Getting ready for the Inland Sea Kayak Symposium

The Inland Sea Kayak Symposium resumes this year. It's a wildly popular symposium, and the campsite in Washburn fills up quickly. So we arrived early to get a good site.

There was little competition for sites. We got this prime location on our first drive through the campground loop.

Then we discovered we didn't have our tent. So we drove down to the boat launch to paddle.

We leashed and curbed our boat and didn't park. No need to stir up trouble!

That's when we discovered that we also forgot our boats. But the lake beckoned. It was covered in 30 inches of ice, but underneath that, we knew the water was delightful. So we practiced some solid-water rolling.

What's better than dry-land rolling? Solid-water rolling.

Nobody else showed up, and eventually we decided that we had shown up a little bit too early. We'll be back June 18 - 21. See you then!

T-FLEX Design Quick-Start Tutorial PDF E-Book

A few readers didn't know about the handy T-FLEX 11 beginner's design guide normally found HERE on the hard disk after the T-FLEX 11 CAD installation. So for easy access and to benefit the curious, we are posting the document online again for everyone to have a look. There are some really helpful tips for beginners here so you might want to bookmark this page. Click on one of the pages to open the entire publication online in a new window. To download the entire PDF file version (without the embedded reader) click HERE.

Open publication

T-FLEX CAD offers product design engineering PLM solutions similar to Pro/E, to some degree Unigraphics or even CATIA, but a fraction of the installation cost. Options include full multi-axis CNC milling & lathe cutting, FEA and kinematic simulation. T-FLEX PLM is used extensively by large companies like GEA Westfalia Separator and Festo. Read more about T-FLEX PLM here.

January 2010 NOTE: CADDIT has now published a quick Web Tutorial Overview for T-FLEX CAD HERE.

Reflections

One thing we appreciate about the way Ronnie and Marsha teach is that they have definite views about how maneuvers and procedures, from strokes to rescues, should be performed and can explain the logic behind their convictions. And yet, if you do something differently and can explain why, they’re open to your ways.
Another thing we came to appreciate was the way Ronnie and Marsha work as a team. We could see their styles rubbing off on each other: Ronnie’s earnestness and Marsha’s playfulness; Ronnie’s attention on the training task at hand and Marsha’s insistence on noticing the dolphins and the clouds; Ronnie’s focus on the skills and Marsha’s attention to the emotions.
And yet, Ronnie can be funny, charmed by his surroundings and sensitive, and Marsha can be serious, fastidious about the fine points of a rescue, and precise in her critiques. And for both, safety and what they term “the duty of care” to students are always front and center.
This morning, we debriefed over breakfast. They critiqued each of us individually, and we had a discussion about the previous four days of training: highs, lows, what we learned, how we felt about our skills as paddlers and instructors. Their observations were stunningly accurate and inspiring, and they reinforced something we’ve come to believe about paddling in general: There is no one scale of skill on which we all fall relative to one another. We all have our strengths and weaknesses, our better and worse fits, our moments of brilliance, our blind spots and our areas in which we still need to improve.
We've been inspired by many paddlers over the years and have had an opportunity to train with a handful for a day here or there. This was our first opportunity to spend extended time with two coaches we highly respect, and we came away richer for the experience.

The rewards of returning home: Hannah and Jeremy

Sustainability & Design at Davos 2009: Posters in PDF

Sustainability & Design at Davos 2009: Five Posters in A3 size in printable PDF format

Prof M P Ranjan

Image01: Views of Sustainability Design Charette at New Delhi on 15 November 2008 as part of the India Economic Summit which was organised by the World Economic Forum.

The “Sustainability for Tomorrow's Consumers: India Innovation Charette” was organised on the 15th November 2008 at New Delhi as part of the India Economic Summit 2009 under the auspices of the World Economic Forum. The Charette consisted of mixed groups of business executives, sustainability experts, social entrepreneurs, designers and design students, all working together to build on the three pillars which define the initiative were proposed by the World Economic Forum team headed by Marcello Mastioni:

A. Business Case for Sustainability,
B. Innovation for Tomorrow’s Business, and
C. Building the Framework Conditions.

The day long discussions and workshop sessions at the Design Charette at New Delhi saw six key themes emerge:
1.ENGAGE CONSUMERS: co-create and close the loop
2.Move from stuff to VALUE BUSINESS MODELS: consume right, not less
3.Embrace OPEN SOURCED innovation: leverage copy left
4.INTEGRATE to deliver innovation: collaborate along the value chain
5.REDEFINE THE CORE: meta-morph and reinvent
6.Leverage EMERGING TECHNOLOGY: put science at work

Image02: Views from the two day Visualising Sustainability Workshop conducted at NID on 26 and 27 December 2008 for a hands on session for visualising approaches to sustainability along six selected themes.

The push for the follow up meet at NID would now be to understand the ideas that will leverage these broad frameworks into the future. The aspects that currently maintain the status quo must be examined, and concepts that will bring about transformation will have to be envisioned and articulated. The broad themes have to therefore be detailed, visualised and made tangible.

In order to take these themes forward, the National Institute of Design (NID) proposed a two day workshop, ‘Visualising Sustainability for Davos 2009’ and the same was organised on the 26th and 27th of December 2008, where six multidisciplinary teams of design students, faculty, and invited experts explored these six themes, in order to create detailed concepts within each of these broad frameworks.

Image03: Selection of thumbnail sketches that could capture various themes and issues associated with sustainability visualisation as a preparation for the poster making that would follow.

