2015 – Page 3 – CADDTechzette

3D Printing the Future

7th August 201511th August 2015 CADDZOOM

As applications of the technology expand and prices drop, the first big implication is that more goods will be manufactured in or close to their point of purchase or consumption. This might even build houses! Many goods that have relied on the scale efficiencies of large, centralized plants will be produced locally. Cars which are made today by a few hundred factories around the world might one day be made in every metropolitan area. Parts could be made at dealerships and repair shops, and assembly plants could eliminate the need for supply chain management by making components as needed. Another implication is that goods will be infinitely more customized, because altering them won’t require retooling; only tweaking the instructions in the software. Creativity in meeting individuals’ needs will come to the fore.

It is a small evolutionary step from spraying toner on paper to putting down layers of something more substantial until the layers add up to an object. And yet, by enabling a machine to produce objects of any shape, on the spot and as needed, 3-D printing really is ushering in a new era.

You may soon be living in a 3D- Printed Apartment

The Shanghai-based construction firm WinSun Decoration Design Engineering has unveiled a five-story apartment building made entirely with a giant 3D printer, and is calling it “The world’s tallest 3D-printed building.” With a terracotta brick-like exterior, the building is on display at the Suzhou Industrial Park, along with a 1,100-square-meter (11,840-square-foot) 3D-printed neoclassical mansion.

The buildings were made with a patented “ink” created from a mixture of recycled construction waste, coursed through a 150-meter long printer. This is the same technology that the company demonstrated last year when it printed 10 affordable single-story houses in 24 hours, a feat that captured the imagination of architects, humanitarian aid agencies, and governments looking for alternative housing solutions.

According to the chief engineer of China Construction, Ma Rongquan, who inspected the buildings, informed that both structures are in compliance with national standards.

Ten of the mansions have already been pre-ordered by a Taiwanese real estate group, and the Egyptian government has ordered 20,000 of the affordable single-story houses.

WinSun is not the only company to embark on printing houses—nor does it make the most beautiful 3D buildings—but unlike some of the other companies in the field, its ambitions are global, and it seems to have had some success convincing investors of its scalability. The company has plans to build 3D construction factories in more than 20 countries, including the US, Saudi Arabia, the U.A.E, Qatar, Morocco, and Tunisia. Its engineers are currently working on a printer that turns desert sand into building material.

India needs China’s 3D-printing construction technology soon

It takes six months on average to build a house in the US. In India, where brick and cement are favored over wood, build times are usually double that, if not more. Meanwhile, a Chinese construction company assembled a 3D-printed house in just three hours.

In India, constructing a house over months at a time means extended periods of noise and dust pollution, unsafe working conditions and the high costs of keeping contractors, security staff and laborers on duty.

By employing 3D-printing to pre-fabricate homes, these issues can be tackled easily. Zhuoda Group, the Chinese firm behind the three-hour construction miracle, says that 90 percent of the house it assembled in front of a live audience was built in a factory, complete with interiors, wiring, plumbing and sanitaryware.

In addition, this method could also reduce India’s reliance on migrant labor from rural areas. Workers are often underpaid (a 2012 study found that men were paid less than $4 a day, while women earned less than half that), pressured to press their children into service and forced to work in unsafe environments. And of course, once construction is complete, they are left out in the cold and at the mercy of labor contractors to find their next project.

This is the sort of technology India needs to invest in next.

CAD Trends worldwide

7th August 201511th August 2015 CADDZOOM

Computer-aided design (CAD) is creating two- or three-dimensional (2D or 3D) graphical representations of physical objects with the use of computer programs. The technology has evolved in the last few years and knowing the trends bring with these technologies is vital for future planning of any business.

A B2B firm (Business Advantage Group) released a report detailing the CAD trends worldwide, based on their survey of global CAD users. We took the top most surprising trends worth sharing with our readers here, believing this information could be useful for some CAD users and their managers.

