Editor's Pick: Reducing complexity of advanced tolerance analysis

Sigmetrix, a company focused on providing mechanical variation management tools, education and services, has released CETOL 6σ Version 10.4, the latest release of this leading solution for 3D tolerance analysis. There are a variety of enhancements and new features, some specific to individual CAD products. Versions are available for PTC Creo, Dassault Systemès Catia V5/6 and SolidWorks; and Siemens NX. 

Tolerance analysis is a means of determining how sources of variation in part dimensions and assembly constraints propagate across parts and assemblies, and how that total variation affects the capabilities of a design to achieve its design requirements within the process capabilities of manufacturing organizations and supply chains. 

Sigmetrix says tolerance analysis helps manufacturers improve profitability by balancing quality with manufacturing costs and by reducing time to market by requiring fewer prototyping and testing cycles. Performing such analyses also gives companies increased confidence in their product and process decisions. 

Recent releases have improved analysis efficiency by restructuring the CETOL 6σ interface to align with modeling workflow. Sigmetrix says this makes the most commonly used tools readily accessible at each step.

Sigmetrix says tolerancing analysis helps manufacturers improve profitability by balancing quality with manufacturing costs. Image courtesy of Sigmetrix.

Sigmetrix says CETOL 6σ provides a comprehensive set of GD&T tools to analyze the precise assembly modeling process, resulting in more accurate prediction of critical variation impact early in the development process. 

CETOL 6σ Version 10.4 includes the following improvements: 

• Unilateral specifications for measurements—When defining measurement requirements, the user may specify just an upper or lower limit
• Improved report processing—Report templates now include options for specifying how the report is post processed and opened in different target applications depending on the report layout
• New command-line execution options for the PTC Creo version allow for automation of starting a new CETOL analysis or working with data saved from a previous one
• Improved selection process—When adding a joint or a measurement, after selecting the first feature, that part is either hidden or changed to transparent so that the second selection is easier
• Better precision control—When entering a tolerance value, the precision automatically increases as you enter more digits, but the precision can only be decreased by specific user action
• Data management improvements for renamed assemblies—When the model data is stored in the top-level assembly and the CAD assembly has been renamed, CETOL makes it easier for the user to understand  that saved data exists and map it to the newly named assembly
• Revised severities—The severities of some advisor messages have been adjusted  to improve consistency between types of messages
• Naming improvements in the Analyzer—The Analyzer now includes the CAD name for assemblies, parts, and linked annotations in the appropriate columns

“The cost of achieving a quality product grows exponentially as it moves from design to manufacturing and finally to customers’ hands,” says James Stoddard, Sigmetrix president. “CETOL 6σ gives engineers the tools to identify and resolve issues earlier in the process, helping to maximize the profitability of products for a company.” 

Sigmetrix CETOL 6σ Version 10.4 is now available directly from Sigmetrix.

For more information on Sigmetrix CETOL 6σ Version 10.4, click here.

Sources: Press materials received from the company and additional information gleaned from the company’s website.