What I learned this week ... is that despite the maturity of CAD there are still new frontiers of product design - namely nano technologies - that will require a fundamentally new generation of CAD solutions. I had the opportunity to hear about Nanorex is doing to develop a fundamentally new set of CAD tools for the nano world. Mark Sims presented at COFES last week on some very interesting work he and the team at Nanorex are doing that I felt I had to share in relation the maturity of the CAD market.
MarkIII(k), a nanoscale planetary gear designed by K. Eric Drexler of Nanorex
Do we really need a new CAD Paradigm?
We have computer-aided tools for mechanical, electrical, software, and now systems-level design. These tools now include greater capabilities in regards to ease of use, modeling accuracy, and even standard capabilities for computer-aided engineering (CAE) applications. They are also becoming a part of an overall PLM infrastructure, and becoming more tightly integrated across the product lifecycle. But many would say this is a mature market. I wouldn't argue, although it is true that even powerhouse PTC has decided that they need a direct modeling paradigm for mechanical solutions to complement their parametric approach in Pro/Engineer.To support this, they acquired CoCreate. Some speculate this could be to dampen any momentum that upstart SpaceClaim might gain in this area. Regardless, this is an area where incremental improvement is the norm and few new entrants. Simplification of process and use by non-engineers might be the most exciting order of the day. So what else could we need?
Why CAD for Nano?
Let me start by saying this is way over my head. In fact, for a group of really smart (you can pronounce that "geeky" if you like) engineers with ties to the CAD and PLM markets, there were a lot of jaws dropping open and people marveling at even the primer on nano machines that Mark gave. Yes, I was one of them. He started by showing working models of nano-machines - modeled in his software solution. These were atomically accurate CAD models of working machines that are so tiny you can't see them. For some cool simulations of these machines, visit the gallery on the Nanorex site. The uses of these machines show great promise. But that brings up a very interesting question - how the heck do you design these in Catia, NX, Pro/E, or any of the other existing CAD tools? The answer is - at least today - you don't. The new product, NanoEngineer-1, helps companies model (and simulate!) products at the nanometer scale.
Beyond modeling nano machinery, Mark discussed some of the most likely production processes for these items. After a "basic" introduction of the methods to manufacture nano machinery - none of which are realistically viable today - he also demonstrated the capabilities to model DNA engineering approaches. The tool models strands of DNA and the forces that bind them, and demonstrated how different strands could be specified and modeled in their system. The system helps the nano engineer design, specify, and even order the DNA strands. He explained that DNA is not the best direct hope for nano machinery manufacturing, but may be a part of the solution. DNA can shape other things by serving as a core that can be wrapped by other materials that could become the final product, including the potential use of nano tubes. Or at least, that is the way I understood it. Please don't try this at home based on my description!
Why is this Important?
You can't manufacture nano machines that you design with this technology today. The CAD technology is way ahead of commercial nano machinery, but admittedly the CAD technology was what made me stop to ponder how any technology for design could ever be fully "mature" when the world of engineering and science continue to evolve. And as computing power increases, new capabilities are becoming available in core CAD applications. So much for complacency.
A Quick Note about COFES
As a quick aside, COFES is the "Congress for the Future of Engineering Software." Put on by Cyon Research, it is an event that brings together some of the most fascinating minds working on software technology to help engineers. It is a great place to learn and share ideas, and to meet new people. More will come from me about what I learned about at COFES, thanks to Brad Holtz and Joel Orr and the crew at Cyon for putting on the event.
So people are working on CAD for nano products, I hope you found it interesting. Who knew? I didn't, if you did let us know about it. What else is on the frontier?
