The CAD Professional\'s Guide to Lightning-Fast R&D-V5 PDF

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The CAD Professional’s Guide to Lightning Fast R&D Tools, tips and expert advice from real CAD professionals

Today’s global market is unforgiving. Product-to-market cycles are faster than ever, forcing businesses to keep up with innovation or risk being left behind. Cheap labor produces more for less, unless you bank on automation and team efficiencies.

Image courtesy of McCrorey Digital

For top companies with quality products to compete, they need to streamline the R&D process, collaborate more effectively and reduce inefficiencies every step of the way.

It’s time to supercharge your R&D cycle with innovative tools and tactics. This guide was written to help show you how.

Table of Contents

The Need for Speed The engineers at Quirky, a product development company, know all about the need for speed. After all, they design, rapidprototype, test and bring to market two new consumer products each week. No, they’re not superheroes. They just have a supercharged community backing them. Quirky crowdsources inventions and designs from a 300,000-strong community of tinkerers, dreamers and amateurs. Then, Quirky’s design engineers get to work. Ben Kaufman (@benkaufman), the company’s founder and CEO, pushes his team hard because he believes that rapid prototyping, a fast iteration cycle, and constant failure and refinement produce the best products.

He’s on to something: In the last three years, revenue at Quirky skyrocketed from $1 million in 2010, to $7 million in 2011, to $25 million (projected) in 2012. (Source) Like the human Bugatti Veyrons at Quirky, mechanical and design engineers are no strangers to the need for speed. But speed isn’t the whole story in this industry. You don’t just need to be fast; you need to be accurate, creative and costconscious. A democratized, consumer-driven market—where people can find the exact product they want, for the price they’re willing to pay, from anywhere in the world— doesn’t allow anything else.

taking the gloves off—producing more for less and reaping the bottom-line benefits. New technologies like advanced 3D modeling software make it easier to produce designs for less. They also make it easier for lean firms to outpace larger outfits. In fact, more than 1,200 mechanical engineers believe that they’re improving their capabilities to share information and data, according to a June 2011 survey by the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME).

From tractors to cars to medical equipment, firms around the world are

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They also believe they must constantly update their skills to remain competitive, reflecting the current reality sweeping engineering: new technologies streamline workflow, and the resulting productivity gains are necessary for survival and success.

That means adopting new technologies and enhanced productivity habits is more important than ever. By managing communications, taming workflow and using the right tools, you’ll see increased outputs and shorter R&D cycles.

The end result? A lean, mean R&D machine that puts you on an even footing with—or ahead of—the competition. Read on for tools and tips to trim the fat and add rocket fuel to your R&D cycle.

In short, engineering teams need to do more with less, while collaborating with owners, contractors and other engineering professionals across the globe.

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Tools & Technologies They call it globalization for a reason: businesses aren’t just competing or coworking on their home turf; they’re battling competitors, and capturing market share and billings on every corner of the map. Mechanical engineers see the changes firsthand. One of the top-rated skills they believe critical to future success is the ability to manage global teams, according to the ASME survey. For example, Ford Research and Advanced Engineering Europe (R&A), tasked with creating innovative motor vehicles with environmental considerations at the forefront, is a team of 250. These individuals are located across 25 nations, and work closely with more contacts outside

the company itself—with universities, institutions, suppliers and even competitors. A group of about 100 research engineers are concentrated at development in Cologne, Germany and Dunton, England, and tasked specifically “to assure the seamless technology transfer into product development.” With increased global responsibility comes the need for technological tools that foster collaboration and communication across time zones. These gadgets will help you streamline workflows, produce designs faster and stay on top of multinational projects.

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Access Files & Collaborate, from Anywhere Product Data Management (PDM) solutions help project leaders, team members and other major project players stay up-todate on the latest changes, revisions and information necessary to complete R&D cycles.

However, if you’re with a smaller outfit looking to stay lean, you may not have the time, funds or infrastructure required for a full-blown PDM solution. That’s where these data management and collaboration tools come in.

