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Jul 28, 2011

Pankl Aerospace Systems Relies on Autodesk Inventor LT Software to Manufacture Components With Ultimate Precision

Autodesk, Inc, has named Pankl Aerospace Systems as the July 2011 Autodesk Inventor of the Month, in recognition of the company’s use of Autodesk software to more effectively manufacture helicopter rotary systems, increasing the performance and reliability of critical components and improving pilot and passenger safety.

Pankl creates 3D renderings of rotary system parts using Autodesk Inventor LT 3D mechanical CAD software, and then virtually runs the digital components through their multistep manufacturing processes — from boring a hole into a drive shaft to applying heat treatments to an engine shaft. This digital process helps verify that the parts adhere to precise performance standards at every stage of manufacturing, thereby confirming the integrity of the finished part.

“With Autodesk Inventor LT, we’re documenting and visualizing every step of the manufacturing process with more confidence and efficiency than ever before,” said Jonathan Charbonnet, manufacturing engineer at Pankl. “Autodesk Inventor LT enables us to review designs for our customers and proactively identify all the things that may cause problems during manufacturing.”

The original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) working with Pankl typically provide 3D models of the required parts. Pankl then imports the design model into Inventor LT — regardless of the CAD package used to create it — renders the part in 3D, and then digitally tests the manufacturing processes prior to progressing to the manufacturing phase. Inventor LT also enables Pankl to document processes by creating accurate 2D drawings, which can be applied to work instructions to better communicate design intent to the shop floor.

Embracing 3D With Seamless Access to 2D

Autodesk Gold Partner KETIV Technologies was instrumental in helping Pankl embrace Digital Prototyping and stay current with an industry moving increasingly toward model-based definitions. By switching to 3D modeling software like Inventor LT, Pankl can meet the needs of OEMs much more efficiently and better serve its customer base.

While Pankl uses Inventor LT for all new projects, it is still able to access years of DWG drawings, helping the company to respond more quickly, for example, to requests from OEMs for replacement parts on older model helicopters. The company captures 2D geometry from the past drawings with AutoCAD LT 2D drafting and detailing software, imports it into Inventor LT, where it can then reuse the data to quickly and easily clean up any errors — reducing rework and streamlining turnaround time for delivering replacement parts.

“Pankl is using Inventor LT to save time and reduce its manufacturing costs, all while increasing quality for its customers,” said Robert “Buzz” Kross, senior vice president, Manufacturing Industry Group at Autodesk. “With Digital Prototyping in place, manufacturers like Pankl can operate at the highest level of performance.”

VISTAGY Best-in-Class Composites Survey Reveals 44% of Composite Engineering Firms Lack Expertise to Design for Manufacturability

Survey shows that companies with the most mature composite design processes lead the way in combining parts, reducing weight, and extending product life.

VISTAGY, Inc., a leading provider of industry-specific engineering software and services, announced the results of its composites engineering benchmarking survey entitled, “How Does your Composite Design Process Compare to Industry Best Practices?” The study revealed only 56 percent of the composite design companies surveyed considered themselves knowledgeable in composites manufacturing practices and applied that knowledge during design. That implies that 44 percent of companies need to enhance their knowledge of the manufacturing process if they want to improve their competitiveness.

VISTAGY invites all composite design and manufacturing companies to participate in our extended survey and receive a complimentary copy of the report by going to: http://www.zoomerang.com/Survey/WEB22C74MU8BZ7. Editors can receive a copy of the report by writing to jeff.grossman@vistagy.com. And companies wishing to have a personal discussion of the results as it relates to their specific situation can contact VISTAGY by going to http://www.vistagy.com/contact-us.aspx.

The survey report is comprised of 140 responses across multiple industries, most prominently aerospace, automotive, and wind energy. Other relevant demographics of the respondents include region (65 percent US, 25 percent European, 10 percent Asian), and annual revenue of their companies (24 percent over $1B and 37 percent under $50M).

Goals for companies designing with composites varied, with 81 percent looking to reduce weight, 69 percent seeking to improve strength-to-weight ratios, 51 percent attempting to combine multiple parts, 25 percent seeking to extend product life, and 31 percent striving to lower maintenance costs.

The primary goal achievement metrics provided perhaps the most important results of the survey because they speak to the reasons that engineers adopt composites. The report states that, “Achieving these goals provides insight into the maturity of the company processes, domain expertise, and overall tool implementation and use. Any company that scored high here should be considered a high performing practitioner of composites engineering.”

In this context, best-in-class companies:

Average combining six or more parts into one (10 percent actually combine 10 or more parts, while 34 percent of companies lag others by treating composites as black metal and only replacing parts at a 1:1 or 2:1 ratio)
Reduce maintenance costs (and likewise improve quality and extend product lifecycles) by 30 percent or more by taking advantage of inherent material properties
Reduce weight by 30 percent or more with a full 34 percent beating their weight reduction goals.


“We conducted this study to enable our customers and others in the composites industry to understand where they stand compared to their peers and how they could improve their performance,” said Bruce Boes, vice president of product management and marketing for VISTAGY. “One thing that really stood out was that companies with best-in-class performance had a high correlation to the maturity of their processes. These companies also made the decision to invest in design resources and were more interested in achieving part cost targets than actually lowering their part costs, a major breakthrough in designing to take full advantage of all of the benefits of composites technology.”

Dassault Systèmes Reports New Licenses Revenue Growth of 36% in the Second Quarter in Constant Currencies

Paris ─ Dassault Systèmes reports IFRS unaudited financial results for the second quarter and first half ended June 30, 2011. These results were reviewed by the Company’s Board of Directors on July 27, 2011.

Summary Highlights (unaudited)

Software revenue growth up 18% (IFRS) and 16% (non-IFRS) in constant currencies
Net operating cash flow of €148 million
Version 6 deployments and signings included Jaguar Land Rover, Cessna, Alstom Transport and Benetton Group
Introduction of first Dassault Systèmes solution on the Cloud
Upgrading 2011 Financial Objectives on Q2 Performance

Bernard Charlès, Dassault Systèmes President and Chief Executive Officer, commented, “Dassault Systèmes delivered a very solid second quarter set of results. In particular, new licenses software revenue growth was up 36%, led by ENOVIA with a 49% increase, and a strong dynamic for the Company as a whole in high growth countries. CATIA had an excellent quarter with software revenue up 13% in constant currencies with Version 6 deployments, more active aerospace and automotive markets and a strong performance in the SMB channel.

“June was an important period for product launches, including our Version 6 Release 2012 and the introduction of our first Cloud services providing affordable and flexible usage for organizations and projects of any scale. Version 6 Release 2012 with its open architecture offers many improvements to enable companies to achieve efficient and secure inter-operability with their various enterprise systems. Exalead, acquired one year ago, further enables this data interoperability through its ability to find, integrate and analyze data wherever it resides in a simple, quick and cost effective manner thanks to its powerful search capabilities.”

- IFRS and non-IFRS total revenue increased 17% and 15%, respectively, principally reflecting strong software growth and to a lesser extent growth in services and other revenue. By region, growth was highest in Asia followed by the Americas and Europe. (All growth comparisons in constant currencies.)
- IFRS and non-IFRS software revenue grew 18% and 16%, respectively, on sharply higher new licenses revenue, which increased 36%. ENOVIA was the strongest with a 49% increase in new licenses revenue. (All growth comparisons in constant currencies.)
- IFRS and non-IFRS recurring software revenue grew 12% and 9%, respectively, benefiting from strong subscription renewal trends, increase in new licenses activity and higher rental revenue. (All growth comparisons in constant currencies.)
- IFRS PLM software revenue increased 20%. Non-IFRS PLM software revenue increased 17% with CATIA software revenue higher by 13%, ENOVIA by 22% and Other PLM by 22%. Other PLM includes SIMULIA, DELMIA, Exalead and 3DVIA. PLM software revenue growth benefited from a significant increase in new license revenue activity, including larger transaction sizes and strong activity in the PLM Value Solutions channel. (All growth comparisons in constant currencies.)
- Mainstream 3D (IFRS and non-IFRS) software revenue increased 11% in constant currencies on strong new licenses revenue and growth in maintenance revenue. New SolidWorks commercial seats licensed in the second quarter increased 22% to 11,893 seats.
- Earnings growth benefited from operating leverage offset in part by strong currency headwinds. IFRS earnings per diluted share increased 30% to €0.52. Non-IFRS earnings per diluted share increased 10% to €0.64 and excluding currency effects, increased 16%. The IFRS operating margin was 21.7% and the non-IFRS operating margin was 28.0% in the 2011 second quarter.

Business Outlook

Thibault de Tersant, Senior Executive Vice President and CFO, commented, “The second quarter exceeded our expectations on very healthy demand for our software solutions, with the upside coming both from new licenses revenue and recurring revenue. This performance translated into non-IFRS EPS growth of 10%, and would have been 16% without currency headwinds.

“We are upgrading our 2011 financial objectives for the full €20 million second quarter revenue over-performance, leading to a 2011 revenue growth outlook of 11 to 12% in constant currencies, and earnings per share growth of about 8 to 12% in spite of currency headwinds.

“With respect to second half growth comparisons, let me remind you that our 2010 third quarter revenue was well above our historic seasonal revenue trend. For the 2011 third quarter and second half, our objectives incorporate a sequential revenue outlook range in line with historic patterns. Secondly, with respect to recurring revenue, we had an important level of maintenance recoveries in the 2010 second half, as we outlined last year, which were one-time in nature.

“Overall, we are well positioned going into the second half of the year, and despite the uncertainty of the global economic environment, we have increased confidence in our 2011 financial objectives thanks to our second quarter results.”

Anautics Joins Aras Partner Program

Enterprise IT Expert Brings Aras Advanced PLM Solutions to DoD and Commercial Businesses.

Aras®, the leading provider of enterprise open source Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) software solutions, today announced that Anautics, Inc., an Oklahoma-based provider of enterprise software engineering and systems integration services, has joined the Aras Partner Program. Anautics applies rich technical knowledge and a deep understanding of industry-specific product development processes to provide its Government and Commercial clients with a full range of PLM services, including strategy and requirements planning, implementation, upgrade services and support.

