Author: CADDZOOM

From 3D to 4D Printing: Transforming the way Micro Scale Structures are printed

CADDZOOM

Technology has grown up to a large extent in the recent past years. It showed some of the technical marvels that were never imagined before. One of them was the evolution of the 3D printing technology that made it possible to transform computer models into real world objects.

Ever since the dawn of 3D printing, it never left the sky. The technology first started printing with metal alloys and plastic materials. Growth never stopped and now a number of other materials have been used to produce 3D printed objects. Technology made it possible to use a different “inks” that made it possible even to print living cells and semiconductor batteries.

3D printing soon entered the micro scale device manufacturing. Experts, scientists and researchers from the top organizations such as University of Harvard, Cambridge, Princeton, UCLA, and Minnesota have been constantly working on this 3D printing technology and soon came up with designing micro scale devices and gadgets that were even smaller than the width of a human hair.

On the way forward, material science experts and Biologists worked together to take things on a complete new level.

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  1. They developed objects that hold properties of both- life science and electronics.
  2. Materials with multivariate characteristics of materials were developed that can be potentially used as a fluid in micro-scale printing.
  3. On the same way, scientists from the University of Princeton developed a fully functional bionic ear blending biology and electronics together.

The Next Step- 4D Printing

Professor Lewis, a researcher from the Harvard University has been working on this technology in her Lewis lab from a while. She has been showing a keen interest on developing 3D printed objects that had features as small as one micrometer. The Lewis lab again gained recognition when they developed objects that actively responded to external stimuli.

Inspired by many plants that responds by the external stimuli, this 4D technology was a big breakthrough.

 

  1. The 4D-printed hydrogel composite structure changed shapes when immersed in water.
  2. Objects now started moving in the fourth dimension when we were only brainstorming around the third one.
  3. Combining both biological as well as electronic properties, researchers soon developed micro scale structures.
  4. 4D printing soon made objects change into any arbitrary shape using any suitable material.

This 4D printing technology is said to be competent enough to print dynamic micro scale structures that can significantly contribute in both industrial as well as medical domains.

3 E-Learning Technologies that Can Jumpstart the Training Programmes

CADDZOOM

In this technological era, before getting used to one technology, the next one emerges. However, there are some things that remain the same such as e-learning. Most of the learning technologies have not yet evolved for a long time and finding the hottest solution for the same has become a challenge for the entrepreneurs. So the important question is

“How do we increase the effectiveness of learning through the latest technologies?”

The answer to this question includes three solutions that are not interactive and at the same time popular. They are games, videos, and mobile.

 

  1. Games
  2. Videos
  3. Mobile

 

Gamification

An industrial study found that about 75% of the people working today are “casual gamers.” Some giants such as IBM, Xerox, and Deloitte have taken initiatives to incorporate interactive e-learning. However, when looking for ROI, the implementation of such technology seems difficult due to the following issues

  • Development time
  • License fee
  • Usage and many other factors

The only way to overcome these issues is to leverage several elements of games. For example, achievement-based systems such as leader boards can encourage the learners to reach various certification levels. Thus, the issues of implementing “games” will resolve and at the same time learning will become fun and interactive.

Short Videos

The existence of videos is not new to anyone. Even the short videos have been in existence for the past ten years. The challenging part is adopting an instructional design in a video. Even today there are many videos that fail to adopt such design. There were several constraints while creating a video which make implementation of instructional design difficult such as

  • Purpose
  • Quality
  • Cost

Usually, videos would just contain long lectures or a live event. These videos fail terribly as sitting for 30-60 minutes is not an option. These days people prefer videos that are

  • Short in length.
  • Engaging
  • To the point

Apart from on-job skills, the videos these days also focus on various professional development subjects. Additionally, videos have become even more professional to make them useful across departments.

 

Mobile Learning

The traditional classroom training and learning will always have its value. However, it fails when learners need to access information from anywhere anytime. The only solution for this problem is “mobile”. It is assumed that people will easily have access to the content through the web. However, it is not as easy as it looks from the outside.

5For example, most of the videos are not mobile optimized as they are flash based. There are many other issues but once these issues are covered there is no doubt that mobile learning is the best on-the-go training solution.

While these technologies have the power to change the game of e-learning, there are other technologies such as Big Data, VR and much more that might also have an effect on e-learning and training. However, these technologies will not be implemented unless any business need arises.

What’s new in the SOLIDWORKS 2018 release?

CADDZOOM

1SOLIDWORKS, a CAD software, assists in creating solid models (both 2D and 3D) in a simple, fast and cost-effective manner. The prime benefit of using SOLIDWORKS is the ease to use, simple graphics UI and highly user-friendly. The software provides features such as solid modeling, toolbox, motion, circuit works, e-drawings, and DWG editor.

SOLIDWORKS World is a platform where the attendees meet the SOLIDWORKS partners and share the products that the SOLIDWORKS customers design. The SOLIDWORKS WORLD 2017, gave a lot of surprise to the SOLIDWORKS fans. The team previewed a few new features and enhancements coming in the year 2018. The modifications included Assemblies, Fabrication, Sketching, PDM, 3D Interconnect, and Generative Design.

