Automotive And Transportation
From major automotive part manufacturers and their vendors to small automotive customization shops, IronCAD’s 3D Design Solutions help engineers communicate effortlessly with large automotive manufacturers using its vast array of translators. This flexibility makes engineers more productive when designing the parts and tooling pieces necessary for commercial success.
IRONCAD’s ease-of-use is already changing the automtotive and transportation industry as leading automotive manufacturers and suppliers use IRONCAD to create everything from motor homes to hot rods. By adopting IronCAD’s 3D Design Solutions, opportunities become limitless as processes become more streamlined and efficiency increases.
Information Exchange
With IronCAD’s 3D Design Solutions, automotive and transportation engineers communicate more freely. Dual ACIS and Parasolid kernels allow import and export of common file formats like Catia® V4 and V5; Pro/Engineer®; Unigraphics®; Solidworks®; Inventor®; Unigraphics®, IGES and STEP.
Use IRONCAD to facilitate an open exchange of ideas and refine automotive projects. Share work between designers in the office or customers in the field regardless of what CAD program they use. IRONCAD can edit almost any file format. Make changes to imported files without re-creating geometry by using direct face modeling or adding new intelligent 3D parts with IRONCAD catalogs – a perfect fit for automotive suppliers who work around other engineer’s designs.
IRONCAD can even publish information online thanks to 3D PDF export and the ability to embed models in web sites using standard web based 3D formats. And with the press of a single mouse click you can package up your design in a light graphics format for distribution via email to anyone you wish and the recipient can view the model in full 3D on their computer (Internet Explorer required).
Design
We live in a 3D world, but most 3D systems out there make you start in 2D. Mainstream 3D CAD applications make you begin with a 2D sketch which has to be constrained and is then extruded, spun, lofted etc to create your design. These features need constant management to avoid your design from breaking later on. IRONCAD is different, in IRONCAD shapes are unique and intelligent. To begin a design in IRONCAD simply start by dragging and dropping features, parts and assemblies from standard catalogs or use advanced tool wizards to create standard parts, like bolts and gears. Just drag-and-drop elements from IRONCAD’s elaborate catalog system and watch automotive pieces take shape without sketching a single line (of course traditional 2D sketching for extruded, spun, swept and lofted shapes is available).With IRONCAD, you spend your time designing and not managing data, no longer do you need to worry about rebuild errors and broken relationships.
Unlike other 3D CAD systems, you have a choice in IRONCAD to work in a more traditional approach to design by working with intelligent features such as extrudes, spins, sweeps, lofts, and surfaces, or work by direct manipulation of part and feature geometry, or even a combination of both! It’s what we call Hybrid modeling and IRONCAD has had this technology since the product launched in 1998. The power of the system means IRONCAD does not constrain you by limiting your design changes to only those that are anticipated. Hybrid modeling allows dynamic, unanticipated changes to be made easily; just open the file in IRONCAD and make the changes that are required to get your product to market. It’s that simple. This flexibility is crucial in automotive manufacturing, where designs change drastically from one revision to another. Even make design changes with customers in real time to fulfill their automotive needs.
If you do work with features, IRONCAD makes design easy. IRONCAD’s intelligent parts and features enable geometry to mate and align automatically, history is automatically reordered to reflect your intent, and even allows entire assemblies to be resized without changing individual shapes. If you need to move a hole or boss to another area of your design simply click and drag. It will apply itself to the new location regardless of how the part was built and without breaking other areas of the design.
Changing the size of an item is as simple as pulling on a 3D handle on the design. Need to make that hole bigger, pull on a handle, need to change the bend radius of that sheet metal part, pull a handle! IRONCAD puts the controls directly on the model so you can change your design dynamically in 3D instead of having to edit a sketch.
Engineers even control how IRONCAD organizes their data. Choose between externally linked files or IRONCAD’s single-scene design environment, which stores projects in a single file and makes sharing designs easy. IRONCAD’s single scene design environment makes data management a thing of the past. No longer does a 4000 part assembly have to be represented by 4000-5000 files on your hard drive or server. In IRONCAD you have everything in one file, spread amongst five files, ten, it’s your choice. IRONCAD’s freedom to choose how you work changes the way engineers design for the better.
Simulation
Simulate designs virtually before clients ever see them with IRONCAD’s real-world mechanical testing. Digital simulations replace costly physical mockups. By applying mechanical constraints during design, engineers in the automotive industry create real-world simulations to test part viability.
IRONCAD supports testing in one of four constraint-solving algorithms with fully integrated collision detection in mechanical simulation and regular design modes. Engineers can also, test design survivability with integrated analysis software like NEi Nastran for IRONCAD package, delivered with a free node-limited fully functional version.
Production
IRONCAD’s complete 3D and 2D design package will improve the production process. Export files into formats directly compatible with automotive tooling machines or create and dimension 2D views to clearly document designs for production. IRONCAD automatically generates all necessary 2D drawing information including bill of materials from 3D scene files. Because of this, drawings are fully associative to the 3D model. Engineers can also use exploded views and 3D animations for detailed assembly instructions. With IRONCAD, 2D and 3D work together, delivering a final product faster than any other CAD system.
IRONCAD also supports your rapid prototyping needs with full support for STL import and export. This allows you to test your designs using 3D printers prior to going to production.
Efficiency
By enhancing information exchange, design processes, prototyping and production, IronCAD’s 3D Design Solutions for the automotive and transportation industries will increase productivity, ease working with other automotive manufacturers, and allow engineers to be creative in design. Its design system is easy-to-use and can be learned in days, not months like other CAD systems. Automotive industry designers at types of companies will adapt quickly to IRONCAD’s user-friendly interface, saving money by reducing training expenses and lost design hours.
Use IRONCAD to freely exchange ideas and eliminate misunderstandings during development and production. Managers can even build workflow systems around IRONCAD to encompass conceptualization, design and production to increase output. Everything will change with IRONCAD. Three-dimensional conceptualization will clearly state designs, communication will improve, turn-around time will decrease, revisions will be reduced and productivity will increase – making you a more profitable automotive company.
