Collaborative options with TopSolid'Progress 2010

Once a strip has been created and the die bases installed, the collaborative mode option in TopSolid'Progress 2010 allows several designers to work on individual (but dependant) files of a master file. It is then possible, at any moment, to synchronise changes made in individual files towards the master file. The collaborative option produces productivity and time gains in the tool design process. TopSolid'Progress 2010 also simplifies the creation of complex transition zones, between unbendable parts. This enables easier treatment of toric bends or tie-in zones in connector parts. In relation to the connector technology market, the design of strips containing several dozen stations (including many stations without operations) is now much faster due to a strip working mode. TopSolid'Progress 2010 provides a significant improvement in the management of clearance values associated with the insertion of punches into plates. These clearances can be defined with default values for each plate and are automatically applied during the insertion process of the punches. Punch creation functions now include an option to define ground shoulders and the integration of heel creation in cutting punches. The use of standard components has been improved with software functionality simultaneously inserting screws and pins, to manage standard assembly configurations for plates, punches and dies. When using TopSolid, such components are dimensioned depending on the assembly context and are automatically updated if the dimensions of the tool change. A modification report is now available detailing the list of components, whose dimensions have been recalculated, following a tool update.