PDM software is available that integrates directly with some of today’s top CAD solutions, including those from Dassault Systèmes, Autodesk, PTC, Siemens and SolidWorks.

They’ll give your team the power to share, markup, view and collaborate on design files — without the budget spend and adoption time required by a full PDM. Not to mention, you’ll have the ability to access important documents across devices — whether a desktop at work, laptop at home, or tablet or mobile when you’re on the go.

While these solutions are robust, they are often enterprise-grade and complex. That’s not a bad thing: enterprise PDM solutions give companies unrivaled power over their workflows.

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GrabCAD Workbench: Create teams and manage access by user for file-sharing, messages and more. Those involved in the project can open designs directly in web browsers—no CAD software necessary for reviews by non-engineers or designers. (And no worries about accidental changes!) Security, backup and privacy measures are in place to keep your projects safe. GrabCAD Workbench is a beta element of GrabCAD; request an invitation via the website.

Tinkercad and Sketchfab: Share your designs with team members, project leaders or your company’s fan base using Tinkercad and Sketchfab. Like GrabCAD Workbench, both tools are web-based: you and your audience don’t need CAD software to view designs. Both Tinkercad and Sketchfab support a variety of file formats and prize easy-to-use user interfaces. Both tools have free versions, as well as paid monthly subscriptions with increased security, storage space and features tailored to commercial businesses.

WikiSpaces and HackPad: These tools provide your firm with its own private Wikipedia-like service. Create collaborative, communal documents. Edit, comment and brainstorm in real time. Inform and educate your team. Do it all in a seamless document interface that cuts down on email and phone calls. WikiSpaces offers business accounts that provide unlimited storage and encrypted security. HackPad marks each person’s contributions in a different color, so you always know who added what to the discussion.

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Google Drive and Dropbox: Create and collaborate on notes, documents, presentations and spreadsheets with Google Drive and Dropbox. Both services store your documents and files in the cloud, making them accessible from any computer or mobile device. Perfect for sharing files with global teams, both tools are free to use (though you’ll pay for more cloud storage space). For additional security layers, consider utilizing Google Drive as a part of a Google Apps for Business account. Dropbox allows you to collaborate in the cloud.

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Basecamp, Huddle and SharePoint: When your projects resemble a three-ring circus, turn to these tools. Basecamp, Huddle and SharePoint offer similar enterprise-level project management and collaboration features, including file sharing and commenting on tasks. Ask your IT department about virtualization: The tools mentioned here only scratch the surface in what’s possible with collaboration technologies. Depending upon your company’s size, complexity, sensitivity and budgets, you may need a more highly secure, redundant and / or enterprise-friendly solution. Talk with your IT department about the type of collaboration you want to achieve with your teams, and see what suggestions they bring to the table.

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Communicate with Teams across the Globe Accessing documents, files and media with cloud tools means that your team is no longer chained to a single location. And the changing dynamics of the industry mean you’re probably already working with clients, contractors or employees that you aren’t meeting with in person. Video and audio conferencing tools are a huge advantage when you need to manage workflow among colleagues scattered across the country — or the world. In fact, a July 2009 Wainhouse Research study, Benchmarking the Benefits of Videoconferencing Deployments, found that both enterprises and small-to-medium businesses (SMBs) utilizing the technology cut time-to-market by 24%.

Jonathan Landeros, a 3Dconnexion user and application engineer, knows what it takes to get products out the door. Having technologies to communicate with teams (especially when they’re global) is key. He says: “Keep open lines of communication between your vendors and shop floor. Many times they can have input that will help improve your design by making it easier to build and maintain.” Check into the following tools as options to help streamline communications, better collaborate and create, and save time during your R&D process.

Image courtesy of McCrorey Digital

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Google Hangouts, FaceTime and Skype: Host meetings, chat about design specs, look at flaws together or replace phone calls entirely with these conferencing tools. Videoconference with up to 10 people using Google Hangouts. Spend some one-on-one time reviewing designs with FaceTime. Or, take part in audio or video chat across oceans with Skype.