Anautics is a woman-owned, Hubzone-certified business that prides itself on solving mission critical problems with innovative technology solutions and expert consulting. The Company’s Government Services Team has a long history of service with the U.S. Air Force and U.S. Army, providing systems integration services, educational solutions, program management, operations support and more.

“Anautics develops exceptional solutions that solve complex, real-world problems for the Department of Defense and other customers,” said Peter Schroer, President of Aras. “We applaud their focus and commitment, and welcome them to the Aras Community and the Aras Partner Program.”

AVEVA sponsors Navalshore Brazil 2011

AVEVA (LSE:AVV), a leader in engineering design and information management solutions for the plant, power and marine industries, announced today it is the gold sponsor of Navalshore 2011 taking place at SulAmérica Convention Center, Rio de Janeiro 3-5 August.

Embracing the business lifecycle of the entire shipyard, AVEVA will demonstrate its Integrated Shipbuilding Strategy. It features a combination of AVEVA’s Engineering Design and Enterprise Solutions portfolio, including AVEVA Marine, AVEVA NET and AVEVA MARS, which are used extensively by 90% of the top 10 shipyards worldwide.

Outlined in a recently published business paper, AVEVA’s Integrated Shipbuilding Strategy explores how shipyards can optimise the design, procurement and production process through improved information management, shortening schedules, increasing productivity and driving down costs.

“Navalshore attracts some of the most important players in the Brazilian marine and naval industry”, said Santiago Pena, AVEVA's senior vice president of Latin America. “And we have a very compelling and comprehensive proposition for the shipbuilders and marine contractors that attend the show. Our solutions ensure that each shipyard function has the right information, materials and resources at the right time throughout the project lifecycle. This minimises project costs and delivery times while maximising overall productivity, profitability and competitive advantage”.

Navalshore is a Special-Focus Trade Fair, promoting high-level business encounters. It is visited by company presidents, directors, managers and specialists from shipyards, companies specialized in products and services for the shipbuilding industry, for tankers and bulk carriers, the long-haul shipping sector and port services.

Remcom Announces Online Discussion Forum

Remcom has announced the launch of an online customer discussion forum. The Remcom Discussion Forum allows customers and users of the software to engage with other electromagnetic simulation professionals and with Remcom’s engineers and developers. Membership in the community is free and provides access to post topics, comment on others’ posts, upload content, and more.

Scott Langdon, president and product manager for EM software tools, said, “At industry events and our training courses, we’ve observed first-hand how useful it is for customers to share ideas and tips with each other, and we wanted to enable those connections all the time. An online discussion board seemed like a natural extension to our support program and our goal to provide multiple channels for customers to easily find help. One of Remcom’s guiding principles is to provide outstanding, personalized support and to put our most experienced engineers and developers directly in touch with customers, and the forum is another way we can offer this level of service. Not only will customers be able to converse one-on-one with our team, but they’ll also benefit from the combined knowledge of many other industry experts. At the same time, Remcom will gain important feedback and intelligence from the community.”

The forum offers many uses and benefits, including:

Collaborative help resource
Method to easily make suggestions and feature requests
Intelligence and data source that will influence Remcom’s product development plans
Community where current and potential customers can connect and engage with Remcom’s team
Tool for crowd sourcing to vet new product ideas or conduct polls

Remcom encourages users to start with the discussion forum when help is needed or to get opinions and advice from other Remcom software users; however, the forum differs greatly from the level of support received with a current Remcom Professional Support (RPS) contract. To receive all the benefits of RPS, including free upgrades to the latest versions of Remcom’s products, telephone support, and access to the support portal, customers require a current RPS contract.

The forum can be accessed by visiting http://www.remcom.com/discussion-forum or http://www.remcom.biz/forum

Delcam plans new software releases at imX

Delcam will launch new software releases from both its Advanced Manufacturing Solutions Division and its Healthcare Division at imX – the interactive manufacturing eXperience, to be held from September 12th to 14th at the Las Vegas Convention Center. New programs to be demonstrated on Booth #1800 will include options to speed product development and to make manufacturing processes more efficient.

Delcam will have a solution for all attendees at the event, whether they are looking for modelling design tools, or independent inspection solutions, or advanced machining strategies for high-speed and five-axis production of complex parts, or feature-based technology to streamline programming of 2D and 3D components, or automated programming for CNC mills, lathes, wire EDM, turn/mill centres or Swiss-type lathes.

Delcam’s breadth of CADCAM software is so sophisticated that it is not limited to the wide range of solutions for design, machining and inspection in traditional manufacturing sectors such as the automotive, aerospace, medical, energy and consumer industries. Delcam can also provide complete CADCAM solutions in applications for the medical market, including the design and manufacture of dental restorations and custom orthotic insoles.

"Delcam offers the broadest range of CAM software of any supplier,” claimed Glenn McMinn, President of Delcam North America. "We have the technology to provide solutions for all types of manufacturing, either as stand- alone systems for CNC toolpath generation or as complete packages including both CAD modelling and CAM programming, or even as dedicated, custom-built systems through Delcam Professional Services.”

"We have the largest development team in the CAM industry so we can keep abreast of progress in machine tool and cutting tool technology,” he added. "In fact, our close relationships with the leading machine tool suppliers mean that we can often anticipate their developments, for example, by preparing post-processors for new equipment before it is delivered to customers.”

As well as having the largest development team, Delcam is renowned internationally for providing the highest-quality support from its network of subsidiaries and resellers. "We have shown the upcoming software updates to our sales channels and the reaction has been extremely positive,” continued Mr. McMinn. "We are confident that our solutions will be able to help any company visiting imX and are eager to show the visitors how our software solutions can boost productivity, shorten delivery times, improve quality and so help them become more successful.”

Delcam's new machining software to debut at TCT/Interplas

The 2012 version of Delcam’s PowerMILL machining software will make its UK debut at TCT/Interplas.

The 2012 versions of Delcam’s PowerMILL CAM system for high-speed and five-axis machining and its FeatureCAM feature-based programming software will make their UK debuts at the TCT/Interplas exhibition to be held at the NEC, Birmingham, from 27th to 29th September. Both new releases will include a number of new strategies, together with more general enhancements to make programming easier and faster, and machining more efficient with the best-possible surface finish.

The most important new option in PowerMILL 2012 is flowline machining. With flowline machining, the toolpath is divided between a pair of drive curves in a constant number of passes, rather than having a varying number of passes with a constant stepover. This produces a better surface finish on the part and minimises wear on the cutter and the machine tool.

Another new option that will give better results during five-axis machining is the ability to control the angular point distribution. This option can be used to keep the machine tool moving smoothly when there is rapid angular change in one of its rotary axes.

Other enhancements include more control over the clearance distances applied to the cutter and its holder, new thread milling options, and improved workplane editing. It has also been made easier to obtain measurements, including distances, angles and directions, from the part model and enter these values into forms automatically.

A number of the improvements in FeatureCAM 2012 will make the software even easier to use. A range of keyboard shortcuts have been added and toolpath editing has been made much easier.

The most important improvement for increasing machine productivity comes from further developments in the use of stock models to cover 2D features, including bosses, sides and slots. The models allow the user to visualize the stock remaining after each operation. This makes it easier to eliminate air cutting and so generate more efficient toolpaths with reduced machining times. The models also simplify the selection of the most appropriate tools for rest-roughing and finishing operations.

Other improvements include extra options within the tooling database, the ability to automatically counterbore holes before drilling, fully-automated de-burring and chamfering, the possibility to create a negative leave allowance (such as a fitting allowance) for turning or wire EDM to produce undersized features without remodelling, and much improved performance on the largest part files with hundreds of thousands of entities.

Cimatron's Second Quarter 2011 Results Release Scheduled for August 4th, 2011 Before US Markets Open

Conference Call Scheduled for August 4th, 2011 at 9:00 EDT.

Cimatron Limited (NASDAQ and TASE: CIMT), a leading provider of integrated CAD/CAM software solutions for mold, tool and die makers as well as manufacturers of discrete parts, announced today that it will be releasing its second quarter 2011 financial results on Thursday, August 4th, 2011, before the US markets open.

Cimatron's management will host a conference call that same day, at 9:00 EDT, 16:00 Israel time. On the call, management will review and discuss the results, and will also be available to answer questions by investors.

To participate, please call one of the following teleconferencing numbers. Please begin placing your call at least 5 minutes before the conference call commences.

USA: +1-888-407-2553

International: +972-3-9180644

Israel: 03-9180644

For those unable to listen to the live call, a recording of the call will be available from the day after the call under the investor relations section of Cimatron's website, at: http://www.cimatron.com.

NewTek Releases LightWave™ 10.1 with New Stereoscopic Features and Interactive Production Workflow

NewTek, a worldwide leader of 3D animation and video products, announced LightWave™ 10.1, the latest version of its Emmy® Award-winning 3D modeling, animation, visual effects and rendering software, is now available. With powerful advanced modeling and animation tools designed to integrate into any production pipeline, LightWave 10.1 offers a new off-axis stereoscopic camera rig option, improved Viewport Preview Renderer (VPR), advanced import and export capabilities, including MDD and integrated Autodesk® Geometry Cache support, a new Skin Shader node, and more. Artists count on the features of LightWave to deliver stunning results.

"We're using LightWave 10.1 for everything-from lighting and shading, to working on material from other pieces of software, as well as just producing everything in it-from start to finish," explains John F. K. Parenteau, managing producer at Pixomondo Los Angeles in Santa Monica, California. Pixomondo is currently using LightWave in the creation of Steven Spielberg's new TV series "Terra Nova," slated to premiere this fall. "LightWave provides a very fast turnaround for us. It has become a great tool, particularly with its new capabilities," explains Parenteau.

New Features Provide Impressive Results
LightWave 10.1 enhances creativity with new stereoscopic features that provide access to all major stereo camera rigs, and the ability to dynamically correct for toe-in distortion in the animation pipeline. Additional stereo enhancements include interactive OpenGL off-axis adjustment of the right and left camera planes, click-and-drag convergence point adjustment in the viewport, and the ability to disable the anaglyph representation of the stereo camera in OpenGL. Also in LightWave 10.1, interocular and convergence points can be dynamically animated over time to track stereo changes within a shot.

