De Anza College
- Converted 2D drawings to 3D solids with minimum effort
- Handled mass properties easily
- Used SolidWorks Simulation to size parts and determine if they would fail
- Employed animation capabilities to illustrate internal movement of engine to a non-technical audience
De Anza College is a two-year school that also provides retraining in the field of computer-aided design (CAD) and computer science. The design of a Stirling engine involves the use of different materials and the need to know the mass properties of each part. SolidWorks can easily handle the mass properties and SolidWorks Simulation is used to size the parts and determine if they will fail.
The design was started using AutoCAD, which is very clumsy in 3D mode. SolidWorks took the 2D drawings that had been made in AutoCAD and turned them into 3D solids with a minimum of effort. The animation feature of SolidWorks makes it possible for non-technical people to understand the internal movement of the Stirling engine.