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Recognising that the design challenges for each industry and every company are different, Onshape is introducing FeatureScript, a new open programming language that lets CAD users create their own built-in parametric features or modify existing ones. Ever wish you could change the way your CAD system’s features work? FeatureScript lets you do just that. It is the same language used to develop all of Onshape’s current features (Extrude, Fillet, Shell, Loft, etc.) and has already been used millions of times by Onshape users without even realising it. By making FeatureScript public – available to all Free, Professional and Enterprise Customers – full-cloud Onshape is now offering the first truly customizable parametric CAD feature set. “This is the first time that a professional CAD system has made the implementation of its parametric features open and extensible,” says Ilya Baran, Onshape’s Director of FeatureScript. “In the past, the only way to change your feature toolbar would be to submit an enhancement request to your CAD vendor and wait forever. And most of those requests are never fulfilled. FeatureScript swings the pendulum back and puts you in control.” In traditional desktop-installed CAD systems, it is possible to write add-on or macro features, but they are never as good as the built-in ones. FeatureScript offers the first opportunity to create features that are first-class citizens – as much a part of the system as the ones the development team wrote themselves. Under the open source MIT License, Onshape is also sharing the FeatureScript source code for all of its own features, allowing customers to copy, modify or adapt them as they see fit. New Onshape features can now be created in Onshape’s new “Feature Studio,” a user-friendly development environment with a powerful editor, in-line help and documentation. Possible uses for FeatureScript include: • Creating […]

As we all know, manufacturing is the production of merchandise for sale; using labor, machines and tools. Manufacturing process management refers to the technologies and methods that determine how labor, machines, and tools are put to use during production. For manufacturers, planning manufacturing processes can pose some difficulties. Hence the need for large enterprises to hire project managers. But for small manufacturing businesses, hiring a project manager may not be practical. And this is where the need to consider other planning and execution techniques come in. Using CAD for Product Design Designing a functioning prototype is the first stage of the product manufacturing process and with the aid of 3D CAD applications like Autodesk’s Maya or Microstation, a realistic representation of your product can be designed, analysed and have its functionalities tested to gauge its performance once built. These techniques are being used every day by both major corporations and SMEs to save cost as the following case study will show. GINTIC Institute of CIM—a national Research & Development (R&D) Center and a BIM company in Singapore—have continuously made use of CAD techniques to simplify their production processes in multiple ways. In 2014, GINTIC commenced the design of knee-joint prosthesis uniquely suited to Asians in order to reduce muscle strain cue to continuous kneeling. To accomplish this, the Singaporean institute made use of CAD applications to design the prototype and test its efficacy in order to cut cost before production. This new project adds to GINTIC’s use of CAD as a product design tool and its previous success in using CAD to design jewelries and a lightweight, diskless laptop computer means this new goal is certainly achievable with the aid of computer aided design techniques. Using CAD for Product Testing Computer aided design also helps simplify the processes involved with […]

   Seiko Epson Corporation has developed its S250 series of high-precision force sensors. The S250 series technology, which were rolled out worldwide from June, will be available as an option for the company’s six-axis and SCARA robots. Employing Epson’s proprietary piezoelectric quartz sensing technology, the new force sensors are durable and sensitive, allowing them to accurately and consistently sense minimal amounts of force in six directions1. This will allow customers to automate complex manufacturing tasks and will improve productivity. Epson also provides robot operation commands with the sensor, allowing customers to easily introduce the system. Many manufacturers are turning to robots as labor shortages and falling birth rates and aging populations hit companies in the world’s leading economies, and the trend to reshoring continues worldwide. Epson’s innovative new force sensors answer these needs and are a significant step forward in achieving the company’s mission of using robots to improve the way products are manufactured. The S250 series enables robots to feel force as limited as 0.1 N, allowing the robots to automate complex tasks such as precisely assembling delicate components. The sensors can also be used on tasks that formerly relied on human sensory perception such as polishing and deburring, freeing people from repetitive manual work. “The new force sensors are a significant development for Epson and for the manufacturing industry in general,” said Yoneharu Fukushima, COO of Epson’s Robotics Solutions Operations Division. “As a company dedicated to manufacturing innovation, the new sensors help to expand the applications for robots, and bring us a step further towards achieving our goal of creating a world in which robots support people in a wide variety of situations.” “There is strong demand for industrial robotics and their applications within the Southeast Asia region, with robotics spending looking to double in Asia Pacific by […]