The LightWave VPR allows artists to directly interact and easily adjust lights, textures, volumetrics and more, within the viewport. Artists can also use the VPR to view updates, quickly deliver realistic, environmental walkthroughs, and perform virtual location scouts. LightWave 10.1 extends the functionality of the VPR with the support of clip maps in the VPR render, the addition of object and distance dissolve, and improved nodal shaders like the new Skin material node that works with the VPR. The Skin Shader node uses a proprietary model for subsurface scattering for an easier method of replicating realistic skin textures.

LightWave 10.1, with integrated Autodesk Geometry Cache Support gives artists the ability to include or exclude models, morphs, animations, cameras and lights, upon export. Other workflow features in LightWave 10.1 offer the ability to import joints as LightWave bones for greater compatibility with other programs; multi-threaded mesh evaluation optimization and sub-d mesh freezing acceleration; linear color space workflow improvements, including new support for .ICC/.ICM monitor profiles, and more. Additional LightWave 10.1 features include:

Virtual Studio Tools-supports InterSense Virtual Camera Tracking System (VCam™) and 3Dconnexion SpaceNavigator™ 3D mouse, allowing interaction with models and scenes in real time
FiberFX™-hair and fur shader now supports VPR and includes improved speed, stability and displacement handling
Linear Color Space Workflow-supports custom Look Up Tables (LUTs) for more realistic lighting and compositing flexibility, color space correction for HyperVoxels™, XYZ, Lab, RGB and CMYK data, and more
Updated User Interface (UI)-interactive channel sliders, added control for custom colors, and numerous workflow enhancements deliver a more dynamic user experience

Try LightWave free for 30 days at http://www.newtek.com/lightwave/lwtrial.php.

Pricing and Availability
LightWave 10.1 is now available. The update is available as a free download for owners of LightWave 10. For a limited time, the upgrade from any previous version of LightWave to LightWave 10.1 is US$495, and a full license is US$895. This special pricing will expire at midnight on August 31, 2011. At that time, the price will revert to US$695 for an upgrade and US$1,495 for a full commercial license. Educational pricing is also available. For more information, please visit www.newtek.com or call NewTek Sales at 800-368-5441. International callers dial +1-210-370-8000.

ASCON Announces Winners of the 9th Annual KOMPAS-3D Modeling Contest

ASCON Group, developer and integrator of professional CAD/AEC/PLM solutions, is pleased to announce the names of the winners of its IX KOMPAS-3D Modeling Contest. Among the winners are engineers and designers who combined their highly-qualified modeling skills with their experience in KOMPAS-3D MCAD software. The winners of the contest were awarded prizes from ASCON Group and the partners of the event, among them ARBYTE, NVIDIA, Cybercom Ltd, and Softkey.

We congratulate the following winners of the IX KOMPAS-3D Modeling Contest 2011:

Grand Prize Winner
OOO “Pozharnye Sistemy,” Tver
Project: ACL 34-2.0-40/100 (53228) model 01 PSM. Truck with ladder

Honorary Winner, “Implementation of PLM Concept” Category
OOO “UGMC-Rudgormash-Voronezh,” Voronezh
Project: Roller drilling rig SBSH-250 D with diesel drive

Winner, “Mechanical Engineering” Category
Leningrad Metal Plant branch OAO “Power Machines,” St. Petersburg
Project: Model of gas turbine GTE-170

Winner, “Industrial and Civil Construction” Category
OAO "NIIPIneftegazstroymash", Bryansk
Project: Tank farm for storing petroleum products

Winner, “Projects of Up to 200 Parts” Category
OAO “VNII Signal,” Kovrov
Project: Hoisting mechanism

Winner, “Projects from 200 to 1,000 Parts” Category
OOO “SEPO-3EM,” Saratov
Project: Refrigerator – 577

Winner, “Projects from 1,000 to 5,000 Parts” Category
OOO “Unitest-Saratov,” Saratov
Project: Automatic stand of vortex-current testing VISTKON

Winner, “Projects of More Than 5,000 Parts” Category
OAO “Bobruiskagromash,” Bobruisk
Project: Machine for solid organic fertilizers

Winner, “Best Innovative Solution” Category
Jointly selected with Softkey
OAO “PO Sevmash,” Severodvinsk
Project: Experimental-industrial wave power plant

The 10th anniversary X KOMPAS-3D Modeling Contest will start in the near future, and ASCON welcomes you to be a participant.

Progression, the Fastest Growing SolidWorks Reseller in North America, Opens Austin, TX Office

SolidWorks Reseller, Progession's New office Provides Local SolidWorks Training Center, Service and Support to Central Texas.

Progression Technologies, a leading reseller of SolidWorks 3DCAD products is pleased to announce the opening of our Austin, TX office. This new location will provide informational seminars, training and support to our customers in the Central Texas area for the SolidWorks line of products.

“When you choose Progression Technologies, you are working with a company that really cares about our clients’ needs and always works to put our customers first. Progression offers a unique, personal approach to the services and solutions we provide, and we are excited about the opportunity to satisfy the region’s needs for the SolidWorks family of products and services," says John Forbes, Founder and CEO of Progression Technologies, Inc.

Events and training classes are already scheduled for the Austin office. A Grand Opening is slated for Aug. 11th from 5:00-8:00pm at the new location. Register for the Grand Opening Today at http://www.progressiontech.com.

Gerber Technology Continues to Grow YuniquePLM™ Team

Gerber Technology, a business unit of Gerber Scientific, Inc. (NYSE: GRB), has once again expanded its PLM team to include a new solutions consultant with nearly two decades of industry expertise. Glenn Funk joins Gerber Technology as PLM solutions manager.

For the past four years, Funk was employed by Dassault Systemes as a solutions consultant. During his career, he also worked for Computer Generated Solutions, Optimyze LLC, International Knitting Mills and Justwin Technologies. In total, he has nearly two decades of experience in the retail, apparel and accessories industry.

“We are pleased that Glenn is joining the YuniquePLM team,” said Darioush Nikpour, YuniquePLM director of Business Development. “His extensive hands-on experience in the fashion industry coupled with his true understanding of the people, processes and technologies within the industry enable Glenn to address our clients’ needs with a refreshingly unique and comprehensive perspective.”

Funk said, “The opportunities are exponential. Though each company is unique in the way it approaches the product development process, I’ve seen that YuniquePLM consistently receives high marks from its users globally. The system is easy to use and is loaded with powerful functionality and business intelligence tools. I look forward to helping organizations of all sizes realize how this powerful technology can benefit them today.”

See Mastercam in action at South-tec 2011

Charlotte, NC – South-tec 2011 will feature the latest in the line of powerful Mastercam machining software. Stop by booth # 718 at the Charlotte Convention Center, Charlotte, NC, October 11-13, for a look at Mastercam X5, the latest release, which delivers dramatic time-saving cutting techniques. Mastercam X5 includes new dynamic milling techniques, new OptiRough toolpath, multiaxis machining, and much more.

Smart Hybrid Finishing

Hybrid finishing intelligently blends two efficient cutting techniques in a single toolpath. This new toolpath evaluates the model shape and smoothly switches between Constant Z cutting and Constant Scallop machining. The result is a dramatically finer finish with less work.

Fast, Aggressive, Intelligent Roughing

Mastercam’s new 3D surface high speed OptiRough toolpath supports cutters capable of machining very large depths of cut. OptiRough is a new technique designed to remove large amounts of material quickly using its successful dynamic milling motion. Large, aggressive cuts are followed by fast, smaller up-cuts, safely delivering a fully roughed part faster than ever.

A single OptiRough toolpath can cut material in two directions: on step-downs (-Z) and step-ups (+Z). This highly efficient, bi-directional cutting strategy removes the maximum amount of material with the minimum of step-downs, significantly reducing cycle times.

New Dynamic Milling Techniques

Dynamic milling constantly adjusts the toolpath to ensure the most efficient cut possible and allows use of the entire tool flute length, often eliminating the need for multiple depth cuts. New dynamic milling techniques include Dynamic Rest Mill and Dynamic Contour. Dynamic Rest Mill helps ensure maximum tool efficiency during cleanup routines. Dynamic Contour uses an intelligent, efficient high speed contouring strategy to remove material along walls. It supports multi-passes and can optionally include finishing passes.

CES Selector 2012 aids response to cost, supply, and environmental issues in manufacturing enterprises

New materials replacement features plus tools for eco design, composites, steels.

Granta Design has announced a new release of the CES Selector™ software, helping manufacturing enterprises that must replace materials in their product portfolio for reasons of cost, performance, supply, or environmental impact. CES Selector 2012 also provides new capabilities for eco design and for users of composite materials and steels.

CES Selector is a PC-based software application that combines comprehensive data on materials properties with powerful graphical analysis tools developed at Cambridge University and Granta. A key focus for the latest annual release is on new features that make it quick and easy to compare the properties of multiple materials. Engineering, economic, and environmental properties can be reviewed relative to a user-defined reference material, with key differences highlighted. This makes it much simpler to identify and study candidates for replacing a material and to avoid potential pitfalls in materials substitution projects.

The image shows a table in which a wrought Aluminum is the reference material and is compared with PA. Note the ability to list perfomance indices computed by CES Selector (such as "mass per unit of strength") together with properties drawn from the CES Selector database. Differences of greater than 10% are highlighted.

Manufacturing companies increasingly need to replace materials. The economic climate makes price a greater issue than ever. Environmental regulation is rendering materials obsolete. Geopolitical issues threaten security of supply. And globalized manufacturing can create less stable supply chains. Whatever drives the need for change, the best replacement is often a completely different type of material with which the company has little familiarity. Substitution projects can be lengthy and costly, both because it takes time to explore options and because of the unforeseen consequences of different properties or processing behavior. CES Selector now provides a very effective route to minimize this disruption.

The CES Selector Eco Audit Tool has also been extended in CES Selector 2012, based on user feedback. This addresses another strategic challenge facing manufacturers - the need to consider sustainability during product design. The Eco Audit Tool provides a fast method to estimate the environmental impact of a product early in the design process. Manufacturing waste and finishing processes are now included in its calculations, as are variations in materials recovery at the end of the product’s life. This makes the tool better-aligned with real-world manufacturing scenarios and the PAS 2050 carbon footprinting standard, without sacrificing speed and ease-of-use in the practical application of the tool.

