Edge).
This reworking effort manifests itself in sensibly, this can be quite a chore. Solid parts. This data can then be used in ●2 Feature recognition
allows you to find
a Design Intent panel that pops up as the Edge now lets you find the top-level kinematic analysis, for example, as well as similar instances
user makes edits using the synchronous assemblies in a directory immediately, to generate accurate animations of your compared to a specific
tools. The panel shows any potential by looking for assembly files with no product in motion. selection
relationships found, highlights the implied parent associations and filtering to just ●3 New pattern by
geometry and lets the user toggle certain those ones. Such a simple thing, but a real PART LEVEL WELDMENTS table capabilities
relationships on and off. timesaver. This is an interesting one, particularly for give you control over
position and rotate
It’s dynamic, it’s intelligent and gives the In a similar vein, Siemens has also those working on fabricated components,
user much faster control over their direct introduced recursive searching for those and specifically, welded forms. Most 3D
geometry edits. part files that are inevitably missing, so design systems include support for the
that they’re easier to locate if they get design of piece parts, then use assembly
ASSEMBLY & DIGITAL MOCK UP moved accidentally. tools to arrange those components and
The last two or three releases saw a Moving on to other assembly modelling add in the welded forms. This of course,
great deal of work done to add in more updates, there’s a couple that are worth gives you downstream benefits when
intelligent tools (such as building product exploring in a little more detail. The first you’re working on bills of materials and cut
structures before adding geometry, for is that you can now take a sketch from lists, as well as when estimating welding
example). pretty much anywhere in your assembly requirements. And of course, drawing
This release continues that work and and reuse it in your current task. That’s generation is included to document the
makes it more flexible, particularly for irrespective of where the sketch is in the process.
those working in a top-down design assembly hierarchy, which is perfect for The issue here is that these tools work
environment. making sure components fit together. It’s in an assembly environment and, for
One such tool (which I wish every other a valuable extension of tools introduced in some users, that’s not ideal. Solid Edge
vendor would implement immediately) the last release that let you reference 3D ST8 introduces the means to do the
solves the familiar problem of being geometry in a similar way. same work, achieve the same results
presented with a directory full of parts, There has also been some work done to downstream, but within a part modelling
sub-assemblies and assembly files. make the creation of realistic assembly environment.
You’ll no doubt be familiar with the movement simulation more efficient.
problem of trying to find a top-level These features allow you to grab drive DRAWING ENHANCEMENTS
assembly among 250 different data variables in an assembly and add Now, let’s have a dig into the changes and
files. Unless those files have been named interrelations to the various constituent enhancements made to the draughting

DEVELOP3D.COM JUNE 2015 41

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 Solid Edge is
like a third arm.
I can’t imagine my engineering life without it.
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3D model to explore alternatives.”
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

♦ 


♦ 

♦             


♦ 

♦ 

♦ 


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47 D3D Ads.indd 1 29/05/2015 13:58

 SOFTWARE REVIEW

portion of Solid Edge. As ever and as you’d

expect, these are well-developed and mature. But
that’s not to say that there hasn’t been room to
incorporate some new thinking.
The first thing to tackle is the drawing compare
tool. This lets you open two revisions of the same
document, showing you the two drawings, and
then gives you another view that colour-codes
where items have moved or changed — perfect for
finding small, but vital, design changes.
Elsewhere, there’s finer control, not only over
how dimensions are placed (with improved
snapping), but also in providing a heads-up
approach to editing leader lines and such. You
just select the leader (or arrow head) and you’re
given a small dialog to switch them to the form
you want.
Similarly, you can adapt leader lines to the style 4
you want, add in a jog and get it just how you, or
your company standards, want it in a very short
space of time.
A further enhancement is the introduction of IFC EXCHANGE FOR BIM In ST8, Siemens is introducing the ability to
associative call-outs. To my mind, this is a clever It’s seems a little odd to writing the words BIM share the data pertaining to those types of
and well-executed function that other vendors in an article in DEVELOP3D. If you’re not familiar components with the AEC industry. The means
should look to implement. While the dimensional with the term, it stands for Building Information to achieve this is known as the IFC format,
aspects of a drawing’s annotations are typically Modelling and it’s common in the Architecture, which can be read into systems including Revit,
associative back to the 3D geometry, the same Engineering and Construction space. ArchiCAD, Allplan and Vectorworks. They not only
can’t often be said of the auxiliary text (such as Essentially (and probably grossly simplifying contain the geometry of the product, but also the
notes, labels and call-outs) that you need in order things), the construction industry has finally metadata that is required to add the intelligence
to complete a drawing. cottoned on to the fact that storing all of the and context.
From ST8 onwards, reference notes can link information about a building in an intelligent 3D
to works and all notes, labels and call-outs that model might be a good idea. So good, in fact, APP EXCHANGE
reference them will update after a change is that the British goverment has made it a legal The last area of update for Solid Edge ST8 that
made. requirement that any government tenders and we’re going to cover here is not related to the
The final major update is the ability to have subsequent projects are conducted this way. system itself, but rather to the third-party
multiple assemblies on a single sheet, with their So what does this have to do with a mechanical application market that surrounds it. As we all
separate parts lists maintained and associatively engineering application like Solid Edge? know, even the most mature and well-developed
linked back to the 3D data. The answer is that while the system isn’t used system doesn’t typically cover every tool that a
It’s also worth noting that, for some years in construction per se, it is heavily used to design user might need.
now, Siemens has been giving away the drawing and manufacture component parts that go into As a result, we often turn to third-party
creation portions of Solid Edge as an AutoCAD (or buildings: HVAC components, for example, or developers, who build systems that work either
other 2D drawing tool). That’s certainly worth a architectural components, such as windows, inside the host system or alongside it, reading the
look if you’re just after a quick layout tool. doors and lifts. data and passing it back where applicable.

