Many of you might not know it, but mechanical CAD can trace its roots to the 1950s. In 1957 Dr. Patrick Hanratty, sometimes referred to as the “Father of CAD”, developed the first numerical control manufacturing system. He later went on to license technology to United Computing and Intergraph (both now part of Siemens PLM), Computervision (now part of PTC) and many others.

In 1962 Dr. Ivan Sutherland invented Sketchpad, a predecessor to the graphical design systems we use today. Many advances in Mechanical CAD have been possible because of advances in computer technology – from the introduction of time sharing of mainframe computers to the invention of the smart phone.

Rise of the workstation

When I first started writing CAD software for McDonnell Douglas in the early 1980s the CAD world was transitioning from mainframes to “minicomputers”. By minicomputer I mean a machine that weighed a few tons! When we “shipped” a release the software wasn’t downloadable from the internet or even mailed on a DVD or CD. We shipped the software, the graphics terminals and even the desks and chairs that an engineer would need when using the CAD software. We then sent somebody on site to install the software from a set of reel-to-reel magnetic tapes.

We shipped the software, the graphics terminals and even the desks and chairs that an engineer would need when using the CAD software. We then sent somebody on site to install the software from a set of reel-to-reel magnetic tapes.” It’s just too good.

Over the next decade and a half we witnessed the evolution of computers that were shared between companies, machines that could be purchased by and dedicated to a single engineering department, workstations that sat on (or at least under) an engineer’s desk and finally portable personal computers that an engineer could use in the office, on a train or plane and at home.

Disrupting the current status quo

We are now in the middle of the next computer revolution, one that will inevitably have a more profound impact on how engineering is done than the introduction of powerful personal computers in the mid-1990s. The cloud makes application data securely available to any device at any time. Elastic computing provides resources to software programs at an unprecedented scale. Smart phones combine a computer, a communication device, a video camera and an advanced application platform into a single tool that can be put in your pocket. The best computer is the one that you have with you right now.

It’s natural that engineers will take advantage of being able access their data from any device at any time.

How will this affect CAD? It’s natural that engineers will take advantage of being able access their data from any device at any time. They will leverage the massive computing power of the cloud, and they will enjoy the benefits of having a computer in their pocket that allows them to work where they want, when they want. This will, in turn, lead to tighter supply chain collaboration; better integration between design, manufacturing and service delivery; and ultimately better products.

History of CAD Timeline

Proprietary Systems

1960s: Large Automotive and Aerospace companies begin to develop their own proprietary CAD/CAM systems for internal use. Only very large companies had access to computer aided design. It was debatable whether CAD was more productive than traditional techniques.

Mainframes

1972: IBM releases VM/CMS mainframe operating system (virtual machine/conversational monitor system). Machines running VM/CMS could be used for batch computing or time-sharing.

1977: The French aerospace company Dassault begins development of CATIA, a 3d CAD system originally written to run on mainframe operating systems Commercial CAD systems become available and productive for high end users, primarily Aerospace companies.

Minicomputers

1977: Digital Equipment Corporation (DEC) releases the VAX 11/780 running the 32-bit virtual memory VMS operating system. These machines would be used for batch processing, time-sharing and real time computing. They came with integrated computer networking and standardized methods for calling between programming languages.

1983: Unigraphics II is released by McDonnell Douglas. Sometimes called UG II, this product takes advantage of virtual memory on VMS and AOS/VS operating systems. UG II provides 3d wireframe and surface modeling, associative drafting, finite element analysis and CAM. With UG II and its contemporaries CAD becomes competitive with traditional engineering techniques.

UNIX Workstations

1982: SUN Microsystems founded. SUN helped popularize UNIX for scientific computing. Each workstation, which could sit on an engineer’s desk, contained a CPU, a graphics device or terminal and input devices. They were easy to network together to facilitate sharing and access to data and processing. Individual UNIX workstations would ultimately be much more powerful than an entire 11/780 minicomputer.

UNIX workstations were sometimes called Open Systems because hardware could be purchased from many vendors that ran approximately the same operating system (SUN, HP, Apollo, Silicon Graphics, IBM, DEC, Microsoft and others).

1987: Pro/Engineer Version 1.0 is released. PTC introduces parametric, feature-based solid modeling, a paradigm that all popular CAD system copy. For the first time solid modeling becomes a productive alternative to wireframe and surface modeling. Engineering managers can now purchase a “seat” of CAD without the approval of the MIS department.

