Pro/ENGINEER 18.0, Pro/MECHANICA 18.0
Now Available on RCS

Version 18.0 of both Pro/ENGINEER, a powerful computer-aided engineering package used to create three-dimensional solid models of parts from two-dimensional sketches, and Pro/MECHANICA, an engineering analysis tool for studying the dynamics of mechanical systems, is now available on RCS.

Pro/ENGINEER 18.0

This newest version includes the following features and functionality:

• This latest version of Pro/ENGINEER includes a number of additions to the library database, as well as several hardware-specific improvements.

• The Pro/PROCESS module provides tools to generate complete process plans for fabricated components.

• Pro/TOOLKIT, which replaces Pro/DEVELOP, leverages the package's ability to increase user productivity and reduce design errors. It allows for customizing Pro/ENGINEER's user interface and automating processes.

• The Pro/WEB PUBLISH World Wide Web publication interface supports the export of Pro/ENGINEER assemblies and process plans to complete Web pages using standard HTML, VRML, and other formats and applets.

• ProENGINEER now provides the ability to measure the angles between surface normals at a shared edge, as well as between two arbitrary 3-D curves.

• When assigning materials, Pro/ENGINEER now recognizes units associated with a material file.

• An explicit list of selectable items now appears during Query Select.

• A STOP button can halt the retrieval of Pro/ENGINEER assemblies.

• Display behavior has been enhanced during spin, pan, and zoom operations.

To use the new version of Pro/ENGINEER, enter the following commands from a UNIX prompt, after changing to the directory in which you wish to work:

        setup proengineer-new
        pro & 

Pro/ENGINEER V18.0 will become the default on Friday, June 27, and you will no longer have to set it up. You may access the package either via the RCS Applications menu (in which case your home directory will be your working directory), or you can issue the following command from a UNIX prompt, after changing to the directory in which you wish to work:

	pro &

You will still be able to access the current version of Pro/ENGINEER, Version 16.0, by entering the command setup proengineer-old at a UNIX prompt before running the program. This version will be removed from the system sometime during the first few weeks of the Fall 1997 semester.

Pro/MECHANICA 18.0

The most recent version of this program includes the following major enhancements:

• Impact simulation and gear modeling in the Motion module

• Further integration of Motion within Pro/ENGINEER

• Enhanced modeling capabilities in the Struture and Integrated Structure modules

• Improved Unigraphics interface

• Support for transient thermal analysis

You currently need to setup the program before running it, as follows:

        setup promechanica-18.0

You may then start up the various Pro/MECHANICA modules, as shown below.

To start the Pro/MECHANICA Motion analysis module:

	mmotion &

To start the Pro/MECHANICA Structural analysis module:

     	mstruct &

To start the Pro/MECHANICA Thermal analysis module:

	mtherm &

To start Pro/MECHANICA with the Pro/ENGINEER interface:

	ptcmech

Version 18.0 of Pro/MECHANICA will become the system default on Friday, June 27, and you will no longer need to set it up.

If you have any questions or problems, please contact the consultants at the ACS Help Desk locations, call ext. 7777, or direct electronic mail to consult@rpi.edu.

A Few Reminders

Pro/ENGINEER files are not backward compatible. That is, you can access V16.0 files from V18.0, but not the other way around. Therefore, once you have moved a part, drawing, or other file to Version 18.0, you won't be able to access it again in Version 16.0.

For further information, you can obtain Pro/ENGINEER documentation from the Reserve Desk, located on the first floor of the Folsom Library, or from the ACS consultants. (The consultants will be available at the VCC Help Desk for the remainder of the summer; they will also be available in the CII 3111 Help Desk during the fall semester.)

Academic Computing Services is currently working on revising the Pro/ENGINEER memo for use with Version 18.0. (The documentation for Version 16.0 currently exists on-line in RPInfo.)