WORKFLOW: INTELLIGENT PATTERN EDITING WITH IMPORTED 3D DATA

●1 The goal here is to reuse an existing design to create a ●2 Start by importing the part geometry. Our example is ●3 Instead, ST8 allows you to select the faces of an instance
straight gripper to replace the existing part. The issue is from another system, so you have no feature information, in the pattern and use the Recognise Features operation to
that the existing part only has 10 teeth which would traditionally mean a lot of redesign work find the pattern in the dumb geometry

●4 The system looks for matching geometry and highlights ●

5 When the system has found the pattern, it picks up the ●
6 Open up that Pattern feature in the Synchronous feature
it in red. Note, the system also finds where other instances instances and the radial axis and formalises this into a list, edit the instance count from 10 to 12 (so that it provides
might be buried or partial — hence the 10x instance count Pattern feature (see top left feature list) the required action) and you’re done. Simple!

DEVELOP3D.COM JUNE 2015 43

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 SOFTWARE REVIEW

●4 (Previous page) A wide range of third-party, Solid

Multiple assemblies Edge-compatible systems are available,
on a single sheet - from tools like KeyShot for rendering and
with separate parts
lists for each
animation and PCB import tools from BCT,
to QuadriSpace’s technical documentation
●
5 The new Drawing
and publishing tools.
Compare tools allow
you to load in two There are also more specialised,
drawings and quickly industry-specific applications such as
find areas of change. Smap’s range of P&ID tools for the process
Particularly useful plant industry.
for complex drawings
as well as very subtle
The marketplace gives you a single place
design changes to explore and identify the add-ons you
need, as well as giving you a single point
of purchase, rather than having to deal
with separate vendors and juggle all the
billing arrangements that a multi-vendor
set-up typically entails. 5
If you want to have a look and
see what’s available, you can visit
plmappmarketplace.com. It’s pretty clear that Siemens still example here.
focuses much of its development work on It’s always heartening to see a vendor
CONCLUSION advancing those tools and rightly so — but take a step back and reexamine how
In the technology world, it’s very easy those in the market for a new addition to it approaches a particular problem,
to slip into a pattern of simply looking at their toolbox might be forgiven for thinking especially if it emerges from that process
what’s new whenever a product is updated this is a one-trick pony. Nothing could be with efficient, more elegant ways to solve
— and that’s certainly true in the world of further from the truth. fundamental sticking points with its
design and engineering software. As it currently stands, Solid Edge product set.
When Siemens PLM launched its covers the traditional history-based These days, many users are re-evaluating
synchronous technology in 2008, it gave approach, surface modelling, advanced their software toolbox and are increasingly
the company an important differentiator assembly design, drawing creation and willing to take a look at systems outside of
over other products on the market. much more. Of course, much of that is those offered by their usual supplier. Solid
In the intervening years, the technology also infused and supplemented with the Edge deserves to be on their shopping lists.
has matured and evolved rapidly and magic that is synchronous technology and The fact that the company is looking to
much of the messaging and promotional intelligent direct editing and modification provide more flexible, subscription-based
activity around Solid Edge focuses on it of geometry outside of the limitations of licensing methods, as well as taking its
still. This, to my mind, is understandable, traditional ways of working. technology more mobile, indicates that
but a mistake. What’s been interesting to watch is Siemens is adopting a characteristically
The simple truth is that for well over a how that new breed of tools has evolved measured approach when it comes to
decade (if not two) Solid Edge has been one since launch. Looking at ST8, it’s clear solving many of the issues that users
of the most consistently impressive tools that there’s been some reconsideration face on a daily basis, rather than simply
available on the market — as indeed it was of some of the fundamentals, to make chasing the latest technology fad. And
long before synchronous technology came it more productive for many users. The that’s what we users really want, after all.
on the scene. heads-up Design Intent panels are a good siemens.com/solidedge