Data updates have been made across the full range of materials covered by CES Selector. These provide new engineering, cost, and environmental data on plastics, metals, and composite materials. Two highlights are the new Firehole Composites data module, which provides extensive data on continuous fiber-reinforced polymer composites, and StahlDat SX, which contains the complete Register of European Steels (known as the ‘Stahl-Eisen-Liste’ in German), their specification data, and temperature-dependent properties. These datasets are licensed from leaders in their respective fields, Firehole Technologies, Inc. and the German Steel Institute (Stahlinstitut VDEh).

CES Selector 2012 includes a number of additional productivity, user interface, graphical, and data enhancements – full details are available on the product website.

“CES Selector 2012 rounds out the materials decision support capabilities of CES Selector with tools that enable users to address some issues that are critical for our industrial customers in the current climate,” says Dr Patrick Coulter, Chief Operating Officer at Granta. “We constantly hear that product development teams need the ability to make the right materials substitution decisions and to meet environmental objectives. CES Selector 2012 will help them to meet these challenges.”

Jul 27, 2011

CIMdata Publishes "Overcoming the Barriers Imposed by Geometry"

CIMdata, the leading global Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) management consulting and research firm announces a new paper detailing the use of SpaceClaim Engineer as a tool to prepare CAD model geometry for finite element meshing prior to analysis.

“Overcoming the Barriers Imposed by Geometry” explores the issues that CAE analysts face due to the burden of poor quality and over-detailed geometric models in their attempts to produce timely simulation results. In order to properly mesh models for finite element analysis, topological inaccuracies such as surface gaps and small sliver surfaces in the geometry must first be corrected. The analyst must then simplify the model by de-featuring the geometricdetail by removing things such as small holes, slots, and rounds that design has added for final manufacturing.

This paper describes these time-consuming issues and relates the experiences of three different CAE analysts who have turned to SpaceClaim Engineer as a solution. According to Ken Versprille, Ph.D., CIMdata Executive Consultant, “To succeed in preparing geometry for finite element meshing, a product must be able to import the extensive range of CAD model formats commonly used in industry and offer an intuitive user interface that is easy to learn by non-CAD experts. SpaceClaim boasts a positive record in each case, as testified to by their customers.”

Dr. Versprille will participate in a SpaceClaim-sponsored webinar on this topic at 1:00pm Eastern US time on 14 September 2011. Further details will be announced at a future date.

“Overcoming the Barriers Imposed by Geometry” is available to be freely downloaded from CIMdata’s Publications web page.

First Tech Direct Named to the 2011 Inner Circle for Microsoft Dynamics

First Tech Direct, a leading provider of Microsoft Dynamics solutions, has been named to the prestigious 2011 Inner Circle for Microsoft Dynamics, an elite group of the most strategic Microsoft Dynamics partners from across the globe with sales achievements that rank them in the highest echelon of the Microsoft Dynamics global network of partners. Members of the Inner Circle for Microsoft Dynamics have performed to a high standard of excellence by delivering valuable solutions that help organizations achieve increased success.

This recognition of the Microsoft Dynamics Inner Circle came during the Microsoft Worldwide Partner Conference (WPC), the company's annual premier partner event, which took place this year in Los Angeles, CA. WPC provides Microsoft Corp.'s partner community with the opportunity to learn about the company's road map for the upcoming year, establish connections, share best practices, experience the latest product innovations and learn new skills.

"We're excited to recognize First Tech Direct as a leader in the Microsoft Dynamics global partner community for promoting and delivering solutions that drive customer success," said Doug Kennedy, vice president, Microsoft Dynamics Partners. "By providing the highest level of sales and innovation, customers can have absolute assurance they are dealing with the 'best of the best' when working with First Tech Direct."

"Being recognized by Microsoft for the Inner Circle Award is a great honor," stated John Silvani, President and CEO, First Tech Direct. "Winning this award for the third year is affirmation of First Tech Directs expertise and hard work, and has shown that we have consistently delivered the highest-quality software solutions." First Tech Direct is dedicated to supplying valuable solutions that help customers achieve a competitive advantage by working with them to identify the best solutions and services that accommodate their business needs while excelling in customer satisfaction. By collaborating with the teams at Microsoft, First Tech Direct maintains a strong expertise of the Microsoft Dynamics platform to provide innovative solutions, strong services and unparalleled value to Microsoft Dynamics customers.

Delcam reseller Trimech to host feature-based machining webinars

Delcam reseller Trimech Manufacturing is to hold two webinars on feature-based machining during August. The first webinar, to be held on 3rd August, will cover the stand-alone FeatureCAM programming software, while the second, on 10th August, will feature Delcam for SolidWorks, the integrated CAM system for SolidWorks. By watching both webinars, companies will be able to compare the stand-alone and integrated approaches to CAM programming. Further details and registration information can be found at www.trimechmanufacturing.com/webinars.

FeatureCAM was the world’s first feature-based programming system when it was launched in 1995. Constant improvement since then has ensured that the program has retained its leadership in programming speed and ease of use. The rate of development has accelerated since FeatureCAM was added to the Delcam range in 2005, in particular through the incorporation of strategies for high-speed and five-axis machining from Delcam’s flagship PowerMILL CAM system.

The FeatureCAM family now offers a comprehensive range of programs for milling, turning, wire EDM and mill-turn, all with the same easy-to-use interface style to minimise training times. The software incorporates a unique combination of feature-based and knowledge-based functionality that makes programming faster and easier than any other CAM system.

Delcam for SolidWorks combines the benefits associated with PowerMILL and FeatureCAM. The software offers PowerMILL’s exceptional speed of toolpath calculation, plus the advanced strategies for high-speed and five-axis machining, to ensure increased productivity, maximum tool life and immaculate surface finish. At the same time, Delcam for SolidWorks has the same strong focus on ease of use as FeatureCAM, including all of the knowledge-based automation that makes that system so consistent and reliable.

Delcam for SolidWorks is fully integrated into the SolidWorks environment so that the program looks and behaves like SolidWorks. It offers full associativity so that any changes in the CAD model are reflected automatically in the toolpaths. However, this associativity is more intelligent than that offered in many other integrated CAM systems. Delcam for SolidWorks does not simply modify the existing toolpaths but also reviews the choice of cutting tools and machining strategies, and changes them if necessary.

Both FeatureCAM and Delcam for SolidWorks incorporate Delcam’s industry-leading machining algorithms. These are continuously developed by Delcam’s development team, the largest in the CAM industry, and are used by around 40,000 organisations worldwide.

TriMech was created twelve years ago to provide complete mechanical engineering software solutions for the Mid-Atlantic region. Covering a territory that spans the East Coast from Pittsburgh to Atlanta, the company has provided solutions for over 1300 customers and in excess of 4000 users to date.

Research and Markets: The North American Product Lifecycle Management Software Market to Grow At A CAGR of 7.4 Percent over the Period of 2010-2014

Research and Markets has announced the addition of the "North American Product Lifecycle Management Software Market 2010-2014" report to their offering.

Product Lifecycle Management Software Increasingly Integrated With Enterprise Applications in North America

Research conducted by TechNavio reveals that the Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) Software market in North America is expected to grow at a CAGR of 7 percent. TechNavio's report, which focused exclusively on North America, indicates that the market is currently being driven by the need to accelerate the time to market of products.

Enterprises face many delays in launching a product as a result of issues with suppliers, manufacturers, and service providers. By implementing PLM software, several North American enterprises have been effectively executing multiple lifecycle tasks simultaneously. This has also aided in streamlining critical stages of production, reports a TechNavio analyst.

In spite of the demand for PLM software in North America, the threat from open source vendors is hindering the growth of this market. However, the increased revenue benefits are expected to drive the market. Moreover, the PLM market in North America is witnessing growing integration of enterprise applications with PLM software.

These are just some of the important findings presented in the report that will enable companies to fully understand the potential in this market and formulate their own strategies.

The report, Product Lifecycle Management Software Market in North America 2010-2014, is based on extensive research conducted with industry experts, vendors, and end-users. It examines the key trends, drivers, and challenges impacting the evolution of this market.

One of the key factors contributing to this market growth is the minimization of operational cost through the adoption of PLM software. The North American PLM Software market has also been witnessing integration of enterprise applications with PLM software. However, the high cost of implementation and issues regarding integration with enterprise applications could hinder the growth of this market.

Key vendors dominating this market space include Dassault Systems, Siemens PLM, PTC, and Oracle.

TechNavio's North American Product Lifecycle Management Software Market 2010-2014 report has been prepared based on an in-depth analysis of the market with inputs from industry experts. The report focuses on North America and covers the North American Product Lifecycle Management Software market landscape and its growth prospects. The report also includes a discussion on the key vendors in this market.

For more information visit http://www.researchandmarkets.com/research/9f07f4/north_american_pro

Research and Markets: CAD/CAM Dental Systems Market Outlook in BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa) to 2017

Research and Markets has announced the addition of GlobalData's new report "CAD/CAM Dental Systems Market Outlook in BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa) to 2017" to their offering.

This new report, CAD/CAM Dental Systems Market Outlook in BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa) to 2017 provides key market data on the CAD/CAM Dental Systems market in the BRICS countries.

The report provides value ($m), volume (units) and average price ($) data for each segment within four market categories - Milling Units with Scanner, Scanners, Milling Units and Digital Impression Devices. The report also provides company shares and distribution shares data for the overall CAD/CAM Dental Systems market in each of the aforementioned countries.

The report is also supplemented with global corporate-level profiles of the key market participants with information on key developments, wherever available.

This report is built using data and information sourced from proprietary databases, primary and secondary research and in-house analysis by a team of industry experts.

Scope:

Market size data for CAD/CAM Dental Systems market categories - Milling Units with Scanner, Scanners, Milling Units and Digital Impression Devices.
Annualized market revenues ($m), volume (units) and average price ($) data for each of the segments and sub-segments within the four market categories. Data from 2003 to 2010, forecast forward for seven years to 2017.
2010 company shares and distribution shares data for the overall CAD/CAM Dental Systems market in each of the aforementioned countries.
Global corporate-level profiles of key companies operating within the CAD/CAM Dental Systems market in BRICS.
Key players covered include Sirona Dental Systems, Inc., 3M ESPE Dental Products, KaVo Dental Corporation, DENTSPLY International Inc., Straumann Holding AG.

