Combining the Latest 3D Digitizer and Advanced CAD Technology
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3D Case Studies
Combining the Latest 3D Digitizer and Advanced CAD Technology
Hieda Digital Design
Building on years of experience to create a new wave with advanced CAD technology
- Takashi Hieda - President of Hieda Digital Design
Hieda Digital Design Ltd., is a design house founded by Takashi Hieda, an engineer with years of experience as an aircraft engine designer for a major heavy-industries manufacturer. Capitalizing on his years of 3D CAD design experience, Mr. Hieda is mainly involved in outsourced 2D and 3D CAD design and industrial design planning.
The past few years have seen a rise in the popularity of mountain bikes bearing the names of famous brands. Mr. Hieda is sharply critical of this trend, dismissing most of those bikes as being "similar designs that simply involve throwing a few pipes together. They don't have the functionality that the consumer ought to expect from such big names". Mr. Hieda's company intends to change all this and start a new wave in the world of industrial design.
"If the designer pursues function and purpose, then most of the design is complete" says Mr. Hieda. In a world of rapidly changing consumer tastes, he sees the ability to continue to produce new designs quickly and efficiently as being essential to surviving in the industry.
To get the most out of its advanced CAD technology and quickly produce original designs with high added value, Hieda Digital Design brought in the VI-9i, Konica Minolta's non-contact 3D digitizer.
Designing an original mountain bike with the VI-9i
Frustrated by conventional mountain-bike frame designs, Mr. Hieda decided to create one himself. Opting for “on the-shelf” parts and accessories for areas other than the frame, he set as his goal the creation of a completely new frame emphasizing purpose and function.
The VI-9i was used liberally when converting these parts and accessories to 3D CAD data. For example, an actual sample of an “onthe-shelf” seat was acquired and digitized using the VI-9i. Scanning black objects is a task that standard optical 3D digitizers typically struggle with, but the VI-9i successfully digitized the seat without the need for sprays or similar surface coatings.
- The digitized 3D data was exported in STL format to Unigraphics NX, Hieda's main CAD program. The next step: CAD modeling.
Direct reverse-modeling with 3D CAD from scanned data
Hieda Digital Designs does not use a general-purpose reverse modeler. Modeling is performed directly with 3D CAD software using scanned data. Mr. Hieda's expert techniques, perfected during his time as a 3D CAD designer, make this possible. Thanks to the VI-9i, Mr. Hieda says that he has been able to complete a job that used to take a whole week within a single day.
Mr. Hieda put together and analyzed the CAD data created with the help of the VI-9i to quickly create his own downhill racer design - an original, unique, growing design that is beyond doubt a lot more than "just a few pipes thrown together".
Hieda Digital Design is currently working on creating a test bike based on this design and is planning to unveil the completed bike at a mountain bike show in the near future.