While at SolidWorks World, Eaton spent some time with David Heller at the MCAD Cafe booth to discuss the unique end-to-end product development workflow that ExactFlat brings to SolidWorks. This extension of SolidWorks’ capabilities represents a large, new market opportunity for SolidWorks with manufacturers that work with industrial fabrics and technical textiles.
ExactFlat Included in Cadalyst Summary of Stand-Out New Products
January 29, 2013
Cadalyst’s Senior Editor Cyrena Respini-Irwin kindly included ExactFlat in her summary of SolidWorks World 2013 stand-out debuts. Key highlights from her article:
“ExactFlat debuted ExactFlat Design Studio, which converts 3D models to 2D to create cutting patterns for flexible materials, including fabrics used in automotive interiors, tent construction, and airbags. “We’ve extended the power of SolidWorks by adding the tools needed to complete the process,” said Steven McLendon, executive vice-president.
ExactFlat Design Studio works inside the SolidWorks CAD environment and comprises tools for sewn product design, 3D-to-2D flattening, automated nesting, and real-time costing. If the customer is using a material that’s not already in the database, they can simply add the Poisson factor for any fabric, McLendon said. “It’s all easy for the user to enter. … 99% of the time, no tweaking is required because our algorithms are so smart.”
McLendon explained that the software provides a tremendous time savings over traditional methods of generating 2D patterns, such as crafting a clay model and draping it in plastic wrap. “The customer goes from a 3D model to something that drives a cutter in just a few hours; [it requires just] 10–15% of the effort they’re used to.” ExactFlat also saves time by determining manufacturing costs and generating bills of materials, he said.”
Read the full article, and be sure to follow Cyrena and Cadalyst on Twitter for outstanding coverage of the CAD space.
ExactFlat has “a property not found anywhere else in SolidWorks”
January 29, 2013
The great feedback following SolidWorks World keeps rolling-in. Another great post from Daniel Herzberg discussing the unique capabilities that ExactFlat brings to SolidWorks and its community of users. A few highlights:
“Design can take place in either a 2D or 3D environment. The former is best for those who are used to current sewn product design tools, and the latter is for those with a strong SolidWorks background. The design style can be switched at any time, and all changes are parametrically linked. For example, a designer could model a car seat in SolidWorks, translate the surfaces of the model to 2D shapes, apply a force to the model to see how the shapes deform, add seam and hem material, and nest the shapes into a large cutting pattern, ready to feed into a cutting machine. In 2D mode, the software always remembers which edges will be sewn together, so a change made to one shape automatically updates its complimentary shapes, and the 3D model.
There are also special, automatic custom properties associated with each edge, including edge name, seam type, and a property not found anywhere else in SolidWorks, edge length. When creating a drawing, ExactFlat automatically measures the lengths of even the most complex edges, something that SolidWorks’ own dimensioning tools haven’t been able to do yet.”
Read the full article here, and be sure to follow Daniel on Twitter for more tremendous SolidWorks coverage.
ExactFlat Discuss Product Vision with Dassault Systèmes President & CEO Bernard Charlès
January 23, 2013
On January 21st at the SolidWorks World conference in Orlando, Eaton Donald CEO of Tri-D Technologies, makers of ExactFlat and M. Bernard Charlès, CEO of Dassault Systèmes discuss the forthcoming release of the ExactFlat Design Studio into the SolidWorks 3D CAD platform. ExactFlat powerfully extends the capabilities of SolidWorks making it a relevant and preferred choice for manufacturers producing sewn products such as automotive and transportation seating, furniture, apparel, marine, architectural fabric structures and more.
Eaton Donald CEO Tri-D Technologies (Left), M. Bernard Charlès, CEO of Dassault Systèmes (Center), Steven McLendon EVP Tri-D Technologies (right) at SolidWorks World Conference in Orlando, January 2013.
According to Eaton Donald, ExactFlat brings functionality to SolidWorks that competitors such as Autodesk Inventor, Alias Studio, AutoCAD; Siemens SolidEdge and NX; PTC Creo or Pro Engineer, don’t have, can’t get, and is in high-demand by customers.
“We are very encouraged by the strong customer and reseller interest and look forward to a highly productive and mutually beneficially relationship with SolidWorks. Sewn products are a large lucrative market. Moving fast and first to lock out the competition can lead to dominance and ownership of the segment. ExactFlat for SolidWorks seeks to achieve this position.”