SOLID EDGE & MOBILITY: TAKING YOUR CAD & DATA MOBILE
The CAD industry is in a state of flux or
transition. If you’ve been reading your
DEVELOP3D issues over the last year or so,
you’ll have noticed that there’s a common
theme amongst many of the big-name,
headline-grabbing systems.
That theme, “the move to the cloud” (a term
often employed by marketing types pointing
upwards, for some reason), certainly gets column
inches. But while the technology world is heading
that way, the hard reality is that what users really
want are tools and data that are more mobile.
Mobility is a concept that’s often
misunderstood. It should be about giving users
access not only to the tools they need to get a job
done, but also to the data that goes alongside it.
After all, to borrow a carpentry analogy, what’s
the point in making a lightweight, ultra-efficient
chop saw, if you’ve got no wood to put in it?
Interestingly, the Solid Edge team seems to
have realised this and is taking a more measured,
tactical approach to making the user community
more mobile — and it’s doing so on several fronts.
The first news is that with ST8, when run on
Microsoft’s Surface Pro platform, Solid Edge will
provide you with a set of interaction methods
that are well-suited to the touch-based nature of
tablet devices. It won’t be a case of trying to tap
a tiny icon to simply pan/zoom or rotate a model. Dropbox and other services to make life easier.
Instead, you’ll use the familiar two-fingered This is currently being rolled out as a new way to
approach: pinch to zoom, for example. trial Solid Edge (there’s a 45-day trial available)
Of course, because these mobile devices are and, while the company has no formal plans to
pretty much a Microsoft Windows box built to a make this a general service for users, it’s a good
smaller form factor and running the same OS, indication of how things may progress in the next
you don’t need a separate app; you don’t need a year or two.
constantly available internet connection; and you
can plug in your usual devices to supplement your
finger and stylus, should you need to do so.
The other news is that Siemens PLM is also
looking into ways to provide access to Solid Edge
through the browser. Rather than developing a
new system or reinventing its own products, the
company has begun experimenting with Frame’s
virtualisation service. Essentially, this allows you
to log into a portal and run Solid Edge remotely,
from wherever you are. No, your data isn’t there
immediately, but Frame’s service links into

44 JUNE 2015 DEVELOP3D.COM

p39_41_43_44_D3D_JUN15_SolidEdgeST8.indd 44 29/05/2015 16:45

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 SOFTWARE REVIEW
Autodesk Inventor 2016
While its Fusion product may be grabbing all the cloud-based headlines, Autodesk has
also been hard at work on its Inventor Product Design Suite. With the latest annual
release out now, Al Dean takes a look at the highlights of this major update.
T
hose that follow Autodesk
Inventor closely will be only
too aware that there have
been many changes over the
last couple of years. With the release
of Fusion, many detractors were quick
to sound the death knell for the more
traditional, desktop-based Inventor.
New tools were added to Fusion that
hadn’t yet seen light of day in Inventor
and, in all fairness, development work
on the latter seemed to slow somewhat
in the last release cycle.
But the fact of the matter is that Inventor
is still a flagship product, with a rich set of
tools covering everything from mechanical
design and engineering and drawing and
documentation creation, to tube and pipe
design and electromechanical integration.
So with Inventor 2016 now available, let’s
take a look at some of the highlights of this
latest release.
The changes are spread across a wide
gamut of the system’s capabilities and
functionality, but the first thing that
existing users are likely to notice is a big
change to the very first window the system
presents to them. In previous releases,
they got a pretty bog-standard interface
with part templates, access to either Vault
(Autodesk’s PDM system) or local file
projects, as well as lists of common tasks
46 JUNE 2015 DEVELOP3D.COM
p46_49_51_52_D3D_JUN15_inventor2016.indd 46
» Product: Inventor and recently used files.
2016 For 2016, this changes to a cleaner layout
» Supplier: Autodesk that presents projects and data in a more
Price: On Application usable form. Items currently in progress or
www.autodesk.com needing attention can be pinned, making
them immediately available, and there’s
search and preview tools to help as well.
IMPORTED DATA EFFICIENCY
Perhaps the biggest addition to Inventor
for this release is the introduction of new
data import tools. While we’re all used to
working with geometry files that come from
other systems, the issue lies in how they’re
converted. Typically, the host system reads
the files from the third-party system, does
a conversion and then stores that data in
its own native format, from which the user
then works.
While this is acceptable for a single pass,
when it comes to handling design changes
(an inevitability on most projects), it’s
not so smart. With changes, the whole
process needs to be re-executed and any
subsequent work redone.
What Autodesk has built into Inventor
2016 is the ability to reference third-party
●1 The new start files and work with them, without having to
window gives you
convert the files into a native file format.
a clear, search and
filterable window Autodesk is referring to this as its AnyCAD
into your current technology. This shouldn’t be construed as
projects and data removing the translation process entirely;
instead, the system does the translation in
the background and maintains a link to the
originating data.
As a result, you end up with far less
data being created, which cuts down
on management headaches, and, if the
reference data happens to change, you can
reload it and work with it in a much more
efficient manner.
In terms of how it works, the process
is pretty much standard: you invoke the
import process, either by opening from
scratch or placing a part or assembly
into an existing assembly. The system
then presents you with the option to
either convert the geometry or to use the
reference method with the usual controls
over which entities to import (such as
solids, surfaces, work features and so on).
The reference method then loads in the
geometry, performs the conversion and
presents you with the data. What it doesn’t
do is create any native Inventor data on the
disk. Subsequent changes to data will be
updated whenever changes are detected.
There are also options available to select
geometry; these allow the user to pre-load
the assembly and to find the part file or
files that they need and just load those
— again, maintaining the link back to the
originating geometry.
At this point, it’s worth discussing what
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 SOFTWARE REVIEW