The outcomes of this workshop was further developed by a core team of three faculty and five students at NID so that these could be presented at the “Sustainability for Tomorrow's Consumers” Governors Meeting Session, on the 29 January 2009. What emerged was a set of five posters that drew on the six key themes that were proposed earlier in consultation with the World Economic Forum organisers through online and telephonic discussions while the core team developed the concepts and visualised the specific themes at the NID, Ahmedabad.

Image04: Posters on five themes that were sent to Davos for the closed door meeting of CEO's that discussed various approaches and strategies for sustainability in the business world in the days ahead.Let us look forward to their proposals for all of us.

The five posters are offered here as printable A3 size PDF downloads for use in schools and business settings alike to stimulate the use of design thinking and sustainable practices in the creation and delivery of new and improved products, services and business strategies that are sustainable – both people as well as environment friendly – in both thought and action.

0. Poster introducing the set of five posters on sustaibnability and the process of making these for the World Economic Forum in Davos 2009.

1. Poster on the theme of Co-Creation for Sustaibnability: PDF file 2.9 MB

2. Poster on the theme of Dematerialisation for Sustaibnability: PDF file 2.2 MB

3. Poster on the theme of Essence Making for Sustaibnability: PDF file 3.1 MB

4. Poster on the theme of Innovating the Value Chain for Sustaibnability: PDF file 2.7 MB

5. Poster on the theme of using Emerging Technologies for Sustaibnability: PDF file 2.7 MB

6. Full set of six posters as a compact booklet in A3 size_4 MB pdf.

7. Full set of six posters as a printable booklet in A3 size_16 MB pdf.

Prof M P Ranjan

CAD CAM Australia 2009 Comes At Three Levels

CADDIT has officially released the Alibre CAD/CAM software line for Australia on their online CAD software store. Alibre takes an important place with CADDIT's "Three-Tier-Portfolio" of software now being offered to Australian design and industry service customers. Many already know Alibre CAD to be a cost effective mid-range CAD offering parametric solid modelling, sheet metal design, basic motion kinematics, associative 2D layout detailing and other features. Designers also have the option to "drive" models from a spreadsheet, linking CAD designs to Microsoft Excel tables.

CADDIT will be working with Alibre to support both the Alibre CAD, complete with photo-render, Alibre Vault PDM, Algor Designcheck FEA and Rhino 3D Surfacing software - as well as the newer Alibre CAM line for associative 2.5 to 5 axis CNC milling. Alibre was released simultaneously on the CAD CAM Australia web portal and discussion is held on the CADDIT CAD Forum.

Alibre 3D CAD CAM software is offered as a "good starting point" for Australian business looking for cost-effective 3D design software, but looking to keep within a conservative budget. Alibre offers powerful design similar to SolidWorks, Siemens Solid Edge and Autodesk Inventor - but at a much lower price.

Alibre will join CADDIT's existing two CAD CAM product lines:

1. progeCAD/progeCAM basic low cost design & 2.5 axis machining for lathe mill & wire EDM
2. T-FLEX high-end hybrid surface/solid freeform-parametric PLM software.

Users can begin immediately downloading the new Alibre V11 from the CADDIT website. This software will run in full Expert mode for thirty days before reverting to it's free Xpress mode of asking for a commercial license which can be bought HERE.

Day four, with towing and surf

Having stayed up late doing night navigation exercises, we inexplicable started early today. The agenda: towing in various conditions.
One of the things we love about teaching is watching the 60-watt light bulbs come on our students. For us, today was full of smaller holiday-light moments. We began with a few contact tow and short-tow exercises designed to reinforce ways to keep the victim’s boat close and secure without compromising the rescuer’s ability to paddle and remain safe. We also worked with our tow belts, in flat conditions and in surf. Lessons learned were mainly tweaks and improvements to what we already knew, but their total wattage added up quickly. They include:
- ensure that the quick-release knot in your short tow doesn’t get bound up with salt and sand (retie your contact-tow set up each time you paddle)
- use a carabiner in your tow bag to divide the full length of the long tow rope in half, then let it slip down to the victim’s boat to extend to full length (we previously used a daisy chain for the half length, and again, the salt and sand could keep it from easily releasing)
- if the person you’re helping through the surf is capable of assisting, you can direct them to back paddle when the waves begin pushing
- when you’re in the surf zone, rescues take on heightened urgency, but taking a moment to help the victim secure his or her spray skirt will aid stability even in a unemptied boat.
- don’t keep your carabiner in your mouth as you approach to start a tow unless you relish a trip to the dentist
- despite the urgency, pick your way in and time your approach so it’s as easy and controlled as possible
As the tide moved in and the waves built a bit, we had opportunities to practice surfing again, as well as read the changing waves and pick our way through rougher areas. But time was quickly running out. We were torn between our desire to stay out and play, and our need to get back and pack our gear. There’s never enough time on the water.

progeCAM CNC Milling Lathe Wire EDM for progeCAD IntelliCAD

progeCAM CNC Software for progeCAD 2009 has been released on CADDIT. progeCAM is an affordable CNC manufacturing package for progeCAD designers who would like to use a CNC mill, lathe or wire EDM machine for cutting their designs. The CADDIT progeCAM CNC package links progeCAD Professional to PartMaster CAM with a small plugin which adds several new machining commands directly to the progeCAD interface: pcamMILL, pcamTURN, pcamEDM - along with a pcamOPTION and pcamHELP command. Commands are enabled depending on the manufacturing license chosen. There is also a small progeCAD toolbar which can call these functions without typing.

The progeCAM manufacturing package including progeCAD 2009, Dolphin CNC PartMaster and the CADDIT module is priced at a combined discount of more than 10% plus including the module software and support for free.