SurfaceWorks and the Shape Feature

With the recent introduction of AeroHydro's SurfaceWorks freeform surface design add-in and SolidWorks 98Plus' new "Shape" feature, SolidWorks customers are asking "What tools should I use to get my job done?". This document is meant to help distinguish the utility of these two powerful new tools in the SolidWorks world, and help you recommend the appropriate tool for your customers’ needs.

SurfaceWorks is a full-featured surface modeler that has been tightly integrated with SolidWorks, offering bi-directional associativity with the model. SurfaceWorks’ close integration with SolidWorks allows you to drive freeform surface models with SolidWorks parts, sketches and parametric dimensions. Though there are no competitors to SurfaceWorks in the SolidWorks world at this time, there are numerous examples of competing surface modeling products that are closely tied to rival CAD products.These include ICEM/Surf and CDRS (http://www.ptc.com/icem/products.htm), both owned by Parametric Technology Corporation, and Alias Studio (http://www.aw.sgi.com/pages/home/pages/products/), a UNIX-based, industrial design application developed by Alias|Wavefront, a Silicon Graphics company. A look at these web pages will help you to understand the SurfaceWorks target market.

SurfaceWorks adds a complete and robust set of classical surface modeling functions to SolidWorks. Industrial designers will appreciate the power of the SurfaceWorks package. Parts made with SurfaceWorks can be used by SolidWorks and the numerous other 3rd party SolidWorks Solution Partner applications as if they had been created in SolidWorks natively. SurfaceWorks allows SolidWorks users to design complex multi-surface models precisely and accurately, enforcing such constraints as tangency, continuity, spatial location, and smoothness. Geometry created with SurfaceWorks can be used as the starting point for a SolidWorks part, or it may be added after the fact to detail and sculpt an existing part. SurfaceWorks’ surface modeling tools also provide limited utility for repairing imported surface models from other surface modeling systems. Many complex freeform objects such as power tools, consumer electronics, plastic containers, mold cavities and automotive and aerospace parts benefit from the wealth of capability provided in SurfaceWorks for their creation.

SurfaceWorks is best suited for applications where multiple interrelated freeform surfaces are required to produce a desired shape, or where precise control over location, tangency, and smoothness is required between adjoining faces. In addition, the surface modeling tools found in SurfaceWorks will be familiar to SolidWorks users who have experience with surface modeling tools found in high-end UNIX-based CAD systems.

How does SurfaceWorks augment SolidWorks’ new "Shape" feature? The SolidWorks "Shape" feature allows the user to manipulate and deform individual faces as though each face were an elastic membrane, like a thin sheet of rubber or a soap bubble. SolidWorks users can manipulate the shape of a face using guide curves and pressures of varying intensity. With the "Shape" feature, SolidWorks has maintained its focus on ease-of-use and its flexibility to create complex shapes quickly and intuitively. Whereas the "Shape" feature operates on one face at a time, SurfaceWorks provides a complete surfacing environment that allows you to perform sophisticated surface manipulations on sets of faces, maintaining tangency conditions and smoothness between multiple faces.

 

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