the user can do with this data. If you’re
placing the geometry for reference
purposes, you’re pretty much good to
go. The geometry can be measured and
referenced in terms of geometry creation
from your other parts.
In terms of handling design change,
this approach is not going to work each
and every time. CAD systems use entity
references to track where geometry has
moved, which is why design changes that
don’t change the topology of a part will
tend to be more successful than larger,
more complex edits.
When it comes to editing that data,
meanwhile, you will find that you need to
break the link to the originating data and
do a full, traditional translation, creating
those native-translated forms of the
geometry.
At present, Autodesk’s AnyCAD
technology works with SolidWorks, Catia,
NX, Creo (Pro/Engineer), as well as with
Alias files.
COMPLEX SHAPE DESIGN ●2 Inventor’s new
tools for working with
Those that have been paying close attention imported geometry let
to the development of Inventor will also be you maintain a link to
aware that, in the 2015 release, the product the originating data
started to see some of Autodesk’s T-splines — in this case, from
technology included for sub-division (or Siemens’ NX
SubD) modelling. This technology was
acquired by Autodesk in 2011 and has since
been developed further in Inventor’s cloud-
based cousin, Fusion 360.
The Inventor 2015 release was the first
time that T-splines capabilities had been

WORKFLOW: WORKING WITH IMPORTED DATA USING UNITE TECHNOLOGY

●1 The new referencing tools are integrated into the File/ ●2 You have the option to import and translate to native ●3 There are selective loading options (which have been in
Open dialog. Find your part or assembly in the folder Inventor format or keep a reference to the original file. This Inventor for some time). Combined with the preview, these
structure as per usual will hold the data in the host file, but not create data allow you to find and reference only those parts you need

●4 In this instance, we've loaded the full assembly, then used ●

5 Once done, you can then continue work on the new ●
6 As a final step, throw the data into a rendering session,
the newly expanded freeform modelling tools to create a new iteration of the design for manufacture, prepare tooling and to build up assets for visualisation and pre-manufacture
part in the existing assembly do all the documentation required marketing

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 SOFTWARE REVIEW

included and those users that have played

with both Inventor and Fusion will know
that this Inventor release didn’t feature
anywhere near the control offered by
its sibling, with significant limitations in
terms of what forms could be created, for
example.
The good news is that the 2016 release
addresses these shortcoming and users
will see a whole range of tools on offer to
push, pull, edit and refine complex shapes
that would typically take hours of work to
set-up and create using surface-modelling
techniques.
If you’ve not used SubDs in a history-
based system before, the workflow goes
like this: you create the complex forms and
these are then stored in the feature tree (in
this instance, as a ‘freeform’ feature). You
can have multiple base geometry sets which
you can do a lot with, but ultimately, the 3
goal is to have a manufacturable form.
Once freeform edits are complete,
you exit the command and the system how you’re going to create the forms design software vendors start to claim ●3 The 2016 release
gives you more
automatically handles the conversion of you want. SubD modelling is incredibly support for 3D printing processes and control over freeform
that subD geometry into a NURBS model. As powerful, but a common mistake is to common workflows. What’s interesting is modelling with
you’d expect, this can then be run through try to model everything in a single set that, in many cases, the results miss the T-Splines technology
further processes, such as shelling, creation of geometry, particularly where you mark by a pretty wide margin. After all, — it’s now on par with
of engineering details and so on. have complex changes in tangency and simply adding some fancy options to your Fusion 360
The benefit of this integrated approach cut-aways. A better approach is to use STL output doesn’t really help the common
is that any edits can be made by editing separate lumps of geometry and combine/ workflows involved in the process — and
that freeform feature and then further cut/subtract them, rather than trying to that’s exactly why vendors that have really
operations propagated. do everything in one feature set. Handily, thought the issue through (for example,
Of course, there is an important caveat to Inventor supports this way of working. Materialise with its Magic system) are
this: due to the complexity of the freeform But with careful finessing, you can achieve proving so popular among those users
geometry that you can create, you need to beautiful surfaces without the headaches deeply engaged in 3D printing or additive
be mindful that downstream features need and effort typically associated with the manufacturing.
to be able to work with it. Sharp creases, design of such forms. Autodesk differs from most in the CAD
for example, can wreak havoc with shells world (with the possible exception of 3D
and making large-scale edits to geometry 3D PRINT SUPPORT Systems as it now owns, at the last count,
can cause your history tree to explode if This is an interesting area. With all the at least four 3D design tools), in that it’s
you’re not careful. hype surrounding 3D printing over the already gained some significant experience
It’s also worth planning out, in advance, last few years, we’ve seen most of the 3D in this area. Since it released its Ember

WORKFLOW: FROM INVENTOR TO PART 3D PRINTED ON AUTODESK’S EMBER

●1 Let’s start with a component that we’d like to print on ●2 The system gives us a preview of the build platform. The ●
3 The tools allow us to do the partition (separately from
Autodesk’s Ember 3D printer. We start by kicking off the 3D part clearly isn’t going to fit, so we need to split it into two the part geometry) and add in pins (with associated holes) to
Print tool and selecting the Ember from the drop down list parts and build them separately help assemble the parts together once built