Personal Computers

1995: Microsoft launches Windows 95. One operating system, OEMed by many computer manufacturers, comes to dominate the personal computer market.

1995: Solid Edge V1 and SolidWorks 95 released

1999: Autodesk Inventor released.

Engineers can now have one computer one their desk for both CAD and office applications. They can purchase and install the software themselves without the assistance of the IT department.

Elastic and Mobile Computing

2006: Amazon Web Services (AWS) launched, providing online services for other web sites and client side applications

2007: Apple iPhone released

2010: GrabCAD is founded. The GrabCAD library of CAD models helps establish the world’s largest and fastest growing community of mechanical CAD professionals.

2013: GrabCAD Workbench, iOS app and Android app are released

Engineers can now collaborate seamlessly with coworkers and supply chain partners. They can view, interrogate and annotate their CAD models from any device, anytime, anywhere.

Share your CAD history with us

When did you start your career as a mechanical engineer or CAD professional? What were your first tools? What was your first computer? How do you think the cloud and mobile computing will affect your daily and professional lives? Have you tried Workbench? We’d love to hear from you.

Starting today GrabCAD has opened our platform to allow users to publish content directly from third-party applications to the public Library or private Workbench projects.  Our first “Publish to GrabCAD” partner is Luxion, makers of KeyShot.  KeyShot is a top choice of GrabCADrs for amazing renderings, and now we’ve made it even easier to move content from KeyShot to GrabCAD using Windows or Mac.  With KeyShot 4.1, users will be able to transfer completed renderings and static images (animations coming soon) directly from KeyShot to GrabCAD Workbench projects or the GrabCAD library.  You save time and effort, and your colleagues (or the world) get to see your snazzy-looking models that much faster.

How It Works

Within KeyShot, a new option under Edit > Preferences > Plugins is now available. When a user activates this plugin, they will be prompted to log into GrabCAD allowing authorization to connect to the GrabCAD users’ account.  After a rendering is created, users may select the image(s) they wish to upload from the KeyShot Library Renderings tab, right-click and select “Publish to GrabCAD”. The user has the option to publish the image(s) to the public Library or private Workbench. Once published, the user will be taken to the GrabCAD project in their web browser. Initially, this functionality allows direct publishing of a rendered image to a  GrabCAD Library model or Workbench project, with the ability to import models directly into KeyShot coming later in 2013.

• Users of previous versions can upgrade here
• If you’re already on version 4 you can update the lastest point release.

What It Means

GrabCAD is already becoming the standard for how engineers share and collaborate around products. With our new “publish to” capability, it’s even easier to move your data seamlessly to GrabCAD and share with your trusted partners or with the world.  KeyShot is just the first of many applications that will have direct access to GrabCAD, we’ll be announcing more over the next few months. In the meantime, let us know what applications you’d most like to see integrated to GrabCAD Workbench or the public Library, and give “Publish to GrabCAD” a try for yourself.

Ever heard of General Electric? It’s one of the largest companies in the world. Chances are there’s a few things around your house designed and manufactured by GE, and now you have the chance to design a GE product of your own.

We’re very excited to announce that GE has paired up with GrabCAD to give the open engineering community the chance to design a critical aircraft engine component. Today more and more companies are using additive manufacturing to lift constraints of traditional manufacturing processes, giving designers the ability to grow practically any shape, enabling the use of fully optimized lightweight designs that do not sacrifice performance.

Greg Morris, Strategy and Business Development for Additive Technologies at GE, said, “GE is always looking for new ways to bring great ideas to life, and we’re excited to tap the creativity and skills of GrabCAD and NineSigma’s significant membership databases. New approaches, including additive manufacturing and crowd-sourcing design concepts, are just a few of the ways we are accelerating our design process.”

GE’s focus on additive technologies is part of its continued leadership in advanced manufacturing. GE is the world’s largest user of additive technologies in metals, with a full-scale additive manufacturing facility in Cincinnati, Ohio, and a global team of 600 engineers, spread across 21 sites. Companywide, GE invests $6 billion in R&D.

The part

Loading brackets on jet engines play a very critical role: they must support the weight of the engine during handling without breaking or warping. The brackets may be used only periodically, but they stay on the engine at all times, including during flight.

This Challenge will have TWO phases:

PHASE I:

Submit an improved design based on the provided diagram and specs from June 12 to July 26. These designs will be analyzed and evaluated via simulation with the top ten designs awarded $1,000 each.

