Paul Boughton
Sensable Technologies is releasing a major new version of its Freeform 3D modelling software. With new design functionality and expanded interoperability, the new Freeform version 10 builds upon its strengths for designing complex organically-shaped products with enhancements that let product designers strike a balance between aesthetics and manufacturability.
Cost-effective manufacturing of goods with organic shapes or sculptural design details and textures is exceedingly complex to achieve. The new Freeform version provides designers with tremendous speed and creative freedom to refine their designs while streamlining the preparation-for-manufacturing process. Freeform is currently said to be used by thousands of product designers in a wide range of industries including toys, footwear, home décor and collectibles, custom medical implants and many more.
New features allow faster design iteration and preparation of intricate models with precise surface details and textures to meet downstream manufacturing requirements for cost-effective computer-aided manufacturing such as rapid prototyping/manufacturing or milling. For example, designers can quickly calculate the surface area of decorative items that will be gold plated while they sculpt – allowing them to keep the cost of materials within specification. Additionally, designers can fix draft angles – required for mould release – to select areas of organic models in seconds, typically a time-consuming or impossible task in parametric modellers.
With Freeform, users model more intuitively through the use of haptics (touch-enabling) for product design. Instead of holding a computer mouse, Freeform users hold a Phantom force-feedback haptic device – literally 'feeling' the resistance on their hand as they nimbly sculpt intricate designs, such as grapes and vines or apple blossoms on juice bottles. Because it is based on voxels (volumetric pixels), Freeform also removes the constraints of topology – mathematical definition, geometry format, and order of operation – of traditional mathematical-based modellers, which further enhances its ease of use.
James Mason, a freelance 3D technical consultant based outside London, comments: "On a project I just did for a high-end collectibles maker, I saved at least five days of time in preparing 3D models for injection mould manufacture, thanks to just a few of the new tools in the latest Freeform version. That is at least twice as fast as with the company's previous workflow. I fixed draft angles and filled curvature-based holes with amazing speed. This new Freeform version can help companies make a huge leap forward in prep-for-manufacturing efficiency."
George Sivy, owner of The Image Engine, a digital modelling consulting and service firm based in Longmont, USA, adds: "This newest Freeform version gives designers even more tools to make sure their work translates well in the manufacturing process." Sivy has already helped manufacturers to save time in their production workflow using the new version's capabilities. He says: "Its new tools give modellers superior ways of articulating fine details and incorporating textured surfaces while adhering to critical manufacturing standards. And I especially love the new features that allow sculptors to do the things that could never be done with actual clay."
New features in Freeform version 10 include a advanced toolsets such as deform, bend, twist, inflate and deflate, and no-fail geometry that is 'water-tight' for use in CAM software programs; 'pinch' and 'crease' digital clay to add intricate forms and details; faster scan cleanup and accurate reproduction of surface details with features for selectively sharpening and recreating details inherently lost during the scanning process; control height or depth when adding or carving digital clay; fix draft in select areas; and fast access to model volume, weight and surface area data to help manage production costs.
Freeform version 10 is available now for Windows XP and Vista systems – both 32- and 64-bit – and is priced starting at $9900 including the haptic device.
For more information, visit www.sensable.com
Cost-effective manufacturing of goods with organic shapes or sculptural design details and textures is exceedingly complex to achieve. The new Freeform version provides designers with tremendous speed and creative freedom to refine their designs while streamlining the preparation-for-manufacturing process. Freeform is currently said to be used by thousands of product designers in a wide range of industries including toys, footwear, home décor and collectibles, custom medical implants and many more.
New features allow faster design iteration and preparation of intricate models with precise surface details and textures to meet downstream manufacturing requirements for cost-effective computer-aided manufacturing such as rapid prototyping/manufacturing or milling. For example, designers can quickly calculate the surface area of decorative items that will be gold plated while they sculpt – allowing them to keep the cost of materials within specification. Additionally, designers can fix draft angles – required for mould release – to select areas of organic models in seconds, typically a time-consuming or impossible task in parametric modellers.
With Freeform, users model more intuitively through the use of haptics (touch-enabling) for product design. Instead of holding a computer mouse, Freeform users hold a Phantom force-feedback haptic device – literally 'feeling' the resistance on their hand as they nimbly sculpt intricate designs, such as grapes and vines or apple blossoms on juice bottles. Because it is based on voxels (volumetric pixels), Freeform also removes the constraints of topology – mathematical definition, geometry format, and order of operation – of traditional mathematical-based modellers, which further enhances its ease of use.
James Mason, a freelance 3D technical consultant based outside London, comments: "On a project I just did for a high-end collectibles maker, I saved at least five days of time in preparing 3D models for injection mould manufacture, thanks to just a few of the new tools in the latest Freeform version. That is at least twice as fast as with the company's previous workflow. I fixed draft angles and filled curvature-based holes with amazing speed. This new Freeform version can help companies make a huge leap forward in prep-for-manufacturing efficiency."
George Sivy, owner of The Image Engine, a digital modelling consulting and service firm based in Longmont, USA, adds: "This newest Freeform version gives designers even more tools to make sure their work translates well in the manufacturing process." Sivy has already helped manufacturers to save time in their production workflow using the new version's capabilities. He says: "Its new tools give modellers superior ways of articulating fine details and incorporating textured surfaces while adhering to critical manufacturing standards. And I especially love the new features that allow sculptors to do the things that could never be done with actual clay."
New features in Freeform version 10 include a advanced toolsets such as deform, bend, twist, inflate and deflate, and no-fail geometry that is 'water-tight' for use in CAM software programs; 'pinch' and 'crease' digital clay to add intricate forms and details; faster scan cleanup and accurate reproduction of surface details with features for selectively sharpening and recreating details inherently lost during the scanning process; control height or depth when adding or carving digital clay; fix draft in select areas; and fast access to model volume, weight and surface area data to help manage production costs.
Freeform version 10 is available now for Windows XP and Vista systems – both 32- and 64-bit – and is priced starting at $9900 including the haptic device.
For more information, visit www.sensable.com
