Briefings: January 2005

By DE Editors

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GlobalSpec Boosts DE Site with Parametric Search

GlobalSpec, the leading specialized search engine and online resourcefor engineers and technical buyers, is partnering with DE. Visitors todeskeng.com gain direct access to SpecSearch, GlobalSpec’s powerfulsearch technology, where they can search by detailed specification forproducts and services from more than 11,800 supplier catalogs toresearch, design, and manufacture their components, electronics, andcomputer systems.“This partnership offers significant benefits to both the engineeringand manufacturing communities,” says Scott Virkler, vice president ofBusiness Development for GlobalSpec. “By offering direct access toGlobalSpec’s deep engineering content, Desktop Engineering is greatlyenhancing the value they provide to their user community. Manufacturersrepresented on GlobalSpec reap the benefits of an expanded base ofpotential customers; it’s advantageous to both groups.”

“GlobalSpec’s parametric search technology enhances our site byenabling our readership to more easily search, research, specify, andacquire the components they need,” says Anthony J. Lockwood, editorialdirector of DE.

GlobalSpecTroy, NY
glocalspec.com

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Coade and Roboboat Agree to Integrate Steel Software

The developers of CADWorx Plant Design Suite and ROBOT Millennium willintegrate their respective software applications. COADE, Inc., alsodeveloper of CAESAR II and other design and evaluation applications,and RoboBAT will develop an interface from COADE’s CADWorx to theRoboBAT software, with an interface between CAESAR II and RoboBAT tofollow.
Thomas Van Laan, the president of COADE, describes the venture, “Whenwe went looking for a structural analysis application to integrate withour plant design software, we looked for one with outstandingcapabilities and found those in the RoboBAT software…Users of ourCADWorx AutoCAD-based applications will enjoy a seamless link to thishigh quality analytical package, while current RoboBAT customers willhave easy access to ... CADWorx and CAESAR II.”

COADE
Houston, TX • coade.com
RoboBAT
Waltham, MA • robobat.com

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Live Math Via Web

Maplesoft has announced the immediate availability of MapleNetCommercial, a web-based platform for deploying technical knowledgewithin and across departments and organizations. Leveraging Maple 9.5interactive mathematical software, MapleNet Commercial allowsscientists and engineers to embed dynamic formulas, models, anddiagrams as live knowledge inside web pages. This, in turn, enablesyour colleagues to run the computations live over the web, withoutneeding any extra software or plug-ins on their machines, includingMaple.

Maplesoft
Waterloo, Ont. • maplesoft.com

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CAD Society Re-Energizes

The CAD Society, a not-for-profit industry user association establishedin 1985, recently announced new membership plans and a redesignedwebsite. New membership plans allow members to choose their level ofparticipation, while the new website, designed by T.A. Grimm &Associates, provides improved information about the CAD industry and animproved navigation menu.
Four membership opportunities are now available with membershipselection on either an individual or corporate basis. As always, freemembership is available for professionals and students; benefitsinclude limited website access and a voice (and vote) on industryissues.
“The CAD Society has always sought to be the voice of the CADindustry,” said Joe Greco, president of the CAD Society and acontributing editor with Desktop Engineering. “With these newmembership programs we can provide benefits to our members that wecould not before. We plan to expand the benefits over time withcooperation from CAD users and developers.”
For details, visit the CAD Society’s website.

The CAD Society
Bethesda, MA • cadsociety.org

T.A. Grimm & Associates
Edgewood, KY • tagrimm.com

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Dassault Systemes/Microsoft Field Tech Team

Citing a marketplace hungry for ways to improve the collaborativeaspects of design and manufacturing, the principals of Microsoft Corp.and Dassault Systemes signed a long-term agreement in November tojointly develop technology to disseminate 3D design to all corners ofbusiness. The alliance is expected to last at least five years anddeliver Dassault’s product lifecycle management (PLM) and 3D designproducts to companies of all sizes using Microsoft products as thedelivery pipeline.