Sketching      

There were a few mind blowing enhancements in sketching. Some of them are as follows

  1. Mirror 3D Sketch Entities: In a 3D sketch, the user will have the ability to mirror the entities of the sketch.
  2. Sketch Planes as Symmetry Reference: A plane can be used as a symmetry reference to mirror 2D and 3D sketch entities.
  3. Pen Sketching: With Windows 10 touch screen devices, the designers will have the ability to draw contours by freehand using a stylus or a pen.

Assembly

With the enhancements in Assembly, SOLIDWORKS 2018 will definitely improve the performance of the users.

  1. During mate, the ALT key can be used to hide the surfaces.
  2. The 2018 release of SOLIDWORKS will have 12 mouse gestures.
  3. There is a new dialog for performance.
  4. The new release will feature a new progress bar for assembly.
  5. A new home screen will make assembly even more interesting.
  6. Large Assembly
    • Mate and insert graphic components easily.
    • Revert the data to graphics for better
    • The ability to off the scenery (graphics data).
    • Set multiple objects to be resolved in a Large Design Review.

3D Interconnect

  1. Custom properties.
  2. Ability to preserve sketches and curves.
  3. Updating neutral files is supported.
  4. The new release will support IGES, ACIS, STEP, and JT.

Fabrication

  1. New slot and tab feature works in parts, multi-body parts, and assemblies.
  2. Drawing revision table with SOLIDWORKS PDM bi-directional communication.

Generative Design

  1. SIMULATION view in SOLIDWORKS Integration.
  2. Manufacturing Controls
  3. Multiple Objective support

These are just the preview of some of the modifications. The list of new features and modifications will be known only after the release of the product.

What Are The 7 Tech Trends That Will Dominate In 2017?

CADDZOOM

The power of technology in 2016 was astounding. Right from the power to retrieve any information to communicate with others through the shortest device that fits in our pockets. We have already seen many advances in the field of Internet of Things, Artificial Intelligence, Automobile, etc. Since, the technological innovations have taken over the consumer market by a storm, remain eager for what 2017 has in its store for you:

Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality

No wonder, AR, and VR were witnessed as big hits in 2016. We have an example as Pokemon Go, a smartphone based Augmented reality game that has witnessed  100 million downloads. Since then the market is paving its way towards AR and VR-based applications and devices. 2017 is expected to show great jumps in the field of AR/VR in the global markets.

Machine Learning 

Machine learning will enter almost every consumer application and suggest products based on prior purchase to improve the user experience. Therefore, in 2017, machines will learn, adapt, and act in an autonomous mode instead of executing on some pre-defined instructions.

Autonomous Cars

3The merger of various IOT devices has made it possible for the car makers such as BMW, Tesla, and others to make driver-less cars. 2017 shall also look towards the advancement such as car-to-car communication, cars talking to each other, traffic information and accident related information.

 

 

 

Smart Home Tech 

We are not living in smart homes yet but have been hearing about Internet of Things in the home space for many years. However, with the big technological players such as Google, Amazon, and Facebook who will be entering the domain shall help in witnessing commercialization of smart homes.

Services On Demand 

Premises of phone apps that the startups have built such as cab services- “Uber”, food delivery services- “Food Panda”, and ability to book places of stay- “Make My Trip” is nothing but the way technology is blessing us. It is expected to see some more advancement in the stream of apps that are going to benefit in an extraordinary way.

Automation  

Automation can relate with robotic journalists that we have witnessed and will soon make the leap towards the practical type of articles, simplifying the human-exclusive tasks. Therefore, automation combining with machine learning will improve everything faster and will turn 2017 as a landmark year.

Physical-Digital Integrations 

Mobile devices have already gifted us a pleasure to view and purchase things online. Exaggeration to such technology, we might experience the integration of physical and digital realities. The online brand we see today might add attractive features such as store maps, dash buttons, and product trails in 2017.

ISRO makes history! Breaks Russia’s Record!

CADDZOOM

2ISRO is not just an organization. It’s an emotion to the Indians. With its achievements, young ISRO has become the rock star of the nation. ISRO is not only making Indian proud but is also making a mark in the international elite space club.
ISRO recently grabbed its place in the books of history after a successful launch of 104 satellites in a single launch. India surpassed Russia’s record of 37 satellites in a single go. The historic mission took six months of sheer dedication, skill, and hard work of talented resources at ISRO. The launch carried all the 104 satellites in ISRO’s Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle PSLV-C37. Among the 104, three satellites were from India, 96 from the United States and the rest of the satellites from UAE, Switzerland, Kazakhstan, Israel, and Netherlands.
With the cool advancements and records, ISRO has become the dream company for many young Indians. To make this dream come true, CAD software can be the right option to begin. CAD plays an important role in the initial design process in the field of aerospace because aerospace projects are highly expensive and demand a lot of innovation. One can design everything right from space vehicles to satellites and missiles using incredible features of CAD.

Some of the CAD capabilities for Aerospace Industry are as follows

  • Design integration and aggregation
  • Detailed engineering design based on conceptual studies
  • Studying alternate designs and valuing engineering on prevailing designs
  • Designing composite modeling mechanism
  • Designing and validating structures
  • Training user manuals with interactive 3D technology
  • Scanning
  • Reverse engineering
  • Parametric part modeling
  • CAD customization
  • Jigs & Fixture design
  • 2D to 3D conversion services
  • Legacy data conversion
  • Generating engineering and manufacturing drawings