●4 Next, we need to arrange the parts into the build platform. ●

5 Once complete, we send it to the new 3D Print Studio (a ●6 Ember is web-connected, so it receives the part build file
The system gives us a few tools to align parts to the bed and standalone application) to prepare it with supports and to and starts the build process. In an hour or so, we’ve got two
to the vertical walls define the build parameters. Then send to the machine parts ready to assemble and do with as we see fit

DEVELOP3D.COM JUNE 2015 51

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 SOFTWARE REVIEW

printer and launched its Spark platform, the

company has been working hard to close
the gap between 3D design and 3D print –
and we’re starting to see the fruits of this
work in its professional systems.
Introduced in Inventor 2016, a new 3D
Print set of tools (in the Environments
panel) is now available. This isn’t just for
scaling and preparing STL files; rather,
it features tools that enable users to lay
out their parts on the beds of a range of
printers and use semi-automation to take
larger parts, splice them and add features
that allow users to connect them back
together using pins and holes.
Then, if the printer supports the Spark
platform, they have additional tools to pass
that information out to the software. This
will become more useful as more hardware
vendors start adopt the Spark platform.
At present, the best example is still 4
Autodesk’s own Ember. From Inventor, you
push the data to an external application
(Print Studio), add in the supports needed
and send it to print. It also supports a
couple of Stratasys, Objet, Dremel and
Type A machines as well.

SHEET METAL
Alongside all the fancy bits and bobs in this
release, it’s also good to see some of the
fabrication design tools get some attention.
For sheet metal, the big ticket items are in
two areas.
The first development is that it’s now
possible to have zero-radius bends in your
parts. This might not seem huge at first, but
when you consider the reality that sheet-
metal techniques are just as applicable to
designing thin-walled parts as they are for
parts that you put through a press brake,
this development suddenly makes much
more sense.
The second development is that the sheet-
metal functions now support multi-bodies.
In other words, they allow users to create
single sheet-metal part files comprising
multiple components, rather than forcing
them to concoct an assembly and separate
parts. This will make taking references
easier, file management less fraught and
design changes faster.
DRAWINGS
The last area of improvement in Inventor
that we’re going to look at here (and there’s
a stack more to investigate if you’re an
existing user), focuses on drawings. It
never fails to surprise me how technology
vendors in this space can find room to make
the process even more efficient, but judging
from Inventor 2016, it seems that there’s
still room for innovation.
One of the most fundamental changes
to how Inventor’s drawing tools have
changed is seen at the view creation stage.
While previous versions relied on users
interacting with a pretty complex dialog,
much of this process is now driven from
direct interaction in the window.
They’ll see handles and the familiar view
cube pop up and these are both used to
create the views they want and fine-tune
them for scaling, orientation and so on.
This is pervasive across all of the view
creation tools, including detail views,
sections and more. It makes them easier to
use and more dynamic; if you need to dive
into the details, the same dialog is there,
but it has been rethought and slimmed
down a little.
Elsewhere in drawings, perhaps the
biggest other update can be seen in the
tools available for working with assembly
drawings and the creation of balloons.
These can be grabbed and aligned to suit
whatever way you need them.
As we develop more complex assembly
models, these types of tools will be
invaluable to users looking to get through
the annotation process quickly, lay models
out and then dive into adding additional,
vital details.
IN CONCLUSION
With the rise of Autodesk’s cloud-based
design ambitions, users might be forgiven
for expecting development to wane on the
Inventor product set. This release, I believe,
shows that this is not the case at all.
Inventor has been on the market for a
good ten years now. Its breadth of coverage
is wide, its functionality deep — just as
5
you’d expect from a system that has been ●4 2016’s sheet-
metal tools now
on desktops for that long. include multi-body
What’s interesting is that it’s pretty clear support, meaning
that the benefits of Fusion’s arguably more efficient data
faster-paced development is starting to pay management and
dividends for Inventor as well. some nice tools to
generate parts with
Admittedly, many users might have been
more complex inter-
disappointed with the initial implementation part references
of T-splines for complex shape description
●
5 Drawing views are
in the 2015 release. The good news for created in a dynamic
them is that this issue been addressed in manner, saving you
2016 and addressed comprehensively. from referring to a
Elsewhere, the AnyCAD tools that ease the dialog and keeping you
focused on the task
process of working with third-party data in at hand.
other formats, while maintaining links to
engineering information, will likely prove
useful to many.
That’s particularly important when we
consider Inventor’s increasing adoption in
the supply chain. This is an area in where
the ability to take customer data and using
it as a reference for further work is an
essential part of the process.
For many users, being able to do just that
without a huge amount of rework when
those pesky but inevitable last-minute
design changes come in, will no doubt be
warmly welcomed.
www.autodesk.com

52 JUNE 2015 DEVELOP3D.COM

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 produced by
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aecmag.com | develop3d.com

