Cybernet Express Structures can be used to perform finite element structural design and analysis. An interactive com-puter graphics facility is included in the system. Control Data said that the system is capable of analysing problems of up to 300 nodes, bat larger problems can be transferred into mainframe codes such as Nastran or Ansys. Automated VLSI Design. The Genesil family of automated VLSI design turnkey products has been extended by two' further systems: the Genesil 100 and the Genesil 500. The manufacturers of the Genesil range provide their customers with service support and this includes training.
The Genesil system enables the user to work at the functional level as Genesil will generate timing and simulation models, power estimates, test vectors and finished layouts (топология). It supports VLSI designs in dual-layer metal CMOS and single-layer NMOS.
The Genesil 100 system configuration includes a DEC Micro-Vax II with 2 Mbytes of RAM, 184 Mbytes of disk storage, a 95 Mbyte magnetic tape drive, a colour graphics terminal and DEC's Ultrix version of Unix.
The Genesil 500 system five-user configuration includes a DEC 11/785 VAX, 8 Mbytes of RAM, 450 Mbytes of disk ,' storage, a 9 track magnetic tape drive and the Berkeley 4.2 version of Unix.
FORTRAN Graphics. GT-2-LIB is a graphics software library for 2D drafting and design. The library is writtenin FORTRAN and allows the standard features such as scale, shift, rotate, mirror and shear (срез) and also selective erase (стирание) and area fill (заполнение площади). It will drive any of the Counting House rasterscan terminals and is compatible with the Tektronix graphics terminals. GT-2-LIB is the first in a suite of CAD/CAM programs from Counting House.
AutoCAD has 3D Capabilities. Autodesk Inc., CA, has developed a new version of the AutoCAD program. Version 2.1 contains 3D visualizations, internal services, and other enhancements (модернизация) including support of many dot matrix and laser printers. Improvements include an interactive pick function, nonlimits on drawing complexity, and a variable and macro facility, providing tools to create custom commands and functions. Wire-frame drawings can be viewed and plotted, with hidden line removal providing a realistic 3D image of solid objects.
CAD/CAM in Industry Abroad
Computers Help Build Cars. The automotive industry continues to be a leader in CAD/CAM, having some of the most extensive computer networks in the world. Ford Motor Co. has over 300 Prime Computers linking workstations in 30 different design and manufacturing sites. Through local-area networking and patch-switching, operators can access data stored anywhere in the network. This allows, for example, the Body and Chassis Engineering Div.3 to transfer design data to the Truck (грузовой автомобиль) Engineering Div. for review and analysis. The automaker uses the Product Design Graphics Systems (PDGS), a package developed internally by Ford and now marketed exclusively by Prime Computer Inc. Using this package, the company plans to produce 90% of its automotive designs on CAD systems by 1989.
Colour Monitor for CAD/CAM. Conrac has extended its range of high resolution graphic displays by adding a new model: the Conrac 7311 colour monitor.
The monitor has a 19 in screen with a resolution of 1280x1024 pixels. It has a 110 MHz video bandwidth (полоса частот), а 65 KHz horizontal scan rate and a 60 Hz vertical refresh rate.
According to Conrac the monitor is 'suited for CAD/CAM, CAE and other applications'. It is available in full cabinet (корпус). Conrac offers service and engineering support.
The basic monitor is priced at £742, but further options such as antiglare facilities3 are available at extra cost. Conrac is aiming it at the OEM market.
32-bit CAD/CAM. Graftek has introduced the Series 32 CAD/CAM system, based on a SEL 32/27 32-bit mini. The system can handle 12 workstations, but a typical configuration of CPU, hardware floating point, 300 Mbyte disk, 75 in/s magnetic tape, four monochrome raster displays and a 24 in/s plotter is rather expensive. Software is GMS, based on MCS's AD-2000.
Phoenix Launch. Phoenix Digital Computers Ltd. had launched in the UK 32-bit single board supermicro called the GS-32. It is aimed at OEM system builders supplying the CAD/CAM, CAE and industrial process control application areas.
The GS-32 uses the NatSemi 32032 chip and was designed in the USA by Goodspeed Systems Inc. Design software tools will be offered by Phoenix, including the GS-3200 development system which uses the Genix operating system (Genix is the National Semiconductor version of Berkeley
Unix).
Drawings Annotated on PC. Auto-trol has produced a software package called Redliner which runs on the IBM PC, PC XT and PC AT systems. It allows Auto-trol's users to view and annotate (пояснять) drawings that have been created on its AGW (Advanced Graphics Workstations) family of workstations or on VAX-based CAD/CAM systems.
Auto-trol suggests that this provides a lower cost approach to shopfloor or on-site plant applications where users can review and edit CAD/CAM drawings as well as access PC software. However any annotations (комментарий) carried out affect only the copy of the drawing held on the PC and this prevents accidental tampering (случайная закалка) with the primary graphics file. These annotations are displayed as a reference file over the original at the host workstation,
CADAM — AutoCAD Translator. IBM's mainframe-based CAD system CADAM can be linked to Autodesk's AutoCAD which is microcomputer-based. CADCOR has developed a software translator that allows translation of drawings' between AutoCAD and CADAM databases. CADCOR's software runs on IBM's 4300 series and 308X series mainframes and is executable from a PC linked to a mainframe.
CADCOR supports communication between AutoCAD on a PC and CADAM on a mainframe via an IBM 3270 coax (соосный) connection or a serial asynchronous ASCII transmission over a modem.
CADCOR is a Californian company specializing in the integration of micro and mainframe systems particularly in the CAD/CAM field. It became an IBM complementary (дополнительный) marketing orginization program participant for the CADAM system.
Teaching CAD/CAM
Teaching the use of computer-aided design is growing field. Teachers, like pupils have widely varying levels of expertise. Courses and tutorials (консультация) are held by various commercial or institutional bodies, often employing knowledgeable practitioners of CAD as tutors (наставник). The content of these lectures may cover what CAD is, why and how to use it, how to select the best soft-/hardware for one's application and whom to buy it from.
This is the first in an occasional series of articles that look at the courses currently, available for the manager, the first-time user and the CAD specialist. The aim of the course appears to be to give an inexperienced user of CAD/CAM, or a manager who intends to purchase (приобретать) a CAD system, a thorough briefing, and technology of the field. He (she) then is given more specific advice on what kind of software system would suit his (her) needs, and the advantages that computerization can bring. The three-day course is structured as follows: introduction; the computer graphics environment; the basic computer graphics technologies; what CAD/CAM is; CAD, CAM, CAE, CIM examples; CAD/CAM market today and tomorrow; how CAD/CAM is justified; what the choices are; management issues; other computer graphics applications; open workshop (открытый семинар).
In the course it is especially emphasized the importance of the 'New user', who should be able to use CAD without needing to know how the technology works. An analogy between the new CAD user and a car driver who has no idea of how to maintain his car is drawn.
The first day's programme covered a broad outline of CAD/CAM, what it does, and how it can help a business. There are some technical details of the hardware and software used in CAD and description of their functions. The course is well structured. It leads the inexperienced user in the more complex parts of the subject gradually (постепенно) and relates each fact to the wider background (фон) of the CAD/CAM field. The more experienced user is continually given fresh aspects of familiar subjects.
The documentation which accompanies the seminar is a volume (книга) of papers on various aspects of CAD/CAM with graphs and representative lists of CAD/CAM suppliers (поставщик) and service bureaus; a useful reference for anyone interested in using CAD/CAM after the course will be over.
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