MightyMeeting and GoToMeeting: Share slides, presentations and whiteboard drawings with MightyMeeting. Take advantage of HD video conferencing and patch people into your meeting via phone or internet using GoToMeeting. Both tools make meeting with geographically scattered teams easy on a mobile device, computer or phone.

WebEx: An enterprise solution for large organizations, WebEx helps you share your screen, whiteboard or documents with dozens of meeting participants.

Get the proper hardware and infrastructure in place: Again, depending upon your business needs, you may be best suited with a sophisticated, state-of-the-art videoconferencing suite.

In addition, audio conferencing features mean that participants can listen in via phone or internet.

Talk with your IT department about your options.

Each tool is free, though Skype has premium paid options and callers will pay to dial physical phones from their computers.

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Cloud Computing Efficiency in Action: SketchThis Kitchen Design Plugin 3Dconnexion user and owner of SketchUp consultancy SketchThis.Net Eric Schimelpfenig has spent his career designing incredible kitchens and bathrooms—and now he’s built a tool to streamline that process. “I’ve been building a SketchUp plugin for kitchen designers over the past few years. By downloading a 100kb plugin, users can access a continually-updated catalog of dynamic cabinet components for use in SketchUp designs. Many of the designs are parametric, meaning the accessories know what they are, and thus can only be placed where they can actually be used in a real kitchen, and also that they can be resized proportionally. As the ‘alpha tester,’ I use the plugin myself, and save tons of time—an average of 15 minutes per cabinet.”

The entire catalog is hosted in the cloud, so component updates can easily be made and pushed out to all users. In addition, this structure essentially deletes unused components from the user’s design file, eliminating the use of large components that often lead to system crashes. Click here to learn more about the SketchThis.NET Kitchen Design Plugin for SketchUp, and to request beta access.

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Use Mobile & Web Apps for Productivity on-the-go As mobile becomes a ubiquitous way of doing business, forward-thinking engineers need to embrace the burgeoning mechanical engineering app market. That market is just developing, but there are already several useful offerings available. Combined with some general apps, watch your R&D process become leaner and more productive with these tools.

Mechanical Engineer and MetaCalculator: Mechanical Engineer provides comprehensive, mobile catalogs of common formulas and sizing standards used by engineers.

TurboViewer X: When you need to go mobile, TurboViewer X is here to help. The app is a 2D and 3D DWG file viewer for your smartphone or tablet.

MetaCalculator calculates volume, weight and other properties for a variety of shapes, saving you valuable time during the design process.

Using screen gestures, rotate, zoom and navigate your CAD models while in the field or on the go.

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StayFocusd and LeechBlock: The first is a browser add-on for Google Chrome; the second works with Mozilla Firefox. Both will save you from yourself while surfing the web. StayFocusd and LeechBlock block timewasting websites (think Facebook and Twitter), forcing you to focus on the design task at hand. They even include a nuclear option: once you block a site, you must uninstall the add-ons to regain access.

FocusBooster and Pomodoro Time Management: Both FocusBooster (for desktops and laptops) and Pomodoro Time Management (for iPhones) take advantage of the famous Pomodoro productivity technique. Each sets a timer for 25 minutes. Once the timer’s up, take a five minute break. Then, repeat the process to carve out 25-minute blocks of high-focus productivity time throughout your day.

into 25-minute productivity blocks.

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RescueTime and TimeFox: RescueTime is the premier time-tracking tool on the market. It’ll analyze your online habits and produce productivity reports based on your internet usage. These reports identify your peak productivity times. TimeFox is another tracking tool that’s useful for monitoring exactly what you spend your time on (both online and offline) each day.

