The 2017 versions of solidThinking Inspire and Evolve are now available, says solidThinking, Inc., a subsidiary of Altair Corporation, one of the largest engineering software companies in the world.
The new versions boast new features in both visualization and motion, along with topography optimization, symmetry, and depth of field increase usability.
New Motion Allows Designers to Mechanize Models
The new release adds Motion, a unique feature that allows designers to investigate system motion to predict loads for moving parts and systems. It is just one output of a reportedly relentless quest to deliver great new features users have been requesting. “We are incredibly proud of the 2017 release,” says Jim Hassberger, president of solidThinking. “Inspire was the first tool to market that focused on putting generative design in the hands of design engineers, and it continues to a world-class product.”
01 – solidThinking Inspire 2017’s new Motion features in action in this image. Defining the joints that can move.
“With Inspire 2017, we improved our already great generative design product Inspire, by adding motion tools that enable design engineers to investigate system motion to predict loads for moving parts,” explained Andy Bartels, Program Manager. “Never before has it been so easy to mechanize a model or perform a motion analysis.”
Key Updates to Inspire 2017—Hot Items
- New Motion Tools — allows users to easily mechanize their models and investigate system motion to predict loads for moving parts.
- The new Topology Optimization tools — can be used to change shapes of shell structures by introducing stamped bead patterns for better structural performance.
- Updated Partition Tools — allow users to divide a part into design and non-design regions by selecting a hole, pocket, or face to offset.
- The Bolt Pretention tool — allows users to achieve more accurate results when bolts are under pretension.
Doug Hedges, President of Sintavia, LLC., notes, “Inspire does what few programs can; it takes a complex process and makes it easy to understand. My whole team was able to use the program after just a few hours of training and it has led to dramatic time savings in the design process.”
What’s Hot With Evolve 2017
While there have been excellent new features added to the Inspire product, solidThinking Evolve 2017 vaunts new modeling and visualization features like the new Planar Symmetry tool.
02 – solidThinking Evolve 2017’s new Planar symmetry tool in action.
Evolve features a hybrid modeling system with enhancements mostly targeting requests by its users. Program manager for Evolve, Darren Chilton noted, “Our goal for this release was to focus on our customers and improve the usability of the software giving them more freedom than ever before.”
Key Features in Evolve 2017 include:
- New Planar Symmetry and Radial Symmetry tools — these tools have been added to replace the now defunct Mirror and Polar Copy tools.
- Depth Channel Support — all images rendered inside Evolve 2017 now include depth channel data (TIFF). This z-depth channel can be now saved in the Image Browser and used in post-processing tools such as Adobe Photoshop to simulate the natural blurring of foreground and background scene elements when viewed through a camera lens.
- New and Improved Import/Export — support for the latest versions of SVG, PDF 2D, Autodesk DWG, and DXF formats, allow improved interoperability workflows.
- New Length Parameter — for the Line and Rounded Polyline tool, this new features provides more options for users.
- Improved Curve Offset tool — helps work directly with surface edges.
“Evolve in particular is a powerful software for enabling designs in our fast-paced development environment,” says Jens Andersson Design Lead, Philips. “It helps me gain speed not only in bringing design concepts to life but also in driving fast iteration loops with the development team.”
03 – Depth channel support (z-channel) in rendering in the new Evolve 2017. Evolve is a leading product design modeing and visualization tool for Mac OS X and Windows.
“Evolve’s flexibility and combination of polygonal, solid parametric, and organic surface modeling, as well as built in rendering and construction history make it one of the fastest and most flexible design tools on the market today,” says Jim Hassberger, president of solidThinking.
Availability and Demos
Inspire 2017 and Evolve 2017 are available through more than 200 channel partners worldwide, and through Altair’s patented HyperWorks licensing model.
Visit solidThinking.com/Inspire or solidThinking.com/Evolve to see video demos, an on-demand webinar, or to request a free trial of the tools.