Reasons to buy:

Develop business strategies by identifying the key market categories and segments poised for strong growth.
Develop market-entry and market expansion strategies.
Design competition strategies by identifying who-stands-where in the CAD/CAM Dental Systems competitive landscape in BRICS.
Develop capital investment strategies by identifying the key market segments expected to register strong growth in the near future.
What are the key distribution channels and what's the most preferred mode of product distribution - identify, understand and capitalize.

Key Topics Covered:

1 Table of Contents

2 Introduction

3 CAD/CAM Dental Systems in BRICS

4 CAD/CAM Dental Systems In Brazil

5 CAD/CAM Dental Systems In Russian Federation

6 CAD/CAM Dental Systems In India

7 CAD/CAM Dental Systems In China

8 CAD/CAM Dental Systems In South Africa

9 Overview of Key Companies in BRICS CAD/CAM Dental Systems Market

Companies Mentioned:

Sirona Dental Systems, Inc.
3M ESPE Dental Products
KaVo Dental Corporation
DENTSPLY International Inc.
Straumann Holding AG
Dentium Co., Ltd.
Nobel Biocare Holding AG

For more information visit http://www.researchandmarkets.com/research/d92a2b/cadcam_dental_sys

Stratasys: Q2 Generates Record Consumable Revenue and 67% Increase in Fortus System Sales

Stratasys, Inc. (NASDAQ:SSYS) today announced second quarter financial results.

The company reported record revenue of $37.6 million for the second quarter ended June 30, 2011, compared to $30.1 million reported for the same period in 2010.

The second quarter results include two months of contribution from the company’s acquisition of Solidscape, Inc. The acquisition was completed in April of this year and contributed $2.1 million in revenue to the second quarter results. Excluding the contribution made by Solidscape, revenue was $35.5 million, an 18% increase over the same period last year.

System shipments, excluding Solidscape, totaled a record 690 units for the second quarter of 2011, compared to 682 units for the same period last year.

The company reported net income of $4.0 million for second quarter, or $0.18 per share, compared to net income of $2.3 million, or $0.11 per share, for the same period last year.

Non-GAAP net income, which excludes certain discrete items and stock-based compensation expense, was $5.0 million for the second quarter, or $0.23 per share, representing a 95% increase over the non-GAAP net income of $2.6 million, or $0.12 per share, for the same period last year.

Non-GAAP net income for the second quarter of 2011 excludes discrete items associated with the acquisition of Solidscape. These items amounted to $840,000 net of tax, or $0.04 per share. Non-GAAP net income for the second quarter of 2011 also excludes the impact of stock-based compensation expense, which amounted to $212,000 net of tax, or $0.01 per share.

The company reported revenue of $71.9 million for the six-month period ended June 30, 2011, compared to $53.1 million reported for the same period in 2010.

The six-month period in 2010 included a $5.0 million one-time non-cash charge against revenue. The charge against revenue was taken in the first quarter of 2010 and represents the fair value of a warrant issued to HP in connection with the distribution agreement signed in January 2010. Excluding the warrant charge in 2010 and the revenue generated by the company’s acquisition of Solidscape in 2011, revenue for the six-month period was $69.8 million, a 20% increase over the $58.1 million for the same period in 2010.

System shipments, excluding Solidscape, totaled 1,257 units for the six-month period in 2011, compared to 1,291 units for the same period last year.

The company reported net income of $9.0 million for the six-month period, or $0.41 per share, compared to net income of $1.9 million, or $0.09 per share, for the same period last year.

Non-GAAP net income, which excludes the warrant charge, discrete items and stock-based compensation expense, was $9.5 million or $0.44 per share for the six-month period of 2011, compared to non-GAAP net income of $5.5 million or $0.26 per share for the same period last year.

Appropriate reconciliations between GAAP and non-GAAP financial measures are provided in a table at the end of this press release. The table provides itemized detail of the non-GAAP financial measures.

“Our record second quarter results reflect strong growth in Fortus system sales and consumable revenue,” said Scott Crump, chairman and chief executive officer of Stratasys. “The growth in these higher margin products, as well as a continued favorable product mix within 3D printing, contributed to significant margin expansion during the period. These factors combined to generate the highest level of quarterly operating profit in our company’s history.

“We continue to make incremental progress in expanding our agreement with HP for the sale and distribution of our proprietary 3D printers. We are pleased to report that we have mutually renewed the agreement for another year. In addition, HP plans to expand into new European markets beyond the five countries they currently serve later this year. Stratasys and HP continue to see a significant market opportunity within 3D printing and both parties remain committed to our collaboration.

“The full potential and ultimate success of our collaboration with HP will require sales and marketing programs that go beyond current commitments. Although we currently have no commitments from HP that the collaboration will expand beyond new European markets later this year, we believe HP can become the ideal partner to grow the sales of our 3D printers. Consequently, while we remain committed to the HP collaboration, we also intend to accelerate independent channel development strategies.

“Fortus system sales sustained strong momentum in the second quarter, expanding by 67% over last year. The growing expertise of our team in marketing the direct digital manufacturing, or DDM, capabilities of our Fortus line have been instrumental in this expansion. We believe the recent launch of the Fortus 250mc will add to this strategy with a product that combines the higher functionality of a Fortus 3D production system with the ease-of-use and affordability of a Dimension 3D printer. Initial bookings of the Fortus 250mc have been strong.

“Consumable revenue grew to a record level in the second quarter, increasing by 20% over last year. Our Fortus line is driving this growth, propelled by an expanding base of systems and the product line’s relatively higher utilization rates, particularly within DDM. We believe our recent introduction of a revolutionary new FDM material will create new DDM opportunities within the electronics industry. The new material, called ABS-ESD7, eliminates static electricity, which can be potentially damaging during the manufacture of sensitive electronic components. With our new material, manufacturers can now make static-free assembly aids and fabrication tools that improve the performance of their manufacturing processes.

“The acquisition of Solidscape was accretive to earnings for the second quarter after excluding any one-time charges and non-recurring expenses associated with closing the transaction. The acquisition adds to our strategy of expanding into DDM applications, as the subsidiary is well positioned for manufacturing applications serving the custom jewelry market. However, as we further develop the technology, we are more excited about the new opportunities that Solidscape provides within a broader set of industrial applications.

“We were pleased to see our leadership position within the additive manufacturing industry reconfirmed in the recently released Wohlers Report 2011. The report indicated that Stratasys had a 41 percent unit market share in 2010, and has maintained a market leading position for nine consecutive years. We believe our position within the industry will be strengthened over the coming quarters as we execute on our new product roadmap and further develop our channel with HP and our independent reseller network.

“We remain encouraged by the positive trends within our business and we begin the third quarter with an active pipeline of opportunities. In addition to our distribution agreement with HP, we are moving forward on new product and distribution initiatives, which we believe will greatly expand our sales. We are observing attractive growth opportunities on multiple fronts and look forward to a successful year,” Crump concluded.

Stratasys plans to hold a conference call to discuss its second quarter financial results on Wednesday, July 27, 2011 at 8:30 a.m. (ET).

CIMdata Announces Date and Location for the Next CIMdata PLM Certificate Program - Amsterdam, The Netherlands, October 24 - 28, 2011

CIMdata, Inc., the leading global Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) management consulting and research firm announces that the next CIMdata PLM Certificate Program is to be held in Amsterdam, The Netherlands from October 24 to 28, 2011. The CIMdata PLM Certificate Program is the flagship offering of CIMdata PLM Leadership — the PLM industry’s most comprehensive non-biased education and training offering available for today’s PLM professionals.

The CIMdata PLM Certificate Program prepares PLM professionals at several levels to successfully address the challenges inherent in PLM implementations. This assessment-based certificate program includes an intimate classroom experience, individual and team-based exercises, and individual evaluations of achievement. Additionally, the program provides participants with intensive and extensive exposure to a team of CIMdata experts. Upon successful completion of the program, each participant receives a CIMdata PLM Certificate and becomes a member of CIMdata’s global PLM Leadership community.

“We are excited to be holding our fifth European CIMdata PLM Certificate program in Amsterdam. The demand for well-educated PLM professionals continues to grow, across all industries and regions. We are convinced that our decision to make CIMdata’s world-class PLM Certificate Program, available at this central location, fulfills that need. Being located near one of the main international transportation hubs in Europe makes CIMdata’s world-class PLM education program easily accessible by air, train, and automobile.” said Mr. Gerard Litjens, CIMdata’s Director of European Operations.

PLM Certificate Program participants can register online for either the 3-day or 5-day program. This certificate program is available to industrial companies who are considering or implementing PLM, and to PLM technology and service suppliers. The CIMdata PLM Certificate Program is built on CIMdata’s more than 28 years of extensive worldwide experience guiding industrial companies in successfully defining and implementing best-in-class PLM strategies and tactics. Please refer to CIMdata’s website at http://www.cimdata.com/services/education/plm_certificate.html for detailed information about the CIMdata PLM Certificate Program, and how to register to attend.

PBS Professional Looks Out 20 Years on Scalability

PBS Works' CTO looks back 20 years of PBS Professional and foresees the next 20 years in HPC.

Rich Brueckner from InsideHPC interviews Bill Nitzberg, CTO of PBS Works at Altair Engineering. The company recently celebrated the 20th anniversary of PBS Professional, HPC's popular commercial-grade workload management solution.

To view the interview on the PBS Works YouTube channel - http://www.youtube.com/thepbsworks

Serving as the foundation of all PBS Works solutions, PBS Professional provides improved productivity, confidence that you’re meeting service levels, and reduced hardware and software license costs.

Luxology Ships Model Bashing Kit for modo 501

Speeds Creation and Rapid Detailing of Spaceships, Instrument Panels and Futuristic/Industrial Models.