Top CAD Trends

There is a wide breach between the use and awareness of the CAD:

According to the survey of 2014, 81% of total responded were ‘aware’ of the 3D printing and only 62% of them were actually using the technology. In the year of 2015, the percentage increased and reached 88% of people aware of 3D printing and 77% of them who were actually using the technology. If we compare the result the gap is actually shrinking, however, it is still a subject of concern for the industry.

Number of people who seek mobile access to the CAD data is increasing:

According to the survey, there are 21% of the total respondents who, at present, are accessing CAD data on mobile platform by using one

or other means of access and these numbers are estimated to increase up to 10% more in the coming years. In the States, the percentage has already crossed the quarter of all respondents; however, the growth is predicted to be high in Asia Pacific reason with 18% of growth rate over the year of 2015.

CAD users don’t seem to be attracted at the Big yet:

Studies tell that the big data apps are still far from the CAD user’s attention. According to the results, only 3% of the respondents have embraced the data analytical apps and predicted the number would go till 4% only, over the next year.

CAD would grow in the cloud:

The survey results and the prediction say that the good number of CAD users would be moving into the cloud in next five years. According to the results, currently 7% of total respondents are using cloud-based CAD system which in the next year is predicted go till 16% and in another next year can cross 25%

Image Courtesy: www.business-advantage.com || www.engineering.com

Robotics

3rd July 201528th July 2015 CADDZOOM

Robotics is a blend of science and arts brought together. Mechanical engineering perspective is multidisciplinary in Robotics which represents science, while the drilling models and submission projects take the form of art as it requires a lot of creativity and vision along with calculation to get the ultimate result.

Robotics has several branches. It is not rigid rather flexible. It is a field where there is a continuous evolution. It is a steady learning curvature where your thoughts would just mould into new actions. In India there is a lot of pressure when it comes to selecting a branch of engineering. But in the end it all depends upon the interests and desires of an aspirant.

What can I achieve with Robotics?

Robotics is a real mix of all branches of engineering. You need to be good at mechanical engineering, be a good control engineer, a good electronic engineer, any branch of engineering, gets into robotics. But whatever you decide, you have to put your heart and soul into it. Robotics for a student can lead him/her to enter the field as a technician or as an engineer.

Robotic technician requires a 2-year degree
Robotic Engineer requires a 4-year degree.

Apart from these two choices at the heart of Robotics, an aspirant also has the opportunity to dive deep into other Robotics sector by selecting any of the field mentioned below.

Career in Robotics
Application engineer
Manufacturing assembly
Programmer
Quality control
Software developer
Support specialists and trainers

The above mentioned details were related to the general idea about robotics. A slight hint of what the course is about and what can it offer. Finally we move on to the most important aspect, Why Robotics of all fields? What is the scope of Robotics at a global level & finally Trends in Robotics 2015.

Why Robotics?

Robotics engineers and technicians are responsible for operating robots and researching, designing, creating, testing and troubleshooting problems. This is one of the most sought after field all around the world.

There is a boom in the technical industry for graduates. Their demand is rising day by day. Thus, one can be rest assured that the dearth of job opportunities won’t be a cause of concern when he graduates.

Robotics is one of the most trending career options right now as it is at the helm of inventions and innovations. Robotics offers flexibility to students. It gives them their space to brainstorm about new ideas. It sets the base to great discoveries and leads the way towards great innovations.

Imagine yourself as the creator of the HD Curved TV which has been introduced lately, thanks to LG. Now think about 5 years ago, did anyone saw this coming? Such is the innovation that this technology has been put forth in mobile devices too.

”Normally, We dream. We think. We dream and we keep thinking.

In Robotics We Dream. We forecast. We plan. We Execute. We Conquer.”

Scope of Robotics

Robots at first place are designed with the fundamental rule of carrying out specific tasks. Gradually surpassing the level and objectives the design starts to get a little advance and in such advance version, the robots are designed in such a way that they are adaptive, responsive and are able to adjust to environment.

Robots, though autonomous should be able to make decisions on their own. This is considered to be a pre-requisite of designing a robot. We have to remember that although designing a robot the most important thing to be taken in consideration is, obviously, the function to be performed.