HPTheZBook 15u
ultra portable
15-inch mobile Workstation

sponsored by HP and AMD FirePro TM

hp.com/go/engineering | fireprographics.com

HP AMD ZBook 15u (A4) FINAL.indd 1 29/5/15 15:08:21

 HP ZBOOK 15u MOBILE wOrKstatIOn GUIDE
HP ZBook 15u MoBILE WorksTATIon
Professional 3D workstation for users of CAD software in a lightweight, Ultrabook form factor
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HP AMD ZBook 15u (A4) FINAL.indd 2
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 HP ZBOOK 15U MOBILE wOrKstatIOn GUIDE
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While mainstream ultrabooks are common,
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HP AMD ZBook 15u (A4) FINAL.indd 3
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29/5/15 15:08:24

Up close: INSIDE the
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A detailed look at the features of the powerful,
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The CPU is one of the most important
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HP ZBook 15u comes with a choice of four
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•• Intel® Core™ i7-5600U (2.6 GHz,
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memory (RAM)
System memory goes up to 16GB, which
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range CAD workflows. Configure with one
or two 4GB or 8GB DDR3L SODIMMs.
Storage (DRIVES)
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The 256GB HP Z Turbo Drive is a
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HP4 hp.com/go/engineering | fireprographics.com
HP AMD ZBook 15u (A4) FINAL.indd 4
HP ZBOOK 15u MOBILE workstation GUIDE
15.6” diagonal HD display
There’s a choice of two 15.6-inch diagonal LED-backlit anti-
glare FHD (1,920 x 1,080) displays for crisp CAD images:
a TN panel with a standard viewing angle or an IPS panel
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to two external displays or projectors via VGA (up to 1920
x 1200 at 60Hz) or DisplayPort 1.2 (up to 3840 x 2160) or
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•• Intel® Core™ i5-5200U (2.2 GHz,
up to 2.7 GHz) (2 cores)
For CAD and BIM software the clock
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Disable Intel Hyperthreading 7 for
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Meanwhile, to help safeguard the data on Battery
your HDD from bumps and minor drops, the The HP ZBook 15u comes with a primary 3-cell
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29/5/15 15:08:26
 HP ZBOOK 15u MOBILE workstation GUIDE

AMD FirePRO GPU Inventor. It supports the latest OpenGL

The AMD FirePro M4170 GPU delivers
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Supports a broad range of wireless LAN
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x 9.98 in) (h x w x d). The ZBook 15u has passed the
US military standard MIL-ST-810G for drop, vibration,
shock, and environmental conditions.

Docking port
HP ZBook 15u features a docking port for
compatibility with the HP UltraSlim Docking
Station, a simple one-click, slide-in side dock. It
features two DisplayPort ports and one VGA port
to allow up to a max of three external displays,
an Ethernet/LAN port for high-speed access to
centralised CAD data and four USB 3.0 ports. The
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with select HP EliteBook notebooks to give
flexibility in enterprise environments.

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Input The HP ZBook 15u is packed with ports
The spill-resistant keyboard is available as standard or including Gigabit Ethernet for fast access to
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precise CAD work, use a USB or Bluetooth mouse. slot and a memory card reader.

hp.com/go/engineering | fireprographics.com HP5

HP AMD ZBook 15u (A4) FINAL.indd 5 29/5/15 15:08:28

 HP ZBOOK 15u MOBILE wOrKstatIOn GUIDE

IMPrEssIvE
sErvICEABILITy 6

r
eliability is a key tenet of HP 5
ZBook Mobile Workstations. But 7
if a service or upgrade is required
you want to be able to get back up and
running as quickly as possible. 7
To help, the HP ZBook 15u features a 4
number of customer self-repair parts,
which are all easily accessible from the
bottom of the machine, behind the HP
Easy Access Door. Simply turn off the
machine, remove the optional security 3 2
screw and slide off the cover to get
ready access to the key components
(listed below). Repairs and upgrades
can take a matter of minutes. They
can even be carried out by relatively
inexperienced users which could be
critical when working on important
projects away from the office.
Of course, the HP ZBook 15u is also
protected by HP Services, which
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years labour, and 3 years onsite service
(3/3/3) limited warranty, so expert 1
help is at hand.
1 HP Easy Access Door
●
2 3-cell, 50-WHr, 4.5-AHr battery
●
3 2.5-inch drive (ssD or HDD)
●
4 HP Z Turbo Drive
●
5 WLAn module
●
6 Memory modules
●
7 screws to release keyboard
●

TUnE THE HP ZBook 15u

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HP AMD ZBook 15u (A4) FINAL.indd 6 29/5/15 15:08:30

 HP ZBOOK 15U MOBILE wOrKstatIOn GUIDE

HP & AMD FIrEPro ACCEss HIgH-EnD WorksTaTion poWer

caD cerTiFicaTion
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an interactive collaboration and it is
a key part of this process is 3D graphics and network connection. ZBook
block diagram to give a crystal 15uofand
clear picture all mouse possible to share your
here hp performs in-depth graphics driver Possible use
thecases
components inside your and
HP Zkeyboard
Workstation. input workstation screen
quality testing and performance measurement. include instances where sent back. This can help with multiple users
if graphics issues are identified then hp works complex models exceed project data remain simultaneously for ‘view
with amD’s Firepro team and the isV to resolve 16GB (the maximum secure inside a company’s only’ or full interactive
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gPU (1Gb GDDr5) (1Gb GDDr5) (2Gb GDDr5) (2Gb GDDr5)