PHASE II:

The top ten optimized engine bracket designs from Phase I will then be additively manufactured and subjected to a given loading scenario. The top 8 designs will receive a total of $20,000 in additional prizes. Phase II will run from August 15 to November 15.

What’s a letter balance used for, and furthermore, what does one look like? Today fewer and fewer people would be able to tell you, which is why GrabCADr Dragan Beijan chose to create an old school letter balance for the “Build Models for Reuse with Good Design Intent” challenge, an entry which won him 1st place.

“I picked the design because today’s young generation does not know that device, it can be seen only in museums. I wanted to bring something unique to the community,” says Dragan.

Dragan, who attended Technical Polytechnic in Zagreb, currently lives in Croatia near the Adriatic Sea. His passion is making ideas into reality, which naturally lead him to the engineering world, “From an early age I loved the tools, models, natural sciences, and that me directed towards becoming an engineer”.

Although he enjoys learning new skills from his freelance work and supporting the engineering community through GrabCAD tutorials, Dragan is searching for a permanent position as a traffic engineer. With over 3,300 downloads of his various creative CAD projects, inspiration which he says comes from browsing GrabCAD’s CAD library, Dragan’s engineering future is sure to be exciting to watch.

When asked about which 1st challenge prize he would select out of the three choices: Jawbone Jambox, Pebble Watch and Sphero, Dragan said he would get the Pebble Watch and “give it to a friend that uses a smart phone”.

So what is an old school letter balance? It doesn’t balance letters as the name suggests, but was used to determine postage on mailed letters before the invention of electronic scales. You can check out Dragan’s 1st place model (rendering below) here.

I had the opportunity to talk to superyacht designer from UK, Orion Shuttleworth about his work and the award winning 42,5 M Trimaran Adastra.

What is your background?

I remember spending weekends with my father in his design office building models and trying to mimic his drawings when I was about 7 years old, so I guess this is when I first started to design yachts. I then designed boats for my A-levels and during my BA in Product Design which I studied at Nottingham Trent University. After graduating in 2004 with a First Class Honours I went on to work for my father’s company John Shuttleworth Yacht Designs Limited. After one year I moved to work for power boat designers Bernard Olesinski Limited where I became the lead designer on a number of projects for British motor yacht company Princess Yachts. In 2010 I set up my own consultancy Orion Shuttleworth Design Limited, to work on the design of Superyacht Adastra and a number of other projects. Both John and I now work together under a collaborative company called Shuttleworth Design Limited.

What is the idea behind Adastra?

The owner had four key requirements for the design of Adastra – a large power trimaran which was seaworthy offshore, comfortable, economical and shallow-drafted.

The trimaran enabled the Polynesians to populate the Pacific Islands 50,000 years ago and the owner commissioned the design of Adastra with the aim of following their routes and exploring the Pacific, transiting the Panama Canal, and ending up years later in the Mediterranean.

We started talking about this yacht at least five years before we actually began the design proper. During those discussions, we began to get a feel for what sort of boat the owner wanted in terms of style and impact in addition to the practical requirements. He clearly wanted a ‘sexy boat’ with wow factor, and he loved the trimaran concept for efficiency and seakindliness from his experiences with “Mazinga”, a sailing yacht which my father had designed for him 24 years previously and which he still owns.

How many hours did you spend to develop this?

The core design took about 2 years, although there was a development period of 1 to 2 years prior to this in which we carried out research and testing. The design process was longer than we would normally expect because of the developmental nature of the project. A repeat design of a similar type of vessel would now be much quicker.

What software tools did you use?

The design process for all our yachts starts with Maxsurf Pro and Hydromax Pro, specific hull design packages in which we model a preliminary hull shape. This model is imported into AutoCAD with which we develop a general arrangement and profile drawing. We also use Photoshop during this stage to help with styling the profile and ensuring that the proportions of the vessel are correct. The 2D plans and profile, and 3D hull are then imported into Siemens NX where we develop a preliminary 3D model. Keyshot rendering package is used at this stage to create photo real images of the concept and to help us further refine the styling. We also carry out preliminary structural analysis using finite element analysis software. Once a well developed concept is defined a full weight study is conducted using Microsoft Excel which enables us to estimate the vessel’s centre of gravity. We make the necessary adjustments to the hull in Maxsurf Pro to ensure the boat will float as intended and we analyse the stability and detailed hydrostatics using Hydromax Pro. Once the final hull is defined we re-import this into NX and create a fully detailed hull, deck and structural model suitable for CNC tool manufacturing. We carry out further detailed structural analysis for final construction and the completed model is imported back into Keyshot for the final presentation renderings. AutoCAD is used to create the final plans with which the shipyard can build the vessel.

