Software has improved the entire appliance design process — from getting a product’s appearance just right to ensuring part counts are kept to a minimum to

optimizing ergonomics. Design software triumphs are showcased below in the design of a pair of lighted swim goggles, an implantable heart pump, a blood analyzer for diabetics, and human interfaces.

These swim goggles do more than just keep chlorine out of your eyes. The Aqua Light Mask by Wild Planet Toys, San Francisco, is a swim mask with waterproof lights mounted on top, enhancing underwater visibility and summertime fun for those 8 years old and up. The mask features an on/off switch along with a waterproof battery compartment.

A team of designers at Stuart Karten Design (SKD), Marina del Rey, Calif., undertook the design of the mask using Pro/ENGINEER, design software from Parametric Technologies Corp., Needham, Mass.

The fundamental challenge facing the design team was to create a consistent beam of light that would project 10 ft. underwater. The low-tech bulb had to be a standard size easily found at the local grocery store. Therefore, the reflectors surrounding each small bulb had to be configured to generate the maximum refraction of light.

Secondly, the on/off switch, battery, and bulb casings had to be completely waterproof. The molding around the light source was complex and required both an o-ring to be fitted over the threads and a rubber boot assembly to ensure a tight, waterproof seal. A similar water barrier was also configured to encapsulate the four batteries and on/off switch.

Additional requirements included: The weight of the dual headlights and four AAA batteries had to be carefully displaced so as not to interfere with the function of the aqua mask; the bulb and batteries had to be easily accessed for replacement; and the product’s appearance had to manifest safety, quality, and durability.

According to SKD President Stuart Karten, “Pro/ENGINEER enabled a significant increase in the confidence level of all those involved in the design and engineering process. Furthermore, Pro/ENGINEER aided in the visualization and development of multiple-part assemblies. Lastly, Pro/ ENGINEER’s three-dimensional environment is an illustrative and intuitive environment in which to work.”

The design team managed to meet their design objectives while cutting the time to market by half. They reduced engineering change orders by communicating with Wild Planet Toys electronically and exchanging Pro/ENGINEER files via the Internet/FTP sites. Pro/ENGINEER en-abled them to test parts faster, refine them, and resolve manufacturing dilemmas, while also reducing the number of parts and improving the quality and appearance of external and internal elements. Fewer late-breaking changes and a lower part count resulted in reduced tooling and manufacturing costs.

The team at SKD used Pro/ENGINEER 2000i. Behavioral modeling capabilities include smart models (completely captured intelligent designs that adapt to their environment) and objective-driven design (turning models into designs based on specific product requirements). The tool functions within an open, extensible environment that is connected to the entire engineering process.

Pro/ENGINEER 2000i also includes a new module for mechanism design, which allows concurrent design and simulation of kinematic assemblies in a single-user environment. With grab-and-drag functions, mechanism design allows designers to specify functional connections and joints between components in the assembly, test the range of motion against specifications, and check for interferences among adjacent components as the assembly moves.

The beat goes on

This auxiliary pump, designed to aid damaged hearts in need of a transplant, was designed and modeled on CATIA V4.2.1.

Time is of the essence for any patient awaiting a heart transplant. Cardianove Inc., Montreal, Canada, has designed the smallest life-saving heart pump available and managed to shave two years off the development schedule by using software from IBM and Dassault Systemes. Dassault Systemes, Suresnes, France, develops CATIA, and IBM, Armonk, N.Y., markets, sells, and supports it. While the device, which measures 22 mm or about the size of a human fingertip, is not intended to replace a heart, it will serve as a temporary solution for people awaiting heart transplants.

The project was conceived at the Montreal Heart Institute, a cardiology research university hospital, and manufactured at the Centre Prototech of the the ?ole Polytechnique de Montr?, a Canadian engineering university. The pump will be machined out of titanium with blades that are 100 microns thick and that turn at 10,000 to 12,000 rotations per minute. It is powered by a small, external battery that sends an electrical current through the skin without the need for wires.

Andre Garon, who co-founded Cardianove Inc., formed a team of engineers and graduate students familiar with CATIA solutions. Their objective was to model an auxiliary pump that can be inserted directly into the left ventricle of damaged hearts.

“CATIA let us achieve a surface finish of 0.5 microns,” Garon says. “The blades look large on the screen, but they are only 100 microns thick. Titanium is difficult to work with, and we had to control the surface carefully.”