14” diagonal leD-backlit (1366x768) 15.6-inch diagonal leD-backlit anti- 15.6-inch diagonal FhD (1920x1080, 17.3” diagonal hD+ (1600x900, aG/
Display or (1600x900) or ips uWVa* glare FhD (1920x1080) (Tn or ips aG/sVa) FhD (1920x1080, aG/uWVa*) sVa), FhD (1920x1080, aG/WVa),FhD
(1920x1080) with/without touch with ultra-wide viewing angle). QhD+ (3200x1800, aG/uWVa1). Dreamcolor (1920x1080, aG/uWVa*)

up to two drives: 256 Gb hp Z Turbo up to two drives: 256 Gb hp Z Turbo up to three drives: 256Gb hp Z Turbo up to four drives: 256Gb hp Z Turbo
storage Drive (pcie ssD) and/or saTa hDD Drive (pcie ssD) and/or saTa hDD Drive (pcie ssD) and/or up to 2 saTa Drive (pcie ssD) and/or up to 3 saTa
(up to 1 Tb) or ssD (up to 512 Gb) 6 (up to 1 Tb) or ssD (up to 512 Gb) 6 hDD (up to 1Tb) or ssD (up to 512Gb) 6 hDD (up to 1Tb) or ssD (up to 512Gb) 6

339 x 237 x 21 mm 375.5 x 253.6 x 21.42 mm 381.5 x 257 x 30.5 mm 416 x 272 x 34 mm
Dimensions (13.35 x 9.33 x 0.83 in) (14.78 x 9.98 x 0.84 in) (15 x 10.1 x 1.2 in) (16.37 x 10.7 x 1.33 in)
+ weight From 1.71 kg (3.77 lb) From 1.91kg (4.23 lb) From 2.82kg (6.20lb) From 3.36kg (7.42 lb)
* uWVa = ultra Wide Viewing angle
hp.com/go/engineering | fireprographics.com HP7

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 HP ZBOOK 15u MOBILE wOrKstatIOn GUIDE

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screen images courtesy of autodesk, Factory Five racing, ramsa, pTc and local motors.

© copyright 2015 hewlett-packard company, l.p. The information contained herein is subject to change without notice.
intel, intel core and ultrabook are trademarks of intel corporation in the u.s. and other countries. amD and Firepro are trademarks of advanced micro Devices, inc.
microsoft and Windows are u.s. registered trademarks of the microsoft group of companies.

1. not all models qualify as an ultrabook™

2. mil-sTD 810G testing is not intended to demonstrate fitness for u.s. Department of Defense contract requirements or for military use. Test results are not a guarantee of future performance under these test conditions.
3. maximum memory capacities assume Windows 64-bit operating systems or linux. With Windows 32-bit operating systems, memory above 3 Gb may not all be available due to system resource requirements.
4. not all features are available in all editions or versions of Windows. systems may require upgraded and/or separately purchased hardware, drivers and/or software to take full advantage of Windows functionality. see microsoft.com.
5. multi-core is designed to improve performance of certain software products. not all customers or software applications will necessarily benefit from use of this technology. 64-bit computing on intel. architecture requires a computer system with a processor, chipset,
bios, operating system, device drivers, and applications enabled for intel® 64 architecture. processors will not operate (including 32-bit operation) without an intel® 64 architecture enabled bios. performance will vary depending on your hardware and software
configurations. intel’s numbering is not a measurement of higher performance. see intel.com/info/em64t for more information.
6. For hard drives and solid state drives, 1 Gb = 1 billion bytes. Tb = 1 trillion bytes. actual formatted capacity is less. up to 10 Gb of system disk (for Windows 7) is reserved for system recovery software.
7. intel® hyper-Threading - The hyper-threading feature is designed to improve performance of multi-threaded software products; please contact your software provider to determine software compatibility. not all customers or software applications will benefit from the
use of hyperthreading. Go to intel.com/info/hyperthreading for more information, including which processors support hT Technology.

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 DEVELOP3DSERVICES
TO ADVERTISE YOUR SERVICES HERE CONTACT STEVE KING
STEVE@X3DMEDIA.COM | +44 (0) 20 3355 7314 | +44 (0)7850 507362

Welcome to DEVELOP3D’s professional

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John Ewans Design
professionals.
Industrial Design
To see your service advertised here,
please contact Steve King. Mechanical Engineering
steve@x3dmedia.com Rapid Prototyping
+44 (0)20 3355 7314 / +44 (0)7850 507362
Product Implementation
Sourcing

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 JOBS.DEVELOP3D.COM

Senior Industrial Designer

London

Native Design seeks an extraordinary Senior Industrial Designer to join our incredibly talented and multi-
disciplinary team.

At Native, we design what’s next. Our Designers do just that, seeing further over the horizon than the rest to create
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Working at Native brings exposure to excellence. Be part of a global team that delivers innovative, meaningful
and world-changing projects, and develop as an outstanding designer in the process.

A Native Senior Industrial Designer has exceptional qualities, experience and skills.