What were the biggest challenges when creating Adastra?

Adastra takes the power trimaran concept further than has ever been attempted before, previous trimarans like “Earthrace” and “Cable and Wireless” were stripped out record breaking machines only. The challenge of turning this concept into a viable luxury yacht has led us to further research and develop new thinking on stability and comfort at sea for this type of craft. Extensive tank testing and radio controlled model tests in waves have been carried out to analyse stability and performance. Outrigger height has been optimised for ease of motion at sea, and a new outrigger shape has been developed to increase stability in waves. We have undertaken state of the art structural analysis of all the major components in the yacht in order to achieve the light weight required for very low fuel consumption.

Monitoring the weight was a huge part of this project as the vessel is very weight sensitive. About 18 months prior to the launch the decision was made to place load cells under the hull so that the weight could be monitored. This gave us a good idea of the centre of gravity so we were confident that she would float correctly. We also have fuel tanks along the length of the boat and can use the fuel to trim the vessel to optimise fuel consumption and speed. The extra tank capacity required to do this means that we can also carry a larger than usual fuel load for long distance trips without refuelling.

All aspects of the design had to be approached with a fresh and creative mind-set. Being the first luxury superyacht based on the concept of a low VCG fine entry trimaran we did not have the luxury of using previously tried and tested methods and as a result many of the design solutions we have found are innovative and original.

How big was the team?

Our design team for exterior design, naval architecture, structural design and interior layout comprised of 4 people, this included me, my father, my brother Sky and Richard Oliver of ASTA. There were however many more people that helped realise this ground breaking yacht, including the interior designer Inge Strompf Jepsen, lighting designers, systems engineers, project managers, a large array of suppliers and subcontractors and of course the team of talented builders at McConaghy Boats.

What happens to this work now?

I’m sure there are others who can benefit from what we have learnt on this project. The design of Adastra is available for a repeat build should a client desire the same vessel. Most of our clients however, have specific requirements and wish to customise the design to meet their needs and we are looking forward to designing more innovative power trimarans to meet this demand.

Where is yacht design heading? What are the future directions?

With regards to styling it’s always good to look at the car design industry as this now has a huge influence on yacht design. Many yacht design stylists working in the industry have come from a car design background. Our naval architecture and structural design is under constant development which will result in more efficient hull shapes and lighter stiffer structures. We believe fuel economy will become increasingly important in the future and we are well placed to offer excellent solutions to this demand.

What is required in order to create an excellent yacht design?

A clear brief is essential and we work with our clients at the early stage of any project to help them crystalise their vision so that all parties understand what is required. We offer a complete design solution that provides exterior design, interior design, structural design, naval architecture, outfit design and final detailing. By doing so we can provide a holistic design approach taking all aspects of the design into account from the outset and developing them in parallel rather than sequentially. This ensures the design is well balanced and cuts time out of the design process.

Is the yacht industry stagnated or conservative?

I think this is an exciting time for yacht design as we are seeing more and more cutting edge designs being realized. There will however, always be those who prefer the more traditional conservative approach.

Do you think people will value enough designs like Adastra?

Adastra stands out from the crowd and has been referred to by many as an iconic design, and a benchmark for futuristic yacht design. This will be attractive to some, but many will want to take a more conservative approach and for those people we are working on a more accessible version of this concept.

What are you working on at the moment?

The exact detail of our current projects are confidential however I can assure you that those interested in what we are doing will be able to see some exciting new designs from our office in the coming years.

Anything you would have done differently now that the yacht has been built?

Design is a process of evolution so by its very nature there will always be new ways of doing things next time around. Adastra was designed with very specific requirements in mind which allowed us to push the boundaries of this concept to the limit. Our aim now is to make this more accessible to a larger market.

Thank you very much for this interview and good luck with your future projects!

TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS:

LOA – 42.5 m

Beam – 16 m

Hull draft – 1.12 m (1.6m to tip of rudder)

Main engine – 1x Caterpillar C18 -1150 hp @ 2300 rpm

Outrigger engines – 2x Yanmar 110hp @ 3200 rpm

Generators – 2 x 36 kw custom in the outriggers linked to 110 Hp Yanmar engines, and 1x 26 kw Northern Lights in main engine room

Owner and guests – 9

Crew – 5-6

Speed max – 23.2 knots

Range at 10.5 knots – 10,000 miles

More information about the superyacht

It’s been over a month since we first announced the challenge to create a set of glasses that display closed-captioning for a movie, and the results have been overwhelming! All twenty-eight entries we received were amazing, and when it came time to pick ten finalists, we chose them based on creativity, design, and the use of an app (powered by WiFi/Bluetooth technology) to transmit captions to the glasses.

We’ve now ranked these ten finalists based on which are most parallel to our vision, and we’re now thrilled to announce the challenge winners!

1) Ccglasses by Anirban Ghosh

In first place is Anirban Ghosh’s prototype, the one we’ll be manufacturing! We really loved the aesthetic aspects of Ghosh’s design — the bridge separating the lenses of the glasses is clear, which will, in hindsight, make it easier to read captioning, and the button on the side of the frames to turn captioning on and off was really along the lines of what we’d envisioned originally — and we really loved the way Ghosh incorporated the app aspect of the challenge. Congratulations, Anirban!

2) Ccglasses by OmarX

In second place is OmarX’s prototype! We really liked Omar’s incorporation of challenge elements, such as making the glasses out of a “film mirror” material, and connecting the captioning to a smartphone/tablet device, but we felt he could have gone more into the specifics of how this would be done in his description. Congrats, Omar!

A few weeks ago we told the world about GrabCAD Workbench, a better way to share CAD models securely with both engineers and non-engineers.  Workbench makes it easy for partners and collaborators to see a 3D model in their browser, then make comments, add pins and sketch right on the model.

Workbench Launches Strong and Gets Better

The response was tremendous – more than a thousand people have signed up for our closed beta. With great feedback from that group (thanks folks!) we’ve continued to add features and make Workbench even better. In the last few weeks we’ve added:

• Measuring tools
• Support for .pdf, .mov, .m4v and other file types
• Drag and drop file movement

But there’s more to come – in the next few weeks we’re adding threaded comments, view only permissions, ability to view file version history, improved sketching, and launching an Android app!

Workbench Beta Now Open To The Public

We’re ready to open GrabCAD Workbench  up to the world.  As of today, we’ve made sign up automatic – when you enter your information and click “Submit”, presto! – you’re in. All the easy, secure CAD collaboration you could ever want, and plenty for your partners and collaborators as well.

Pricing Preview

As part of our transition to “open” beta we also want to let you know how we’ll be pricing Workbench. We’re offering three tiers of subscription:

• Professional – FREE.  With a Professional plan you’ll have unlimited collaborators and unlimited data storage on up to 5 projects.
• Team – $25 / user / month.  If you need more than 5 projects you’ll be able to upgrade to a Team plan and get unlimited projects (along with unlimited collaborators and storage, of course).
• Enterprise – Some customers have told us that they need additional capabilities like a centralized administration system.  For those users we’ll offer all the benefits of the Team plan but with an admin console.  We’ll roll out our Enterprise plan at the end of June.

Our  Team plan will be available for purchase right on the website, and if you’re interested in an Enterprise plan we’d encourage you to reach out to our sales team to learn more. This pricing will go into effect at the end of June, so plan ahead!

Go Get Started!

We’re excited that Workbench has proved so popular and we’re thrilled that so many people have taken the time to send us comments and thoughts. Please keep it up! And head on over to the Workbench signup page to start sharing CAD privately and securely today.

If you participate in a “digital” design and manufacturing process you are probably sharing or receiving product data in digital form – usually a CAD file. Physical products seldom consist of a single part and are rarely designed and made by a single individual. Engineering is a team sport.

However, sharing CAD files often means translating the file or converting CAD and its contents from one format to another. Why?

• People sharing CAD files are using two different CAD systems.
• They’re using two different versions of the same CAD system. Our Community members frequently face this problem!
• Collaborators might not be using a CAD system at all, maybe they’re using a manufacturing or engineering analysis application that works with 3D geometry.

Lost in translation

Often, the best way to exchange CAD data is through a neutral format, like STEP. All major mechanical CAD vendors are committed to making exchange of data through the STEP format as complete and accurate as possible. However, we learned in a previous blog post (GrabCAD Tips: The Kernel, Why CAD Systems Don’t Play Well With Others) that data translation often means lost and inaccurate data.