Design Product News interviewed ExactFlat’s CEO Eaton Donald yesterday at SolidWorks World 2013. Thank you to Mike Edwards at DPN for taking the time to meet with us to learn more about how we’re extending the capabilities of SolidWorks into new markets. Visit DPN’s site here, and be sure to follow them on Twitter at @DPN_Engineering.
ExactFlat’s Refreshing for the SolidWorks Community
January 22, 2013
One of the most common pieces of feedback we’ve received from customers, channel partners and the press over the past few days is how refreshing an addition ExactFlat has been for the SolidWorks community.
We hope they’re talking about our products.
Setting a New Productivity Benchmark for Apparel Manufacturers
January 21, 2013
See full release on MarketWatch.
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Setting a New Productivity Benchmark for Apparel Manufacturers
A collaboration between ExactFlat and [TC]² will explore combining next generation 3D body imaging and powerful sewn product design tools inside SolidWorks® 3D CAD to set a new productivity benchmark for the apparel industry.
Toronto, Ontario – A new collaboration has been formed between ExactFlat – makers of a software suite developed for sewn product manufacturers –and [TC]² - a technology development think tank focused on the apparel industry. Both contributors will leverage their respective strengths and synergies to optimize processes and tools to help apparel manufacturers bring the right products to market faster and more efficiently, for an increasingly diverse market.
“The ability to create new designs that fit the full size range of a company’s target market using 3D scan and fit data is a huge step forward and a real paradigm shift in the industry,” said Dr. Mike Fralix, President and CEO of [TC]² . He added that ”the ability to begin with a 3D scan of a model, then rapidly create a new design, and produce styles that fit a variety of body shapes and sizes based on technology from [TC]² and ExactFlat represents a tremendous business advantage in product development, market delivery, and customer satisfaction.”
The SolidWorks® platform hosts a global community of over 2 million users and 100’s of support organizations, providing customers a strong support ecosystem. With the addition of ExactFlat, this combined platform will work with 3D design, traditional 2D patterns, body scans and more, providing tools across the traditional product development workflow – pattern design, nesting/marker making, costing, and bill of material generation. The addition of [TC]2’s unique body scanning and size fit data technology will provide the final layer to accurately emulate the traditional handoffs between the designer, pattern maker, grader, and first-cost producer.
“The apparel industry has been slow to adopt 3D due to a lack of tools designed specifically for their needs,” states Steven McLendon, EVP of ExactFlat. “The technology wasn’t sufficiently mature. With this collaboration, we are addressing the most critical challenges for apparel manufacturers – bringing new products to market faster, while maintaining the highest level of control over costs and quality. The result? Manufacturers will get 100% of the result with just 25% of the effort.”
SolidWorks® is a registered trademark of Dassault Systemes.
About – [TC]² is a recognized provider of solutions for the soft goods industry specializing in technology development and supply chain improvement. Visit www.tc2.com for more company information.
About – Tri-D Technologies, makers of ExactFlat, develop and market a suite of products that add powerful features to leading 3D CAD packages like SolidWorks®, expanding the traditional capabilities of 3D CAD to meet the unique needs of manufacturers working with fabrics. Visit www.exactflat.com to learn more.
ExactFlat redefines the possibilities for CAD software
January 18, 2013
Here’s a press release originally published at MCAD Cafe profiling the tremendous productivity improvements and competitive advantage Ohio Valley has experienced after implementing ExactFlat within their company.
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ExactFlat redefines the possibilities for CAD software
ExactFlat for SolidWorks® sets a new benchmark for productivity improvement, helping customers get more done, in less time, with lower effort.
Toronto, Ontario (January 15, 2013) – The ExactFlat suite of software is designed for manufacturers working with fabrics and technical textiles. ExactFlat Design Studio for SolidWorks® – their newest product – is the first product to integrate the five essential steps of product development (design, flatten, pattern, nest, cost and document) inside a leading 3D CAD package.
Ohio Valley Industrial Services manufacturers insulation covers for turbines and other industrial applications. Their customers typically require custom designs within very specific delivery periods. After 10 years of looking for a solution that met the needs of their customers, they found and started using ExactFlat to position their business for growth.
“All we need is a CAD file and we can turn-around a complex project within 1 day if necessary. This used to take us (and our competitors) weeks,” commented Joel Kaminski, Vice President at Ohio Valley. “We no longer need to travel to the customer to get measurements and we now have a predictable process for product delivery and costs. As a result, we now have the confidence to go after projects anywhere in the world and know that we can deliver faster and better than our competitors.”