Even in the analog era prior to the advent of affordable computer workstations, model making with pre-manufactured plastic kits of planes, cars and boats was a popular hobby. “Kitbashing” was the term used for the practice of creating one-of-a-kind models (often of elaborate spaceships) out of components taken from multiple commercial kits. Luxology®’s new Model Bashing Kit provides modo® users with a similar capability to quickly construct highly detailed virtual forms for science fiction or industrial visualization projects. The Model Bashing Kit is available immediately for users of modo 501 on the PC or Mac.

“We love spaceships and wanted to make it possible for any modo user to quickly create super technically detailed exteriors or interiors that are absolutely unique,” said Brad Peebler, president and co-founder of Luxology. “This is a must-have collection of modo building blocks that you can tear apart and join together to create intricate futuristic surfaces, and have a blast while doing it.”

The Model Bashing Kit was developed by Andy Brown of Luxology and contains specialized pre-built models and textures that are ideal for creating elaborate technical structures or realistic cockpits and instrument panels. In all, the Model Bashing Kit includes 230 mesh presets, 90 image maps and focused new tools for quickly arraying and adding details across a surface. The Kit also includes five training videos and two project tutorials that guide modo users through the creation of a cockpit and a spaceship conduit.

Luxology is also offering a new Spaceship Modeling Tutorial for those wanting a guided introduction to the process of creating a spaceship model from design drawings. This is a series of downloadable videos that provide step-by-step instruction in modeling a spaceship based on original artwork commissioned by James Robbins, a concept designer on Stargate for ten years. A portion of the video tutorials covers adding intricate surface detail via “model bashing” and is an excellent complement to the new Model Bashing Kit.
Pricing and Availability

The Model Bashing Kit is available now from Luxology and its worldwide network of authorized resellers for USD $99. The optional Spaceship Tutorial series contains five videos, sample files and a set of 2D concept drawings, and is priced at USD $35. Both products are designed for use with the modo 501 software. To learn more about the Model Bashing Kit, visit Luxology’s website at http://www.luxology.com/store/modelbashingkit .

FISHER/UNITECH to Provide Aras Enterprise PLM Solutions

FISHER/UNITECH, an engineering software, hardware and services provider, has joined the Aras partner network as a value-added reseller (VAR), supporting the discrete manufacturing community in North America. The Aras Innovator suite of advanced enterprise PLM software solutions provide companies with business ready solutions for new product development and introduction (NPDI), configuration and change management (CMII), advanced product quality planning (APQP), product data management (PDM) and more.

The Aras Innovator suite offers a comprehensive product design and development solution, providing clients an enterprise-wide PLM solution that is CAD independent, easily deployable and quickly adapts to ever-changing business needs.

“The Aras solution set provides our customers with an outstanding set of applications to complement the functionality of their SolidWorks Enterprise Product Data Management software to achieve full PLM capability,” said Charles Hess, President and CEO of FISHER/UNITECH. “We are excited to bring Aras to our current and future clients.”

Aras has been in business for over 10 years, and boasts clients ranging from global powerhouses like Motorola, Xerox and Lockheed Martin, to smaller businesses like Fox Electronics and Kolcraft, and everything in between. The Aras Innovator suite is based on a unique business model in that the software is enterprise open source and no PLM license cost to the customer; with optional enterprise subscription packages, consulting and training available from FISHER/UNITECH. Aras has achieved true software innovation with its advanced model-based SOA, meaning its solutions are highly flexible, scalable and secure.

“We are pleased to be partnering with FISHER/UNITECH to provide manufacturers with enterprise PLM for global product development, enterprise change workflows, configuration management, outsourced manufacturing, quality compliance and other complex PLM processes,” said Peter Schroer, President of Aras. “Together we see the opportunity to help American manufacturers compete in the 21st century.”

Aras meets the needs of today’s CIO offering no PLM license fees. Add as many users as you want, when you want at no additional cost. Software upgrades happen in a matter of days, not months, regardless of the amount of customization. Web services and open standards make Aras born to integrate seamlessly, and Aras solutions run in the data center or in a cloud hosted SaaS environment.

Aras Innovator is a 100% web browser smart client interface with the look and feel of a Microsoft Windows application, featuring pull-down menus, toolbars and file folder navigation for ease of use. With Aras users can easily collaborate across the organization, internationally, with supply chain partners and even customers, all in a secure, need-to-know manner.

FISHER/UNITECH Announces Grand Opening of Cincinnati, Ohio Office

FISHER/UNITECH, a provider of product lifecycle management solutions and leading SolidWorks reseller, today announced the grand opening of its new office space in Cincinnati, Ohio, in support of the company’s growing customer base.

“We are thrilled with our new space in Cincinnati, Ohio, that more than doubles what we had in Dayton,” said Tom Miller, Director of Sales at FISHER/UNITECH. “This move positions our team to deliver better service to our customers in Southwest Ohio and Kentucky.”

FISHER/UNITECH’s new office boasts 2,500 square feet and is located at 11260 Chester Road, on the sixth floor of the Spectrum Office Tower at the junction of I-75 and I-275. The state-of-the-art training room can accommodate up to ten students for SolidWorks 3D CAD classes.

A Grand Opening event is planned for Tuesday, August 23rd, 2011, and will run from 10:00 am – 2:00 pm. Prospects and customers alike are invited to meet local FISHER/UNITECH and SolidWorks staff, test drive SolidWorks 3D CAD, SolidWorks Simulation, SolidWorks Enterprise PDM or 3DVIA Composer software and grab a bite to eat. Product presentations will be available as well as the opportunity to mix and mingle with current customers to learn more about local successes working with SolidWorks products and FISHER/UNITECH. Details and online registration for the Grand Opening event can be found on FISHER/UNITECH’s website.

CES Selector 2012 aids response to cost, supply, and environmental issues in manufacturing enterprises

New materials replacement features plus tools for eco design, composites, steels.

Granta Design has announced a new release of the CES Selector™ software, helping manufacturing enterprises that must replace materials in their product portfolio for reasons of cost, performance, supply, or environmental impact. CES Selector 2012 also provides new capabilities for eco design and for users of composite materials and steels.

CES Selector is a PC-based software application that combines comprehensive data on materials properties with powerful graphical analysis tools developed at Cambridge University and Granta. A key focus for the latest annual release is on new features that make it quick and easy to compare the properties of multiple materials. Engineering, economic, and environmental properties can be reviewed relative to a user-defined reference material, with key differences highlighted. This makes it much simpler to identify and study candidates for replacing a material and to avoid potential pitfalls in materials substitution projects.

Manufacturing companies increasingly need to replace materials. The economic climate makes price a greater issue than ever. Environmental regulation is rendering materials obsolete. Geopolitical issues threaten security of supply. And globalized manufacturing can create less stable supply chains. Whatever drives the need for change, the best replacement is often a completely different type of material with which the company has little familiarity. Substitution projects can be lengthy and costly, both because it takes time to explore options and because of the unforeseen consequences of different properties or processing behavior. CES Selector now provides a very effective route to minimize this disruption.

The CES Selector Eco Audit Tool has also been extended in CES Selector 2012, based on user feedback. This addresses another strategic challenge facing manufacturers - the need to consider sustainability during product design. The Eco Audit Tool provides a fast method to estimate the environmental impact of a product early in the design process. Manufacturing waste and finishing processes are now included in its calculations, as are variations in materials recovery at the end of the product’s life. This makes the tool better-aligned with real-world manufacturing scenarios and the PAS 2050 carbon footprinting standard, without sacrificing speed and ease-of-use in the practical application of the tool.

Data updates have been made across the full range of materials covered by CES Selector. These provide new engineering, cost, and environmental data on plastics, metals, and composite materials. Two highlights are the new Firehole Composites data module, which provides extensive data on continuous fiber-reinforced polymer composites, and StahlDat SX, which contains the complete Register of European Steels (known as the ‘Stahl-Eisen-Liste’ in German), their specification data, and temperature-dependent properties. These datasets are licensed from leaders in their respective fields, Firehole Technologies, Inc. and the German Steel Institute (Stahlinstitut VDEh).

CES Selector 2012 includes a number of additional productivity, user interface, graphical, and data enhancements – full details are available on the product website.

“CES Selector 2012 rounds out the materials decision support capabilities of CES Selector with tools that enable users to address some issues that are critical for our industrial customers in the current climate,” says Dr Patrick Coulter, Chief Operating Officer at Granta. “We constantly hear that product development teams need the ability to make the right materials substitution decisions and to meet environmental objectives. CES Selector 2012 will help them to meet these challenges.”

ROMER Rolls Out the New CMS108 Inspection and Reverse Engineering Solution

ROMER Inc., a brand of Hexagon Metrology Inc, announced today the launch of CMS108, a high-precision, non-contact laser scanner available for their portable coordinate measuring machines. The newest option in ROMER’s laser scanning portfolio, the CMS108 is the most adaptable and adept at scanning a wide range of materials with enhanced sensitivity to color and surface finishes. Its improved accuracy makes it attractive for inspection and reverse engineering applications where laser scanners have been unable to meet tight tolerances. The CMS108 mounts with a kinematic joint to the seven-axis ROMER portable CMMs, which include the Absolute Arm SE and the Infinite 2.0 SC Arm.

The CMS108 is the most precise laser scanner offered by ROMER with an accuracy of 20 microns, which is a 16% gain in accuracy over previous scanning solutions. In addition, the device was engineered for applications with a wide variety of color and surface finishes. Flying dot technology allows the laser scanner to rapidly detect changes in color and surfaces via their reflectivity. An operator can scan traditionally difficult finishes, including shiny and mirrored surfaces, without making manual exposure adjustments. The laser scanner can transition from matte to shiny features without additional calibration. With 3 different line widths and differing point densities, the CMS108 is able to perform inspection routines on small intricate parts and large surfaces.

“The CMS108 is the perfect addition to our portable scanning portfolio,” states Eric Hollenbeck, Hexagon Metrology’s Product Manager for portable products, ”With versatility and an exceptional data collection rate, we now offer an incredibly accurate scanner capable of inspecting different consecutive surfaces on the fly with no adjustments. The CMS108 system integrates our industry leading Scanning System Specification which specifies and calibrates the arm and scanner as a single unit. Although any organization with portable metrology requirements could potentially benefit from this technology, typical users include those in the automotive, aerospace, medical, rail, and energy production industries. The addition of the CMS108 to our lineup demonstrates Hexagon Metrology’s commitment to offering the customer unrivaled choice in portable metrology.”