As such, we hope to meet people with the following attributes:

Great Ideas
Innovation and excellence in origination, design and execution
Desire to create new archetypes, as well as re-thinking old ones
Understanding of the big picture and obsession with getting every detail right

Quality, Care and Attention

Beautiful presentation
Exquisite detailing
Captivating story-telling

Rigour
Hard working: fully resolving issues and leaving no stone unturned
Seek clarity yet thrive in ambiguity
A strong vision

Ambition
Motivation to work on fantastic projects with the biggest and best clients
Happy challenging the status quo
Ability to articulate and fight for what you believe in

Team Work
Work well in groups
Great team spirit

If this sounds like you, we want to meet you.

Please send us your portfolio, your CV and your story. We look forward to hearing from you.
careers@native.com

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56 JUNE 2015 JOBS.DEVELOP3D.COM TO ADVERTISE CONTACT MATT WELLS | MATT@X3DMEDIA.COM | +44 (0) 7990 573624

p55_56_57_58_59_D3D_JUNE15_Jobs.indd 56 30/05/2015 06:43

 JOBS.DEVELOP3D.COM

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 JOBS.DEVELOP3D.COM

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 31 / 03 / 2016

JOBS.DEVELOP3D.COM JUNE 2015 59

p55_56_57_58_59_D3D_JUNE15_Jobs.indd 59 30/05/2015 06:43

 THE LAST WORD

The Internet of Things (IoT) is the new

hot topic in the technology world. Al Dean
has been struggling to think of a way
it might benefit the design process,
and he may have finally found it…
strapped to a mountain bike in Boston

I
f there’s one thing that the
technology industry loves, it’s a
new three-letter acronym. It gives
the techies something to rally
around, something to tout as the
next big thing, something around which
they can inflate a great big bubble.
Over the past couple of years, the Internet
of Things, or IoT, has been the new hot shit
in the tech world. But the issue, for me at
least, has always been the nebulous nature
of the term.
IoT is one of those concepts that means
different things to different people. Few
can express clearly what it means, without
delving into specifics, with an inevitable bias
in their own company’s favour.
So if you’re in the refrigerator business,
it’s about building a fridge that can tell a
customer when they run out of milk or even
automatically order fresh milk from an online
grocery store — apparently.
But as with all things in technology, if
you’re prepared to pop the bubble and dig
a bit deeper, you’ll usually uncover what it
actually means.
The IoT is, at a base level, about connected
devices: machines that use the internet
to convey information — either to other
machines, to the user or to the original
manufacturer of that machine.
It’s the wristband that tracks your running.
It’s the fancy new thermostat in your home,
bristling with sensors and designed by a guy
who once worked at Apple.
It’s the industrial earth-moving equipment
that detects when it’s due for a service, and
alerts not only the construction boss, but
also the third-party mechanics who carry
out repairs.
Until recently, I’ve struggled with how all
this could be of benefit to the design process.
More specifically, I’ve been wondering
what mileage there might be here for using
this type of technology in new product
development?
Surely, given a set of smart sensors that
connect back to a centralised point and
some tools to aggregate the stream of data
they generate, we could use IoT as part of
the design/test/break/design cycle?
So it was with some surprise and actual
glee (and it takes a lot to generate that
emotion in me these days) that I saw the
perfect demonstration of exactly that
1
thinking at PTC’s recent LiveWorx event,
held in Boston.
LiveWorx was PTC’s first event for a
market segment in which it’s been making
acquisitions for the last year or two (to the
tune of half a billion dollars, I might add)
and it was clear from the start that the team
was out to impress.
The demonstration drew together
PTC’s IoT technology (ThingWorx) which
connects an organisation to all manner of 2
data, streamed from any form of device,
as well as PTC’s own 3D CAD experience
(in the form of Creo, of course) and some
surprisingly cheap sensors — oh, and a
Santa Cruz mountain bike.
The team demonstrated a technology
concept it calls the ‘Digital Twin’. Essentially,
they rigged the bike with sensors and
streamed the data over the internet, via a
Raspberry Pi or two (see Figure 1).
ThingWorx then took the data and
transformed it into a dashboard that
allows the user to monitor those sensors’ 3
real-world output, measuring speed, shock
displacement, steering angle, movement of
the suspension arm at the rear and pedal at the bike (see Figure 1). NEXT MONTH:
speed (see Figure 2). It was truly remarkable to see on show We’ll be taking a
It then pushed that data, live, to a Creo such a well thought-out concept. It certainly closer look at PTC’s
session that mimicked the same movement, got my brain (and those of other attendees) Digital Twin project
creating the digital twin. As the bike moved, working overtime. in the July/August
so the Creo model updated (Figure 3). Just think for a minute what was achieved issue and detailing
And to cap it all off, the PTC team also here. Think what it might be achieved in how it works and
developed an augmented reality app for the future. Then carry on thinking, when I tell what the team did to
iPad, which overlays the same information on you that the whole project cost PTC just build the technology
a live video stream when the tablet is pointed $300 and took two days’ work. demonstration.

60 JUNE 2015 DEVELOP3D.COM

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TCT Ad.indd 1 29/05/2015 12:09