EDS has announced a new shape creation technology called Rapid Blue. With Rapid Blue, Solid Edge takes a major leap forward into the consumer products market as well as other industries requiring complex shape creation. Rapid Blue was announced as part of a major launch of Solid Edge Version 14, EDS' value-based 3D computer-aided design (CAD) system for the mainstream market.

Rapid Blue consists of a series of unique features including Blue Dots, Blue Surfs, shape preserving curves, convert to curve, dynamic editing, and complementary features such as surface blending, filleting and analysis capabilities for robust complex shape creation. More than just another surface modeller, Rapid Blue shape creation technology builds on the surface cleanup capabilities released in Solid Edge V12 to free designers from systematic history based constraints of other design systems.

"Historically, users of surface design software have been constrained to their history trees," said Dan Staples director of the Solid Edge business unit at EDS PLM Solutions. "Today, with Rapid Blue technology, Solid Edge shatters that barrier, providing users with a flexible, worry-free, you-are-in-control approach to designing complex shapes that gives you the shape you want by eliminating dependence on the history tree."

Inside Rapid Blue Technology

Shape preserving curves provide highly predictable behaviour during shape creation and editing with silhouette points, edit points and control vertices, allowing preservation of the initial sketched shape.

Blue Dots deliver editable, order-independent curve editing capability that shatters the barriers of history-based modelling. Blue Dots, an industry-first tool, addresses order dependency and provides more freedom and control for evaluating and manipulating shapes in realtime.

The new convert-to-curve feature provides editable curve creation from primitive foundation geometry, allowing users to design through a simple, practical workflow that speeds design by modifying simple shapes into complex ones without starting over.

Dynamic Edit is a new continuous results calculation that provides instant visual feedback on geometry changes to allow users to dynamically evaluate shape and highlight alternatives, including the impact to all downstream features, without concern for history. Blue Surf delivers powerful shape generation using curves, Blue Dots and dynamic editing, plus a process-oriented workflow to get the shape you desire quickly and easily without concern for history.

Rapid Blue is complemented by filleting and blending capability that provides production hardened, G2 continuous face blending that can fillet virtually any solvable solution. Rapid Blue also performs surface analysis, including curvature display analysing the continuity between elements and zebra striping analysing edge continuity.

"The new Rapid Blue technology epitomises the Solid Edge approach to design: flexible, practical, reliable, fast; created by engineers for engineers," said Bruce Boes, vice president of marketing and business strategy for Solid Edge. "With this new capability, Solid Edge is poised to bring its proven design, assembly, production drafting and built-in design management capabilities to the designers of consumer products and other producers of complex shapes. Solid Edge has placed more than 135 000 seats into the market to date, with access to only 70% of the market. This move opens up as much as 30% more market to Solid Edge and will undoubtedly accelerate our consistently growing presence in the mainstream market immediately and for years to come.

"My tests proved that new surfacing tools in Solid Edge provide exactly what we need to design our deep fryers, steamers and coffee makers that appeal to the consumer market," said Solid Edge beta software tester Olivier Pellerin from Groupe SEB, in Is Sur Tille, France.

"Rapid Blue dramatically expands product possibilities by delivering direct freeform surface interaction in mainstream CAD," says research director Ken Versprille, of D.H. Brown Associates. "Rapid Blue's dynamic feedback of surface creation and edit leapfrogs comparable solutions in providing flexible design capabilities."

For more information contact Esteq Design, 012 991 5570.