The CMS108 is currently available for the seven-axis Absolute Arm SE with measuring ranges of 2, 2.5, 3, 3.5, 4, and 4.5 meters. The sensor can also be added as an upgrade to the seven-axis Infinite 2.0 SC Arm. Both products are produced in the new, state-of-the-art facility in Oceanside, California.

Gerber Scientific, Inc. Announces Expiration of the "Go Shop" Period

Gerber Scientific, Inc today announced the expiration of the 45-day “go shop” period pursuant to the terms of the previously announced merger agreement dated as of June 10, 2011 among the Company, Vector Knife Holdings (Cayman), Ltd. and Knife Merger Sub, Inc. (the “Merger Agreement”).

During the “go shop” process, the Company was permitted to initiate, solicit and encourage alternative acquisition proposals from third parties and provide non-public information to and enter into discussions or negotiations with third parties with respect to alternative acquisition proposals for a period of 45 calendar days continuing through July 25, 2011.

At the direction and under the supervision of the Company’s Board of Directors, RA Capital Advisors, LLC, financial advisor to the Company’s Board of Directors (“RA Capital”), conducted the “go shop” process on behalf of the Company. RA Capital engaged in an active and extensive solicitation of 36 parties that RA Capital advised the Company might be capable of and interested in pursuing a transaction with the Company, which resulted in three parties negotiating and entering into confidentiality agreements with the Company. Despite these efforts, the Company did not receive any alternative acquisition proposals during the 45-day “go shop” period.

The Board of Directors has scheduled a special meeting of the Company’s shareholders to consider and vote upon, among other things, a proposal to approve the Merger Agreement on August 18, 2011 at the Hilton Hartford Hotel, Hartford, Connecticut at 10:00 a.m. local time.

Alan Weber joins Cimetrix to support the next phase of customer-centric product development and growth

Cimetrix, Incorporated, a leading provider of factory automation and equipment control software solutions for the global semiconductor, photovoltaic, LED, and other electronics industries, announced ttoday that Alan Weber has joined Cimetrix in a senior-level position to support the next phase of customer-centric product development and growth.

The industries Cimetrix serves are fast changing and very competitive, with a need to look continually for ways to improve performance and reduce costs. Mr. Weber’s new role at Cimetrix will strengthen the Company’s capabilities of working in close partnership with customers to develop new products beyond the existing Cimetrix product portfolio of tool control and factory connectivity. These new products are expected to increase equipment productivity and improve process performance, which should result in increased software license revenue for the Company.

"With smaller design nodes and the looming change to 450mm wafers, Cimetrix sees many exciting opportunities for new products to serve our growing customer base," stated Dave Faulkner, Executive Vice President of Sales and Marketing at Cimetrix. "Alan brings a deep understanding of leading-edge customer requirements throughout the semiconductor value chain, so he is ideally suited to position Cimetrix’ future products to address key OEM needs and those of their customers. Alan will lead our plans to grow through new product development by working jointly with our customers. "

Mr. Weber has over 35 years of semiconductor industry experience ranging from design automation to manufacturing application development. Of particular note is that Mr. Weber pioneered the commercialization and application of advanced process control for the semiconductor industry. Prior to joining Cimetrix, he was president of Alan Weber and Associates, a consulting company specializing in semiconductor advanced process control (APC) and related mission-critical technologies. He was the vice president and general manager of KLA-Tencor’s Control Solutions Division. Prior to that, Mr. Weber was at ObjectSpace where he was responsible for all aspects of the company’s semiconductor manufacturing systems business. In addition, he spent 16 years at Texas Instruments, and eight years at SEMATECH, where he was responsible for R&D programs in factory systems architectures and industry standards strategies to support advanced manufacturing applications for wafer fabs. Mr. Weber has been on the Cimetrix Board of Directors since 2003. Alan holds Bachelors and Masters degrees in electrical engineering from Rice University.

Unique Functions of GstarCAD Enable Intelligent and Flexible Design

Beijing - GstarCAD today announced that the most frequently used functions along with some unique functions such as high-quality raster image printout and AutoXlsTable were welcomed by users for their high efficiency in design.

With GstarCAD software, designers can insert and view or display raster image as well as make modifications in their drawings. What fascinating is its high-quality printout of drawings containing raster image, to different formats like PDF. No wonder Robert, one user of GstarCAD says "It's great to find this tool in GstarCAD and it makes your work more convenient."

Besides processing raster image, another attractive function in GstarCAD is AutoXlsTable. The unique function of AutoXlsTable not only makes it possible to insert any excel table to an open drawing by a simple click but also to build data interrelation between original excel table and drawing. Any modification made to the drawing automatically updates the table and keeps it always consistent with the drawing. Drawing a spreadsheet in CAD software is very cumbersome before, however since GstarCAD added such function, everything becomes easier. Managing data between excel and GstarCAD like revise and edit as wish is not a dream anymore. In this case, integrating excel with GstarCAD made some time-consuming complicated designs become time-efficient and reaching unexpected outcome. And it is also provides the possibility of linking GstarCAD to other applications like estimation or purchase system or even ERP.

The feature functions mentioned above are just the tip of iceberg among GstarCAD. More useful and interesting applications are all approached. GstarCAD's long existence in world CAD market is inseparable from its continuous innovation and improvement, which explains why it can always bring forth more surprise to customers.

FM:Systems Announces Support for Autodesk Revit 2012 Products

FM:Systems, a leading provider of integrated workplace management systems (IWMS) and computer-aided facility management (CAFM) software, today announced support for Autodesk Revit Architecture 2012 and Autodesk Revit MEP 2012 software through an integration with its FM:Interact Workplace Management Suite. The integration lets FM:Interact customers use BIM (Building Information Modeling) data for facility management and operations.

“BIM is revolutionizing the way buildings are designed, built and operated. We are committed to bringing solutions to market that help ensure they are more efficient and sustainable,” said Jim Lynch, vice president, Autodesk Building Product Line Group. “We are excited to work with a strategic partner such as FM:Systems who shares our commitment.” FM:Systems offers a direct integration with Autodesk Revit products through the BIM Integration Component of FM:Interact, enabling users to connect BIM data from the design and construction phases of the building lifecycle to the facility management and operations phases. FM:Interact uses space information from BIM models and, with this accurate and detailed inventory of space, facilities professionals can better manage occupancy and reduce real estate costs.

FM:Interact’s integration with Autodesk’s Revit MEP enables maintenance professionals to collect essential information from BIM models on the mechanical, engineering and plumbing systems of a building. MEP model data provides an accurate equipment inventory for these systems and develop maintenance and inspection schedules. This information allows maintenance professionals to better track and maintain critical assets and reduce the lifecycle costs of the building.

“Getting data into maintenance systems has been a time-consuming, costly process,” said Marty Chobot, vice president of product management and strategic alliances for FM:Systems. “With our Revit integration, maintenance professionals can now use FM:Interact to quickly create an inventory of building equipment and even start planning maintenance before commissioning the new building.”

SAP PLM Integration for Solid Edge and SolidWorks 6.1 Service Pack 2 released

Service Pack 2 of the Solid Edge Integration 6.1 is available immediately as a download on the SAP SAP Servicemarketplace and the CIDEON Websupport. This service pack contains improvements especially geared to the performance and usability for users.

The Service Packs 2 of the SAP PLM Direct Integrations provide you with a wealth of innovations which make the work with SolidWorks / Solid Edge and SAP even easier.

In many functions performance was boosted by up to 30%.

SAP PLM Integration für Solid Edge New and improved functions such as:

configurable customer functions
filling an alternative title block
placing several components
mapping units of weight and measurements
filters in the task pane

make for a clear improvement in usability.

Additional information on SAP PLM Direct Integration for Solid Edge is available here.


SAL PLM Integration for Solid Works 6.1. Service Pack 2 released
Service Pack 2 of the SAP PLM Integration for SolidWorks 6.1 is also immediately obtainable for downloading on the SAP Servicemarketplace and the CIDEON Websupport. Here too improving the usability was a priority, which is evident in several new functions:

In the task pane it is now possible to create and store “all” documents.
Filter options have been made available.
Components loaded in lightweight mode can now be shown in the task pane.
The resolution of structures for Speedpaks has been implemented for the CAD view.


The new service pack has already been tested and compared with SolidWorks KB Article S-054140. It provides an unmistakable increase in performance in the entire SolidWorks as of SW2011 SP3.0 / SP4.0. Additional information on SAP PLM Direct Integration for Solid Edge is available at http://www.cideon-software.com/site/d/en/software/cad-integration-fuer-sap-plm/solidworks/index.php?World_Session=88ad9dd51a9a8382e1138c12ce60dbad

WorkDir-Manager support in managing working directories

The WorkDir-Manager has been developed for the SAP PLM Integrations for the Solid Edge and the SolidWorks 6.1 SP2 version.
This supports the user in removing entire projects/assemblies from the working directory easily and efficiently.
At the same time, of course, parts occurring in other assemblies are taken into account and protected from being deleted.

GRAITEC Advance compliant with AutoCAD 2012 and AutoCAD Architecture 2012

GRAITEC, a major worldwide developer for analysis and detailing software announces the compliancy of Advance Steel and Advance Concrete with AutoCAD® 2012 and AutoCAD Architecture® 2012.

Advance Steel and Advance Concrete are part of the GRAITEC structural BIM solution, and have been developed for design offices, building industries, steel and concrete detailers.

Advance Steel is specifically designed for structural engineers and steel detailers who require a professional and easy-to-use BIM structural steel detailing software that automates the creation of workshop drawings, general arrangement drawings, BOMs and NC files.

Advance Concrete is specifically designed for structural engineers and reinforced concrete detailers who require professional and easy-to-use BIM software that automates the production of formworks and reinforcement drawings, BOMs and NC files.

AutoCAD® 2012 enables the quick creation of documents from a variety of modeling formats, helping to reduce manual documentation workarounds. Capture and import as-built information to jump-start your design process. Plus, you'll find a wide range of timesaving enhancements to the features you use most. AutoCAD® 2012 delivers the powerful tools you need to participate in smooth 3D design workflows, helping drive your projects to completion more quickly than ever before.