So, what other techniques has GrabCAD seen engineers use to minimize data loss when exchanging product information?

If you have to send a file…

Remodel parts from scratch

Sometimes rather than attempt to translate a file from one format to another, an engineer will simply “rebuild” a part from scratch in their system of choice. Although this can be very time consuming this happens more frequently than you’d expect. We’ve heard from some community members that parts a remodelled multiple times before they are manufactured. This seems like a tremendous effort simply to work around different CAD systems having different math representations for geometry.

Use direct translators

Some CAD systems have “direct” translators from their internal format to the format of other CAD systems. Sometimes these translators generate native CAD files. Sometimes they generate “kernel” transmission files that can then be imported into other CAD files. These translators MAY produce better results than going through a neutral format since geometry is translated once, not twice. But if neutral format translation is not acceptable it is likely that direct translation will also be unacceptable.

Exchange exported kernel files

If two CAD systems use the same geometry kernel, then it is possible to export the kernel geometry from one system and import it directly into the second system without translation. This is the best way to exchange geometry between two different CAD systems. In some instances kernel formats are even backwards compatible. However, kernel formats lack non-geometric information like assembly structure.

Better yet: don’t translate – collaborate

Often the goal of sending a file is simply to let another party view and comment on or markup your model, not to let them modify the design. If that’s the case, then take a step away from the kernel discussion and think collaboration tools, not CAD authoring tools. This is why we built GrabCAD Workbench, which allows you to share a 3D model with anyone, regardless of whether they use CAD. Your partners can view any CAD model in their web browser or on their mobile device, make comments, measure and sketch on the model and keep everyone up to date.

Conclusion

So next time you need to share a CAD file, first ask, “What is my goal?”. If you need your partner to modify the design, think through the tradeoffs of STEP vs other file transfer methods. If your goal is simply to communicate, try GrabCAD Workbench and stop worrying about kernels!

Crowdsourcing. It’s a hot topic right now thanks to developments in technology. Before, there were barriers to asking a large group for input and ideas. Now, these barriers are quickly falling away. The Internet is always on, which makes it faster and easier to connect the world’s talent. Books like Makers and Decisive are bringing the practice of open and cooperative design and decision processes to the mainstream. Below are some different examples of companies using crowdsourcing in new and interesting ways.

Search and mentions of “crowdsource” have sky rocketed as interest grows.

Product Design

Crowds can create physical products, too! But be aware of the challenges and have a plan to overcome them. Quirky is getting a lot of attention for their product development tools. Anyone can submit an idea and then the Quirky community works to evaluate, refine, manufacture and market the product. For mass produced items, who better to weigh in on the design criterion than the people who will eventually buy the product? A royalty structure makes intellectual property clear and gives the original idea creator rewards for their idea.

Marketing

Tongal is an interesting startup that allows crowds to get creative. Brands publish a challenge and writers, animators, actors, and creators can post their inventive advertising ideas. There are various rounds of approval, just as there would be in an organization, and winners of each stage are rewarded appropriately and then moved to the next round. Lego, a huge brand who is loved by engineers with over 400 models in the GrabCAD Library, uses this service.

Questions and Tasks

If a company has a quick problem to solve, like a small task or question, then they should consider tools like Amazon’s Mechanical Turk or Quora. Mechanical Turk breaks down larger issues into manageable bits that can be handled by a crowd of individual users in seconds. Quora is a simple question and answer platform that will get you better results than just submitting a Google search. Industries with big data problems are getting results, too. Another interesting new startup is FoldIt, which is using gamification to get the public to fold proteins!

Independent programmers are working tirelessly to come up with accurate computer-aided translations, while Facebook is famous for using crowdsourced translations and claims it generates a much better result. Kahn Academy, an open source learning resource, also uses crowdsourcing to create subtitles and translations for its thousands of videos.

Funding

This is one of the more obvious and popular options for companies to crowdsource. Platforms like Kickstarter and Indiegogo directly connect creators to consumers. Startups and companies can turn concepts into viable and marketable products, like this project that went from napkin sketch to outer space. Hardcore product designers and engineers run campaigns when they want to skip the tedious process of gathering venture capital, pitching, and developing detailed market research.