When it comes to performance, here arises the need for discussion about the scope of the robot and robotics. Robots have basic levels of complexity and each level has its scope for performing the requisite function.

Before moving onto the latest trends in Robotics, we would like to share some important piece of information with you. The mechanization in processing of Robots is divided into three parts:

Hard

In the Hard type, the series of processing operations is fixed by the structure or configuration of the equipment used in. The significant characteristic of the hard type is the high capital investment as ion automobile assembly line.

Programmable

In programmable Automation, the same tools can be reprogrammed to suit the requirement of diverse types of products.

Flexible

In flexible automation, the reprogramming is done offline. The two vital elements of robotics are numerical control and tele-operations. The two technologies of numerical control of tele-operation are combined in industrial robots.

Trends in Robotics 2015

Industrial robots (IR) – automatic equipment with pre-programmable operating system to perform motion and control functions in production process which replace analogical functions of human in manipulation and technological operations.

Service Robots (SR)- Service robots (SR) – uniform and generally approved definition is not accepted yet; interpretation has been accepted that they are freely programmable mobile devices that partly or fully perform service operations.

The decisive and most important feature of SR is locomotion parts (wheeled, walking, floating, special), which secure their mobility. Superstructure of locomotion parts is always solved according to the type of task (transport, manipulation, technological), which is supposed to be performed by SR and at the same time whole SR is designed in concept and details according to the kind and character of environment (dangerous, harmful, communal, domestic), in which it operates.

Personal robots (PR) – uniform and generally approved definition has not been accepted yet, there is an interpretation in the process of formulating that it is a freely programmable device, which partly or fully automatically performs service operations.

Recent trends in Robotics

Here are some recent inventions which have taken the Robotics industry by storm. They have garnered huge applause from the world’s top technology sites and at World’s leading Technology Conference CES. So here are few discoveries that have the capabilities to affect our future in a drastic way.

1.Hexo + Drone

2.Nanotech & Material Science

3.Dual arm robots

4.Eyes on the hand

5.Wearable robots

image courtesy: www.idealez.com, www.servomagazine.com, www.usarmy.vo.llnwd.net, www.meetup.com

FUTURE TECH TRENDS – A Moving Reality

3rd July 201528th July 2015 CADDZOOM

The purposeful application of information in the design, production, and utilization of goods and services, and in the organization of human activities liesthe technology. But is it just coined to these activities? No, technology as a term and as a concept has a much wider application than the activities mentioned above.

Everything is going to change more in the next ten years than it has in the last hundred, so it’s difficult to think about 100 years in the future. To think about an indefinite future is very interesting. No one knows the world after 100 years. We can just guess about it and by guessing we can also include our perspectives and predictions in it right?

So let us see the futuristic world from our perspective and witness the inception to an era of techno-verse. Presently there are various technological discoveries and inventions going on in various fields, from A of Agriculture to Z of Zano technology. The world is changing with every passing second. But here are few tech discoveries which could shape up our future from good to complete awesomeness!

The following are the basic 9 concepts which could change our lifestyle in future.

Concept flying Plank Slide Hoverboard
Folding fan cellphone
Electric scooter with one wheel or Moto Pogo
Flexible roll tablet
3D printed bridge
LED lamp with life span of 37 years
Boeing Starliner-7
iOven
Mirror and transparent OLED displays

The following are the basic 5 concepts predicted two decades ago which are making our lives simple now.

Concept of tablet & phablet
Electric Cars
Hybrid Cars
LED TVs
WiFi

As we can see that the predictions that were made over two decades ago have all been turned into reality. So with those predictions having been made for the future, for them to turn out into reality would be much more expected.

Technology is not just a tiny thread but it’s a complete cotton mill. The world needs it. It embraces the same to get the same in return.

image courtesy: www.monochrome-watches.com, www.automovilescolombia.com, www.pureimage.ca

CAREER OPTIONS IN ENGINEERING

8th June 20158th June 2015 CADD CENTRE

Engineering includes a wide area of opportunities and specialties; we have selected a few and provided the details about the nature of work involved to give an idea to the upcoming professionals and have an insight to the employment trends and possible career advancement opportunities.