“No one else can do this”, states Steven McLendon, EVP of ExactFlat. “By leveraging the power of a leading CAD platform like SolidWorks®, and extending its capabilities to automate repetitive tasks, reduce manual processes and eliminate duplicate effort, innovative manufacturers like Ohio Valley are growing their businesses by getting 100% of the result with just 15% of the effort.”
After seven years of development and consulting with over 150 companies that work with industrial fabrics, ExactFlat are leading a shift from manual to automated processes in the development of sewn products. Leading manufacturers in automotive, marine, industrial and furniture have integrated ExactFlat into their product development workflow to dramatically improve their productivity. At SolidWorks® World 2013, ExactFlat will be demonstrating their product suite for industry leaders.
About Tri-D Technologies
Tri-D Technologies, makers of ExactFlat, develop and market a suite of products that add powerful features to leading 3D CAD packages like SolidWorks®, expanding the traditional capabilities of 3D CAD to meet the unique needs of manufacturers working with fabrics.
What is the Poisson effect?
The Poisson effect is an important mechanical characteristic of woven fabrics. When a force is applied to a woven fabric (such as by pulling on opposite ends), the resulting deformation of the material is to elongate in the direction of the “pulling” force and narrow across the perpendicular direction in the middle of the material. In some cases the opposite is also true, such as in the case of plastic or polymer-based foams. That is, if you compress the material along an axis, it will bulge and become bigger along the axis perpendicular to that of the compressive force. The pictures below show examples of the Poisson effect.
Pulling a Fabric, source: Journal of Textile Science & Engineering
(http://www.omicsgroup.org/journals/2165-8064/2165-8064-2-e103.php?aid=3875)
Compressing a Block, source: Rod Lakes, Professor, University of Wisconsin
Why is the Poisson effect relevant?
There are many engineering and manufacturing applications of the Poisson effect, however, of particular relevance to ExactFlat is the application for use in creating algorithms for use in flattening non-developable surfaces (i.e. surfaces that curve in two or more directions). To flatten these types of surfaces, it is necessary to “distort” them to achieve accurate fit of flattened pattern parts on physical models and the Poisson Ratio (the ratio of transverse strain over axial strain multiplied by negative 1) provides one type of input into the specific mechanical characteristics of the material in question.
Tags: 3D to 2D flattening
Is the time-honored practice of “walking the pattern” set to walk off into the sunset?
December 1, 2012
What is “walking the pattern”?
Walking the pattern is the process of placing adjacent pattern pieces next to each other and aligning them for the purpose of verifying if their respective seams – those that are to be sewn together – are the proper length. The process has its roots in the making of physical pattern pieces, however it has made its way into CAD packages in widespread use in the preparation of patterns for apparel and industrial fabrics. (see software features for Gerber Accumark, Lectra, Assyst, Optitex and others)
Notching and Marking
As the patterns are walked, they are also marked and notched. The marks and notches are used as reference points for sewers to properly align the patterns when prototyping and manufacturing. When we wrote the first version of ExactFlat software (at the time known as 3D Direct, marketed by Gerber Technology in 2005), we included functionality for walking the pattern. We also included functionality for automatic notching – that is by putting a notch on the seam of one pattern piece, our software automatically put a notch on the corresponding pattern piece in the exact location. (Our algorithms used double floating-point accuracy, which in the world of sewn product manufacturing, for all intents can be considered exact.)
With our latest version of the ExactFlat Design Studio, we have taken things considerable further to assist pattern engineers in getting their products to market faster.
First, if you use our 3D-to-2D flattening algorithms, patterns pieces and their seams are automatically associated with the corresponding pieces. In situations where 2D pattern pieces are imported, scanned, or photographed, we have simple, intuitive tools to associate edges. To make it even more intuitive, users can color code the seams to create visual reference points for complicated products.
Notch Chains
Next, automatic notching tools are provided whereby users can select a seam, and add notches automatically to it and all the associated seams. How? Notch chains. With ExactFlat Design Studio, notch chain tools enable users to distribute notches along a specified seam and the associated seams in two ways: specifying a number of notches; the number of notches are then equally distributed along the seams, and specifying a spacing or interval; then notches are then applied to the seams at the specified interval.
Do you still need to walk a pattern?
With this new functionality, customers have suggested that the need and rationale for walking the pattern is diminished or completely eliminated and that the time spent adding, aligning, and managing notches can be cut to a fraction of the time previously necessary.
If you want to learn more, give us a call. We know you are busy and will get right to the point. In 15 minutes we’ll give you a specific and detailed walk-through of how we associate seams and add notches automatically.
1 877 977 7776 or +1 647 933 9099
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