Engineering Stack Exchange
Engineering Stack Exchange

Questions tagged [software]

70 questions
17
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10 answers

How did mechanical engineers work before SolidWorks?

I am studying a bunch of stuff related to mechanical engineering and am considering an eventual switch to the field after taking the necessary classes. I'm older, and I took drafting classes in high school and part of college. I'm familiar with the…
CL40
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Can two different modeling programs be used to confirm the results of each other?

Computer Models Computer modeling is used in various engineering fields. I am specifically considering structural analysis or finite element analysis (FEA). Sometimes models are used to speed up repetitive calculations that could be done by hand.…
hazzey
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Why choose approximation over interpolation to implement digital lofting?

Before widespread use of digital computers lofting was done using a thin flexible strip, called spline, held in place by a series of weights. This technique is a type of interpolation (curve exactly passes over sample points) using a physical analog…
user3368561
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6 answers

Engineering calculations in a tool that will handle units

I know Mathcad handles units along with numbers which makes it easier to avoid errors by tracking units the way we would by hand. e.g. 250 kW + 500 W I just wanted to compare tools before I switch to Mathcad. Are there any other tools people are…
curious_cat
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1 answer

dSPACE compiler linker error -- fscanf undefined

I'm dealing with a somewhat intractable problem. We're running dSPACE 7.4 (RTI 1006) on MATLAB 2011a, which I understand uses the dSPACE DS1006 C Compiler v. 2.2. When I try to compile one of our models, I wind up with a linker error claiming that…
ZStamler
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Determining the microstructure of steel after welding in modern computer software

How can the microstructure of steel after welding be determined in modern computer software? I am aware that there are 'classic' methods of predicting microstructures like Schaeffler, DeLong or WRC constitutional diagrams. What I am wondering about…
bartosz.baczek
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How do I loop through annotations in NX using the NXOpen API in VB?

I'm writing a script to extract all the dimensions from a 2D drawing in NX. In doing so, I have been able to get the dimensions and tolerances on all sheets, along with the zone numbers. This has been fairly easy. However, I'm running into a brick…
stonecharioteer
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1 answer

GIM Mechanism Software (Kinematics / Analysis / Synthesis)

I've recently discovered a very awesome software tool for the synthesis and analysis of mechanisms. The tool is called GIM, from Faculty of Engineering in Bilbao, Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of the Basque Country (UPV/EHU) …
zipzit
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2 answers

How to solve an overconstrained static free body diagram?

How does Force Effect https://forceeffect.autodesk.com do it? Given a 10m long bar angled as the hypotenuse of a 3, 4, 5 triangle with an xy pin constraint a (0,0), another xy constraint at (4,3), and a vertical force of 100N applied down at (10,6)…
SpeedCoder5
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How to notate the position of a train?

How is the position of a train modeled in a computer control system? I can think of two basic approaches but I am not sure which (if any) are used in the real world. Lat, Long Ex: (-42, 23) The position of the train is modeled by its real world …
Noah Huppert
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Who wrote the 1990's piece about the object oriented toaster?

In the 1990's (or earlier?), an unattributed piece was written about an electrical engineer and a software developer who were tasked with building a toaster. You can view the piece in its entirety here. It is unattributed. No copies on the Internet…
Roxy
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Viability of creating a wireless LAN bridge between mobiles and PCs using a portable router?

I am creating a network to share files between a mobile device and multiple PCs directly through a LAN. The purpose of which is to use smart phones to capture files from remote devices which are outside the range of the internet. The current plan is…
Luke
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How are common free body diagrams and similar illustrations made?

Over my education I've come across tons of engineering illustrations, most commonly free body diagrams and similar. I still do not know what software(s) is used to generate these. So many look very similar, and I haven't been able to find out how…
dan
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Can not boot BeagleBone Black with 4D LCD touch screen using pre-built Android images

I am using a BeagleBone Black, Revision B with a 4D Systems LCD touch screen. The screen worked initially with a stock Angstrom or Debian distribution but I want to use Android instead. I tried to use all of the pre-built Android images from Texas…
Muzeyyen Histiroglu
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3 answers

Staad - structure design

I have trial version of STAAD.Pro software and I am trying to figure out why my calculation are not same as manual one. I have modeled simple structure. But I don't want to have beams 1,27,26,25,24. It is intended that all that beams are one beam…
Sysrq147
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