Aerospace Engineer – Aerospace engineering is the study of the design, development, and production of air and spacecraft. It is branched out between those who pursue careers on the aeronautical side and those working on a space craft. Both these vehicles contain complex subsystems that require specialists from many engineering groups such as electrical, mechanical, and computer engineering.

Agricultural Engineer – Agricultural engineering is also known as biological engineering covering a wide range of areas like, aquaculture to land farming and forestry. They also develop biofuels, plan animal environments, and discover better food processing methods.

Automotive Engineer – Automotive engineering is one of the most exciting, challenging and rewarding careers. They research, design and develop vehicles and their subsystems.

Biomedical Engineer – Biomedical engineers work with a combination of biology, medicine and engineering to improve the services in patient care. They are the professionals behind sophisticated medical equipment like MRIs and microscopic surgical machines; they are also responsible for research and development of medical innovations like artificial organs and prosthesis.

Chemical Engineer – Chemical engineers make use of their knowledge of the physical world to handle the interactions of individual atoms and molecules. Their talents are generally employed in the research and development of new materials and are critical to numerous fields including nanotechnology, energy storage, and computing.

Civil Engineer – Civil engineers focus on road, bridge, buildings and water supply system design and construction and supervise and direct construction teams and work with other engineers. These professionals ensure to build a structure which is environmentally protected to withstand earthquakes and hurricanes.

Computer Engineer – Computer Engineers develop and improve the software and hardware programs that make computers operate, like the operating system software, Windows and Linux, to individual computer programs, such as Photoshop and Microsoft Office, Software Engineers turn heaps of hardware into fully well-designed computers. Hardware Engineers develop the hardware of computers, like the motherboards, graphics and audio cards and drives that are later programmed by the Software Engineers.

Drafting and Design Engineer – Drafting and Design Engineering is one of the exciting career options that allows the engineer to be involved in every stage of the design process, from commencement to demonstration of the finished plans. It also demands a working knowledge of drafting and design principles, material types and properties, and manufacturing processes.

Electrical Engineer – An electrical engineer specializes in power supply and generation and designs, develops, tests and supervises electrical equipment manufacturing. They also get trained to handle responsibilities like wiring and lighting installations in buildings, automobiles and aircraft.

Environmental Engineer – Environmental engineers use science and engineering principles to protect and improve the environment for example, the quality of air, water, and soil etc. They find out solutions to water-borne diseases, wastewater management, and air pollution and provide improvised solutions to recycling, waste disposal, and industrial hygiene.

Mechanical Engineer – Mechanical engineering involves the study of motion, energy and force and the ways to control these elements by using a combination of material, human and economic resources by developing mechanical solutions

Petroleum Engineer –

Petroleum engineers specialize in designing and developing technology and methods for digging the earth’s surface to extract oil and gas. They are also responsible to find the means to obtain them from the ground.

GENERAL SKILLS THAT EVERY

ENGINEER MUST POSSESS

Skills in IT – General IT skills are an important asset for any career opportunity and every institution inculcates these within their courses. Every engineer works with specialist software, such as CAD/CAM/CAE packages.
Skills in communication – An engineer should definitely be able to communicate effectively within the team, his superiors and the customer too. Initiating group activities and encouraging more involvement with the team can enhance the communication skills.
Skills in Mathematics – Mathematical skills are vital to engineering not only for the job, but also for the regular calculations and general problem solving.
Skills in Organization and time management – Engineering courses are usually very rigorous and are likely to include big projects that requires effective time management and proper organization of tasks at hand.

Problem solving – Engineering is all about finding solutions to problems which require certain basic tact listed her

Problem solving

Engineering is all about finding solutions to problems which require certain basic tact listed below:

Be specific:Any problem at hand should be specifically identified first to provide a complete and easy solution.
Break it down:Whenever surrounded by a problem, try to simplify by breaking it down to smaller divisions to ease out the solution providing method.
Convey it to someone:Talking the problem over with someone can bring in better solutions and options rather than breaking one’s own head in solitude.