Engineering

Obviously no list of crowdsourcing companies would be complete with out GrabCAD. Generate ideas or concepts through crowdsourced Challenges, save time by reusing parts from the Library, work in parallel and connected to your content with Workbench. Companies can reduce costs and time to market while increase design productivity.

Summary

Crowdsourcing can help reduce the pain companies feel when they have limited talent options or experience. Companies can now receive help in any area they need. Find the tool that works for you to create a more open and efficient product design and engineering process!

Chris McAndrew is a toy engineer turned marketer and contributing author to the GrabCAD Blog. He has helped to develop and bring to market a variety of products in various industries including children’s toys, medical devices, consumer electronics and industrial machinery. More articles can be found on his website www.3DEngr.com where he writes about product development, CAD design, and 3D printing.

Do you know how to set a camera path or import a DWG? There are some burning CAD questions out there that have not gotten help… yet. Each question answered with a tutorial, short or long, will help many other engineers get the job done better and faster. This is what GrabCADrs are all about so, we would like to put a bounty out on some of our top unanswered questions. Give these questions a tutorial and get a surprise!

You told us through your wishes, survey responses, and messages that you want more resources for learning and breaking through challenges at work. We want to deliver! As some of you may have seen, we are working hard to improve our Tutorials on GrabCAD.

What are we doing?

• Asking members for feedback and fielding wishes.
• Finding and fixing bugs in Tutorials.
• Inspiring helpful tutorials through Challenges with the Community.
• Making it easier to browse and learn with future improvements.
• Rewarding GrabCADrs for answering tough questions.

Why focus on Tutorials?

A big part of being in the GrabCAD Community is sharing your expertise and learning through others’ work. If you’ve ever found a helpful answer or model on GrabCAD, we ask that you give back in some way. Pay it forward. These questions have been viewed by a big group of people who also want some answers. You can help them out, we know it!

We are already making strides and are close to fixing a few bugs this week which hold members back from successfully submitting their work. Thank you to all the members who sent in their user stories to get to the bottom of this tricky issue. Keep an eye out for many more improvements over the coming weeks.

How will the question bounty work?

Check out the top 25 unanswered Q’s below (feel free to nominate others in the comments). The GrabCADr who answers with a tutorial in the next seven days will get a surprise for their efforts! Just follow the link. Click answer as a tutorial. Add your steps with pictures. That’s it! Email me at sara@grabcad.com with any issues. I’ll contact you after the week is over about your surprise. Happy hunting!

1. Alibre BOM reference errors 
2. Alibre red cross error 
3. Set a camera path in Solid Edge 
4. Build linear motion in Creo
5. DWG import into Lumion 
6. Converting from a step or iges format to a dwg format 
7. Model vortex generator on wing surfaces 
8. Enter force per angle in MSC ADAMS from Excel data 
9. How to Install DraftSight network license
10. Move imported file to the correct position in Solid Edge
11. Create stuffing box in ProE
12. Draw spiral chute in Solid Edge
13. Transition and x-section unbend in ProE
14. Create diesel generator enclosure in Solid Edge
15. Hide or remove the PCD axis lines from a ProE drawing
16. Show how to smooth clay model in Rhino
17. Create braid modeling in Creo
18. Export forces into a new simulation dynamic study
19. Create a wheel from a drawing
20. Seamlessly integrate into CATIA
21. ANSYS external gear pump simulation with immersed solids
22. Realistically flow simulate a dragster
23. SolidWorks beginners guide
24. Identify the assembly file and its child parts
25. Model a sandwich element honeycomb structure

The last round for the Red Dot Award Concept Design competition has started! Designers, engineers, and manufacturers from all over the world can submit their design concepts and prototypes. The Red Dot award is known around the world by companies, studios, universities and designers alike…

Build on a single idea. Design problem solving products. Show the jury an interesting challenge; an idea that will make an impact. They will consider all parts of design like aesthetics, ergonomics, manufacturing efficiency. Most of all, the jury will look for ideas that will change the world.

Do you have a concept design will stand the test of time?

In 2012…
3,672 entries
113 design institutions
262 companies
906 designers
1,245 teams
3,988 designers
57 countries

Red Dot Award concept categories are deliberately wide to ensure limitless imagination. The total number of categories have increased to 24 for this year’s competition.

Think beyond the conventional list that is provided and define new innovations and explanations. New categories are Communication, Interaction, Skin and Service. Late submission period: 18 April 2013 – 19 June 2013.