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Kickstart your Manufacturing Process Table manufacturer Paul Downs is all too familiar with the ups and downs of global manufacturing. His company, Paul Downs Cabinetmakers, was hit hard by the crash of 2008. He laid off 65% of his workforce (13 out of 20 workers), then replenished the ranks to 14 after the economy sputtered back to life. Now, his shop is more productive than it was when 20 people worked there—2011’s production topped $2 million in goods, compared to $1.5 million in 2005.

Because increased manufacturing productivity isn’t just good for business, it’s a necessary part of the R&D cycle in the face of rigorous global competition.

3D design technology can help. 3D CAD software, 3D mice and 3D printers reduce mistakes, shorten product-to-market timelines and improve productivity.

But efficiency shouldn’t start on the production floor. Get ahead of the game by quickening timelines in the development, engineering and design phases of your product development.

Why?

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Produce Better Designs with 3D CAD 3D CAD software doesn’t get enough love. Only 44% of those polled by the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) consider themselves “knowledgeable” about the software. That’s a shame, because it fuels manufacturing productivity and R&D. With 3D CAD, you can: Test designs before you build them. 3D CAD enables you to simulate everything from fluid flows and vibrations to stress tests and load-bearing. Instead of wasting budget and time manufacturing prototypes, you identify design flaws before you send products to the factory.

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Make design changes quickly and easily. Many 3D CAD packages are “associative,” which makes tweaking designs simple. Modeling in appropriate design intent allows you to maintain relationships between features and parts, regardless of changes to other parts of the model. More efficiently manage documents and share design data. Most 3D CAD programs are supported by data management systems that allow engineers and designers to share their work and collaborate on design, making them more robust and cost effective. Each step of the way, changes are integrated into design documents, streamlining workflows and improving collaboration.

Image courtesy of Skoda Auto

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But it’s not just 3D CAD knowledge that poses an issue—it’s the complete skillset required of modern engineers that is becoming a problem for many organizations. Despite global economic concerns, signs and surveys indicate that engineering jobs are available, but that the employees needed to fill them are too few and far between. Engineered in Britain: Manufacturing a Successful Economy, a 2012 report from the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, found that although 76% of manufacturers were seeking more staff, 41% struggle to find employees with the right skills.Specifically, recruiting candidates that are chartered and incorporated engineers was cited as a challenge for 63% of those surveyed.

Paul McCrorey, founder of McCrorey Digital helps companies present their designs in ways that build credibility and competitive advantage: “I use my technical background and meld it with my artistic background to help visually communicate the concepts of my clients with animation and motion graphics. Some of my clients will give me a napkin drawing or a concept they have in their head. From that I can create a model in SolidWorks and import it into an environment I’ve created in Luxology modo.”

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Get the most out of 3D CAD Software with a powerful Graphics Card When using 3D CAD, it’s important to add a powerful graphics card to your productivity arsenal. Design software and the 3D models it produces are becoming increasingly complex, and when you’re working quickly, you need to ensure that your computer can keep up.

And that’s what faster R&D is all about. See how the engineers at MotoCzysz, an electric motorcycle company, push SolidWorks to the limit with powerful graphics cards from NVIDIA.

With a robust graphics processing unit (GPU), you’ll navigate and model without lag or interruptions caused by hardware during the design process. You’ll also be able to take advantage of quick load times and intricate rendering features in your favorite design software. The end result is a design workflow that produces more complex, more accurate models with minimal roadblocks and maximum efficiency.

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Produce more with a 3D Mouse Working in 3D CAD requires precise positioning of parts and assemblies, as well as extensive use of application menus and shortcut keys. With a 3D mouse, you can simultaneously pan, zoom and rotate 3D content and access application commands with built-in function keys, while your other hand uses the standard mouse to select, create and edit.

Better performance accompanies these productivity gains. According to the same study, 85% of CAD design engineers said their designs improved when using a 3D mouse. A full 84% said a 3D mouse helped them better detect design errors. And nearly everyone said using a 3D mouse makes using CAD software more fun!

This two-handed work style improves productivity....