With new and expanded workflows for 3D conceptual design, model documentation, and reality capture, AutoCAD® 2012 helps design professionals maximize productivity.

To get AutoCAD® 2012 compliancy, Advance Steel and Advance Concrete users can download the relevant service pack on the GRAITEC website: www.graitec.com/advantage

Geomagic Appoints John Alpine as VP of Engineering

Industry Veteran Brings Experience and Creativity to Leading 3D Imaging Software Company.

Geomagic®, the leading provider of 3D software for creating digital models of physical objects, has appointed industry veteran, John Alpine, as its new Vice President of Engineering.

John comes to Geomagic after a 5-year term with Dassault Systemes, as VP of Product Development at Spatial, and VP of Platform and Partner Strategy at SolidWorks. Prior to that he was CTO at Proficiency and CoCreate, leading the R&D of direct modeling software which has recently been adopted by major CAD companies. His educational background includes a Masters degree in Computer Science from California State University, MA in Social Sciences at the University of Chicago, and Executive Management Development Program at the University of California, Los Angeles.

Ping Fu, CEO and president, Geomagic, says: “I am thrilled to have John joining the Geomagic executive team. His brilliant mind, deep industry knowledge, and passion for software platform are what we look for to lead Geomagic’s world-class talents. ”

Geomagic delivers solutions for creating digital models of physical objects from point cloud scans for reverse engineering and inspection. These automated tools allow the industry’s highest quality 3D output for downstream use in manufacturing, CAD, 3D printing, rapid prototyping, archival and entertainment. Geomagic Studio and Geomagic Qualify are the company’s flagship products for these key productivity tools in industry, arts and personal manufacturing.

“Plainly put, we can’t wait for John to become a part of the team,” said Tom Kurke, COO, Geomagic. “These are exciting times for us and John brings exactly what Geomagic needs at a time of accelerating and even revolutionary change in the market, and increased growth in the company.”

Geomagic will continue to build its leadership in the market for transforming scan data into high quality 3D models for use across many industries and applications including manufacturing, design, art, science and medical fields.

IntelliCAD Technology Consortium Announces Release of IntelliCAD® 7.0a

Portland, OR — The IntelliCAD Technology Consortium (ITC) today announced the release of IntelliCAD 7.0a.

IntelliCAD 7.0a is a maintenance release that contains numerous improvements to areas required by members and their users since the IntelliCAD 7 release in June. Version 7.0a includes general performance enhancements, and improvements to the PC3 printer configuration interface, attributes, entity editing, and many other areas.

When asked about the quick release of IntelliCAD 7.0a, Dave Lorenzo, ITC Development Director, explained, “We now have agile processes in place that allow us to quickly add new features and critical fixes while maintaining stable, releasable builds. In addition, the IntelliCAD architecture was redesigned for quick ODA updates. I expect IntelliCAD 7.1 based on a newer ODA Teigha platform will be released in early fall.”

Interested IntelliCAD users can contact ITC members to receive details about availability of IntelliCAD software.

Companies interested in more details about IntelliCAD and membership in the ITC should contact the ITC directly. For more information about IntelliCAD and the ITC, including case studies, please visit http://www.intellicad.org/.

The IntelliCAD Technology Consortium licenses the IntelliCAD technology to its commercial members, who in turn market and sell applications based on IntelliCAD to their end users. The IntelliCAD Technology Consortium is an independent organization of software developers established specifically for the development of the IntelliCAD technology. Commercial members have access to the IntelliCAD source code, documentation, developer support, and more. The ITC is also a founding member of the Open Design Alliance, thereby contributing to interoperability in the engineering industry.

Tecplot RS 2011 released with support for CMG simulators

Company's reservoir simulation visualization and analysis tool now offers unified workspace with support for all major reservoir simulators.

BELLEVUE, WA — Tecplot RS 2011 has been released with support for Computer Modeling Group (CMG) simulators, allowing users to work with all major reservoir simulators in a unified post-processing environment.

“We believe customer input should always drive the development cycle. So this version was no different: our users told us they wanted a unified environment where they could examine solutions from multiple simulators,” said Don Roberts, vice president, Tecplot, Inc., and product manager for Tecplot RS. “Adding support for CMG fills out our repertoire of major simulators and makes that unified workspace possible.”

In addition to the CMG simulators—IMEX, STARS, and GEM—Tecplot RS 2011 supports ECLIPSE, INTERSECT, CHEARS, VIP, NEXUS, FrontSim, 3DSL, and SENSOR®. Other enhancements to this latest version of Tecplot, Inc.’s reservoir simulation visualization and analysis tool for oil and gas reservoir modeling include:

A new Easy Macros panel that lets you run macro files with one click.
A new option that aligns wells on XY plots by their start of production, allowing wells to be more easily compared over their production life.
Drag and drop functions make it easier to load individual or multiple XY files into the Tecplot RS window.

PLATFORMS AND PRICING
Tecplot RS 2011 supports Windows 7, Vista, and XP (32- and 64-bit), and Linux (64-bit) platforms. Pricing starts at $6,000 in the U.S. for a single-user perpetual license. Tecplot RS users with current SMS agreements can upgrade to the 2011 version at no cost. Special pricing is available for qualified academic users and consultants upon request.

ANSYS & Apache Receive Early Termination of Hart-Scott-Rodino Waiting Period for Proposed Merger

PITTSBURGH - ANSYS, Inc today announced that the U.S. Department of Justice and Federal Trade Commission have issued early termination of the Hart-Scott-Rodino (HSR) waiting period for ANSYS' proposed acquisition of Apache Design Solutions, Inc. ANSYS currently expects to close the acquisition in the third quarter of 2011.

As previously announced, ANSYS and Apache have entered into a definitive merger agreement in which ANSYS will acquire Apache for a purchase price of approximately $310 million in cash. Consummation of the transaction remains subject to customary closing conditions.

Apache Design Solutions, Inc., is the leading provider of innovative power analysis and optimization software solutions that enable the design of power-efficient, high-performance, noise-immune integrated circuits, or ICs, and electronic systems. Its solutions consist of a suite of software tools and methodologies that enable design engineers to reduce power consumption, ensure reliable delivery of power to ICs and electronic system components, and mitigate power-induced signal interference, or noise. Headquartered in San Jose, California, with locations throughout the world, Apache and its subsidiaries employ approximately 275 people.

Advanced electromagnetic design tools accelerate production of superconducting magnet systems

'mosaic' finite element meshing and auto-optimizer will shave weeks from development.

Aurora, IL - Advanced electromagnetic simulation software is helping one of the world's leading producers of cryogenic equipment to speed the development of application-specific superconducting magnets for research. The software - the Opera 3D simulator - has been provided by Cobham Technical Services to Cryogenic Ltd. The package includes a suite of 3D electromagnetic design, simulation and analysis tools, plus a unique optimizer. This latter tool automatically employs multiple goal-seeking algorithms to eliminate the need for manual intervention when evaluating the best solution for a particular design.

Cryogenic designs and manufactures a wide range of superconducting magnets and associated measurement systems for laboratory research and industrial uses worldwide. In addition to producing liquid helium cooled systems capable of generating magnetic fields as high as 22 Tesla, the company is renowned as a leader in cryogen-free magnets with flux densities up to 20 Tesla.

Generally, Cryogenic uses its own in-house software to design the basic mechanical layout and coil structures of a magnet, fine tuning its field profile with magnetic material to meet the customer's specific needs. The shape and placement of the magnetic pieces are critical to the magnet's performance, and are determined through extensive electromagnetic field simulation. Following the initial design phase, the company employs Opera's 3D Modeler to create a very detailed geometric model of the proposed design, from which is generated a mesh of finite elements for numerical solution using the static electromagnetic field simulator. Until the advent of the latest version of the Opera-3D Modeler, the finite element shapes were limited to tetrahedra, but can now include other shapes such as hexahedral, prism and pyramid elements as well. Cobham Technical Services uses the term 'mosaic' to define a mesh which can include this mixture of element types.

This advanced meshing feature helps Cryogenic to achieve the very high accuracy of simulation it needs much more quickly. According to Jonathan Cole, Magnet Consultant at Cryogenic, "the ability of Opera-3D Modeler to now handle hexahedra in conjunction with automatic tetrahedral meshing is extremely interesting. In the past we have handled this aspect of finite element analysis manually, using as many hexahedra as possible to secure the best accuracy. This is an extremely time-consuming process, with each iteration typically demanding overnight simulation. We now expect to produce even more accurate results within hours. Given that design optimization involves a very large number of iterations, an optimal design often took weeks to achieve. By shortening simulation times and homing in on the best solution more quickly, we expect to shave weeks off our development schedules."

Opera-3D - which is part of the Vector Fields Software product line of Cobham Technical Services - has been used by Cryogenic for several years to simulate, analyze and fine tune the field profiles of many of its high power magnet systems. A typical example is the 5 Tesla muon detector magnet installed at the ISIS pulsed neutron and muon source at the Rutherford Appleton Laboratory. This split pair magnet is used on the muon beam line for a high-field muon spectrometer known as Hifi, and creates a highly homogenous and stable longitudinal field over the sample volume. Optimizing the parameters of the magnet, especially with regard to fine tuning of the magnetic field profile, was a highly iterative process involving many lengthy simulations and weeks of development effort.

Recent versions of Opera-3D include a powerful additional tool known as Optimizer, which is designed specifically to accelerate the design process using finite element analysis by automatically selecting and managing a large family of goal-seeking algorithms. The tool can support multiple design goals - even when they compete with each other - and, by eliminating the need for manual intervention, gives the designer freedom to concentrate on other aspects of the design project while minimizing the number of numerical simulations needed.

Until now, Cryogenic has devoted considerable time to repeating simulations until a satisfactory solution was found, often having to devote weeks of effort to solving a particular problem manually. As Jonathan Cole points out, "Optimizing the shape and placement of magnetic material to achieve the desired magnetic field profile necessarily involves a series of design compromises. The Optimizer software is one of the key reasons we chose this package from Cobham Technical Services. It enables us to reduce the number of simulation runs, while at the same time giving the option of considering a wider set of potential solutions, resulting in a much faster and more cost-effective approach to magnet design."