Do you have the ECAD/MCAD collaboration that you need?

Collaboration between Altium Designer and SolidWorks

As more and more electronic products involve both electrical and mechanical components, and product release cycles get shorter, there’s a real need for stronger collaboration between the ECAD and MCAD domains. But that collaboration isn’t always smooth.

The electrical and mechanical designer often send emails back and forth or have to dabble in each other’s respective design tools. Something that leaves them treading a little water, and far removed from their established comfort zones. The solution is to use a method of collaboration that enables the two to graphically communicate ideas and proposals for change, without leaving their trusty working environments.

DXF/DWG support

Supporting your need to work with design files in other formats and from other tools, install this plugin to import a nominated AutoCAD DXF or DWG file into an open and active PCB document. The import in Altium is performed using the File » Import command. As part of the import, you can control settings such as layer mappings, donut-to-pad conversion, default line width and scale.

STEP and Parasolid export

Altium Designer supports exporting the PCB to the STEP file format. The STEP file can then be imported into an MCAD design environment, for further integration into the mechanical design. Parasolid export will also contain all copper information needed when imported into Solidworks.

View original source: http://www.cadmicro.com/ecad-mcad-collaboration/

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Toronto, Ontario M9W 6L9
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Email: info@cadmicro.com

Three Ways to Outsmart your Competition

In today’s global and hyper-competitive landscape, it’s no longer acceptable to design, sell and produce your products with traditional methods. Consumers are expecting better products at cheaper prices. Businesses overseas, which were typically fast followers, are starting to lead the charge with innovation cutting into market share. Businesses across North America are quickly adapting, but many are lagging behind. Here are three ways to get ahead of the curve and outsmart your competition.

Test While Designing

What if your designers and engineers could perform tests on designs before building prototypes? Now you can assign actual materials with material properties to your models. This unlocks the potential for stress testing, flow analysis, injection mold simulation and more. With these types of tools, multiple design and test iterations can be performed quickly and earlier in the design process. This allows for better product performance, less material used, reduced field failures and easier prediction of product behavior in real-life situations. Testing while designing enables your product to perform ahead of your competition.

View Original Source: http://www.cadmicro.com/outsmart-competition/

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CAD MicroSolutions
65 International Blvd, Suite 103,
Toronto, Ontario M9W 6L9
Web: http://www.cadmicro.com
Email: info@cadmicro.com

Comparing Versions of Part and Drawing Files in PDM…Yes You Can!

How do you compare versions of Part files in PDM?  Perhaps you review each version of the part using the Get Version command and viewing it in the PDM Vault View Preview tab.  That will work, but how do you remember all the changes between one version and the next when you cannot look at them at the same time?

Or perhaps you knew of the Compare tool found in the History window of PDM. Simply click on an older version of the file and then click the Compare button…

Wait a minute…not too useful, is it?

But hold on there…there is another tool to compare versions and it does a much better job. Not too many people know it exists, but I’m here to show you not only where it is, but how to use it. Let’s take a look…

First, let’s open a file in SOLIDWORKS that is stored in the PDM vault and has multiple versions…

View Original Source: http://www.cadmicro.com/compare-part-drawing-files-pdm/

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CAD MicroSolutions

65 International Blvd, Suite 103,

Toronto, Ontario M9W 6L9

Email: info@cadmicro.com

Are you spending too much on prototyping? Learn how to save money! – Part 2

Moving forward from the last part of this article; we discussed two essential strategies that intend to keep more of your money in your pocket in the long run. To recap, we brought up Digital Prototype Methods and using CAD and simulation software, as well as using Desktop Printers. In this second part, we discuss three more strategies that not only aim to improve your prototype stage, but also the overall workflow.

Simplify your Designs:

If you simply want to test the mechanical fit between two mating objects, why bother prototype the entire assembly and all part details? Your engineering team should be aware that adding holes, curvatures, slanted features, etc. can increase printing/machining time and complexity, which would most likely drive up the price. It can be useful to target specific features in your design for prototyping and testing.

Collaborate with Manufacturing Early On:

Working alongside manufacturing during the design stage can be the most valuable decision you make for your team. It’s essential to separate design from manufacturability. Although this may be straightforward, engineers and designers often construct complex designs that cannot be manufactured. That is why it’s important to rely on manufacturing expertise early in the design stage and ensure manufacturing validation before the design has been completed. Not only will you be able to save on multiple prototype cycles, if manufacturing issues were to arise, but a lot of vital resources can be saved as a result of consulting ahead of time with manufacturing.

Originally Shared at: http://www.cadmicro.com/spending-much-prototyping-learn-save-money-part-2/

Contact Us:

CAD MicroSolutions

65 International Blvd, Suite 103,

Toronto, Ontario M9W 6L9

Email: info@cadmicro.com