SolidWorks PhotoView 360 and Luxology’s modo 401 Open Doors for Engineering Designers

Last Updated on Friday, 10 December 2010 08:53 Written by DCD Admin Wednesday, 17 February 2010 09:03

Designers Stuart Brown and Paul McCrorey Produce High-Quality Visualizations with SolidWorks Models

Industrial designers are achieving photorealistic imaging results from designs modeled in Solidworks 2010 and visualized in Solidworks PhotoView 360 and Luxology’s modo software. PhotoView 360, which is bundled with the SolidWorks Premium and Professional 2010 editions, offers ease of use for rapid design visualization while modo offers maximum control over design visualization parameters with advanced features like animation.

SolidWorks users Stuart Brown and Paul McCrorey have recently tapped the capabilities of both PhotoView 360 and modo 401 to radically improve the quality of client presentations.

Based in Dorset, England, Stuart Brown is the owner of 3D Engineers, a specialty design firm that applies computer visualization tools to the process of classic car restoration. Stuart’s work straddles the worlds of mechanical engineering and design, and he was enthusiastic about how the rendering features of PhotoView 360 enhanced his SolidWorks experience.

Recently, a client who wanted a custom car asked Stuart to create a virtual wooden render of a buck, which is a wooden rig used to help make automobile bodies. After using Solidworks 2010 and PhotoView 360 to realize the buck and then modo 401 for final visualization, Stuart says, “The results showed an incredible visual performance increase, to the extent that I am often asked whether the picture I am showing a client is real or computer-generated.”

Paul McCrorey, also a designer and mechanical engineer, is based in Louisville, Ky., where he runs McCrorey Digital. He recently concluded a project using SolidWorks 2010, PhotoView 360 and modo 401 to create realistic images plus an animation of a unique Merlexi Chair wheelchair design. Like Stuart, Paul is very pleased with how this new generation of visualization tools has extended his SolidWorks modeling and design capacity.

“I was surprised by PhotoView 360′s extreme ease of use, coupled with the outstanding output quality,” Paul says. “It has helped me save both time and money, by allowing me to get very high quality images in a short time.”

Later importing his model into modo 401 for finishing, Paul says modo’s range of control was much greater than he expected: “For texturing, I used UV mapping to establish the fabric pattern on the back seat of the wheelchair. Displacement mapping was used to generate the treads on the tire. With the rich visualization and animation toolset provided in modo, the possibilities are truly endless. Features like morph maps and vertex weight maps were new to me but proved critical for realistic cloth movement. I used the constraint tools to precisely define the wheelchair’s folding action. Finally, the gradient editor provided extreme flexibility in timing of the animation.”

Another recent project of Paul’s led to a computer graphics modeling contract after the final image was posted publicly.

“As a result of my image of the ‘AMC module’ appearing on the Luxology image gallery, I landed a contract providing CG modeling assets for a short film directed and produced by Marc Leidy from Lightdog Films,” Paul says. “Using my engineering background and artistic capabilities, we are working together to interpret artistic conceptual drawings and model them in SolidWorks and modo.”

Stuart Brown and Paul McCrorey are but two of the thousands of designers finding new creative possibilities in the creation of breathtakingly realistic models produced with SolidWorks 2010 and visualized in PhotoView 360 and modo. This potent combination of tools from SolidWorks and Luxology is pioneering a crossover discipline between mechanical engineering and advanced design visualization that is allowing designs to be presented with greater accuracy and appeal than ever before

Autodesk Establishes R&D Presence in Israel

Last Updated on Thursday, 9 December 2010 08:53 Written by DCD Admin Monday, 15 February 2010 08:53

Global CAD Dominator Opens Center to Focus on Development of Emerging Technologies Autodesk a leader in 2D and 3D design, engineering and entertainment software, has established a research and development center in Tel Aviv, to help drive the development of emerging technologies such as web-based design and collaboration software. With the addition of Israel to Autodesk??s global development network, Autodesk now operates development centers in more than 14 countries around the world.

