EKK, Inc. Newsletter - July/August 2004

EKK, Inc. Newsletter - July/August 2004

EKK Software Ready For 64-bit

As previously mentioned, we have done a lot of work with preliminarily porting our software to run on X86-64 bit hardware such as the AMD Opteron and Athlon64 processors, running a true 64-bit LINUX operating system. The entire CAPCAST package runs great on X86-64 hardware, but there was one concern that we hadn't addressed. 32-bit binary files are not the same as 64-bit binary files. The pre- and post-processing softwares have been able to handle this difference since our previous announcement, and now the analysis code does as well. And so, we are proud to announce that our software is fully ready for 64-bit, and is available as always through the software distribution area of our website!

EKK presents results at US-DOE review meeting

Representatives from EKK recently attended the 2nd quarterly review meeting at Worcester Polytechnic Institute for the US Department of Energy sponsored project "Development of Computational Tools for the Assurance of High Strength and Fatigue Resistant Aluminum Castings". Our presentations summarized our progress on modelling surface oxides in low pressure / gravity fill processes. Our results were shown to correlate well with experimental results obtained by other members of this project.

CAPOST/MESHID Updates Released

Even if you have installed the software from this year's update CD (you have, haven't you?), your software is already out of date. Both CAPOST and MESHID have fairly significant updates, and are currently at versions 2005.3. Noteworthy updates include (click on the links to view the release notes online):

CAPOST

An Edit: Preferences menu has been added. This is a growing menu, and only a few options have been added so far. Perhaps the most interesting option is the ability to specify the units CAPOST displays results with. With this addition, CAPOST can now display results such as velocities, temperatures, or pressures in either english or metric units.
Numerous minor updates have been made, further improving CAPOST's stability and usability.

MESHID

An Edit: Preferences menu has been added to MESHID as well. As with CAPOST, this is a growing menu, with only a few options added so far.
Close circular holes has been added to the Surface: Correct menu, allowing the user to quickly close holes in surface files semiautomatically.
HPDC velocity profile has been added to the Analysis: Fluid Flow: FLBDY parameters menu to help you set up an HPDC analysis with a time dependent velocity.
As with CAPOST, numerous minor updates have been made, further improving MESHID's stability and usability.

Changes to software update distribution

In an effort to tighten security on our website while continuing to provide easy access for our customers to software updates, we have reworked the software distribution area of our website. Please visit http://www.ekkinc.com, click on "Customer Support", and then click on "Software distributions". This brings you to this page, where you can send us a request for a software update. We will then respond to your request within 2 business days.

Did You Know?

Sometimes we receive questions concerning when it is appropriate to apply air boundary conditions on the outside surface of the mold. Here is the general rule of thumb: if your process uses a metal mold, then you must apply an air boundary condition. This is due to the high conductivity of metal molds. When an air boundary condition is not applied to the outside of a metal mold, CAP assumes that no heat transfer is possible from the surface of the mold. This will cause an unrealistic insulating effect, and the temperatures in the die will usually be higher than expected. On the other hand, highly insulative materials such as sand do not require an air boundary condition, because the heat from the metal does not usually reach the surface of the mold.

Previous newsletters

May/June 2004

March/April 2004

January/February 2004

Past newsletters