“We want to provide the platform to make 3D easy to use and easy toshare,” said Bernard Charles, president and CEO of Dassault Systemes.He explained the development partnership would build on the existingability for Dassault’s solutions that run on the Windows Client andWindows Server platform to include Web services development viaMicrosoft .NET and real-time collaboration. No dollar figure wasattached to the deal.
For his part in the announcement, which took place in Paris, MicrosoftChairman Bill Gates said the agreement, the largest his company hasever struck with another software developer, amounted to Microsoft’sdedication to collaboration. “The digital approach is absolutelyamazing for what it can do for [product] quality and [manufacturing]efficiency,” he said.
The two companies also expect to jointly encourage adoption of XML for3D as an open standard for design and graphics by working with industryassociations,
other PLM software vendors, and 3D graphics companies.
The new alliance would bring Dassault’s entire line of products,including CATIA, DELMIA, ENOVIA, SMARTEAM, and SolidWorks, to divisionswithin a company previously unable to use 3D designs. For example,through the use of XML code it gives a marketing department the abilityto receive a CAD image via the Intranet and copy it into a Worddocument where it can be rotated, enlarged, and manipulated like it canin the native program. All the attached information can be used in theWord program.
While the R&D agreement has obvious benefits for large corporationsspread out over wide distances, it is also intended to bring PLM andcollaboration to small- and medium-sized companies. Microsoft clientswill be able to use 3D across the platform, integrating Dassaultproducts with .NET, SQL Server, BizTalk Server, SharePoint PortalServer, Windows Longhorn, and Windows XP 64-bit Edition.
It will also make PLM accessible for a larger group of customers and is expectedto speed development of products.
—Jonathan Gourlay

Paris, France • 3ds.com
Microsoft Corporation
Redmond, WA • microsoft.com

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Cad Integration Benefits from Partnerships

Elysium Inc., the multiCAD enabling software company, has signed twoagreements to streamline CAD translation and the integration ofmultiCAD and PDM environments. In the first, Elysium and Nexroot willjointly launch CADportal, a new job management solution forautomatically checking, healing, and translating 3D data. It’s ascalable technology for enterprise implementations, is written in Java,and uses grid-computing architecture to streamline and enable the CADtranslation process by optimizing available computing power.
The integrated computers in a grid enable access to additionalcomputing resources so jobs can be dispatched in parallel to multiplecomputer nodes. CADportal combines this power with Elysium’stranslation support of bidirectional CATIA V4, CATIA V5, Pro/Engineer,Mechanical Desktop, I-deas NX, Unigraphics NX, JT, IGES, and Parasolidformats. The Elysium translators also provide advanced healing of 3Ddata and feature translation within CADportal.
CADportal is said to be easy to integrate into existing infrastructuresand, once integrated, additional nodes can typically be up and runningwithin 15 minutes. Its easy-to-use interface means systemadministrators and users can begin working with it without anytraining. CADportal supports Windows 2000, XP, HP-UX and Sun Solarisplatforms.
The second partnership joins Elysium with CAE heavyweight MSC.Softwareto provide customers of both companies with the ability to create,manage, and access accurate 3D geometry and its attached dataintelligence such as features, annotations, and attributes across CADand PDM platforms. MSC.Software will be working to implement Elysium’sportfolio of 3D data translation tools in combination with its virtualproduct development software and services.
By partnering with MSC.Software, Elysium says it will be able to helpcustomers maintain profits, save time, and reduce costs associated withdesigning, managing, and testing manufactured products.
“We are excited to be working with MSC,” said Ken Tashiro, presidentand CEO of Elysium Inc., “MSC is viewed worldwide as the leadingvirtual product development company and so to have them on board withus is spectacular.”
Elysium’s multiCAD-enabling technology enables an environment where anyCAD data is available to the user in the native format. The company hasbeen developing advanced translation tools for PDM attribute andmetadata for the last two years to enable easier controlled access.
MSC.Software and Elysium are already working on cooperative engagements with manufacturingcustomers.

Elysium, Inc.
Southfield, MI
elysium.com
MSC.Software Corp.
Santa Ana, CA
mscsoftware.com
Nexroot
Canton, OH
nexroot.com

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PTC Offers Small/medium businesses an in to Windchill

PTC has announced it will use an IBM on-demand service center to offerSMB (small and medium business) manufacturers access to PTC’s Windchillproduct development solutions. The service provides Windchill’s PDM(product data management), project management, and collaborationcapabilities to manufacturers that previously found initial startup,infrastructure, administrative costs, and technical issues barriersblocking deployment. PTC says the service will be both flexible andeasy to afford.
The on-demand service will provide SMB manufacturers with Windchillthrough a shared hosted environment. PTC says that the capabilities ofthe new service will allow manufacturers to control all productinformation, collaborate with partners, suppliers, and customers ondesign activities, and manage the development process throughout theproduct lifecycle.
PTC’s software will be hosted at IBM’s Boulder, Colorado, on-demandservice center. The center uses IBM Universal Management Infrastructure(UMI) technology to distribute software as a service.
PTC’s new on-demand Windchill service will be offered as a per-user,subscription model starting as low as $100 per month, according to thecompany. The service will be sold by resellers of PTC solutions and canbe used with all major CAD products.

PTC
Needham, MA
ptc.com

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