??Through our new presence in Tel Aviv, Autodesk will be able to better leverage Israel??s excellent educational institutions and the growing talents in the Israeli software industry??

Through the acquisition of privately held Tel Aviv-based software firm PlanPlatform, Ltd. in November 2009, Autodesk gained a talented team of Israeli developers who will help Autodesk further expand its expertise in emerging technologies and remote application delivery, building upon Autodesk??s past development in this space. The new Autodesk Israel Research and Development Center will compliment Autodesk??s existing sales presence in Israel through its value added channel Omnitech.

??Through our new presence in Tel Aviv, Autodesk will be able to better leverage Israel??s excellent educational institutions and the growing talents in the Israeli software industry,?? said Amar Hanspal, Autodesk senior vice president, platform solutions and emerging businesses. ??We look forward to being an active participant in Israel??s thriving high-tech community and continuing the global democratization of design technology via the web.??

The Autodesk Israel team in Tel Aviv recently completed their first Autodesk project, a technology preview called Project Butterfly, which debuted on Autodesk Labs earlier this year. The Project Butterfly Technology Preview extends the AutoCAD experience onto the web by enabling users to view, edit, and collaborate on DWG drawings in real-time with colleagues and clients online without downloading any software.

Autodesk Consulting and BOXX Technologies Deliver First Turn-Key Rendering Solution

Last Updated on Thursday, 9 December 2010 09:02 Written by DCD Admin Tuesday, 9 February 2010 09:01

Solution Provides Small to Mid-Size Visual Effects Companies with Configurable and Scalable Solution to Meet Rendering Needs BOXX Technologies, an innovator in high-performance computing systems for visual effects, post-production, graphic design and advanced visualization, together with Autodesk, Inc., a world leader in 2D and 3D design, engineering, and entertainment software, today announced the introduction of RenderFarm on Wheels (ROW), the world??s first turn-key dedicated rendering system. In developing ROW, BOXX engineers worked closely with Autodesk Consulting, an embedded services division helping customers address business problems and optimize operations.

??We have a global team with expertise in a broad range of industries??

??We have a global team with expertise in a broad range of industries,?? said Doron Helfman, director of Worldwide Manufacturing Consulting at Autodesk. ??We are keenly aware of the rendering issues businesses are facing. ROW helps to resolve many of those issues, requiring no IT department and arriving with unparalleled software and hardware support from Autodesk Consulting and BOXX.??

A complete, turn-key rendering solution, ROW is founded on a unique combination of hardware, software and support. The base model ROW hardware configuration features five Intel??? Xeon???-based renderBOXX modules, neatly fitted into a 24-unit mobile rack, complete with master node, storage, network switch, display and keyboard. BOXX also equips ROW with professional applications, including Autodesk??? creation software (Autodesk??? Maya??? and/or Autodesk??? 3ds Max??? software), real-time visualization capability (Autodesk??? Showcase??? or Autodesk??? Opticore??? Studio software), queuing software with PipelineFX QUBE!???, and rendering through mental ray??? or V-Ray??? software.

??RenderFarm on Wheels is an innovative combination of up to 60 Intel Xeon processor 5500 series machines, together with rendering animation software and support services,?? said Anthony Neal-Graves, general manager, Workstation Group, Intel Corporation. ??The bundle delivers a new way to gain quick and easy access to dedicated visualization and rendering solutions, while enabling users to accelerate their creation of 3D models, animations, renderings and compositions for the most demanding game, film and television projects.??

The third pillar of ROW rendering is the BOXX partnership with Autodesk Consulting. The relationship provides expert, on-site hardware and software support, especially valuable for those with limited experience using dedicated rendering solutions. The highly configurable ROW can be customized to meet current rendering needs, while remaining flexible for expansion as workflow increases.

??Most small to medium-size businesses have limited IT resources, if they have any at all,?? said Shoaib Mohammad, director of marketing and business development at BOXX. ??ROW provides them with the ultimate solution, requiring only Ethernet and power, with full support by Autodesk Consulting and BOXX.?