Designing hydraulic integrated circuits just got easier with the introduction of i-Design version 3 software from Hydraforce, Lincolnshire, Ill. I-Design is FREE hydraulic system design software that allows users to create custom integrated manifolds from initial design stages through pricing. As with previous versions, i-Design 3 contains schematic layout and pricing tools but adds a 3-D layout tool that greatly improves communication between manifold designers and suppliers throughout the design cycle.

I-Design provides an isometric view of the manifold, estimated manifold and extrusion size, and the estimated weight of the manifold. All of these are based on the user’s definition of the assembly. Users can work on several projects at one time and can cut and paste from existing projects to speed development time.

Users can now specify the location of the ports, valves mounting holes, etc. in a real time 3-D editor. The 2-D interface of the six faces is available for users who are comfortable with the previous face. The difference in this interface is that the representation of the valves, ports and other components are drawn to scale.

A parts list allows quick review of the bill of material any time throughout the design process. When a user finishes a design and layout, the software has a built-in design check that provides a variety of detailed warnings, such as incomplete product specifications, errors in component size, pressure or flow setting, etc.

The software generates a report when a user is ready to see the final draft of a project. The report contains information from all parts of the project; consumer and supplier information, technical parameters, the circuit, the manifold layout, the bill of materials, warnings, and revision history.

For more information, visit www.hydraforce.com and click on i-Design.