The CATIA Solutions computer-aided design (CAD) software was also used to run three-dimensional (3-D) simulations to help ensure that the miniature device will meet requirements when testing begins in 2002.

“After we completed the computer model, we used CATIA’s numerical control (NC) functions to quickly create a prototype, and used CFX fluid dynamic software to determine if we could cut the parts to spec and predict how they would behave in actual operation in the human body,” Garon explains. “CATIA allowed us to use 3D modeling to explore more than 100 virtual prototypes, and to machine the top three candidates.”

According to Cardianove CEO Conrad Pelletier, the biggest challenge in creating the heart pump was “optimizing the efficacy of the pump to obtain the smallest possible design to meet our needs. Using IBM’s CATIA, it was possible to model blood flow in such minute details that the optimal pump design was rapidly achieved. This approach also permitted us to predict very precisely the degree of red blood cell destruction (hemolysis) and gives us an accurate map of blood stagnation areas that have to be corrected in time.”

For the design and solid modeling of the pump, Cardianove engineers used CATIA Version 4 in conjunction with fluid dynamics software, all running on five IBM RS/6000 UNIX workstations.

“Friendly” medical device

I-Design, a consumer products industrial design firm based in Tokyo, was recently asked to re-design a medical device that analyzes blood samples of diabetic patients. “I believe we created something that is more inviting and much simpler to use than the earlier blood analyzer,” Tetsushi Ishimoto, director, I-Design, says. “We even gave it a friendly name — Twinkle.”

Because the device already existed, designers were asked to work within the confines of preset wiring and inner mechanisms. By using modeling software from Alias Wavefront, Toronto, I-Design was able to incorporate the positions of the wires in only two days.

To create a more aesthetically pleasing product, I-Design gave the Twinkle analyzer organic, smooth surfaces and created simulations of coverings. To minimize operator error, I-Design reduced the number of buttons, making them larger, and moved the operating switch away from access to internal workings of the instrument.

Using the software StudioTools,

I-Design was able to create 3D data at the same time initial concept sketches began. Revisions were completed simply by making changes to the original sketch. “Ordinarily, any change to a surface means the whole shape has to be erased and recreated,” Ishimoto explains. “Consequently, designers often work with draft drawings. Instead, we design directly on screen and skip the draft. This process saves us an enormous amount of time and enables us to create a technical product like Twinkle in just one month.”

I-Design’s all-digital approach made it possible to move the model “as is” through the engineering process. Files were passed to a CAD system and moved on to manufacturing without alteration. Yashuhisa Korreeda, head of industrial design at

I-Design, attributes the project’s ease to the high precision of surfaces created in StudioTools. “We spent one day for developing the idea, one for modeling, and one for rendering,” Korreeda says.

Ishimoto adds, “We can handle everything up to the engineering stage in-house, including making a test product. This approach helps us complete work much faster.”

Interface design

Emerson Appliance Controls, a division of Emerson Electric Co. (EAC), Elgin, Ill., is a developer and supplier of custom controls for the household appliance industry. EAC purchased Jerusalem-based e-SIM’s RapidPlus simulation software to use on the front end of its development programs to help solidify the customer’s requirements. With the use of RapidPlus, EAC is able to create a virtual control system where its customers can get the “feel” of the appliance’s human interface. Develop-ing the human interface is often the most time consuming portion of EAC’s product development and significant changes late in the development project can often lead to delayed product introductions. By developing virtual simulations using RapidPlus, customers can “play” on the control allowing EAC’s engineers to quickly simulate and optimize changes in the control’s operation, appearance, and navigation. This will allow EAC to develop products faster, reducing time-to-market from concept to production, and improving overall customer satisfaction.

e-SIM has also begun developing interactive simulations, including animated feature demonstrations for two next-generation ranges by Amana, now part of Newton, Iowa-based Maytag Appliances. Addition-ally, e-SIM is developing interactive owner’s manuals for these and other 2000 and 2001 models. GE Appliances, Louisville, Ky., has also adopted the technology to demonstrate LiveProduct™ simulations of the GE Advantium™ Oven for online

consumer support on their site as well as

e-SIM’s LiveProducts site. The technology enables consumers to learn about the oven’s time-saving features through “show me how” product demonstrations and an interactive user manual. Maytag is using the same technology to showcase its Neptune® washer and dryer.