CIMdata PLM Industry Summary Online Archive
28 October 2005
Company News
think3 Executive Describes Dramatic Product Development Time and Cost Savings in Panel Discussion at Major Italian Transportation Industry Technology Conference
think3 Director of Product Marketing Davide Ciarloni presented think3's approach to industrial design-"Target-Driven Design (TDD) Approach in Automotive Design and Engineering: Innovative Applications of TDD on Design Review Process and Spring-back Compensation"-in a technical session at Alumotive 2005 held from October 20-22, 2005 in Modena, Italy. Other participants in the Alumotive panel discussion on "Design with Light Alloys and new Technological Materials" included engineers from automakers Audi and Ferrari, as well as from the Minardi Formula 1 racing team. Alumotive is the International Exhibition of Innovative Solutions, Subcontracting, Aluminium Components and Technological Materials for the Transport Industry.
In his presentation, Ciarloni showed how the Target-Driven Design approach to industrial design now allows automotive designers, for example, to modify the space under the hood in eight minutes instead of the eight hours previously required, to reshape curves in 30 minutes instead of four hours, and to expand a wheelbase in four hours instead of the usual 80. Target-Driven Design, based on think3's advanced Global Shape Modeling technology, GSM3, enables industrial designers to create rapid, accurate variations, modifications or refinements throughout the product design process. Faster iterations and unlimited design creativity enable time-savings exceeding 90 percent in the modification phase and up to 75 percent in total development costs. The result is not only better industrial design but also a substantial cost savings and competitive advantage in a range of industries, including automotive and transportation, where time-to-market is critical to success.
GSM3's unique features include:
• Reflection Highlights-allowing designers to modify a shape by changing a reflection light on the shape itself. GSM3 will compute the shape that will generate the desired reflection light creating a highlight. This can be accomplished in 10 minutes or less, versus the 40 to 50 hours required using traditional methods, and represents a dramatic improvement in the realization of design intent through technology.
• Real-time Dynamic Rendering-the only technology that allows designers to create and make live modifications to a model (designers no longer have to worry about doing the math) while simultaneously being able to see the artistic results in a rendered form, providing a level of realism on the screen never before possible.
• Adaptive Measures-a new technology that enables designers to refer and link the construction of new 2-D and 3-D geometries to existing ones without the need to use calculators or spreadsheets, making design much easier and faster, while providing more powerful modeling capabilities.
Designers reach their design intent by assigning "targets," which can be specific points to be reached, or curves, or even the desired reflection of light on a reference shape. GSM3's Target-Driven Design approach allows designers to focus exclusively on product shape and to express themselves in their own way, then translates their design intent automatically and completely into engineering models for analysis and manufacture. It is based on think3's pioneering efforts in developing a hybrid modeler that enables designers to create anything by mixing and matching surface and solids modeling to best reach their design goals, and supports a fundamental shift in the way designers and others along the product design/development continuum can use computer-aided design (CAD) software to facilitate both design and production.
"GSM3 is still the only creation/modification tool that lets industrial designer make accurate and precise changes on the fly, anytime, anywhere in the product design process, without limiting their creativity," explained Ciarloni. "Its 'technology bridge' allows stylists and engineers to complete their surface and solids modifications in one system, while retaining both design intent and data integrity. For the first time, with think3's radical new approach to design, it is finally possible to focus on the creative design process and forget the math, improving a company's competitiveness and time-to-market."
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