CompuServe Messages

Bruce, Actually, your concept is what is done in lots of destructive test cases. The anim/model is done first and many runs done to minimize the number of physical items that have to be destroyed to prove the design. Another area it is used is to build up a model from all the scale parts input from the CAD folks, animated it for demo and sales, and create the pictures for training, user and maintenence manuals, and create videos of the product "working in situ" before you even build unit 1. Take your orders from sales generated this way, send parts drawing to the CAM folks and build away. John Deere recently did this with a new modle tractor. All the manuals were complete before the production run started, and the design to ship time was nearly halved by using animation simulation and the graphics from it in the docs and sales literature and demos. There is even a buzz word for this typ of stuff – "creative visualization and virutla modelling". I suspect this will rapidly become the norm in almost all heavy manufacturing situations by 2000. Lots of work for animators with engineering backgrounds, I think. wmc – via Autopilot!